Miranda

One of my good friends and I started a thing this year, where we knit the same sweater together.  This is a really good way to get help from someone who may be having the same trouble you are, or give advice about something that you've conquered.  So far this year we've done Julissa, Everything Nice (which I'm still not finished with), and are currently working on Miranda, which I shouldn't have even started. I couldn't help myself ... you can see why!

The pattern includes options for a hood (which I think I'll do), short or long sleeves (haven't decided yet) and pockets (definitely!).  I love the cable detail on the front, too.  I chose a plum color worsted weight yarn (Cascade 220).  Unfortunately, I'm not really far enough along to take a decent photo, but take my word for it, this will be a nice sweater! 

One of the things I want to work on is FINISHING the stuff I've started. I've got a whole bit bin here full of stuff that has been sitting here untouched, for months in most cases. At least one thing has been on needles for well over a year. What are your strategies for keeping projects moving toward completion? I find myself distracted by all the lovely patterns out there.

Until next time, happy knitting!

~mz

It's late (or early?) ...

... and I'm *thinking* about knitting, even if I'm not *actually* knitting. And while I was up thinking about knitting, I figured I may as well renew my mzknits.com domain, even if I don't blog all that often. Which made me think that I should really try harder to blog more often, since I have so much blog-worthy stuff that I'm knitting and would like to talk about. Like these socks:

Long story short, these are my grandmother's birthday socks. The yarn is Madeline Tosh Vintage in tart (one of my favorite colors!). I knitted myself a sweater out of this yarn earlier in 2013 (see photos below!). When my grandmother asked me to knit her some socks, this yarn immediately came to mind and I cast on right away.  She recently received them, and by all accounts she really likes them!

I'll catch you up on other knitting stuff later today, most likely. But now, I really ought to try to get back to sleep.

~mz

One done, 12 to go!

Pattern Name: Julissa (scoop neck version)

Yarn Used: Madeline Tosh Vintage in tart

Modifications made: none

This was do much fun to knit, and I'm stoked about wearing it today. I finished it last night, and will wear it even though it's not properly blocked. Who cares ... It looks pretty good!

No frump here*

Sorry for the blurry pic.  But look!

I was at a weekend retreat with my spinning & weaving guild, and was able to make a ton of progress on Julissa. Actually, I made even more progress since this photo was taken on Saturday afternoon.

We had such a wonderful weekend. It was the first time we had this kind of retreat. There were 7 of us, and there was no agenda -- it was just a time for us to work on projects (I took a bunch of unfinished knitting projects but only worked on two of them!), chat, and get to know each other better. It was fun to share advice on other people's projects, too.  It's really neat to have a problem and have the benefit of the collective wisdom of the group to help you along.

There was another guild from northwest Ohio who was having a retreat over the weekend too, and they were very near where we were. So on Saturday night, we went over to their group to meet each other, knit, spin and drink wine :-)  Their weekend was a bit more structured than ours was, in that they were all learning various dyeing techniques. I really like the loosey-goosey way ours was set up.  We spent some time on Saturday exploring a couple of the local antique shops, and some of us visited the Thomas Edison Birthplace Museum (I skipped that in favor of more knitting). We shared the meal prep, and let me tell ya, these women made some great stuff.  I'm a little afraid to get on the scale after all the great food we had!

I hope I can finish this one pretty soon, now that the body is mostly done. I haven't yet decided whether to go with short cap sleeves or elbow-length sleeves. But either way will be fine, and will very likely depend on how much yarn is left after the body is finished.  Full-length sleeves are out of the question, though ... I think they will increase the "frump factor" which I don't want!

But now, I think I'll settle in with a bit more knitting before bed.

G'night!

* in 2011 I knitted a sweater that I really liked. One morning I put it on and the Mr said "Don't wear that." I asked him why and he goes, "It makes you look frumpy. You're not frumpy, you're hot, so don't wear that sweater." So this is my first attempt at knitting sweaters with absolutely NO frump factor!

2013 sweaters ... what's next?

No photos this time, because I'm not far enough along yet to show any real progress. But I'm cruising along on Julissa (Ravelry link!). Over the weekend I finished the raglan shaping, cast on stitches for the front, joined to knit in the round and have already started the waist shaping area.  I wonder if I can get this done by the end of January .... Which makes me think about which sweater to start next.

I pre-ordered Cooperative Press's Fresh Designs: Sweaters  book shortly before it was published, and man, I want to knit just about everything in there.  Right after I got my copies (yup, I bought one print copy and one digital copy), I went straight to Smith's and bought enough Malabrigo Rios yarn for this sweater:

It's got everything -- hood, pockets, extra long cuffs (optional), a figure-friendly silhouette. I can't WAIT to knit this one.  In a gorgeous blue color called Azul Profundo. See?

I will cast on this sweater in February, whether Julissa is finished or not. Because it will truly be "Everything Nice" -- and who doesn't need a little burst of color to get through winter in Ohio?

It's way past bedtime, folks.

~mz