Winter Magazine Roundup

Oh goody. Another episode of THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY. I've gotten so many knitting books and magazines since Christmas (thanks, Salwa--call me, I've lost your number!), that I thought I'd take one post and just do a round up of all the mags for Winter 2010-2011. Then each book will most likely get a post of its own later. Plus, I also have January socks that are finished!!! SO excited about them too. I can't believe I really pulled it off. For February, I've already decided to just focus on finishing up two single socks that I have left from other pairs, rather than start some new socks. That will knock out 3 in progress pairs (because I only have the foot left on the third WIP, so I'll just finish that up first...), and give me a clean slate for March, when it's Back to the Bag! Plus, I need to whip Spanky up a hat, which won't take very long. She wants a plain, black, stockinette hat. A couple hours work, tops.

Anyway, let's start with two strong contenders for the best in show this season, which I picked up at the Books a Million at the Lake Square Mall (incidentally, I find that Books a Million has a great magazine selection most of the time...I really enjoy shopping there more than any other big box book store, but they don't have them up here. Also, that and the Target are pretty much the only reasons to go to the mall anymore...Sad. I can remember that mall being brand new in the 80s, and all the teens in the county just hanging out and driving around the parking lot every Friday and Saturday nights. Is the age of the mall as a destination at an end? The internet really is killing everything, isn't it?)

1. Knitting Today!: Ok, this was a new magazine to me. I already loved Crochet Today!, its sister magazine, and I had no idea this one was in the works, but I was desperate for some reading material for the plane, so I was happy to see this on the news stand. And it really is a lot like Crochet Today! Overall, it's very inventive and clever, and a bit gimmicky, as opposed to VK and IK, who take themselves so seriously. KT seems to overtly do their stories on themes, and has a great section in the back for children's patterns. It's cheeky and fresh, and I appreciate that, especially when you can read it alongside its more sober cousins. I think it skews very young, so a lot of accessories, or easy sweaters, as well as a few more adventurous pieces. I liked a lot of the stuff in this magazine:
a. "Sweet Hearts"--loved the pattern for the little knit heart you can put on cards and stuff.
b. "Valley of the Dolls"--this is the section where they take a vintage pattern and rework it to be more modern. In this case, there were two knitted Barbie outfits, and although I don't think the "reworked" patterns were better than the actual vintage outfits, at least these are available. I think my nieces would really appreciate these.
c. "Into the Woods Girl's Cape" This was my favorite piece in the whole magazine. I also like the fair isle slipper boots next to it, but the cape is just awesome. Too bad my niece is too freaking old for this. Maybe I'll inflict one of my co-workers' little girls with this. I just want to make it, it's so cute!



d. "Log Pillows" Basically what they sound like. Two crochet circles on the end of logs made out of what looks like variegated Homespun.
e. "Anastasia Bear" Ooh, this was my second favorite thing. A lot of British knitting magazines seem to have these projects that are continued in subsequent issues, and this is the same thing. The boy bear on the right was given in the premiere issue, and this is the girl bear, Anastasia. From the preview on the magazine's home page, it looks like more outfits are coming too. Love it!


f. "Ali hat" This whole spread is a tribute to the movie "Love Story", which I've never seen, and which I have no desire to watch, but for some reason, I really love this slouchy hat with the pom pom.
g. "Preppy Tie" Ok, I know there are a billion knitted tie patterns, but this one looks really sharp. I think my dad might actually wear it.
h. "Mod Tunic dress" Looks really easy, with three big blocks of color and turned hems. Slimming over some leggings with boots. Probably a really soothing knit, too.
i. "It's Hip to be Square Throw" A big, bright, mitered square throw. I think I just like the color scheme. I'm not in the market to make any more blankets for a really really really long time.
j. "Houndstooth Skirt" Yes, I know, it's a knit pencil skirt, but it's super cute. I just won't wear panties. HA.

Ok, so that's 10 patterns that I liked. Some of the other garments were kind of off, but nothing was really hideous. Like I said though, their strength really lies in the quirkiness and the accessibility of most of these things. I'm thinking of subscribing. I don't think I'll regret it.

