2014 Goals and Stuff

Happy Saturday everyone! I just got back from a knit group and now I feel very inspired and thus I must post.  I finished up a pair of socks for my brother (and didn't get a photo before handing them off) today. Basic stockinette in my left over from my hoodie, so no big deal there.

I wanted to share with you all my goals list for 2014, seeing as I always make lists. This year I am not planning on being as gung ho about actually completing said list but I still like to make one. Also, I am participating in MySistersKnitter Knitting Resolutions KAL and therefore a list had to be made anyway.

2014 crafting goals: 

-knit 1 pair of Cookie A. Socks successfully
This is the first thing I plan to work on starting tomorrow (or tonight). You may remember when I was working on Rick - way back in October 2011. Well those got ripped, due to major lace issues (you can read about in that post). The yarn, Happy Feet, has tried to become a couple other things since, but I have decided to give Rick another go.  Maybe if I take it slower and don't do 2-at-a-time I will find success.

-CONQUER THE STASH.
Wildflower just closed (Sad day) and I now have enough yarn for a couple sweaters as well as everything else. This year I think I may actually be able to conquer that stash. 

-Knit atleast 3-4 full sized garments (with stash yarn if possible) 

-Finish, or come close to finishing, my mom’s wrap
Maybe to get her to stop asking when she'll get it...

-Finish my Finally Fall Shawl -- started 2 falls ago…it’s been finally fall twice already haha 

-Finish spinning the merino/silk blend (mentioned here and a few other posts)that’s been on my spindle for a couple years now.
Well, I am getting a lot closer, but spinning has been on the back burner a lot lately.

-Spin atleast one other yarn 

-Finish the friendship spinning project I have started with my friend Ivy. 

-Conquer something with intense colorwork
I am drawn to this (pattern on cover) right now. 

-Design and publish at least 3 items 

-Submit proposals to at least 2 publications

And finally: 

-DON’T LET KNITTING TAKE PRIORITY OVER PAINTING/REALITY/LIFE.
Much easier said than done of course :) 

Well, it all seems doable right? I think I say that every year also. What are your goals for the new year? I hope that whatever they are, you are excited to get going on them. With no classes now I feel so lazy. I really should get myself back into studio and work on some more paintings...

~Lisa

Welcoming 2013 with Dragonflies and Friends :)

Today I spent the afternoon with my amazing friend Ivy, of whom I have know a couple years now and thoroughly  love spending time with. Since she was visiting me in Salina, we absolutely had to visit the gem of a yarn shop, Yarns: Sold and Told.

This is one of those shops I hardly buy from but wish I could more. I love looking at all the amazing colors, yarns and brands they carry. The selection is far superior to the selection at the shop in my college town, Wildflower.  My budget has been really tight lately, but I knew when I was going to get the yarn for my first pullover (Dragonflies) eventually. So one thing led to another and I walked about with 7 skeins of Cascade Pacific. 

Cascade Pacific is 60% Acrylic, 40% Merino and super smooth and squishy. I picked out the most beautiful wine color and could not resist, despite my lack of a decent income.

I couldn't wait to get started, so I broke down and purchased the pattern when I got home and promptly started swatching. As it turns out this yarn is more a light worsted than DK, which brought me a bit of anguish when I started. Luckily, going down a needle size and blocking my swatch led to the perfect gauge and a very excited me. 

And now comes the fun part, casting on. I am a bit scared, the pattern looks pretty difficult to be honest. But I told myself I'd do it and I am bound and determined. This sweater is seriously calling my name. 

As I mentioned, me and Ivy had a chance to hang out today. We spent a good couple hours of stitch and bitch at the cutest coffee and book shop downtown. It was such a great way to just relax for a day and hang out with someone so like minded. 

And Ivy being amazing, she brought goodies with her. The cookbook is going to become one of my favorites and the yarn (Berroco Borealis) is going to make an amazing cowl when I get around to it. Ivy knows me so well! 

As soon as I finish this post I'm casting on my sweater .I cannot wait to share my progress with you all. Hopefully if all goes well I will be crossing something off my resolutions list pretty soon. 

~Lisa 

Max getting Horny :)

I Survived the End of the World...

