Another WIP, another stash busting project

Yes another stash busting project : Sourwood mitts to finish using the yarn I dig out of my stash while last test knitting for Lily my Kirstone. Not only it will goes beautifully with my brand new hat but it will be the perfect spring hat and mitts !

Pattern is really fun and it's knitting only when my daughter is sleeping,I don't know why, maybe because she want me to look at her which is very hard while doing this...

Bubbles again

I am knitting a Little Bubbles cardigan for Florence with the leftovers of the one I knitted for my niece Rosalie (2 points stash busting + using leftovers). I am only the color in a different order to make it look completely different from the first one. I hope to be done soon to be sure it will fit her... if you remember the size 6-12 was barely fitting her at 4 months and a half, now at almost 6 months I hope that the bigger size (12-24 months) will be just right for her.

I am already in the fourth of fifth bubble row when you read this so quick knit and this time I remember to weave in end not only at the end of the project.

Just need to shop for cute button... they don't count as stash huh?

I am addicted to yarn...

Do you know how much yarn you have hiding here and there ? Do you have plans for it or you buy without a idea of the pattern you would like to make with ? I am a serious knitter since somewhere in 2006 so close to 5 years of knitting for me ! I have a little under 100's projects listed on Ravelry (the few first one aren't listed since it's before Ravelry). I just wanted to know how bad my stash was and made some resolutions :

Here is what my stash look on my queen size bed

A lot, ...too much I would say... I definitely need to reduce my stash before we move later on this year.

Here is the plan :

1. List everything on Ravelry to know exactly what I got (almost there just need to upload my big bucks store purchases).

2. Knit from stash only with two exception I can buy yarn for a knitted gift but need to knit every bit of yarn now of for a test knit.

3. Finish WIP (project touch within 3 months).

4. Finish UFO (project untouched for more than 3 months).

5. Find project to knit for leftover.

I need to be completely honest it won't be easy as I love to buy yarn, but I have no choice, it's sleeping money in boxes ! Plus with a moving ahead it will only make a few boxes less to carry around.

The first box is full of fingering weight

I have a plan to help me out with that box...

Then box number 2 full of worsted, sport and bulky yarn

Then a third one is again full of brand new yarn... different weight

Then a box full of WIP and UFO

My big box's store bought yarn

The last box is very very full of leftovers

Whoa it's a lot !!!

and a little something left... a bag full of WIP and UFO...

OK be honest too and tell me that you also have an uncontrollable stash. I am not the first member of the YAA (yarn addict anonymous).

Hello, my name is Sophie and I am a yarn addict. I will work hard to reduce my stash and buy no more yarn until we move out of here and that I will have more place to store it. Plus I also promise not to buy yarn without a pattern in mind and find stash buster projects to use my leftover quickly.

First FO of 2011 !!!

and it's a fresh start for 2011 FO's, still I didn't finish blogging about last FO of 2010...but I am too busy to do all I have to do at the same time ! It's my test knit hat : Kirkstone by Lily Kate from Joli House. I had a good time test knitting for her and I really enjoy the final product too, clever construction and cables, all I need to be happy while knitting. Not much of a challenge but enough to keep me interested while knitting.

Here are the specs of my latest creation :

Pattern : Kirkstone by Lily Kate France

 

Yarn : Classic Elite Premiere in pale lavender colorway (maybe not the best choice to knit with cotton but I wanted a hat to wear at spring time) about 1.75 skein used.

Needles : 4mm

Mods : not really mods but a little error in the original pattern (that she corrected after)... I ended with different cable at the crown of 2 sts knit instead of 3, but it's look gorgeous anyway like that so I didn't mind rip it off and do it again. I said it's my personnal touch... they are not supposed to know anyway how it was mean to be huh?

 

I really did enjoy test knit for this cool designer and it was a charm to knit one of her design too ! She kindly offered me another of her design so I will be able to present another creation of her "collection" this year. Thanks again for choosing me to help you out with your new pattern !!!

Happy Birthday to me !

Yeah today it's my birthday and I wish to myself a lot of yarn and knitting time and also a healthy baby for all the year of my 27...I already had my birthday gift from her on January 2nd she said "Maman" for the very first time !!! I love her so much.

She already enjoy wearing handknit cardigan !! How lucky I am !

Working on test knitting

I have a new quick wip on needles since yesterday night : I am test knitting the new pattern of Lily France from Joli House : Kirstone. She is one talented young designer and I am very proud to test knit one of her design !!! I am already almost done with first repeat of the pattern and I truly enjoy this knit. I will also wear proudly the final product : a cute slouchy hat just how I like them.

