Goals for 2008

I hate New Year's Resolutions. They are such a trite way to identify areas in your life that may be lacking and failing to live up to them only leads to feelings of guilt and inadequacies. I refuse to participate in mainstream guilt trips, so...

Goals for 2008:
~ Blog once a week.
~ Knit from my stash.
~ Prevent squalor from taking over.

Three is enough. Anymore than that and I will get overwhelmed and stop doing everything.

Time for knitting!!!

This past year, I decided to knit for Christmas for my family. I knit anyways and I knew I would save all kinds of money by buying the yarn early. It worked out almost perfectly. Don't worry, everything was finished in time to be wrapped, but those last few days were hell.


Dad: Scarf

Men's Cashmere Scarf from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts.
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Sport Weight in Copper, held doubled throughout.






Sister Sets:
Both of my sisters requested hats and I also made them fingerless gloves with the left over yarn.

Danielle's Hat and Mitts

Hat: Basketweave Hat by Vermont Fiber Company
Mitts: Adaptation of Garter Stitch Cuff Fingerless Gloves from Weekend Knitting

Yarn: Zara by Filatura di Crosa, 3 skeins





Autumn's Hat and Mitts

Hat: Coronet from Knitty
Mitts: Adaptation of Garter Stitch Cuff Fingerless Gloves from Weekend Knitting

Yarn: Zara by Filatura di Crosa, 3 skeins





Ed's Hat and Scarf:
My brother-in-law wanted a scarf to go with his black leather jacket. I had enough yarn left to make him a hat too.

Yarn: Encore by Plymouth Yarn

Scarf: 2x2 ribbing
Hat: my own creation




Mom's Shawl:
My mom requested a lace pashmina type shawl to keep her warm. This was the piece that gave me the most trouble. Not that is was a hard knit, but it was just so boring and the color stared to drive me crazy!!! The yarn was excellent, KnitPicks Andean Treasure in Lilac Heather, soft and supple and warm. Mom loves purple and as much as I enjoyed the feel of this yarn, by the end of the second skein all I could see was grape jelly. Ick. The pattern was Lace 1,2,3: Andean Treasure Shawl, a simple Feather and Fan lace stitch that went on forever. My problems stemmed from the difficulties I was having with the needles. I started out with an Addi Lace Circular, thinking the tapers of the point would help with all the k2tog's, unfortunately, trying to knit back was proving difficult because the yo's would NOT slide past the join. I tried another cricular, this one a Clover Takumi Bamboo, same problem. I finally bought 14" birch straight needles and was finally able to move faster. By Dec. 22, I was only 1/4 done with it, but at least this was the last piece. I spent the next 48 hours knitting non-stop. The few breaks I took, my MIL stepped in and worked on it. The only time it wasn't being knitted, was when we were both eating or sleeping. It was finished and blocking at 2 am Christmas morning, wrapped by 9 am and opened at 1 pm. She loved it, but there wasn't time for a picture. I'll get one the next time I see her.

This year- I'm knitting clogs to felt. I should be done by June.