MAYARN

getting things done

On my Ravelry projects page, I currently have 8 projects marked as WIPs. Yes, you read that right--8. But honestly, I don't think that number is accurate; I think I currently have more like 10 or 11 WIPs. It's gotten to the point where I have so many unfinished projects, it's stressing me out.

I tend to be more of a product crafter than a process crafter--when I start making something, it's almost always because I want to have or give the thing I am making. Don't get me wrong, I usually love the process too, but the product is my motivation. So why do I have all these languishing unfinished objects? They need to get done so I can actually have/give the thing I was pursuing via craft in the first place. I admit it—I haven't really enjoyed working on any of my projects lately because I have all this unfinished business hanging over my head. But I'm working on it. I'm tying up loose ends in hopes that eventually knitting (and crochet) will be all about the fun again.

The happy news is, two of those WIPS can move into the finished category on Ravelry and enter to my winter wardrobe rotations:

Endpaper mits by Eunny Jang
Rowan 4-ply soft
US 2 & 0

These were really fun to knit (even though I let them languish for months--started in December 07). And even though the tubular cast on and off were sort of fiddly, I adore the end result and was happy to learn this new-to-me technique. If you haven't done color work before, these are a great first project. The pattern is interesting, yet not too complicated. You can even reach a point of memorizing the pattern, which always makes things more fun.

Next up...

Feather and Fan Scarf by Wendy Knits
Socks That Rock, medium weight, agate colorway
US 5

I think feather and fan is the perfect pattern for verigated, hand-dyed yarns like STR. The mixture of garter stitch and the fan pattern distributes the color just so. If you hate pooling, you will love the result--no pooling to be seen. No flashing really, either. At first I worried this colorway, which I was ga-ga for in the hank-form, looked too rainbow-y for my taste when knit up. I got over that pretty quickly. I see this getting more than its share of wear.

Two down. But there is much left to be done. I hope I have another reason or two for show-and-tell soon...

getting it right

Pattern: February Lady Sweater by Flint Knits
Yarn: Brooks Farm Mas Acero (not positive about colorway, but I don't think it's on their website)
Needles: US7
Size: Smallest

I break the month long silence to bring you this: a spanking-new Finished Object! Meet the February Lady Sweater. I started her right after the olympics sweater was done and finished her up in about a month (thanks, Ravelry, for helping me know this for sure). The pattern was so easy to follow, the lace easy to memorize, and I'm over the moon for the no-finishing construction. Seriously--I just weaved in about 8 ends, sewed on some buttons, and then all it needed was a good blocking. I was wearing it to work the Monday after I finished it!

Speaking of buttons, let me tell you--this couldn't have worked out any more perfectly. If you've been around the blog, you may remember me asking for help with choosing buttons for my Olympics sweater. As it turns out, the rejected blue buttons surprised me and matched this sweater to a T. Man, was I thankful that a) I didn't have to make another trip to the overwhelming button store and b) these gorgeous (and accordingly expensive) buttons found such a comfortable home. I'm so so so happy about this.

Let's talk about this yarn, Brooks Farm Mas Acero. A blend of superwash wool, silk, and nylon, it is supremely lofty and squishy, not too soft, not too rough. It's a light worsted, but it still worked great for this project (the pattern calls for a worsted; I just went down a needle size). And I have a ton left over--probably enough to make a couple hats or maybe even a scarf. I am learning that I prefer yarns like Mas Acero--especially for sweaters. I overheat too easily in pure wool or alpaca. And I admit, as much as I love fondling buttery soft yarn at the yarn store, I don't really love wearing it next to my skin. I don't necessarily want scratchy-scratchy, but I don't want cashmere either, you know? It's hard to explain.

However, it's NOT hard to explain how much I LOVE this sweater:

I'll be back again soon with more FOs, a Rhinebeck recap (it's next weekend!) and, eventually, the debut of a certain "secret" project...