The Year Ahead

So I haven't finished sharing my 2012 projects, but I wanted to share my 2013 plans with you before it got much later in the year!   The big news is that we are expecting our last baby this summer, so since I foresee much sitting for the next few months, I wanted to have some projects that were 'couch appropriate.' I have long been wanting to try English Paper Piecing, and I've had fabric stashed away just for a hexagon quilt. On Tuesday, I sat down and tried it out - I'm afraid this will be quite the addiction!



I also plan to do lots of cross-stitch this year. I have several long-lingering projects that need to be finished, so I want to start with them. I also purchased the Kawaii Winter Wonderland pattern, and have one square completed, but that didn't stop me from buying the Woodland Sampler too!

I do have a few baby quilts to make for friends and family, and my quilt guild is participating in the Madrona Road Challenge. I have fabric stashed that I've decided wants to be a quilt now, and I'm sure more will pop up. (Plus I'll have to make this baby a quilt as soon as we know the sex!)

I also joined the skill builder Block of the Month, and Elizabeth's Lucky Stars BOM.

I have a few baby sweaters to knit up as well, and the other kiddos will need new sweaters in the fall. I'm planning on ripping out a few knitting projects that were started for me, and I'm just not loving anymore.

I think that's enough to get me started! What about you? What are your plans?

Returning?

Hello and happy new year to any readers I still have left! :) I, like many of you, am making my "resolutions" and plans for the new year (and the new decade!)

The "00s" were big years for me - I'm going to take a minute to document them for my own memory.

2000- graduated from college in December, got my first "real" job as a manager at a local bookstore.

2001 - Started dating Kent, got a different job at the bookstore. Adopted Rocky

2002 - started graduate school, quit my job, got engaged, started teaching ballet,

2003 - bought a house! Decided to go to a different graduate school and a different program, quit another job, started 2 more jobs. Adopted Cocoa

2004 - My brother got married. I got married! Went to Tahiti on our honeymoon.

2005 - Student teaching, graduated with my M.Ed. Knit a lot. Adopted Miles.

2006 - Got my first teaching job, had to move schools and grade levels. My sister got married. Knit some more.

2007 - Knit a lot. Started teaching another new grade. Adopted Otis. Remodeled Kitchen. Started working at yarn store.

2008- Found out we were pregnant, installed new windows. Had Samantha in September.

2009 - Changed grade levels again! Started more graduate classes. Went on lots of trips. Went to Sock Summit. Started quilting.


Whew! I am looking forward to what these next ten years will bring!

In knitting terms, I knit 35 items (way down from my usual production levels), and started to sew a lot. I sewed 20 items, and made 5 quilts.

In stash numbers, in January of 2007 I had 604 balls of yarn. In January 2008 I had 821 balls and 166,195 yards. In January 2009 I had 900 balls of yarn and 193, 453 yards. I used 97 balls and 17, 004 yards. This year I have 966 balls/skeins of yarn and 206,156 yards. I used approximately 10,800 yards.

I didn't finish nearly as many things as I wanted/planned. But I'm OK with that. I wanted to finish more things at the last minute, but I just didn't make it. Maybe this year!

I'm starting out with a few plans - I've tagged a bunch of things in my ravelry queue for 2010, we'll see if I can get them finished! And I really want to finish up a bunch of WIPs. Maybe I'll write more about them tomorrow!

Looking forward and looking back

It's that time of year again - looking at where I've been and where I'm going. First, a look back at 2008:

I knit the following things:

5 sweaters

10 pairs of socks

7 scarves

3 blankets

2 toys

2 adult hats

3 pairs of slippers

2 ornaments

1 shawl

2 dish/wash cloths

1 pair fingerless gloves

1 shrug 

and 34! baby items!

It's easy to see where my priorities where in my knitting last year! 

I wanted to knit from these books:

Kid's Knits -Heads Hands and Toes - done - Teddy Bear Hood, Inca Hat, Duck Hat, Ladybug Hat

Jo Sharp Knit Issue 1 - started - shawl collar sweater

Ella Rae Book 7 - not done

Handknit Holidays - done - Snowy Triangle Scarf

Greetings from the Knit Cafe - not done

Knit 2 Together - done - slippers

Folk Mittens - not done

Vintage Knits - done - Salina

Favorite Socks - done - Embossed Leaves

Knitting Vintage socks - done - Child's First Sock

Opinionated Knitter - done - Baby Surprise Jacket

Knitter's Almanac - done - February Baby Sweater

Pretty good! 

