2012 in Review

2012 was a very....interesting year. A lot happened and I am amazed that I got any of my goals done!
 Our family went to Disney in Florida in April. At the end of May, me and my husband went to upper British Columbia for a few days, then flew back to pack our house and move out two days later! We packed our four bedroom house into a 10X10 storage unit, bought a tent, and moved back to my hometown where we camped the rest of the summer. The summer of the drought and the heatwave. I did get some knitting done, but it's hard to knit when just touching the wool felts it.
I had plans to get an apartment for the winter, but hubby had a different plan. We bought a travel trailer, moved a bit farther south (by 50 or so miles) to be near my father, and that is where we are today. It's a bit cramped, and total unconventional, but it works for now.

I did complete a few of my goals. I made my hat goal. I knit a few extra that were not on my queue for gifts. I nearly made my fingerless glove goal. I did make a quick pair for my son (pics coming soon), but there was a pair that I ran out of yarn. I knit up a few pair of mittens, but I discovered that store bought mittens seems to work better (warmer).  I don't like the idea of using expensive yarn to make warm mittens for the kids, since they will probably lose them anyway.
I think I completed my cowl goal. I crocheted one that I didn't list yet, and I made one that had buttons that fell off, so I need to resew those on. My sock goal was a dismal failure. I think I knit six pair. I got behind in April, hoping to catch up, but was never able to do it.

Looking back, I would consider myself successful even though I didn't complete all my goals. I completed more projects in 12 than I did in 11, so that is success! I made lots of neat stuff and even made my queue on Ravelry smaller (though I've added a few projects since then! )

For 2013, I don't have any set goals. I will probably still try and get a cowl, hat, and maybe fingerless gloves done each month. I want to knit some shawls and joined a group on Ravelry to help me stay focused. I noticed if I don't have any goals, I don't knit. Having some sort of plan helps me to stay focused and gives me ideas when I hit a dry spot in knitting mojo.

I am going to complete my projects I wanted to start/complete in 2010.  I have those all bagged up with the yarn and pattern ready to go, so I just need to either finish them up or start them. On the side, I will my knit my shawls and other smaller projects. This might be the year of  the shawl for me!

Hats! Hats! Hats!

 

Since I haven’t done an FO post since July, I’m going to break up the next few posts so I don’t overwhelm you with photos.  I realized in November that I was not going to make my yearly goals. Not all of them, anyway. I only have 7 pairs of socks done, there is no way I’m going to knit 5 pairs of socks in the next two weeks. I might be able to crank out two pair, maybe, but I doubt it. I’ll be lucky to get one more done, especially since we are travelling over the holidays.

The realization made me feel a bit…pathetic. Until I realized that my hobby is knitting, and if I don’t reach my goals, that’s ok. I tried. I got sidetracked. I did double the amount of FO’s this year, so I guess that’s a pretty good achievement.

This post will be Hats! I am going to start with the most recently finished and go back till July. Hold on to your hats!

This is Star Crossed Slouchy Beret  made in Cascade 220 Paints. I like the subtle variegation with the meandering cables. The outcome, I think, is fun and not at all busy.

Isn’t the color scrumptious? I added a few extra rows to make this a slouchy hat, not a beret. It might look better with some blocking, but I think it turned out lovely.

The next hat I made was my daughter’s hat. She “needed” a new hat. I said yes, and she picked the pattern and the yarn. Which turned out to be Neon green. She really wanted a neon yellow stripe, but I refused. I had visions of my going blind knitting with such bright colors!

I really like the brim, it’s unique. I added a skull button that she wanted. Cute, no?

We love the slouchy hats here!

The next few hats were not part of my yearly goal. My Dad’s girlfriend had a birthday right before Thanksgiving. I discovered she liked frogs when we went to Jo-ann’s to get some yarn for a hat I was going to make my Dad.

This is the Big Man Hat. Acrylic yarn, went down a needle size. Quick and easy.

Melissa’s hat for her birthday, the Official Kittyville Hat that I added beaded frog eyes too. Thankfully, she knew what it was supposed to be right away! It helps that I knit it in green.

Around the same time, I was getting tired of trying to knit my goals. I needed a quick FO, and crochet is always the answer. I made this hat:

I used a few patterns and mashed them together. I used LIon Brand Hometown yarn in this retro color combo. A pompom added to the fun. This hat is so cozy and warm, and so fun! I must say that I really like the brim, it folds down in case I’m ever in a snowstorm so I can see!

The Cabled hat was actually part of my queue and goals for 2012. I used Wool and this thing went pretty quick.  There’s a brim on the inside, making this extra warm. I gave this to Melissa as well, since she had a hat that was too small and very ugly. I told her to burn it! And I hope she did!