So why not celebrate!?!?! 2013 is here and it's going to be awesome! I cannot wait to get started on my knitting and spinning resolutions and share all my progress with you all. I had such a great year, how can I even top it? Well, I sure plan on trying. :)

2013 Fiber Arts Resolutions:

1. Knit a pullover/in the round type sweater: 2012 was the year of cardigans and vests, I want 2013 to be the year of pullovers! And I really want to start with this one: Dragonflies pullover
2. Going off of the last one, I would love to knit a bulky yarns sweater, because there are so many pretty ones :)
3. Last year I wanted to conquer lace and I feel like I did. Well this year I want to FINISH something lace, with very few mistakes. I have some amazing bison blend yarn that would make a lovely lace scarf!
4. Felt something, anything. 
5. Learn more cast-on's and bind-off's. Because I just didn't do it last year and I know it would be beneficial to know.
6. Design another pair of worsted weight socks. They always seem to go over so well. It's my dream to publish a whole book of worsted socks!
7. Design a pair of sock-weight socks. Just for the fun of it!
8. Design and publish something other than socks and submit something to at least 2 publications. I didn't get into Knitty, but I got great response from the editor and I want to try again with them and others. 
9. Spin something other than worsted/bulky. I would love to make a fingering weight yarn. 
10. Learn to blend fibers through plying when spinning (like merino and nylon). This goes back to the above point. 
11. Learn different types of drafts and how to know when to use which. I am still stuck in a rut of doing the same thing every time, whether it works for that roving or not.
12. Learn how to properly dye with natural materials (flowers, roots etc)

The list is shorter this year :( But I think it's also tougher. I am really excited to start some of these things and I think I am going to hit up Wildflower as soon as I get back for the yarn for that pull-over. I need something to do with the last 2 weeks of my break.

As for life, I have a few resolutions as well.

-Keep up with the strides I made in my artwork, diet, exercise, and social life. I did so well this year and I really want it to just keep going up.

-Stop bugging my friends so much. I think I am addicted to my phone and texting people, and then I get frustrated when they don't reply. So that's something I want to work on this year. 

-Stop worrying about the little things and over obsessing. Especially about guy issues. 

I hope this year goes well, and I really hope I don't forget all the things I said I'd do. I really do want to keep my resolutions this year. 

What are your resolutions? Anything you really want to learn to do this year? I'd love to hear. :P

Happy 2013!

~Lisa

Remembering 2012

Hey everyone :) I hope you all had a great week!

I feel like I already reviewed my year (Fall 2012 review) but I wanted to take the time to share a few quick photos of things I've done this year and have been proud of. You all may remember that I had a list of 2012 Fiber Resolutions.  The last time I talked about this list was back in July, and at the time my list was pretty close to be complete. So, I guess it's time to see if I have gotten any further in the list.


Try (and hopefully succeed) in at least color work type project, weather it be fair isle, intarsia, etc.  

Funky Watermelon Hat

Finish my first full sweater successfully.

Effortless Blue Cardigan

Conquer something Lace -- Ok so I didn't finish it, but it was coming along ok before I found out it was too big. So partial success.

Lacy Summer Tee

Felting. I don't like how it looks, but I want to try it just one, to say I did.

Nope :(

Thrumming. The new craze going around, where you knit roving into your work so the inside has pieces of roving to keep whatever is inside warm. (ie: thrummed items)

Nope :( -- And I don't really care lol

Toe-Up 2 at a time socks. 

Dark Rainbows Ribbed Socks

Blocking and finishing. Every sweater makers best friend.

I think I did this a couple times, but not to the extent I wanted to. 

Try different cast on and bind off techniques, because those always come in handy.

Berry-Boned Wrists
I used the stretchy cast off for this, but I definitely want to learn more cast-ons and bind-offs this year!

Write more sock patterns!

Woven Cables Worsted Socks

CONQUER MY STASH! I have collected so much this year that I'd love to knit it down a bit before investing in much more. (Unless it's for a special occasion project).

Yea...about that. I didn't do so hot.

Spin something besides wool. 

Camel Down

I also have some Bamboo singles that I have no idea what do with!

Make a more even yarn when spinning. I am still having a lot of spots with thick and thin I'd like to get rid of

Merino 'n Tencel

Neon Rainbows

Dye bare yarn. 

Knit Picks Stroll with Wiltons

Attempt different types of plys.

