Dreaming of the time vortex

With all the WIPs I have languishing from my travels this year, I think that January should be my month of project finishing.  But before I get started, I think a special vacation project is in order.  Behold the gorgeous yarn I got for Christmas (thanks dad!).  Dark blues, sapphires, aquamarines....perfect for that time vortex shawl that I've been dreaming of...

Bubbles

I've been doing quite a bit of knitting while on travel, but since I'm partial to lace and I don't have a great way to block I've just been accumulating a bag of mostly finished projects.  My latest is a great example.

Bubblemania is a simple little pattern.  The burnt orange alpaca is just so soft and airy.  About halfway through I decided to turn it into an infinity scarf, but I don't want to graft the ends together until its blocked.  Maybe one day if I get motivated I'll get some straight pins from the store.  Until then, the mostly finished objects will continue to pile up.

Pretty little ribbon

While I was back home last month, I was in need of a new project...or an old project as it turned out to be.  Started way back in August 2012, this faithful desk project had been particularly languishing for the past few months, so I decided to finish it up instead of packing it away again in its sad, half finished state.

2,100 miles of road trip later, we have a fun little scarf.  It will look a bit better once blocked, but that will have to wait until my next return.

The finished product will be a wispy summer wrap of pure cashmere indulgence.  Love it!

The pattern is Lace Ribbon.

Coming along

Two balls of yarn transformed into 70 inches of scarf.  Just keep knitting!

Happy Caturday!  Come Along Pond is coming along quite nicely.  It's about four feet now.

12 of 12: My Clapotis

The 12th, and final, shawl for 2012 was another Clapotis.  The pattern is just so quick and easy, and the FO has great drape and bounce.  After making one for Becca, I had to have one for myself.

 
I didn't technically finish the 12 shawls in 2012 challenge because this one took me until January 2 to bind off.  However, I'm going to count it as a win because I had enough of the shawl done by December 31 to meet the yardage requirements...but wanted to keep knitting for a longer scarf.  I've also been too busy wearing the thing to take photos in order to write this post.  A success all around I would say!

While I enjoyed the 12 in 12 challenge, I'm looking forward to a bit less structure to my knitting queue this year.  Perhaps I'll even finish that first sweater I have on the needles....

I've started to work on a new scarf, inspired by one of Amy Pond's wonderful scarves in season 5 of Doctor Who.  There are a few different patterns out there that have tried to reverse engineer the look, but I think I like my combo the best so far.

The angels have the phone box

My sister visited this weekend.  On a whim, she decided to learn to knit and whipped up her first project in a day.  I was super impressed how quickly she picked it up.  Must be in the genes!

Pattern: The Angels have the Phone Box

Refreshing the sole

Preparing myself to throw away yet another pair of slippers, I realized that the Nola pattern is super easy to resole. As the sole is the last section to knit, you can just split the fabric, pick up the live stitches, and....

...voila!  Just like new in half the time.  I might be a little more forgiving towards the slipper monster now that I know how to rework this pattern.

The last gift of Christmas

My last Christmas gift was mailed off this week.  Better late than never, right?

I do have a pretty good excuse for not delivering by December 25 on these though.  Dad requested slippers earlier in the fall.  I actually knit two pairs before December - both of which were too small for me!  Apparently my gauge was just way off.  Third time was a charm though, and these should keep his toes nice and toasty for quite a while.

Pattern is Nola's Slipper

Frostlight

One of this year's Christmas presents was Frostlight by Robin Ulrich.  The pattern was easy to memorize, knitted up quickly, and looks great.

This yarn was recycled from a sweater.  When I saw it on the thrift store rack, my first though on the color was camel.  And I was right.  It's a 50/50 camel hair and lambswool blend.  It has great stitch definition and the color is - for once! - appropriate for a man scarf.  Even Tony approves.

