I just KNIT…
…my way through 26.2 hours!
May’s Mostly Continuous Knitting Marathon officially began at 8:02am EST.
See my periodic progress reports below!
Here’s how the days went…
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Wednesday, May 23rd…
8:02 – 8:18am – Added my fellow marathoners to my Blog’s main-page (yes I should have done this yesterday 
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8:19am – started with my newly cast-on cap-sleeve sweater (design by Twinkle)
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KNIT KNIT KNIT KNIT KNIT
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RIP RIP RIP
9:24am – First Break
Some protein to fuel the next several hours!
How things started…
And how they ended…
YES, your observations are correct – I ended up back at the beginning! Some days just start that way
I was hoping to finish this little cap-sleeve sweater (by Twinkle – VK Spring/Summer 2012) before tomorrow evening.
Well I better get back at it!
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9:44am – Back to my knitting (and hopefully no ripping)!
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KNIT KNIT KNIT KNIT KNIT
11:40am – LUNCH BREAK (it’s amazing how marathons work up an appetite )
I am happy to report that progress IS being made…
Once I get to 7-1/2″ I get to add the waistband detailing!
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12:14pm – Back to the needles!
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KNIT KNIT KNIT
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KNIT KNIT (turn up music) KNIT KNIT KNIT
2:12pm – Break for pictures…
This sweater design gave me the idea to experiment with color-blocking with some bright-colored cotton (Mandarin Petit) I had on hand.
HOWEVER… once I started the waistband detail I quickly felt knitters remorse as the colors are too jarring together. The third color is a bright orange which I thought would bridge the yellow and dark orange but I think I should follow my instincts and either stick to all yellow (as started) or move on to a different project for now! I LOVE the green that it is shown in, but I can’t afford a yarn-splurge right now!
DECISIONS! DECISIONS!
I’ll let you know what I decided at my next break. Right now, it’s…
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2:45pm – Back to work Play!
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KNIT KNIT KNIT
5:15pm – Break for updates…
This bright-colored necklace gave me the inspiration to forge ahead with my color-block experiment! Why not? Why not take a chance on potentially wasting an entire Knitting Marathon day on a bad color decision? I like to learn by doing and re-doing I like to KNIT and RIP so that I can commiserate with others when they have to do the same
Sure I could have been safe and knitted it in the same color as illustrated in VK but where is the excitement in that? Well, I guess it would have been exciting to wear that gorgeous green color…
Well, time to get back to my experiment (pictures later – I think I need more color on the needles before I unveil (or RIP) it!
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5:25pm – Back at it!
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KNIT KNIT KNIT
6:45pm – Dinner Break – I NEED it, things are not looking good (and I mean LITERALLY)
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7:45pm – Don’t know why but I am still pushing this color-blocking thing
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KNIT KNIT KNIT
8:08pm – It’s past time to start RIPPING…
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RIP RIP RIP
8:09pm – And time to start KNITTING on a project that has a bright future
I am switching to my 3-Button Noro Jacket…
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8:10pm – There’s still time for me to MAKE PROGRESS…
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KNIT KNIT KNIT
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KNIT KNIT KNIT
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KNIT KNIT KNIT
11:14pm – Now here’s some real PROGRESS…
This is the best pattern for making huge progress in a short amount of time. The main stitch is called “puff ribbing” and it involves dropped stitches. I should be able to finish this back by tomorrow!
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11:20pm – The final push for the evening…
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KNIT KNIT KNIT
12:01am – I think I’ve hit the wall. Time to get my Z’s
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ZZZ… ZZZ… ZZZ…
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Thursday, May 24th…
7:07am – Oops, slept a little longer than I meant to Well I will make it up at the end!
I won’t stop until my Noro Jacket Back is done!!!
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KNIT KNIT KNIT
11:27am – Well, that was a productive bit of knitting…
Ta Da – The back of my Noro Jacket is done!!!
Another Knitting Marathon is in the Books!!!
On Your Mark, Get Set, KNIT!
