2014: A Retrospective

Well, here we are at the end of the year. I got myself into a bit of a funk earlier this year, because I realized that in 2013 I'd knit much less than I had in previous years. But I rallied and made up for it in 2014, and had a lot of fun along the way. I learned a lot, and I'm proud of the things I managed to accomplish.

First up, and probably most significantly, 2014 was the year I started designing. I released six patterns, and I learn more and more about pattern writing with each one I produce. Designing also motivates me to further my technical skills and become a stronger knitter:

Top: Transitions Sleeves, Epidemic, Lettie

Bottom: Peony, Lisbet, Cecily

I put out five pairs of socks this year, and three of them were for other people! I still have a lot of sock patterns in my queue, and I like having a plain pair on the needles to work on in the cinema, so I know socks will always be something I have plenty of:

Top: Watermelon Socks, Mother's Day Socks, Midsummer Night's Dream

Bottom: Neville, Shelves Upon Shelves

I also managed to finish several garments this year. I've learned a lot about garment construction since my first sweater a couple years ago, and I look forward to making more and more in the future. Aside from the Epidemic vest, I finished four sweaters and a skirt:

Top: Make it Grey (80% knit in 2013), Yellow Pocket Skirt, Division

Bottom: Ella, Marion KAL

Of course, I can't forget my lacy stuff! I love knitting lace, and I'm glad I made a good show of it this year:

 

Top: Elder Tree, BOTI, Firmaments, 

Middle: Heartmate, Rainbow Leaf Scarf

Bottom:  Havina, Gothic Lace, Song of the Sea

Of my 41 finished projects, 12 of them were for other people. I am a self-proclaimed selfish knitter, but I'm also getting to the point where I find a lot of patterns that I want to knit, but not necessarily wear myself. I'm hoping that next year the ratio of selfish:selfless knitting will even out more.

Overall, I'm very proud of my knitting this year. Here's to another year of fibery goodness in 2015!

Small Things

Like most people, I think, I like to use my weekends to catch up on things. But every once in a while you just need a day off. This past weekend I decided to take things slow, and take pleasure in small accomplishments. I made the most perfect sandwich ever:

Sharp white cheddar, hickory smoked turkey, and half a pear, all grilled on gluten-free bread. I also started a sweater for Baby Caspian:

He's the one who got the crown and waves blanket I knit over the summer. I know I said I was done with xmas knitting, but he deserves a little snuggly, and it's so tiny that it will be done in half a sneeze anyway.

Not Quite an FO Post

At precisely 9:57 last night, I finished my Xmas knitting. I still have a couple of ends to weave in, and a couple of tiny little seams, but the knitting is done. I'm leaving everything alone for a couple weeks, and then I'll finish the finishing and block them closer to Xmas, so they're still fresh and crisp for their recipients.

That's the last photo you'll get of either of those things for now. I'll take real FO pictures before I wrap them, but nothing will be posted here until the recipients have gotten them. 

This is the first time I've ever been done this early. To be fair, I cut way back this year, but it still feels surreal. It hasn't quite sunken in yet. I still have a few things to buy, but the majority of that should be done this weekend, and I need to mix up some stuff in the kitchen, so I'm not quite ready for Xmas yet. But the knitting is done. That is so huge.

So, true to form, I turned to cashmere.

Yup, definitely worth finishing Xmas knitting early.

When Things Don't Go As Planned

I had a big plan for a post yesterday, but my wifi was down almost all day. So now you get this.

I was home sick with some blood sugar issues, so I decided to crank out part of Anemone's xmas present. I was nervous about running out of yarn, and about halfway through yesterday I was ready to tell you all about how I thought the project was cursed.

I don't think it's cursed. It is definitely cursed. I got the part I was most worried about done, and blocked it, and it's just not working. The project I'd picked out was one that would either be absolutely perfect and work so well, or one that would be terrible and unsalvageable. There was no in between, and it had to be scrapped. Thankfully, I made myself power through and figure that out yesterday, so I have time to start something new. I picked out a pattern, and yarn, and just have to wait for it to get here.

I did get a few rows done on my mum's xmas present though, and that's going pretty well so far. I also finished my orange mitts, so I can start bringing mum's present to work to knit over lunch. After finishing the orange mitts, I told myself I couldn't start anything new except for xmas presents and design samples until I was ready for xmas. Which means I'm hitting some serious second mitt syndrome on one of my pattern samples, so I started swatching today for a new one.

I think the swatch is turning into a sample, but I'll have to wait and see how it looks as it gets bigger. The plan I had for it didn't work out, so I'm just going to see how it goes.

