Don't worry, I've been knitting.......

Dear Laura:

First, the promised picture of my mom with her scarf and mittens.

She reports that these mittens are warmer than the crochet pair that I made her several years ago, which surprised her because they are lighter weight. I am happy with the colors - she wears alot of red, so they work well with that.

I also finished the green stripe socks for my sil.

I finished these New Year's Eve, so they are the final finished object of 2006. I used the short row heel, which I continue to maintain that I love, even though I've had to do each heel at least twice before I was happy with it. I just have this conviction that once I truly "master" it, these heels will be the ones I love to knit.

I do have some knitting goals - not necessarily for the entire year, but for the coming months.

1. I want to finish a scarf for the Red Scarf Project. I started this scarf last month when I was going to have knitting time when it was dark. It's about 1/2 finished, and is the most portable of my projects, so it should be done pretty quickly. I grabbed a couple extra balls of yarn in hopes that I can make a few extra through the year so that next January I'm ahead of the game.

2. I have cast on for my niece's blanket. This niece will graduate from high school in June, and she has chosen a blanket pattern that uses a slip-stitch pattern that looks like bricks. The main color is chocolate brown, with a pinkish "filling." It's called a Chocolate Petit-Fours Blanket pattern. My finish goal is 45" x 60", so my goal is to do 15" per month over the next 4 months.

3. I want to make one baby project per month for the next 5 months, when my new niece or nephew is scheduled to arrive. My sil has graciously agreed to give the baby a temporary name so I don't have to keep saying, "my new niece or nephew" or "Mark & Lee's baby." It's Bubba, people, I'm knitting for Bubba. January's project is the sweater kit that I pictured in my previous post. I've had this kit for over 5 years, and this feels like the right baby to knit it for. I've finished the hat - my first FO of 2007! There were a couple of "ladybug" issues, but we're moving right past that. (Yes, I know that one of the ladybugs is skinnier than the rest. We're calling that one a "fitness freak...")

Now, I could rest on my laurels - the hat is knitted, but there is still the sweater. I am, however, concerned that making January's project the hat AND the sweater may be a bit much, so I'm considering the hat and the sleeves as the minimum for January. While the hat went quickly, I have to admit that this ladybug thing is kicking my butt. I am working on the first sleeve, and I'm starting the third row of the ladybug pattern for the 4th or 5th time. (It's starting to blur together....) I would just like to point out to Dale of Norway that these patterns traditionally carry only TWO colors per row. This is especially a big deal when you are trying to carry three yarns while working on double-points. Just try to get some rhythm going...

And while I admire their ability to write the entire pattern for a stranded sweater (in FIVE sizes) in just a quarter page of text....that's requiring a lot of "figuring" on my part. For instance, pointing out the center stitch of the pattern and telling me to center it on the sleeve leaves me with quite a bit to figure out. Especially when the next sentance begins with my all-time favorite, "At the same time, increase 1 stitch at the beginning and end of every fourth row.....blah, blah, in pattern, blah blah....

Maybe I'll just go knit a few more rows on that garter stitch scarf....

Keep knitting!!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter)