WIP Wednesday - Red Scarf Edition

I'm just so pleased with how my red scarf is turning out that I decided to blog about it today. I am using Caron's new Simply Soft Tweed on size 8 needles. The stitch pattern is called "Little Pyramids". I found it on knitting.about.com, and I have used it before in a scarf for my dh, so I know that that this will be a good unisex scarf. (Check them out for other great scarf stitch patterns as well. Just use the link to The Stitch Library.) I tried, but the texture really doesn't show in these pictures. Besides being textured, this stitch lies flat right from the get go and is reversible - two real pluses for a scarf.

Now, talk about a coincidence. I cast on this scarf on Monday night, and then yesterday I came across a KAL for the Red Scarf project! This is different from the button and link in my sidebar, which is a site that is tracking finished scarves and building a picture gallery of them. No, this is an honest to goodness KAL, with some contests and prizes included. I have to say that I am so pleased that this project has generated so much interest around the Internet. And yes, I am going to join the KAL. Why not, since I am already making the scarf!

Weekend Roundup

In addition to knitting mittens this weekend, I got caught up on some real world chores (like bill paying), and I did some shopping, which is actually kind of unusual for me! So here's a roundup of my weekend:

I spent Saturday trying to get those mittens started. I tried this pattern, but the striping I wanted to do didn't work with the short rows. Then I decided to try the Magic Loop method to avoid sewing up a seam. Well, I can now say for certain what I have long suspected - my tension is a lot tighter when I use the Magic Loop. The mittens were way too small. So I finally gave up and went back to the tried and true method of making them on 2 needles. And they came together beautifully.

The poetry reading went very well on Sunday. All of the poems were by Mary Oliver, and if you like nature poetry, I would highly recommend her. I had never heard of her, but I was very impressed by her poems. After the reading, my dh and I went over to Borders to spend our birthday gift certificates. I acquired my own copy of One-Skein Wonders by Judith Durant, and Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks. It seemed like time to beef up the sock library. I also picked up a couple of mystery paperbacks. One is called Murder Most Crafty, and it is a collection of short stories by some of my favorite authors with craft projects included. How could I resist?!

Then, yesterday morning, I went out to the shops again. I desperately needed new winter boots this year, so it seemed prudent to hit yesterday's sales since I was off from work. I got a pair at Kohl's for 50% off. And of course, while I was over that way, I had to visit Joann's and Michael's, conveniently located on either side of Kohl's! I will admit to buying some yarn, but it was all for charity work and it was almost all on sale. Michael's had Wool Ease on sale for $2.00 a skein, which I thought was a great price. I just wish they had a better color selection.

Finally, last night, I am happy to say that I started 2 more scarves. I am crocheting one to complete yet another set for the Salvation Army. Then I finally cast on for my Red Scarf project. I decided not to swatch. The stitch pattern called for a repeat of "6 stitches plus 5", so I tried 29 stitches and it is a perfect 7" wide! So I got 4"-5" done last night. I will tell you all more about it when it is finished. I also looked at my list of FOs, and I realized that I have 2 scarves to add to Dee's total for "60 Scarves in 60 Days", a maroon one and the purple one. And I should have a couple more by the end of the week. Not a bad start to November, I must say!

Mitten Monday

Here is my accomplishment for the weekend - another finished set for the Salvation Army! Actually, I only made the mittens this weekend. I made the hat and scarf on vacation in September.

This is also an experiment. The Warm Hands blog has a new home on Wordpress, and we are having an awful time trying to upload pictures to the blog. I managed to upload an image, but it was gigantic and I couldn't resize it. So I thought maybe if I uploaded it here and then linked to it on Wordpress, that would work. We'll see! More tomorrow...

It's the Weekend!

Since I didn't do a "proper" post yesterday, I thought I would pop in briefly today and let you know how my week went and how the weekend is shaping up. Actually the week just got better and better as I felt better and better (just a little residual tiredness left from the viral infection). I actually managed to make 3 crocheted hats for my Salvation Army sets. It's not much, but it's 3 hats more than the week before! I now have 5 sets ready to go and another 5 in various stages of completion. I have an informal goal of 12 sets by a week from Sunday, and if the weekend goes well, I should make that goal.

