exploration station

Hello and welcome to a fresh new year! I hope that everyone is having a gentle start to 2018. We have been enjoying some quiet weeks being cozy inside in the midst of quite a cold and snowy (for Maryland) winter. It feels so good to hibernate a little with some good books and wooly projects. I have been putting off making any plans and goals for the new year but now that we are heading towards the end of January, I can feel the beginnings of the need to de-clutter and clean up some loose ends from the previous year. You know that it’s time to start re-organizing when a recently finished shawl goes missing and is finally located underneath a pile of mini-skeins waiting to be knitted into various blankets-on-the-go.



I had completely forgotten to post about my Exploration Station which was finished sometime in October. All the yarns used were from a failed attempt at the Find Your Fade Shawl. It is a testament to the utter gorgeousness of the Uncommon Thread’s Everyday Singles yarn that I didn’t mind knitting another shawl right after frogging a massive one.



I have waxed poetic before about my love of Stephen West and his designs but I must say that he reached another level of brilliance with this shawl pattern. I absolutely loved every minute spent knitting on this project and couldn’t be more thrilled with the finished shawl. It’s colorful and fun but also very wearable. I would highly recommend this shawl pattern for a Stephen West newbie. There will definitely be another one in my future.

attack of the knitting zombies! (Speckle & Pop! Spoiler Alert)

Yesterday my husband showed off a video clip that he had secretly recorded of me as I was obsessively knitting on my Speckle & Pop! Westknits Mystery Shawl KAL. It was pretty hilarious to watch myself mumbling and cursing....there might even have been some cackling as I was knitting my way through a particularly tough section. He claims that he deleted the video but I suspect that it still exists somewhere in the netherworld. So if you come across a short movie titled “Attack of the Knitting Zombies”, you’ll know who the star is :)

And here is some progress pics of my current obsession:

I look forward to Stephen West’s Mystery Shawl KAL every year and this one has been particularly fun & challenging. I got off to a slow start due to some yarn indecision but it is going pretty smoothly at the moment. Although I just started clue 3 and it looks to be a doozy. Which means more material for my budding filmmaker!

catching up

Exploration Station 

Madewell 

Sorry for the radio silence but things became crazy busy once August hit. My mom was here visiting from Vietnam which is always so fun. I miss her already. And then back to school happened and we are still adjusting to the change in schedule. Having to wake up super early is probably the hardest thing for us to get used to. Especially when I stay up way past my bedtime knitting. There has been a lot of that going on lately. I have been trying to finish up some lingering WIPs which is such a great feeling. But there are some new cast-ons as well so it all balances out in the end. I finally started a new sweater, my first for the year. I am making surprisingly fast progress on it, considering that it is knitted with fingering weight yarn. The color fading definitely helps to make the knitting more fun and compelling. I am also looking forward to the Speckle & Pop! Westknits Mystery Shawl KAL starting this Friday. Just need to finalize my yarn choice. I can't wait to catch up and see what you all are knitting & making! Are you giving into the urge to cast-on all the shiny new Fall things?

shawls and 80's hair bands

find your fade

I finally finished my Find Your Fade shawl! The journey from 6 skeins of yarn to what you see above was very similar to the plot lines of the hair metal power ballads that were the soundtrack of my youth. In the beginning, it was total infatuation fed by all the gorgeous fades that took over instagram and the blogosphere. The riot of colors were too hard to resist and I quickly jumped needles first into the color party, totally seduced by the fun to be had when each color melted into the next. But as with most large sized shawl projects, the first flush of excitement soon faded into a monotonous poisonous rhythm of garter stitches and yarn overs. But onwards I knitted, until the eventuality of a 7 skein project being knitted with only 6 skeins came to a head: I ran out of yarn with just 10 rows to go. Don't Cry indeed.

