First thing off the needles!

Something positive to start the new year off with - a finished knitting project! Yes, it is a baby size item and yes it was started in 2019, however, it is off the needles, ends woven in, washed/blocked and drying. (Hence the not so great picture).
I very much enjoyed knitting this pattern and look forward to seeing it on the little guy it is for!.

So, the project details:

• Baby Vertebrae (DK version)
• by Kelly van Niekerk
• 0-3 months size 
• Knit for: Baby EH
• Yarn: TIG Springvale DK (colorway is forgotten)
• Needles: US 6 & 4
• Began December 2019, Completed Jan 2, 2020

Notes: Followed the pattern pretty closely as written. Though it is amusing to have to constantly remind myself to flip my measuring tape over when measuring lengths. Definitely a pattern I will make again (this is the second one).

So that means I am down one item on my WIP's carried over. From 18 down to 17, yep I am kicking booty and taking names....or not *smile*.

In other news, two days in a row of getting my spin 10 in! Yay! Currently, I am working on some Charolais. It is so springy and enjoyable to spin! It will be enjoyable to knit with as well I think!

Now to decide what to work on next. I am thinking the warm heart baby vest as there is another baby due just around the corner and no one wants to give me girls to knit for. Has anyone else noticed the people in their lives having only boys? Out of half a dozen people I know having babies in a 4 month period - all boys! What are the chances?
Oh yeah, back to the baby vest. I have it started and it was laying on the sofa when apparently the little barn kitten we saved from certain death decided the wool would be a great thing to chew on...not cool kitty! So I need to tink back a row or so cut off the chewed yarn and reattach the clean yarn end - nothing like kitty drool crunchy wool yarn *shudder*. Here is what the picture in the book looks like (this is from the same book I mentioned and showed in my earlier post).

So I guess I am going to wrap this up and get back to my knitting/tinking. What are you knitting on this new year? Any goals? Finished objects yet? Do share!

Spin Me Right Round

If you know me at all, you know that I also love to spin on my spinning wheels. In 2019 I went through a lot of my fiber and created a basket to spin from. It mostly contained undyed fibers from a variety of sheep that I had no previous experience with. There were a couple of items in there that were dyed but mostly just natural. Well, I did not come even close to finishing *boohoo*. So one of my spinning goals for this year is to continue working through that fiber. It would be incredible if I could get through that and focus on some other things.

This is everything from the basket (spun and not):

That really is quite a bit of fiber to spin. I made it through some of it. Some were 1 oz samples of different fibers, some were larger projects, some I dyed first, etc.
This photo shows the ones that I either completed the spinning on or am in mid-spin on:

 
 And then this is what is left unspun to take into 2020 with me:

If I am reallllly dedicated then I should be able to get the rest of this spun...I should...I'd also really like to start another sweater spin. The larger bag in the lower left corner of this picture is some cormo. I would like to dye that for a sock spin. And I am considering doing a combo spin to make something for L - maybe a sweater or something. I have yet to embark on a combo spin so that could be fun.

My 2020 spinning goals at the moment are

• Spin 10 minutes/day
• Dye & Spin sock yarn
• Finish 2019 spin basket
• Spin a sweater quantity
• Look at doing a combo spin, maybe for Lil.

I think I can I think I can I think I can....right?
Do you spin? If so, what is your favorite thing to spin? Do you have any goals or anything regarding spinning in 2020?

What the WIP?

One of the things I seem to always do at the end of a year, going into a new year is to take stock of all of my WIP's (Works in Progress). What projects am I carrying into the new year to work on? Do I still like them? Do I want to finish them? Are they languishing? If so, why? Things like that.
So in that spirit, I think it is time to figure out what all I have on the needles at the end of this year and what should stay, what should go and go from there.

I will try to include pictures where appropriate - eeep!

