Knitknacks

CIRCULAR THINKING

What do you say to starting the year off with some bad poetry?

 
2010 In Review

 
Yarn shops close; new ones open.

People are hired; people are fired.

Houses bought; houses sold.

Children born. Children grow. 

Marriages. Divorces. Second chances.

Grandchildren.
 

 

People move in. People move away.

Books read; gardens weeded; classes completed. 

Vacations, retreats, sojourns, homecomings.

Birthdays and holidays and celebrations.

Deaths and bereavements and loss. 

Weight gain; Weight Watchers. 

 

Joint pains and joint replacements. 

Cancers. Chemo. Remissions. Cures.

Depression. Jubilation. 

Pregnancy; miscarriage; second chances.

The unbearable sadness of politics. 

Volcanoes. Earthquakes.  Fires. Floods. 

Earth Wind Sea and Sky. 

 
Beginnings; endings; and everything between

Is life a circle or a straight line?

Life cycles. 

Okay! Moving on…and reflecting back….2010 was the year of the sweater. I completed SIX sweaters in 2010. All but one are actually wearable, and I’m working myself up for ripping out and re-knitting the ugly duckling. I achieved 18 Finished Objects, but only 12 of them are worthy of appearing in public. 6 of the 12 were for Others. 

 
Between knitting up so many sweaters, and destashing at the annual guild sale, I’ve made a sizable dent in the crushing burden of my stash. I no longer feel crushed….just a little bent over. I’m still working hard at not buying new yarn, which is very difficult because I live in a city with great yarn shops. And because I lack impulse control. And because yarn is such a nice thing to buy. And because my friends enable me.

 I will continue to limp along with sporadic updates to this blog. Speaking of limping, I have also begun a new blog entitled Hippily Ever After. It is intended to be a journal revolving around my upcoming hip replacement surgery. I  hope that my scintillating prose will keep it from being boring, so follow along if you’ve any interest in the subject. (Joint replacement? How could anyone not be interested?)

And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for…..photos of the latest Finished Objects. Feast your eyes on my latest hits….and no, I’m not showing any of the misses. 

The yarn is 7 ply Cotton, purchased as a kit from Adirondack Yarns, at the Creativ Festival in Toronto back in October. It's knit all in one piece, very drapey and unstructured, and the yarn is lovely in spite of a tendency to be splitty.

 

This is the Basketweave Kimono from Schaefer Yarns. I used Araucania Toconao for the yarn, which worked out beautifully. This was a delight to knit, and with the right yarn, I would knit it again.

 

A hat for my daughter-in-law, by request. The yarn is Malabrigo Chunky. I happily knit for my children by request only, so kids.....if you want something, just ask. (No, I'm not adopting any new children.)

This is the Tasia Sweater on the lovely model. Maura is the only granddaughter to receive a sweater in 2010, but not for lack of trying. I frogged sweaters for both Paige and Abby, due to knitter error.

What lies ahead in 2011? I still have several sweaters worth of yarn in my stash, so obviously a few of those. I'm in process on another crocheted scarf, and I would like to advance my crocheting skills. I'm jumping into a knit-along for a beautiful lace scarf starting in February. I'm feeling the urge to do something in entrelac again. Mostly I'm just floating....not too much planning ahead. Staying open to whatever catches my interest. In other words....life as usual....just cycling on.

 

TRUE COLORS

I’m busy finishing things. It seems I’ve gotten a bit ahead of myself, and this week I realized I had five sweaters in various stages of completion…or non. Five!!! Not a scarf, and a sock, and a fingerless mitt, and a little itty bitty baby thingie, and a sweater. Five fully grown adult sweaters.

Overload! There was only one thing to do. Finish something. So I did. The Origami Cardigan is a fully-finished ready-to-wear sweater as soon as it’s cold enough for alpaca. Yay! And she’s a beauty; a perfectly fitting beauty. Length: perfect. Drape: perfect. Sleeve length: perfect.

Big dolman sleeves. Lovely hunter green color. Snazzy cabled lapel band. Here's a close up of the cables:

Pertinent details: The pattern is the Wrap Me Up sweater from Great Yarns (Or the Origami Cardigan from Frog Tree Yarns designed by Linda Daniels....identical patterns as far as I can tell). The yarn is Aslan Trends Royal Alpaca. The pattern calls for an allover K1P1 rib, but in the interests of saving my sanity as well as my thumb joint, I opted for garter stitch. Plain, humble, perfectly drapey and quickly completed garter stitch. Color me happy. 

