Sunday, January 07, 2007

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)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

yeah, but the socks don't match..the stripes are off. ;)

Everything looks beautiful, oh master! You humble me and my piddly projects. :)
(DK is my knitting mentor and yarn pusher)

That scarf is gorgeous. It is the perfect color on your mother, she just glows in it!

RPW said...

I have no idea why that lists me as anonymous....If I say socks don't match, I'd put my name to it. Must be that beta switch. It's messin' me up everywhere...

The socks and everything else are beautiful!

Designated Knitter said...

lol - I did just switch to Beta - and before that it did list your name.

I know the socks don't match - I have like 36" of yarn left from each sock, so there was no way to play matching games!!

Marie N. said...

When I get instructions like that I need to write out each row. I find I do this for sleeves almost all the time, even with patterns that are rather explicit. Perhaps this is because i like to have the TV on when I knit, or I'm in a conversation, or planning on any number of the inevitable interruptions.