happy new year

Yep, it's that time again! Sitting back for a moment and reflecting back upon the last year. It's been a big one for me -- bought my first house, adopted a couple of beautiful Siamese kittens, got married... It's been a year of milestones for me.

I thought it'd been a big year for me knitwise as well, but I was surprised to learn that I was actually far less productive than I was last year.

2009 saw:
--22 total finished projects
--5961 yards of yarn used up

As compared to 2008...

--24 finished projects
--9,979 yards of yarn used up


I'd only finished two more projects in 2008, and for a minute I didn't feel so bad, until I realized that 3 of my 2008 projects were crocheted afghans. Yikes. I blame it on the fact that what with moving into my new house I lost a lot of knitting time. And the fact that I've just been lazy...

So, resolutions...

1. Keep more organized in all aspects of my life. Need to keep more on top of housework, and keep my knitting and yarn more organized.

2. I need to be far more productive knittingwise. I have several large WIPs I need to get done, and I have some projects I've had planned out forever that I'd like to finish up as well.

3. I want to work through at least half my stash this year. No more buying yarn I don't have a project in mind for, and I'm only allowing myself to buy one skein of yarn for every two I work though from my stash. Realistically, as long as I can get my stash to fit comfortably on its shelf I'll be happy.

4. I want to work on my writing more this year. I want to have my book finished by summer, and ideally have a good chunk of the first in the trilogy rewritten.

5. I want to read more. For some reason I've stopped reading as much as I used to and I really want to get back to that.

Here's to hoping 2010 is even better than last year!

happy-go-lucky hat

It's that time again! That's right! I finished another project! No, it's not a project on my Plan of Attack. Yeah, that Plan has pretty much fallen to the wayside. But it's cute! And so what if it's late June, I'm gonna wear it anyhow!




Unfortunately I now have no take-along project. And I'm pretty much back to seaming my soul-sucking sweater of suffering. Do. Not. Want.

Is it bad that I want to start anther project?

still here and still knitting!

So, believe it or not, I'm still here, and still knitting. I'm moved into my new house (!!!) and more or less settled. The endless round of visiting family has abated (for now...) and my evenings are once again my own. So what have I been doing with them? Why, knitting, of course!

I finally finished up my Tequila Sunrise socks. Yep, at long last. I know. Just as it's too hot to wear handknit socks. But I loves them, and the temperature is supposed to drop a bit later this week, so I'll get some use out of them, at least.




Still seaming up my sweater. I've more or less lost interest in it at this point; I dislike seaming and weaving them ends, and hoo boy are there ever a lot of ends to weave in. Stupid stripes. Stupid me for thinking stupid stripes are cute. And the fact that now that it's summer I won't be able to even wear the thing for another few months has sapped the last of my motivation. I'm trying to force myself to do a little work on it every few days. At this rate, maybe I'll have it done by autumn... I'm not holding my breath, though.

I did end up buying more yarn recently. (Yes, I KNOW) But since it's for a gift, I'm pretending it doesn't count. J-L picked out some colors he liked, and I'm going to be knitting a bulky hat for him. I'd wanted to get it done before he left, but sadly I don't have needles big enough to make gauge with. So it'll have to wait until I can pick some up.

In the meantime, I've started a Felicity Hat with some Dark Horse Fantasy in Jade Green that I picked up for 40% off while getting yarn for J-L's hat-to-be. I figured some a short project of mindless stockinette that ends in a cute hat might do me good.

Plan of Attack? What Plan of Attack?

Also, most excitingly, I have picked up a couple of knitting helpers. They've been very diligent about performing such useful services as eating my needles and trying to make off with my yarn.



This is Ozymandias and her devious little sister, Pyewacket. I'm sure adventures will follow. In the meantime, though, aren't they cuuuuute?? :)

stupid lace socks

Yay! So I finished my on the fly hat last weekend, and then immediately jumped into a Foliage Hat from the Lamb's Pride bulky I bought. Imagine that! I went out, bought yarn, came home, and started a project with it. I know, I know, I almost fainted when I realized what I did. Yipes.

It came out more-or-less pretty. There's one section that I mucked up. I think I missed some YOs since two of the diamond leafy bits are sort of fused into one vaguely misshapen lump. I noticed my mistake five or six rows later, and, unwilling to rip them out, I simply dropped that section and reknit. It came out slightly less misshapen, but still wrong. Whatever. The lace pattern more-or-less hides the error, and when I shoved the hat under my non-knitting fiance's nose and demanded "What's wrong with this!?" he couldn't spot the error. So I just wear that bit in the back and try not to think too much about it.