In keeping with this theme, I've found these books I'd like to knit from this year:

Treasury of Rowan Knits - Carpenter

Vintage Knits (Sarah Dallas) - short sleeved striped sweater

Adorable Knits for Tots - hearts and stars blanket

Special Knits - ribbed baby jacket

Celtic Knits - lace alpaca scarf

Simply Baby - pompom beret

Knitted Toys (McTague) - cheeky monkey

Itty Bitty Nursery - Flower Cardigan

Mason Dixon Outside the Lines - felted trees

Irresistible Gifts to Knit - Gnome

Street Smart (Patons) - cabled hoodie

I did not make my goal of reading my knitting books  - maybe I'll try that some this year. 

Let's look at the numbers - in January of 2007 I had 604 balls of yarn. In January 2008 I had 821 balls and 166,195 yards. This January I have 900 balls of yarn and 193, 453 yards. I used 97 balls and 17, 004 yards. To be fair to myself (and my efforts to knit up the stash) I did really go through and analyze and add a lot of partial balls to the stash. I also "inherited" some yarn - leftovers from The Bug's feet blanket and some leftovers from mom. Even so, I knit 11% of my stash. I knit almost 10 miles of yarn! That's pretty impressive, for feeling like I wasn't getting any knitting accomplished for much of the year. 

Obviously, I want to knit more from the stash this year. To accomplish that, I've set up some little "plans" for myself. 

I haven't officially joined NaKniSweMoDo (or whatever it's called), but I would like to knit 12 sweaters this year (same goal as last year). I've got several started (almost enough to count for all 12!), and I have a few gift sweaters to work on.

 

I have also bagged up a few small projects (yarn and patterns) and plan to pick one each month to knit up, to get some odd balls out of my stash. 

And I have 12 "plain" socks worth of yarn bagged up, some stuff I've been holding onto for a while that I want to be socks already! 

And I have my 12 "fancy" socks picked out. I'll be (hopefully) knitting these, in no particular order: 

Cider Moon - Bellatrix

Vesper - Groovy Socks

Jitterbug - Vinnland

Firebird (STR) - Firestarter

Chewy Spaghetti - Aquaphobia

Fleece Artist - Flicker

Malabrigo - Knitty Twist

Wollmeise - Brigit

Shibu - Conwy

Madelinetosh - Little Child's Sock

Zen Yarn Garden - Charade

Hazelknits - Hourglass

And then there's the laundry list of other things I want to knit, gifts and such, including stockings for the girls and sweaters for next winter for The Bug. 

One big thing I want to do is clear out the WIP pile. Some of these knits have been hanging around for over a year now, and they need to be finished! I ripped two sweaters (Ariann and Buttony) and both will be reborn, possibly this year. To work on other things, I've made a plan: I assigned a number to each project, and each  night I'll draw a number and work on that project for at least 30 minutes. I can work on any of them at any time, but this way they should all get worked on at least once a month. I've got 34 active WIPs (and a few that will stay hibernating for the near future), and I'd like to end the year with no more than 5 still on the needles (my sock yarn blanket is one that won't be finished this year for sure). 

As usual, I'm being way over ambitious about the number of things I can get done. But that's OK - shoot for the moon and all that. 

I'm off to get started! Wish me luck!

Winner! And Christmas Knitting!

Congrats to cthulhulovesme - winner of the sock contest. Email me your snail mail address and I'll get your goodies in the mail!

I still have finished knits to blog about, but I'm taking a break to talk about my Christmas knitting, 'cause let's face it, if I don't do it now, it'll be January that I'm showing you this stuff. Actually, I can't even show it to you today, since I haven't taken any pictures yet.....anyway...

I've got several things finished that I can't show you (nosy blog readers, ya know!), but there are a few we can talk about. 

Our lovely new neighbors moved down from Chicago last winter, and have two boys - I'm knitting the football hat from Itty Bitty Hats and the Teddy Bear Hood from Kid's Knits for Heads Hands and Toes - they'll both have bears hats! :) 

And I've got this nutzo idea that I can finish two pairs of socks and a sweater for hubby in less than two weeks. One pair of socks has 1 1/2 socks complete and one only has 1/2 sock done. The sweater has the back, two fronts and 1/2 a sleeve done - I think it's doable! 

And then there's my Bristow sweater that I would love to have done to wear on Christmas - we'll see.....

And they're not gifts, but I'm finishing up the Snowman hat from Itty Bitty hats for The Bug (bambino) and some Reindeer booties. I have her Christmas dress and sweater done, I'll show those next time.

And I've matched socks to patterns, and I'll talk more about them soon (hopefully). Off to knit!