1. Sockhead hat for me
2. Sockhead hat for AW
3. 2 Unfinished baby bibs (just need seaming, go figure)
4. Baby Vertebrae for EH
5. Birthday Baby Cardigan
6. Warm Heart Baby Vest
7. Longline Cardigan for Me (handspun sweater)
8. Slinky Scarf
9. Road to Home 3rd sock
10. Fenweh Socks (Inverness colorway)
11. Coddiwopple Socks
12. Rendezvous Socks
13. My Very Own Sock Design
14. Skyline Socks
15. Raven is the New Black Socks
16. Ankle socks that have a too-tight bind off
17. Blue Rose City Rollers
18. A myriad of sock tubes in various stages of completion

The sad thing is that the larger portion of these items have been on the needles longer than just this past year. I just didn't get much knitting done this year - some hats, mitts, cowls, and a couple of sweaters for L. but not nearly as many things or as much progress as I have done in previous years.
The hard part is deciding what I want to devote more time to and what I want to just frog and move on from. There are so many things on my list that I want to get to & create that it can be difficult to devote that finishing time to old projects. But on the other hand, I hate the idea of frogging something that has a lot of time put in on it because it feels like that time was then wasted. For the moment I don't think anything will hit the frog pond. I'm such a weird mix of process & product knitter. Which are you?

In addition to these projects that are on the needles, I have a couple floating around in my head that I would really like to work on. In general these are included in my goal list for 2020.

• I purchased the yarn to make a sweater for L. I made multiple sweaters for her last year but she's a kid so she grows quickly. I would like to make her the Fiona by Novel Reed. It is a fun sweater that is made of cotton so that it mimics your favorite pair of jeans in that way that they are just comfortable to throw on any time.
• I also have a pair of socks for L that I'd like to get to. She loves to dye yarn and did an experiment with a sock blank that we want to see how it knits up. That has been here waiting for quite a while.
• A couple of design ideas are floating around in my head and I would like to play with them. Perhaps I could create a pattern or two and upload them here on the blog.
• And I really want to knit through the baby designs book I posted about the other day. There are quite a few items in there that are just adorable.

My official 2020 knitting goals list at the moment is:

1. Knit from the baby knits book.
2. Knit socks for me.
3. Knit L's socks from her sock blank.
4. Knit my handspun sweater.
5. Knit Lil's cotton sweater.
6. Work some colorwork projects.
7. Try steeking.
8. Knit an aran weight sweater from my BMFA purple yarn.
9. Choose & Complete Make, Bake, Sew, Grow items early.

Try, try, try again...right?

Another year has come and gone and so here I sit contemplating my focus for the new year. For some reason, it has been put on my heart to revive this blog (what?!) and to try to utilize it for tracking my knitting.
The past year has been hard on my knitting progress with all that has happened. So perhaps reviving the blog will also revive my knitting mojo! I have so many friends with new babies or babies on the way that I am hoping to get a lot of baby knitting in soon. So much so that I purchased a new book full of baby patterns even though I had destashed a ton of knitting books at the beginning of the year. Crazy-sauce!
This is the book - it has so many cute baby patterns!

I may have gone a little overboard the first time I looked through the book. I have already picked out yarn for many of the patterns in it. I have made one of the bib patterns multiple times and have one of the cute sweaters cast on as well. Hopefully, I can get some decent pictures of some of it soon and post them.

In addition to baby knitting, I am also hoping to get back to some of my sock knitting and maybe get my handspun sweater moving along as well. So stick around. I have come up with some knitting, spinning & possibly design goals for 2020 and popped them in on the left side of the blog. Feel free to keep me honest and help me stay on track accomplishing some creating!!

Here we go again....

A new year, new goals or resolutions, etc. So I guess now is as good as any time to try to make a go of the blogging again. I was enjoying it while I was doing it before but as with all things, life sometimes gets in the way.

So, what's new this year? Well over the past year we have moved, acquired angora bunnies, more chickens, goats and a livestock guardian dog. Things are going quite well. Here's to a wonderful year to come full of blessings and love.

On the knitting front - last year did not feel like a very productive year. Between the move and just getting things back to "normal" it seemed like I never had a lot of time to devote to knitting. I am hoping to remedy that this year. To start that in the right direction I have been making sure to spin at least 10 minutes each day so far (yay!!!) and I am trying to get some handknit wool mittens on my kiddos hands. Baby Girl has a pair, Darling Hubby has a pair, Oldest Son has a pair and I just tonight finished a pair for Son #3. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to cast on a pair for Son #2. Then just the Baby Boy and myself. It's a start at least. Unfortunately all this quick knitting to make up dense fabric is making my wrists a bit sore. So a bit of a break tonight and then "onward Ho!"

