New Year's Eve

Last year I had a resolution that I didn't keep, and I'm a little bummed on that count - new handspun socks would be cool, although last year's are kind of amazing and I'm glad to have them still. I do have more handspun sock yarn, so next year, that'll happen.

On the other hand, I did do some awesome stuff this year. Favorite projects include the fantastic mittens I just finished, and several pretty great pairs of socks. I finished the green sweater that's now a wardrobe staple for me, and managed to win the Knitting Olympics.

One thing I realized this year is that the fun part of all this fiber stuff for me is in learning to do new things. I remember sitting in Abby Franquemont's spinning class in September and feeling the kind of mental exercise I used to get in Doug Leonard's coding theory classes. I definitely have decided to take more classes in the coming year, including another trip to Knitting Camp, if possible. I'm considering another run at Sock Summit, but we'll see. I also learned to weave, which has been fun, and I'm looking forward to seeing where that takes me.

Best wishes to all in 2011, friends. Thanks for reading.

Scarf in a Day

I got a request last Thanksgiving for a red scarf. It wasn't gonna happen for Christmas last year, but I kept it in mind for this year.

Enough so that I had three different scarves' worth of red yarn floating around the stash by the time the fall semester started. I tried two or three different patterns, but nothing was working. I was totally going to punt it. But when I woke up on the morning of our Christmas trip, I packed the bulkiest of the red scarf yarns and size 13 needles. I cast on as we were leaving Indianapolis and had 2/3 of it done by the time I took over driving. The last third was accomplished in the evening and the next morning, making this an awesome quick project.

Scarf-in-a-Day:

CO 18 stitches.
Rows 1-11: (K1,P1) across.
Row 12: Slip 6 stitches to a cable needle and hold in front. (K1,P1) 3 times. (K1,P1) 3 times from the cable needle, then (K1,P1) to the end.
Rows 13-23: (K1,P1) across.
Row 24: (K1,P1) 3 times. Slip 6 stitches to a cable needle and hold in back. (K1,P1) 3 times, then (K1,P1) 3 times from the cable needle.

I did this with two skeins of Lion Brand Alpine Wool, and ended up with a scarf probably 5 inches across and a touch less than 5 feet long.



I'm kind of wanting to make another now. Fun!

LOOK WHAT I DID!!!!!

I made mittens.


BEEEAUTIFUL mittens with seahorses and braids and happy star/rose motifs.


The fabulous pattern is from Torirot Design and is free on ravelry. I made some modifications - mostly in the cuff, and a bit in the thumbs, because I liked the longer pattern, but felt they needed to be pointy. In other news, I have opinions on mitten thumbs (who knew?).


I desperately love this feeling of awe and accomplishment that knitting can give me.


And I don't even mind that it's snowing now.

Something slow, but awesome

Julie's blog is one of the first ones I heard about once I started attending my knit night. She's consistently smart and funny, and a really talented knitter. Her Watery Llama Scarf was my first clue that there was such a thing as a reversible cable. So when I found some seriously awesome blue yarn that could grow up into a perfect scarf for my father-in-law, her pattern came to mind.

It's not finished yet, but it's pretty fantastic. I modified by making it narrower, and waiting a little longer to start the cabling.



Yummy!

While I'm Showing Things Off

I bought a sewing machine a few years ago. I think I had great plans for it at the time - maybe involving lining knit bags and steeking. Mostly it's been used for hemming pants and mending clothes, nothing really fun. But I have had this drawstring bag tutorial series bookmarked for a while. This Sunday I finally Did Something With It, and here's the result:



Bought the fabric at Hobby Lobby last year, the cord was leftover from my green grocery bag. It's a good start at this whole sewing thing, I think.

An accounting of the past week or so

Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we had a replacement knit night. I was having a weird day, and Mandie had brought yarn. The orange sweater and I weren't getting along, and I wound up with this fantastic skein of bright green Yarn That Shall Not Be Named.

I wound the yarn that night. I cast on Thanksgiving day. Last night I had new socks.



This may be a speed record for me. They're good. They're very good.

'Tis the season

We welcomed our first snow of the season this morning in Indiana. I say "welcomed," although I will admit my greeting was more along the lines of grousing.

The cool thing, of course, is that it's a really good time to be one of the wool people. I broke out the houndstooth scarf from this summer with my down coat, and after I finish my socks-of-the-moment, I have a mostly-finished pair of mittens to polish off.

I'm thinking about knee socks and legwarmers, hats and sweaters. Of course, it's also the last few weeks of the semester, so knitting is taking a backseat to work. Oh well.

Need a project roundup soon. Maybe this weekend.