WIP Wednesday - Thinking Warm Thoughts

Hello again my lovely followers!  It's -1° F here in the Burgh and I'm cold.  Thankfully I live in a building with radiators so my place is generally nice and warm but it screws with my head when I am getting dressed in the morning.  I have been known to not wear a warm enough coat because I misjudged the weather.

Really in this weather I miss my snuggle bug, Zoey.  She and I would cuddle while I was home recovering from my surgery.  She would find the crook of my knee and curl into a little ball and sleep with me in the morning.  Since I am back at my apartment, I don't get my own personal heater but I at least get to see her on weekends.  :)

During my recover and since I have returned home my needles have been flying.  It's hard to explain but while on the pain medication it was hard to concentrate to read but I was able to knit.  I think it was the muscle memory and the simple movements but my hands flew while I recovered.  Other than that, I just sat around and watched movies and binge watched Big Bang Theory and NCIS.  

Now that I am back to work, I realize how important calories are to energy.  I am only able to eat about 500-600 calories a day and boy am I tired when I get home.  I know I am going to crash when I get home tonight since I also have my Grad Class to attend.  Other than being tired I feel great but I think I might need to start exercises with some light weights as my arms are really flabby.  I used to be able to flex a bicep muscle but now its just flab, need to get on that and do some bicep curls.

Rigging Up the Color Affection

Lots of colors!

This was my go to project while recovering.  I still had the majority of the short rows to complete and then the last section.  As soon as I got to the final section I decided to take a bit of a break.  It's kind of tedious and I worked on it for 2 straight weeks so really it needed a time out.  I really like the colors though.  When I am working on it I doubt my love for the shawl but when I step back and look at it, the shawl really is lovely.

Now just to plow through and get the border done.  Shouldn't take too long to get completed.

Hue Shift Afghan

Progress!

This is the third major section of 4 and I am about half way done with it.  Woot Woot!!!!  Unlike the color affection this has some instant gratification that I can get a square done and feel like I accomplished something.  Due to the construction, when you get a square done, it seems necessary to start the next square so you don't drop stitches.  So I hope to get this square done soon and then start on the last one.  That one should be fun since it's just the blue section.

Cherry Sundry

Almost finsihed

I have also picked this back up.  It got shelved when I was working on my cardigan and then back burnered when I started the color affection.  Given the break this project had I gleefully picked it back up to work on instead of the color affection.  I finished the houndstooth section and started on the final solid color section.  I am about half way done with it and then just need to figure out the picot bind off.

I really love this brown.  It looks brown but in the right light reds and greys play with the brown and just look lovely against the crimson.  

It's also really big and warm.  I can't wait until it's done so I can wear it on these cold winter days.

So that's all for this week.

For other WIPs check out Tami's Amis

Check out my new meme Movie Madness Monday

<3 Heather

WIP Wednesday - Fall Colors

Hello again, I cannot believe how fast August is passing.  Before you know it everyone will be back to school and fall really will be upon us.  Surprisingly enough this month has been cool, instead of hot and humid which just make me happier and want pumpkin everything.  Mmmm Pumpkin Spiced Latte!

As the weather gets cooler all I want to do is knit sweaters and crochet blankets.  Thankfully I still have a few of those in my WIP pile to keep me entertained.  However since I did recently finish my Tropical Ginger Hitchhiker, I started two new shawls that have a bit of a fall flavor to them.

Cherry Sundry

Lovely Cherry Red Yarn to make a lovely fall shawl.

I was drawn to the Sundry pattern because of the lovely middle section that looks like hounds tooth. I am nowhere near the patterned section yet but this lovely red is gearing my up for fall.  It has such lovely tonal qualities and is so vibrant and gorgeous that I stare more than I knit at times.

I can't wait to show you the brown color that is going to go with it.  It contains subtle flecks of gold, red, green and blue to make a lovely neutral with depth and character.  The yarn itself is Bugga! from Verdant Gryphon and I love it so far.

Happy Street 

Love the purple and greens!

I was utterly captivated by this pattern this spring.  I just wanted to make this cousin to color affection in the worst way.  It's bright colors were just calling to me.  I settled on a set of MissBabs Yummy to make this shawl.  The colors are Ghoulish, Impatiens and Impatient.  I love the bright purple, the lime green and the deep dark eggplant purple so far.

Hue Shift Afghan

Slow moving...