It’s 8:02 EST – time to start MAY’s mostly continuous KNITTING MARATHON…
I will post throughout the day, so check-in and reply to one of the posts with how YOU are doing – I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!!!
26.2 hours – WOW, that’s a lot of knitting! (I am planning to sleep 5-6 hours at some point to help me make it through.)
Checklist:
- Current WiPs- CHECK
Workout ball for exercise breaks– HA, Like THAT’S gonna happen!- Agreement by DH to cover dinner for the family – oops forgot that one.
- Camera ready with battery charged – CHECK
- Computer on and ready for entering updates – CHECK
- Coffee on – CHECK
- Upbeat music ready – CHECK
- Clean house – Life’s not perfect you know!
Again, just so you know I’m not a complete lunatic, I won’t actually be knitting straight for 26.2 hours. The way it works is: I knit for 1 – 2 hours, then take 10-15 minutes to either: snap a picture of my work, post my progress, exercise a bit, eat or take care of other necessary business.
Ok, Everyone… Let’s ROCK those knitting needles!
With May’s Knitting Marathon just a few days away…
…I took stock of my Works-In-Progress.
Unfortunately (or fortunately ) this led to a panicked frenzy of casting-on new projects to be absolutely certain I would have enough available from which to choose during those 26.2 hours of mostly continuous knitting.
Now, I am pretty good at math and if I had paused for even a nano-second to calculate the number of hours it would take me to complete what I currently had on the needles, I wouldn’t have cast-on all of these extra projects.
But then… WHAT FUN WOULD THAT HAVE BEEN???
Here’s what my recent casting-on resulted in…
- 2 cotton wash-cloths – to give to a friend whose husband makes soap and shared some with me!
- A third “re-do” of my “Breezy Summer Scarf” which I think I will re-name “Third Time Better Be a Charm“.
- Silk window-pane scarf for a Christmas Gift – I am trying to plan ahead this year!
- Bright pink bias scarf POUR MOI
26.2 hours of mostly continuous knitting – that’s a lot of time, maybe I should browse my pattern library again…
Well, maybe 15 Projects will be enough to keep me busy
Come on EVERYONE – go get your WiPs READY!
Clear your Schedule, Gather your WiPs…
…and get ready to KNIT, KNIT, KNIT!
This month’s Marathon (May 23rd – 24th) is right around the corner.
Are you ready to Join me in knitting for 26.2 hrs???
Schedule some time off from your normal routine and get some of those Works-in-Progress moved into the finished column! If you’re like me, you probably have several projects from which to choose!
Here’s how I plan my 26.2 hours…
- Knit for 60-90 minutes (or so – this will vary depending on the day!)
- Take 10-15 minutes to: snap a picture, post my progress, exercise a bit, eat or take care of other necessary business.
- Post throughout the day. Please check-in and reply to one of the posts with how YOU are doing – I LOVE HEARING FROM EVERYONE!
- I do plan for sleep (~ 6 hours or so) – one month my alarm didn’t go off and I slept for over 7 hours (slacker!!!)
All in all it’s 26.2 hours of mostly continuous knitting!
The next day I re-cap my progress… Check out April’s Marathon Results!
The countdown is on for our May Marathon!
Something different is on my knitting needles…
…and it doesn’t include bobbles!
Yes, I finally reached the saturation point. 8 bobble bracelets and I’m ready to move on.
Sometimes for fun, I like to just cast on and start knitting to see where it takes me. So, I cast on 22 stitches (with no pattern as a guide) but the thought that I could use a simple light summer scarf.
Here’s where it led me…
My simple 2-row repeat scarf:
Cast on 22 stitches
Row 1: Slip 1 purlwise, (Knit 1, YarnOver, Purl 2 Tog) repeat 6 times, Knit 2
Row 2: Slip 1 purlwise, Knit to the end
Repeat these 2 rows until your scarf is as long as you want.
HOW IS THAT FOR SIMPLE?
And not only is it simple, I’m pretty sure it will be a quick knit as I am using size 10 needles!
