Oogyknitter

OK everyone!  We've hinted at it a bit before now, but here on the eve of the New Year (and New Decade!!), I'm happy to announce our theme for 2020 - Year of the Badass Cowl!! What does this mean? Well - both Neuro and I have had all kinds of ideas swirling around in our heads since we landed on this theme just a few days ago.  We're both rummaging through our stashes and already imagining all the possibilities.  I don't think we have any hard and fast rules (at least just yet), although we did want to include some of our own designs (which, for me, means that I actually need to come up with some of my own designs, LOL!!). I think a soft rule might be that each cowl needs to have something badass about it - so that, when the intended recipient is wearing it, they feel like they can conquer most any adversary they encounter; for example, they fly out the door with their head held high, walk into meetings with a slight swagger, or impress the other coffee shop custo...

So far, my short-term "Yarn Project List" (aka The Knitting Queue, although some of it is not knitting) has 15 items on it!  I've probably mentioned most of them to you at some point, but there are two brand new ones that deserve some special attention - they are gifts from Neuro!! The first will require some advanced planning: These look even more amazing in person, and the colors are just extraordinary!  The planning will involve what sort of project I'd like the eventual yarn to be, before I get to spinning it.  I'll need to do some research too - about exactly how to spin this stuff as well as what kind of yardage I might expect from the weight.  Each hankie is a flattened-out silkworm cocoon, and rumor has it that you just grab from the center and it unravels.  We'll see about that! The next is something ready for me to dive into, which could be any day now: Neuro dyed these awesome colors on a sock blank with this exact pattern in mind!!...

Neuro and I have settled on our theme for 2020, but it feels a little premature to announce it just yet.  Suffice it to say that I've started my first project, let's call it a warm-up for what's to come: This is the Ten and Counting cowl pattern that I'd mentioned previously, along with KnitPicks Shimmer, doubled.  It's an easily-memorized, 8-row repeat following the 2x2 ribbing, and with all of the stitch markers in place there's no counting.  I'm already into the second pattern repeat, and it continues to be a pleasure to knit. I had lunch yesterday with a friend; I gave her April Hat, which she loves.  She is definitely a hat person, and later sent me a text saying "This looks super cute on me!"  That is the best feedback I could imagine!  She'd brought me a bottle of wine (in a lovely wine bag that I immediately recast as a knitting project bag!); a hat for wine - the best exchange ever!  It's a lovely Pinot Grigio - which is alw...

I've gone as far as I can on the fourth large square for the CWA: It's a cool construction, as each small square is created by picking up and knitting stitches at the edges of the previous squares.  But now I'm stuck.  I ran out of green, which means that the square that needs to be in the upper left corner has to wait until I get the order from KnitPicks - which will also contain the cream I need for the square next to it (at the top).  I'll be able to get these two squares done at that time, but then will need to have a second hiatus whilst I wait for Sky to be available - which I need for the beginning of the third column and which starts at the lower right!  Good thing the wedding isn't until June! I did manage to accomplish most of what else I'd set out to do yesterday - casting on for December Hat, and balling up (half of) the yarn for a cowl.  I'm going to make Ten and Counting - I've got 880 yards of alpaca/silk laceweight yarn (KnitPicks...

Oogyhubby and I spent yesterday cooking our butts off - he smoked a turkey, and I made cranberry relish, green bean casserole, mac and cheese, and a pumpkin cream pie.  And there was wine :)  We had quite the feast, although it was a bit disappointing that, after several hours of preparation, we were finished eating within a matter of minutes!  We'll have leftovers for weeks, and a grand soup some time in the future, so there's that. Inbetween, I worked on the CWA, and finally got to the point where I'm 100% certain that I'm going to run out of yarn, probably for all colors.  This morning I headed for the KnitPicks web site and ordered 10 of the 12 skeins I need to finish (yah, guess this kit wasn't such a bargain after all - but think of the cowls I can make with the leftovers!).  What of the remaining two, you might ask?  Well, Sky and Black are currently unavailable.  Knowing KnitPicks, they'll be back soon.  I'll soon be at a stopping point,...

Happy Winter Solstice Holidays to all!  It seems that our typically cloudy and depressing winter weather here has been (likely temporarily, but I'll take it) replaced by strange warmth and some sunshine.  Which makes my optimism even more exuberant.  It only gets brighter from here!!!  I hope you all enjoy spending time with your friends and family - even phone and Skype can be enriching! Spurred by this optimism, and Neuro's 2020 Cowl Theme suggestion, I went a little mad yesterday.  First of all, we have the CWA at 75%: Here is a close-up of the latest (and third) large square: I will definitely need another skein of the black (not sure where the second one went - it's needed for the border, but perhaps I borrowed it at some point, just like I did with the mitts kit and Cold As?), but even the prospect of having to order more of everything is undaunting.  The yarn is still in production, is not terribly expensive, and leftovers can be used for...

