Pieces of 2013, Part Three - The Knitting

Well, this isn't too bad - I'm finishing up with 2013 right near the middle of January 2014 - sooner than I have finished my thank-you notes for Christmas gifts! There wasn't a lot of knitting this past year, and to be honest, I'm not exactly sure why.  I was happy with what I made, I just didn't make too many things!

The final knits of the year were four birthday gifts, and one thing for myself.  I think I mentioned here that I had decided to knit gifts for four of my nieces' birthdays, after seeing a cowl that was knit in a class at Rosie's.  I asked each of them for their favorite colors, and bought the yarn, and was finished in plenty of time for gifting!  (I send the BD gifts with the Christmas gifts, as all four birthdays are around that time as well.)  Here they are, all together, mainly because the photo of them together is so much prettier and more interesting than the photo of each one individually!

Projects:  Favorite Color Birthday Cowls
Pattern:  Drydock Cowl, by Jocelyn Tunney (a free pattern)
Yarn:  O-Wool  Balance Bulky - Boltwoodite (yellow); Rhodonite (pink); Peridot (green); Graphite (gray), nearly one skein for each cowl was needed
Needles:  US13
Modifications:  None
Comments:  This is an easy, interesting knit and the resulting cowl is really lovely.  Balance Bulky is not an expensive yarn, so I was able to make these without breaking the bank.  The pattern is well written, and you can easily complete a cowl during an evening or weekend afternoon.  I recommend it for gifts, especially.

After these were finished and sent off to their respective recipients, I realized that I had no more gift knitting to do!  I have a couple of projects underway, but neither were calling to me over the holiday break.

Last year, I received a gift certificate to Loop for Christmas from a friend, and I had purchased yarn with a specific design in mind. Unfortunately, the yarn and my idea were not destined to be friends, and since I had wound the yarn, it was not able to be returned.  So all year, I kept looking at it, thinking I'd use it for something, sometime.  With the weather turning colder, I thought about something else, and decided to give it a try.  The result?  The Seedy Cowl!

Not only was this the last project I finished in 2013, I did the bind off and weaving in of the ends at 11:20 p.m. on December 31!  It is incredibly soft, and cozy, and was absolutely perfect for the subzero temperatures that hit the next week.  It was completely unplanned, and once I got started, didn't require much thought or attention, and I truly love the result. (More pics on the Ravelry project page.)

Project:  The Seedy Cowl
Pattern:  From my brain
Yarn:  Fibre Company Tundra - Scotia Sea (blue, 2 skeins); Petrel (gray, 1 skein)
Needles:  US10
Comments:  I cast on 150 stitches, joined into a circle, and just knit double moss stitch.  When I ran out of the first skein of blue, I attached the gray, and when that was done, went to the other skein of blue.  By the time I cast off, I had maybe 4 feet of yarn left altogether - bits and pieces from each skein that were not enough to complete a round.  This is quite possibly the cushiest thing I have ever knit or worn, and it can actually be worn as a hood/scarf combination if desired.

And there you have it, the final projects of the year, which brought my grand total for the year to ten knits.  I'll take it!

FO and a New [To Me] Stitch

I think I mentioned in a previous post that my knitting output this year was underwhelming.  Not that I haven't thought about a lot, I just didn't knit as many things as usual.

However, a week and one day before his birthday, The Tim said casually, "I hope you are thinking of knitting me a hat for my birthday, I could use another knit hat." Let's ignore the fact that he waited to mention this until his birthday was nearly here, and know that I was kind of excited to hear that, since I'd just seen a newly-released hat pattern I'd wanted to try.  I wasn't really convinced that I'd have it ready for his birthday, but I could at least get started.

Another thing in my favor was that I had stash yarn I could use, so I was able to cast on right away.  I got started, and was going along merrily, until my osteoarthritis flared up.  Sigh.  So I had to put things down for about three days.  Meaning that it was even less likely to be ready for the intended day.  But at this point, I wasn't going to worry about it, because it could always become a Christmas gift.

The most surprising thing is, on the weekend before the actual birthday date, I ended up getting quite a lot of it knitted - so much so that I was able to finish it the morning of the day in question!

Ta Da!

Project:  Welsh Gathers

Pattern:  Gather, by Alexa Ludeman, at Tin Can Knits

Needles:  Size US4, US6

Yarn:  Garthenor Organic Pure Wool Organic Shetland DK (received in a swap)

Modifications:  None

Comments:  This was fun to knit, as I had never done smocking stitch before, and enjoyed learning something new.  I like the look of it, and this yarn really showed it off well.  The yarn itself was really nice to work with, and made a lightweight but cozy hat.  

