Episode 006 (Nairobi Railway Museum, Kenya)

Finished ObjectsKALOriginal DesignsPodcast

Dec 31

Written By

Recorded on Sunday, December 27, 2015Thank Yous

swamphens2 in Western Australia, found through NH Knits podcast
lovebytheskein, Chelsea, found through NH Knits podcast
Bostonjen, Jen from Boston of the Down Cellar Studio podcast
krisluvswool, Kristi of the In a Sknit podcast
jennsheelen, Jenn of jennsheelen.com
blessedspeedy, Dianne in Australia
Yarnderwoman, Melinda in Western Australia of the Yanderwoman podcast
heylucy in San Diego, for encouragement to spin for socks - take a look at hers!
LilliputYarn, Crystal in Portland, Oregon - here's her Etsy shop
ChristianCrafter, Tiffany in Maryland, for Death Watch Beetle yarn leftovers (Unwind Yarn Company Journey Sock (80% superwash merino/20% nylon))
allichka

FOs

Minions Hat by Lauren Irving (free on Ravelry) in:
- Cascade 220 Superwash (100% Wool in colors 846 (light blue) and 824 (yellow))
- Cascade 220 (100% Wool in color 8010 (natural))
- Berroco Vintage (52% Acrylic/40% Wool/8% Nylon in Dark Denim)
- Caron Simply Soft Eco (discontinued, 80% Acrylic/20% Polyester in Chocolate)
- Caron Simple Soft Solids (100% Acrylic in Grey Heather)
Pi Shawl by Elizabeth Zimmerman
I-cord bind-off

WIPs

Simple Cable Socks by me ($3 on Ravelry) in Filatura Lanarosa Bamboo Socks (60% wool/25% bamboo/15% nylon in colorway 6) with U.S. size 1 (2.25 mm) needles
Christmas Day Cast-on: Brandilyn by Quenna Lee ($4.99 on Knit Picks website) in Knit Picks Lindy Chain yarn (70% linen/30% cotton (I said 20% cotton , but that doesn't add up!), chocolate colorway) on U.S. size 5 (3.75 mm)

Design Notebook

New shawl design in Knitting Boutique Sassafrass DK (60% merino/40% bamboo (I said 30% bamboo - what is it with me not being able to add when recording this episode?!) in Talc colorway)
If you are interested in test-knitting, please contact me! You must be able to knit a 16-18" x 60" cabled shawl in a month and give me a weekly status update. Skills: provisional cast-on, cables. Need 760 yards DK yarn. Shawl is designed for solid-colored DK, but willing to let people test in other color schemes or worsted, if desired. Looking for some testers to work from written out directions and some to work from charts.
Thread where you can volunteer

Spinning

Hobbledehoy hand-painted top braid (60% merino/30% bamboo/10% nylon, one-of-a-kind colorway: Seafoam)
Hobbledehoy hand-painted top braid (80% merino/20% Tussah silk, one-of-a-kind colorway: Dialogue)

Woolpiggery

Into the Whirled Luxe Spinning Fiber Club
Custom Socks: Knit to Fit Your Feet by Kate Atherley - free on Kindle Unlimited
Why Handknit Sock Fit is So Important
Oh, Valencia
Fitzcarraldo Knee Socks

Year in Review

Total 2014 FOs: 26
Total 2015 FOs: 42 (will be 43 with Simple Cable Socks). Of those:
- 40 were started and finished in 2015 and only 3 started before 2015
- 4 were brand-new original designs: Sailor's Warning Cowl, Carpool Hat, Four Points Socks, and Skein Watch Socks (plus another that hasn't been published yet)
- 13 were for me, 9 were gifts for immediate family members, 15 were gifts for other people, 3 were for charity, and 3 went into a design pile
- Breakdown by item type:
  - 12.5 pairs of adult socks, 1 pair of baby socks
  - 5 ornaments
  - 4 adult hats and 4 baby/kid hats
  - 2 adult sweaters and 3 baby sweaters
  - 3 cowls
  - 2 pairs of mittens
  - 2 shawls
  - 2 dishcloths
  - 1 baby blanket
  - 1 Christmas stocking
2015 Goals, Part 1 and Part 2
- Spin More: I bought a new Ashford Kiwi 2 and did a few test bits of fiber, then jumped into real spinning. I spun way more than I did last year, but I still wish it had been more. Grade: B.
- Knit with Some of My Handspun: Fail, fail, fail. I did say I was going to knit a sweater out of some fiber I already had spun up, but I apparently missed the fact that it's only half the yardage I'd need for a sweater. I thought about striping it and tried to figure out what I wanted to do (maybe a chocolate brown?), but no dice. Maybe it needs to become a Custom Fit vest. Grade: D- (because I *at least* tried to pick a sweater to knit...)
- Complete the "My Library" section of Ravelry: I did this! I even entered the vintage patterns that Ravelry doesn't recognize, as best I could. Grade: A
- Participate in a Knit-a-Long: Done, repeatedly! Grade: A
- Continue Designing: Grade: A
- Continue the Blog: Grade: A
- Try Different Heels: I did the Fish Lips Kiss Heel, the OMG Heel, and the Balbriggan Heel out of Sock Architecture by Lara Neel. Grade: A