You may have had a hunch that this was going on, but I didn't say much about it.  But now the time has come! It wasn't all just Cousin Wedding Afghan (CWA) and baby mitts here for the past few weeks - there have been other things going on as well that I can now reveal to you! The Oogys and The Neuros spent some quality time over Skype the other evening, during which we shared many laughs, enjoyed adult beverages, and opened the gifts we'd sent to each other - which included some of this mystery knitting!! I made not one, but two, Cut the Scrap! cowls with the yarn remaining from the Perfect Blend KAL.  All that was needed was a neutral color for each: I'd divided the leftovers into two separate colorways, then coordinated with a base color.  (I still have leftovers from all of them!!)  The gray/reddish version went to Neuro, and the purple version went to LW (you might recognize the wedding shawl yarn here; that stuff is the loaves and fishes...

In the midst of yesterday's snow squalls (during which it felt like the entirety of Lake Ontario was redepositing itself upon us in frozen form), I took the opportunity to assess the state of - for lack of a better name at the moment - Granny Baby: Here's what I've decided: - Make 9 more small green squares to fill in the blanks - Use the multi-colored yarn (extreme right corner) to join them all together, and perhaps create some borders around and/or between the colored square sections - Use the remaining green (lower right corner) to finish off with a nice outside border All that I needed to do next was remember what size crochet hook I was using, in order to match gauge.  This yarn is all worsted weight acrylic, so I grabbed what I had immediately available, an I and a G, and set off to work.  Long story short - The square with the I was too big.  The G was way too small for the yarn.  I realized that needed an H.  I dimly recalled using an H -...

You guys!!!  It wasn't until I was in bed last night, with the light out and the ocean* on, when I realized that I'd forgotten all about it - the pattern for December Hat was released yesterday!!  And it's a goodie**, with lots of pudgy cables and the possibility for gender neutrality.  I'm going to make it with a male-appropriate color but, if I like it as much as I think I will, there will be a second one in the works before too long!  *The only thing that beats this noise on our sleep-sound machine is the actual ocean itself!! **No wonder it's the #1 "Hot Right Now" pattern on Ravelry this morning!!! Also - in spite of all my earlier work on the holiday knitting, realizing all along that there is less time between the November and December holidays this year, and spending Monday afternoon baking cookies, I'm quickly running out of time to get these last cards and packages (cookies!) in the mail.  When did that happen?? No pics today - all I...

This week I absolutely cruised through the knitting for the slippers I'm making for me: This was the fun part, especially since I've made this pattern so many times and therefore have a good awareness of how the whole thing comes together.  The less fun part - although no less critical - is all the sewing, working in of ends and such, and of course the felting.  The weather isn't getting any warmer, so I'll want to have these finished sooner rather than later.  More to come! (I also have a bunch of yarn left over, since I'd bought enough to use it doubled - I'm thinking hat?) Most of you probably already know by now that, earlier this week, I published my first pattern on Ravelry:  https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/unplanned-extubation-prevention-mitts This is the pattern for those little mitts I'm always making; I'd written it out for the NICU staff so they could hand it out as they wanted, and Neuro had tested it at that time.  Def...

Done!!! I'm enthusiastic about selecting the yarn for December Hat, but will need to wait until the pattern is out next week before doing so!  These hats have all been (mostly) fun and lovely, but only a few have spoken to me as clearly unisex; I'm hoping that December will lend a hand with that; otherwise, I may need to go rogue and make some more hats for boys! Speaking of which - I think I need to start making some mitts in the coming year.  Perhaps a self-imposed mitt-of-the-month club, so to speak?  I find 12 mitt patterns (different ones!), match them up with stash yarns, and pick one out randomly each month to make.  As with the hats this year, before too long there will be a nice pile of gifts just waiting for their recipients!  Any suggestions for patterns?  One will definitely be from the Woodland Winter Mitts kit I mentioned recently. I also think I need to start eyeing Paris's Brioche  once again.  The actress who played Paris (...

I finished the knitting for the second (of four) large squares last evening: I also cast on for the third large square! A few observations: - I'm super glad that I changed my mind about making this for the Nephew's wedding!  I don't know how I could have worked on it any more than I already have, and the wedding was nearly a month ago already! - Even though this is taking forever, and is a sea of garter stitch, I'm not yet bored with it.  There are enough color changes and things going on that it has held my interest.  Also, each square is started on the sides, at the longest row; with the decreases along the diagonal, each successive row is smaller, so progress seems to increase as well! - I read from some others on Ravelry that they ran out of yarn in this kit.  Based on what I am seeing, it's possible that might happen here as well.  I'm pretty sure I'm getting something close to gauge, but maybe that's why these kits are always on sale. ...

