2009 knitting & crocheting review

Going through the photographs tonight, I realised I've been quite busy this past year. These are just a few of the items I made in 2009.

There are a few that I particularly enjoyed knitting/crocheting; my daughter's Red Riding Hoodie, my niece's granny square top, my son's skull fingerless mitts, Samm's blue sheep and my wee sil's pink dress and shrug.

In 2009, I finally completed my first sweater using a pattern I adapted.

The piece that took the most from me emotionally was my Sister's Adamas shawl. Sadly, she never got to wear it before cancer finally claimed her. The shawl is with me and will be cherished for years.

Items I knit and or crocheted this past year:

1. Red Riding Hoodie from DomiKNITrix
2. Cave Girl bikini from Naughty Needles
3. Viva la Violet Dress from Knit n Style issue June 2007
4. Shrug sz 4/6 to match the above dress, my own design
   
5. A baby wrap shawl Taylor by t does wool #
   
6. A cell phone cozie, my own design
7. A blueberry bag, my own design
8. A strawberry bag, my own design
9. A lovely blue sheep (Sheep in Sheep's Clothing by Frankie Brown)
   
10. Pumpkins
    
11. 3 sets of wristwarmers for co-workers using Twist on the wristwarmers by Diana Troldahl #
12. Basketweave scarf, my own design
13. Slouchie hats x3, my own design
14. Owl neckwarmer, adapted from Owl Hat & Bag
    
15. Fancy victorian style wristwarmers x3 for co-workers
16. Bebop Cardi by Lion Brand Yarn
17. Cushman Top by Kim Biddix
18. A felted kitty binkie for Gambit, my own design
19. Kaleidoscope eyes scarf, my own design
20. Pools of color scarf, my own design
21. A crochet cap by Teresa from The Art of Crochet
22. First pair of real socks! from the International Socks of Doom pattern
23. A teeny tiny turtle, pattern by Pear-kitten
24. 2 chemo caps for my dear sister from Lacy Chemo caps
25. 6 matching sets of the Travelling bivalves Cowl by Jenny Raymond (1 set each for mother/daughters in my life)
26. A couple dozen washcloths using a stitch I developed
    
27. Halloween faces and garlands, 24 double-sided faces, 12 twirlies and one garland
    
28. Kitty Kat hat
29. Assorted stuffed animals; catamara and a jubjub which garnered 1st and 2nd place wins respectively on Neopets
    
30. A couple of Calorimetry hats
31. Adamas Shawl x2
32. One skein baby hooded sweater
33. Pocketbook slippers, 6 pairs
    

#Pattern available on Ravelry

There are likely several that I've missed in the list. Items that were made and given away before I even thought of taking a photograph.

Items that remain to be completed in 2010:

• My son's skull blanket (only the 24 skull squares are left to knit) the 24 border squares are done (my own design inspired by DomiKNITrix skull chart)
  
• A plastic bag dispenser for my daughter (my own design)
  
• A pair of socks for me (International Sock of Doom)
  
• The giraffe from "Itty bitty toys"
• Totoro
• The Heelhead scarf for my husband's best friend Nick
• The Kenobi Jacket for hubby (needs to be frogged and restarted)
  
• A raspberry bag, my own design
  

Not too shabby considering the crappy year it's been otherwise. I guess I could call this the silver lining to the black cloud that insists on hovering over our lives these days. I just hope that 2010 will see that cloud dissipate and a fair breeze blows good things our way.

The Weekender

Let's see, how about I do some updates before moving on to new stuff.

1. job interview: As I thought... didn't get it. Doesn't surprise me, they may have had poker faces, but their body language spoke volumes. I guess they didn't want a bbw around their office filled with dainty, latest fashion clad admins. Their loss!

2. I forgot to mention my darling daughter also brought me some lovely gifts. 2 books, Picture Knits & I Love Knitting. There is new knowledge to be gleaned from both. I especially like the first one, lots of lovely charts for children's clothing plus a how to read a chart tutorial. I can definitely use that part as well. Knitting left handed creates some interesting problems when reading a chart. I have to keep reminding myself that the row going in one direction goes in the other direction on my knitting. Confusing? heck yeah but I'll learn!

3. She also brought me more Neopets to add to my growing collection. Yes, I'm addicted to these cute little plush animals. They are sooo cute!

4. And last but not least, a package of tape measures! I'm forever misplacing my one and only cloth tape measure. My favorite from the 4 she gave me is this nice small red one that when you press the button zips right back inside with a very satisfying "snick!" I love that!

5. Finished the fingerless mitts for the co-workers friend. I hope he appreciates the work that went into them. I used a generic wristwarmer generator, made some adaptations and went at them. I just have to weave in the ends and hand them to her.

Now for new stuff

1. I cast on another cloth in basketweave, I'm aiming for a hand towel with this design. Pictures to come as it grows.

2. Need to buy US8 circular needles for the gilet Twirl found in Minnowknits, Too by Jil Eaton. I have 2 nieces and a sister in law who would love this feminine gilet complete with fancy wrists and collar. I will change one thing on it though and that is what I'm going to use to knit the wrists and collar. I am going to use furry novelty yarn to give the impression of real fur. All 3 will appreciate it I'm quite certain.

3. I cast on and finished a Calorimetry hat for myself. Put it to the test yesterday in -20C weather and it was perfect. Having long hair makes tuques impossible to wear or give you hat hair which I hate. This hat is like a hairband but has a button in the back so no slipping over the head dragging your hair down with it. I love how it covers my ears and doesn't slip and slide around. Only took me 3 hours to knit from CO to sewing on the button. I also added a smaller button on the inside to anchor the main button better so the buttonhole won't slip off. I didn't cast on the 120 stitches since my knitting seems to be a tad more relaxed. I cast on 115 and it fits perfectly! I also love the shape when it's laying flat. Reminds me of a leaf.

That's it for now. More to come in the next few days.