WIP Wednesday: September 30, 2015

Sekret Knitting:

• I finished up the sample and the pattern for the piece that's for the Interweave compilation.  It's off with testers right now, but I'm in good shape for my October 17th deadline for this, I think!
• Since that project is off the needles, I started work on a project using Wooly Wonka Fibers Aeslin DK that will be part of a loosely organized Steampunk collection.  I'm working this project up in the "Spice" colorway (which I think is a perfect fall color too).

• And finally, I had a project accepted for one of Knitpicks collections for 2016, so I've started work on that this week.  Waiting on some other/more yarn from them to really get cranking on this, but I had 1 skein already of one of the colors I'm using so I worked up my charts and got that cast on. 

Personal Knitting:  Still nothing on the go for me right now, although I am seriously considering knitting myself a couple of cowls for the fall.  I'm not sure if I will do that or maybe focus on some other handicraft projects for a bit.  For good or for bad, when I have deadline knitting - of which I have a lot in the queue happening right now - I tend to just focus on that in terms of my knitting time. I'll think about it over the next week and see what I want to do.  A couple of quick and easy projects that use up stash sound really fun - must be the fact that it's fall and prime knitting season right now?

PS - If you are heading to Taos Sheep and Wool this weekend, I will be at Mooncat Fibers in town on Bent Street with a trunk show of my Free Spirit Knits pieces from 10-4 and would love to see you there!

Reading Challenge 2015

I'm still working on the Mary, Queen of Scots, biography, as well as The Quick - so not much to report this week.  Less time for reading and more time working on some deadline projects and other work-related things this week, but I'm halfway through (or a bit more) both of these so hoping to have at least one finished up over the course of the week!

I was intrigued by a review of Paul Theroux's new book, Deep South, and wondered if anyone had read that (or others by him) and enjoyed it?  Sing out in the comments if you've got an opinion on his writing!

WEEKS & TOPICS

1. a book with more than 500 pages: Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth. FINISHED.

2. a romance: Katherine by Anya Seton. FINISHED

3. a book that became a movie: The Hours by Michael Cunningham. FINISHED.

4. a book published this year: The House of Hawthorne by Erika Robuck.  FINISHED.

5. a book with a number in the title:  The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. FINISHED.

6. a book written by someone under 30: Eragon by Christopher Paolini. FINISHED.

7. a book with nonhuman characters:  The Greyfriar by Susan Griffith.  FINISHED.

8. a funny book: Bossypants by Tina Fey.  FINISHED.

9. a book by a female author: Fever 1793 by Laurie Anderson.  FINISHED.

10. a mystery or thriller:  Séance in Sepia by Michelle Black. FINISHED.

11. a book with a one-word title: East by Edith Pattou.  FINISHED.

12. a book of short stories:  Tapping the Dream Tree by Charles deLint.  FINISHED.

13. a book set in a different country: The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak. FINISHED.

14. a nonfiction book:  The Fossil Hunter by Shelley Emling.  FINISHED.

15. a popular author's first book: The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan.  FINISHED.

16. a book from your favorite author that you haven't read yet: Forests of the Heart by Charles deLint.  FINISHED.

17. a book a friend recommended: Botelo by Alyson Hagy. FINISHED.

18. a Pulitzer-prize winning book: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. FINISHED.

19. a book based on a true story: The Wild Princess by Mary Hart Perry.  FINISHED.

20. a book at the bottom of your to read list: Before I Go To Sleep by S.J Watson.  FINISHED.

21. a book your mom or dad loves: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.  FINISHED.

22. a book that scares you: The Blackhouse by Peter May. FINISHED.

23. a book more than 100 years old: Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte.  FINISHED.

24. a book based entirely on its cover: Twilight of Avalon by Anna Elliot. FINISHED.

25. a book you were supposed to read in school but didn't: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. FINISHED.

26. a memoir:  Two Rings by Millie Werber and Eve Keller.  FINISHED.

27. a book you can finish in a day:  India Black by Carol Karr.  FINISHED.

28. a book with antonyms in the title: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt. FINISHED.

29. a book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit: Iceland by Betsy Tobin. FINISHED.

30. a book that came out the year you were born: Mary, Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser.

31. a book with bad reviews: The Last Unicorn.

32. a trilogy (the first):  Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clarke. FINISHED.

33. a trilogy (the second) Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clarke.  FINISHED.

34. a trilogy (the third)  Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clarke.  FINISHED.

35. a book from your childhood: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell.  FINISHED.

36. a book with a love triangle: Muse by Mary Novak.

37. a book set in the future: Cinder by Marissa Meyer.

38. a book set in high school: The Small Rain by Madeline L’Engle.  FINISHED.

39. a book with a color in the title: Scarlet by A.C Gaughen.  FINISHED.