The Cold As mitts are finished and had their photo shoot this morning.  Here is a demure pic: And here they are in their two-handed, F-bomb glory: If you look closely, you can see the subtle design differences between the two! I had so much fun with these that I went back and looked at the Year of Mitts that Kelbourne Woolens , of the Year of Hats fame, did last year.  I thought - why not?  Well, they're all lovely mitts, but if I'm going to make any as fussy as that, I've got a kit in my stash that I should work on instead: (Except I took a skein of the Bright Lilac for the Cold As mitts - so I'll need to replace it at some point.)  This is another Knit Picks creation - I must have been on some sort of crazed kit spree at one point! (OK, so they have Hue Shift and Woodland Mitts kits on sale if you're interested!!) I'll have to wait and see if Kelbourne will have a Year of SomethingElse in 2020; in the meantime, November Hat is ...

We're back from visiting my family over the T-giving holiday where, in spite of my bringing a bag full of other projects (it was a bummer that we left early because of the weather and didn't get a chance to visit Neuro - waaaah!!!), I spent all my knitting time working on the Cousin Wedding Afghan.  I'm now 17/25 through the second of four sections (or 42% of the total squares): I didn't work on the Cold As mittens while we were away, but I did spend some time with them yesterday, and made a couple of changes.  After grafting the tip on the right hand mitt, I decided I didn't like how pointy it was - so I ripped back several rows, just to the top of the charted design, and will graft it from there.  I also made the thumb, and same thing - too pointy, needs grafting.  Pics to follow when they're complete - hopefully later this week! Other projects in the immediate queue - November Hat (just finishing), baby mitts (ongoing), and felted slippers for me (not ...

I was only going to cast this on yesterday to take a break from two-color knitting, but of course I was lured by the ever-changing pattern and 2-stitch cables that don't need a cable needle: This is November Hat , with a lone skein of Patons Decor that leaped out at me when I was last digging around in the deep stash.  I'm probably about halfway through the main section of the hat (prior to the decrease section for the top).  It's decidedly female-leaning, and will want to have a modest self-pom when completed. In the meantime, I've continued working on the Cold As mitts: I had a minor panic when, after taking this pic, I noticed for the first time that the pattern is different for each mitt.  I hadn't realized that was by design - I'd been following the charts diligently, but the charts are indeed different for each.  The only modifications I made were to use smaller needles (for a tighter gauge and warmer mitts), a longer and one-color cuff (to pro...

I made some decisions about the Audrey Hepburn I've been working on for my mom's Xmas gift.  Mostly resulting from my ignoring the pattern gauge and ending up with a much smaller item than intended.  But all is not lost - and I think I may have actually made it better!  I'll save further explanations for when I have pics - I just have a bit of finishing to do first.  For now, I'll just add that it's become more of a shrug than a shawl.  And the beads still look awesome!! Other projects in the works include some other holiday gifts (which need to remain secret for now), and these: I'm making these for the same friend for whom I made disrespectful lace coasters that spelled out the same word as in these mitts.  Mostly so she can get a kick out of them - even better if they keep her hands warm!  I'm using some KnitPicks Palette and yarn left over from the wedding shawl her mom made her - which I think is a wool/silk and maybe mohair blend. ...

You can't mess with green tea. I know - all these years, and I never really paid much attention to it.  I got a bunch of assorted teas once, and there were some green (and white!) ones in there.  I'd brew them up once in a while, but couldn't understand why some people seem obsessed with them. Now I know why. There are two very important variables to manage with this process:  1) water temperature; and 2) steeping time. You probably knew this already, but I did not.  I even went so far as to ascribe the specific and detailed instructions on the side of a tin of white tea to Woo.  Boy, was I wrong. Boiling water, which is required for important beverages like coffee, espresso, and black teas, is harmful to the greens and whites.  The oxidation and/or roasting process protects the others. Steeping tea longer releases those bitter tannins.  This is true for black tea as well, but it happens more quickly for the greens and whites.  (Howeve...