Next: I’m within very close range of finishing the Seville Jacket. One sleeve done; the other sleeve near done. Trim for both sleeves: done. One afternoon of knitting with friends will see it entirely done. Then just attaching the trim, and it’s another ready-to-wear sweater.

It’s a sad truth among many of my knitter friends that we are often more excited by the next project than the one we are currently on. I pick out yarn. I find a just right pattern. Or the other way around….I find a great pattern and then search for just the right yarn. It doesn’t matter which order; the important thing is that I have a great project to start. I can’t wait to start. I start. An inch goes by. Another inch goes by. Ho hum. Can’t wait to finish. Because even though I solemnly swear that I am a process knitter, and that the act of knitting is more important than the end product, even though my fingers believe this and my heart rate believes this and my serotonin levels believe this, my mind is busy planning the next project. And the next. And the next. 

Is this true for other creative pursuits? Do writers of novels yearn to start a new novel while they are still immersed in the lives of their current characters? Do actors in Broadway musicals, actors who get to sing and dance to great music, actors who are receiving high praise from the critics, are they counting the days when their production will finish its run and they can go sing new songs? Do fisherpersons out all day on their boats waiting for the biggest marlin ever to nibble at their bait, are they already casting out new worms for new fishies while they wait for the current fishies to strike? Is anyone ever satisfied with the here and now?

Last week I attended the Creativ Festival in Toronto. It’s an annual extravaganza of crafting classes in many strands….fiber arts, fabric arts, paper arts, jewelry arts….with vendors to match. I met up with a dear friend from New York, and we had a fabulous time. The high point of our stay had nothing to do with the festival. We managed to snag tickets to the stage production of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and I still can’t get the music out of my head. We girls….we just wanted to have fun!

And we did. That's my here and now.

 

SEMANTICS

Why do we refer to our accumulation of yarn as a stash….something to be squirreled away and kept somewhat secret, as though we are ashamed of accumulating more than we can possibly knit up in any reasonable amount of time?  

In a recent email exchange with Christine, we discussed whether a large book collection should be called a collection or a stash. I think the word collection gives things a legitimacy that the word stash just doesn’t have. So people collect books and art works and Star Wars memorabilia and it is considered a worthwhile thing to do with space and discretionary funds. But our yarn stashes are seen as wasteful and shameful. We are all pounding the aisles at Ikea trying to find good storage solutions. We should be finding show-off solutions instead!  

Ladies….(and Gentlemen)….flash your stash! Show off your stuff! Frame your fiber! I’ve seen blog posts about clever ways to hide your stash so significant others don’t realize how much you have acquired. Liberate your yarn from those secret caches and flaunt it! So what if it doesn’t ever get knit up into anything. You know how good it feels to walk into a well-stocked yarn shop? You know that warm comfy serene feeling we all get when we are surrounded by all that color and texture? Why should we have to go to a yarn shop to get that feeling? Why can’t we have it surround us in our own homes every day?  

I call it yarn shop chic. Pottery Barn should get on board. 

USING UP STASH

In the interests of depleting my own healthy collection of yarn, I am getting close to completion of my version of the Seville Jacket.  I am using Riviera II, which I snagged in a sale a while back at Woven Art. Even though it is a rayon/cotton blend, it appears to be blocking out nicely to my desired measurements. I’m hoping it doesn’t just snap back as soon as it’s dry, since it’s just a wee bit skimpier than I like. (Gauge issues! Always gauge issues! Sarah, stop snickering!) Once it’s dry, I’ll start picking up stitches for the sleeves. Should be a quick finish.  

There are other projects on the needles, of course, but not yet at a stage that makes a photo shoot worthwhile. Right now, I think I’ll go wallow in my stash and feel warm and comfy and serene.

TIDY ENDS

It is a testimony to the wildly exciting life I lead that I just don’t seem to have much time for blogging. How am I supposed to sit still long enough to write, when I am so busy living my life of leisure? I should stay home from a knitting group in order to write about knitting? Really? I should put the needles down and take up the keyboard? Really? I should stay home instead of traveling around the country to see my children and grandchildren? I don’t think so!