Go ahead, just cast-on and start knitting to see where it takes you.
Back to the Bobble Bracelets I GO!
I finally had a few minutes of knitting time…
…to get back to my rainbow of bracelets!
And, I restored my sanity by separating them. The pink one is now on its own and I will work on it until it’s finished and then move through the rainbow. I hope to have ALL 5 done by tonight – I’ll let you know by the end of the day if I am successful!
It’s great to be bobbling again!
Why don’t you join me and make a bobble bracelet for yourself!!!
A Bevy of Bobbles are on the Needles!
I couldn’t get to sleep last night and this is what happened…
Yes, you are seeing correctly, I CAST-ON FOR 5 MORE BOBBLE BRACELETS!
Call me crazy, but the yarn was staring up at me saying wouldn’t I look good as a bracelet???
So naturally I caved and cast-on. Now it was late and my judgement was somewhat impaired which is why you are seeing all 5 on the same set of needles. At 1 am, it seemed perfectly logical and efficient to put them on one set of needles. My logic was that I’ll knit them all at the same time and be done with 5 in a jiff!
Well, after work today when reason was still with me, I realized how crazy that was as I am spending most of my precious minutes of after work knitting time UNTANGLING the lovely jumble of rainbow colored yarns
Which is why I only have this little bit of progress to show you…
If you want to jump on the Bobble Bandwagon, the pattern on which I based my first one is on Ravelry and it’s called “Not on My Watch Bobble Bracelet” by Amy Seeberger
I have since modified things to suit me and I now cast on only 5 stitches, which means I knit 2 bobbles on the first BOBBLE row and then I knit only 1 bobble on the next BOBBLE row. And then I alternate from there – knitting each row in between.
This bobbling is going to have to come to a stop soon though – I have many other projects waiting for their knitting turn!!
Bobble Bracelets…
…are quickly becoming the Best Quick Knits in my repertoire!
My latest finished bobble bracelet…
I have another one started in grey…
Here’s the orange one I finished during my April Knitting Marathon…
And I have plans to make more, LOTS more – I’m thinking CHRISTMAS GIFTS for the girls on my list!
Some of the yarns I’m thinking of using…
Help – I’m BOBBLING and I can’t stop!
If you want to join me, the pattern is on Ravelry; it’s called “Not on My Watch Bobble Bracelet” by Amy Seeberger
For my orange bracelet, I modified the pattern by casting on only 5 stitches. This way it was skinnier and didn’t look so much like a “sweat band” as Pete pointed out. When he saw what I was knitting, he asked, “are you knitting sweat bands?” What could I say? If I looked at it from his perspective, I could see his point. For his astute observations, I’m going to knit him a pair of sweatbands for Christmas.
My Little Blossom Cardigan is waiting for it’s blooms!
To get inspired, I took a photographic walk around my garden.
Some of the colors I captured…
Colorful Gerber Daisies
Lavender Bearded Iris
Purple Verbena and Weathered Cat Statue
Now, here is the sad empty garden of my Little Blossom Cardigan…
Little Blossom Cardigan front & back BEFORE embroidery
The pattern from Zoe Mellor shows the sweater strewn with white daisies. I’m not sure yet if I want white daisies, so I am going to experiment a bit. I really like the colors of the Gerber Daisies – I think they would complement the blue background.
Time to go embroider the garden!
So, did I tell you I finished my Drop-Stitch Jacket???
Well I did and here it is…
I wore it to a 50th Birthday/Retirement celebration last night and it was very comfortable.
It’s perfect for Spring/Summer – just a little something to complete an outfit. Light and airy so you don’t get too hot; yet enough of a layer to ward off any night-time chill. If it weren’t for my April Marathon earlier this week, I would not have finished it in time for the party. I’m already planning what to finish during my May Marathon… Join me on the 23rd to complete one of your projects!
2 reasons I love finishing things…
1. I have a hand-crafted item to gift to someone else or myself!
2. I have a reason to cast-on for another project!
