Setting Goals

Sometimes the time really does fly by. I intended to start the year off by posting more often and have already failed miserably.

At first I was distracted by the Kindle Fire I got the end of November and there was far too much game playing and movie watching and not enough knitting, beading or any other crafty diversion. I seem to have adjusted to it as I no longer spend hours at a time on it.

In an effort to get more knitting done I started prioritizing my projects and setting goals. This is how January started...

January Goals Week 1:

1.Finish Mermaid
2.Finish a pair of socks from Drip Candles, Dizzy or generic toe-up
3.Cast on a sweater for me
4.Finish Fugue
5.Knit Bosc hat
6.Design a pair of men’s socks

and this is how it ended.

January Goals Week 5:

1.Finish Mermaid - 1/16 need to do right collar side.2.Finish a pair of socks from Drip Candles, Dizzy or Opal Tiger socks 1/10 - 1st foot done, 1/3 of leg started, 1/27 - 1 sock finished, cast on second sock3.Cast on Knit a sweater for me - Belted Cardigan Vest 1/10 - half of back done, 1/19 - back done, left front started, 1/20 - left front finished, 1/21 - right front cast on, 1/26 right front finished, 1/30 - blocked sweater.
4.Finish Fugue
5.Knit Bosc hat - Finished 1/23
6.Design a pair of men’s socks - Picked out stitch pattern 1/4. 1/30 - Ordered Cascade Heritage Silk Vandyke Brown from Jimmy Beans Wool. Will swatch this weekend.

My original plan was to knit my brother's sock from stash yarn since he wanted a pair of gray socks. He changed his mind and decided he'd rather have brown socks to go with his new boots. He's so knitworthy that I had to oblige him. I'm making these extra special by designing them myself.

The sweater I cast on for myself is the Belted Cardigan Vest from Knit Noro. I'm knitting this with Silk Garden from the stash that was purchased during one of the Hook N Needles sales. This year I'm making the same committment to knit from stash as last year.


I was picking up the sleeve bands when I admitted to myself that I didn't like the short-rowed shoulders and three-needle bind off and ripped it all out. There's no point in finishing something when you know good and well that you won't like the end result. I'm going to try and have this finished by tomorrow night so that I can wear it to the Knit-Inn in Greenville this weekend.

I've already created by list of goals for February but my main goal is to knit a lot more than I did last year. I'm focusing on not only using the yarn I have stashed, but also the books and patterns that are in my library. I would also like to design a few items using the stitch dictionaries I currently own.

This year is about setting goals and achieving them. Pushing myself beyond my comfort zone and sharing my talents aand gifts with others. I'm pushing myself to become healthier and stronger in 2012.

Snow Again

Last night we got a light dusting of snow. When I went to bed everything was covered but by the time I got up this morning most of it was gone. It's hard to believe that we got snow twice in the same year! No pictures this time. I've been nursing a case of bronchitis and sinusitis and I'm finally feeling much better.

This past weekend we went to Wadmalaw Island (which is in South Carolina) to celebrate my Aunt Ida Mae's 75th birthday. It was a small family gathering and my aunt was suprised when she found out. We didn't know it was a surprise party until we arrived. She was getting out of the car when we drove up but since her distant vision is gone she couldn't see who we were and thought we were friends of one her grandchildren.


Specs:
Pattern: Anemoon by Zebraknits
Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted True Blue Navy
Needles: 6,7 US circular needles
Size: One size
Started: 2/12/2010 Finished:2/13/2010

I learned a valuable lesson. If someone pays you to knit something for them be sure to get half of the money up front. The lady who I knitted this for thought I was charging her $15.00 even though she repeatedly asked and I repeatedly told her the price. I was prepared to keep it when my oldest brother's friend saw it and immediately took it off my hands. The color is much deeper and prettier than this picture shows. I have one skein remaining and may have to make one for me.

I finished the Mars Hat and Scarf for my brother Charles but I've yet to take pictures. I'm going to try to get them taken this weekend.

I started another pair of fingerless mitts for my mom. They are the Della Mitts a free Ravelry download. I'm using some of the Colinette Jitterbug mom bought for me when she was in Florida last year. The color is Blue Parrot and they are gorgeous.


My sister requested a hat and even though I said I wouldn't knit anything else for her I did. I used a chart from Beautiful Knitting Patterns to make a hat with a Fair Isle band of leaves.


Specs:
Pattern: Leafy Fair Isle hat based on a chart from Beautiful Knitting Patterns
Yarn: Cascade 220 Wool colors Brown and Natural
Needles: 4 and 6 16-inch circulars and 6 dpn's
Size: S/M

I cast on using the Double-Start Cast on from Folk Knitting in Estonia and worked in corrugated ribbing. The hardest part was the decreases at the top which took me 4 tries to get right. I'm glad the yarn was up to the challenge.

I started this Cotton Kisses baby sweater in June and put it aside when I realized I wasn't going to have enough yarn to finish it. One of my Guild members, Janie, made the other sweater included in the pattern in the smallest size and gave me the rest of the yarn she had last. As soon as it arrived I picked up the stitches and finished the band. I think it is an adorable sweater even if it won't fit Anniyah until later.



Specs:
Pattern: Cotton Kisses Baby Cardigan by Plymouth Yarn
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Cotton Kisses Green
Needles: 5 and 7 US
Size: 12 months
Started: June 23, 2009 Finished: February 25, 2010

I'm going to have to find a way to blog more often so that I don't have these large updates. The past two weeks I've been glued to the Olympics and there was no way I was going to blog at 1:00 AM. I was too busy trying to make it to bed.

Legal Scams

I'm finally getting back to blogging after going on a computer-free vacation and resolving DSL issues once I got home. I am often glad that I tend to know more than the average person about computers. I called my service provider's helpdesk to resolve the DSL issue and they ended up wanting to charge me between $99.00 and $249.00, depending on the service plan, to repair the so called problem in my computer. I resolved the problem by re-installing the DSL software. It pisses me off that I pay for the highest speed and they want to charge me when their regular helpdesk can't solve the problem. I can't begin to imagine how many people they have ripped of already.

I'm working on several projects at this time. I still haven't decided on entering the fair. I ordered my entry forms and for some strange reason they sent me a duplicate set. Last year I had planned on entering and it made things much easier because I knitted projects that I was going to enter. This year I've been waffling so much that the time is almost here.

I casted on a sweater for my goddaughter. She won't be able to wear it any time in the near future. It is the Beaded Cardigan from Special Knits by Debbie Bliss. I love all of the designs in this book. This is my third sweater from it and there are a few more designs I would like to make.




I finished the first foot of another pair of Angee socks. These are one of the current pairs in the Sock Innovation Knit-Along. I'm using the Lanett I dyed using the immersion method that was on Monika's blog. I love the way the colors shade from dark to light. I dyed three colorways using this method and I'm so pleased with the way that these are turning out that I'm sure I'll be doing more.



I have a shawl to cast on and maybe one or two other items. I'll be knitting like crazy the next few weeks. With that in mind I plan to do better at documenting and posting my progress. If all goes well I'll have some Christmas presents out of the way.

Have any of you made gloves/fingerless gloves using sock yarn? If so, I'd like to know the pro's and con's as well as some pattern ideas. Thanks for your help.