 

But I will grudgingly give up a chunk of time right this minute to get a few thoughts down, and give my adoring public a photo update. Yes, I could be attaining my highest score ever on Bejeweled Blitz, but I will sacrifice that accomplishment for my beloved readers.

 

ACCOMPLISHMENTS!

 

I finally have photos of my Rainbow Sweater that do it justice. All ends have been tamed. It’s been too warm to actually wear it, except for an occasional over-air-conditioned coffee shop, but I am sure global warming will pause long enough to give me some cooler fall-like evenings any day now.

It was definitely a more challenging and entertaining project than usual. I’m glad I did it. I’m glad it’s done.

 

Two weeks on the road to various western locales meant a lot of car knitting. In this case, it also meant car crocheting. I got a good start on this interesting crocheted scarf/wrap, and completed the last row today.

 

It’s from the book, Crochet in Color. Not hard at all; very enjoyable to work on; and I have plans to dig in my stash and put together some interesting combinations of texture and weights, in addition to color. I see this as a potential stash-buster pattern, and the more I can bust the stash, the more I can splurge on new goodies. Oh we knitters are so bad!

 

I also fell back on another pattern I’ve grown to love; the Ruffles and Ridges wrap. This time I’m making the large size in a lace weight yarn (Classic Elite Silky Alpaca), hoping that it will be a full size shawl instead of just a shoulder wrap.

 

My trip out west included a fabulous stay in Lake Tahoe, where my two granddaughters enjoyed their debut as flower girls…..

 

I discovered the beauty of Emerald Bay…..

 

My other charming granddaughter was appreciative for her lunch of plums…..

 

And Lynn’s daughter in El Dorado, Kansas is opening a yarn shop! Laura is incredibly talented with everything fibery, so if you are in her neighborhood, make sure you stop in.

 

The back-to school mentality is still hard to shake, even after five years of retirement. (Five years? Really? REALLY????) I still can’t quite believe I don’t need to be working on lesson plans or running into school to set up my classroom. It’s very important that I take full advantage of my retired years to completely shake off the accumulated stress of many years in the classroom. With that in mind, I think I’ll go play. Next entry: new projects!!

LOOSE ENDS

Someone asked me yesterday if I was still blogging. It is a telling statement that I wasn’t sure how to answer. Well….yes. Well….not much. But like Tinkerbell, I respond to applause. Just the idea that someone reads what I write is usually enough to jumpstart a blog post. (So thank you, Libby, for being my jumper cables this time.)

 

For almost three months, I have been a mostly monogamous knitter. I still pull out a sock for convenience in certain places. But most of the time I’ve been devoted to the Rainbow Cardigan. It was my intent to show off the entirely finished sweater in this blog post. However, I am still a few woven-in ends away from being finished. The glamour modeling shot will have to wait just a little while longer. In the meantime, I sort of proudly present the Almost Finished Rainbow Cardigan.

 

This is a sweater that really has to be seen in person and on me. And the ends that are left make it look scraggly. Think elegant, not scraggly. Another 2 to 4 hours of weaving in ends and it will be totally wonderful. The next cool night, if you see me, you'll see my sweater.

Some thoughts about this project:

Intarsia…. Like everything else in my knitting repertoire, it was not hard to do once each step was broken down and practiced. Like cables and lace, there is a new rhythm to be established, and once the rhythm is in place, it has its own pleasant flow.

 

Bobbins… They worked well for keeping the colors sorted and manageable. There is a contingent of intarsia-knitters who practice letting it all hang out, and that is definitely not me. Not with 14 yards of each color mixing and mingling with the neighbors! There is another contingent who are skilled at making butterfly skeins. This probably would have worked for me as well, but I liked the way the weight of the bobbins helped keep everything sorted.

 

Ends….If anything keeps me from tackling intarsia again, it will be remembering the hundreds of ends to be woven in. I remembered what giving birth was like, and still I was willing to do it again. So maybe time will dull this memory too. Maybe.

 

The end result…..it is worth it. Isn’t that all that matters, in the end?

DISTRACTIONS

Life is filled with things that distract me from my main mission. The latest distractor is a silly Facebook game. I let my Wednesday knitting group bait me into trying Bejeweled Blitz. Ai yi yi!! Hours pass as I try in vain to beat all the competition. I am pleased to report that practice does pay off however. I am currently in second place. I will have to try harder.

