Episode 32 - Knitting Fails and Be-A-Helper 2.0

Episode 32
WindsweptMonique on Ravelry and Instagram, windsweptmonique@gmail.com. Show Notes at knittingontherun.podbean.com
Stash, Wips, Knitting Fail, Out and About
Before we start – planning on getting back to having knitting and running topics, now that the holidays are over and we’re starting to get healthy again (knock on wood).  What do you want to hear about?  I have a few topics lined up but I’d love to hear from you.  Come to the Ravelry group and let me know or send me an email at windsweptmonique@gmail.com
Stash
Got 4 new skeins of CoBaSi by HiKoo – sock weight yarn without wool - 55% Cotton/ 16% Bamboo/ 8% Silk/ 21% Elastic – planning on using the Blarney colorway to knit JavaPurl’s Peppermint Mocha socks, and the blue-gray multi colored Wave Caps colorway to knit the Vanilla Is The New Black socks by Anneh Fletcher
Also got my first shipment from HipString’s Cotton club.  Got 2 coordinated 2-oz braids of sunset colors, with oranges and blues – one with lighter tones and one with darker tones.  Normally I’m not a fan of orange but I have to say these two colorways are beautiful.
 
Wips
Vanilla sock in Berroco Comfort Sock in Bali colorway.  Still chugging along at this 2+ year old WIP, it’s my car knitting – planning on putting the heel scrap yarn for an after thought heel in today
Star Wars sweater for Thing 1 – finished the main body, on the bottom colorwork.  Using Nordic Yoke Pullover, a free pattern from Patons, as the base and altering the charts to have Star Wars characters/spaceships/icons. 

Frosted by Paper Daisy Creations - finished the first sleeve, started second sleeve.  Hoping to finish the second sleeve this week and this will be my Ravellenics entry.  Knitting up in some old stash, Longmeadow (discontinued) from Valley Yarns in white, and the blues are 2 old skeins of Debbie Bliss Amalfi (discontinuted), 1 color of Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy and 1 color of Nettle Grove from Plymouth Yarns.

Emerald Deep shawl – took this to Karate Movie Night at my son’s Dojo and finished Chart 3 and started Chart 4.  I’ll definitely have this done for the auction in March.  this shawl is a charity knit for AGC Scholarships, a group that raises money for families dealing with infertility or who are trying to adopt.  Worked in Ito Yarn’s Kinu, 100% silk.  Kinu has a colorway, Aqua, which is almost the exact color of AGC’s logo so it was too perfect not to use.  The shawl will be auctioned off at AGC’s annual gala to raise money.  If you or someone you love would like to learn more about AGC, visit agcscholarships.org
 
Knitting Fail
As mentioned a few months ago, I was planning on fading a Lush by Tin Can Knits using color-coordinated yarns I picked up at Rhinebeck in gold, gold with pink specks and pink with gold undertones.  I washed the pink and gold/pink yarns to wash out extra dye – and unfortunately, it looks like the pink speckled yarn wasn’t set properly.  It wasn’t just the extra dye that came out, a lot of the pink washed out of the yarn – so much so that almost looks like the gold. :(  Definitely not going to fade it with the pink now, it would be a huge change in colors and not a fade at all, more like stripes.  Maye I’ll “fade” the gold into the gold/pink and treat them as hand-dyed yarns and just alternate skeins.  I’ll let you know what I decide to do.  Very sad.
2nd knitting fail – started knitting handspun for the Ravellenics, but I have the wrong needles.  Whereas the 2.5 and 2s I swatched with were too big, the 0s are too small and using magic loop is just not working.  So I’m putting this homespun earband on hold until I get 16 inch US size 1s
3rd knitting fail – I’m on a roll, eh?  Got to the heel of my ancient Vanilla Socks and realized I hadn’t increased for the wide par of the foot before reaching the heel.  Boo!  Lots of frogging there.  They won’t be ready for Knit Aid’s deadline.  http://www.knitaid.org/
 
Out and About
I did not make it to Boston Fiber event – had some previous commitments that ran over.  Heard from some friends that they had a great time and saw pictures if beautiful, squishy yarn.
Will be away next week visiting both my parents and my in-laws, so no episode next week.  But expect some Instagram posts involving pools or palm trees as we’re headed to Florida!
On The Run
I’m back :)  I've been cross-training and strength training and even hopped in the local YMCA pool for a few laps and discovered just how out of shape I am!