2007 Year in Review

Before I start posting about what I have done so far this year, I did want to take some time and review what I got done last year. I made a bunch of resolutions last year and posted them here. I was pretty good overall, although I tanked in some specific areas.

Stash Reduction:

My sock and general stash reduction goals were not met. At all. I was great about this for the first few months of the year, but then I the whole 'dieting' thing got to me and I broke. I am happy that my stash did not get bigger at least - my new acquisitions roughly equal my yarn used. I am okay with that. But this year, well...my resolutions are going to look a bit different.

Organization:

I had pledged to make a database for all things knitting. I started it....and then Ravelry came along. They incorporated everything I wanted and way more. I am absolutely in awe of their vision and execution of this personal database + community + ultimate reference site. Thanks for completing this resolution for me, Jess & Casey!


Want to Learn:

This didn't get much checked off. Overall, I think I improved my knitting abilities, especially in the finishing and colorwork areas. But - most of the specific areas (steeks, cardigans, improving spinning, and entrelac) I didn't end up working on at all. This year I will see what I can do about this.

Projects to Knit or Finish:

Of the 12 sweaters I wanted to knit or finish, I completed 6 of those listed (Hourglass, Erin, Cheesy Puffs, Zara, Rogue, generic grey turtleneck) and subbed Cobblestone for Joseph. While not meeting my goal of 12, I am pretty happy with finishing 7.

All in all, I finished 39 projects in 2007:

7 sweaters
21 pairs of socks
4 hats/head covering stuff
3 scarves
1 kitty pi
1 pair handwarmers
1 bad juju doll
1 pair of warshcloths

I have many of these projects up on Ravelry, but I am still working on getting better about photographing my projects. Especially with my socks. I will try to get better about documenting FOs, and Ravelry is a good incentive to do this. So this is my pictureless, verbous, year end round up for 2007.

Next up - what I have been doing this year so far and resolutions, smesolutions.....

Christmas 2007 FOs

I was able to get most of what I wanted done gift-wise....although some of the gifts should be more accurately named New Year's gifts, rather than xmas gifts. But, to finish off the year, I wanted to document the final tally for xmas '07.

I was able to finish the second Brigit sock, and the sparkly socks for my mom. Some cardstock, a printer, a few rubber stamps , and some markers and you have four nicely packaged gift socks (brigit socks not pictured):

For my friends in CT, I already had the armwarmers and 1 hat done, and just had to finish these slipper socks. The pattern is Log Cabin Socks. I used Rowan Cork in Delight, and followed the modifications from doggedknits to make them a bit thicker.


All 3 of my LYSs were out of the Fibertrends full soles, so I had to use the 2 piece set. It was okay, but I would have preferred the full soles. Ah, the perils of waiting until the last minute....


I also was able to finish a hat for my sis. This was actually done, washed, and wrapped for xmas eve. I gave her a hat for xmas last year (it was lovely, a wool and alpaca mix), but she felted it accidentally (!). She is a postal worker and I wanted to keep her warm, but I am also no dummy. So, this year, she gets Mission Falls superwash wool.


I found the snowflake chart somewhere on the web, and just winged a pattern from there. I was almost sad to give it up.

So, to tally, for Christmas '07 I gifted:

4 pairs of socks
2 hats
1 pair of armwarmers
1 pair of slipper socks

This is much down from last year, and I am glad I paired down. This was a really busy semester, and it was stressful enough.

And, last but not least, I want to give thanks for my wonderful husband. He got me all sorts of fantastic stuff for xmas, including knitting stuff that I have been coveting for a looong time. Including:

4 balls of Classic Elite Waterlily in a lovely deep brown
2 hanks of Claudia Handpaints in Summer Fields (so excited.....)
2 balls of Lang Jawoll in charcoal and 1 in a blues and dark reds variegate
and 1 ball of SRK On Your Toes which has aloe in it.
He also got me some addi turbos, size 15 bamboo straights, some great books, and some fun games (including Zombie Flux and Zombies: School's Out). I am giddy. Thanks, babe!

Status of the Christmas Knitting 2007

Honestly. This is so stereotypical of our knitter community it is almost embarrassing. When will I ever really wake up to the fact that, contrary to my normally skeptical self, I can knit a sweater in but a day or two and a pair of socks in but a few hours? And – knowing that every year ends in a gift-giving holiday, and every year I have the best of intentions but sadly overestimate what I can get done – why do I not start holiday knitting in January? Laments aside, here is the list of holiday knitting for this year and the status of each (some good, some.....well, I'm still in self-delusion mode):

One man's pair of socks:

Status: Done! I hope they fit.....