Another distractor is my latest new toy...an iPad.  Aside from all the many wonders it has to offer, I am especially pleased with two things. First, both the Kindle app and the Barnes and Noble app function flawlessly. No one does a touch screen like Apple, and the pages turn with just the tiniest motion of a finger. And my aging eyes welcome the backlighting that people supposedly don't like. The second thing that I love about the iPad is the ability to play Bejeweled Blitz on a touchscreen instead of manipulating a mouse. Isn't this the silliest reason ever?!

This is all to cover up for the fact that I am still concentrating on the intarsia color block sweater to the exclusion of almost everything else. Progress is slow but steady.

In the meantime I keep stockpiling yarn for new projects. I keep stockpiling patterns for new projects. I keep hoping the yarn will match the patterns I already have so I don't keep buying more yarn.  I keep hoping I will knit faster. Does any of this sound familiar?

Summer has barely started and I feel it rushing by. I still have the school calendar mentality, even though I've been retired five years now. (!) This summer will contain a road trip to Lake Tahoe in Nevada, California, Colorado, and Kansas. Along the way we will visit with lots of family. I bet this sounds familiar too.

And in August, I will be attending Stitches Midwest. Always a good time. If anyone reading this is going, check out the classes offered by Sarah Peasley and Nancy McRay. I have taken classes from both of them, and I can guarantee that they are worth the price of admission.

My jewelry business has been booming, but I feel a summer slowdown coming on. Don't let my slowdown slow you down. Order online, or contact me....the store is always open. The June special is: order 2 items at regular price; one at half price; then up to 3 more necklaces at half price. Or want to host a casual summer gathering and get wonderful hostess benefits? Contact me right now!

SHOUT OUT TO JANICE

April? Really? After zipping through February with record-breaking energy and good spirits, March did slow me down just a bit. And yet…it’s done and over, so any perception of Slow Down the World - I Want to Take a Break was just a mirage. A hallucination.

I received a scolding email from a “fan” basically saying get my fingers moving on the keyboard instead of on my knitting needles. Janice is a lovely woman from Colorado, with whom I share a granddaughter. I consider myself very lucky. I have two daughters-in-law who are wildly wonderful women….and who had the good sense to fall in love with my sons….and each of them has a mother who is a pleasure to know and share lives with now. So when Janice says write a blog post damn it!, I take it seriously. 

This is a knitting blog; I’ll start with that. In short, my knitting is a mish-mosh of started and stalled projects. Most of them revolve around that shared granddaughter. I will be traveling to Denver at the end of the month to see and get my hands on Maura, who will be 7 months old by the time I get there. Of course I don’t want to arrive empty-handed, so I immediately started a sweater for her. Normally I don’t worry much about gauge in a baby sweater.…a little big for room to grow into is fine.    But there is a little big, and there is way too big. I started the 6-12 month size of the Tasia Cardigan…a pattern I’ve made several times, using Raggi….a wonderful self-patterning worsted weight yarn that does for baby sweaters what self-patterning sock yarns do for socks. And the sweater is shaping up just beautifully….and hugely.

I’m figuring Maura will be four when this finally fits her.   So I put it aside to concentrate on something she can wear NOW. Aha…how about the Baby Surprise Jacket? I’ve wanted to make this for ages, and I recently acquired some Mochi Plus just for this purpose. I am three-quarters of the way done with this one, and again….I miscalculated what size to make. Another toddler tog on the horizon, but not what I want to show up with for wearing this spring and summer.  

Third time is the charm, I hope. I picked up a couple skeins of Ty-Dy Dots, and have just started another favorite pattern…..Peekaboo from Heirloom Stitches.

I am cautiously optimistic that this time the sizing will be just right. If it’s not……let’s not  go there just yet.   

I do have one FO to report on. My second Ruffles and Ridges, made with Noro Silk Garden sock yarn, is done and is charming. I love this pattern…have I mentioned that? Maybe next time I’ll make the larger size out of a DK weight and have a substantial shawl out of it.   

I also have a new project for myself in the starting stages. I put together a kit for this Helen Hamann Rainbow Cardigan last year at Stitches Midwest, and I am finally getting around to starting it. My version will use just half the rainbow spectrum….the darker shades. Since it involves a knitting technique I’ve never done before (intarsia) I scheduled a session with one of my favorite mentors to help me get started. Sarah has me entirely clear on everything I need to do, but I am still struggling with my gauge swatch and making sure I have enough yarn in each color to complete this project. The pattern itself is just a wee bit……skimpy on clear directions. I’ve emailed the designer herself for clarification on a few issues. The last few days I’ve been obsessed with getting the numbers to work…..I think one more swatch will do it. I think I can….I think I can….  