What I really like about this hat is the amount of cables hides any mistakes. You’re looking at one right now, and don’t even know it (hopefully!).  I’m a perfectionist, but tinking back was daunting. I now have a one of a kind, unique project!

So these next few were from summer, from my queue. Minty was a fun and quick knit, and I adore the color combo. It is so slouchy and cute! I used Malabrigo, so it’s extra soft!

I like the gathers and the icord. It adds so much to the hat!

The top is very neat, too. I think this is one of my favorite hats that I’ve made. I might do another in a different colorway, maybe pink?

This hat is Swirly, made from Borocco Remix, a cotton yarn. I liked it at the time, but since then it has gotten very floppy and loose. I can’t say I’m in love with it, but it does count towards my goal.

 

So, that’s my hats! Next up is mittens and fingerless gloves.

Catching Up

I've been busy knitting like a crazy woman! Only to complete my goals. No Christmas knitting this year. I did a bad job of planning. I got waaaay behind in my goals, so now I'm rushing around trying to catch up!

I do have my hats completed though, and only two pairs of fingerless mitts to make my goal there. I am working on cowl number 11, and number 12 will be an easy TV knitting project. The only goal I will not meet is my sock goal. I think, if I try hard enough, I may get 8 pairs done. I have two OTN's and may try to get another done before the first of the year. I don't know, that might be wishful thinking.

I am going to show what I have made in several posts so I don't overwhelm you with photos. I will do a few at a time, and that makes it easier for me, too. I need to get some FO pics and update my Ravelry project page too.

So no photos today, just a quick update. I am setting a blogging goal for 2013 to try and blog weekly. We'll see how that goes! That means 56 posts with photos. I think I can do it! I'm also considering my knitting goals for the upcoming year. I'm not sure what I want to do yet, but I do know that I need to make goals or nothing gets done.  I'm thinking maybe 2013 might be the year of the shawl. I want to get into some lace knitting, and I think I will knit for Christmas early. Maybe a few sweaters for the kids. We'll see, I still have a few weeks to hammer it out.

Until then, happy knitting!

FO Pics!

It seems like I haven't been around lately. But I have been busy busy busy. You'd think camping would give you lots of time to knit.  Surprisingly I haven't had as much time as I first thought I would. I packed so many projects that I wanted (and thought) I would get done, and I'm behind on my monthly goals. Go figure!
My last post was in May, a quickie post. So let's see what I've been up to since then.
I made three cowls: Prickle, Peach Petal, and Owl Cowl. I made a pair of Fingerless gloves: Owlings. I also made 2 pair of socks: Socks of Kindness and Gull Wings. I am still behind in my socks goals, but I will catch up with the other goals I have set. I just need to buckle down and knit!

These are my Gull Wing socks made with KP Imagination in the colorway Castle Walls. This was very quick and fun to knit, the repeats were easily memorized. I made this during the heat wave and at one point, thought I was felting the yarn just by knitting it!

The Owl Cowl. I love how this turned out, and I think it was a one day project. I used Malabrigo. the buttons I got from Wal-Mart and I think they complement the design nicely.

Owlings. These mitts were fast and fun and easy to make. I only added buttons to one "owl" on each mitt since I didn't have enough, but I like how it looks. The yarn is Malabrigo in a yummy Pumpkin colorway. The pics don't do it justice!

This is Prickle, a mobius reversible cowl. I tried 3 different yarns before settling on Malabrigo (again!!!). It went fast once I got the right yarn for the pattern. The edging took forever, but it turned out nice. I used most of a skein of yarn.

Finally, my Socks of Kindness made from Lang Jawoll Bambus.  I didn't really like the yarn, but the pattern was fairly easy. I did an extra repeat on the cuff, so it's pretty long. I like how it turned out.

As you can see, I've been busy knitting, just not blogging. Knitting has been keeping me occupied in the hot days. We don't watch TV anymore, so sometimes it's hard to knit (I like to knit while I watch TV) but I still manage. 
I'm glad it's cooling off a bit. We had a heat wave last week that was killer. It rained a few days ago, and today it's been very  nice with a brisk breeze and lower temps (and humidity! the humidity leaves you feeling like a wet rag at the end of the day). I hope to get caught up on my current goals so I can start on some of my other projects and get some more of my queue pared down.

Crazy Crazy!!!

 This was supposed to be posted in late May, but somehow it didn't make it. I'll publish it now and update my blog soon!



I can't wait until I can settle down and get life back in order!
I haven't had much time to knit the last month. We took a long vacation to Disney in April and we are moving in May. Right before our big move, I'm visiting Northern British Columbia for a few days. I know the timing is not good, but it is a rare chance and I had to take it!
Once June rolls around, I'll get back to knitting and back to blogging more regularly. I hope to have tons of projects done. I'll have a lot of time to knit when I'm all relaxed and  camping. At least I won't be so busy!
See you soon!