40. a book that made/makes you cry:  Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott. FINISHED.

41. a book with magic: Grave Witch by Kalayna Price.  FINISHED.

42. a graphic novel: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith.

43. a book by an author you've never read before:  My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira.  FINISHED.

44. a book you own but have never read: The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro. FINISHED.

45. a book that takes place in your hometown: Magic America by C.E. Medford. FINISHED.

46. a book that was originally written in another language: Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende. FINISHED.

47. a book set during Christmas (or similar holiday): A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas.

48. a book written by an author with your same initials: Silver Lies by Ann Parker. FINISHED.

49. a play: The Odd Couple by Neil Simon.  FINISHED.

50. a banned book: Beloved by Toni Morrison.

51. a book based on OR turned into a tv show: Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs. FINISHED.

52. a book you started but never finished:  The Tudor Rose by Margaret Campbell Barnes. FINISHED.

WIP Wednesday: September 23, 2015

Sekret Knitting:

• Onto the final stitch section of the project for the Interweave compilation.  Hoping to have this finished up this weekend so I can finalize the draft and get it sent off to a test knitter shortly.  
• I finished up the shawl for the November Yarn Club pattern - that's already been sent off to my TE and it's being test knit as we speak!
• My next project in the design queue is another sweater - I'm using a new Wooly Wonka Fibers DK weight yarn (the Aeslin DK - 100% superwash merino) for this one.  It's a fairly simple top-down raglan, but it'll have a bit of a twist and I'm using some gorgeous closures from Jul and basing the design shaping on these - I'm excited to get going on this one as it's been percolating for several months!

Personal Knitting:  I'm not really working on anything personal right now. One of my projects for this month was to put together a list of projects to work between now and this time next year and I've already got 17 on the list!  That and several hundred skeins' worth of wholesale orders are keeping me busy right now!

Reading Challenge 2015

This week, I started Antonia Fraser's biography of Mary, Queen of Scots.  Well-written and a fascinating glimpse into this historic figure's life - so far, I'm really enjoying it (although attempting to keep the warring Scottish factions straight in my head is a challenge - maybe almost as much as it was for Mary!).  I'm about halfway through this one and hope to have it finished up this week.

I'm also reading a really wonderfully fun book, The Quick. Multiple story lines set in Victorian England with a dose of vampires tossed in for good measure - a bit of Gothic horror in there as well. Also about halfway done this - but I'm only reading a bit at a time, so maybe another couple of weeks for this one.

I'll be in the home stretch with only 5 books left on my challenge list for 2015 once I'm done Mary, Queen of Scots!


WEEKS & TOPICS

1. a book with more than 500 pages: Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth. FINISHED.

2. a romance: Katherine by Anya Seton. FINISHED

3. a book that became a movie: The Hours by Michael Cunningham. FINISHED.

4. a book published this year: The House of Hawthorne by Erika Robuck.  FINISHED.

5. a book with a number in the title:  The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. FINISHED.

6. a book written by someone under 30: Eragon by Christopher Paolini. FINISHED.

7. a book with nonhuman characters:  The Greyfriar by Susan Griffith.  FINISHED.

8. a funny book: Bossypants by Tina Fey.  FINISHED.

9. a book by a female author: Fever 1793 by Laurie Anderson.  FINISHED.

10. a mystery or thriller:  Séance in Sepia by Michelle Black. FINISHED.

11. a book with a one-word title: East by Edith Pattou.  FINISHED.

12. a book of short stories:  Tapping the Dream Tree by Charles deLint.  FINISHED.

13. a book set in a different country: The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak. FINISHED.

14. a nonfiction book:  The Fossil Hunter by Shelley Emling.  FINISHED.

15. a popular author's first book: The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan.  FINISHED.

16. a book from your favorite author that you haven't read yet: Forests of the Heart by Charles deLint.  FINISHED.

17. a book a friend recommended: Botelo by Alyson Hagy. FINISHED.

18. a Pulitzer-prize winning book: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. FINISHED.

19. a book based on a true story: The Wild Princess by Mary Hart Perry.  FINISHED.

20. a book at the bottom of your to read list: Before I Go To Sleep by S.J Watson.  FINISHED.

21. a book your mom or dad loves: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.  FINISHED.

22. a book that scares you: The Blackhouse by Peter May. FINISHED.

23. a book more than 100 years old: Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte.  FINISHED.

24. a book based entirely on its cover: Twilight of Avalon by Anna Elliot. FINISHED.

25. a book you were supposed to read in school but didn't: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. FINISHED.

26. a memoir:  Two Rings by Millie Werber and Eve Keller.  FINISHED.

27. a book you can finish in a day:  India Black by Carol Karr.  FINISHED.

28. a book with antonyms in the title: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt. FINISHED.

