Tuesday, January 17, 2006

2005 Review

2005FO
I've been planning on doing a little inventory on my 2005 knits, maybe frog stuff I'm not wearing and re-using for new projects. It's all about recycling these days at Craftoholic. Or so I tell myself. The boyfriend sock don't need much review, they're so loved. Let me just say that the GGH Marathon I used for his for two pairs over a year ago is holding up extremely well. And they've been washed and worn a lot! No complaints about the Lana Grossa Meilenweit so far either.
The first 2005 knit was the
- Debbie Bliss Cabled Jacket. I love this so much and I've worn it a lot. The Rowanspun Chunky I used is holding up rather well, there is only slight pilling under the arms, which isn't really noticeable as the yarn is heathered.
- Leaf Scarf in Rowan Big Wool. Haven't really worn it too much, it's so toasty. I think I'm just too lazy to bother holding it together with a brooch. I might frog it, haven't decided yet.
- Clapotis. This kept me happily warm in freezing Europe. I wear it a lot and love that the Silk Garden gets softer after a wash, and doesn't lose its sheen.
- Lady Eleanor. Ten balls of Silk Garden make this shawl a bit heavy. I haven't worn it all that much because most days I can't be bothered to fuss with accessories. But knitting it was fun and the end product is so beautiful, I want to just display it as a wall hanging. I'll put this in the category 'knitted art', which doesn't require usefulness ;-)
- Debbie Bliss Rib Detail Jacket. After I tried it on for the first time, it itched. I didn't wear it much until I tried it on and it didn't itch. The ribbing on the sleeves still feels a little snug, but blocking should take care of it. Let's revisit that one next year after more wearage.
- Shedir. I use this a lot, mostly as a liner underneath wooly hats that make my head itch. Sure my head looks like a big ball, but I'm warm enough so it's a good trade-off. I'd wear this more if it was a bit longer, but I was insistent on using just one ball!
- Rebecca Wrap Top. I've worn this a few times over a long white top. It's cute enough, but there's that one spot at the back of my neck the GGH Soft Kid likes to itch attack. I still wear it, but won't make anymore garments out of Soft Kid.
- Aimee. Oh Aimee. I hate your ribbon. I'm going to try to stitch the ribbon opening up and I'm thinking about a dye bath as well. I love that green, but it does make me look anemic.
- Springgrass socks. The Nature's Palette definitely loosens up a bit after washing, and gets fuzzy too. I wear them, but mostly at home.
- Orchid socks. See above.
- Mata Hari socks. I love them so much and wear them all the time. The Koigu is getting a bit fuzzy but still nice. There may be more Mata's in the far future.
- Eowyn armwarmers. They were made only to get rid of two lonely balls of yarn, Rowan Yorkshire Tweed dk and Crystal Palace Merino Frappe. I wore them a few times in Europe, but they're just too bulky for my taste.
- Gothic Knee Highs. They bound off a little losely, so I need to fix that or else they'll be crunched around my ankles.
I'm pretty happy with half of my 05 knits, I have learned soo much and really figured out what I want to knit and what not. My plans for this year are to
- tackle a fair isle project
- try felting
- make a quilt
- design more knits
- sew leather

Monday, January 09, 2006

Ends with socks, starts with socks

Sometime around Christmas, a shift occurred, and with the new year I feel a new me emerging. It's time to get back to sweaters and cardis. I'm done with socks for now (though I think I've said that before) I still don't know why I lost my knitting confidence after I finished Aimee, really, all those successful modifications should have done the opposite. Somehow my real life fears manifested in my knitting and I got scared of sweaters, scared of my yarn choices, scared of not being able to make something I can be proud of. For the past few weeks I've been drawing and designing and getting excited about all the ideas flowing through my head, and I'm curious to see what is going to come out. So here are the last pairs of socks you'll see for awhile, gifts for boyfriend:
reds&browns
Saturday socks knit with Lana Grossa Meilenweit, 1 skein.
And these are for his upcoming birthday:
BootStretch
Sunday socks knit with Lana Grossa Mega Boots Stretch, 1 skein. While this yarn felt softer compared to the meilenweit while I was knitting, it's not as soft on the foot. I'll go back to the meilenweit. The sock ban doesn't extend to bf because I get so much pleasure out of his unbridled excitement for the socks I make him.
Right now I'm working on a plain stockinette cardi out of that ice blue Rowan Big Wool. The color is lovely and I might add a little bit of embroidery in something sparkly when it's done. I'm still experimenting with the knitting, I'd love to knit the sleeves in the round on two circs to eliminate bulky seams, or I might knit it top down. I've never knit anything top down but it should work with any kind of yarn, right?
I've also gotten hooked on two activities that are taking away knitting time: I signed up with my local gym before the holidays and have been working out almost every day. And I got addicted to playing the Wallace & Gromit PS2 game I got bf for Christmas. Somewhere pigs are flying and hell has frozen over.