Oogyknitter

It's been a while, but now that Santa's Yarn Workshop is closed for another year, it's time to move along and onto the theme for the coming year - BIG Things!  Pretty much anything is game but, for 2015, Neuro and I are going to attempt a few larger projects that otherwise might be deemed too daunting.   The first project I'm going to count for 2015 is something I had well underway already, but that needed seaming and finishing (daunting indeed!).  It's BIG Afghan #1, made with WoolEase in a variety of colors, and some brown tweed wool on a cone I got from Webs, and using the (heavily modified) Mitered Crosses Blanket pattern: (I've also referred to this version as the Atheist Mitered Crosses Afghan pattern - hee). This is also the first afghan I'm able to contribute to my Life Event Afghan Repository - when I need something to give to someone who needs a yarn hug, and when the life event doesn't permit for much planning.  There were seve...

There is actual knitting going on here inbetween homework and life and everything else!  In addition to all of the preemie hats, I have a couple of adult hats made with some leftover Scrumptious. This first one is Bankhead : Next is Rib-A-Roni : This is also a good time of year for larger-scale projects; here is one I've had in the works for some time: It needed a few more strips: Finishing can now progress.  More to come!!!

Taking a quick break from the pile of homework I can't seem to make a dent in, here is a hat that Mr. Oogy and I compiled using parts of several other hat patterns and a nifty knitting graph template in Excel: You can't really tell from here but it has a lining in the same blue yarn, just to make it that much warmer and snugger :) It's for a friend's birthday, and will be presented this weekend just in time for some crazy cooler weather we've been given here. I've got a few about-to-be-felted items in the works as well!

Dear Neuro, Amazing things happened over this past weekend, when my parents paid us a visit.  I thought my mom might enjoy helping to finish up some languishing projects, but I had no idea how quickly she would blow through what I had gathered together, and how much fun she would have! First up is a tablerunner that I made in a quilting class this past winter; it needed its border sewn down (by hand), and I hadn't gotten around to doing it.  Now it is displaying the yarn bowl and Shaker Dory Basket you've given me, all at the cottage to behold whenever we are there: Both of my parents got into the act with helping to hang and hem curtains to go over the sliding glass door (also at the cottage).  Here is a glimpse of them - other pics did not turn out so well, but needless to say they are floor length, brown, room darkening, and truly a sight to behold now: These booties (more like slippers!) were an experiment - they turned out OK, but I like my standa...

Here are a few photos to capture some of the things I've been up to lately: An afghan gift for an upcoming family wedding; I distinctly remember starting it during the last season of Downton Abbey, this past January - when it was cold enough to want to have something large and heavy weighing down on me: Yarn is KnitPicks Brava; pattern is from Vanna's Afghans All Over the House. Years ago, when my grandma was still alive, I had asked her with disbelief about how in the heck to make a pompom.  She hauled out some yarn, wound it in a frenzy around a little round device, produced a perfect little white pompom, tied the whole mess together, and then presented it to me with a flourish: I was intimidated beyond description until only recently, when I really wanted to top some of the preemie hats with pompoms.  I debated using Grandma's white pompom, then decided it was better to keep it for my own inspiration.  The little blue pompom maker has seen lots of actio...

Dear Neuro, Here is the picture I took of your socks before sending them to you: The yarn is Rowan Fine Art , the pattern is Hedgerow Socks (with a change to the toe), and for some reason they took forever to knit! I hope you enjoy them! Love, Oogy

Dear Neuro, I'm not really sure where all the time and yarn have gone, but I have been spending an inordinate amount of time making tiny baby hats for eventual donation to local neonatal intensive care units, along with a small group of people at work.  I've already received a donation for yarn for the cause, and used that to purchase something that is not "baby" yellow or pink: The pattern is mindless and goes quickly.  I even overcame my fear of pom-pom making, only to misplace the damn pom-pom maker (after using it for the first time in 15 years!!) in the disarray that is presently our upstairs painting project...  There are always socks - these are made with yarn that refused to be anything (and is even only questionably tolerating being these socks): It did make for some nice baby booties, however, which I can't make fast enough since there seems to be something in the water again at work! Last for today is a preview of something you'll ...

