2013 was a productive year – and while I don’t feel like my drawers are necessarily over-flowing with hand-made items, my Ravelry projects page tells me I was a knittin’ fool this year. I suspect the lack of over-flowing drawers was due to some very /over/-due purging of clothing items that were still good, but weren’t being worn, for whatever reason. Better to give those to someone in need than keep them for moth-fodder!
New endeavors this year:
Sewing!
I haven’t touched a sewing machine since college, when I realized that I could sew sets of Greek letters for myself, my brothers & my other Greek friends for much less cost than the embroidery shop in our one-horse college town (KKPsi ’til I die!!). It’s been 10 years since I graduated and figured it was high time to see if I could still run a machine. I had plenty of fabric remnants from making sets of letters, and after seeing a litany of adorable project bags in etsy shops, decided to make my own! $20 in grosgrain ribbon & 2 days of toiling later, and I had these:
I am happy with them, and have gotten a lot of use out of them already. I also have a few ideas of how to make the finishing a little cleaner when I make more.
Spinning!
I had been toying with the idea of learning to spin for a while, and it seems I can never find the perfect yarn, in the perfect color & perfect fiber blend for my dream projects. I was struggling with this when I found myself at the Great Lakes Fiber Show in Wooster, Ohio and I found this:
It’s the most perfect gray ever. Literally. It’s beautiful. It’s practically perfect in every way. And I bought 2 1/2 pounds of it, just to make sure that when I learned to spin, I would have enough for the perfect sweater. I also found this gorgeous cream (which is as close to white as I get without a tan… White + no tan= looking like an extra on CSI), so naturally, I had to get 2 lbs of it, too.
If you’re in the Midwest, check out Ohio Valley Natural Fibers. Their fiber is creamy & delicious and they have colors just as gorgeous as their neutrals!
I also bought a drop spindle & have started spinning some very inconsistent singles. I have decided that while I get the concept, I’m not quite coordinated enough to spin on a spindle. The park & draft is tedious to me, and I can’t get my spindle to spin for any length of time, so there is a lot of parking. A wheel is in my future, but this fall ran away with my life, as well as my brain-space to learn a new discipline.
Finished Objects: WOO!
This year I had 40 finished objects. I have one sweater that only needs sleeves & that other sweater that only needs a yoke – those will wait & be two quick wins right out of the gate in 2014.
Here’s the breakdown:
Sweaters: 5
Mr. Bluejeans Cardigan from Knitty
Lauriel from Little Red in the City
Allegro
Breezy Cardigan from knitbot
Rocky Coast Cardigan from Coastal Knits
Right now, the sweater that has gotten the most wear is the Breezy. It’s the perfect weight & I love the colors in the yarn. My favorite is the Lauriel. I got the yarn as part of a gift from a co-worker last Christmas & then took a class at the Knitter’s Mercantile, a local LYS, on how to perfectly fit this sweater. It turned out wonderfully (thanks to my sweater yoda, Kathryn!!) and got to wear it to the Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet festival in March. My friend and I overheard another group of ladies chatting behind us about this sweater, and one commented, ‘she’s a real knitter – look at the fit on that sweater.’ It made my day!
Pairs of Socks: 4
These were improvised off of my friend’s basic sock recipe. She knits socks in her sleep, I’m convinced of it, but won’t tell me how she does it!
3 pairs are made of Paton’s Kroy, the 4th are from Knit Picks Felici. I’m in a vanilla sock knitting phase right now. They are just scrumptious & with fun colors, I don’t need to work hard at reading charts, etc… to make them pretty!
Hats: 12
Barley by Tin Can Knits – once, twice, three times a hat lady…
Oak Trail from Botanical Knits
Seedling from Never Not Knitting
Baby Tri-Peak Hat from Woolly Wormhead, adapted for fingering weight yarn
Minion Hat from Pink Monster Knits
Sockhead Hat from BohoKnits – first one in my undergrad school colors, and again for a co-worker’s family member going through chemo
Celtic Knot Work Hat by Joannie Newsome
Hitchhat from Strickmich!
Malabrigo Head Thingie by Anne Sahakian
I found two go-to hat patterns this year, as evidenced above. But the most stimulating hat knit this year was the Oak Trail by Alana Dakos. I kept reading the pattern, being completely mystified as to how it was going to become a hat, telling myself to trust Alana, and then saying aloud to my knitting, “THIS IS SO SMART!! OH MY GOODNESS, ALANA, SO SMART!!” I LOVE this hat.
Baby Sweaters: 2
Five Hour Baby Sweater
Top Down Garter Stitch Baby Jacket
Cowls/Shawls: 13
Devil Fish
Honey Cowl – and another from Madeline Tosh
Intertwisted from Knit Purl Hunter
Jeweled Cowl, which I called the Girl on Fire Cowl
Boneyard Shawl by Stephen West
Twigs Stole, for my SIL’s wedding by Feminine by Design
Hitchhiker – more Martina Behm
Color Affection
Mostly Warmness Cowl – even more Martina Behm
Leftie – again, Martina Behm
Malabrigo Neck Thingy
Oats by Tin Can Knits
Can you tell I work in a chilly office? Most of these are for me!!
Mitts/Handwarmers: 4
Mostly Warmness Mitts – I have a knit-crush on Martina Behm – it’s obvious to everyone at this point…
Malabrigo Hand Thingies
Maize by Tin Can Knits
Vancouver Specials
Again, with the chilly office – 3 of these are mine, the 4th a request from another woman in my office!
This is a pretty impressive list. Perhaps I should look at my finished objects 2013 tab in Ravelry the next time I announce to my husband I have nothing to wear!
2014 Crafty Goals
More socks. More sweaters – pullovers this year, too! More custom fitted garments, regardless of how I feel about my body on that given day. More knitting from stash. More knitting that makes me happy. Less finishing things that don’t ‘make my heart sing’, as Gigi from The Knitmore Girls would say.
Happy New Year!!
Donita Westman 