Highlights of 2009

I don't want to go on about the pros and cons of the year past. I'm not sentimental about New Years. I like the thought of a brand new slate, and try not to be burdened by the nagging leftovers of the previous year (the most important word in that line is try).

Having said that, 2009 did bring some great knitting-related highlights.

I made myself TWO of my best worn items of all times. Well worn and well loved.

I did some mean colour-work.


I got to go on an awesome weekend of knitting related antics with amazing girls (ladies? women? - it doesn't matter - they rock).

I also got the best knitting accessory of all time. A Snuggie. It's not a real snuggie - it's a fancy, wrap up blanket with little sleeves. It's adorable and warm and highly conducive to knitting. Love it.

It has been a good year. Full of great times, growing boys and lots of knitting.

Wishing you all a peaceful and knitterly 2010.

The Lies I Tell

Long ago I wrote a post saying how I had only one thing on my knitting list for Christmas this year (I of course can't find that post, but trust me, I said it).

The Beast.

Then the closer and closer we get to the big day I start adding in projects. Little ones here and there. And a couple of big ones. And then my Love also starting adding things to the Christmas knit list. Next thing you know.....

No Beast done.

My Love knows it's not coming.

He laughs that I'm stressed about it.

He laughs at me a lot actually.

He will get a body and a sleeve under the Christmas tree this year. I hope that he can be wearing it by Valentine's day.

I'm pretty sure he'll keep me around no matter what. I make some pretty good Nanaimo bars to make up for my shortcomings as a knitter.

What's gonna work?

Teamwork.


Baadmedicine Industries produced these lovelies for some lovely (and patient) preschool teachers.


From Interweave Knits Holiday 2009 - Felted Porcelain Bowls.

Fast, easy and pretty. And them to your list of quick knits.

Where are all those finished objects?

I've finished quite a few things lately.

Like this.....

lovely hat designed by this lady. I love that lady. LOVE her.

I also finished this little knitterly friend....

And this little hat for a gorgeous little girl....


And just last night I finished these to put in the gift basket.....


These fo's are all to distract you from my dismal advancement on the BEAST....Slow and steady wins the race right???

The Beast

Calculations done and redone. And done again. Swatches made.

Pondering about how to get the ribbing to flow into the cables. Drawings. Scribbles.

The beast will prove to hurt my brain every now and then.

But I've cast it on. I've completed 2 rounds. Only about 1600yds of yarn to go.

I can't wait!!

There are no losers here, only winners and heroes

Can we have a HOLLER for J., Metta and Catknip!! They did it - 24 pairs in 2008. Nice work ladies. Any of you sick of socks yet???

My final tally is 19.75. Maybe a little holler for me??

I was a winner in other ways, like knitting related Christmas goodies.


That's a Dumpling bag for me made by J, along with some knitting tags, and a knitting print from Ms. Poot and Cubby. I'm a lucky girl; not because of the gifts. It's the girls that gave me the gifts that are truly special. There's not a lot of people who get me. These girls get me.

And there are heroes in my life too. Guitar Heroes that is.



I can see some precious knitting time eaten up by this.

Here's to a winning 2009 to you all.

The Final Tally

My Christmas knitting includes

- 7 hats
- 1 toy (to be revealed in due time)
- 1 shawl
- 2 cowls (one which needs to be redone...that story and pictures forth-coming)
- 1 major endeavour (it's now blocked - it's awesome)
- 3 pairs of socks
- 1 scarf

I think that's it. I'll have final pics of all these at the other end of the holiday.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Last minute preps

Whew. As of last night at 9pm, my big projects are DONE. Done I say. Well, there may be some minor blocking required, but the knitting is all finished.

So any guesses what I did at 9:01pm? Oh, I cast on for new Christmas projects. Because I'm mental. Clearly.

There are few things I can show, but I'll give you a glimpse at my favorite Christmas knit ever.


The Meathead. As of today I've made 4.5 of these for Christmas. I hope to get another 1.5 done.
Best hat ever.

I can't wait till I can actually show you some of the finished Christmas knits....how many more sleeps?

A little time away

Last week, the family and I made our way to the Rocky Mountains to spend a couple of days in a winter wonderland.

Ahhhhh. It was wonderful.

We went on "adventures" in the snow, swam in the outdoor pool (sounds crazy but was awesome to swim outside while it snowed), warmed up in the hot tub, played with new toys and relaxed.

A little Christmas break before the insanity of the season sets in. Just what we needed.

Emergency!

There are really few knitting emergencies. I don't mean knitting emergencies like a dropped stitch in a 300 st, 54 line repeat lace pattern. I mean emergencies when you have to knit things STAT.

However, this weekend brought one of those situations. My oldest boy seemed to have his hat go missing. So on Friday when my love picked him up from school they stopped by the office to check out the lost and found. I was sure it would be there waiting for him.

Gasp. They had JUST the day before cleaned out the lost and found. They had taken the items away (for a good cause...) and had nothing in the box. His handknit hat was gone.

Issue #1: How do you put your kid's name in a handknit hat so that if it does go missing in the school yard it can possibly find it's way back to your kid? I have no idea.

