2007 Wrapup

Just under the wire, I finished a pair of socks with about 4 hours left in 2007. These Roza's Socks are destined for my Mother-in-Law, who will get her Christmas next week when JT heads south.

Roza's Socks
Pattern: Roza's Socks by Grumperina, published in Interweave Spring 2007
Size: To fit women's size 6
Yarn: Socks That Rock Lightweight, color "Mustang Sally"
Needles: US1 Addi Turbos
Modifications: I increased the stitches on the leg to 66, and went down to 60 for the foot. My MIL struggles with swollen ankles, so I wanted to be sure that these fit comfortably.
Notes: This was my first introduction to brioche stitch, and I really like the fabric it produces. It's stretchy, which was necessary for my purposes. The pattern definitely was repetitive, but in a good way - before I had a chance to really get bored with it, the second sock was almost done. It did eat up a bunch of yarn -- the socks are three sizes smaller than fit me, and there's not much yarn left over. If I were doing this pattern for a bigger size, I would shorten the leg to make sure I had enough yarn.

A closeup of the toe. It was hard for me to really see what this pattern looked like before I started knitting it. It's similar to a beaded rib, but not quite the same. In any event, the Socks That Rock was fun to use, and I hope that these fit and are loved by the recipient.

*****

Of course, coming to the end of a year always forces one to take stock, and I spent a bit of time reflecting on my favorite knits of 2007.

1. Giotto socks, 2. Phildar Cabled Crew, 3. Cambridge vest, 4. Chevron Scarf

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Hands down, my favorite project of the year was the Phildar Cabled Crew. It was a sweater I coveted long before I ever found yarn for it, and I managed to not only translate the pattern from the French but also knit the whole thing on a tight deadline in time to wear it at Rhinebeck. I didn't knit anything else for 2 months, but it was worth it. I also still get a ton of use out of the Cambridge Vest and Giotto socks. The Chevron scarf was sent off as a gift, but I had a hard time parting with it. The next time I can't figure out what to do with a hank of gorgeous sock yarn, I'm totally making one of these for myself.

By the numbers, 2007's knitting from me yielded:

10.5 pairs of socks
2 sweaters
1 vest
4 scarves

and visits to 2 fiber festivals--MDSW and Rhinebeck. All in all, nothing to sneeze at. The knitting output definitely slowed in the second half of the year, due to both my singular focus on the Phildar sweater and the advent of graduate school classes. I expect that knitting will continue to take a back seat to academics for the next year and a half or so. With that in mind, my stash growth has stagnated, and I've tried to be really mindful of any yarn purchases. (Instead, I have shifted my focus to acquire books and patterns to use up my stash. Think it'll work?)

I don't have huge knitting resolutions for 2008. I'd like to finish a number of large projects that have been languishing (Jemima, JT's sweater), and maybe find a use for some of the laceweight I have in ginormous amounts. But overall, my goal is to enjoy the process of knitting, to continue to use knitting's cathartic rhythms as a counterweight to a sometimes-stressful life.

Best wishes for 2008!

Day-After Day-After Merry.

And so, here I am, nearly two weeks from my last post. Oops. Hope your holidays were merry!

First up, happy birthday to my sister, who rarely hops online but just in case... she can't say I forgot!

The past two weeks have been a real challenge. It's been hard for me to get in the Christmas spirit because every time I ventured into a place of retail commerce, it was just so... CROWDED. I realize this is what I get for living in a big city, but I got pretty tired of it pretty fast. All the shoving and the waiting in line and the jostling and the hunting for parking spaces. All I can say is, thank heavens for online shopping. It truly saved my sanity.

There has been precious little knitting over the past couple of weeks -- time has been spent elsewhere, and I'm craving some low-key evenings when I can just hunker down with some sticks and string. Classes start up again in 3 weeks, so I need to crank out some FOs before then--or, at least, recalibrate my expectations.

I did finish one sock - pattern is Roza's Socks. Destined for JT's mom, with a bit of ease on the Christmas expectations. He's not going home for another two weeks, so I have a bit of time to actually finish the pair. The pattern is really stretchy, which is good because she's prone to swollen ankles. I love the color - just right for a little fiberliciousness, posing with some homemade cranberry sauce from the neighbors.

And, also, my other gift-knit: Henry. I'm about an inch in, and I'm having severe second thoughts. I'm not sure that the pattern will block out wide enough. And frankly, I'm not sure I have the stamina to finish the thing, even though I absolutely love the fabric it's producing.

I just get the distinct sense that I've bitten off more than I could chew with this scarf. It's lovely, but not quite right, right now. So don't be surprised if this is blog post is Henry's swan song. [Full disclosure: This scarf caught my eye at Banana Republic, and it looks like it would be not-too difficult to replicate it.]