There followed a brief moment of intense cursing introspection. The asymmetric shape and massive size of the shawl overwhelmed my petite frame. I had a difficult time finding a comfortable way to wear the shawl since it was pretty heavy. I even contemplated using it as a lap blanket but the yarn was too precious. So I finally decided to cut my losses and keep motoring. But don't feel too sad for me....because here I go again:

exploration station

campside shawl

Wow I can't believe that I have another finished knit to show you two weeks in a row! This is the campside shawl which is a pattern that has been in my queue for a long time now. I honestly didn't know if this gradient yarn (Rifton from Jill Draper Makes Stuff) would be the right choice for it but these spring colors were irresistible and I had to cast on. So glad that I did....the color changes kept the knitting interesting. I love the finished shawl and can't wait to wear it while sitting across a campfire roasting marshmallows. It's a terrific free pattern from pompom quarterly and I wouldn't hesitate to knit another one, maybe in a tonal or solid color next time. I'm so happy to have found a pattern for this beautiful yarn which was purchased a few years ago at Maryland Sheep & Wool. Speaking of which, remember this picture from three years ago?

I had jokingly told my husband after coming home from MSW that I should have let him invest in bitcoins like he had wanted. Well, unbeknownst to me, he had used his own money to buy a few just for fun and today he told me that one bitcoin is now worth $2000.00! That's a whole lot of yarn!

spring mix

We are in the heart of springtime here in Maryland and enjoying every minute of this beautiful season. Easter was a quiet affair since I had to work. But the Bunny did stop by to bring the little guy some treats to feed his sweet tooth....and also left a little yarny goodness for me:

Can't wait to cast on a pair of spring/summer monster socks with these speckled mini-skeins from havirland....as soon as I finish the other two pairs of socks that are still on the needles. Still trying to resist the urge to start new projects but it's hard when there are so many pretty patterns and yarns floating around. I finally caved in last week and casted on a Campside with the beautiful Rifton yarn from Jill Draper Makes Stuff that I bought last year at Maryland Sheep & Wool. The colorway is appropriately named Spring and is lovely to knit with.

Here are some other things that are making life grand at the moment:

*Going for nature walks and enjoying some relaxing time with my little guy who is on Spring Break this week.
*Practicing & improving on my lettering skills.
*Spending time at the various fishing piers scattered around the island, especially at sunset.
*Eating fresh & healthy meal bowls like this and this.
*Listening to fun covers of some favorite mid-century songs from this soundtrack.

So, what's currently in the mix for you? Any fun new projects or favorite easy meals?

the doodler

No this isn't a belated April Fool's joke....I actually finished something :) And it's not a pair of socks! I think this shawl has been on the needles since autumn of 2015. Not sure why it took me so long to finish since the pattern is wonderfully fun to knit. I remember making a mistake on the cabled section which set me behind on the mkal. And then it was cast aside because of holiday knitting. So happy to have it off the needles at last. Now if only my other WIPs could magically be done. It feels like ages since I casted on for anything new! Which leads to me buying All Of The Yarn.

Oh the vicious cycle of a bored knitter :p

in bloom

Hello! I hope that you are having a fun & relaxing weekend. We are spending a quiet Sunday at home. The guys are watching movies and playing on video games while I'm happily knitting wildflowers and playing with my new MINI Happy Planner. Can you tell that I'm already dreaming of springtime blossoms and blooms? It's hard not to when the February weather has been unseasonably balmy and warm here in Maryland.

I'm finally on the last color of my winter fade and had planned to finish it this weekend but couldn't resist casting on for a new pair of socks. The pattern is called fine and dandy socks and the yarn is by Lichen and Lace in the appropriately named wildflowers colorway. It's knitted toe-up which is a fun change from how I usually make my socks.

Here's a quick peek inside my planner at next week's spread:

Besides having something new to decorate with stickers and washi tape (always a cause for joy) I am on a mission to become more organized. My usual system of keeping track of appointments, errands, chores and special dates consisted of post-it notes scattered everywhere and half of them getting lost. I knew things had to change when the little guy and I showed up for his wellness checkup two weeks early. I'll go into more details on how I use my planner in another post, but so far it has made a tremendous difference. Do you use a planner and if so, which one? I'm amazed at all the cool choices out there and can now understand the hashtag #planneraddict.

the lighter side of winter

"Why, what's the matter,

That you have such a February face,

So full of frost, of storm and cloudiness?"