2.The other magazine I bought over Christmas to read on the plane was Interweave Knits Weekend Special Issue. I have not been a fan of these special issues, especially since they started pricing the Holiday special issue at $15. If I wanted to spend that much, I'd get a bloody book! But this one is at a normal magazine price, and the patterns turned out to be pretty great. The only other thing I have to add is that it's basically just another issue of IK. The patterns may be very slightly easier, but they're still full-on garments in nice yarn.

a. "Vining Vest" by Cheryl Beckerich. This is the first pattern in the magazine, and it's great. The patterning is very simple, and thanks to my new "nipply" bobble technique, I can't wait to knit this. I love knitted vests, and this one and the next are both things I would wear a LOT.
b. "Berowne Vest" by Lois S. Young. This is supposed to be a guy's vest, but it's just a honeycomb pattern with buttons. I'd totally wear this to work constantly.
c. "Amelia Cardigan" by Silka Burgoyne. I hadn't marked this or the next one when going through here the first couple of times, but this is a pretty, sophisticated little girl's sweater, and I think one of my nieces would really love it.
d. "Mariner Pullover" by Hannah Fettig. I'm finding that I like a lot of Hannah Fettig's designs. This one also was just 'meh' when I went through here previously, but I keep coming back to it, so I think I would actually wear it. I also like that there's a baby version available. I think that could certainly also work for a boy baby.



e. "Chesapeake Pullover" by Kathy Zimmerman. I really love this sweater, and I think I am just into shawl collars right now. Maybe because it is so cold all the damn time, and they seem really cozy. I seriously doubt I would knit it in Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, but probably in a good wool, to make it cozier. This is also supposedly a guy's sweater, but bollocks on that. Just picturing him with some boobs, and I think it could work on me.
f. In a completely different vein, the girl standing right next to him is wearing the "Prairie Lace Blouse", by Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark, and it is LOVELY. I love the Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk yarn, and if I had a couple hundred extra dollars, I'd make one. It's so pretty!
g. "Tree Line Cardigan" also by Hannah Fettig, is a great little girl's cardi with mushroomy trees at the bottom.
h. I also like the accompanying "Rockmelon Jumper" by Joan Hughes. I hate those colors, but it is super-cute, and again, I wish I had someone to make it for.



i. OK, this next one is my favorite in the whole issue: "Olivier Pullover" by Coralie Meslin. It is another shawl collared pullover, this time with major cables going on. I'm going to try to find some tweed yarn to make it in. I LOVE IT.

Sigh. There are a couple of other notable things in the issue, but those were my faves. That is 9 awesome patterns. So far, no bad designs or ugly sweaters. Sure, things I wouldn't make, but no WTF? moments.

3. Knitscene, Winter/spring 2011. Traditionally, I'm a big fan of Knitscene. I think they often have better patterns than IK. Easily, especially in IK's current incarnation. This issue is no different. Cute, stylish patterns, a bit simpler and more straight-forward. Just because you know a technique doesn't mean that you have to use it. Too much is sometimes just too much, you know? Anyway...
a. LOVED the whole Debbie O'Neill spread. I love (and plan to eventually knit) all four of the patterns: "Belvedere Cardigan"; "Paperboy Cardigan" (which I'd initially dismissed, but really like on reflection); "Piccadill Pullover (which I'd love to see on someone who actually has a bigger chest than that model. I bet it's actually more flattering than it even is in the magazine.); and "Bas-Relief Socks". I have really tried to stay away from putting sock patterns in this line-up, because most sock patterns are great, and there are just too many of them. I just don't care THAT much about knitting fancy socks. But these are really pretty without being totally out there.