#1:  Don't Let the Winter Weather Fool You.  Just because it's prematurely cold and snowy here doesn't mean that there is any more time between now and the holidays (or the cousin's wedding), or that the days are any longer.  Thinking about adding more projects into the (currently bulging and excessive) queue (even the non-serious, non-urgent one) is asking for trouble. #2:  When disregarding Lesson #1, Bring a Bag.  Lest you risk leaving spare balls of yarn throughout the house. #3:  Be Flexible.  That untouched child's sweater kit from at least five years ago can easily become a few hats.  (Right - what if the Hat A Month people keep going after December??) #4:  Be Brave.  That partially-knit shawl or sweater can be repurposed for something that will actually get completed some day (see Lesson #3). #5:  When All Else Fails.  Tell yourself that you're just reminding yourself of what you have in there, for better and mo...

So - nearly five years after I purchased the pattern and Neuro and I spent a great deal of time working on our respective Crazed Scandinavian cowls, mine is now blocking after being kitchenered and soaked: My favorite part continues to be the marching Squatches seen along the top there.  Due to its thickness and shape, I'll need to rotate it periodically so that it has a chance of drying - it's two colored knitting, double-sided, and folded over - 8 layers!! Along similar lines, here is February Hat, all finished and blocked: Lastly, and nearly right on schedule, is October Hat, pompom and all: These cables were super fun. I've mostly been focusing on Audrey Hepburn, but obviously took some breaks to get all of these done.  I'm also undoing the slippers I made for myself, so that I can re-knit them as a single ply (they were originally double-stranded - now that's fun to rip out and re-ball!).  Not soon enough - we're due for some very cold we...

I am declaring my Girasole swatch experiment a success!! You can't tell from there, but it is floofier, much softer, and light as a feather.  It seems like it will be super warm as well, even with all the holes.  (And, the swatch is cute as hell!)  I had so much fun with this, I'll have a hard time resisting working on this project.  But - it's got to get in line behind holiday knitting and the Cousin Wedding Afghan.  And I still need to figure out how to arrange all the colors. Now that I've figured out how to use my high-efficiency washing machine for soaking and safe spinning, I've finally blocked Veronika: (I'll get a couple more pics once she's completely finished.) In the meantime, I have a couple of confessions to make (I figure if I can survive the Cuddlee story, anything goes!).  First - whilst I was digging around in the "unfinished" bin, February Hat popped out.  Evidently I never finished working in the ends and adding a...

Hypothesis:  The Icelandic Unspun will be a suitable yarn for an adult-sized Girasole blanket. Materials and Methods:  Size 9 DPNs, light pink Unspun, Chart A of the Girasole pattern Phase I Results: Preliminary results support acceptance of the above hypothesis.   Phase II includes a knitted picot edge, a good soak, and blocking. Discussion:  I'm really surprised at how easy it is to work with this yarn.  I've never used it before, and had heard that it's a challenge not to pull it apart as it's worked; after all, it's essentially pencil roving.  I got the yarn from a former colleague, whose mother had given it to her after becoming disillusioned with ideas of felting.  I have five colors - light pink, dark pink, medium blue, a natural brown, and some natural white.  I'm thinking there is enough of the pinks, blue, and accent color (brown? white?  dyed white?) for a blanket, but I have no sense yet of how this will all come to...

A few years ago, I got one of those presents (probably from my mom) that I opened and thought - huh?  Then I thought - well, I'll bring it to the cottage by the Big Lake, where it gets cold at the beginning and end of the season, and where the heat didn't reach the master bedroom.  And there it sat - not because it wasn't cold, but because there are always blankets, tea, and whiskey, and I probably forgot about it most times anyway. When we sold the cottage, I brought this thing back home and put it with the other cottage items we wanted to keep - mostly a few craft pieces and other memorabilia.  This is probably how it survived the massive purge we did when we moved - you know, the one where you decide if you keep/pack/move it, or you get rid of it (donate or garbage).  So it got moved.  When I unpacked it, I put it in a closet downstairs along with some towels and sheets. Back in the present time - we haven't been able to get the heat working in our bedroo...

The beads arrived on Saturday, which gave me just enough time to start over with only one strand of Kidsilk Haze and figure out the slipped stitch edges.  The pattern is just starting to emerge: The beads and yarn together look amazing.  The pattern is an 8-row repeat, is easy to memorize, and I can tell right away if I've messed up.  Also - the yarn is so sticky that there's little worry about things falling off the needles and becoming a mess of unraveled confusion.  I'm really enjoying working on this project. I mailed the Nephew Wedding Afghan this morning, and it should be there by Wednesday.  At some point I need to start planning another adult-appropriate afghan to have in reserve - either partially or fully completed - so that I can have it on hand for the next surprise event.  Evidently I already have two completed baby afghans in reserve, and one partially complete, so I'm covered there (no pun intended!). In other news - we were ou...

