At the start of 2007, I had certain knitty goals. I wanted to learn to make socks. I wanted to knit from a pattern or two, and see what I could learn from that. I wanted to make a moebius. I wanted to master circular needles and DPNs. Mostly, I just wanted, come December, to have more knitting to show for my 12 months than I have had in recent history.

I think I've done remarkably well. Indulge me while I review my year's knitting. (Or, you know, don't. You could always wander over to the sale instead...)

Some of these you haven't seen, and I don't have pics of them ready to hand, either. (Do you sometimes think I might be missing the point of this whole knit blog thing? Hmm...)

Made for other people (ha! I may not do Christmas knitting, but I'm apparently not completely selfish either):
Mom's stole (I've been promising Mel the pattern for that for ages, so you will get to see it eventually)
Anna Maria's Clapotis
Gecko Ridge
Cara's Hearts on Fire shrug (for this, too, I'd like to believe I will eventually produce a pattern)
Cara's tiara - adventures in wire! I so wish I'd remembered to take a pic, but again, no. (This was for the hen party.)
Armin's socks

That last one of course also belongs in the list of Sock Techniques Learned - in that case, toe-up, and also including:
Ye original Jaywalkers
and ye magic loop Cosy socks, not to mention the gorgeous Pompous socks

The goal of following patterns was achieved by Jaywalkers and Pompous socks, of course, but also by the famously undeserved (*ahem* row gauge *ahem*) success of Jess (with recommended yarn and everything),
and the Sage Rhythm Wrap moebius. (Another goal down!)
Oh, and Snow White! Circular needles: check!

The list is stacking up rather nicely. I didn't realise I'd done so much this year. Yes yes, that's as much as some of you do in a month, and definitely less than I used to do, but it ain't bad going.

There's more too... although I'd rather forget my Fog Bolero - so called because I was going to make a Cloud Bolero, but lost the pattern and had to improvise in a hurry. There are no pictures. Do Not Like. Have in fact already disposed of. It was fine on the day (bridesmaid's cover-up) but, no.

And I tried a washcloth (Ravelry link), and found it good. I'd been deeply suspicious of the point of knitted washcloths, but it was fun, and cute, and is nice to use. Armin wants one but he'll just have to wait for the right cotton.

Oh, and of course last of all we have my handwarmers - hurrah, no more numb-fingered typos! - and cashmere scarf. Mmmm yummy.

So, wow. I met all my knitting goals for the year, and then some. (We will not speak of the non-knitting goals.) What's next?

I think for 2008, I don't have goals so much as desires. I want to make at least one proper, gorgeous lace shawl. Lace stitches are possibly my favourite kind of knitting, but I've never yet done anything in actual laceweight. I am definitely feeling the lace lust. And I'm feeling a bit of a pendulum swing back to my own designs... this whole pattern thing has been fun, very time saving, but there are things in my head that want to be delivered into the world! So it would be nice to make time for that again. And on a related note, it's really about time that I put some proper patterns out there.

In my Big List of Real Resolutions, I've included a bit about time management. And in that I have scheduled some time for myself. Time for designing. Let's hope I learn to make that happen, shall we? And then 2008 will really rock.

Posted by Robynn at 04:46 PM | Permalink | 3 cups of tea on the table

Happy Christmas to meeee! Apparently 10 or so hours of DVDs are a marvellous assist in getting some knitting done. Actually, why is it that I always seem to finish multiple projects around the same time? Makes no sense. They're not like lightbulbs. Huh. It's quite annoying, since I then have to hunt around for a whole handful of new things instead of being able to grab an already started project and just keep on stitching. (Aside: how do you feel about starting things? Obviously I love the fun of a whole new project, but I don't enjoy getting it together - photocopying the pattern (or, worse, taking a zillion measurements and notes, if I'm creating my own), winding up skeins, taking out an assortment of needles, swatching to find the right ones, and so on and so on until I can actually cast on and GO!)

Look! Snow White! With a little bit of crochet trim around the neck - I thought it might help to hide bra straps. Overall it's less unflattering (lumpy-bits-highlighting) than I'd feared, but I shouldn't have lengthened it. Silly Robynn. I do think I'll wear this, although time will tell whether it ends up in my notorious "when I've lost a stone or two" pile.

What? You wanted to see more of it than just the bust? Silly you. What with the lighting in this flat,* and my lumpage... no. There were some full-length pictures, but I will not subject you to the horror. Instead, you get to enjoy the ATTACK OF THE GIANT BOSOMS.** Sorry.

Pattern: Ysolda's Snow White. I love the clever shaping details of this design.
Yarn: Alchemy Synchronicity. I love this stuff but it's going to pill like a bastard. The trim is done using some glorious handspun silk from Freyalyn, acquired in a Ravelry swap. She only had a titchy bit - 30m or some such - but I couldn't resist the colours. I have plenty (relatively!) left over from this and am plotting what to do with that...
Needles: Ebony Destiny needles, 24"/5.5mm, and double-pointeds.
Mods: Stupidly added 10cm to the bottom of it, and of course the neckline trim. Oh, and I didn't do the tubular cast-ons, because I don't like it. I seem to be the only knitter alive who actually prefers the look of a regular long-tail cast-on, but there it is.