JT and I ended up having a lovely Christmas. We woke late, opened presents and hit the movies, part of our emerging tradition. (National Treasure 2: Good campy fun.) We came home and ate this Pork Tenderloin with Cardamom Mushroom Sauce for dinner, and let me tell you, it was delicious -- it replicates the very-beloved mushroom sauce at La Madeleine, so JT was over the moon. Yum.

And, that's about it from these parts. Not too exciting I know, but there's plenty of excitement on tap for Spring, so laying low for now is just fine. Now I just need to reflect on 2007 to welcome in the new year properly.

Finished Scarf, Plus Something Delectable

I confess, I'm not entirely sure where the last week went. I thought I would have tons of free time -- time to just roll around and revel in the leisureness of it... but that's not quite what happened. The good news is that the semester ended and I kept my sanity intact.

Instead, I've been spending a lot of time with friends; the people in my life became the biggest casualty of the work + grad-school equation. One of them taught me how to make yarn - thanks Carolina! Also accomplished in the last week: seeing Juno - HIGHLY RECOMMEND, baking copious amounts of cookies, shopping, drinking, knitting, and general relaxing. So, no complaints.

I did manage to finish up the Sideways Seed Stitch Scarf. I'm really happy with it!

It's a very basic pattern but I'm writing it up for my own memory or in case someone else wants it.

Sideways Seed Stitch Scarf
Finished size: 10" x 70"
Gauge: 3.5 stitches per inch
Needle: US10, at least 32" long (I used Denise needles and hooked a couple of cords together)
Yarn: Nashua Creative Focus Chunky.
2 Balls A: color 2380 Oatmeal
1 Ball B: color 1355 Pine
1 Ball C: color 0410 Espresso
1 Ball D: color 2055 Carmine

Seed Stitch: Every row: *k1, p1, repeat until end.

With color A, cast on 240 Stitches.
Knit 10 rows in seed stitch.
Switch to color B, knit 8 rows in seed stitch.
Switch to color A, knit 3 rows in seed stitch.
Switch to color C, knit 3 rows in seed stitch.
Switch to color D, knit 2 rows in seed stitch.
Switch to color C, knit 3 rows in seed stitch.
Switch to color A, knit 3 rows in seed stitch.
Switch to color B, knit 8 rows in seed stitch.
Switch to color A, knit 10 rows in seed stitch.
Bind off loosely - may want to go up a needle size if you tend to bind off tightly.

Using a crochet hook, apply fringe. Use 2 strands of yarn per each fringe addition. (Method is explained here with pictures.) Match fringe to align with stripe colors. Finished fringe should be about the same length as the scarf is wide.

Notes: Yarn will soften when blocked, but the fabric should have slight drape as you knit it. I went up a needle size from the one recommended.

***

In other news, I'm doing just a tiny bit of gift knitting: Roza's socks for my mother-in-law. They're going along quickly so far, in Socks That Rock colorway "Mustang Sally." It's a screaming red that confuses the camera.

But you get the idea.

***

Finally, I will leave you with a link to the most delightful crafty thing I've seen in a while. Let's just say that the Japanese really have a way with needlefelting. (Sara, can you translate any of this?)

Behold: The delectableness. (Be patient, delectableness takes a bit to load.)
And if you must have it, there's an etsy listing for the pattern book.

Scarf, and Snow

So, when I last wrote, I was trying to decide whether to keep the red stripe in the scarf. My indecision actually lasted less than 24 hours... I ripped it the very next day. I just wasn't feeling the big red stripe. It's never that fun to rip, but it was fairly painless despite having to make sure that 244 stitches found their way back onto the needle correctly.

I give myself a lot of credit for trusting my instincts on this one. I'm not what you would call a designer, and my color choices tend to get wacky when I veer beyond two colors in a garment. I recognize this about myself and try to work within my limits most of the time rather than push them. But, if I know my color judgment is flawed, it makes it all the harder to undo something - am I right, or is that my bizarro color sense talking?

In any event, I am very happy with how this turned out. I added a hunk o'brown, with just 2 thin rows of red right in the middle as an accent. Because it's seed stitch, the row transitions are messy, and I like it that way. It's getting blocked and then will get a mess of fringe added.

And sadly, that's the only knitting I've accomplished in the last week. It's crunch time for my classes - I turned in one paper yesterday and have one more to go. And then I get some free time back, at least for a few weeks! I am very much looking forward to that. I should probably start figuring out what I want to knit.

In other news: Snow!

A nice coating of fluffy flakes fell yesterday. When I changed jobs, I lost my window view... so I made sure to walk around every hour or so to watch the snow fall. The weather forecasters said we'd get an inch or so... they were a bit on the "under" side.

We actually got about 2.5" at home, but the sun is out today and will start melting it off. But I guess winter really has arrived....