b. One sweater I thought might get lost i this issue, which I really like, is the "Papeline Pullover" by Sarah Fama. It's really simple, and really pretty, and I'd wear it all. the. time. In another color, naturally. I look jaundiced in yellow. But still... A grey would be lovely with that turquoise they've used for the trim.
c. "Chiton Pullover" by Melissa Wehrle. Cute, but I don't know about that tie on the side. I bet it's really comfy though.
d. "Raonnant Pullover" by Romi Hill. I don't know why she bothers putting her nickname in there. Does she want people to call her Rosemary or Romi? For my professional signature, I use Kimberly, but with my authors and friends I go by Kim. It's either one or the other, but I don't sign my name Kimberly (Kim). Just pick one! Anyway, the sweater I'm kind of on the fence about. I don't know if it is that yellow (yet again), or the obvious "knitterli-ness" of the pattern. I usually dislike sweaters like this, but I could really use a few more of these for work.
e. Oh, then comes this whole article about doing colorwork in the round and not steeking it. Very interesting, if a bit obvious (just don't put the colorwork where there is an opening...). And the patterns are super-cute. First, "Kenning Mitts" by Amy Christoffers are awesome. Having just learned how to do fair isle, I think this is something that looks easy enough for me to do without too much trouble.
f. "Mette-Marit Pullover" by Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark is a great little yoked sweater with no sleeves. CUTE! I even like the colors, although I would probably switch out the dark blue for the light blue body, and would certainly make it a little longer. For those of us pushing 40, that short length isn't always the most flattering. SIGH.



g. "Setesdal Love Hat" by Kate Gagnon Osborn. LOVE it. Also, I've been interested in trying the Fibre Company yarns for a while now. I think I could afford enough to make this hat. :) I think the model is rocking the other yoked sweater in this spread, but I think I'd want to rip it off me before too long. It looks pretty constricting and therefore hot.
h. "Bahia Shawl" by Courtney Kelley. Really great shape for an office shawl. I have been wanting to make my friend Tracy a shawl for a while, and this one is substantial enough without being too old-lady looking.
i. "Folk Flowers Shawl" by Sharon Dreifuss. Good to see that Sharon is really progressing in her designing career! I love the shape and size of this shawl, but hate the stupid beads. I'd totally do it exactly as written without those beads.
j. "Rosemary Street Cowl" by Sarah Fama. Love it. I have one or two skeins of this pure silk yarn that would be perfect for this, seeing as I don't really have enough to do anything else with them. And this is a better use of beads. I guess I prefer the non-representational use of beads in a knitting pattern.

So, that's 13 patterns I liked, although with these, there was much more I would change than with the other two issues. There were a couple of really bad patterns too but I'm not going to dwell on those. Just in some cases, do you really need a hood? Really?

4. Knit Simple. I'm not sure exactly why I'm still subscribing to this. Sometimes they have really great designs, but I've never knit any of them. I also wish their book reviews were a bit more critical. This magazine, and VK, both had spreads that were shot in the country, where women are "doing chores" or "sporty", but are still all dressed up. Lame. I mean, pose them on the field or in the barn if you must, but does she really have to pretend she's run out all dressed up to get more firewood?



a. The first sweater I thought I liked, upon further reflection, I realized I'd never wear, so I'm skipping that and going straight to "Tied Wrap", which is exactly what it says--a shawl that you tie down around your waist, so it doesn't flap around. I really love that concept. Again, would make a great office shawl. The knitting might kill me though, as it's basically a blanket with a tie.
b. "Textured Cardi", which is the next sweater. It's by Mari Lynn Patrick, who I generally also love. This is a great, knock around town on the weekend sweater.
c. Oh, and then we come to the best spread of all--COWLS. Love them all:



"Chevron Cowl", which is crocheted in the round and dips down over the shoulders like a little capelet.
"Ribbed Cowl" which is basically a long ribbed tube that also dips over the shoulders.
"Crocheted Cowl" which is really cute and lacy. "Twenty-Seven rounds and you're finished!" SOLD.
"Braided Cowl" Really cute. Would I ever make it? Probably not.

d. Oh, there's one more passable sweater: "Oversized Cardi" by John Brinegar. Not sure I'd ever wear this, but it could be just the way it is styled.

There was some cute stuff for kids at the end of the magazine, but nothing that was particularly inventive or sophisticated. Just lots of bright colors. I did like the hat and fingerless mitts they knit for the 'tween' girl, but I can't use them, as my tweens live in FL. :( So that's a measley 7 patterns, and that's if you count all the cowls separately, which I guess is appropriate. It's not their fault I hate SW themes.

Two more, loyal troopers!

