Two weeks in!

We are now two weeks into 2014!
Which means that my leave is up, and I went back to work this morning. Which involved a heartbreaking moment, in which I had to put my son back in his crib before heading upstairs to get ready. That wasn't the heartbreaking part, though.
When his arms turned into little vise grips, and he clutched at my neck with all his strength, and started sobbing in protest as if to say "No Mommy don't go!!" ...yeah, that part made me start to cry a little. And then I started to count how many days I have left before my obligation to Uncle Sam is up...(326, in case you were curious.)

But anyways.
I did manage to knit & crochet up a storm during my time at home (nap times are awesome for crafting!), and I can officially mark the book Pacific Knits as done, as I've now completed three patterns from it (which is actually one more than I require to consider it "done.")(Except I'm not actually "done," since I have a cousin who is expecting and I am totally knitting another sweater from this book as a shower gift.)(Plus I kind of really want to knit myself an Antler cardigan.)
Anyway, what exactly did I knit?
Well, I made the Campfire pullover for Clinton:

Not the greatest photo, I know. It's horribly over-exposed. But it's also the only photo he's let me get! This boy runs circles around me (and Tim. And the cats.)
But you can still see the lovely Fair Isle pattern (my first experience doing stranded colorwork! Woo-hoo!) and the awesome shawl collar that Tim dislikes so much. (I agree that this isn't a style I would buy in a store...but really, it looks so cute on him!)

Anyways, I know it's just morning in North America, but here in Japan it is getting very close to my bedtime, so I wish you all good-night!

It's December What? (weekend wind-up)

It's a bit late to be posting a Weekend Wind-up, but here I am anyway.

Today was the last day to ship to/from a Fleet Post Office and be sure that your package will arrive in time for Christmas.

Momma, I am sorry, I did not get yours out in time.

But I did manage to get all the hand-knit goodies for my 6(!) nieces & nephews in the post today.
I don't want to ruin the surprise, but I don't think any of them read this blog, so here's a little peek anyway:

I hope that 1) these fit and 2) they are liked. I will even be happy with one of the two.
Oh, and those pretty hats in the middle? Both of those came from Pacific Knits, which means that this particular book can be marked as "Complete" in my little project.
(What project? The one I decided to take on a few months ago, described in this post. I'm rather terrible about updating, though - really need to work on that!)

Of course...I might have totally added a few more patterns since then. The count is up to 1091. More to come on that.

I hope you are having a lovely holiday season!

Beekeeper's Obsession

So, I started knitting these:

And they are every bit as addicting as knitters on Ravelry lead you to believe.

In case you aren't familiar with hexipuffs, I invite you to check them out.

I decided to use the handy-dandy calculator to figure out how many hexipuffs I would need to make a twin-sized quilt. I figured, if I continually knit these for the next 17 years (which shouldn't be too hard), I should have enough to make a quilt for Clinton to take with him to college.
A 40"x80" quilt (which would just cover the top of an extra-long twin bed, which is standard-issue dorm furniture) will take 547 puffs.
There are five already made. In order to finish by my son's 18th birthday, I will need to knit approximately 32 each year. That's more or less 3 each month.
I think I can handle that.

Oh, but wait...we plan on having another baby (or two). And of course I'll need to make puffy quilts for them, as well. That's another 1094 hexipuffs. If I want to have them all completed at the same time, (and just keep the ones for my not-yet-conceived babies tucked away safe and sound until they graduate from high school,) I'll need to knit approximately 96 per year, or 8 per month. That's two per week.
I might still be able to do this, since I always have knitting with me at work for my breaks.

Hey, did I mention that I've had this pattern sitting in my library for a while? I can mark this one as completed :)

Weekend Wind-up

Well, I'm back from my two-week hiatus. And you know what? I managed to accomplish what I set out to do...and then some!

