Projects

I've never been good at sitting idle. My hands need to be doing things, and if not given a productive task to do, will find something with which to occupy themselves quite on their own. Their favorite thing to do is snapping and unsnapping pen caps, or snap fasteners, or zippers, or the blades of my swiss army knife... anything which makes a small repetitive noise that drives normal people crazy. I repeat though, they have to: if they were to just lie still, my nerve condition would creep back into them and cause them to hurt. Kind of like a shark can't stop swimming or it'll suffocate and die. Anyway.

The result of this need to fidget is projects. Although I can't yet spin without carefully watching my progress, knitting and crochet have become back-of-the-mind, reflexive actions for me. When knitting before bed, as I often do, it isn't unusual for me to wake from a doze to find that I've completed another several rounds in my sleep! It takes no attention at all, anymore. So, I knit while riding in cars or trains, or while walking around. I knit while hanging out with friends, during mealtimes when I've finished eating, and even in lectures at school. In fact, it's very rare to find me without something to knit nearby. It's just a natural thing for me to do. And it's a lot of knitting - I pump out incredible amounts of needlework during the average week. I'm always finishing up something or other... and I'm always starting something new.

Right now, I can count four spinning projects (with several more planned), five knitting, and one crochet. That's a pretty typical spread, for me. After all, I've got to have take-along projects, challenging projects, ones to do for relaxation, or when my nerves are acting up. They each fill a need. I try to keep them few enough to list... And now, I suppose, I'll tell you about them.

Current Knits

The Take-Along
Currently, my take-along is a pair of socks for my dad. He's requested black, 6-inch legs, and minimal patterning. It's slow, tough going - I'm using too-small needles, so that the fabric will be dense and durable - but I can see progress, now and then.

Simplicity
My simple project is a custom-designed, basic raglan. It came about because I just couldn't find a simple, scale-able raglan pattern, and I wasn't satisfied with any of the instructions for designing your own. I wanted to be able to input my gauge, any desired finished measurements (neckline, arm circ., body circ., etc.) and get out a finished, seamless pattern in the round with sensible numbers and stitch counts. So... I made one. In Excel. And this is the product. It's wonderful tv- or conversation-knitting, since I'm on the body, which is pure stockinette. I think for the next one, I'll incorporate cables around the raglan lines or sleeves.

The Baby Blanket
Baby blankets are always good to have on hand. This one is pink, garter stitch on the diagonal, with a three-stitch garter border. It's also tv-or conversation-knitting, because can you really have too many of those?

The Challenge
A girl can get pretty bored with garter, stockinette and socks, so this slot is for something heavily patterned. And I do mean heavily. It could be drenched in cables, but this one is lace... a shawl, actually. You can find it on ravelry, named "Regrowth." I love the progression of lace patterns! It's a gorgeous, gorgeous piece of knitting design. This is somewhat of a larger project than I'd normally choose for this spot, but I did really like it, and I've never actually knit a shawl before. I'll need 60" size 5's before too long, though.

The start of this two-year
adventure.

The Accomplishment

Something big. Something to be proud of. Usually a 6-months to a year project. In this case, a light, worsted-lace blanket for my bed, for use when it's too hot for the comforter but too cool for just a sheet. It's very nearly done - I started it sophomore year, 2009, and I'm betting I'll finish it this year. 

The Yarns-In-Progress

The Lark, of Vera and Rosewood, and a bit of the first
rouge batt, artistically framed in a shaft of light

The Socks
6 1oz batts from the Cupcake Fiber Company, a lovely red-orange called "rouge" in a panda blend (superwash merino wool, bamboo, and nylon, 60/30/10). This fiber is simply delicious. I'm spinning it up on my Jenkins' lark, one ounce at a time, in between the hemp for vacation. Three each of the six batts will be spun up into singles and combined in a three-ply, so I'll end up with two, three-ounce skeins of (hopefully) sock yarn. We'll see. I'm betting this'll end up either as lovely soft mitts, or as slouchy socks. Either way, I'm gonna love it.

The Stormy Lace

This is for mom... I'm spinning it up on my first turkish spindle, a ThreadsThruTime tiny in Mora and Canarywood. I don't think I'll buy another one of these, but I do still use it for spinning. It means having to wind off rather than disassemble like a turkish should, because the head knob doesn't fit back down through a full cop... but the weight is right, and the spinning is pleasant enough. It's 4oz of a panda blend by Mad Color Fiber Arts, colorway "tempest." It'll certainly be sock yarn, most likely chain-plied to preserve the color shifts.

ThreadsThruTime Tiny in Mora and Canarywood,

wearing some of the "tempest."

The Hippie
As noted before, I'm spinning hemp! It's Ashland Bay hemp, from ThreadsThruTime. I've dyed it blue-green using tie-dye dyes meant for cotton, but it stuck... although, it's spinning up much more "mint" than I had intended. Spinning hemp is weird. It doesn't have the memory or stretch of wool, and it isn't as floppy as cotton - it's just stiff, once spun. It doesn't kink up on itself unless it's draped very loosely, and it'll hold the kink of the half-hitch that holds it on the shaft of the turkish. I'm looking forward to seeing what it's like finished, but I'm sure it'll be like nothing I've worked with before.

The Heather

The Kuchulu, in Vera and Rosewood,
wearing a silk sample in the sunlight.
It's positively tiny.

This one's on the Jenkins' kuchulu, and spinning up into a laceweight single. The fiber was a gift sent along with a larger purchase from the Sheep Shed Studio, in copper, black and white, but as it's spun it's combining into the most beautiful dark brown heather ever. It reminds me of leaf litter in the forest, but in a good way. I have to spin this stuff slowly, so it'll last... I don't know what I'll do when I run out.

My Crochet

The Star

When it's done, this one'll weigh 4 lbs. That's because it's done in two skeins of Caron One Pound at a time, alternating colors between "lace" and "bone" every two rounds, and I have two skeins of each color. That enough two's for ya? It's Lyn's Round Ripple Baby Afghan on Ravelry, although because I'm me, I had to modify the pattern at least a little. Rather than doing two rounds of large shells and two of small, I'll be doing one of each, repeatedly - that's so the repeats for each color will look the same. It's another long term project, but that's okay - sometimes I just miss crocheting, and this'll be nice to be able to come back to.

Well, and that's my projects for now, folks. Pictures and completion announcements will surely be forthcoming... eventually. 

"Idle Hands are the Devil's Workshop."