WIP Wednesday: Marching Along

We had an impromptu KAL. Surprise! The last Quidditch event of the Winter 2015 term of the Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House Cup on Ravelry was a speed event. We were given a list of patterns and could choose to knit or crochet one of the patterns as fast as we could within a given time frame. The faster you completed your item the more points you earned. I decided a couple days into the race to participate so I stalked Cyprienne to see which pattern she picked from the list. She picked the knitted hat pattern, Barley. I love knitting hats so I decided to go for it. Every day, something happened to keep me from working on the hat. You can read about my adventures here if you are so inclined. This hat pattern is simple and would have been a quick knit if I hadn't run into so many personal difficulties. Will I knit another? Maybe but probably not. I would say it's a good pattern for someone knitting a hat in the round for the first time but I have other hat patterns I'd rather knit multiple times.

The Barley Hat was barley'd on my end as well -- for some reason I decided that stopping everything else in the world and making a hat was an excellent idea, so I got finished in a day with much less drama overall!  Slouchy hats make me look like some sorta goiter tried to grow out the back of my head, so I cuffed the brim to turn it into a beanie; the gray is quite pretty and the hat was very quickly stolen by my daughter... she has yet to return it.

I managed to finish (!!) my Rosebud shawl, but I don't have many beauty shots yet, so you'll have to forgive me.  The weighing of the yarn proved to be foolproof and I was able to squeak out an extra Chart B repeat before edging and binding off with seven grams to spare -- phew!  The red is just so gorgeous.

AND the Hooded Cape of DOOM continues a-pace as my sole project for as long as I can stand it.
My finish-before-April desperation ramps up daily...

WIPs Wednesday: February Edition

I have a bit of a theme happening for me this term . . . . I was working on my Rosebud shawl the other day when two things happened. First, I realized I was accidentally slipping all of my stitches purl-wise instead of knit-wise to knit stitches together. Second, I made a mistake and when I went back to fix it, I accidentally dropped a critical stitch that quickly turned my work into an unfix-able mess. Sigh. I decided I might as well frog it and start over so I could do it right. This means my progress photo today is just a few rows, 6 to be exact, past my cast-on photo. Time to knit like the wind!

 
February is more than halfway over and I'm still being thrown for a loop, slightly off-kilter, as they say.  The knitting is going, but I keep getting interrupted by projects for my daughter, who has decided that everything that can be knit should be knit. for. her, so she can show her friends all the one-of-a-kind stuff... very flattering, but very time-consuming.

I love knitting on my beautiful Rosebud shawl, and I'm reaching a decision point: how many repeats of Chart B should I do?

a Valentine of flowers in KnitPicks Gloss Lace, colorway Fiesta

I've been strategically weighing the remaining yarn, and I keep flip-flopping between going for that extra repeat (with the potential for running out of FIESTA!) or knitting the shawl as written (and wishing it larger when finished).  Stay tuned, fair reader, for the exact moment when I lose my nerve!

Let's not forget about the hooded cape WIP -- we're still having a knit-along, but it's asynchronous now!  I'm beading and beading and beading and beading and beading and beading and

it seems like it will never end.

Phoenix Pheature: Cast On!

I'm loving the Rosebud shawl already and it's only the beginning!  HSpoon and I are both using bright red laceweight, because of course we are, and my yarn is a merino/silk blend -- a welcome change from the monster cowl's Allergen Central experience.

Triangular lace shawls without beading are my wheelhouse, so it's just zipping along, being awesome and cheery and just what I need for such a short, cold month!  I grabbed some US6 needles by mistake (I thought they were US4s but NOPE); fingers crossed I don't run out of yarn.

I'm very excited to finally be starting this shawl. I've owned the pattern for a couple years and have had it in the back of my mind as something I wanted to make eventually. Well now the time has finally come. I love my yarn choice, Misti Alpaca Lace in the color lipstick. The yarn is lovely to touch and the color is lovely to see. It's a win-win!

 

Webchat cast on -- FOR THE MANTEL!

Souvenir Shawl: For The Mantel!

This adventure is not only about knitting-along, remember: there's also a Tour of Houses going on (for all those intrepid students of the Harry Potter Knitting & Crochet House Cup)!  Because every good gallivant needs some souvenirs, we will be knitting shawls to remember our time in each HPKCHC House as we visit!

First up for Winter Term, inspired by the ruby red of Gryffindor...  better be ROSEBUD!

image © Tin Can Knits

Rosebud by tincanknits

We'll be working on our shawls from mid-January to mid-March (possibly to coincide with covert operations for a certain Order of the Phoenix) and you, dear reader, are absolutely welcome to join in the fun!