Project Ideas and a contest!

I've got more FOs to post, but tonight I need your thoughts. I really, really, really want to do the whole knit a sweater a month for a year, but that's probably just a smidge unrealistic since I have a baby who might demand some attention. I may however, still try, 'cause I'm nothing if not a follower and I have the yarn for at least 40 sweaters in my stash. Yikes. 

But, to "console" myself, I'm going to take on two other projects. For the first project I'll be pulling single balls (or two) of yarn out of the stash, matching it with projects, and bagging up 12 projects, (one for each month) to open the first of the month and knit up. I have the yarns and projects chosen for this venture. 

The second nutzo project will be 12 months of socks. I'm narrowing down my list of sock yarn, but I have too many projects in my ravelry queue to choose. So I need your input.  The yarns I'm considering are listed below. Choose one yarn and pick a sock pattern to go with it. Leave your suggestions in the comments and I'll randomly choose a winner. And no plain old socks - I knit plenty of those. I want patterns, people! Contest closes at midnight CST Friday night. Thanks for your help!

Yarns: 

Socks that Rock Lightweight - varigated

Chewy Spaghetti - varigated

Cider Moon Icicle - varigated

Colinette Jitterbug - solid

Fleece Artist - varigated

Hazel Knits - solid

Knitterly Things Vesper - striping

Koigu - varigated

Madelinetosh - solid

Malabrigo sock - solid

ShibuiKnits - solid

Wollmeise - varigated

Yartini - varigated/striping

Zen Yarn Garden - varigated

Stumped for a clever title

I managed to finish up another pair of socks during March - sooooooo close to being on track for 2 pair/month, one of my goals for the year.



Yarn: Regia Bamboo
Needles: Brittany 2.5mm DPNs
Pattern: Generic sock over 68 stitches
Mods: n/a
Thoughts - the yarn is very soft, and I can't wait to see how it feels in the warmer weather. However, it is a bit splitty, but not enough to drive me not to knit with it. I should have probably done the sock over 64 stitches, but they're not big enough to bother me.

And for our stash management - in March I added 14 skeins to the stash (my lowest so far this year!), but I only used up 5 skeins. However, I do have big plans to use up more in April and May - we'll see if I can do it!

In a bizarre twist, I currently have no desire to cast on for any new projects. I'm working hard on finishing up what I've already got on the needles, so I hope to have a few FOs around here soon! I really think I'm just sick of thinking about having to work on the same things, so I'd rather have them done and start fresh. We'll see how long this feeling lasts.

I am torn though, as I feel that if I don't start the spring/summer knits now, I won't be able to wear them until next year. Ah well. For the moment, I'd rather have an empty WIP basket. That said, I ripped Branching Out and the Sock Yarn Log Cabin today - Branching Out was barely started, and I had no idea where I was in the pattern, and I haven't been feeling the love for the sock yarn blanket, so it was ripped. I have no current plans for the leftovers, but I do plan to keep them.

Hot knits in the summertime

While I'm still loving the Hourglass sweater (almost 1/2 done with sleeve #2), and I love me some wool, I'm itching for some spring and summer wearable knits.

Last summer I was not so successful with the summer knits. While Picovili and NBAT were ripped, Kyoto remains on the needles, in somewhat of a "stall" pattern (I haven't touched her since at least September).

This year, I resolve to triumph over the lack of summer knits in my wardrobe! So what am I planning? As usual, way more than I will probably ever finish.


First up - from the new Nashua North American Knits book - I love this sweater, and will be casting on for it very soon. I'm surprised that I haven't seen more talk of it in blogland, as I think it is a great-looking pattern, with enough lace to be pretty but still acceptable for work. (Apologies for the flash on the photo - the only way I could get a picture of this was to take it myself, and it was very dark outside here.)



Bobble Blue - from the Spring '06 Interweave Knits. I have been wanting this sweater since I got my magazine last spring. I'm planning to use some of my cotton-ease stash for this one.



This cute thing is from the Fall '06 Knitscene. I ordered the yarn for this way back in September. This will be the other "first" thing I cast on - perfect for spring!


This one is also from the fall Knitscene. Another use for my vast stash of cotton ease. I love the shaping and the reverse stockinette stitch.


Other contenders include Picovili and NBAT (of course), and I really like the Isabella tank from the new Knitty. I may also knit up Sizzle and Something Red, from the talented Wendy. But first, I may cast on for the Somewhat Cowl - seems like a good transitional sweater, especially in my usually freezing-cold classroom.

What am I missing? What is on your spring/summer to-knit list? I'd love to hear!