Works in Progress: August Edition

Some knitters cast on a project and stay faithful right through the end.  I, on the other hand, am a very unfaithful knitter who likes to jump around between projects, possibly leaving a project untouched for weeks or months only to come back and be unsure where I left off.   I've tried to focus more on the already started projects and make some progress on them.

I can't only work on one project at a time because sometimes I want something challenging that requires almost full attention, like Lacy December Scarf:

But sometimes I need something mindless because I'm hanging out with friends chatting and I know I'll lose count of which row I'm on, such as Smittens:

And sometimes I need something that I can start and finish in a day or two because everything else is becoming too much of a chore, like my newest finished object, Cotton Candy Hat (which I'm including in my works in progress because it went so quick it hardly had a chance to be a WIP):

I almost always have a pair of socks on the needles, like Texture Socks, though I messed them up royally and need to restart them:

And when, amongst all the other projects I have on the needles I have the time, I'll cast on with a group from Ravelry to create something that is a mystery right up to the end.  Here is a photo of the first August Mystery project so far:

I have no idea what it is, but my guess is a cat scarf.  What do you think?

Finished Object: Ocho the Octopus

Pattern: Octopus by Tamie Snow

in Tiny Yarn Animals by Tamie Snow

Yarn: Sugar 'n' Cream Ombres and Prints, 100% cotton

What I learned: Bent yarn needles are life savers for amigurumi!  I had had the parts crocheted for a while... a good week or two, but I was dreading putting him together.  First of all the pattern ended with a hole in the bottom of the body which I didn't know how to work with and I couldn't figure out how to place the legs.  I finally decided to crochet the hole shut and then use straight pins to pin the legs on to see how they would fit on.  This is what I came up with:

 

I thought he turned out pretty good, I like the stitch definition better with this yarn than what I used for the hippo, but it's also a lot newer yarn so that may have something to do with it.  I also really liked how the circumference turned out to be just perfect for the yarn and allowed the red, white and blue to spiral instead of clump on one side like I originally feared it would do.

Saspy meets Ocho:

Finished Object: Beaded Purse

 

Pattern: Exploring Waves by Laurie Lee 

I made this as part of the group Mystery 220 on Ravelry.  Each week the moderators of the group would post a "clue" that we would knit and then wait eagerly for the next installment of the pattern.  This was the mystery from January (as embarrassed as I am to admit it).

Yarn: Dale of Norway Baby Ull in a nice heather grey

I'm not usually big on neutral yarns.  I'll go for bright colors, fun variegates, or stripes but I rarely go for black, grey or brown.  I decided since we were putting beads on this one that I didn't want anything too crazy.  Oh, and there's a little bit of blue variegated Yarn Bee Snowflake yarn in the cord which I used to double the yarn so I could crochet the cord instead of making an i-cord as the i-cord was getting on my nerves!

What I'll remember from this project: Beads! I was slightly intimidated by the beads but after working with them a little bit they weren't nearly as hard as I thought they would be.  I used the pre-strung method and hope some day to try the other method that uses a crochet hook. 

This project really shouldn't have taken me this long but I kept getting distracted, then I brought it home for break and left the yarn and needles when I returned to school.   I am glad that I finally finished it and that it turned out nicely!

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Update on 5K goal:

It has been really warm here so I haven't been great about running but I'm trying to make myself go out for a run no matter what, even if its a short run, hoping it will get me used to running in the heat.  I'm not sure the 5K on the 24th will be the goal maker but I'm going to do everything I possibly can to make it the best run possible!