update and plans for 2008 knitting

He likes it! He really likes it!!



All's well that ends well... Very satisfying knit, I have to say. And now it's going to snow for tomorrow, so hopefully it won't be the last time I see the scarf.

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Also, I was reading Lolly Knitting Around, which is fast becoming one of my favorite blogs (I know, I know, where have I been, right?), and when she posted her Project Spectrum rules for 2008, I surprisingly decided to take a chance and try it. I have a lot of stash yarn already in the categories, so it would be a great way of bringing some order into my knitting queue. You can see her guidelines here.

Just a warning, this next bit may be slightly boring for anyone who's not interested in my fumbling attempts to organize my knitting queue...

So anyway, I've gone through my stash, and divided it into different groups:



For February/March's orange/red/pink grouping, we have:

1. the horse intarsia sweater, which is pink
2. hollyberry colored Knit Picks Merino style sweater from a Webs pattern (which I bought and still have to find again)
3. Webs Alpaca/Silk long-sleeved raglan pullover from a Webs pattern
4. rose wool-ease sweater for Isabella with fun fur trim
5. socks that rock lightweight socks in Firebird, which a pink/red/orange colorway from the 2007 Socks that Rock Sock Club. I haven't decided whether I'm going to follow the pattern from the sock club or whether I'm just going to do some other pattern.

I have a lot of red and pink colored yarn, I've discovered. Not so much of the orange, except in the sock yarn, but I'm excited to work on projects that have been in my stash for a looong time!

For April/May the colors are green/brown/metallics:
1. OMG: FINISH SPANKY'S (brown) SWEATER (in all fairness, I will probably work on this a bit before April, but I want it to be done during by the end of May.)
2. Regia Crazy Color green and brown striped socks. I have no idea how long I've had this yarn, but it's about time I made it into socks. I love the colors!
3. Second Knit Picks fly-fishing toe-up sock. This will be when I finish this lingering project too. It has been hanging over my head for too long! I want to wear these suckers...
4. Clementine Shawlette, made from the deep chocolate brown Blue Sky Alpaca Silk that I got in Minneapolis last summer.
5. Felted Canteen Bag from Interweave Knits, Fall 2005, from some Jo Sharp Classic merino in two shades of brown that I bought, wow, probably in 2005, at the LYS near my office, with the intention of being this bag.

I apparently have a lot of brown yarn as well! But again, I've been meaning to make that canteen bag for a long time! I can't wait!

June and July are gray/white/yellow. I don't have many projects that fall into this category, but I figure at this point, I'll probably still be finishing things up for the other months as well:

1. gray pair of socks in Baby Ull for Spanky.
2. white and light blue shrugs for my sister and her best friend that I was supposed to finish for the wedding. bleh. Now I have the yarn, so I'm going to make them anyway. Instead of doing the sugarplum shrug, I'm going to do Jellyfish at the suggestion of Tanya from my knitting group. It's easier, and shorter (better for FL weather) and I think I already have enough yarn.

That's it for that one.

Finally, August/September is blue/black/purple:
1. Storm Merino Style cardigan with lace flower on back (I started this a while ago, and had to frog it, because I forgot where I was in the pattern.
2. Socks that Rock Lenore, a goth colorway of blacks and maroons, with a pattern by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, which is pretty awesome, so I'll probably just do the pattern that came with the yarn.
3. button hole bag in various shades of blue Lamb's Pride bulky.
4. Re-doing Spanky's alpaca hat (I have some ideas now), and maybe making some fingerless gloves to go with.
5. deep maroon Zarina for Baudelaires, which, again, I've been meaning to make since the Summer 2006 Knitty came out, which is when I bought this yarn.

So anyway, I can't wait. I think this is a great idea for me, because a) it does help me organize my slightly overwhelming knitting possibilities, and b) to participate more in the knitting community, which is one of my goals this year, as it was last.

BUT, until February, I have a bunch of stuff to work on as well:
1. I am on the border of the dog blanket. This WILL be done by the end of this coming week, and hopefully gifted.
2. I started the turtleneck shrug from Scarf Style, which I just couldn't forget after paging through that book countless times while knitting Interlocking Balloons. It's my travel/work knitting at the moment, but it's also something I didn't plan, so I can put it away when the month ends. I really, really want to wear it though. It's going to be perfect for the office in the summer.
3. I need to finish the rainy day socks. They don't really fit into any of the Project Spectrum categories, and once the dog blanket is over, I'm going to make the turtleneck shrug my at home knitting and take the socks with me to work. Then, when the month turns, I'll be ready to start the horse sweater right away.

I love it! It's all going to work. Right ON. All of this should take me the rest of the year to finish, and if I finish all these projects, I'll have whittled down my stash a respectable amount, and made some really cute things to boot. I'm excited about the challenge.