The pattern allowed me to try something new - fringe!  While perfectly easy to apply, I had been avoiding this finishing touch because of the wavy nature of recycled yarn.  Turns out that it wasn't that hard to straighten out sufficiently.  I soaked the yarn for about a half hour.  This yarn particularly looked like ramen in the bowl! Then stretched it out overnight as it dried with my fancy shmancy frying pan.

Overall, a fun knit and a well received gift!

Cora's blanket

2012 saw not only 12 shawls fly off the needles, but also my first blanket.  It was a baby blanket, but still quite sizable. The photo below has it folded in half.  I love the multicolored pattern, even if there were a zillion ends to weave in at the end of the project, and the honeycomb gives it a nice, thick texture. 

This project was my first time blocking acrylic.  I did a steam block, being careful not to touch the iron to the fabric and melt it.  It worked pretty well, and in theory it's now blocked for life - even after being machine washed.  I'm sure the lucky mama will have plenty of chances to test this theory!

The sleeves are slowly stretching.

With all the places in the house to sit, I have chosen to bless your WIP.  It is now endowed with magical cat fuzz for extra awesome.*

* I speak cat.

Tube check

Tube fits!  Just keep knitting, just keep knitting...

182

I've cast on 182 stitches to start my first sweater.  Deep breaths, and just keep knitting.

Warmer on the inside

A Christmas gift for a certain Whovian friend of mine.  I can assure you, they're warmer on the inside.

Pattern on Ravelry

Gifty socks

Christmas saw the gifting of my first two pairs of "real" socks - real meaning tiny needles and tiny thread.  Both patterns come from Cookie A's knit. sock. love.  I love the lace on these patterns.  I'm certinaly looking forward to knitting more socks, now that I've gotten the hang of it.

Hobo chic

Hobo chic, or a slipper destroyer? Either way, his next pair will come with leather soles.

11 of 12: Becca's Clapotis

Unlike some knits that take on a owner halfway through the knitting process, this shawl was designated as a gift from the start.  I think I've claimed every successive project as my favorite shawl of the 12 in 12, but this one certainly takes the prize for the my favorite yarn.  Only the best for the Becca!

The Clapotis (ravelry) is a very popular pattern, and for good reason.  It looks amazing in a variegated yarn and is fun to knit.  It is knit along the bias with a series of dropped stitches, creating a grid of sorts - color stripes in one direction with the pattern stripes in the opposite direction.

The yarn is from hellomello handspun, which I picked up at Crafty Bastards last year.  Since I tend to stick to recycling sweaters, knitting with these wonderful colors was a real treat.  I have another two skeins in a brown/yellow/green colorway that I'm saving for a creativity stroke of genius one day.

10 of 12: Ben's Scarf

Ben's scarf might be my favorite "shawl" of 2012.  I know it's odd to call a men's scarf a shawl, but it more than meets the yardage requirements for the challenge and it's wide enough to be more of a stole than a scarf.

I found this yarn, Anne by the Schaefer Yarn Company, while visiting family in Gainesville, Florida last spring.  With its brown a gray tones, it was a perfect choice for his surprise birthday present.

After starting several patterns, I couldn't find one that worked well with the color changes. Not to be deterred, I fiddled around until I came up with a pattern that I enjoyed knitting and highlighted the color variations.

I'd like to publish this one as my first pattern, but I'll need a catchy name to go along with it. Suggestions?

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!  With 2012 completed, it's time to look forward to new knitting goals.  I don't think I'll pick up a 13 for 2013 type of challenge, but I am excited to see what interesting knits 2013 brings.

Speaking of challenges, I'm going to have to smudge the rules to have completed my 12 shawls in 2012.  As of midnight last night, my twelfth shawl was certainly beyond the minimum yardage requirement, but I'd like it to be longer so I'm going to keep knitting. 

I've been a bit slow to post this holiday season, mostly because I've spent all my free time knitting gifts and the final 2012 shawl.  Plenty of FO are in the queue to be written up once I'm caught up on IOUs!