5. Vogue Knitting, Winter 2010/11 So, VK is what it is. Sometimes wearable, sometimes over the top, always interesting. Although I have to say, this hat on the cover is bleh. She looks like she has a giant, onion-shaped head. With all my years knitting for people I have learned that people get really weird about hats. (especially Spanky! shhh.)
a. Nonetheless, there are things to like about this issue. Namely:

This is Josh Bennett's V-neck cardigan with just a "modicum of modern colorwork." LOVE. I'm going to do one of these for myself, probably using the Paton's Classic Wool that they made it out of. Only I"m going to make the main color gray, and change that arm band gray for the red. LOVE IT.
b. I like Bennett's "body-hugging pullover" on the next page too. It's red and has a pretty traditional fair isle yoke on the top, but blah. Kind of boring compared to the men's cardigan, and why does the women's stuff have to be "body-hugging"? Chokey! Ugh!
c. Oh, and another shawl collar:


Excuse the angle of my camera, which kind of makes her look pregnant. I really like the details on this sweater, but I do wonder if those two button loops would keep popping off as you move around. I bet you'd have to tack them down to make them stay. Not really a problem though. This just looks really comfy and not chokey in the least.
d. Mel Clark's Diamond pullover. I really hate that mint-green color, and the design reminds me a lot of one of Stephanie Japel's sweaters from IK a while back, but I'd still make this and use it for work. Maybe.
e. I really hate belted cardis that don't also have buttons, but I admire the design of Lisa Whiting's belted two color number and it's "hypnotically oscillating two-color motif". That would take me approximately ten years to knit so I won't be doing it, but maybe by the time I was done, I'd be as old and sophisticated as the lady in the picture, and therefore it would work. She's sassy, no doubt, and is rocking that black & white checkerboard number on p. 70, but still. That's not for me.
f. I didn't like anything in the vintage/modern layout (snore). But the socks are amazing. I debated about including them, but I would definitely knit both Star Athena patterns if I had a ton of yarn. (uh, I might, actually have a ton, but not in the same color, if you know what I mean) I can't imagine anyone actually making those bird socks, but if you do, more power to you. Crazymaking. Also, I love the little taxis in that shoot! How adorable is that? Giant feet crushing little taxis. Heh.
And so that makes 7 patterns, only if you count the two color sweater and the two pairs of socks, none of which I'm actually going to make ever. Eh, VK, you've done better. But I'll forgive you, since you had that amazing fair isle cardi this time.

6. last, but certainly not least, as I've had this for a while now, as I'm sure all of you have as well... Interweave Knits Winter 2010. This was a pretty good issue. I think I read it though, and immediately put it on my shelf. But now that I've gone through it again, I think there are some really cute sweaters here.


a. Starting with this one. The "Charvet Pullover" by Maria Leigh. This is really really cute. I love the color combo just as-is, and I can see myself wearing this every. day. All the time. And there is apparently something on the IK website about how she did this pattern. I should really look up on Ravelry whether anyone's made this or not. I'd like to see it in other fibers besides the llama/silk that I won't be using.
b/c. Actually, this whole stripey spread is good, but my other favorite is on the next page:



Can you guess which? Yep, the purple one in the top right: "Flowering Plum Pullover" by Katya Frankel. Looks really bloody hard, but so cute! Maybe not in purple for me but I would take it in purple if that's all they had. I also like that cowl on the bottom too. Really pretty.
d. "Isobel Skirt" by Cia Abbot Bullemer. I like this skirt a lot. The waistband is nice and structured, and the A-line shape is good for keeping it off your tights. I'd certainly wear it.
e. I didn't really like anything in the "Texture" story. More of the "more is more" thing they do. I did like the "Ginevra's Pullover" by Amy Polcyn, with its laceweight shawl collar, but I seriously doubt I would ever make it. It's lovely though.
f. Oh, and I really liked Susanna IC's "Oslo Walk Shawl" with the beads. I've never worked with beads before, but this one, and that cowl from Knitscene might put me over the edge. I really like the scarf-iness of the shawl.
g. Finally, I did like the "Thandie Funnel Neck" by Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark (wow, I'm really into her designs right now, apparently), but I'd never make this either. Chokey and lace weight/worsted weight in a sweater? Too hard, not for me. But it looks great on the model.
h. "Alpha Stockings" by Jenna Hurry. Out of all those socks, these are the ones I would actually make. I don't understand how people can wear their hand knit socks with dress shoes though, unless you buy them a size bigger. Mine are too tight to allow for anything but the thinnest of socks, which handknit socks are NOT. Strictly for boots and clogs are my handknit socks...

