My knitting in 2008

I don't have any knitting resolutions, really. I have ideas about all sorts of projects I want to start (and, I hope, finish!), but I won't know until the last minute which ones will actually end up on my needles.

I do have two plans, though. One is to figure out what I do with the yarn described here. (Any suggestions? I'm thinking of making a sweater or a poncho for a 12" Waldorf doll.) The other is to knit a sweater for myself--a first!

My Knitting Resolutions

I only have three resolutions (one with sub-items):

1. I'll finish the projects I begin in a timely manner.

2. I'll complete two old projects:
a. A Gypsy Shawl begun about a year and a half ago. It's knit in blues from Koigu mill ends and Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn. The knitting is complete; the ends have to be drawn through, the bottom border crocheted, and the tassels cut and added.

b. Quite a few years ago I bought seconds of Nature Spun and Nicky Epstein's White on White Afghan. All of the square are knit, but the embellishments have to be sewn on and the squares sewn together. Unfortunately, the seconds weren't from the same dye lot, so I'm also going to have to figure out the best way to arrange the squares.

3. I'm going to investigate if there is a way to put photos in a blog in the places I want them, not always at the top.

A good and (knitting) fruitful new year to you all.

Ruth S.

My Knitting Resolutions

Elizabeth, I hope I'm not stealing your thunder, but I just finished making bonus at work and I'm playing around and taking a much needed break, which brought me to our blog and made me think about your call for knitting resolutions. It's a ripe time since one of my resolutions is to change my attitude about work and enjoying my life. One of the things I enjoy is knitting and I'm going to do a lot of it in 2008. So --

• I firmly resolve to work on the Master Knitter program.
• I firmly resolve to finish my UFOs and begin to knit up my stash.
• I firmly resolve to start knitting the gifts I planned to give this year so that I can give them next year.
• I firmly resolve to make knitting a part of my EVERY day life.
• I firmly resolve to allow the joy I feel when I knit and when I get time to spend with my Knitting Buddies to spill over into every aspect of my life.
• I firmly resolve to live in joy.

(I also am determined to figure out how to post links and to put pictures in these things.)

Here's to a wonderful 2008 for all of us. Blessings, prosperity, love, and yarn.

Afghans 4 Afghans Part II

I snapped a couple of photos of my afghan strip, it's about 25" long and 8.5" wide. I'd planned on making this one somewhat narrower than the last one but once I start casting on and knitting; it seemed just as quick and easy to knit across 8"-9" as 5"-6"...honestly, turning the knitting while reading a book can be quite tiresome so wider = better? I do love mindless knitting while reading and these strips are proving good for my reading backlog.

An interesting point here: the bright pink strips were a tiny bit of yarn that sat in the bottom of my unspun basket for ages. I kept telling myself to toss that little bit out but it stayed there, with the thought that it might come in handy as a highlight in some sort of knitting project...it looks pretty good in the strip.

I'm knitting these strips with my Knit Picks Harmony Wood interchangeable knitting needles. I'm trying to give these needles a run for thier money and see if they hold up well or wear out and only time will tell.

Twins' Baby Sweater

Here goes a try at a blog. As many of you saw, I knit sweaters for Kate and Adrian. The impetus was to knit Leisure Arts' Daddy's Little Girl pattern for Kate. However, in order for Adrian to have a companion sweater, I eliminated the ruffles and picked up other pattern stitches from the sweater for the bottom ribbing and collar.

By the way, for the ruffled collar, I loved the way the collar was knit separately and then attached to the body of the sweater by knitting two together--one stitch from the collar and one from the sweater body.

Afghans 4 Afghans

One of our knitting buddies has asked that we knit 45" long, garter stitch strips which she will seam together to create baby blankets. These blankets will be donated to the Afghans for Afghans project. I've already knit one strip using odd colors of Cottage Crafts yarn that has been hanging around the house for many years. 45" of garter stitch takes more yarn than I expected but such mindless knitting is a pleasure.

My next baby afghan strip is going to be knit using mainly yarns that I think of as "unspun"; yarns that are very lightly plied and have termendous loft. I have a small basket stuffed full of this yarn; it's not enough of one color for more than a small hat or pair of mittens but just perfect for this strip project. I thought you might enjoy a photo or two of the yarn prior to its being knit.