....I've been knitting a lot lately (even a little crochet!). ....I just have a few things that are off the needles but need various degrees of finishing (which is not knitting, exactly). ....I made a hedgehog for a departing co-worker.  It's the coolest pattern ever!  (Evidently I'm also a terrible photographer - but hopefully you get the idea!) I'm done with classes (for now!) so I should in theory have more time to spend on finishing the UFOs, instead of just knitting more!

Dear Neuro, I really am knitting over here!  After the past few days spent obsessing over a particular exam, which I took today (and did very well I might add!), I did a small victory lap with a couple of FOs this afternoon.  First, a pair of slippers for my mom, to replace those that have somehow dissolved due to use: Next are some yoga/pilates socks, for a friend's daughter, to serve as decoys for those already possessed by said friend: All are by special request, but since I've received so many requests for knitting this year, I can't possibly call each post "Request"!  I've gone for long stretches without anyone asking me to make anything, but this year seems to have broken the bank on that.  I'm actually very excited about it - so much yarn, so little time!! Love, Oogy

WHEREAS I have been curious about needle felting for some time now; and WHEREAS I recently had the opportunity to take a local class; and WHEREAS I am now able to evaluate needle felting's appeal to me; and WHEREAS I am now able to make an informed decision regarding this new craft; NOW THEREFORE I have decided that this particular craft is really not for me. May I present to you the only needle felted item I will ever make: There is still actual knitting going on but, as usual, the finishing seems to lag behind.

By special request, here is a crocheted fireman's hat to commemorate the 3rd birthday of a friend's son; patiently modeled by Kylie: There are a few other projects making slow progress, which I hope to have completed to share very soon.

The first pair of booties in 2014! While I'm hoping to avoid a repeat of last year's bootie frenzy, I will need to maintain a fairly strict production schedule given all of the impending arrivals! Also - since these are made with leftover sock yarn, they also technically count as REduction, albeit a small one.

So the yarn I'd chosen for the November Thing-A-Month project (and which I'd started and thoroughly intended to complete at some point!) seems to have been injured, or otherwise eaten, at some point during its life; I kept encountering random breaks in both colors.  Rather than forge ahead and risk having the mittens disintegrate at some point, I ripped them out.  Now not only do I need to select new yarns for the project, but I must also determine if I can knit and then felt these into something useful. Here is their mug shot: Also - something in the water at work is resulting in another pregnancy outbreak - beware of upcoming booties!!

By special request, I made this afghan and matching pillow for an upcoming family wedding.  I covered a plain pillow form with teal-colored (but slightly faded) silk, which is why we have the extra color here.  The other side of the pillow is off-white, so it can be turned around according to mood.  The afghan has been languishing for a while, awaiting the completion of the pillow. 

I have it in my head that this one pattern is going to help me use up all the different wool leftovers I've been collecting, but so far I've only been brave enough to try 2 colors at a time: There's also been a lot of futile yarn flinging going on behind the scenes, mostly related to the repair and reduce portions of this year's initiative.  I hope to have more to show for these efforts soon!

Dear Neuro, Happy 2014!!!  Consistent with our Theme of Rs for the year (reduce, recycle, repurpose, you name the R!), I have the following items to share: Reduce - I started these mitts about a year ago so I suppose they could count as a UFO as well.  The yarn is leftover wool blends, and the pattern is Simple Braided Mitts : Repeat?  No, I still have so much yarn leftover from the felted clogs project that I've made another Nottingham and matching Voodoos (the Voodoos were shy and didn't want to be in the picture), so Reuse: Reduce, perhaps?  These are more socks made by request from a non-knitter's yarn stash.  I have no idea what the yarn is, there were no labels - but it is a heavy-ish sock weight, mostly wool, and is definitely more blue than appears here.  Pattern is Vanilla Latte : Repair - Something took a bite out of one of these socks I'd made for my mom.  I'm going to attempt a knitted-on patch, and will document my progress...