 Merino 'n Tencel - 4 chain plyed yarn

10/14

Well. I did a lot better than I thought. And most of the time I wasn't even trying to conquer something on the list. That should be a goal for next year: actually look at the list more. 

This coming year promises to be amazing, and I already have my goal list in mind! Check back tomorrow to see what I'll be up to in 2013.

~Lisa

3KCBWDAY6 - 2012 Resolutions Revisited.

First off, a list of blogs for yesterday:

she wants to do is...

Fiber Dev

Shadowed Beauty

Sarah Apple -- IVY you will appreciate this one a lot!

Hoxton Handmade

And today:

The Crafty Side of Me

Cloudberry

Sezza Knits

Page After Page

Yorkshire Knitter

Thanks everyone for the nice comments about yesterday's post, it was really fun to write!

Ok so this is probably going to be a pretty lame post, but honestly I am a bit worn out. School is coming to a speedy close , as is knitting and crochet blog week, and I'm losing some steam. 

Today's topic is to talk about our skill sets and expanding them, so I figured it was a good excuse to look at the fiber resolutions I made back in January and see how bad the damage on lack of list following there was. Turns out it wasn't as bad as I thought. :/

2012 Fiber Resolutions:

• Try (and hopefully succeed) in at least color work type project, weather it be fair isle, intarsia, etc.  Funky Watermelon Hat :)
• Finish my first full sweater successfully.  Effortless Blue Cardigan
• Conquer something lace with minimal, barely noticeable mistakes. Like socks or a scarf or something smaller.
• Felting. I don't like how it looks, but I want to try it just one, to say I did.
• Thrumming. The new craze going around, where you knit roving into your work so the inside has pieces of roving to keep whatever is inside warm. (ie: thrummed items)
• Toe-Up 2 at a time socks. I just learned toe up this past week and love it! I also know how to 2 at a time, but am not the biggest fan because of having to keep things from tangling, but I'd still love to try the two together.
• Blocking and finishing. Every sweater makers best friend.
• Try different cast on and bind off techniques, because those always come in handy.
• Write more sock patterns!
• CONQUER MY STASH! I have collected so much this year that I'd love to knit it down a bit before investing in much more. (Unless it's for a special occasion project).
• Spin something besides wool. I have some bamboo in my stash that's calling my name. - Bamboo singles are done, I just have to decide what to do with them.
• Make a more even yarn when spinning. I am still having a lot of spots with thick and thin I'd like to get rid of
• Dye bare yarn. So far I've only dyed roving, but I'd love to try dying sock yarn or something white like that.
• Attempt different types of plys. I am not sure if you can do much more with a spindle, but even more 3 and 4 ply yarns would be nice.

Wow, I've conquered 3 things on the list. I am working on a couple more at the moment, but looking at this list there were a few things I put on it that I honestly have no desire to try, such as the thrummed items thing, or felting...blah.

However I would like to unofficially (as in if I don't do it no harm done) add a few things to this list:

• Attempt to design my own large garment pattern...thinking about a tank top for that summer yarn I purchased?
• Set up a booth at either a craft show or farmer's market, or figure out how to navigate Etsy, because I want to sell more of my products.

Honestly, even though the year is almost half over and my list has minimal progress on it, I feel like I have still succeeded fairly well so far this year. I finished TWO cardigans, the 2nd being easy but a great way to learn the basics. I've figured out what I want to do with my art and how to put knitting into it. And I've met some amazing bloggers! 

Overall, these first 5 months have been a success, whether or not the list shows it or not.

~Lisa

First FO's of Spring

I feel like it has been forever since I have shared a finished project with you guys. But I am proud to say that today I have TWO to share!

First up is my Effortless Cardigan, which many of you probably remember me talking and blogging about. I have been working on this since November, 2011 and I probably could have had it done sooner, but I lost interest quite a bit with other projects. But, I still finished it in a decent amount of time, given that it is my first large sweater type project. 

If you look close enough, it is a little bit big on me,but the size choices were weird on the pattern and I was not about to alter it on my first big project.  Overall, I think this will be more of a lounge around the house sweater than anything else, but maybe once fall comes again I will wear it out more; the color doesn't really shout "Spring!" to me.  I wish I could show you guys better pictures, but it was hard to get good pictures with out zooming in too much.