And that is it for IK. Eight patterns out of 27. I think Knitscene won with 13 this time. Oh well, something to aspire to, IK and VK. I just wish IK didn't go so "tricksy" with every freaking issue. Just create designs that are easy to wear and look good--classic--on a range of people. I mean, VK has its foot firmly in "fashion", but IK seems to have become a technique-hound's mag, and I'm not that good of a knitter, nor do I have unlimited time to spend learning how to do things just for their own sake. Learning general techniques is one thing, but I'm not really interested in putting things together in novel ways just because I can or it hasn't been tried before. Whatever. It's all so subjective anyway. I'm just glad we have a range of avenues to get patterns, and even though I've just run through the contents of SIX knitting magazines, there are still more, and there are online magazines too. We are truly blessed, as a community, to have so much available. Speaking of that, expect my next review probably Monday. Whew. That was tiring!

weekly update

At this point, I'm averaging one update a week. Oh well. This has been a crazy week, with the start of Project 333 (for me), and then lots of plans over the weekend. I took a sick day today to recover from it all. I know, that's questionable behavior, but I was teetering on the edge of exhaustion, and was very foul tempered. Now, I've had extra time to sleep, to clean, and to do a few of the chores that should have been done over the weekend.

This past weekend, my aunt celebrated her 70th birthday. She lives out on Long Island, so within commuting distance of us. Spanky and I got up early on Saturday, trekked over to Penn Station, and took the train out to Garden City. It was worth it, because my aunt was so surprised and delighted. She didn't know anyone was coming. But that took ALL DAY, and we didn't get home until dinner time, exhausted and frazzled.

Then Sunday, I took an Introduction to Color Work class at Vogue Knitting Live. The class was taught by Sarah Hatton, who is a UK-based designer, who's worked for Rowan, and several other companies.

Strangely enough, there aren't a lot of knitting events in New York. I guess it is just really expensive, but this was pretty awesome. I enjoy Rhinebeck as much as the next person, but I don't get to go very often, since the timing interferes with my travel schedule for work, so since VK Live was right in the city, I decided to try it. I had never taken a knitting class before, and really didn't know what to expect, but it was fun. Not really what I thought it would be. Sarah's really cute, and clearly knowledgeable, but I don't think she's that experienced of a teacher. She didn't bother learning anyone's name, and she didn't have an organized agenda that we went through step by step. She basically laid out the project for the course and then threw us in. The description of the course said you would learn color changes for stripes, intarsia techniques, and fair isle. We just basically learned as we went, and she didn't bother taking time to do it step by step. As that's the only class I've taken, I have no idea if that's typical or not, but I did feel a little short-changed in the camaraderie department. However, I learned what I came for, so all in all, I'd call it a success!



I have a pretty decent-looking swatch that I did FLAT, if you can believe that, and a pattern for a pair of fingerless mitts, so that I can practice doing fair isle in the round if I want. Maybe the upshot is that I thought there was more to the technique than there ended up being, and I guess at the end of the day, I probably didn't really need that course. But Sarah did share some other tips with us (like how to keep a bobble looking "nipply" rather than inverting itself into your knitting. I do love a bobble, so this was good news). Plus, it was just good to participate in the conference. Any conference that is about bettering your own craft rather than catering to someone else's (which is what I do with work)is fine by me. I really loved being a participant for once.

The package I bought included a one hour lecture as well, and I got to listen to Debbie Bliss talk about successful designing for babies and children. That was a very interesting hour. Her kids were with her, and I saw not only one blogger that I recognized; I was sitting in front of Cirilia Rose. She's just as cute in person, and sat and chatted with Debbie Bliss's son (who looks nothing like DB, while her daughter is just like her--you've probably seen her daughter modeling if you've ever looked at one of the DB magazines.). Anyway, I have this burning question about Cirilia that I almost asked her to answer but I thought she might think I was crazy if I did. Here it is: I pass this bank every morning on my walk to work. I think it's a Capital One bank, but I'm not really sure. Anyway, they have these window clings of all these happy banking people satisfied because they bank there, and one picture is this girl that looks just like Cirilia, drinking a coffee, which is obscuring most of her face, so only her eyes are showing. I have always wondered if that's her or not. It's really neither here nor there, but I think it's funny every day when I pass it and she's there, staring out at me. I have to see if I can remember to take a picture of the sign.