Roving Reporter: So Sharon….what’s new and exciting in your life besides your knitting foibles?  

Sharon: RR, I’m so glad you asked. Let’s see…..I had a wonderful visit with my daughter in Tennessee over her spring break. It’s not every child who wants to spend part of her spring break with her mother. Becky gave up Cabo….Cancun….Fort Lauderdale….the Italian Riviera….just for me. I do love that girl!   

RR: Any other travel plans on the horizon?  

Sharon: You bet. Trillium Twirl dance camp in a few weeks. Denver right after that. An overnight in Novi for my grand-niece’s bat mitzvah in May. A big road trip out west this summer. A Labor Day weekend fly-in Blakesburg Iowa. The Creativ Expo in Toronto next October. There’s still room for other sojourns….have to see what transpires.   

RR: Wow…does this leave any time for your new business as a jewelry rep?  

Sharon: Sure does. I take my samples with me and serendipity seems to happen. But speaking of business, I am looking to fill up my May calendar in particular. Anyone interested in hostessing in May…I will have special incentives for you. And again….I’d really like to do fundraisers. I will be very generous with sharing my commission with fundraising efforts in May. Contact me if you want to discuss this.   

RR: What about Abby and Paige? I haven’t heard you mention them.    

Sharon: I have not seen them enough this winter! But I will be spending several days with them in a few weeks. I hope they haven’t grown up too much. I hope they aren’t taller than me.   Here they are in late February....

RR: Any parting words before we end this interview?  

Sharon: Yep. GO MSU !!!! It’s not often I get excited about a sports event. But our basketball team is shaking things up. Impossible not to care at all.  

CUT ME SOME SLACK

There are more than a few downsides to being a slacker about blogging. One is that the blogger probably loses readership. Another is that inertia breeds more inertia. And most importantly, the task of catching up gets bigger…and therefore harder….as time goes on.

So before I get so behind I can’t catch up, let’s catch up. There will be several topics covered today. I am providing an agenda so readers will know whether to stick around for all of it or skim judiciously. We will be discussing:

1. The Finally Finished East Meets West jacket which is actually a cap-sleeved cardi now.
2. The complete completion of all 12 afghan squares which will keep a lot of little dolls warm unless I get it sewn together.
3. The totally adorable Ridges and Ruffles wrap.
4. The reason why I am so busy right now.
5. The three (only three!) items that are currently on the needles. Wait….late-breaking news….make that two items and another FO.

Let us begin. The real truth for my slacker status is that I have not wanted to take a photo of me in the Finally Finished East Meets West jacket from Knit One Below that has no sleeves so it’s not exactly a jacket, is it? What I have here is very nice to look at on the surface. I had to tinker with the side seams, and with the loose panels in the back. It took two tries to get the crocheted edging on the armholes just right. Since it is a drop sleeve style, I end up with kind of a cap sleeve effect….not quite vest, not quite sweater, definitely not jacket. I sort of like the end product, but we are definitely not in love.

But taking a photo…finding out if it really is acceptable or if I will so hate myself in it that I’ll never wear it again….this is taking courage. I have experienced a significant weight loss in the last 8 months. (Intentional.) What if the photo makes it look like nothing has changed? If it looks awful on me, I won’t be able to show the photo, and what good is a write-up if I don’t include a photo?

Enough with the inner scripting….here’s the damn photo. What do you think?

 
Nope, never gonna be a favorite.

BLOCK OF THE MONTH AFGHAN

About two years ago, Rae, my boss, designed a Block of the Month afghan pattern. I came into the project about halfway through her designs, and by doing two blocks a month, I quickly caught up. Then she got behind and I got behinder. But we are both fully caught up. All 12 block patterns are published, and all 12 block patterns have been knit.

And then I come to a screeching halt! Haven’t blocked them. Can’t start sewing together until I block them. Don’t really want to sew them together. Hmm…..is this a project I want to hire out to be done? That’s a thought worth thinking. The last time I thought it was for the Origami Pullover, and when I finally seamed it myself it was way easier and faster than what my imagination had concocted. So check in next week or next month or next whenever to see what I decided.