William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing 

And so we find ourselves in February! Trying hard not to hibernate the rest of winter away by injecting as much sunlight and colors into my days as possible. Luckily, adding a little brightness to my knitting is as easy as casting on a new pair of stripey socks in Valentine's Day colors:

And my winter fade is heading into the lighter side of the season:

Any plans for Valentine's Day? We'll probably spend it at home. I'm thinking of ordering lobster, filet mignon & chocolate covered strawberries from a local restaurant to celebrate my two guys. Hope that you are finding ways to brighten your February days as well!

winter fade

Really excited to show you the progress on one of my shiny new projects for the new year. It's the Find Your Fade shawl by Andrea Mowry. I am sure that many of you who go on Instagram have seen a number of knitters who are either planning out their fade or knitting on this right now. I love looking at all the yarn/color combinations going on out there. For mine, I was really inspired by the colors of the winter season, mainly greys and blues. I wanted a very subtle fade and so decided on a gradient effect:

the uncommon thread everyday singles

I am just loving this project right now. So soothing and relaxing to knit. The yarn is a single ply merino and is heavenly to work with. I've been watching a lot of video podcasts lately and this project is the perfect accompaniment along with a hot cup of tea and holiday chocolates. One of my favorite knitting podcast right now is a homespun house. I can listen to Molly talk about yarn and fiber all day long.

What kinds of shiny new projects are currently on your needles? Are there any particular knits that you would like to focus on this year? I can remember being so excited to knit socks at the beginning of last year. I am hoping to mix it up more this year, with socks, cowls, shawls and sweaters all getting equal attention.

building blocks (westknits mystery shawl kal 2016)

There was quite a bit of controversy in the mkal forum with this shawl. Some knitters did not care for the construction, a few were in an uproar when two color brioche was included in one of the clues, others didn't like the final shape. Guess I'm easy to please because I enjoyed the entire process of knitting my building blocks shawl. I loved seeing how the different colors interacted with each other depending on their placement and the stitch patterns involved. We were essentially blending the colors like paints on a palette. It was also really cool learning how to increase and decrease in two color brioche. Stephen had these funny but very clear and informative videos on the special techniques used in each clue. I especially loved the brioche knitting one and can't wait to knit one of his brioche designs. The final shawl shape is pretty versatile (I made the small size). I like to wear mine either draped over the shoulders with the long ends hanging in front or wrapped cowl-like around the neck. The bat wing shape is admittedly not to everyone's taste (I personally prefer a more curved & rounded shawl). But it's good fun to step outside of my comfort zone every once in awhile.

on the needles {beach edition}

It was such a beautiful day today that I decided on the spur of the moment to walk to the beach and knit the afternoon away. Care to join me?

Gorgeous sunny blue skies plus a little chill in the air made for perfect sweater weather.

Stopover in action

In the knitting bag:

More socks! No sock yarn WIP/UFO is safe from my current sock obsession. This is the same SpunRightRound yarn as pictured on my blog header. I ended up frogging the slip stitch shawl in order to knit this pattern instead. Working on the second sock of the pair.

Also knitting another pair of vanilla socks, this time using West Yorkshire Spinners - Country Birds range in the peacock colorway. I recently saw this yarn on the attic24 blog and instantly fell in love with the fresh bright blue & green stripes.

And lastly, there's my Doodler revisited. Excited to be knitting on this again. The yarn that I am using for clue 3 is by Duck Duck Wool. I so enjoyed watching the jewel toned colors sparkling in the afternoon sunlight.

I hope that your Wednesday was just as lovely! Have a wonderful rest of the week!

in the mood for ....

