Work in Progress (WIP) Wednesday will be a regular feature of my blog, sharing the progress I’ve made on my active projects. I’m not going to list every unfinished project I have laying around the house. I think I have maybe 6 unfinished, hibernating projects, which is not bad, but there is no point updating you when nothing is happening with them! For this first WIP Wednesday post, I have 3 projects to share.
Fiber Arts
All Fiber all the time
HPKCHC Spring 2014 Term
The Harry Potter Knitting / Crocheting House Cup (HPKCHC) Spring 2014 Term started on May 1. Before term starts, I usually plan out my projects. I did some of my usual planning for this term, but did not finish or get a chance to write a blog post about it because of getting ready for and attending Maryland Sheep and Wool. Today, I am finishing my planning. I did talk about this topic in the one podcast episode I published, but in case you haven’t seen that episode, I will explain in detail how the game works and how I plan for a new term.
Getting Better
Back on April 30, I finished my second spinning project! I did not have time to post about it before I left for Maryland Sheep and Wool, so I am getting to it now. I finished spinning 8 ounces of the pin-drafted roving I got from Ohio Valley Fibers at The Fiber Event in Greencastle. I started spinning this fiber while I was at The Florida Sheep, Wool, and Herding Dog Festival, and in my post about that event, I included a progress photo.
Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, May 3 & 4, 2014
Back in February, I turned 40. My parents wanted to do something extra-special for my birthday present. They came up with the perfect idea: all travel expenses to Maryland Sheep and Wool for me and my friends Stacy and Beth! We had an awesome time!
Birch Leaf Shawl
I chose to knit the Birch Leaf Shawl (Ravelry pattern link) because I was looking for a travel project. My sister is in her final year of medical school. My parents and I were flying from Florida to Baltimore to attend Match Day, which is when fourth year medical students find out where they will be doing their residency. I needed a knitting project to take on the trip. My personal criteria for travel knitting are:
- The pattern should be easy to memorize so I don’t have to look at it all the time.
- The project should be easy to pick up and put down, even if I am in the middle of a row.
- The project should take long enough to knit that I will not finish it before I get home.
- The project should require only one or two skeins of yarn.
In addition, I was looking for a project that would fit into one of the HPKCHC prompts for March. The Ancient Runes prompt was about Celtic runes and their connection to trees. One possibility was to craft a a project that represented one of the trees connected to the Celtic runes. Birch trees were on the list.