Did I mention that I can now cross something off my 2012 Fiber Resolutions? I have finished my first full sweater successfully!

The next project I want to share is something I casted on right after I finished up the cardigan. Everything But Vintage Socks.  I have had a ton of Berroco Vintage scraps in my stash and needed to use them up. Since Vintage is my go to worsted weight sock yarn anyways, why not make socks? I decided I wanted to use it all up in one pair, so I went for it and made knee highs! They tend to fall down when I walk, but that's probably because I increased a little too much. Either way, they're very warm and are full of memories. There are 4 pairs of socks, a hat, a pair of mittens and my sweater all knitted into a striped pair of socks! Oh and I forgot to mention that my kitties like them too :)

Since I can't NOT be knitting something, I began work on my next project last night. Using some Manos del Uruguay that Ivy sent me for Christmas, I began swatching this very cute and simple cardigan, Abalone. Although the knitting will be simple, it has a bit of seaming and shaping I haven't had any experience with, so that will be a bit of a challenge when I get there. But after the last cardigan, I am up for the challenge!

I hope everyone is having a great start to Spring! The sun here has disappeared and probably won't come out for the rest of the week. It's so sad, because I really want to sit outside and knit, but I can't in the rain. 

~Lisa

3 Years and Counting.

It's pretty hard to believe, looking back, that I have only been knitting for a little over 3 years. That sounds like a lot, but when you think about how fast those 3 years have gone, it's really not. In the past 3 years I have:

• Gotten together and broken up with my first (and so far only) boyfriend.
• Made the transition from high school to college dorms to living on my own.
• Made some amazing friends.
• Improved my artistic skills amazingly.
• Started this blog :)

That's a lot of things to do in just over 3 years. Now lets consider all the things I've done - fiber wise - in those 3 years.

• Picked up knitting (something I hadn't done since High School)when my ex wanted a scarf.
• Learned how to make socks on DPNS because sock yarn looked too pretty to not want to learn to use.
• Learned how to make mittens and gloves (basically socks with fingers!).
• Learned to knit in the round on circulars.
• Magic loop and using circular needles in place of straights (and I love it!)
• Cables!
• Full fledged garments (My tanktop!)
• Toys.
• How to spin with a spindle, something I really enjoy.
• How to dye yarn and bare roving, another thing I truly enjoy.

That's a lot considering I am a full time college student. Maybe it's a sign I should work on my art and school work more?

So that brings me to the real issue at hand: What do I want to do this year? Well my amazing friend Ivy (Pumpkin Spins) has given me some great ideas and pushed me to try things I never thought I would. This year we are both making lists and plan to encourage each other along the way. With that in mind, my knitting/fiber related resolutions are:

• Try (and hopefully succeed) in at least color work type project, weather it be fair isle, intarsia, etc.
• Finish my first full sweater successfully.
• Conquer something lace with minimal, barely noticeable mistakes. Like socks or a scarf or something smaller.
• Felting. I don't like how it looks, but I want to try it just one, to say I did.
• Thrumming. The new craze going around, where you knit roving into your work so the inside has pieces of roving to keep whatever is inside warm. (ie: thrummed items)
• Toe-Up 2 at a time socks. I just learned toe up this past week and love it! I also know how to 2 at a time, but am not the biggest fan because of having to keep things from tangling, but I'd still love to try the two together.
• Blocking and finishing. Every sweater makers best friend.
• Try different cast on and bind off techniques, because those always come in handy.
• Write more sock patterns!
• CONQUER MY STASH! I have collected so much this year that I'd love to knit it down a bit before investing in much more. (Unless it's for a special occasion project).
• Spin something besides wool. I have some bamboo in my stash that's calling my name.
• *Make a more even yarn when spinning. I am still having a lot of spots with thick and thin I'd like to get rid of
• Dye bare yarn. So far I've only dyed roving, but I'd love to try dying sock yarn or something white like that.
• Attempt different types of plys. I am not sure if you can do much more with a spindle, but even more 3 and 4 ply yarns would be nice.

You will not believe how long it took to come up with this list and I still feel like I am leaving something out. I know that I cannot succeed in everything, as this list is very long. But it's a nice guidebook on where to start when I need ideas.

To all my readers out there I wish you a save and happy New Years and may all your resolutions, wishes, promises, etc. come true.

~Lisa