Issue #2: Punky had a field trip on Monday that was going to be outside. Hats and mitts required. Now, I could have just picked up a $3 hat at Old Navy when I was there, but as a knitter, I feel compelled to put my kids in handknit hats. I am embarrassed to have them in anything else. Knitting emergency. Produce a hat, whilst doing all your Christmas knitting (some of which has to get mailed....) during the weekend. Normally this wouldn't be a problem - when it's not the Christmas season of course.

Mission Accomplished.


And along with it, a couple of other hats for some cousins.

Reassessment

The Christmas crunch is on, and even though I have an ever-growing cumulus of items, it is still short.

In order to try and overcome this short-fall, I have decided to put aside MY needs, for the needs of Christmas gifts (I know, very big of me, right?). Therefore, my currently in progress sweater and retreat socks (which I have yet to show you...) have to be put on the backburner. Humph. I really want that sweater to be done.

I need to churn out a few more pairs of socks, a couple of hats, and various other small items (mostly...).

These are coming along nicely and will be sent to my Grandma to warm her constantly cold feet.

This is my summer shipment of STR my currently only unworked skein of STR from the Sock Club; at least is was until I received my November shipment on Friday. But that yarn will have till wait till after Christmas too.

I also finished this sweater,



....slated for my boys' new cousin, due to arrive some time around Christmas, hence the gingerbread man buttons.

Back to the needles.

As J. said, December 25 waits for no knitter. No matter how slow they are....

I got nothin'....

I know you're all waiting for a post to say "Hey, the baby is here!" No one more, I'm sure, than my partner in crime.

But I got nothin' to tell ya.

So instead I'll woo you with pretty pictures of something I finished a while ago, and was just blocked last week with my newly purchased blocking wires (which are heaven....).


My Hanami v. 2.0.


Now, last I talked about this baby, I said that I was going to throw it in the Christmas Cumulus.

I've changed my mind.

It's mine, all mine.

And in another attempt to woo you, I'll show you my first completed sock for the September STR shipment. Spoiler Alert!!

The colour way is called Tidal Pooling and is my favourite so far.

Did it work? Did I divert your attention? I'm sure I didn't, but it was a worthy try, right?

(and we're all sending good thoughts to the baby......go towards the light baby....gooooo....)

Done.

That's about all I can muster up to say about these socks. They are DONE.

They are being added to the Christmas Cumulus, and will be given away with love to someone who will appreciate them far more than I can.

I feel better about these socks when I put them next to these lovely flowers our family received to brighten our last few gloomy weeks.

Thanks Catknip.

Say What? T. actually finished something???

That's right - she did.

Two things actually.

Crazy, I know.

First, I finished the Hanameeee. That's my made up word for Hanami for me. At least originally it was going to be for me, but now I don't know. I don't love it. It's lovely, but I'm not sure. It may go in the Christmas pile. I should make that sound a bit nicer. Pile implies, well other things. Let's call it the Christmas Cumulus.

It still needs a bath and some stretching, but I am awaiting some blocking wires to help in that endeavour.

Second up, the Bainbridge scarf.

Another thing to put in the Christmas Cumulus. This little number took 2 short nights of knitting and is quite warm and fuzzy. I can think of a couple people I know who would appreciate this one.

Things are flying off the needles here at Baad Medicine. Watch out for flying wool.

Knitting Resolutions

I'm not a big fan of resolutions. It's the researcher in me. People say "I want to be healthier", "I want to lose weight", "I want to start running". I think - how are you going to do that? What is your measurable outcome? To me, goal-setting makes more sense. Set an attainable goal and try and get there.

So, I'm making Knitting Resolutions/Goals. Measurable with timelines and specifics.

1. Everything that is currently on my needles will be off my needles by July 1st. If not, it's ripped. This includes the beast of a never-ending sweater. It includes those socks that I lost (and now have found). My Rowena is in there as well (but in breaking news, it's blocked and partially sewn together....).


2. I will only buy yarn that has a specific purpose in mind. I'm trying to reduce stash enhancement. After cleaning out my yarn bins yesterday - I realize I don't really need any yarn. I have tons. So I need to use up what I have. But, let's say I want to knit my boys new sweaters - fine. I can go get yarn specific to that project but nothing else. There is a little loophole with this....sock yarn is ALWAYS specifically for socks, so I can get away with that. (these are my resolutions, so I make the rules).

3. I will donate any unused balls of yarn to a women's shelter. I have unused balls that just sit and sit. I think I'm going to use them someday and they're still there. They would be better served helping someone else. So next December 31st I will pass them on. I have visual record of everything I have to date, so I can easily purge next year.


That's pretty much it. I have lots of knitting I want to do, and dream of doing. We'll see what 2008 holds in store for that.

In a last tip of the hat for 2007, I present my most proud piece of knitting from the year (since SPM asked)- my husband's sweater vest. It's not complicated, but it turned out beautifully. The best finishing I've ever done by far. I took my time and it was worth it. And, he's worn it twice already. He just may be on his way to a full sweater next year....