RUFFLES WRAP

Here’s a quick and easy and completely adorable project using just one skein of sock yarn. (100 grams) The Fiber Trends Ruffles and Ridges Wrap using Cascade Heritage sock yarn. The best feature of this pattern is that it starts at the ruffled edge with 807 stitches cast on (!!!) but quickly reduces to 273, and continues reducing every pattern repeat. The psychological boost of fewer stitches as I progress, instead of the usual other way around should not be underestimated.



The pink in this color way is more influenced by the oranges than I expected. It is not a great color for me. This one will be gifted eventually, and in the meantime I’ve started another using Noro Silk Garden sock yarn. As usual, I love the color play of Noro. As usual, I hate the knots. And I hate the way this yarn wants to wrap around itself as it comes out of the skein. This will be the last time I ever use the sock weight of my beloved Silk Garden.

COMMERCIAL

Time out for a commercial message from our sponsor, Lia Sophia Jewelry. I must have been starting to feel bored because I hosted a Lia Sophia jewelry party in December, and by the end of January I was in business for myself. Back when I was 17, I worked the Men’s Ties and Toiletries counter at J. L. Hudson for the Christmas season. This is when I discovered that I was good at sales. Flash forward all these years, after a lengthy career in education (teaching is selling too, in its way), and I find that I really enjoy selling. I love love love my job at the yarn shop, helping to match up a customer with the just-right yarn and pattern. And it turns out that I love love love selling pretty jewelry, helping to match up a customer with just the right special bauble, bangle, or bead. It’s not about making money; it’s about the mental challenge of getting organized and finding the balance between being persuasive and being pushy. (Not that making money is a bad thing.)

In fact, it’s so not about the money, that I am offering to do shows as a fundraiser. I will donate 50% of my commission to the organization sponsoring a party. This is not going to add thousands of dollars to anyone’s treasury, but it could add several hundred or so. My goal is simply to keep my business self-sustaining and to support my own habit. And to have fun, of course.  Please contact me if you are interested.

Should anyone want to peruse the catalog and place an order, you can do so through my website. Click on the tab that says Our Jewelry, enter my name as the hostess, and then shop to your heart’s content. Even in your jammies. The company always has a promotion of buy 2 (lowest priced items) and get 1 at half-price (your highest priced item. Each month has different promotions beyond that, so check it out if you are in the mood to treat yourself to personal adornment. Or send your significant other to shop for you.

I am also happy to meet up one-on-one, meet with a small group, or do a full-fledged party where you reap the generous hostess benefits. Catalog party, lunch-time at the office party, coffeeshop party, online order party, mother and daughter party, any-theme-you-come-up-with party, full-fledged with all the games party or pared-down get right to business party…I will tailor a party to your needs. I’m your party girl.

ON THE NEEDLES NOW

Commercial over. Back to our regularly-scheduled program. So what’s on the needles right now? Just two things. A pale-green vintage style sweater for my granddaughter, Paige. However, the pattern was written for a newborn size with fingering weight yarn and size 2 needles. I am using worsted weight and a size 6 needle. The sweater has upsized nicely, but I think Paige will have to grow before she wears this. It is probably too big for big sister Abby as well. But as we all know, little ones get bigger in the blink of an eye.

I am also working on another Ruffles and Ridges wrap, as I mentioned above. Not much there yet to show.

And the most current FO…..simple socks knit wih Yarn Hollow hand-dyed yarn.

What’s next? You’ll have to wait for the next episode of  The Slacker Blogger Returns to find out.

NEW YEAR OLD BLOG

Look at that! The calendar says it is now 2010. I have been blogging for SIX full years. No wonder I am finding it impossible harder and harder to be original and clever. I’d settle for just one of those two adjectives. But I am committed to soldiering on, so I guess that is my only knitting resolution for this coming year. I will keep knitting, and I will keep blogging. Absolutely no promises concerning frequency of either, although I show no signs of burning out in the knitting world.

 

Time for the annual parade of what I accomplished in 2009. Actually quite a lot. I knit (or wove) 30 projects. I consider myself to be a very selfish knitter….I knit for my own pleasure, on my own timetable, and mostly for myself. Or so I thought. As it turns out, 19 of those 30 items went to other people. I might have more generosity in my soul than I thought. Drumroll please….