Things I learned on this hat:

1. How to read a chart. I've never knit anything from a chart before, and this was a simple enough chart to read. Hurrah, I did it!
2. How to knit a hat top-down. All my previous hats have been cuff-up. I was thrilled at the complete and utter lack of casting on!
3. That working a simple bind-off on the ribbing of a top-down hat results in said hat not being over to fit over my head. A very painful lesson, but one I learned well.
4. The sewn bind-off is pure magic.

I've also cast on my first pair of socks for my knitalong. I'm using the Araucania Ranco Multy that I bought from simplysockyarn.com, and it is wonderful. Sturdy, but soft, and the mild color variation is just amazing. Love love love. I'm knitting the Blackrose Socks from the latest issue of Knitty, and I also love it, and I especially love the pattern and the yarn together. Unfortunately, I'm about to go frog about half of what I've knit of the first leg. See, it all began with a missed yarn-over...

I was admiring my three inches of sock leg, when I noticed IT. A solid bit where there should be a hole. Could it be? *gasp!* I missed a yarn-over! With a surge of dread I recalled when on the prior lace repeat, I'd ended up a stitch short. Unable to spot my error at the time, I just picked up an extra stitch and kept knitting.

Now that I'd spotted it, I couldn't stop staring at the error. Sure that I was being crazy, I shoved the sock under my fiance's nose and demanded "What's wrong with this!?" After peering at it for a moment, he pointed right where the yarn-over should be and said "Something looks funny right here... is it missing a hole?"

Arrrrgh! So I'm not crazy! Even my non-knitting fiance who can't spot the gaping holes or stains on his own socks, was able to see my glaring little error!! But alas, it was twenty rows ago and I really REALLY didn't want to drop those stitches down to fix it. Dropping a section of lace to add in my one little missed yarn-over isn't my idea of fun, and I'm so new at knitting lace I'd probably screw it up more. Oh well, I reasoned, that part of the leg will be under my pants, and who's going to be putting their face close enough to my feet to spot it even if I wear these socks with a skirt? So I kept knitting.

But I was so preoccupied that I repeated one of the lace rows an extra time. So the lace patterns on my socks go normal-normal-normal-too long-too short. Arrrrgh and double-arrrrgh! So I have to frog back the whole sock to fix that. And since I'm already going to be frogging, I might as well just rip back to where that stupid missed yarn-over was in the first place. *sigh*

Where I was:

(can YOU spot the missing yarn-over??)


Where I am:


Tragic, to be sure, but really, two inches was a small price to pay to be able to knit in peace. The error would have bothered me THAT MUCH. Yes. I know I'm neurotic.

Now I'm off to knit and continue watching Desperate Housewives. I think I can get back to where I was by the end of the evening...

boo

So, my Christmas knitting is finally complete - the last item, Rina's Harry Potter socks, are finally done as of Sunday! Hurrah FOs!! I'm unfortunately going to have to mail them to her, but I need to find some other stuff to throw in the box as an I'm-sorry-I'm-a-horrible-procrastinator thing. Because, ya know, I am.

So to unwind from all that knitting (ha ha, get it, unwind!? ah, I'm lame...) I knit me up a pair of socks in a chunky yarn. And let me tell you, that is the perfect instant gratification project. It only took me 48 hours to whip up, and they're so cozy as house socks. Mmmm, socks.

And now, because I am a glutton for punishment, I cast on for my next project, which is also a gift for someone that needs to be finished on a deadline. Or rather, I'm in the process of casting on for my next project. I am 100 stitches into a total of 196. Yarrgh. I had to stop and take a break from it.

I know it sounds strange, but I actually really really dislike casting on, and starting new projects in general. Don't get my wrong, I have a chronic case of startitis, and I like having lots of projects started, but I don't really begin to enjoy a started project until I'm a couple dozen rows in. Yeah, I'm weird.

So. Anyhow. Hat. I'm making it out of Cascade 220 Superwash, because the recipient can't be trusted to not throw it in the washer and dryer and I want to avoid a very unfortunate felting incident. It's in color 856, a very pretty deep blue heathered with flecks of emerald green. Gorgeous. I'm knitting it up on size 6 needles, for a nice dense and [hopefully] very warm fabric. I'm sort of making up the pattern on the fly as I go. I've got some vague pictures in my head involving lots of ribbing and some cables. The ribbing is a must - I've discovered that ribbing is absolutely magical for ensuring a snug fit when one is knitting for someone who can't try on the project as it's being knit. (Hence the liberal use of 3x1 ribbing on Rina's socks.)

I really don't want to finish casting on for this, but I know I have to. Ah well. It won't be so bad once I'm finished casting on. The yarn is soft and smooshy, and I'm getting to use my new fabulous circular needles I got for Christmas. And oooh, they are everything I'd dreamed they would be...