I really like the neckline, though. It pulls it in to be a lot smaller, which is possibly less flattering, but more wearable - both in terms of office decorum, and the possible temperature issue I was anticipating in wearing a warm jumper with a giant expanse of cold sternum. And it's pretty. Armin really likes it (having seen both before and after), and while I don't know why I should trust the fashion judgment of a man whose primary criterion is "could there be more cleavage?", it does say a lot that even though this significantly reduces the amount of cleavage on display, he still approves.

Having polished that off, I did the final tweaks on my Winter Warmers. Love them! I managed to count something or other completely differently on the second one, so they're slightly different lengths, but that's okay... it might be useful to have a bit of extra finger mobility on my right hand. So I tell myself.

Awkward pose Armin's choice (possibly because they show up well against the black. Well, sort of well. This colour isn't anywhere near true). Be glad you aren't looking at the classic hand bra, that's all I can say.

Pattern: A reverse mod of Annypurl's Handwarmers, adapted from Grumperina's adaptation of Hello Yarn's cable twist socks. "Reverse mod" because Grumperina's adaptation just widens the pattern to go over 6 stitches (hence a bigger sock all round), and I stuck with 5. So not as complicated as it sounds. Oh, and I reversed the cable direction on the second one, because I'm big with the symmetry.
Yarn: Posh Yarn Emily in Ripen. Love this yarn. Love this colourway. Armin looked at it when I started and said, "Well, it's... very green." "I love it!" I said. "Okay," he said. But I do. It's brighter, more appley, than I normally wear, for sure. But it's been gorgeous to watch while I knitted - the yellow and green and turquoise chasing each other so prettily - and for pure springtime optimism you can't ask for better.
Needles: Rosewood sox stix, 2.75mm.

I also finished this little scarfette that I never quite got round to showing you before. It's titchy, because I only had one skein and wanted a certain width. I think if I call it an "ascot" I can get away with it... no? It's also unblocked. I would hate to block it. The traditional egg carton bumps make a gorgeous ruffly effect that I think really works in this ascot style.

Aieee! The hair! It has the frizz!

Pattern: my own - I'll post the chart here shortly, along with better photos. No, really I will.
Yarn: Knitwitches Cashmere DK. Absolutely divine.
Needles: Lantern Moon blond 4.5mm. The dye gradually rubbed off into the wood, so they're now blushing very prettily. Do I need to be careful about dye transference onto other yarn, do you think? I don't think so, but anyone had this problem before?

And finally - something that was finished months ago but never photographed - my moebius. Purty!

Pattern: from Cat Bordhi's Treasury of Magical Knitting. Which, distressingly, I seem to have misplaced, so I can't check the exact pattern name. I should have done a stretchy cast-off, which would have enabled it to lie flat on the shoulders... oh well. Next time. (Once I find that darn book!)
Yarn: Artyarns Silk Rhapsody, colour 141. Utterly divine.
Needle: Um, I don't really remember! 40" Destiny needles in 5.5mm probably... maybe a bit bigger.

So now it's on to new things. Or mostly new things. I'm re-starting my Cinders stockings (having failed to quite accommodate the vastness of my thighs in the modified cuff), and getting on with a lovely alpaca jacket. Of which I also need to rip out a large chunk. Sigh... the start phase. Not my favourite.

Oh, and I'm casting on a pair of cosy socks for Armin. What does it say about me that I finish two projects for myself on Christmas Day, and only start knitting something for my very beloved husband on Boxing Day?

Don't answer that.

_____
* This must sound like the lamest excuse, but seriously. The light sucks. And in the evenings, it sucks even more; the only room with approximately white, bright light is normally the kitchen, but it's got those spotlight thingies, and two of the four bulbs have just gone. So photographic results are astonishingly poor. If even Armin can't make it work, then you must know, people. You must know.
** I wonder what that phrase will do to my Google attractions...

Posted by Robynn at 10:45 AM | Permalink | 6 cups of tea on the table

Apparently Christmas is just one week away. Can you believe it? One week! Where did the year go, and other traditional greetings of the season. The thing that made me realise how very soon it is (and hence, how I really must get myself to the shops stat, before all the food is gone) was seeing the flood of orders abate. That can only mean one thing: it's practically upon us!

How are you celebrating? I'm quite looking forward to this year. It will be the first time Armin and I are alone for Christmas, and I'm really very keen on having a lovely quiet cosy day together. There will be big festive group dinners for us, just not on the day itself. Perfect! I'm thinking there'll be gluhwein, and duvet time, and knitting, and hopefully some marathon DVD watching. (Is it possible to watch all three Lord of the Rings DVDs* in one sitting? Stay tuned!) And of course mountains of food. I may actually bake. And most importantly - no computers will be switched on all day. I wonder if we can manage that?

I think I'll need to make sure I have a proper break - even if it's just for one day - because there is so very much to prepare for in 2008. The postie keeps bringing me exciting things like these...

