I know I missed a week of reporting on my WIP list, but at least I had good results – only 2 items left on the list. 

1. Sunrise Circle - I’ll use traveling as my excuse for not getting to this. Same goal: try it on, pin it to fit, and decide what steps to take to make it fit the way I want.

2. Dragon Scale Wrap – My goal last week was to cast on. I did that on April 19th, knit a few rows, ripped them out, and decided to cast on again when I had uninterrupted time. Cast on again last night and completed the first 14 rows. I’m getting a good feel for the pattern, but will have to start the decrease rows soon. Goal: make progress.

I’m not going to say anything silly like I won’t cast on for another project this week. Neither of the projects above are suitable to carry around or to work on when distracted so that will likely mean a new pair of socks will be cast on soon.

My goal from two weeks ago was “don’t work on these to avoid other projects”. Once I remembered I was traveling that went out the window as the other projects were not appropriate to take along. Monkey socks are great to take along because they are small, the pattern is easily memorized, and I had two of them (each on it’s own circular needle). This last part was important as I packed one in my carry on and one in checked luggage, figuring that if security didn’t like my pointy metal sock needles I would still have a project to work on during the week. As it turns out security had no objection and I had no time during the week.

To recap, this is the Monkey sock pattern from Knitty.com, designed by Cookie A. Yarn is Knit Picks Memories in Rocky Mountain Dusk (discontinued). It is a 100% merino yarn that is non-superwash so these babies have to stay away from the washer and dryer.

My flights were on time, it was the knitting that was delayed by travel. When I set my WIP goals for last week I completely forgot that I would be traveling Monday to Friday. Business travel = no knitting time. The only knitting I did was at the airport. Last Monday I managed to knit half a round on one Monkey sock and then Friday I knit a full pattern repeat before boarding the flight home. It’s a small plane and it doesn’t seem appropriate to try to knit when you have zero elbow room.

While I was gone I did finish one thing – Vintage Velvet.

I did not trust the ancient washing machine in our rental house so I took the scarf with me to wash in my gentle front loader. Despite all the comments I had read from others about washing this scarf, I was still horrified when I took it out of the washer. The velvet look is growing on me though and this will be a truly soft scarf to wear.

To recap, as several knitters did before me I knit this scarf narrower than the original pattern in Scarf Style. To make the scarf long enough for me it still took 4.5 skeins of Muench Touch Me.

I expect I’ll be showing you finished Monkey socks tomorrow…

And if it’s Wednesday it’s time for an update on my current WIPs. Check this out – only 4 items on the list.

1. Sunrise Circle - all my old projects are done. It’s time I tackle this one. Goal: try it on, pin it to fit, and decide what steps to take to make it fit the way I want.

2. Dragon Scale Wrap – Goal: cast on this week.

3. Vintage Velvet Scarf – just needs to be washed and dried. No photos because it looks essentially the same as last week, just longer. Goal: wash and dry.

4. Purple Monkey Socks – the first sock is past the heel and through the gusset decreases. My method of avoiding SSS (second sock syndrome) is to cast on for the second sock now so that when I finish the first one I don’t have an entire second sock left to knit. Plus this gets it on the needles and that is often the toughest part in finding the motivation to get that second sock done. On the second sock I’ve finished the ribbing and the first pattern repeat. Goal: don’t work on these to avoid other projects.

Sorry about the lack of photos this week. None of my projects look very different from last week so it seemed pointless to show you the same thing.

On another note, if you aren’t a regular reader of Knitting Daily you should know that they’ve released a free booklet of 5 popular patterns. Go here and check it out. Don’t miss the designer interview links at the bottom either. The first 2 interviews were great. I’m off to read the 3rd now…

I finished up the Conwy Socks on Sunday.  

To recap, the pattern is by Nancy Bush and is available in Knitting on the Road. I used Opal Uni-solid yarn that I purchased from a German seller on eBay. The yarn is on the thin side so I added one pattern repeat for a total of 78 stitches on 2.5mm needles.

I’m happy to say there is plenty of yarn left over to use on some future sock colorwork project.