New Pattern: Lisbet

I have a new pattern out today, and it's perfect for those of you who may be starting to panic about holiday knitting. This cowl is super warm and works up quickly. It's a fun little one-skein project-only 25 rounds, and the cables add just enough interest to make you want to keep going.

Ravelry pattern page is here!

Numbers Because It's That Kind of Week

1. FINALLY started Xmas knitting (well, one of them-the second one I'm having second thoughts on, but I think I'm still going to go for it). It's later than I usually start, because for some reason I can't get in the right mood for it this year. But like I said, I started Top Sekrit Xmas Project #1 and so far it's going really well. Except I'm already nervous about running out of yarn. So I really need to get this one done soon in case I need to order more.

2. In case you've dropped the holiday knitting ball too, I have a quick accessory pattern coming out this week. I love it, I think it's super cute, and it knits up in a couple hours. Boom. So keep an eye out for that.

3. It's finally starting to get cold here, which means I've been fighting with my office HVAC system again. My office won't get above 60 degrees Fahrenheit, which isn't super terrible, but it does get a little chilly. To cope, I have two pairs of fingerless gloves in progress right now (actually just finished the first glove of one pair last night but haven't taken any pictures yet).

4. Friday I'm taking the day off work to go see Anemone for Halloween and I realized that I have two different reward punch cards for the yarn store there that each have only $60 left before I get free yarn, so we'll see how that develops.

5. Related to Xmas knitting: intarsia is weird and I'm definitely doing it wrong but I am a wayward knitter and rules are dumb. At least it looks cool so far.

6. I maybe accidentally cast on for a pi shawl this week even though I have Xmas knitting to do and a buttload of design projects to start finish.

7. I'm really sorry there's no pictures today but I promise there will be tons of pics next time.

FO: Shelves Upon Shelves

I let these go too long and started resenting them pretty hard for not being done (I know, if I would just actually knit the socks they would be done, and I wouldn't resent them). Now that they're done I absolutely adore them.

Those colors. Those floats. Sheer perfection. They were a joy to knit, and I got pretty much the whole second foot done in one day once I picked them up again.

I wore them one day on my vacation with my Birkenstocks (bad heel blisters=no real shoes) and the sole of the first one has already almost worn through, so I'm super pissed about that. I don't know if it was the Birkenstocks, or the yarn, or what, but I haven't had this problem before. Thankfully, it doesn't look like it actually tore through anywhere, so once I get them cleaned I'll see about reinforcing the soles. Anyway, they were lovely once they were finished, and hopefully I'll be able to salvage them so I get lots more wear out of them. Will keep you posted!

Ravelry Page: Shelves Upon Shelves

Pattern: Shelves Upon Shelves, Erica Lueder

Yarn: Red Heart Heart & Sole, "Watercolor Stripe"

FO: Marion KAL

Done! I finished with about 10 days left in the KAL, but it took about four days for my sweater to dry after blocking. Last Friday was finally supposed to be pretty chilly, so I sewed my buttons on first thing in the morning and wore it all day. Then again all day Saturday (Sunday it warmed up again, but otherwise I would have worn it again-I get a little obsessive over new FOs).

Mods! Because there are always mods: I never keep track of how many stitches I pick up for the neckband, so that certainly isn't worked how it's written. Other than that, I shortened the sleeves by about 20 rounds because I thought they might get too long. It worked out perfectly, and they ended up just the right length.

Ravelry Page: Marion KAL

Pattern: Marion, by Andi Satterlund

Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, Indigo Heather

All Vacations Must End

Alas, my vacation must come to an end. I go back to my day job tomorrow, and while I've missed my office-mates, having the last week off has only cemented my conviction that I would make a terrific trophy wife.

As expected, I got a boatload of knitting done, including samples for two upcoming patterns that need to be typed and formatted. More detailed FO posts to come, but for now, here's a little preview:

Hello From the Land of No Work

Hello my dears, from the wonderful world of Not Having to Get Up and Go to Work in the Morning. Vacation is pretty much exactly as I hoped it would be so far-just one looong weekend with no real plans. Perfect.

I've been Netflixing Arrow this week and I'm really liking it. I'm almost done season one, and I hope it stays really good. Of course, watching this much tv means I'm getting a crapload of knitting done.

Boom. Done but for want of buttons. Miraculously, I already have buttons for this and am just waiting for it to dry (it's been two days already why isn't it done yet).