Speaking of Christmas, I've continued to drool over yarns online that I'm looking to spend my Christmas money on that I always want to buy but won't because they're expensive. The only one I've thus far decided on is that skein of Malabrigo sock yarn, but I still have no idea what color. But I'm taking my time, and savoring all the decisions. I will also be making some less-indulgent yarn purchases. I've got several projects planned in Knitpicks yarn, which for me is the epitome of practical as far as yarn goes. Exciting!

::sigh:: Back to casting on with me...

butter me up, cause i'm on a roll!

Seriously. Well, not literally. But you know what I mean...

So. Jason's Binary Hat is complete as of Sunday night! I finished it up, wove in the ends, tossed it at him, and hurrah, it fit! He reports that the yarn is not too itchy (as I sorta feared) and that it keeps his ears nice and warm. He also looks very good in that shade of green. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of said finished hat, as he's been using it. I'll try to snap a couple of it tonight when he comes home.

I did make some modifications to this pattern. Instead of just reading the numbers 1-15 in order around the hat, I tweaked it so that it reads 3(.)141592653589793238 instead. Which, really, is just cooler. I also added an extra three cable columns, as well as six rounds to the bottom before beginning the cabling pattern, and another four rounds between the end of the cabling and the start of the decreases.

With that over and done with, I'm back to working on socks as my to-go project. Rina's sock-in-progress is now living in my purse, and I got another couple rounds done while out last night. I will be going to Florida for Jason's brother's graduation, and I hope to get the pair done this weekend. I'm nearly done with the first sock, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the second one will fly off the needles as this one has done.

The BTWNE is close to ending! I don't know how the heck this thing did it, but when I spread it on the floor I had something that was almost blanket sized. wtf, mate!? This things spends a month not growing, and then all of a sudden it's massive?? If I didn't know any better, I'd think this beast is foraging in my stash at night and devouring yarn on its own while I'm not looking. Probably my favorite fancy yarns, too, the bastard.

But I've decided that after another band of each color (9 rows total) it will be big enough to call complete. Right now it's 41.5" x 52" and the three rounds will add 8" in width and length, plus another bit for the border... so 50" x 61" is a pretty good size for a blanket. And thank goodness for that! I did almost three rounds on it yesterday, and if I can keep up that pace I'll be done in no time! And then I can give it away and be done with this monster forever! Bwahahaha!

Also, I have been given an early Christmas present! Many thanks to Kristin for the gorgeous skein of Artyarns Silk Rhapsody! I'm still trying to find a pattern pretty enough to do this yarn justice...

UFO month - day 2

So my UFO month is off to a rockin' start. I FINALLY finished my throw blanket I'd started for my sofa waaaay back in April. The ends still need weaving in, but for all intents and purposes, it's done, woo! I am somewhat confused by the amounts of yarn I had left over. I had two tiny balls of the red and lighter green.... and then the ball of the darker green was as much as the other two combined. Which made me go wtf, there were the same amount of stitches per color, why the heck do I have so much darker green left over??? The only reason I can think of is that stupid blanket did it on purpose simply to confuse me. Perhaps as revenge for leaving it undone for so long? (in my defense, it was really hot here over the summer and i couldn't stand to have the thing on my lap)

I've been working more on my mother's socks. I want to have the first one done so she can try it on while I'm home for Thanksgiving. And then if it fits properly I'll whip up the second one. At least, that's the plan so far. I'm slowly approaching the halfway mark on the first sock. I'd be farther along in it, but I'm an idiot who can't follow a pattern to save her life and keep not cabling when I'm supposed to be cabling which has led to much swearing, tinking, and in one particularly unfortunate scene, about two inches being frogged. Bluh.

I'm also still trying to finishe the BTWNE, which is still not growing no matter how much yarn I feed it. It and I are going to get into a bit of a showdown later today. I've got a House marathon planned for this afternoon, and I'm hoping to get a few more rounds done on this beast.

I don't have any pictures today, because unfortunately the sun's not out and the flash on my camera makes everything look washed out and gross, but my FH, who knows me so well, bought me yarn yesterday. But Leandra, I hear you thinking, aren't you on a yarn diet? Well, it doesn't count if someone else buys it for you. And, as the yarn pushing enabler very helpful shoplady pointed out to me, sock yarn doesn't count as stash at all. So I am the very proud new owner of one skein of Opal's Harry Potter sock yarn in Tonks (which will be for my Harry Potter-obsessed cousin's Christmas present - yarn for presents doesn't count either, dontchaknow), and a skein of mmmMalabrigo in the Emerald Blue colorway which is just frigging gorgeous and reminds me of island lagoons. I can't touch either of them until my stash-busting month of December, but I don't care. Now I just need a pattern worthy of its beauteous beauty. I'm thinking maybe a neckwarmer of some sort...