Pattern: Plain Vanilla sock pattern
Yarn: Trekking Pro Natura Wool/bamboo/nylon sock blend
Needles: Size 1
Started: 11/24/07
Finished: 12/12/07

One hat and armwarmers:

Status: Done!

Pattern: Hat – generic mine; Armwarmers - “Hurry up Spring Armwarmers” from SNB Nation
Yarn: Manos del Uruguay in variegated oranges – from stash from a few years ago, which is great!
Needles: Addis size 6 circ.s for hat and size 7 Brittany DPNs for armwarmers
Started: 11/20/07
Finished: 11/23/07

One plain pair women's socks:

Status: Done!

Pattern: Plain vanilla sock pattern
Yarn: Lion Brand Magic Stripes
Needles: size 2
Started: 11/03/07
Finished: 11/21/07

Second pair of women's socks:

Status: 90% done. Only the last toe to finish. This one is easy and will be no problem to finish.

Pattern: Brigit
Yarn: Lang Jawoll sock yarn
Needles: Crystal Palace 1.5 DPNs
Started: 12/08/07
Finished: ------

Third pair of women's socks:

Status: 50% done. First sock done, second sock yet to be finished. Now we see my plans starting to fall apart.....

Pattern: Garter rib pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks
Yarn: Socka Disco (It's sparkly!)
Needles: Knitpicks 1.5 DPNs
Started: 12/12/07
Finished: ------

I bought this yarn for me.....but it's sparkly. I'm not a sparkly person. Ah, but then Christmas came along, and I had a plan....my mom is a sparkly person. She buys holiday sweaters that light up, flash AND sparkle. Perfect.

Here's where it falls apart; the TO DO list (as of 12/20......uh [*embarrassing cough*] yeah):

Log Cabin Slipper Socks.

Heh heh. Decided last night I was going to do these because I needed one more gift for a girlfriend. I have half a sock #1 done.

Two hats, one for my sis and one for another friend of mine.
My sister's is a must, the other one could be axed if need be.

One more pair of socks
I have little hope here....

So to tally, this is the must stuff that I still need to get done:

• one toe on the Brigit socks

• the mate to the sparkly garter rib socks for mom

• 1.5 log cabin slipper socks (oh – and these need to be felted slightly and have soles sewed on, did I mention that?

• 1 hat for sis (preferably with some fair isle snowflakes....)

• One hat and one pair of socks that probably will get axed

As I look at this, I think to myself that this is super easy. I can get this done, no problem. And then I am reminded by the fact that I still have some shopping to finish, none of the knitting is blocked, none of the presents are wrapped, I still haven't sent out seasonal cards, my house is a mess and my niece is coming to stay with us soon, I have baking to do for a few forthcoming holiday parties, and (oh, yeah) there is this whole job thing that I need to be attending to. This seems familiar......

Happy Holidays!

In which she forgets that limbs come in pairs....

Mama's got a brand new bag....

I am a utilitarian kind of gal, with a mean obsession with storage. So the other day, my DH and I were at our local general store and I found the coolest new bag for sock knitting. (imagine trumpets blaring):

It is marketed as a tool bag, but is perfect for sock knitting projects. It is made of canvas and so is sturdy, but lightweight, and has four pockets on each side to hold all of your sock DPNs. But wait! That's not all, folks! There are also 4 pockets on each side of the inside for all of your little notions. AND - it has a zip enclosure, with no velcro anywhere that could mess with your yarn.


I'm in love. It's roomy, but not too big to carry around, has places for everything, and is not too shabby looking. To top it off, it was only $10, people. Is it illegal to marry a tool bag? You can find it online here. It is a few bucks more than what I paid at my local Anderson's.

Next up, I finished Rogue. -ish. I still have to sew up the damn hems, but since I could wear it out in public in it's current state, I am calling it done. I will worry about hems at a later date, as the weather is in no way making this a viable clothing option currently.

Details:
Pattern: Rogue
Yarn: Jaeger Shetland Aran in Sage. I used about 7.5 balls for the large size.
Needles: Addis size 8
Mods: I added one extra cable repeat on the body to make it longer
Started: June 15, 2007
Finished: August 10, 2007
Issues: None...this was a great pattern. Well written, very detailed.

And finally, I started a new sweater:



It is Bless from the Cork Collection. I am using Rowan Cork in the Mouse color. Big needles, lofty yarn, and a relatively straight forward pattern. Just what I need.

I should be better prepared

I love horror films. I love zombie films. Preparing for a zombie apocalypse has been seriously discussed in my home more than once. And yet:


52%

Mingle² - Free Online Dating

I need to work on it. But--I do disagree with their questions about guns. Bullets run out, people, and you have to be pretty good with the head shots. Blunt weapons are much better. I'm just sayin'.

Geek out.