someone alert the media

I've got FOs to share!

1. Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl:



Yarn: Knit Pick's Shimmer in Turquoise Splendor. The yarn was really soft, and the colors are very bright. While I was working on it I got lots of comments about the bright turquoise yarn. I wasn't extremely happy with the different blotches of the lighter blue that happened in the finished product, but I realize that when using a variegated yarn that can happen so I'm not too disappointed. I would definitely use the yarn again, and I actually have one more hank in the Stained Glass colorway, and Im going to make another one of the shawls as soon as I can fit it in my queue to give to one of my oldest friends as a late xmas present.

Needles: Size 8 24" circular Needle--I really appreciated all the information that Susan Lawrence put into her pattern, especially about picking the right kind of yarn and swatching to see how you like the resulting fabric. When I used the size 8 needle, I got this very light, lacy fabric, and I really wanted a finished shawl that was light and lacy without being too loose, and the size 8s worked out really well.



Other thoughts: I do think this was a good way to ease into knitting lace. I've done a few lacy projects before, but always with worsted weight yarn and working with thinner yarn is kind of a new skill in and of itself. I actually used a metal needle for this, and was just very careful so that the stitches didn't slide off. I did have one scary moment on a plane, when the needle did slide out of several stitches, but i was able to catch them all before they slid out. My heart did stop for a second though. I still like using the smoother needles, but you just have to be aware and be very careful all the time youre working on it, or you will definitely lose stitches.

I did follow Susan's suggestion to use a marker in the center, and that really helped a lot. I didn't use other stitch markers though, and I think she was right when she says that they sometimes get in your way more than help. This was a small project though, not like the really complicated lace projects that I've seen other people work on.

I also made one mistake on the edging. I couldn't figure out how to fix it though, so I just left it and corrected for the right number of stitches. You can barely tell, but if you want to see it, click through the blocking picture for the flickr note.

Anyway, it's very pretty and I can't wait to gift it! It is for my dad's wife, and was supposed to be for xmas. She is a very nice woman, and is the one who always remembers my birthday and other holidays. My dad doesn't even remember that stuff. She deserves a nice handmade present. I have to make a dog toy for my dad, so that I can send the package soon.


2. Red Scarf Project scarf:

Oh my god, this is finally finished. Finally! I'm glad I persevered, because it is very cute, but I almost gave up, since this was a completely spontaneous project. I'm going to send it out tomorrow from work with some candy or something.



I favor skinny scarves, so I made one that I would like, but also one that was plain enough for a boy. I wanted to put little pom-poms across the bottom instead of fringe, because i really don't like fringe but the girls at work convinced me that pom-poms would be too girly. I guess they were right--I made short fringe instead. It is a good size scarf as you can tell--generous but not too long. I'm proud of myself for finishing it within the deadline (barely!).

Tomorrow, I re-commence working on Spanky's hat, just in time for the blustery, snowy week ahead. I'm sure I'll finish it before the end of the week. What then? Do I finish the sweater I'm in the middle of or the socks? *OR* do I start something new? I don't know...

2006 Wrap-Up

So, now that we're firmly into 2007, I finally have time to write up my wrap-up for 2006... Poor Stella isn't feeling very well. She must have eaten something yesterday that didn't agree with her, and her tummy has been upset since about 4am last night. I have the day off in honor of Martin Luther King day, so I'm sitting home with her and watching "Far From Heaven", which so far is AWESOME--maybe not the story, which is so like a play and so 50s it is hard to get into (although I'm still in the beginning anyway), but the costumes! the sets! the cars!!! YUM. The repressed homos leading their double-lives, not so yum. Just very very sad. Anyway...

List your FOs from 2006:

I went back and counted up everything, and there were about 36 items total. That was a lot more than I'd anticipated. It included:
*3 full-sized washcloths and one small one (the pattern was too hard to make a full sized one so I stopped when it was scrubby sized).
*babies/kids:
Last Min. Knitted Gifts baby hat
Knitty's Cargo pants
Anouk
Louisa Harding wrap sweater and striped hat
chicken viking hat
2 toddler hats with ear-flaps
2 kid-sized London beanies
baby umbilical hat and booties
*bags:
felted tote bag
felted sushi wallet
*socks:
1 Regia silk sock (one more to finish)
striped socks (first pair)
Spanky's socks (ankle socks)
*scarfs:
Nashua Handknits bulky scarf
Cherry Garcia scarf tube
fun-fur scarf for Gayle
*miscellaneous:
T-twist sweater from Knitty (pre-blog, I think)
throw-pillow cover
hallowig from Knitty
2 coffee cozies for Spanky
6 men's London Beanies
1 Hot Head hat (from Stitch & Bitch)

List your WIPs:
I don't really have many left:
1. Red Scarf Project scarf--It's not going so well. I messed up the stitch pattern when I was on vacation and when I tried to fix it, I messed it up further. I may just pull the whole thing out and just do a simple basket-weave or ribbed version instead. It's taking too long as it is.
2. Alpaca Hat for Spanky: While we were at Maryland Sheep & Wool, Spanky saw a hat that she really liked, and asked if I could recreate it for her. I'm trying, but she picked out this very thin (fingering weight maybe?) skein of black alpaca, and I'm a little concerned I'm going to run out of yarn. So far, so good, right now!
3. That last Regia silk sock!
4. The Starburst Sweater from Knit Picks. I messed up the lace pattern on the back, but I think I can fix it, so I haven't given up yet. I'm starting to forget where I was though, so I have to get back to it soon!