I am actually off from work for the next 3 days, so I should have plenty of time to rest, get the house back under control, and work on projects. The only commitment I have is attending a library program tomorrow afternoon. Our Friends group has organized a series of 3 poetry readings this month, and my dh is reading one of the poems tomorrow. So I will go and be supportive. Actually, it will be a nice change of pace, although I may have to bring some knitting or crocheting with me!

In addition to the Salvation Army sets, I would like to cast on a hat for the Soaring Eagles project and a scarf for the Red Scarf project. I don't necessarily need to finish those projects this weekend, but I would like to at least get them started. I'm getting tired of laying in bed at night thinking about what I am going to do on these projects and then never doing anything about them! So wish me luck! I will let you know on Monday how I am doing with all these projects, with pictures. Have a great weekend!

KMKS Questionaire

The Questionnaire:

What are your favorite colors? Cool colors like pink, blue, green & anything heather

Are you a new mitt knitter? How long have you been knitting mittens? I have been knitting mittens off and on for about 6 years

Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn? Either

What fibers do you prefer in mitten yarn? Anything soft and natural

Where do you usually knit mittens? In the family room, in front of TV

How do you usually carry/store small projects? In small bags

What are your favorite mitten patterns? I have 3 Leisure Arts publications with hat & mitten patterns that I love to use

What are your favorite mitten knitting techniques? I usually make plain vanilla mittens for charity, so I don’t have any favorite techniques

What new techniques would you like to try? Fair Isle or other 2 color techniques

What are your favorite needles for knitting mittens? No preference

What are some of your favorite yarns? Reynolds Odyssey, Cascade 220, Frog Tree Alpaca

What yarn do you totally covet? Koigu, anything alpaca

Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object? Norwegian mittens

Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)? I prefer shorter straight needles. If I need more length, I use circs. I am still getting comfortable with dps.

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be? Blue Sky Alpaca

Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack? Chocolate

What’s your favorite animal? Penguins

Would you prefer super warm mittens or something more like fingerless mitts? I love fingerless mitts and lighter weight mittens – it just doesn’t get cold enough here in Connecticut for super warm mittens

If you were a color what color would you be? Sage green

What is your most inspiring image, flower, or object in nature? A waterfall

Do you have a wishlist? No

Anything else you’d like to share with the group today? I don’t drink coffee or tea.

KMKS!

I didn't have much to say today, that is until I visited Jane's blog this morning and learned about the Knit Mitt Kit Swap! This swap just sounded like too much fun, so I have spent most of my blogging time this morning signing up for it. Sign-ups end tomorrow, so if it sounds good to you, hurry over there and sign up! It's actually good there is such a short time to sign up, otherwise I would have agonized over the decision and then done nothing! Now I have to start thinking about a project bag, which might finally push me to felt something. And since I am out of time today, I will publish my answers to the questionairre tomorrow, I promise.

November KALs

First of all, thank you to everyone who sent birthday wishes my way yesterday! I actually had a good day, despite the fact that I have been home sick since Monday at lunchtime. I get a recurrent viral infection, probably related to the several bouts of mono I have had in my life, that flares up now and again, and all I can do is rest, take Advil and force fluids until it settles down again. So I felt lousy yesterday, but I did rest, and I have to admit that spending the afternoon watching "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" wasn't a bad way to spend my birthday! And happily I felt much better last night, so I was able to enjoy both the trick or treating and my dh's celebration. And I will be back to work today.

Now, it is a new month, so that means new KALs! I have a slew of new buttons on my sidebar already. Actually, though, I am really focusing on charity work this month, and the buttons reflect that. It seems like the right thing to do with the holidays fast approaching.

I wanted to mention the Soaring Eagles Project specifically. They are looking for people to make hats and/or mittens for a school in Oklahoma in an effort to give each child at the school a handmade gift this Christmas. Many of the children at the school are in foster care or living with relatives other than their parents and have nothing to call their own. (The website explains the project more fully.) This just tugged at my heartstrings, so I signed up. I already have a hat made that I can send. I think I intended to make it part of a set for the Salvation Army, but I don't have enough yarn for that. I wouldn't have signed up if I didn't have something ready to go, but I will try and make a few more hats or maybe some mittens (since I am also signed up now for Warm Hands).

You know, I firmly believe that you just can't go wrong making hats, mittens & scarves, even if you don't have a specific charity in mind. There is just always a need out there for these items. So, will you join me in this whirlwind of charity knitting & crocheting? Let's see what we can accomplish between now and the end of the year!