In Progress

I usually have about two or three (or ten) yarny projects going at the same time. Sometimes, I'll be all gung-ho about a project and start, get half-way finished and then lose interest. Maybe I'm stuck at a certain stitch, size of the garment, whatever. There are more than a few tote bags in my workroom sitting with half-finished pieces. 

Right now, I have three things that I'm working on in rotation. If a project is sitting near the TV, then you'll know that I'm still interested.

I've been actively crocheting chemo caps for my cousin's cancer patients at the UC San Francisco hospital for years. Many of my fellow knitters and crocheters have donated tons of hats. Here are two that I finished recently:

Crocheted Chemo Caps

This is a design that I adapted over the years. I start with a circle, using front post stitches. Once the circle is large enough for a standard head-size, I stop increasing and use the granite stitch for the rest of the hat. Sometimes I add a colorful pom-pom, flower or twisty pieces to the top of the hat. This is a great way to use up various half-skeins of soft acrylic yarn.

Wollhaus' "Mira" Slip-Over

Over the summer I started this slip-over sweater I saw on the Wollhaus Yarn Shop website. It's called "Mira" by Elizabeth Smith. I decided to make it into a warmer sweater, using blue worsted weight acrylic and making the sleeves long. I'm at the sleeves now and hope to finish by the time the weather gets cooler in Los Angeles.

Working on the sleeves of my "Mira" Sweater

Every Saturday afternoon I meet up with the Ocean Park Fiber Artists at The Coffee Bean in Santa Monica. One of the members is my ol' yarny friend, Barbara Schwartz. I met Barbara when she used to attend our West Hollywood Stitch 'n Bitch meetings. Barbara uses the MOST beautiful yarn in her projects. She has made a number of simple ponchos that consist of a shawl-like straight piece, joined along the top edge to form a neck opening. The basic size of of this rectangular piece is 22" x 48".

Barbara's Rectangular Ponchos

I have two huge skeins of Kauni Wool that I've been hanging onto for YEARS. The colors used to work with my brown hair...that's how long I've had the yarn! Luckily, there are strips of a taupe-gray color in this yarn too, so it will work with my now SILVER hair! I decided to use Barbara's formula for a poncho and crochet one, using my favorite filet stitch taken from THIS blanket pattern. This will be a long-term project because I'm using a rather small crochet hook with thin yarn.

The beginning of my "Barbara" Poncho

In addition to all of the above, I just finished three red scarves for the Red Scarf Project!

I'm also thinking about holiday gifts. I usually make something small each year for the KnitGrrlz. I'll never top THIS project, but I do have something fun in mind!

How many projects do you have on the needles and/or hook right now?