No, I'm not changing my "enough yarn" policy so soon. (Though I hear there's going to be a Posh Yarn sale after Christmas. Don't expect my resolve to withstand such temptation!) These are lovely little samples. Oh, 2008 is going to be so much fun...

_____
* Not the extras, of course. That'd require a whole extra week.

Posted by Robynn at 02:39 PM | Permalink | 6 cups of tea on the table

It's one of those things you didn't know you needed until you saw it: a Flying Spaghetti Monster pattern. Just in time for Chrifsmas, too.

(If you want to know more about being touched by His Noodly Appendage, this should explain it.)

Posted by Robynn at 05:07 PM | Permalink | 2 cups of tea on the table

I have too much yarn.

No, of course I don't, are you kidding? No. I don't mean that. I was just testing it out. What it feels like to say those words... I'm still here. The sky hasn't fallen. I feel a little queasy, but okay, really.

Too much yarn.

I mean it's a ridiculous notion, isn't it? Yarn. Too much. They just don't go together. It's nonsensical. Still, though... I do have quite a lot of yarn.

Some of it was acquired pretty recently - even postdating my most recent yarn-diet thoughts. It's just that, well, there was that swap; I had to buy some Posh Yarn for my swappee (imagine! She'd never heard of it! These poor Yanks), and honestly I couldn't not get some for myself too, it would have been far too hard.

And then I got some Wollmeise for Armin, who was requesting some fat cosy socks like mine, and of course it would have been very wasteful not to get some sock yarn at the same time. Got to maximise shipping costs from Germany, right?

And I responded to a pathetic plea for help on Ravelry from someone destashing so that she could raise some much needed funds for, um, more stash...

And I got this great sock yarn from Krafty Koala because...
Because...
Well, actually, I can't right now remember how I rationalised it. But I'm really glad I did, because look how purty!

So all of that was clearly very necessary and reasonable. But. Um. I appear to have 53 yarns in my stash. That's pretty much FIFTY THREE projects. Including tradeables - yarn that I don't even really want any more. As devoted to yarn as I am, as deeply as I believe in the creativity liberating powers of a healthy stash, I do have to wonder whether that's gone a bit beyond necessary and reasonable.

Similarly, I have a shelf full of books that I haven't yet read. I love books. I love having them around. I love reading them. But why is it that this shelf only ever seems to get fuller - not emptier?

I love my books, I love my yarn. I don't want less of it, exactly. But I want to feel a little bit less... greedy. To be frank: less of a consumer. I guess I'm even more aware of it all at this time of year... there is so much STUFF being advertised. So much pressure to buy, to eat, to consume, to waste. Doesn't it make you feel a little bit sick?

I bet you know what I mean. And coming from a shop owner, this may sound a little hypocritical... but I'd like you not to go buying too much, okay? I reckon there isn't too much wastage with the stuff I sell at the moment - we tend to buy the needles we need, after all, and to use them. Nobody's ever heard of a needle stash. Next year, though, there will be yarn. There will be fabulous, amazing, scrumptious yarn. Yarn that will make me sigh with delight as I wrap each order. Yarn that will make you squeal when you see it online, and squeal louder when you unpack it. It will be tempting. Really tempting. And heavens, I'm not going to tell you to deny yourself. But maybe... just think carefully before you load up that basket. It's too beautiful to go to waste lying in a drawer somewhere. Plan your projects, and buy accordingly. And then show me what you're making. Deal?

Posted by Robynn at 11:13 AM | Permalink | 9 cups of tea on the table

Remember I said once that I'm a monogamous knitter? And then I discovered the joys of promiscuity? I'm starting to wonder if I should maybe rein it back a bit. I mean, yes to socks on the train, yes to the Big Jersey Project by the couch, but after that it gets a bit... messy. There's the scarf in the kitchen (you know, for while the pasta's boiling), and the spare socks that decorate my already messy desk but are really just a back-up commuter project, and that's fine and all, but now I'm starting to have lustful thoughts about Other Knitting. Is that wrong?

These are what I cast on to follow my lovely Pompous spiral socks.

Cinders Secret Stockings. The yarn is gorgeous, you know how pretty the pattern is, and on top of all that I have extra motivation to work on these because when I'm done, I'll be able to add my mods (for size large) to the pattern. Which would be great. There's nothing not to like. Only...

This may look like just a ball of yarn to you, but to me, it's a pair of much needed handwarmers. In a fantastically springtime colour, to remind me that the sun will return. This, my friends, is what a queue jump looks like.

And this little upstart is a Cheshire Cat Stole.

Can't you just see it? There is no reason to cast this on now. None at all. Other than that it'll be so gorgeous, and the fiery colours are just what I need in the middle of winter, and I've been dying to do some lace for the longest time... but other than that, no reason.

So far I'm managing to keep this under control by simply not winding it. Can't knit it from the skein, can I? (Well... I could, and I have been known to do so... but with cats? No.) Wish me strength.

Posted by Robynn at 11:58 AM | Permalink | 3 cups of tea on the table