And more UFO's

So, I found 3 more UFO's. The red is the start of Rowan's Audrey in Calmer. I can't believe I forgot this because I loved this color when I saw it in a yarn store, but they didn't have quite enough. I took a chance, bought what they had and then tried to find more. Luckily I found some online and, even though the dyelots aren't the same, they all look the same. Now I just need to get this done.

The other two are furry scarves - I am so tired of novelty yarn! Again, color caught me on the orangey one - it is a great blend of orange, pink and gold. I bought the yarn for the other scarf on a clearance for possibly gnome beards. However, it has quite a bit of metallic copper, so I don't think it would be right for beards, but a colleague thinks she would like a scarf, so I'll get it done. I only have about 6 inches left.

And, here is why I had time to get out UFO's and finish some things. Snow started here Friday night, and it snowed through late Saturday night; we had around 9 inches total. I spent most of Saturday knitting in front of the woodstove. However, this picture is from Sunday morning, and the melting has already started, which is great since we have to be in school tomorrow.

UFO's - Batch #2

Another sweater for me - this will be a hooded tunic out of Paton's SWS in the Earth colorway. I made one for my daughter and loved it, so I started one for me. I currently have four (actually five) socks in progress. The red are out of WoolEase and have a candy-cane pattern, so they can wait for next Christmas; The purple are Chutes and Ladders pattern, the purple blue striped are my first use of Socks that Rock yarn, which I just got bored with. The brown tweed are for my son-in-law and this is the second sock, although neither one is finished yet. I am doing parts of each one after another, so they stay the same.






















Cleaning out UFO's was such a help. I found the baby blanket, and I found this sweater that is knit from Canadiana when my daughter was about 13 (she's 23 now), but I think it will still fit her because I didn't understand gauge very well then, and it's really big. All I need to do is sew it together and finish the bands. Then I have a bag of scarves in progress - the green is elann's Baby silk in (I think) a Cascade lace, the black is some alpaca I bought at an alpaca ranch in Taos, N.M., the pink is my first attempt with mohair (which I hate), and the purpley black is Branching Out in some wool I bought in Copenhagen this summer. I don't know who will get the scarves, so I don't feel much pressure to finish them. They are mainly for me to try new fibers or new techniques.

I joined a UFO group in Yahoo with the hope that public display would be humiliating, and I would get some finished. I didn't take pictures of the things that I am just frogging and/or giving away. I have 3 sweaters that need minor finishing work, but I hate them, so I will finish them and give them to a local charity - nothing really wrong with them except that I no longer want sweaters out of acrylics. I also had 3 sweaters that I gave to others to either finish or frog and use the yarn.

I also set a goal this year of knitting from my stash. I know I won't go for very long without buying yarn, but I set a rule for myself of no new yarn until at least 3 UFO's are completed. Well, I have finished two, but I also have already gotten some new yarn. I have a hard time resisting sales, and I found RYC Cashsoft 4 ply on sale at Webs, so I ordered enough to make 4 pair of socks. Oh well - I can rationalize this because I also worked 4 basketball games at my school, which paid me enough to nearly cover the cost of the yarn.

UFO's - Batch #1

Here are the two that I have nearly finished. The pinwheel blanket was for a great-nephew - who turns 5 next month. However, his mom is pregnant again, so it will be great for the next one. The sweater and hat are for a former student's baby. I don't normally knit for ex-students (or current ones) but this young man is on his second tour in Iraq, and I teach with his mother.
















The striped sweater is from the naturally colored cotton; I can't remember the name, but I know I bought it from elann. This was going to be a V-neck pullover for me, but I think I am going to frog it and use the yarn for something else. The other sweater is a Rogue hoodie for my daughter. You can see the body is to the armholes, and I have started the sleeves. I got off on the cables on the sleeves, so I need to rip some out and try again. I have enjoyed this pattern but it has also been incredibly frustrating.

Bowl Socks

Football and knitting just go together for me, and this college bowl season has been great for these socks.

I started them on the 23rd, ripped out and restarted them on the 26th, and turned the heel on the second sock this morning, the 2nd. I would have gotten further last night, but those Sooners!! They had to play such an exciting game! Even though they lost, I am still so proud of those young men, and I know next year will be spectacular for OU.

Anyway, I have mainly worked on these during games, most of which didn't turn out to my liking. I always pull for Big 12 schools, and this just wasn't their year.

The colors are really skewed in this picture also. I used Photoshop Elements to try to get it to somewhere close, but it still isn't right. I am using Regia in a brown tweed, and am using a pattern I found on the net called Gentlemen's Socks. I really like the twist in the rib, and I plan on making myself a pair with this same pattern, probably with some self-striping yarn. It makes a really cushy sock.

Edit: After looking at this picture on my blog, I realized that one sock was shorter than the other, so I pulled out the heel and added more to the leg - much better!