That's it right now. The Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl is finished, and I'll go into that in a later post. It's blocking right now. I think that's pretty good for left-over WIPs!

What was your favorite project of 2006?

It was a tie between the T-Twist sweater and the socks for Spanky from the Artyarns Supermerino. The sweater could have been a bit longer, but I learned a lot, and it was really fun to knit. The socks were fun because Spanky wears them a lot, and the yarn was yummy.

What projects will you never knit again?
I don't think I'll ever knit a striped hat like the baby hat I made from the Louisa Harding book the same way again... There were too many ends to weave in. I'll either have to find a different way of doing it, or just not do stripes. That was too hard.

What was your major knitting accomplishment for 2006?
I think learning how to knit a basic sock was my major accomplishment. I can't wait to try more involved lacy patterns.

What are your knitting goals for 2007?

I'm skipping all the questions about my favorite yarns, because I've liked almost all the ones I've tried this year. Also, I don't know that I can tell you anything you don't already know. I haven't had a chance to try anything really nice yet.

My goals for 2007:

1. Knit from my stash.
2. Start the Master Knitter's Program.
3. Knit more lace patterns--either shawls or fancy socks. I also want to do some better intarsia and perhaps a fair isle pattern.
4. Get better at documenting my FOs on my blog, so that I have a better idea of the totals at the end of next year and more info about my methods and materials, etc.
4. Finally, I want to be a bigger contributor to the internet knitting community. I read a lot of blogs, but I don't have most of them on my blog roll, and I don't comment as much as I want to. I'm going to try to make the time to actually be a part of the community rather than just reading passively.

That's it! I'll have an actual FO in my next post, with pictures! I'm finally caught up! YAY.

Is it 2007 already?

So... Happy New Year, everybody! I feel like mine is really just starting this week. Right after New Year's every year I have to go to an academic conference that is important for my job, so I don't get a chance to reflect on the last year until that's over. Now it's done, and I'm back.

Im already starting my non-knitting New Year's resolutions like trying to eat better and exercise more (I know, I know...), both with mixed success. The only time I have to exercise is early in the morning which, by golly, sucks. I am so NOT a morning person. It was kind of fun yesterday to be out at 6am with the dog, walking through the dark streets of JC, but not so fun this morning, when I did my strength exercises. I can't even imagine what it's going to feel like tomorrow morning when I have to get up to walk again. But I figure maybe I can push past the exponentially increasing exhaustion until it is just a habit for me to be in bed by 10 and up by 6am and not the unbearable torture it feels like now.

I did have a glass of wine tonight (but not beer! that's progress, right?) with one of my friends who is moving to our FL office, and I don't think that counts as 'healthy eating', and I KNOW the chex mix on the bar isn't, but I'm trying not to stress out about it too much. I guess it is like a 401(K)--you just have to be in it for the long haul and not worry about day to day fluctuations. Stick to the plan and be patient, eh?

What does this have to do with knitting? Nothing, really, except that my other goal is to join everyone else in knitting from my stash, since I'm running out of storage room in our tiny one bedroom apartment for all the yarn that just seems to magically accumulate when I'm not looking. I don't know how that happens. One minute I was a new knitter, and the next thing I know, I have a proper stash, with real luxury yarns like Koigu in it, for goodness' sake. Anyway, another case of stick to the plan and be patient. I did manage to resist finding a yarn store when I was in Atlanta for the conference, even though I know that there are a few good ones there.

My rules for my own Knit from the Stash:

1. This started Jan 1, 2007, and will go until I judge that I have my closet back.

2. I am going to first finish up the projects I have laying around (more on that later) and then tailor my knitting to fit the yarn that I have rather than finding something I want to knit and then buying more yarn.

3. No one ever asks me for gifts, but there are freaking babies coming out of trees around here, so the only exception to rule #2 is that I may have to buy more of one yarn or another (or go out specially to purchase yarn that I don't have at all) to finish a baby item.

4. I know Wendy and her friend L-B said that sock yarn doesn't count, but I don't knit many socks and it takes me forever when I do. And I really have enough sock yarn to last me a while, but I don't really have much lace weight yarn, and I just finished my first shawl (again, more on that later). I really liked it, and I want to try my hand at more lace, so I think perhaps one strategic lace weight purchase a month will be allowed. I probably won't actually buy one a month, but it's nice to know I won't be mad at myself if I do decide to buy some (or let's face it, fall off the handle).

5. Trading yarn and receiving yarn as a gift is perfectly acceptable.

6. I'm not going to buy any magazines on the newsstand either. I just bought a Vogue Knitting subscription (for $15!!), and I think I already have subscriptions to Interweave Knits and Knit Simple, and those are my favorites, so no more newsstand "fixes" that just encourage more stashing.

7. I can buy tools that I don't have, such as stitch markers or needles or the like.

I don't spin, so fiber is not a problem for me. Mostly, I think the problem is finding projects I like, buying the yarn, and then just putting it all in the closet and forgetting I have it. The point for me is two-fold: to stop spending money on yarn, and to gain back some more space in the closet. I would love to be one of those people who just works on one project at a time and doesn't actually maintain too much of a stash, but really, I would be happy if I could empty a few carrier bags from the floor of the closet so I have more room for my shoes.


(click through for a general description of what's there)

Anyway, next post I'm going to do a round-up of my 2006 knitting, and lay out my goals for 2007 knitting. I did a lot this past year, and I'm really looking forward to learning new things and meeting new people, and getting more involved in this here community of knitters! Oh, and seeing more movies. I love movies...