Off the Needles | Sweater In A Day

Last Sunday... I woke up and decided that I was going to knit a sweater. In a day.

And I did...

Pattern: Oatmeal Pullover by Jane Richmond

Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Chunky in Charcoal

Raveled: Oatmeal in Charcoal

I get crazy knitting ideas on a regular basis, sometimes they turn out, sometimes they don't. I know about the risks as I go into it, but optimism usually wins and the yarn finds its way onto my needles.

This last weekend, I knew we were going to spend time with family to watch a football game and travel was required, so I gathered supplies for sweater (in a day) before the car ride.

The yarn looks a wee bit purple here, but it is in fact a nice charcoal grey and that Milk and Honey lotion bar is a necessity for all knitters - we stock them at Firefly Fibers and everyone loves them!

Anywho... I cast on in the car about 12:30PM on the way to our destination and made some pretty great progress during our visit...

I've been knitting a lot of pieced sweaters lately and I finally got to try Bristol Ivy's Provisional Bind Off that was featured here on Very Shannon's blog - it worked great and I highly recommend giving it a whirl if you've only used waste yarn.

So... I started the ribbed bottom edging in the car on the way home, finished it up at home and started sleeve #1 before heading off to bed that evening.

The next morning, I was back at it and finished up the first sleeve in the car on the way to an eye appointment (hubby was driving), then got the second sleeve going and wrapped up my sweater a little before noon for a sweater-in-a-day success!

Truth be told, this isn't my first Oatmeal Pullover. I knit the first about 2 years ago over a weekend, so I knew I could do it in a day... even with frivolous things like eating, sleeping, showering. Jane's patterns are so wonderful and well-written that if someone wanted to knit this on more than a 24-hour timeline, it could be a easily completed in a couple long weekends because of the large needles and chunky yarn.

Here are my freshly washed and blocked Oatmeal Twins:

I have some pretty lofty sweater knitting goals for 2015 and this was the perfect start to the year. I still have yet to organize my sweater plan -- it's currently just bouncing around in my head and being added to on an hourly basis -- so I'm hoping to sort that all out this weekend and I'll share some of the dirty details of my upcoming year of sweaters then.

Until then... I'm almost ready to bind off our first Simple Knits Knitalong project - Lansbury by Very Shannon.

With a little more than a week left in the month, there's still time to knit up the January project and join our KAL fun - several of the ladies at the shop are casting on this weekend.  Unless, of course, a sock WIP has somehow taken up residence in the same project bag as you see above. *wink*

Cheers & happy weekend knitting!

Off the Needles | Goal Recap

Time went much too fast this last weekend, but it always does. It was a good weekend and we had a nice drive to Northern Wisconsin where there are lots of beautiful leaves to visit with hubby's family for his grandma's 92nd birthday - it's just dawning on me now that I didn't snap a single photo. Drats! Oh well, trust me, it was beautiful. Surprisingly, I spent a good portion of the drive up just taking in the scenery without thinking much about the looming deadlines. But, on the way home and on Monday, I spent a fair amount of time knitting. I managed to complete Goal #1 from my last post and bind off the new Campside Knitalong for the shop. It got a bath this morning *squee* and it's drying on the blocking boards now.

I can't wait to share finished photos and the project details for this one! It was a really great knit and I'm resisting casting on another so I have one to wear, but the knitters at the shop come first, so I'm holding off until after the next shipment of yarn arrives.

As for Goals #2 & #3... unfortunately, I didn't get to my sweaters this weekend, but I did get the Inland project bag out so I can get back at it before the end of the Journey-along.

I do have another FO to share... Remember these socks?

Well... now they look like this:

I had them finished up a few weeks back for hubby's birthday and I'm happy to report that they fit him perfectly! I looked back and found my original post on these socks and it was from January (oops) and that means that my intention was for these socks to be worn by hubby last winter. Sorry, dear.  

Pattern: Basic Sock by Churchmouse Yarns & Teas

Yarn: Regia Zima 8-Ply Color by Regia

Raveled: Basic Sock - Worsted

Well... It's knit night at the shop, so I'm off to pull my Inland out of the knitting bag and hang with the knitters - and maybe knit a wee bit, too. I'll be back with more on the finished Knitalong and there *could* be a guest blogger stopping in soon, too!

Cheers!

Off the Needles | Journey-along

Today I want to share a couple Journey-along FO's with you...

First up is my Swift and a very rare selfie. I seriously love this hat - both the knitting and the wearing! This is the second one I've knit since the first is a shop sample and I just had to make another for myself!

Pattern: Swift by Shannon Cook

Yarn: Sport Weight by Blue Sky Alpacas (color 510 Black)

Raveled: Swift in Black

Another project I want to share with you is this fabulous pair of socks from Journey that were knit by the talented Sandy for the Journey-along:

Aren't they great?! I love the color combo!

Pattern: Climb by Jane Richmond

Yarn: Sock by Shibui Knits (color Jackie) and toe in Fine by Spud & Chloe (color Shitake)

Raveled: Climb Socks

It's been a lot of fun seeing the Journey projects online and in the shop, and the enthusiasm for immediately casting on new projects has been contagious! I'm currently down to one Journey WIP, so I'm trying to decide on the next project to cast on. Probably one of the sweaters, but we'll see....

February was a whirlwind with class prep for Firefly Fibers and now that March is here and the spring classes are posted, I have a little breathing room. Hubby is home today, so this afternoon we're headed out to pick up a toy for me (I'll share the details on that soon). I better gather up the car knitting so we can be on our way!

Cheers!