Mission Falls Wool is the Best

I finished Calorimetry recently. It was really quick and took probably an hour. I used Mission Falls merino wool. I got some mill ends of it from Ebay, and so far it is my favorite wool. It is really soft, and the stitch definition is good. I wish I could afford to use this for a sweater, but it's pretty expensive. For Calorimetry, I cast on 86 stitches, since I've heard that using the original pattern makes it turn out huge. I also did only about 13 of the short row sections. I have only done short row a few times, and in those patterns, they used a wrap and turn, before turning a and working the short row. I didn't see why, but now, I see that otherwise it creates holes. This pattern didn't have you wrap the stitch, so holes are created. I also finished half of Backyard Leaves, and I wish I had done both halves at the same time. I like the pattern, I just couldn't get myself to work on it for some reason. The pattern is difficult to see, but after it's blocked, it should be better. I also started the We Call Them Pirates hat, using Knit picks Telemark. I'm using a size 5 needle, and am actually going to use the hat as a swatch for Knit Picks Norwegian Ski Sweater. I had to add stitches to the pirate pattern (I have no idea why, since I should have fewer stitches), and am probably going to do one more repeat of the pattern. I think my colorwork is getting better, though. Another pattern I've had my eye on recently is Eunny Jang's Argyle Vest, since it also uses steeking, like the Knit picks sweater.

Early Spring Cleaning

I've been going through my yarn recently, and decided I will try to only knit from my stash for a while. I have enough for about four to five sweaters, six pairs of socks, and other random projects. The problem is that I will be really excited about a project, and I'll start it, then it will seem boring, or I decide I don't like it. I have a lot of skeins of different colors, so I'm forced into doing stripes a lot of the time. If I do decide to get more yarn, it will be for a solid colored sweater. I have to finish a lot of projects, though. It gets stressful when there is a huge backlog of unfinished projects piling up. It feels unorganized, and more like work instead of a hobby. I've also decided to work more on techniques.
The first thing I've started is just practicing stranded knitting. The main thing about that is, my left hand holding the yarn feels awkward, since I'm used to knitting with my right hand. I want to just practice knitting with my left hand in basic stockinette, and I think fair isle will be a lot easier. After that I want to try knitting without a cable needle. I've seen instructions, but I've never spent the time to sit down and actually learn it.
I can't post any pictures, because my camera is in the process of dying. It can turn on for several seconds, then the batteries die, even if they are new. It's annoying, because I haven't had it that long. But hopefully, I can get a new camera soon. I have three finished sweaters and a hat that I haven't posted, and several projects in process.