COLOR:

CLUE 1 & 2 OF THE DOODLER (WESTKNITS MKAL 2015)

COMFORT:

SKYP SOCKS

CABLES: 

REVERSIBLE BRAIDED COWL

CHRISTMAS:

MITTEN GARLAND ADVENT

  

.... in other words, all the things! I think that the more hectic life gets around here, the more new and shiny distractions are needed to cope with the stress. But it's all good and I am so grateful for the craziness of my work and home life. Also grateful for all of you who have hung in there with my sporadic blogging this year. So, what's new? Are holiday preparations and knitting/crafting/baking in full swing or are you in denial? I love this time of year and have been trying to fit in as much holiday merrymaking as possible with my two guys. The house is decorated, none of the shopping is done, and there will be cookies coming out of the oven soon. Seems like I'm right on schedule ;)

havra shawl & summer bucket list update

Can't believe that it is already the middle of July! This summer is just cruising along too fast. There are still a couple of items to be checked off from the summer bucket list. We have yet to go camping but hopefully that will be in the stars soon. Unfortunately for my waistline, I have managed to eat ice cream everyday (high priority item on the list as far as the little guy is concerned) and grilling up a storm (tonight's dinner of grilled lime coconut chicken with coconut rice and grilled pineapple was particularly delicious). And happily, the beach knitting this summer has been pretty productive. I even finished the shawl for the Shetland Trader MKAL, now named Havra, in a reasonable amount of time.

I am completely thrilled with how it turned out. Gudrun Johnston is such a wonderful designer with a great sense of style. With any MKAL, one has to have a lot of trust and confidence in the designer. It can be both thrilling and scary, depending on your knitting personality. The knitting on this was pure pleasure. The pattern was very intuitive and I love the strong lines created by the combination of garter and twisted stitches. The only hiccup was running out of yarn in the middle of the last clue. Luckily, I was able to get my hands on another skein. I knitted the small size but the shawl blocked out to be a little larger, which was a happy accident in gauge.

Ending this post with some knitting eyecandy of the highest order. I was lucky to have won a pair of mittens handknitted by Chrisknits which arrived on Monday.

Aren't they gorgeous!!! Can't wait to wear them this winter.

on the verge

the view from terrapin beach, a mile's walk from my house

Summer around these parts includes lots of trips to the ocean which is happily less than two hours away. Even though we are lucky to have several beautiful local beaches here on the island, there's just something so compelling about the vast expanse of sand and sea and the pounding waves only to be found at the shore. Plus there's the boardwalk fries, ice cream, fudge and salt water taffy. I am missing it already! Also love all the beach knitting that was achieved while we were there last week and now I am finding myself on the verge of finishing a couple of projects:

just the bind off & blocking left on the Shetland Trader MKAL shawl

hitofude cardigan

Can't wait to get started on a couple of new projects as soon as these are done. I've got the yarn already lined up for a Morning Mist tee. Simple stockinette with a cute lace detail on the back. Perfect beach knitting project.

Have a happy and safe Fourth of July weekend for those of you who celebrate. I just ordered my first grill and can't wait to try all of the yummy summer recipes that I've been collecting over the years. Grilled pineapples...chicken kebabs...flank steaks....! What is your favorite thing to cook on the grill? Would love any recipe suggestions/links you might have.

washi & such

Can't believe that another school year is coming to an end! Where does the time go? After next Tuesday, there will be lots of swimming, beachcombing and ice cream eating going on. Hopefully a couple of camping trips too. And summer knitting, of course. I've already gone through my stash and planned out some warm weather projects. However, right now my whole attention is centered around the first ever Shetland Trader MKAL:

clue one

clue two

So far so good and I am loving the combination of garter stitches and twisted stitches. The yarn is pretty dreamy to knit with. It's Jill Draper Makes Stuff Esopus in the leafy colorway. Also, did you notice my new creative catch-all/art journal?

I've had a ton of fun the last few weeks filling it with doodles, washi, photos, recipes and lists. It will also be a handy place to stick some of those yarn ball bands that have a way of piling up. It's quite exciting to come across a whole new-to-me crafty world outside of knitting. And one that is filled to the brim with cute stationary products! I am quickly amassing quite a stockpile of washi tape, stickers, markers and pens. Might have to move the hubby's clothes to the garage in order to make room for it all :)

So...are there any fun summer plans in store for you? I love having a blank slate for the next couple of months just waiting to be filled...or not. A lazy summer sounds pretty good right now, too.