On other needles...I am starting a swatch for a sweater for me! Yes, you read that right, a sweater for me. It will be a first. Here's hoping it turns out nicely! I am planning to knit Cassis by Thea Colman. I purchased some very lovely Blue Moon Fiber Arts Gaea in the Smoke on the Water colorway, a very beautiful and moody purple. I love purple. It is my most favorite color in the world. I hope to get the swatch knit, washed and blocked tomorrow so as to cast on for the Cassis soon. Both my mom and a friend have agree to knit-a-long with me on it. The friend, M, has already started hers. She is a wicked fast knitter who does gorgeous items. I can't wait to see hers. Hopefully it will prompt me to keep plugging along at what is sure to be a very long project.

In the mean time I have no doubt there will be other things on the needles as well. A sweater will eventually get to be just way too big to be purse knitting. In that vein I have decided to participate in the  Stockinette Zombies Self-Striping KAL. Every month that I knit a project with self-stiping yarn (doesn't have to just be socks!) I get an entry into a giveaway. Maybe this will help me both use up some of my fingering weight yarn and also actually make some socks for ME.

The first pair of socks I want to cast on is the Partying it UP and Getting DOWN socks by Megan Williams of Stockinette Zombie fame. I plan to cast on with some yummy new yarn I purchased of late, Twisted Fiber Arts self-striping yarn in the Lagoon colorway AND in the Warlock colorway. I could not decide if I want to do the Toe up version of the sock pattern or the cuff down. So I have decided to first do the toe up, one in each colorway. Then next month (or whenever I get the first pair done) I shall knit the cuff down version in each colorway. Then I will have two pairs of socks. Who knows, maybe it will keep it interesting or maybe I am fooling myself.

Soon I need to consider some baby items for knitting as well. My sister & I have a friend who just this year had a baby girl! So pretty, babies are just the sweetest things.  I would like to make them something. Then coming up very soon I have a local friend who is expecting a baby (they are keeping mum as to baby's gender) and I would love to make a little something for their special bundle of joy as well.

That would be a not-so-quick update on the happenings in my knitting world these days.
Hope things are going well in your neck of the woods and that you are starting off what will turn out to be a wonderfully blessed year for you and yours!

~Rhonnie

Poor Bea...

Well I guess that didn't work out so well did it? So very very sorry about the posts that were not.
I simply must make a time for it! I guess everything is that way though isn't it.

Well a quick update on some of my projects...

Bea the Basement monster is no more...Holding the yarn double to knit at such a tight gauge really made my arm hurt worse. SO sad. Perhaps Bea will be reincarnated at another time in a smaller gauge with only a single strand instead of two stands. Goodbye Bea...we will miss you!

On other notes, happier note....notes that slide up & down the scale....
Oh wait, not music, knitting. Yes...I have done lots of other projects while Bea languished in the knitting bag.
If you are looking for a quick cowl to knit up for a gift (or a gift to yourself), Bella's Cowl is a nice one. Looks great and is super fast! I have done 3 of these so far this year. I think I have reached my limit though!
I test knit a hat for a fellow raveler as well. That was fun! My first time doing owl cables.
So lots of things have been going on.
I have NOT been doing well with my goals so far this year. I have been knitting from my stash quite a bit but I have a TON of projects on the needles and I've been buying more than I ought.
SO this coming weekend is Madrona Fiber Festival - I am heading to that with a friend! Yay!
And after that I will work harder at being good!

If I don't get a chance to write between now and then I should be able to get back into the habit of writing regularly. I have lots of spinning to share with you all soon.

I have not vanished...

Honest, I have not gone away! I have just had a lot of stuff going on - and been getting a bit of knitting.
I will try to get a couple of posts in this week. I have much to share.
I hope that you are all well and enjoying your crafts!!