I know that March is usually the month that has the option of doing this, but November sure came in like a lion this year!  We had big rain yesterday, followed by big wind all night (which made a lot of noise and kept waking me up).  So far we don't seem any worse for the wear here otherwise, but there are others in the area without power, and the Big Lake is all worked up.  I had also read that Lake Erie was expected to experience a seiche during all of this - that's when it sloshes around like coffee in a mug, from side to side; which is cool, except for the flooding and other possible damage that can result! I'm in the home stretches of October Hat and thought I'd show you a partial pic prior to finishing, blocking, and pomming: I like how it turned out.  I made a couple of changes from the pattern as written (in addition to using DK yarn and a different needle size!).  As I'd mentioned before, I really hated the brim (so did many others who've al...

I really obsessed about working on the Nephew Afghan, to the point where I found myself working what I thought was the third or the fourth to the last border row, only to realize that it looked great if I ended there: I wet blocked the border a bit, and as soon as it's dry I can package it up for mailing - in time for it to arrive before the wedding!  An unexpected bonus!  (The entire afghan goes on for another foot or so on the bottom - I just couldn't fit it all in the pic without swinging from the ceiling!) In the meantime, I made another September Hat, this one with Red Heart Heat Wave : This is acrylic yarn that also is supposed to heat up to 12 degrees when outside (direct sun or not).  For that reason, I made it for Oogyhubby for Xmas - although he already has a wide variety of hats, I also think he likes to have options.  Covering his head is always a priority for him. This yarn is otherwise unremarkable.  It's sort of fat - more than a wor...

All I needed to do was one row of double crochet, each side having a multiple of 10 plus 4 stitches in it.  This is the stitch count needed for the starting row of the border for the Nephew Afghan: I counted, then did the row, then counted again.  Which came up with a different count.  I re-did the row.  This happened a bunch of times.  Cannot count. Then, when I was ready for the first real row of the pattern, disaster struck.  I'd perfectly achieved a multiple of 10 plus 2 stitches.  Not 4.  Does not follow directions. Now I'm back to not being able to count.  If I ever get this first row right, it will be a miracle.  (I don't keep adding a new row and adjusting the count, because it's just as much work to do that as it is to undo and re-do the row in question.)  At least the soak and spin in the washing machine worked out great - softer brown wool, no felting I'm in love with the bead/yarn combo for Airplane, but I'm h...

What I should have done is taken a picture of the miserable cast-on that happened with October Hat.  I hated it so much that I tore it all out (all 5 inches of ribbing!) and started over using the cast-on for May Hat instead.  October's was a version of tubular cast-on, intended to have a large, fold-up brim; May's is a doubled brim but is folded under and knitted into the hat.  I'm about right back where I left off, about to knit the two together and proceed with the fun cable section. The nephew afghan is presently soaking in the washing machine.  For my next feat, I'll attempt to remove most of the water without felting the brown parts. I'm otherwise flitting between some of the smaller projects, with no real progress to report on any at this time.  I hope to make it to some of the beading on Airplane Scarf so I can have that to show to you soon!

OK, here's what's going to happen: The Shifting Hues afghan is going to be for Oogyhubby's cousin's wedding in June.  That will give me more time, they live in warmer climes, and the colors better suit her.  I'm at about 25% (insert usual caveats; I didn't say I wasn't still addicted to working on it!): What about Oogynephew?, you might ask.  Well, turns out I had already made most of an afghan and had tucked it away for an opportune time - and had forgotten all about it until the other day!  It needs a good soak and I think a fancy border; here it is before both of those things: It's a variation on a mitered square theme, with Woolease for the colors and some coned wool of sorts for the brown.  I thought a black and creme border might liven it up a bit, this is what I'm currently thinking about: Here is the link on Ravelry so you can view photo credits and details.  I'm planning for the teal parts to be black, and the white part...

Not sure why, but it didn't really seem like October to me until the leaves started raining down along with a cold wind and actual rain.  It made me think of this U2 song , which seems melancholy but also pretty.  I guess that's Autumn in a nutshell - full of changing light and delicious apples, but with Winter lurking just ahead.  It's been a few days now so I thought an updated pic of Hue was due: Today we're at 17% complete (not counting the border, seaming, and all those ridiculous ends).  I continue to enjoy the garter stitch, punctuated by changing colors and picking up stitches.  Speaking of October - Hat was released yesterday, and it's all fat brim and cables!  (It's also #1 on the "Hot Right Now" list, so these must be catching on, especially as hat season is upon us)  The purple yarn is dying to be this pattern, but it's DK weight, and the pattern is written for worsted weight.  I may just go down a needle size and hope for th...