29. a book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit: Iceland by Betsy Tobin. FINISHED.

30. a book that came out the year you were born: Mary, Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser.

31. a book with bad reviews: The Last Unicorn.

32. a trilogy (the first):  Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clarke. FINISHED.

33. a trilogy (the second) Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clarke.  FINISHED.

34. a trilogy (the third)  Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clarke.  FINISHED.

35. a book from your childhood: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell.  FINISHED.

36. a book with a love triangle: Muse by Mary Novak.

37. a book set in the future: Cinder by Marissa Meyer.

38. a book set in high school: The Small Rain by Madeline L’Engle.  FINISHED.

39. a book with a color in the title: Scarlet by A.C Gaughen.  FINISHED.

40. a book that made/makes you cry:  Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott. FINISHED.

41. a book with magic: Grave Witch by Kalayna Price.  FINISHED.

42. a graphic novel: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith.

43. a book by an author you've never read before:  My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira.  FINISHED.

44. a book you own but have never read: The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro. FINISHED.

45. a book that takes place in your hometown: Magic America by C.E. Medford. FINISHED.

46. a book that was originally written in another language: Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende. FINISHED.

47. a book set during Christmas (or similar holiday): A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas.

48. a book written by an author with your same initials: Silver Lies by Ann Parker. FINISHED.

49. a play: The Odd Couple by Neil Simon.  FINISHED.

50. a banned book: Beloved by Toni Morrison.

51. a book based on OR turned into a tv show: Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs. FINISHED.

52. a book you started but never finished:  The Tudor Rose by Margaret Campbell Barnes. FINISHED.

WIP Wednesday: September 16, 2015

Back from the Salida Fiber Festival, where I had a lovely time as usual - lots of familiar faces to visit with and absolutely GORGEOUS fall weather!  Today, I'm getting back into the groove, catching up on emails and getting some wholesale orders dyed up.

Sekret Knitting:

• Still working on my project for the Interweave compilation.  I'm about a third of the way through and after 1 more repeat, will be ready to start the next section.  That's my focus of knit-time this week.
• I am about 3/4s of the way through the small shawl I'm designing for the November Yarn Club. This one is paired with a gradiant and yowza! - I love how it's knitting up!  I will likely get this one done this week as it's a fast knit. 
• Next up will be another sweater - I've got yarn wound and I'll likely get some preliminary numbers and charting done this week and get this one started. 

Personal Knitting:  I finally finished up the plain ribbed socks I've been working on.  Since I only have knit on this when I've had downtime in my booth while vending, they've been on the needles a while.  I did have some time to get the heel turned and started on the foot on Sunday - and then decided I'd just motor along and finish them since they have been on the needles for so long.  These were a trial run of my Zinnias gradiant.  I've since moved the purple further down to finish off the toes, and eliminated the yellow section, but otherwise, the colors are the same.

Now... if it'll just get cold enough to have a use for wool socks around here, I'd be all set!

WIP Wednesday: September 9, 2015

I'm running behind on normal posting this week, but did want to pop in before I depart to vend at the Salida Fiber Festival this weekend.  (Please stop by my booth to say hello if you are in the area!).

Sekret Knitting:

• I finished up my Chimayo Cardigan for Bare Naked Wools this week.  I LOVE this design - super versatile - I could see it with jeans but equally nice with a skirt.  The subtle grays in the Stone Soup fingering weight are absolutely lovely together.  The pattern will be released in a few weeks, to coincide with Rhinebeck but in the meantime....

• Since the cardi is done, I'm prioritizing my project for the Interweave collection.  That's on the needles and I'm chugging along on it.
• And I cast on the project for the 4th and final piece for the Mythical Creatures club.  That will go out into the world in November.  

Personal Knitting:  I'll be taking my gradiant/striping socks with me to knit on in my booth.  I generally only work on these during shows, since they are a mindless project, but I'd like to get these finished up.  I've got sock #1 finished and sock #2 knit down to the heel.

WIP Wednesday: September 2, 2015

Sekret Knitting:

• In the home stretch on my Bare Naked Wools cardigan project.  I'm down to just the buttonbands and finishing and this will be done!  I love all the wonderful soft grays and natural colors in this one - I think it's one of my favorite designs this year - I can't wait to share it with y'all!
• I'm working on the main lace pattern for the Interweave book shawl - I have one more repeat of this first pattern and then I can move on to the next section.  That'll be my fast-track pattern for the next couple of weeks since it's got an October deadline.
• Following that, up next in the queue is the final Mythical Creatures club pattern - which will be a single-skein fingering-weight shawl.  I'm working on charting for that currently in the hopes of getting it on the needles as my travel project when we drive to Salida.

Personal Knitting:  This one's easy - I'm actually not doing any personal knitting this week - just concentrating on the deadline projects for right now!