The hat I did surgery on earlier this week. It's a new design, and not quite what I thought it would be when I started. But I really love it, and it's everything I wanted from it. I'm hoping I have a couple of bowls big enough to block it out. Otherwise, we've got some pretty big butternut squash in the cellar, and maybe there's one that's reasonably close to head-sized.

I knit this yarn up into a cowl yesterday, but ran out of yarn. Doing some math stuff now to figure out what I need to do to make it work. It's going to be so worth it and I can't wait for the finished thing.

Today I'm planning on running to the thrift shops and seeing if there's anything good. I also want to sew the Sorbetto tank from Collete Patterns. I think it's exactly what I want in a top, and hopefully it will go smoothly. I washed my fabric yesterday, and once I change the needle on my sewing machine, we should be good to go. Tomorrow my mum and I are making applesauce, because we got 40 pounds of honeycrisps through our produce exchange, and Anemone is supposed to come visit this weekend, so hopefully she and I can go down to the river and get some good FO pics.

A Knit-Filled Vacation

I am officially on vacation right now. For the next week, I don't have to even think about my day job. This is my first proper week off since college, probably, and I intend to enjoy every minute of it.

So far, my vacation is off to a pretty good start with two things blocking right now.  However, I may be foiled in my attempt at one FO for want of decent buttons. But at least I can go to the yarn store this week, and they may have buttons (if not, the project will end up in a bag in my closet for a few years, buttonless). At least I have one definite FO coming:

My Havina shawl, and it is gorgeous. I took pictures to see just how big this blocked out to, and it grew a lot, considering it's mostly stockinette. Can't wait to get FO pics of this one.

On a different note entirely, it turns out that while I have no problem writing a cable chart, I am apparently incapable of reading a cable chart. I was hoping just to tear back the center 15 stitches, but I ended up tearing out all the cables.  Knitting surgery is going well so far, and I should have an up-to-date progress photo on this bad boy soon.

WIP: Shelves Upon Shelves

My current pair of socks has been kicking around in my purse since the end of August. I love this pattern, and I love the colors in the yarn. The first sock was done in three days, but since then I've only managed to work a couple of rounds at a time on the second one.

Once these are done, I think they'll be a favorite pair. I don't know if I've ever matched a pattern to a yarn so well-I love how the horizontal lines work with the stripes. I'm a bit worried about how these will hold up-I worry about the durability of the long floats, but these are certainly going to be very pretty, and I'm having a lot of fun knitting them.

Another Monday

Wow, has it really been a whole week? Sorry for the unexpected and prolonged absence-this week will be better, I promise. But it's been a busy few days.

Remember how I said I was renovating my room? It's done. I have just a little more picking up to do, and I'll need to order a new rug, but otherwise it's totally done. That's such a weight off my back now (and I have a floor again! There's room for my yoga mat again!). Now that I have my floor back, I'll be able to block some FOs that have been hanging on my towel rack for the past week.

I started a swatch yesterday for the skein of Malabrigo Rasta I picked up a couple of weeks ago. I have a few other things I need to be working on right now too, but this is just too much fun.

I also made myself get out of the house on Saturday and went to a free watercolors workshop hosted by my local library. I used to paint quite a bit, but it's been several years and I'd like to get back into it, just for fun. I had a lot of fun at the workshop, and I got two seascapes I'm pretty pleased with out of it.

FO: Ironic Gnome

I have an almost unhealthy obsession with garden gnomes.  I love them.  I have two of my own, and I keep finding occasions to give gnomes to my mum (she's the one with a garden to put them in, after all).  This hat has been in my queue for ages-I fell in love with it right away because it combines my two loves: hipsters and gnomes.

I cast this on last month during that little startitis/instant gratification phase I was going through. I'd hoped to have enough of the Knit Picks Swish to knit the whole thing, but I ran out just after the decreases started.  You can see where the color changes a bit from me switching yarns, but I don't really mind it so much.  Plus, the other yarns have way less drape, so the point really maintains its integrity.

Ravelry Page: Ironic Gnome

Pattern: Ironic Gnome

Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Worsted, Knit Picks Palette, Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport

Marion KAL Update

Gosh, I haven't really talked about this here since before the KAL started.  I cast on the evening of the 10th, which is really impressive since I almost never start KALs on time (I've also never finished a KAL yet, so hopefully this is a good sign).

I found some buttons for this at Athena Fibers that I really like. These weren't my first choice, but the other ones that drew my eye seemed either too light or too busy. Hopefully these ones are perfect. (We'll see. I always run into trouble with buttons.)

(There's something weird going on with the color in that photo. It is definitely not that blue in real life.)