If you recall from this post, my challenge to myself was knitting two items that wrap around the neck.
They haven't been blocked yet, but that is due to weather in Sasebo, which has been switching between raining and very high winds. I can't use the floor inside for anything thanks to three cats and a crawling baby, so blocking has had to wait.
But here's the Common Bean:

And the Windsor Warmer:

And I also decided to make a sock monkey. It's crocheted, so not technically a sock monkey, but it's still handmade, which is better than the cheap piece of yuck that I saw on a friend's baby registry. (Yes, the sock monkey will be a shower gift. Along with a diaper cake, because I'm a show-off like that.)
His ears aren't sewn on yet, for some reason they've been giving me issues, but here he is:

Pretty neat, huh? But wait, there's more! Since the expectant friend is also planning to use cloth diapers, I had to knit her some diaper covers as well:

So there it is. Two weeks of yarnalicious activity!
The next two weeks are supposed to be dedicated to motifs. Hopefully I can do this!

Weekend wind-up

It's Labor Day Weekend, so I can post this on Monday instead of Sunday (which is good, because yesterday I really didn't have a chance to write this.)

I've been thinking, and knitting, and planning, and I think I have a method worked out.
For now, anyway.

Here's the schedule thus far:

September 1-14 – Neckwear

Common Bean
 I actually have this one mostly finished, I cast on yesterday and now I'm just 12 rows away from binding off.
I'm using Berocco Voyage (love this yarn!)

Windsor Warmer
 This one, I've done a gauge swatch, but my size 7 needle tips are attached to another project (along with the 40" cable), so I'm trying to decide how I want to go about it. I may just choose a different project.

September 15-28 – Granny Squares

Beyond the Square : 13 motifs (or, a motif each day with a day off)
The nice part about this, is that I already have seven motifs made from this book, so to"close" this book I only need to create 13 more. (Curious about the ones I've already made? Check them out here, here, here, and here.

September 29-October 12 – Hats

Hurricane Hat
 I have the perfect yarn for this, and it will become a Christmas gift for my Aunt Sue. The yarn is mainly purple, her favorite color.

Little Nutbrown Hare
 I will have to do some digging to find a sock yarn that is not "too girly" to knit this for Clinton. We have "Guess How Much I Love You," and it's also the theme of Clinton's baby book. So I have to knit it.

Ballyragget
 I bought the book, "Contemporary Irish Knits" by Carol Feller, and then gained an undisclosed amount of weight while pregnant. I am too big for most of the sweater patterns in it (which is a bummer,) but I can certainly make the accessories.

October 13-26 – Children's Sweaters

Lizzie's Little Hoodlum
 This is in progress. I'm stuck on the sleeves. I don't like knitting sleeves. They are really, really boring.

Link's Greyson
 I've made this pattern for Clinton, now his cousin will get one.

October 27-November 9 – Neckwear

Multnomah
 I would like to make this shawl because it is very pretty. And I have a lot of sock yarn, despite not knitting socks.

One-Skein Scarf
 To balance out a full-sized shawl knit in fingering weight, I need something quick and easy. Plus, I've had this book for years and so far I've not crocheted much from it. 


So that's the plan. Of course, this is all subject top change without notice. Especially since I may have to stop and make a Halloween costume, plus knit a baby gift for my pregnant coworker...
But that all just makes for more blogging material, so it's all good.

Enjoy the holiday weekend!

Upon further reflection...

...I'm not completely drowning in patterns. Which is a good thing.

How did I determine this? Well, I created a spreadsheet. And realized that my Barbara Walker books (which are simply stitch dictionaries) account for 148 patterns.

I realize that I should still count these in my endeavor, though, so here's what I'm going to do: From each chapter, I will knit a swatch. They may be useful someday, anyway.

I also happen to have two books of granny squares, accounting for another 198 patterns.
For these, I'm going to make 20 motifs. (This will be a little easier, since I've already made a few.)


Something else that I realized: There needs to be some sort of order to making my way through these, both so I don't get bored/frustrated/psychotic with doing just one thing, and also to make it more interesting to follow. Initially, I thought theme months were the way to go, but the idea of making countless gauge swatches for weeks at a time does not appeal to me. And weekly themes/challenges would only give me enough time in the case of hats and cowls.
Themed fortnights, on the other hand, sound great! I can keep at something for two weeks at a time, and it's enough time to finish a child's sweater, or make some serious progress on a me-sized item.

I'm working on cataloging my yarn stash right now, so hopefully I can sort things out and set up a schedule soon.