We had our first truly warm weekend of the year. According to the news it reached 74 degrees in Missoula. On Thursday it looked like this:

See those white flecks? It snowed for over an hour in the morning and some in the late afternoon too. It was too warm to stick, but when you’re waiting for Spring you don’t want to see snow at all.

Saturday was nice with a high in the low 50′s. I would actually be quite happy with low 50′s for another month or two before Summer temperatures arrive. Then there was Sunday - at 10:30 am it was a nice temperature to ride outside in a t-shirt. I went back to the barn in the afternoon and got to watch Ardyce ride Pepsi. Here he is kicking up his heels outside.

He is so full of it. I rode him inside in the morning for about 20 minutes, but I was still chicken to ride him outside with all the potential distractions. He did fine under saddle after his burst of energy on the lunge line.

Blondie was hanging out enjoying the sunshine. I briefly considered riding her again, but then I wouldn’t have been able to take the other pictures.

Progress continued last week as I resigned myself to work on Vintage Velvet. I did start a new sock which is also my carry along project. It was a good thing as I found myself with an hour to sit around and wait last night.  

1. Sunrise Circle - nothing to say about this.

2. Dragon Scale Wrap – haven’t cast on yet.

3. Vintage Velvet Scarf – over halfway complete with the new, narrower version. I think this will be easier for me to wear and it has the added bonus of knitting up quicker. Goal: finish it up this week.

4. Conwy Socks – just need to knit the toes. Goal: finish the pair this week.

5. Purple Monkey Socks – these are for me. The yarn is Knit Picks Memories which is not machine washable. For gifts I much prefer an easier care yarn.

When the little water feature in front of our house melted in March we discovered that we have 5 goldfish to care for. They are very shy.  Not knowing how to care for goldfish I did some research and they seem to be doing fine. We will be turning the pump on soon, but based on the number of fish and surface area of the pond they are okay with it off.

A week into April I noticed that we have crocuses. Note that the other plants don’t have any visible Spring growth yet. Neither does the grass. It’s still all ugly yellow. If you look closely (in person, not so much in the photo), you can see that the grass is just barely starting to grow.

Blondie starts glucosamine/chondroitin today. She’s been grumpy and acting ouchy when I ride her, yet she’s still happy for the attention, energetic, and she tries hard. Hopefully this will make her more comfortable. My vet says it takes 30 days to see a difference.

I’ve been riding Pepsi. I am coming to the conclusion that he needs a home more suited to what he’ll be good at: western riding, going out on trails, hunting. He is bored with the arena work which makes him lazy and that makes him not very fun for me to ride. He has a lot going for him that should allow me to find him a good home with someone who will love him as much as I do. 

My list is one project shorter with the completion of Thuja. I’m also getting close to completion of Conwy and I met my goal to decide what to do about Vintage Velvet.  As the list gets shorter I am thinking about what I’d like to cast on for next, but I’ve been good and have not cast on for anything yet (besides, isn’t the answer that I should cast on for #2 on my list?).

1. Sunrise Circle - this is my big gotcha on this list. It’s going to be here a while longer I expect.

2. Dragon Scale Wrap – haven’t cast on yet.

3. Vintage Velvet Scarf – frogged. On Ravelry, I saw that some knitters had modified this pattern and made a narrower scarf. I’ve charted the original pattern in MS Excel and will now modify it for the narrower version.

4. Conwy Socks – I still get sick of this pattern some nights, yet all I have left is one or two pattern repeats on each sock before I start the toe.

I like to always have a pair of socks in progress so it’s highly likely I’ll cast on for another pair when Conwy is finished. With all the sock yarn I have in my stash and sock patterns I’d like to knit, it only makes sense to get another pair on the needles.

My Thuja socks have been finished for a few days now. These were a nice easy knit, something to work on when I was going to get disrupted often. It’s nice to know that 44 sts around on a size 6 needle with worsted weight gives me good results for a large women’s/medium men’s sock. With that knowledge I feel better about considering yarn subsitutions for the Log Cabin Socks in Handknit Holidays.

To recap, this is the Thuja pattern from Knitty. The yarn is Valley Yarns Northampton from WEBS. I don’t think worsted weight socks will fit in my everyday shoes, but I know they’ll fit in my boots and they’ll also be nice to wear around the house on cold days.