The Destiny Manifest

Knitwise

Knitwise, I've got lots of works-in-progress going on... and a few finished things too, though not as many as I'd like. I've got lots of things in queue that I want to knit so it's my goal to wrap up the WIP socks over the next week or so. We'll see if it happens...

Crusoe Socks for Me Lorna's Laces Sock in Andersonville Finished!	Outside In Socks for Me Cherry Tree Hill Sock in Foxy Lady One Down, One to Go!
Circle Socks for Addah Paton's Kroy Sock in Tutti Frutti Finished!	Charade Socks for Lakin Paton's Kroy Sock in Winter Eclipse One Down, One to Go!
Mermaid Socks for Me Lorna's Laces Sock in Andersonville Frogged... too tight!	Ribbed Socks for Chris Paton's Stretch Sock in Taffy One Down, One to Go!

The links are all for Ravelry pages, so if you don't have an account... go make one! It's pretty much the end-all be-all of knitting sites. :)

Wayne

Meet Wayne the friendly sea anemone!

Wayne is one of my original creations, hand-knit from bright, cheerful apple green cotton blend yarn with inquisitive orange safety eyes. He is about 14" across and 12" tall. He is not intended for children under the age of 3, but he would make a great companion for an older child or adult and he can even double as a comfy pillow!

Wayne is for sale at etsy... go check him out there and if he makes you smile, perhaps you'll consider letting him come live with you. ;)

Knitting To-Do List

I'm trying to go through my knitting and get it somewhat organized. I've got unfinished projects that have been sitting untouched for far too long and they're starting to make me feel crazy. I have new things I want to make but I promised myself I'd wrap up old before starting new... so here we go.

To Finish:
* Seam up mitered square blanket and add a border.
* Finish Isabel's baby blanket (she'll be 1 in April, jeesh I am slack)
* my Susie hoodie (preferably before it's no longer cold)
* Mama's socks (almost to the heel on the second one, so these are close to done)
* Finish the girls' sea anemone (need more yarn, will get on Friday)
* Weave in ends on my new clapotis
* Weave in ends on Craig's birthday washcloths
* Rethink the length on the "King Blanket"... I have a Queen size bed... I think the King-ness of it is a little too much, not to mention that it's never going to get done at this rate.)

Next up:
* Jaywalker socks for me (the pair I have now are so comfy but getting worn... need more)
* Baby sweaters/socks/hats/stuff for Hilary & Jesse's baby-to-be
* Socks for Chris (maybe worsted weight for boot socks?)
* More socks for me... I'm wearing out all of my old ones and I hate wearing store-bought socks.

Ideally, I'd like to finish the "To Finish" stuff by the middle of February, but certainly by the end. That's a month, 38 days away. That's totally do-able.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

I finished L's mini-Monkey socks last night and she tried them on today and pronounced them "perfect". :)

These socks are modified from the Monkey pattern by Cookie A. I made my own and L wanted a matching pair. I had enough yarn but knew that I'd have to change the pattern. The original Monkey chart is 16 stitches across and L's socks needed to be 48 stitches around, so I centered the charts on the front and back and added 8 knit stitches to the sides. Add in the picot top edge and I think they look pretty darn cool! :)

Pattern: modified Monkey by Cookie A (see above for details)
Yarn: Sunshine Yarns - Spring colorway
Needles: size 3 Addi Turbos

Hey monkey

Well I'm all messed up
That's nothing new
Hey monkey, when you open up your blue eyes,
I don't know if I'm wide awake or dreaming
But all I ever need is everything

from "Monkey" by Counting Crows

I finished my Monkey socks last night and I love them! Beautiful color, beautiful pattern, beautiful fit on my foot. I actually followed the pattern as written on these socks, because as much as I hate to say it, I don't think my toe-up/short row heel socks fit as well as top-down/turned-heel socks do. I might need to try Wendy's toe-up/turned-heel pattern... but I digress.

The Monkey socks rock! I memorized the pattern by the third repeat so I didn't have to keep referring to my printout. I did Cara's modifications -- a picot edge top (which I adore) and only 4 repeats of the chart before the heel. I wouldn't want them any taller and am 100% pleased with these socks.

Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A
Yarn: Sunshine Yarns - Spring colorway
Needles: size 3 Addi Turbos

A Meme for Joyce

1. Is it about the finished item or about the process of knitting? Some of both?  Has your focus changed one direction or the other over time?

Most of the time, I'm just knitting to be knitting. I don't care if it fits, don't care if I have to frog it in the long run, don't care if I have no one to gift it to. I just want to be making, doing, creating, using a specific yarn, whatever. The process of knitting to stay sane has become much more important to me than having a perfect knitted item.

Of course there are other times, rarely, I have a project that I just really want to finish... a cardigan for my daughter, a pair of socks for myself, a Christmas present for someone. Example... at the moment I'm knitting Monkey socks for myself. I won't wear them until fall, but I want them done. I want to try them on, cross them off my list, finish them.

Now once that pair is done, there is a high likelihood that I will cast on for another pair in a different yarn and this time, take my time with them... enjoy the process.

2. How do you view mistakes?  Do you think they give your project character?  Is it important to have one, as my Aunt says, because only God is perfect?  Or would you rip all the way back to row 5 of your husband's finished sweater knit on size 3 needles to eradicate a mistake no one else would notice?

I don't like having glaring mistakes. I would and have ripped out an entire project over a flaw that I couldn't fix and couldn't get past. If I know it's there and it's obvious, it's going to annoy me to the point that I would never use said item. Now, if it's teeny tiny and in an inconspicuous spot, then eh, who cares?

3. Would you rather knit a project that is comfortable for your skill level, or do you prefer a challenge that requires you to figure out new things?

Both, depends on my mood, the yarn, the intended recipient... position of the moon. ;) Most of the time, I like things to be just outside of my comfort zone. Not so far as to induce a migraine but not so easy as to be boring.

4. What is something you really want to make but haven't yet?  What holds you back?  Is it money, skill level, time, fear of the unknown or something else?

I want to make Rogue but it wouldn't fit me and I have no one to gift it to, so I will likely never make it. I'd like to make a sweater for myself but I can't find a pattern that I think would flatter my body, and even if I did, egads would it take a lot of yarn. I want to make a mitered blanket for my bed, but I cannot possibly afford that much Takhi Cotton Classic. Money, for the most part, inhibits all of my dreams.

Rave for Ravelry!

So... Ravelry. I kept hearing how it was so fabulous, a great place to keep track of your knitting projects, yarn stash, patterns, needles, yada yada yada. So I went on over and added my name to the waiting list, figuring it couldn't possibly be as cool as everyone said, but what the heck. I'm nothing if not a follower, ya know?

Last week I received my invitation and guess what y'all? It's even more fabulous than everyone said it was. No seriously, it really is.

If you're a knitter and you haven't yet signed up for the Ravelry waiting list, get thyself over there and do it now. If you need further convincing, take a look at this collection of screenshots that Jessica & Casey put together. Eliz... Joyce... this means you. Go sign up. ;)

Here's me... http://www.ravelry.com/people/eatherhaelo

Mr. Art Snake

I knit this Mr. Art Snake from 100% cotton.... he's just a smidge over 9 feet long (took over an hour to stuff him!) and will be suspended over the double doors of Stone Academy's art room.

In the picture, he's coiled on Eric's computer monitor at school. I was up there yesterday for a meeting so I took Mr. Art Snake and stuck him in there so Eric will see him first thing when he comes in next week after spring break. :)

Knit Pumpkin

I made a knit pumpkin for L's 5k teacher a couple weeks ago and they loved it. L asked me to make one for her art teacher as well and I was happy to do so (he's a really nice and super talented guy; I'm one of his volunteers). :)

Size: 6 inches tall and maybe 14 inches around
Pattern: Loosely based on Marnie's pumpkin pattern -- this one is quite a bit bigger. It retains the k4p1 wide rib combined with my own special recipe for the vine and twisted stem 
Yarn: Red Heart Soft acrylic in orange, green & brown
Needles: size 7 Susan Bates circulars

Custom Knucks

These knucks are for my dear friend and say "BABY WINS" at her request. I used Fearless Fibers yarn that my friend bought and had sent to me, it's DK weight alpaca and wool. I have a ton of it left over to send back to my friend -- seriously, I could probably make another 2 pairs out of what's left.