birdwatching

It’s been a busy week around here, and this coming week will be busy too.  However, there’s always time to craft!

Here’s the list of goals I wrote last week:

Goals for the Week of June 14 – 20, 2015

• Finish the Sand Tracks Scarf.
• Finish the Raindrops on Roses Shawlette.
• Finish half of the questions and swatches for MHK1.
• Finish at least one color and weave scarf on the rigid heddle loom.
• Cast on the Liquid Silver Shawl.
• Knit the Grisou Scarf (another test knit).

I’ve finished the Sand Tracks Scarf.

The Raindrops on Roses Shawlette is a stockinette stitch body with three repeats of a lace pattern.  I finished that, but did not bind off.  I have enough yarn to knit at least one, possibly two, more repeats of the lace.  Since this is a test knit, I e-mailed the designer and asked if she preferred that I bind off now, per the pattern, or if it was okay for me to knit extra repeats.  She said she’d like to see the shawl in a larger size, so I’m going to knit the additional repeats and expect to finish early this week.  Here’s how it looked on Wednesday, 4 rows shy of finishing the first three lace repeats:

I haven’t done anything with MHK1 this week.  I need to make this a priority as I want to finish before I go to TKGA’s Annual Conference in San Diego from July 21-26.

Yesterday, I tied on a color and weave scarf.  This is a solid red warp.  The weft alternates one pick of the same red as the warp with one pick of a tweed.  I’ve woven perhaps 1/4 of the scarf, and plan to finish it early this week.

I looked at all the crafting I plan to finish this month and decided to move Liquid Silver to early July.  I do want to swatch for it by the end of the month.

The Grisou Scarf is a test knit.  I am using a different yarn than the designer, so swatched for it.  I ended up knitting swatches with three different size needles!  I’ve just got to finish the border, and expect to finish knitting it today.

While I was waiting to hear back from the designer of Raindrops on Roses and for the Grisou swatches to dry, I cast on another Heart Illusion Dishcloth.  I got about 1/2 of it knit.

Finally, though this has nothing to do with knitting, I wanted to post a picture of me with my father, since today is Father’s Day in the United States.  I often say that I’ve birdwatched since I was 6 months old.  My father started birdwatching shortly after my parents married, and once I came along, I was in a backpack on his back.  This morning, my father, mother, aunt, uncle, and I went birdwatching for Father’s Day.  We went to a newly opened 11 mile drive that skirts along the northern edge of Lake Apopka, not far from where we live.  We only saw 22 species of birds, all of which are common in our area, but we saw many, many individual birds of most species.  Here’s a picture my mom took of my Dad and I, looking at birds:

Goals for June 21 to 30, 2015

I’m writing this set of goals through the end of the month, to cover the class deadlines for the HPKCHC.  I honestly don’t expect to finish all of these items, but I’m going to do my best!

• Finish Raindrops on Roses Shawl (Headmistress Challenge)
• Finish Grisou Scarf (homework, but which class?)
• Finish Solid / 1×1 Scarf (OWL)
• Three more color and weave scarves to meet OWL 50% (highly unlikely to finish)
• Finish current Heart Illusion Dishcloth, plus 4 more (COMC?)
• Tier Scarf (Charms or Potions)
• Crochet Dishcloths (Transfiguration)
• MHK1 swatches (Divination and / or Charms)
• Small stuffed bird (DADA)
• Cast on Sweet Summer Shawl (Quidditch Round 3; due July 8)
• Liquid Silver Swatch (OOTP; due July 19)
• Cast on Begonia Swirl Shawl (Headmistress Challenge; due July 28)

Updated List of Goals for 2015

Knitting

• Knit myself a sweater
• Improve my finishing techniques
• Finish MHK Level 1
• Dishcloth Advent Calendar
  • Tribbles, finished January 18, 2015
  • Leaves, finished March 30, 2015 but never blogged
  • Heart Illusion Dishcloths (in progress)
• Charity Knits
  • Mock Rib Scarf, finished January 18, 2015
  • Emergency Scarf, finished June 1, 2015
• Do some test knits
  • Sand Tracks Scarf, finished June 16, 2015
  • Raindrops on Roses Shawlette (in progress)
• Finish or frog all UFOs
  • Traveling Scarf
  • Bigger on the Inside Hat
  • Evenstar
  • Quinn Bag
  • Baby Blue Monster
• Socks
  •  Wearing o’ the Green(e) Socks, finished February 14, 2015
• Other Projects
  • Clapotis, finished June 1, 2015
  • Liquid Silver (remaking from scratch, since I frogged it!)
  • Fountain Pen Shawl
  • Begonia Swirl Shawl (remaking from scratch, since a friend accidentally felted the first one)
  • Felted Cat Bed, finished May 16, 2015
• Design at least one project from scratch
  • Super Secret Shawl, finished June 1, 2015

Crochet

• Learn to read crochet patterns
• Learn all the basic crochet stitches.
• Make at least one non-granny square crochet project
• Dishcloth Advent Calendar

Spinning

• Breed Specific Spinning
• Learn to spin on a drop spindle

Weaving

• Continue playing with color and weave drafts
  • Ravenclaw Houndstooth Scarf, finished January 19, 2015
  • Solid Warp, alternating picks, one of which matches warp, in progress
• Learn pick up stick drafts
• Learn Inkle Weaving
• Learn Kumihimo braiding
• Explore Twill weaves on the floor loom
• Make items for the Guild Sale
  • Slytherin Houndstooth Scarf, finished May 1, 2015
• Other
  • Woven Doctor Who Scarf, finished May 7, 2015

Dyeing

• Finish dyeing the MAPLE LEAF Shawls
• pH / water source experiment
• Return to dye triangles project