WIP Round-up

The Bark N Knit blog came up with the idea of posting about all of our WIPs, and I thought it sounded like a great idea! So…what am I working on now? I have a bunch of WIPs:

Actively Being Knit:

1.

Pattern: 26-5 Cotton Neat Vest

Yarn: Elann Adara

Colorway: Surf

Needles: US 7

Knit for: My Grandfather, for Christmas

Progress: This one will be for my Grandfather for Christmas. I had to modify the pattern a little bit- I could not get gauge (size 7 was too small, size 8 was too big), so it took some effort to figure out how many stitches I had to cast on to get the right size with the size 7 needles that I thought the swatch looked best in (95 looks like it might be the magic number!). I'm working on the endless stockinette of the body right now; when I get to the armpits and the neck shaping, I'll have to figure out how the increased stitch count will affect those decreases.

2.

Pattern: Strangling Vines Lace Scarf

Yarn: Classic Elite Alpaca Sox

Needles: US 10

Knit For: My Aunt, for Christmas

Progress: I'm only a few inches into this, but I already have the pattern memorized- each repeat is 4 rows, only two of which have a pattern (and a simple one at that!) It's working up very pretty and soft.

3.

Pattern: Back to School U-Neck Vest

Yarn: Cascade 220 Quatro

Knit For: Me

Progress: I got the yarn in a Destash, and realized that it was a perfect match for this sweater, which I've been wanting to knit for awhile I'm a few inches into this- it seems to be a nice, simple knit and I'm really enjoying it. I love the way it's working up, but I'm a little concerned it will be too green for me!

4.

Pattern: Fall Breeze Shawl

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft

Colorway:

Needles: US 8

Knit For: My Mother, for Christmas

Progress: I'm about half-way done with this. Quite honestly, it's boring- the pretty lace edging is separated by a few feet of plain, boring stockinette. Now, I like having some stockinette projects on the needle- they make good travelling knitting when I'm going somewhere that I can't give my knitting full attention. However, it's getting to big and bulky to be easily transportable. It's a Christmas gift for my mother, though, so there's my deadline.

5.

Pattern: Birthday Cowl

Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted

Colorway: SFO Sky

Needles: US 6

Knit for: Me

Progress: I'm about five inches into the cowl, and the pattern suggests knitting about 9. I love working with Malabrigo- it's so soft! This pattern is so perfect for the yarn, too- the swirl really stands out against the rest of the cowl because the stitches seem to go in a slightly different direction, which really stands out with the yarn coloring!

6.

Pattern: Annas Shawl

Yarn: Knitpicks Comfy Sport

Color: Cashew

Needles: US 6, US 4

Knit For: My Grandmother, for Christmas

Progress: I'm knitting this for my Grandmother for Christmas, so it had better be done by then! I've finished the body, but every time I try the sawtooth edging, I mess up, have to rip it out, and get frustrated. I plan on blocking out some time to sit down and work on it, and see if maybe I can get the hang of it. If not, I'll just choose a different edging- not a huge deal.

Just Need Finishing:

7.

Pattern: Tongues of Fire

Yarn: Santa Fe Aslan Trends

Colorway: Purple Heart

Needles: US 7

Knit For: Me

Progress: I bought five skeins of yarn for this shawl, and knit until I ran out of yarn. I lost my knitting mojo on it for awhile, but I got it back and finished it off! Now I'm done knitting, but I've been procrastinating about weaving in the ends.

8.

Pattern: Calais Shawl

Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Solids

Colorway: Turquoise

Needles: US 5

Knit for: Me

Progress: I'm done knitting this, but for some reason, I've really been procrastinating on weaving in the ends and blocking it. I'll do it eventually!

9.

Pattern: Crow Prints Shawl

Yarn: Schoppel Wolle Zauberball

Colorway: Blackberry

Needles: US 10

Knit For: Me

Progress: All I need to do is bind off, weave in the ends, and block. I was going to do an extra knit row on this, but then I ran out of yarn during the bind-off, so I had to unravel the last row!

On a Time-Out:

10.

Pattern: Alison Shawl

Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca

Colorway: Oceanic Mix

Needles: US 7 and US 10

Knit For: Me

Progress: This shawl is working up fairly pretty, but it's taking a time-out as I play with other projects that caught my eye.

11.

Pattern: Milkweed Shawl

Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy

Colorway: Deep Seaflower

Knit For: Me

Needles:

Progress: This shawl was taking me forever, and I was having so much trouble- I was amazed that people considered this an easy, intro-to-knitting pattern. I think the problem is that I was using the written instructions instead of the chart. I will pick it up eventually and finish it, but I needed a time out from it.

I'm almost embarrassed by how many projects I have in progress- almost. After all, I feel like knitting should be fun! If I force myself to work on something that I'm not enjoying, where's the fun in that?