Anyway, that was my weekend. I'm still knitting my January (self-imposed) sock club socks. I'm about half way down the leg of the second one. I'm not really sure if I can finish it by the end of the month or not. Maybe... I hope so. I think for Feb, instead of doing another new sock, I might just concentrate on finishing up the languishing THREE PAIRS of socks I have sitting around. We could really use more wool socks in these frigid temps. And soon! I know that will put me a month behind in the sock club, but at least I'll be able to reclaim the project bags and needles that are currently stuck in those projects. Plus, it's all still stash yarn, so it counts, right?

Oh, and finally, I wanted to show you WHY I'm so late with the January socks, which are really not hard socks:

FO 1:

Pattern: Brother In Law Basketweave Hat by Kody May Kline.

Yarn: leftover Bernat Lana yarn from the Crooked Paths beret.

Needles: US7 circular and DPNs.



Note: I ended up casting on more stitches than the pattern specified, and then just decreasing evenly across as per the directions until I closed it up. I think I also made it a bit longer so that it would fit my giant head.



One day late last fall, I met this young guy on the PATH train coming back to the city from having seen a game with his family. I was knitting, and we got to talking, and he asked me to make him a hat. I told him I'd show him how and he could make his own hat, but he held up his hands and told me he couldn't hold the needles. He was physically disabled, and his hands were drawn up like claws. He was very charming though, I have to say. He wrote down his name and address, and sure enough, I ended up making him this hat (although about 6 months late!). I still had leftover yarn, so I made a matching cowl too. (FO #2 below) I even got to use up some of the leftover Knit Picks tan merino I had from when I first started knitting. I don't think that stuff even made it into my stash page on Ravlery. Either way though, both colors are now done and out of the stash, and hopefully he's been able to wear them in this cold weather.



FO #2: Man's cowl
Needles: US 7
Pattern: none--I made this up

Oh, and a short update on Project 333, since it's been a whole week. I didn't find it as hard as I thought, although I did have to add a second warm sweater when the temperature dropped so much. I'll switch out one of the work blazers though. I don't need 4 of them in my general 33 things. I think I'm going to take our 3rd vacuum storage bag and vacuum in the rest of the clothes though, just to make the point much clearer. I haven't even looked at the other stuff in my closet, but I do worry what's going to happen when I hit week four or five and I'm really sick of what I currently have. I guess only time will tell, right? Also, I'm really starting to pay attention to which shoes I wear the most, both for work and on the weekend. Shoes are really my weak point, but I know there are things I could weed out even now...

Project 333?

Am I crazy for trying this? I've been reading this blog for a while, and I've been watching her efforts over the last few months. I really wasn't interested at first. It seemed too hard, too many rules, too limiting... But lately, I've been looking at my closet with exasperation. I don't feel like I keep many clothes, but still, I don't seem to have any room in my closet at all. I have been really frustrated over the last year. Spanky is a bit of a collector, and we do have a LOT of stuff. And, living in a tiny metro apartment like we do, it's hard to wrangle it all. It just seems so overwhelming. Especially when you add in all the pet stuff too, and the fact that we're one of those couples that shops together for fun. We do a lot of other stuff too, but NYC is just a shopping mecca. And a lot of times, I get sucked into buying something I don't need or want. I'm trying to be done with that passive consumerism. Also, I am just starting to understand that the reason I shop all the time but still have about the same amount of clothing is that the clothes that I end up buying are not the best quality (and honestly, I'm pretty hard on my clothes, so I think maybe if I had stuff that was better quality to begin with, they might last longer...). I was in H&M the other day, just browsing to kill time before meeting my book group, and ALL that variety and ALL that profusion of cheap clothing labeled "made in Bangladesh" and so forth, just made me freak out. My heart started racing, and I felt kind of sick and unable to focus on anything. There was just SO. MUCH. STUFF. And it was all so cheap! And not even that attractive. And everyone was just pawing through all the crap to find the stuff that actually fit.