Alas, I have fallen in a bit of a funk with this project.  I think the last column is hardest but I will persevere and get this section done.

Anyway, that was my week.  Hope yours is going well.

For other WIPs check out Tami's Amis and Frontier Dreams

Check out my new meme Movie Madness Monday

<3 Heather

WIP Wednesday - Square Dance

I can either think of really catchy title or puny titles.  This one is more groan worthy.  Anyway, no dancing was involved this week just a lot of squares, but we will get to that.

The weather has finally broke today.  We finally had a rain shower that pushed the humidity out and though its a lovely warm 72° F with a nice cool breeze.  The sky is blue and the clouds are like puffs of cotton.  Seriously a beautiful day.  Until just recently, the weather has been hazy, hot and humid with lots of rain and severe storms.  Not much fun for the middle of summer.

So I really have been inside by my Air Conditioner for  most of the week.  It's to hot to do anything so I have been working on my blankets.  Many of you commented on my mental stability last week after confessing to my latest blanket projects.  While it has been hot, I have been sitting by the air conditioner the whole time.

Hue Shift Afghan

Striping Along.

It's funny how the project muse strikes us. I have been plugging away at this blanket the past couple of weeks but I didn't get a ton of work done on it.  I am almost finished with the baby blue column.  I don't have a new photo but the pink and peach square are completed.

White Centered Granny Blanket

Lots of squares

Instead of working on the Hue Shift, crochet squares has been the desire this week.  It started on Friday where I didn't feel like knitting and wanted to get some squares done to start the next section.  I finished the entire ball of purple only to realize I would not have enough squares to finish the blanket as planned.  Saturday morning, I ran errands and went to some yarn stores.  I still need tons of the white yarn and picked up 4 more colors to help stretch the blanket back to the size I wanted.

Pretty new colors!!

So after seeing the new colors, I just started to make squares and over the weekend made 40 squares.  I think I may have over did it a bit because my middle and ring fingers on my right hand are sore and the joints are swollen.  I still have to weave in all of the ends but I really just wanted to get all of the colors done so I can move forward.

Lots of colors :)

In other news about this blanket, the original white I was using Color ID #025 was discontinued and I bought Color ID #101.  This yarn is just a bit more yellowed and you can tell a difference but there isn't much I can do to fix that.  This yarn company has a bad habit of discontinuing colors and replacing them with shades that are similar but different from the previous color.  It's really annoying for a commercial dyed yarn.

Anyway, that was my week.  Hope yours is going well.

For other WIPs check out Tami's Amis and Frontier Dreams

Check out my new meme Movie Madness Monday

<3 Heather

Maryland Sheep and Wool 2013

Hello all, I have been having a great week so far but really I think it's the left over yarn fumes from this weekend.

This past weekend, I was at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.  This was my first year there and I had a blast.  I traveled with Samie from NotYourGramsAfghan and our friend Alyse from our knit night.  We are all about the same age and had a blast on the drive to and from Maryland listening to music and talking.  Seriously, I cannot not listen to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' Can't Hold Us without giggling.  I put my hands up every time they mentioned it in the car, even though I was driving.  Try not to smile or bounce your head while listening to these guys.

So I know what you're thinking...get to the yarn!  Okay okay, be prepared for picture overload.

Ooo the coveted bag!

So let me show you what's inside of the bag.

Look at all of the pretty yarn!

So I have plans for all of this.  I got 2 Color Affection kits from Miss Babs.  One is for a traditional Color Affection and the other is for Happy Street.  I also got the show colorway.

For Color Affection

For Happy Street

Show Color - Maryland 2013

DragonFly Fibers - Silver Fox

As for the rest of the yarn, most of the colors are neutrals to make stripey shawls with my stash.  I have plans for Cameo, Zeypher Cove, Cladonia, Mormorio, Twice Born, and Merging Ripples.

Cephalopod Yarns - Oleander Nymph

FiberOptic Yarns - Au Natural

Cephalopod Yarns - Pandorus Sphinx Caterpillar

I did however get yarn for Sundry.  I got 2 skeins of Bugga! from The Verdant Gryphon for that pattern.

Bugga! - Experimental Love Child

Bugga! - Longhorned Beetle

 I did get some lovely colors from Into the Whirled Yarn.  Seriously love the colors and the names are right up my speed.  I will impulse buy yarn based on the name.  Check these out.

Bigger on the Inside

Pamukkale