Signs of Life

Happy New Year kids, I'm still here. After a tumultuous end of the year, including graduating and an absolute nightmare of a journey across the United States (remember all that Snow-nonsense just before Christmas? Guess who was in the airport then) I am now back in London and attempting to "Get my Life in order". I put this in quotes, because frankly I have no idea what that will entail. In the meantime however, I present you with more of my Christmas goodies! After all the nonsense of stress, insanity and 'I can totally knit a project a a week" I did, in fact, manage to complete all of the various knittery I had planned for the holiday. Albeit in a slightly rushed manner. I even managed to finish an extra project. So, without further ado -

Mom's Cowl:
Pattern: Green Sea Cowl
Yarn: Mirasol Sulka shade 222 (4 skeins)
Needles: US 8
Probably my favorite FO of the Christmas season.


Yaz's Evangeline Gloves:
(Photo Forthcoming)










Dad's Hat: (#2, didn't like the first one)/ Harry's Fingerless Gloves
Pattern: none
Yarn: Sirdar Big Softie, 2 skeins/1 skein
Needles: US 13
Also, a gratuitous cleavage shot...sorry.















Rufus' Biking Gloves:
Pattern: None
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Donegal Chunky Tweed, 1 skein
Needles: US 10
Previously Posted:
Irfan's Hat











Kiera's Mittens











Erika's Socks














And for my last item, my very dear friend Kaitlyn, whom I have known since we were 11 is expecting! Therefore, BABY clothes are a requirement. Unfortunately, the silly girl was so inconsiderate as to time it that I had very little heads up as to her happy state prior to visiting, so I didn't have much to work with....but, this is why BABY clothes are awesome, ...they go really fast. They're also really easy to make gender neutral.

The Anticipatory Handsome Hoodie (for the as yet unnamed BABY)
Pattern: Handsome Hoodie
Yarn: Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande (2 skeins)
Needles: US 9

Knitting Bootcamp: Week 1

Okay, so I have a tentative project in mind. Christmas is coming, and as every knitter (and non-knitter) knows, Christmas is Crunch Time, and almost everyone gets caught unaware ( to that one person who got all of their shopping done in August? Yes, YOU. I hate you). For one who aims to gift knit items, it's even worse because of the time involved in making all these things. All you have to do to get a good idea of this is read the Yarn Harlot's annual Christmas panic blogs, complete with her very own Schedule-Nazi to get it all done. Unfortunately, I do not have a Schedule-Nazi, I have only myself, and myself absolutely sucks at deadlines and that thing called 'discipline'. I'm also terrible at knitting speedily in a crunch. In light of that, my tentative plan is this: between now and Christmas (allowing for a few slip-ups, and life getting in the way). Knit 1 object - glove, hat, scarf, sock etc (extra time allotted for larger items) per week. Fingerless gloves and hats count as half an object (or basic gloves) given the speed and simplicity involved.

If I stick to this, that means I have 14 weeks, (Or 7 pairs of socks) to get everything done. This means if i play my card right i could actually gift everyone in my immediate family (Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother 1, Brother 1's girlfriend, Brother 2, Brother 2's girlfriend and my Grandmother) ((okay that's 8)). If I'm super efficient about this, I could possibly muster up a couple of extra items for some friends (who happen to read this blog from time to time).

I only plan on making 1 pair of socks out of all this, since my mother specifically requested a pair. Additionally, I found a project i'd completely forgotten about, complete with a 3/4 knit sock, in a color i know she would like....some may call it cheating, I just call it recycling.

So, here we go - I'm setting the deadline for each project to be Sunday night, with a new project started on Monday Morning. I will use up as much of my stash yarn as possible and must always check The Stash Monster to see if I have something I can use *before* I look into buying new yarn for it.

Today I declare to be Knitting Boot Camp: Week 1, Day 3 (Monday being Day 1).

Here we go.