So... I think I'm in. I was pretty amazed with what PoMo learned throughout the whole thing, and maybe I'll come away with a deeper appreciation for what I have, and hopefully less of a desire to just passively consume. However, I know myself, and I know that I have to give myself some leeway or I'll just blow the whole thing. So over this long weekend, I made my list, and I put away as much of my other clothing as I could. I don't have enough storage space to take away all the clothing, but I've done as much as I could. I've separated out the clothing I'm considering part of the project, and I'm pretty sure that I won't need to deviate from that. Also, I'm giving myself a few passes, just to make the transition a bit easier. If this works, perhaps at the end of three months, I'll be able to restrict it more, but I think this might be the smallest I could go. My job involves a lot of travel and some pretty dressy occasions, so I do need a bit of variety for work functions. Anyway, here goes:

1. my winter coat (w/black hat and green scarf, cause it's damn cold, so I'm counting all these as one)
2. black tights (I have a bunch of pairs, but did I mention that I'm pretty hard on my clothes? I am just going to deal with the ones I have, but not buy any more until I'm totally out of usable ones.)
3. leggings (x 2)
4. my black suit (black skirt and blazer)
5. purple blazer
6. red blazer
7. ann taylor loft dress with pleats (my conference dress)
8. eddie bauer black sheath dress (my back up conference dress)
9. gray blazer with blue pinstripes
10. black old navy torn jacket
11. black cashmere sweater
12. tan cashmere cardigan (needs to be fixed)
13. club monaco black/gray colorblocked sweater
14. jcrew gray turtleneck merino sweater
15. undershirts (x infinity--like the tights, I wear these a lot)
16. short-sleeved t-shirts (x 5)
17. gap skinny jeans
18. old navy boot cut jeans
19. 3 sleeveless button-down shirts (2 white, one black)
20. suit shirt
21. black and white checked dress pants
22. black wool dress pants
23. black short sleeved button-down
24. checked uniqlo shirt
25. white long-sleeved button down shirts (3)
26. black pencil skirt
27. wool brown 3/4 length skirt
28. black cotton a-line skirt
29. black and gray color blocked skirt
30. white sleeveless shell
31. accessories (I have a few statement necklaces for work, and I can't choose-if I kept wearing the same one, people would think I was lame. at least they're all etsy purchases...)
32. gray purse for every day and black work purse
33. long-sleeved t-shirts (1 black, 1 gray, 1 white)

Regarding shoes, I don't think I am going to include them. I can't do it yet. Eventually, I'll try. Even by going through my closet and separating out the most essential stuff, I found some garments I could get rid of without disturbing the balance, and I'm sure the same is true for the shoes. But I'm not ready!

I'm not sure what else this project entails. I don't want my blog to become all about this project. Maybe I'll do one post a week, just to document what the week was like with the restricted (for me) closet. I can try to document the outfits, but I don't know if that will work. I don't have a huge amount of time, and I forget things like that pretty easily. But I'll try if anyone cares. Really, I just want to see if I can do it. Maybe I'll be able to get rid of a LOT of stuff at the end and not feel it! I really hope so!

Happy New Year!

Welcome, everyone, to 2011. I don't know about you, but I was so glad to kick 2010 to the curb. This year can't possibly turn out like that one. I'm not going to let it. We had some good times (Berlin, I'm looking at you!), but it was overall a very rough year. I had to train a new assistant three times, my mom was in a car accident, and money's been pretty tight for everyone. I just always felt like I was waiting for the next disaster to hit. Today's started out pretty well, so I'm going to try to sustain the momentum as long as possible.

