The importance of GOOD notes!

First an update on my goals for this year. I finished the sweater for my coworker's daughter. She loved it and it prompted her sister to ask for one, too!

Emerald Lilies-of-the-Valley of May shawl has been frogged and restarted. I am making a half-pi shawl utilizing the charted patterns from Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn Clark as the lace sections of this half-pi. So far so good.

Not the best photo and before blocking!

I have also completed two projects from my bag of stash. A couple from my church has been very helpful to me over the last couple of years. I recently realized that I had never made anything for them. Soooo ... I made a pair of socks from Patons Kroy Sock in the Gentry Grey colorway for the husband and made a cowl and mitts set for the wife out of Knit Picks Palette in the Whirlpool colorway. Both turned out well.

Now for what I learned in the last week. Make good notes! It makes it so much easier to pick up a project that has been hiding for awhile if you do. This example is actually a positive example this week.

Following my goals for this year, I picked up the Fire and Ice cardigan out of my WIP's (Works In Progress) pile and started to work on it. Because I had kept good notes, I was able to just pick it up, see where I was and start to knit. Really good feeling!

Since picking it back up, I have finished the yoke and divided for the sleeves. I will be steeking this sweater to make a cardigan. I love the colors I chose at the beginning of the project. I have always loved bold color choices with neutrals or contrasts. My dad used to tease me that my clothes were battery operated.

The knitting on this sweater should go easily now that I have most of the colorwork out of the way. We will see!

In the mean time, keep on knitting and learning!

I'm Back!

It has been a long time since I updated this blog. One of my goals this year is to update it at least once a month. We will see how this goes.

This year I thought I would share some of my goals for knitting and use this space as a way to keep myself accountable. Along the way, I would also include what I have been learning as I knit my way through the year.

First, 2016 goals!

• Blog once a month
• Knit from stash as much as possible
• Complete several projects that have been languishing on the needles *The ones with links have photos
• Fire and Ice Sweater
• Emerald Lilies of the Valley
• Wraiths on Wings
•  Alma Mater Flare Legwarmers
• Spiral Shawl
• Knit a Christmas present for each member of my sister's family
• Birthday presents for my coworker's children
• I also filled a big bag with yarn for future projects (all from stash)

Because I want to go to a fiber related event later this summer I am trying to only buy what I need to complete Christmas and Birthday presents.

Now on to something I learned

I am making the Parcel pullover by Carol Feller as a birthday present for one of my coworker's children. I have made it before in a smaller size yarn as a cardigan for myself. This time I am using a yarn I have worked with before from Lanas Stop, Extra Merino. It is a wool and acrylic blend that allows for machine washing. What I learned this time was that even machine made yarns do have dye lots. This is something I know from working with hand dyed yarns and sort of knew was true of some pure wool yarns. However, I learned this lesson, always buy enough to finish your project in the same dye lot and you can´t always use your leftovers from a former project even if they are the same yarn and same color. I have it all straightened out now. I am just happy that they had extra skeins in the same color. Next time ...!

That is all for this time but I will try to keep you up to date on the projects in my bag and on my WIP list. Until next time, keep knitting and learning!