I just joined at the underarms and have spectacularly mis-crossed a cable (dropped down 4 stitches over 22 rows to fix that bad boy-yikes!) and completely skipped the line in the pattern where I'm supposed to add four stitch markers (that was funny-I'm at knit group, knitting along, and all of a sudden I say "what the hell is marker W?!" Everyone got a chuckle out of that one).

Those two incidents aside, I think this is going really well. I was having some sizing concerns initially, but I'm feeling better about it now.

An Update and a WIP

The room renovation is going well, if much more slowly than I'd hoped. The bookshelves are pretty much all set, the furniture's all moved (except for the chair that needs to come up from the basement), and everything that's going to storage has been identified (Crap. I still need to call around for quotes and get a storage unit). I have a pile of stuff to send to the thrift store, and my closet is so clean it's practically unrecognizable.

On the knitting front, Havina is going well, if rather slowly. It has almost certainly fallen into the knitting black hole, and I'm afraid I'll never get to where I can start the border. Plus, I have my Marion KAL to work on, a pair of socks on the needles, and a new skein of Malabrigo Rasta in Archangel that I want to play with. Never mind all the design projects I should be working on. And Xmas knitting, that needs to get started too.

Rules for Feeding Your Stash

1. It doesn't count if it's on sale:

2. It doesn't count if it's for a design project:

3. It super doesn't count if it's both on sale and for a design project:

4. It doesn't count if it's really pretty and you've been wanting it for weeks and weeks:

FO: Sockhead

This was my cinema knitting for most of the summer, and when I was in the Black Hills in August I took it with me and finished it up in an afternoon.

I absolutely love it.  I love the fabric that I got with the thicker yarn, I love the wide brim, I love the amount of slouch, I love the colors, everything.

Ravelry Page: Sockhead

Pattern: Sockhead Hat

Yarn: Adriafil Knitcol, "49"

FO: Eleven-Hour II

This one's kind of embarrassing.  I got really obsessed with the Eleventh Hour Blanket a couple of Xmases ago, and wanted to make a whole bunch for everyone.  I got so burned out by this one that I decided it would never be finished and I shoved it in the back of my closet and tried to forget about it.

Fast forward to the Great Comforter Search of 2014 and I found this again, and I realized that it was much farther along than I remembered.  I figured I had about an hour left to go on it, and that it was unreasonable to keep it around as a WIP.
Guys, it only needed FOUR ROWS.  Once I actually sat down to knit, I was done in less than 20 minutes, including bind off and weaving in ends.  Like I said, embarrassing.  But I hardly remember knitting the rest of it, it was so long ago, so it's like I just knit AN ENTIRE BLANKET in 20 MINUTES.

Ravelry Page: Eleven-Hour II

Pattern: Eleventh Hour Blanket

Yarn: Knit Picks Brava Bulky

Mods: I left off the i-cord border.  I didn't want to do something that fiddly, I lost or already used the yarn I'd gotten for a border, and since it's just for me, I don't feel bad leaving it off.

Quick Numbers

1. Things are a little hectic here at La Casa Wayward right now. I moved in with my parents temporarily after I finished college, and it looks like it's a lot less temporary than we planned (for reference, I've lived here over 2 years now). Basically, I can't afford to live on my own, and I probably won't be able to for several more years. It's also probably a good idea for me not to live alone for some health reasons, and for other health reasons it's a better idea for me to live with people that are aware of all my stuff and can help keep an eye on me. The biggest problem I've faced as a result of this is working on redefining what being successful means for me and for people in my generation, and I'll almost certainly touch more on that later. Anyway, as a result of my continued cohabitation with my family, I'm finally doing a complete rehaul of my bedroom to make it more functional as a studio/office space as well as my primary living space, and stuff is everywhere right now. I'm hoping that everything will get done this week (except a new rug because those are expensive) and life will be a little more normal soon.

2. I'm working away on the Marion KAL and I'm loving it so far. No pictures really, given the general chaos I just discussed, but I did already manage to miscross a cable rather spectacularly and spent an hour this afternoon dropping and re-knitting 4 stitches over 22 rows.

3. Havina is so much better on the bigger needles. Right now I'm just about back to where I was when I frogged it the first time, and I haven't gotten bored or run into trouble with it this go-round yet.

4. I really don't have much else for you-the room re-haul is taking up most of my life and I haven't had time to take any knitting pictures for you. But I promise I have quite a few things lined up and in the works to show you once I have space to spread work out a little more, and in the meantime I have some FOs that I haven't gotten to blogging yet.