Christmas break was not the restful "break" I was hoping for. My flight down to FL was delayed three hours, meaning that I didn't roll into my mom's house until 3:45 am, which meant that the next few days were kind of a blur because of lack of sleep and excess activity--I drove to see my dad with my sister, decorated my mom's tree, did some last minute shopping with her, then drove to Spanky's in my sister's car for two days, saw all of her family, and then drove back with her and the dog to spend a couple more days with my mom. THEN, the flight home was delayed for FIVE HOURS (thanks, blizzard! and thanks, Jet Blue!). That made it basically an overnight flight, because I didn't get back to JC until 6:30 in the morning. This year, I'm not going home for Christmas. If my mom wants to see me, she can come up here, dammit. And Jet Blue, I want that time back!

So I've really been enjoying the run up to New Year's, since I don't have to do anything or see anyone, and we're in our own house, nesting away and resting up. When I go back to work on Monday, I have to hit the ground running. I have a conference in Boston on Jan 6, so I have a ton of work to get ready for that, as well as wrapping up the last contracts from 2010 (met my goal, booyah!!!).

In terms of knitting, I didn't get as much accomplished in this last little bit of time as I wanted, which I also blame on Jet Blue and the lack of sleep and rest I got over the break. I did finish Spanky's nephew's hat, which turned out passably well, although not exactly what I was picturing. He asked me for a purple hat with a red X across the top. I have no idea how to do that, aside from double-stitching it on, but that was hard to do because of the decreases. Maybe someday I'll try it again. I ended up just stitching up some red "scars" across the top of the hat into a X. Maybe the decreases should have been done in the purple part. I don't know. I used the Turn a Square pattern by Jared Flood as the blueprint, since it has the square decreases on the top, which I thought I could just follow as a guide for the X. It didn't work. He seemed to be ok with it though. That does count as my last FO for 2010, FO 24 (I did a pretty thorough write-up of my FOs for 2010 in a previous post, so no need to linger on them here--was a pretty mediocre year in terms of output and results...):

Pattern: Turn a Square, adapted for sport weight yarn and only done in one color. Also, I didn't have time to block it. I was up really late the night before I had to go to Spanky's re-doing the X a bazillion times, so blocking didn't happen.

Yarn: Cascade Superwash Sport in eye-searing purple and red. I bought the sport weight because I needed those colors, and they didn't have 220 in the correct purple or red. I figured I could adapt a pattern, which I did. It only took one skein of the purple, and obviously just a bit of the red. I still have one purple and the rest of the red left, and I'm going to make him some mitts or a cowl to go with the hat at some point.

Needle: Size US 5 circular and DPNs. I've lost my good wooden DPNs, so we had to run out to Joann's and buy two sets of Susan Bates cheapy aluminum ones, because of course the Bates ones only come in sets of 4, not 5. Sigh.

But I also forgot to show you FO #23, which turned out a lot better:



Pattern: Jack in the Box mittens from Knitting New Mittens and Gloves by Robin Melanson. This book is awesome, by the way, but this is the first thing I've actually made from it. They are so wonderful, and were fairly straightforward to make. I used some Bernat Lana--the same as for the Acorn hat, as they were going to be given together to my final assistant of 2010, Rebecca. I love the pattern on the cuff, and the flip tops.


(a bit blurry, but you get the idea. also, very stretchy, not what you'd think by looking at it!)

The mittens are one of the few I've seen that button the flaps closed. Normally you see the buttons on the back to button the flaps open, but in the cold weather we just had, I assume she's going to keep them closed more than open anyway.

Oh, by the way, she didn't make me anything. Nor did I get a card. I'm a bit bummed about that. Sigh. (I know, grinchy... we covered this! I just have to keep repeating to myself that my self-worth isn't tied up into whether people remember you at the holidays or not. But really? Why no present at all? No card? Even Matthew gave us a bottle of wine, and he's not my assistant anymore! Does she just not like me? WTF?!)

Oh well. New year, new attitude. Forgiveness, kindness, not all about me, that sort of thing. But it did hurt a little bit. And being above it all is HARD, y'all. Especially since I loved those mittens so much I wanted to keep them.

In terms of 2011, I only want to keep knitting down the stash, and maybe learn a few new things. I'm taking a color work class at Vogue Knitting Live at the end of January, and I'm participating in a Sock Yarn Stash Knit Down. The first pair of the year, to be done by the end of Jan are the Zokni socks, done in a leafy green color of Knit Picks Essential, that I've had in the stash for a few years now. Time to use it up!