 

8 scarves

4 baby blankets

2 shawls

2 pairs of socks

1 adult cardigan

1 adult pullover

2 afghan squares

6 baby and toddler sweaters

1 placemat

1 set of napkins

2 felted bags

 

I could draw a variety of conclusions from this data, but it won’t matter. It’s safe to say I will continue cranking out the little kid stuff. It’s probably safe to say the weaving has mostly run its course. Beyond that…impossible to predict. So I won’t.

 

What’s on the needles now? One new project, and several carryovers:

 

Carryover #1: The East Meets West jacket from Knit One Below. This might actually be a finished object soon. I have the back yoke left to knit, and probably sleeves of some sort. I pinned the pieces onto Ms. Twiggy today and I think it might really be a wearable sweater. Don’t quote me on that yet.

 

Carryover #2: Afghan square #12 (The last one! Then comes putting it all together….and finishing is my favorite thing, right?)

 

Carryover #3 A pair of socks (on the heel of the second sock)

 

Carryover # 4: There is no carryover #4. On to the new stuff….

 

New Stuff #1: Ruffles and Ridges Wrap (Fiber Trends pattern), using Cascade Heritage sock yarn.

 

I can't get my camera to show the true color. This is really lovely shades of pink. I cast on 807 stitches to start (gasp!!), but it quickly decreases down to a manageable 200 and some. And steadily decreases from there. I love a wrap that knits from the bottom up instead of the neck down. 

New stuff #2: There is no new stuff #2 yet. I had big plans but gauge issues have forced me to rethink those plans.

 

This holiday season brought all my granddaughters together for the first time. Abby is modeling the wonderful dress knit by Sarah Peasley when Abby was first born.

 

Paige is full of mischief.

And Maura would not smile for the camera. But she is a big-eyed, round-cheeked cherub just the same.

Looks to me like it's going to be a happy new year.

TRUISMS

I have lived my life by certain truisms, sayings, and cliches. I believe that a stitch in time saves nine. I believe that the early bird gets the worm. I believe that if you lie down with pigs, you get dirty. But the saying that I have repeated to myself over and over for the last three months is the one that got me to end of a major knitting project.

 

Just put one foot in front of the other and keep moving. Just one stitch following another and keep moving. Knit one, purl  one. Knit one, purl one. Just keep on keeping on.

 

It worked. The Origami Pullover is now a real sweater. It fits; it flatters; it’s finally finished. It wasn’t exactly fun because the constant k1p1 movement played havoc with my thumb joint. I would shift frequently to continental style for some ease, but even that didn’t spare my thumb. Just a subtle movement that my body doesn’t like, I guess.

 

But no matter…pain is forgotten, the pattern is forgiven, and I have a lovely new sweater.

 

Moving on….

 

I am reduced to two projects on the needles right now. Just two??? I hear the collective gasp! Only two?? Sharon…is this really you?

 

Yes it is, and it might stay that way for a while. One project is a trusty pair of socks; always a perfect mindless, take-with-me-anywhere project. The other is the East Meets West jacket from Knit One Below. I am still on target to finish the jacket body by the end of the month and year, and I may or may not add sleeves. It’s just possible it would make a very nice vest. It’s just possible that it won’t fit and/or flatter at all in which case it will make a very nice vest for someone else. It’s just possible that I will rip the whole thing out and save the yarn for something else. All things are possible. It keeps life interesting.

 

But come New Years Day, I do plan to be casting on at least one new item. Remember that stash of luscious red yarn peeking out of my Zig Bag?

 

That is a stash of Cascade 128 Superwash, and it is planning to become the Helen Hamann Double Breasted Jacket. It is planning to brighten up the dreary February days ahead, so I do not want to clutter up my knitting landscape with too many other projects. My granddaughters will just have to wait for new sweaters….they keep growing out of them in the blink of an eye anyway.

 

Speaking of granddaughters, they will all be together in one playroom shortly. A three year old, an 18-month old, and a 3 month old….they will keep seven adults enthralled with their antics. It will be a better show than anything cable tv or Netflix can offer. I promise a few choice photos soon.

 

I wish everyone a holiday season that gives you a healthy dose of whatever you most want and need. I wish everyone a happy new year that brings you good health, and enough wealth. I wish my fellow knitters and weavers a stockpile of high-fiber yarn goods.

 

And remember….how we spend our days is how we spend our lives. (Annie Dillard) Spend wisely. That's the truth.