I called this "Welsh Gathers" since the yarn was Welsh and the pattern is called "Gather."  I made the Large size, but if I made this again, I would consider making it shorter than the pattern indicates, as it turned out to be a very long hat.  The Tim was thrilled, and just turned up the brim/ribbing, so he was happy with some extra warmth on his ears.  The pattern is very well written, and though the smocking doesn't go all the way around (as I thought it did),* the end result is really attactive.

So for something that had a questionable and shaky start, it all turned out in the end.  I don't know which one of us was more surprised!

*I'm sure I could have figured out how to get it to work so that the smocking was all around, but had neither the time or the strong desire to do so ...

ThisClose

I am actually ThisClose to finishing a project that has taken way too long.  Not due to difficulty, or not enough yarn, just because of me!  I don't want to say any more and possibly jinx it, but hopefully sooner rather than later I'll have a blog post and a picture for you.

I have been thinking lately about how I really need to take my measurements and understand what they mean, as far as knitting goes, in particular.  I always hesitate with large projects (aka sweaters), since I never feel confident that I really know what size I should make.  Recently, I bought a copy of Amy Herzog's Knit to Flatter, which talks about not only knowing your own measurements, but how to get accurate ones, and what that means related to what you are trying to knit.

I also see on her website that she is launching something called CustomFit, which looks promising.  For whatever reasons, I feel that she is trustworthy.  I think part of it is that she looks in pictures like a very friendly, approachable person, with a normal kind of body.  (If you know her and she is not, please don't tell me.  I want to enjoy my little fantasy at least a bit longer.)

In other news, my shingles - though much improved - have put yet another damper on something for me.  I was supposed to teach a six-week Beginner Knitting class at Rosie's, starting this past Monday.  I was truly excited about it, because a) I had missed teaching it last winter, due to my interminably long pneumonia-like illness, and b) I love the idea of getting new knitters started!  So even though things were doing OK, my doctor suggested that adding an evening class to my work schedule might not be the best idea.  So now someone else is doing it.  Which dismays me, because I hate pulling out of something like that at all, much less twice in a row, and also because I was hoping to use the money I made for holiday gifts.

Stupid shingles.

But, onward, as they say.  I'll go back to my ThisClose project, and start planning what will be next, or decide if any holiday gifts are coming off the needles this year.  And just hope that I not only get another chance to teach Beginner Knitting, but that I stay healthy enough to actually do it!

See ya.

This Time I Am Prepared

I realized one day last week that my blogiversary is coming up - which is pretty amazing, since the last couple of years, I missed it!  It's funny, I used to hear from a lot of people via my blog, but not as much anymore, I think Facebook has replaced blogs for a lot of people.  Not for me, though!  I *love* when people leave comments, but I also write this as much for myself as anyone else.

Anyhoo, we have been fixing up the room in our house where most of my knitting-related books and all of my stash lives.  Which means I've gone through both of those, and have some things that I have decided I'm just not ever gonna use one way or another.  Since this is all happening now, I thought it might be fun to have a blogiversary giveaway with some of those goodies as the prizes.  I'm still pondering how I'll do it, so if you want the chance to get some nice yarn and/or nice books/patterns, stay tuned!

Also, do you remember this sweater that I started long ago, and picked up and put down a number of times:

the pattern is from Knitty, and it's Amelia by Laura Chau.  I've been using some Cascade 220 Heather yarn in the colorway Mallard (which is more of a dark blue-green than the photo shows).   I truly love the yarn, but became less and less fond of the project every time I'd pick it up.  So I decided to deep-six it, and use the yarn for some future project that I just cannot wait to make.  The funny thing is that when I was frogging it yesterday, I realized that it was a good thing I was doing so anyway, since apparently every time I picked it up (and there were some long stretches in between), I had a slightly differing gauge!  If I had soldiered on, and noticed that at the end, it wouldn't have been pretty, let me tell you.  So rather than seeing it as a project that failed, I'm seeing it as a project saved.  :-)

Another good thing (I'm just Little Mary Sunshine today, aren't I?) is that now I only have three active projects: my Emerald Hedgerows ('cause I always like to have a pair of socks on the needles.  I also realize I need an updated photo), my Delaware River Waves Scarf (for which my self-imposed deadline is next spring!), and my Breezy Turquoise, which I am hoping big-time that I will finish no later than the first day of fall, so I can just pull it out and actually wear it next spring.  

Other than that, I have a couple of ideas for things in my head that I want to see if I can figure out how to put them on paper and then translate to needles.  My math skills are non-existent, but I'm thinking that if I have real trouble, I can ask some of my friends who design things regularly for some help.  And if all else fails, I'll get The Tim to assist me ... I mean, he has to be good for something, right????

Enjoy this last day of the weekend, and I'll see you in another couple of days with blogiversary info.