Monday, January 26, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
2008: The Year of the Sock
The big thing I did in 2008 was knit socks. I started off with something simple and plain:
Then I moved on to something a little more involved but still suitable for a beginner:
Unfortunately, courtesy of my well-meaning mother, both pairs of socks went head to head with a washer and dryer. The washer and dryer won both times.
After two pairs of adult socks, I moved on to baby-sized projects:
Sprinkled among the baby socks were a pair of socks for a friend who did a great thing for me in the previous holiday season. These socks were done in a week thanks to doing two at a time on two sets of DPNs:
I made a pair of pedicure socks for my sister for Christmas, which she loved. She even requested a pair in pink.
And the pair I stared in 2008 but didn't finish until 2009 when there wasn't pressure to compete gifts was knit with a great merino sock yarn that was my only purchase at the Shepherd's Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival in the summer. I love these socks:
So there it is, my Year of the Sock. I feel like I hit a stride last year with my knitting. Thanks to my wonderful knitting group, who are encouraging beyond measure, I feel like I can do anything I set my mind to provided I actually put effort into it. The dowside is that I use knitting for rest and relaxation. Applying myself and using my brain are things that fall by the wayside when I sit down with a couple pointy sticks and some pretty string.
Then I moved on to something a little more involved but still suitable for a beginner:
Unfortunately, courtesy of my well-meaning mother, both pairs of socks went head to head with a washer and dryer. The washer and dryer won both times.
After two pairs of adult socks, I moved on to baby-sized projects:
Sprinkled among the baby socks were a pair of socks for a friend who did a great thing for me in the previous holiday season. These socks were done in a week thanks to doing two at a time on two sets of DPNs:
I made a pair of pedicure socks for my sister for Christmas, which she loved. She even requested a pair in pink.
And the pair I stared in 2008 but didn't finish until 2009 when there wasn't pressure to compete gifts was knit with a great merino sock yarn that was my only purchase at the Shepherd's Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival in the summer. I love these socks:
So there it is, my Year of the Sock. I feel like I hit a stride last year with my knitting. Thanks to my wonderful knitting group, who are encouraging beyond measure, I feel like I can do anything I set my mind to provided I actually put effort into it. The dowside is that I use knitting for rest and relaxation. Applying myself and using my brain are things that fall by the wayside when I sit down with a couple pointy sticks and some pretty string.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Bingo!
I figured out what to make for the little kids in my life for Christmas. A lovely word that I had previously not been all that interested in: amigurumi. According to Wiki, amigurumi is "the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures."
Ravelry has tons of free crochet amigurumi patterns, all of which are little and therefore fast. Also, there's only so much difficulty that can be packed into a small toy hooked out of worsted weight yarn, so they're also very easy.
I'm going to frog the hat I was making for Riley because I was in the Knitting Black Hole anyway and the yarn is perfect for the frosting on an amigurumi cupcake and maybe a little bird. Seriously, these things are cute and can be produced in mass quantities in a small amount of time. Why didn't I think of this sooner?
Now all I have to do is decide what I'm going to do for my parents and in-laws.
Ravelry has tons of free crochet amigurumi patterns, all of which are little and therefore fast. Also, there's only so much difficulty that can be packed into a small toy hooked out of worsted weight yarn, so they're also very easy.
I'm going to frog the hat I was making for Riley because I was in the Knitting Black Hole anyway and the yarn is perfect for the frosting on an amigurumi cupcake and maybe a little bird. Seriously, these things are cute and can be produced in mass quantities in a small amount of time. Why didn't I think of this sooner?
Now all I have to do is decide what I'm going to do for my parents and in-laws.
Friday, November 7, 2008
A little funny
Your Daddy Is Darth Vader |
 What You Call Him: Daddy-o Why You Love Him: He's the Mack Daddy |
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Reacquaintance with a timeless favorite
I was sifting through my stash, wondering what I can knit for Christmas gifts, and my gaze landed on a skein of Lion Brand Wool Ease, worsted weight. Not the nicest yarn I've knit with, but a decent acrylic-wool blend that is machine washable and dryable. Ideal for gifting because it is very economical, easy to care for, and because it's worsted weight, thousands of free patterns can be had for every knittable/crochetable item.
Deciding on a men's hat, I went to Ravelry in search of a pattern. I found Turn a Square (Ravelry link), a wonderfully easy and free pattern. It calls for striping, but I decided to skip that. It's your basic stockinette hat with a ribbed hem, but it has four sets of raglan-like decreases to shape the crown that are simple enough to be mindless but aren't boring. next time I knit this hat, I'll include the stripes.
Hats are wonderful things to knit. They can be as easy or as difficult as the knitter wishes. This was a very simple pattern for my skill level, which meant it was a great "get out of the no-knitting rut" project. It was also very quick, going from cast-on to weave-in in less than 24 hours, knitted during Peanut's naps and while she was playing at Giggle Factory this morning. And because it's 80% acrylic, blocking is not necessary, just a quick trip through the wash.
I think I'll use the rest of the skein for a gift for one of my nephews. Now all I gotta do is get Peanut to hold still long enough for me to get some measurements from her hand so I can knit mittens that will fit the nephew for the whole winter.
Deciding on a men's hat, I went to Ravelry in search of a pattern. I found Turn a Square (Ravelry link), a wonderfully easy and free pattern. It calls for striping, but I decided to skip that. It's your basic stockinette hat with a ribbed hem, but it has four sets of raglan-like decreases to shape the crown that are simple enough to be mindless but aren't boring. next time I knit this hat, I'll include the stripes.
Hats are wonderful things to knit. They can be as easy or as difficult as the knitter wishes. This was a very simple pattern for my skill level, which meant it was a great "get out of the no-knitting rut" project. It was also very quick, going from cast-on to weave-in in less than 24 hours, knitted during Peanut's naps and while she was playing at Giggle Factory this morning. And because it's 80% acrylic, blocking is not necessary, just a quick trip through the wash.
I think I'll use the rest of the skein for a gift for one of my nephews. Now all I gotta do is get Peanut to hold still long enough for me to get some measurements from her hand so I can knit mittens that will fit the nephew for the whole winter.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
No will to knit
It's true. I have no will to knit lately. And that just bites. It's fall, for goodness' sake! Time for knitting scarves and hats and mittens and Christmas presents. But combining early pregnancy fatigue with a new job and chasing around a toddler makes for very little energy to do anything in my free time that doesn't involve plopping my laptop on my lap and reading an ebook.
Plus I want to participate in NaNoWriMo in November, which would basically suck up any free time at all. I probably shouldn't plan on finishing a book, but knowing I'm only one of thousands handling a busy real life in addition to writing will be nice.
So it looks like November and December will be very busy months for both knitting and writing. Should be fun. Crazy, but fun.
Now all I need to do is ferret out my will to knit.
Plus I want to participate in NaNoWriMo in November, which would basically suck up any free time at all. I probably shouldn't plan on finishing a book, but knowing I'm only one of thousands handling a busy real life in addition to writing will be nice.
So it looks like November and December will be very busy months for both knitting and writing. Should be fun. Crazy, but fun.
Now all I need to do is ferret out my will to knit.
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