Year in Review
I was thinking about what I have accomplished this year, and wasn't very impressed with myself. Once I started going back through the blog, though, I realized I have knit more than I thought. Here is my 2006 Knitting Year in Review:
I started off with Anouk for Gwenyth, and then moved to a lambswool purple shell for my mother. The pattern was from an old copy of Interweave Knits, I think summer 2004, and was supposed to be done in hemp, or something like that. I took it to her in May, but completely forgot to get a picture of the finished object. (I was new to blogging back then, and didn't know the cardinal rule: Take pictures of everything!)
I've knit 4 hats, 2 pairs of baby socks, Brian socks, Katie socks, and Socks of Doom for myself. Six different scarves and a neck kerchief came off the needles. I also knit Gwenyth a sweater, using the ChildHood pattern from Knitty. I made Tank Girl, from Stitch 'n Bitch for myself, and the Short Snort Tank from Knit and Tonic, for Katie.
I didn't forget about the hands, either. Flap-Top mittens, from Handknit Holidays, went off to my step-father. Four pairs of fingerless gloves snuck in there as well, including the always popular Fetching.
Of course, we can not forget the most important knit of the year: The Pirate Sweater. I swear, I'll post a picture of Brian actually wearing the thing as soon as I unearth it from his bedroom. There was all kinds of drama yesterday when he went to wear it, and could not remember where he put it away. This is a very small house. It can't be far.
All in all, I see lots of small projects, and I plan to focus on a few bigger, more complicated things this year. I've already told you about the Aran sweater, which I'm going to start as soon as I finish the string bag I'm working on. I also have my Sockret pal socks about to go on the needles. I want to try some socks for myself on two circular needles. I would like to do some lace knitting, including finishing Orangina, knitting up a wimple for myself (don't you love that word? Wimple. I just like to say it.), and doing the Rusted Root pattern. That's also for myself. Oh, and a cardigan. No pattern as yet, although I'm quite taken with the Arianns that I'm seeing everywhere. You guessed it, also for me, me, me! I see a whole lot of selfish knitting in the works!
Along with many others, the drive to use my stash has grown recently. I am not willing to commit to exclusively stash knitting, since I know myself well enough to know that doing so will simply drive me straight to the LYS. I do, however, want to have more going out than coming in, if you know what I mean. I'm not sure exactly how to measure this – should it be space, weight, yards? I'm sure it will come, but that's my big goal, anyway. Use more than I buy. Even I should be able to manage that, eh?
Note to Billie: I ended up ripping the EcoFil sweater, I was finding it too tough on my hands to knit that yarn at that gauge. I'm using it right now for the string bag I have on the needles, and I think it's great for that kind of purpose. I'm not sure if it's the best yarn choice for “Rockstar”, as I don't think you'd get the drape that you see in the front, where it ties. The yarn they used in that pattern is a wool/silk blend, and you may want to use something a bit softer for that pattern. I still maintain it's a good yarn, though, and I may even give it another try at a baby sweater, something like a little jacket-ey kind of thing.
Happy New Year! I hope and pray this year is filled with peace and joy and new experiences for all of you!