Relaxing.

Yep. That's my goal for the next few days. Between Christmas festivities, sick kids (VERY sick kids), too much food and drink, I'm hoping to get in a little relaxing over the next couple of days.

My love and I picked up the Sixth season of 24 today. It's been our tradition for the last several years to watch as much 24 as possible over the holidays. We can't watch in on a weekly basis - far too intense. So we pack in 2-3 episodes a day, between cleaning up the Christmas tree, parenting and other busy activities.

Since my Christmas knitting was completed a couple days before Christmas, I also finished 2 other items.

My Tomten - now finally designated for my baby.


And my Warm Christmas Wrap.





I wore it Christmas eve and I love it. It is warm and fuzzy and adorable. And somewhat whimsical. I can't seem to think of too many more adjectives to describe it!

As 2008 is around the corner, I'm trying to come up with a few new projects. I have not picked one yet, and over the last couple days have been pouring over my knitting books, diving into the stash, ravelling and trying to come up with something. I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, Jack Bauer is beckoning....

It's not over till the big man drinks his milk and eats some cookies

Well - it's done. All of it. The knitting for the season is complete and it includes the following:
- 4 hats
- 4 pairs of socks
- 1 clutch
- 1 shawl
- 1 big blue blob

I even managed to throw in a wrap for myself to wear Christmas eve.

Gotta go get a start on those January birthday presents (seriously -J. has to have a birthday in January - it's very stressful....).

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas. See you on the other side of the big day.

These are a few of my favorite things....

I have to say raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens are not some of my favorite things, even if they were Maria's favorites (and I love Maria). She did get it right with the warm woolen mittens, of course! But the season does evoke some of my favorite things.

I love Christmas music. Love it. I know in general it's viewed as being corny and ridiculous, but the thought of baking Christmas cookies while listening to Sleigh Ride or Mele Kalikimaka is wonderful to me (and what says Christmas more than Bing Crosby? Not much, frankly). My favorite Christmas album is the iconic Boney M Christmas. Mary's Boy Child by Boney M. That's Christmas all wrapped up in one song for me.

The finishing of knitted gifts is also a highlight. I'm so close to being done everything right now, and it makes me feel content. I put a lot of effort into those knitted gifts and the feeling of finishing is worth it. Only the big blue blob which has some minor finishing, is left to complete. I did it. I finished what I wanted (other than one pair of socks which has been deferred to a March birthday instead) and it's good. I even surprise myself sometimes.

One thing that has moved off the list of things I dread, to things I look forward to, is blocking. Ever since going to the Lucy workshop, I've been blocking pretty much everything. I'm converted. This blocking; this is good. It works. Things look better. It's easier to seam up a sweater that has been blocked (and seaming up is usually dreadful to me). It may have to do with my little blocking pins I got that are all yellow and cheerful. Or, it's the results (likely a bit of both). I still haven't blocked socks yet, but I read somewhere that Ann Budd (who knits A LOT of socks) doesn't block her socks (except for photoshoots); and I figure if Ann doesn't block her's, I'm not blocking mine.

I also quite enjoy the Christmas chaos. I like going to the mall when there's a flurry of activity. The feeling of being in the vortex of chaos, yet not feeling chaotic myself. I have a few minor things to pick up and it's not dreadful to me to have to wade into that pool (as long as the boys are left at home of course...).

Weddings. Ok, to be honest weddings are not one of my favorite things, but I didn't know how else to segue into this. My office-mate Catknip went off and got hitched all secret-like on the weekend. I'm very happy for them. Congrats to Catknip and the man who winds our balls!

Tis the Season...

...to play in the snow
































..to enjoy Christmas concerts



...to spend time with favorite cousins



...to put the finishing touches on Christmas gifts


...to finish Christmas gifts




...to try and stay sane while everything around you is insane (no comment needed about my sanity J...). I'm hanging in there. I have 2 things left to complete and I actually think they'll both be done.

I can't wait to knit something for moi!!!

It's so hard...

...to NOT blog about your Christmas knitting projects.

I am dying to post about some wonderful pieces. One in particular. And I can't. Well, I could but then it would be no fun for the recipient at Christmas.

In the meantime I will bore you with my boring knitting.

My Hanami (no, it's not done).

This big blob-o-knitting (that's all the info you get. And it's knit with this.)

I started this....

And this finished object.

It's lovely but it was a pain in the butt to knit. The pattern stated to cast on 52 stitches in a DK weight yarn. Do you know how big of a circumference you get with that? About 10 inches. That's about 50% TOO SMALL for any human head - no matter how small they are. I ended up searching the pattern on Ravelry (who doesn't love Ravelry?). Someone else had knit it and had the same problem. I followed what they did (cast on 96 sts) and then converted it to knit in the round. Lucy would be so proud. It turned out ok - perhaps could have been a little longer. Just have to add the flower stamens in the middle of the flower then voila - one more Christmas gift done (the recipient of this gift doesn't read my blog as she is 17 months old).

Next up - some more covert knitting, finishing the Hanami, starting some socks for someone and then re-evaluate. How many days left till Christmas?