Here is my progress so far with my little helper

Hopefully it will be soon my first FO of 2011 ! :)

FO : Proverbial Cap

Another FO that didn't make it to the net... bad me ! I did not even talk about all the yarn acquisition or anything like that. I was asked by my mother for a winter set to match her new winter coat, so here is the first item : this cute cap. Since we have barely no winter here in Quebec this year, it gives me time to knit her the other items... hahaha!

Sincerely, I have to admit that I am very behind on many points in the past few weeks and knitting is one of them ! The Christmas and New Year parties went in and out so fast I have not even realize it's already over for the first Christmas of my daughter... she have been totally spoiled! and she love to unwrap presents,that was very funny to let her rip out paper. I am not sure if we will be able to have a Christmas tree next year but since she still small we went crazy (especially my lover...) and bought a tree that is almost touching the ceiling !

Look this out

We all had a lot of presents and I got all I need to practice on my painting skills, which I am very very happy about. I wanted to do it for several years and N. got me the perfect kit to play with colors.So maybe I will present not only knitting but painting this year !

Back to the knitting concerns of the day : Proverbial Cap Specs

Pattern : Proverbial Cap by Meg Swanson (Interweave Knit Fall 2010)

Yarn : Wool of the Ande worsted by Knit Picks in Fairy Tales colorway (about 1.2 skein)

Needle : 3.5mm DPN

with my favorite model...

 

Comments : This hat is intended for a child of small adult, be careful to read about this to avoid making a hat too small for you ! I knit this for my mom and it have the perfect size for her. It doesn't cover the ears totally but since I said earlier I made this set according also to the mellow temperature we got this winter. When I saw the hat in my magazine I had to knit it anyway because of the cables. I love twisted stitches too. I used the second skein only for the crown decrease and made it a little longer because it was too short for my liking. I would have appreciate a bigger size explanation to be able to make one for me, but I think about doing one for my daughter by just making it shorter... :)

A new WIP ...

Back in France, I went to Bergere de France a few time (once a week to be exact...) and bought a cute little story book with 8 personages in it who take action. The best part you must have guess well : they are knitted !!! So I went a bit crazy and bought the whole thing to make all the dolls and I just begun the first one between Christmas and New Year holidays.

My first doll is Alice, a little pink princess, she is so cute and I truly enjoy knitting her. My plan is to make them all for my daughter first birthday on August 7Th. Yes she will be 5 months old on Friday ! My god, where times goes ?

Here a little preview of Alice

For those who want the same the book title is : Doudous au pays des merveilles.

FO : Little bubles cardigan for Rosalie

Last September, on the 17Th to be exact I became an aunt for the second time of a charming little girl named Rosalie. This little one is the second child of my brother and they have everything for her. So it was pretty difficult to find an idea of gift for her birth. I am a bit late with my post and gift too but I manage to knit an adorable little cardigan for her.

I choose from Knit picks in sale the Little Bubbles set in purple, it was under 10$ when I got it, just perfect ! I quickly cast on for the cardigan itself but since I did it just before we left for France,I didn't bring it so it slept in my knitting bag for about 5 weeks and at the beginning of December, I finally went around and finish it in a breeze. Super cute and adorable, but TONS of ends to weave in which is a bit annoying to me.

Here are the complete specs :

Pattern : Little Bubbles Baby Set Pattern by Nina Isaacson (available on Knit Picks website)

Yarn : Knit Picks Simply Cotton Sport

Needle : 3mm

Here it is modeled by Florence

I adore the buttons my mother found for the cardigan ! Rosalie is much smaller than Florence (she was born 40 days later) so it fit her just perfectly, I am very proud ! The 6-12 months size is barely a 6 months in regular clothing size, so be aware of it if you plan to knit this. I will try to see how much yarn I have left and maybe do the cardigan or the hat for Florence. Just repeat to myself weave in end often during the process to avoid procrastination at the end in finishing ! :)

Happy New Year 2011 !!!

Hello 2011, good bye 2010,

I had a fantastic 2010 and I hope to have a year as good this year. I wish you all health and properity and good luck in your knitting ventures. I hope you didn't think I was out of blogging with my lack of posting for the past weeks. I have to say that taking care of a little one, going back to university and keeping myself knitting and having somekind of a life is really hard ! So blogging went at the bottom of my todo list unfortunatly...

Thanks for the comments during this period and all your littles messages kept me in the mood for knitting so I will post in the first days of this new year all my FO of 2010 and also my UFO and WIP. I have so muchof those three that I have enough content to keep posting for all January.

For now a little picture of my best FO of 2010 : Florence

She is almost 5 months old now. She's growing very fast and she talks a lot ! I hope to hear the first "Mommy" very soon!