oh, forgot to mention, I got my kit on the weekend (while I was gone. I also got my KP Options needles.)

she sent a felted bag, kitty stitch markers (love the bead colors!), Eucalan, Ferraro Rochez (mmmm. they didn’t last long), Knit Picks Pallette in Grass and Purple, and Eunny’s Anemoi pattern (which was on my ‘want to make one of these days’ list).

now, to get some of the ‘obligation knitting’ (leftover gifts, etc.) finished so I can make my mittens!

Thanks a ton Julie!

I forgot to mention, she also included a toy for Kashka:

I’ve been a bit negligent in the blogging lately, so here goes:

UFO Challenge
I’ve resurrected the cat bed (pattern in Stitch n Bitch). as of Jan 14, I had most of the sewing of the side to the base finished. I need to stuff it and then continue on with the sewing (it’s too floppy for my liking on it’s own).

Mitt Kit Swap
I finished knitting the bag at the last possible minute (the day it was supposed to be mailed). It turned out nicely - once I switched yarns I was quite happy with it.

I’m not coming in there. I know you want me to model the knits.

Is it safe to come in?

ok, fine. I’ll let you get my whiskers in the shot.

and for comparison purposes, here’s the (un)Beaded Diamond Bag and the (still unfelted) Kureyon Chan hanging on the shower. yes, I used the same yarn for both. I love Paton’s SWS.

Socktopia
I finally cast on some socks today. I’m going to use the Cherry Tree Hill Super Glitz that’s been in my stash (think the color is called Tropical Storm) and magic loop them with my new KP Options needles (size 4). I spent the morning bus ride fighting with the cast on - I was going to try two at once, but I couldn’t remember how to get them cast on. so I pulled one off and just started knitting. I managed to get one row of the ribbing done.

needle search
I think I found the 12″ Addi that was missing - it’s in one of the Olympic legwarmers. I also found most of my Denise set (I was trying to retrieve as much of it as I could before a weekend bus trip to Milwaukee) - just one cable unaccounted for.

leftover gift knitting
um, yeah. haven’t touched them. I started making Fox & Geese mittens for Lilin on New Year’s, but am at the point of inserting the thumb gussett and have been neglecting them since. Eli’s lion hat needs new yarn. I’m thinking if I go up a yarn and needle size, then the hat will be bigger and thus, fit him. I haven’t decided if I’ll finish the halfdone one yet. Dad’s gloves also haven’t been started.

I really should get back to that.

baby gifts
my friend Snoopy is due to have her first baby soon. so I’ve been making bibs and a hat. I have one bib finished, one bib needs the ends woven in (finished last night, but forgot to pack the notions bag for bus knitting), and a third bib is on the needles (started on the bus last night since I couldn’t finish the other one). I also knit up the Sailboat hat from Itty Bitty Hats last weekend while on the bus to Milwaukee. I still need to weave the ends and sew the applique pieces on.

Kashka wasn’t too happy. I think she’s been talking to Chaos. I had barely picked her up to put the bib on her and she was already meowing in protest, worse than if she had been being tortured.

I’ve been coveting Paton’s SWS since it started showing up in stores. It feels nice, there’s pretty colors, and it felts.

I’m very much an anti-bag crafter. When I started knitting, I really didn’t see any great desire to make any. I don’t use them often, etc. Of course, there’s always the possibility of gifting them. So I was ok with starting an intarsia bag to use as intarsia practice, with the added benefit that felting (another aspect of this craft that I was also pretty sure I wouldn’t touch with an 11 foot pole) it would insure that it wouldn’t fall apart and I could hide mistakes. And the bag with the denim yarn gave me an excuse to play with a fun yarn. But for the most part, I’ve been avoiding knitting any sort of bag.

Insert Chris’ Kureyon Chan pattern here, with a bit of forgotten inspiration from Susan.

wandering the hallowed halls of the big box craft store sometime before the new year, the sudden inspiration hits to buy a ball and whip up a K-Chan. of course, I’ve been resisting this temptation as best I can, what with the final of the gift knits and another bag looming over my head (it’s in progress, more about that later).

alas, I caved on Saturday. I cast on in the morning and just kept knitting. it was difficult to stop and take breaks for food and other necessities. and by evening, I had a bag. I even enjoyed the i-cord straps (which is not my usual i-cord experience. and I’ve never made i-cord that long, let alone making 3 of them that length. and to find it enjoyable? this is miracle yarn, I’m telling you). I didn’t felt it yet though.

the verdict. I think the SWS is my new ‘crack’ yarn. I’m envisioning making everything from it now. which seems a bit impractical. but I’m really wishing they made it in solids too, so I could do one of those ‘fake isle’ things.

how obsessed am I? I stopped at big box craft store on the way home last night and bought two more skeins to remake the above mentioned bag. I had started it in the Paton’s Wool in Palais (one of the new multis in red, blue, purple & brown). and the colors pooled in ways that I think are horrid. so last night I pulled the needles out and cast on anew in the SWS. and while the stripes are much narrower, it still looks good. and I am happy. and I hope my swap pal will like it - it looks good so far, so I’m pretty sure she will. (pattern for this one is in One Skein Wonders - it’s the bag pattern in the center right after the picture section. no felting required.)

Well, I just finished adding details and photos to the 2006 Project Details page. except one that I forgot to take a picture of. whew!

Here’s a tally:
Mittens/Gloves: 5
Stuffed & Felted: 4
Hats & Headbands: 3
Scarves: 3
Washcloths: 3
Socks: 2
Kids Sweaters: 2
Bags: 1

Total FOs: 23

Out of those projects, 8 of them stayed home with me (or my dh). The rest were gifts (excepting the HP scarf which was swapped for some sock yarn upon rejection from my husband)
3 projects were started in 2005, one was from 2004 (the HP scarf). obviously, I did not make a very big dent in the number of leftover WIPs from past years.
many of them were finished shortly after they were started, but the actual finish date got delayed by my inability to weave in ends immediately at the end of the project. (though I am getting better at this)

The favorites?
              

Did I have goals last year? If so, I never made note of them since we were in the middle of moving. So I can’t review how well I did with those. Ah, well. I’ll have goals for next year.

I’m crunched for time, so if you’d like to see pics of the mittens, the felting frenzy from a couple months ago, or any other recent (or not so recent) FOs, please see the above metioned project info page.

alas. but I did manage to finish my Fetchings, Amelia’s mittens (”they match my hat!”), the Cigar gloves for my BIL, and the snowflake sweater. Pics to come.

So what xmas knitting is left?
* Lilin’s mittens (I’m doing the Fox & Geese pattern. I’m attempting to knit two colors in two hands. I’m having issues keeping the tension on the continental side. maybe I’ll figure it out by the time I finish these.)

* Eli’s hat. I attempted to strand the lions instead of intarsia, but it’s pulling in and puckering too much. I’m gonna try again with a bigger yarn, thus making the hat bigger. I’m undecided about whether to finish the half-a-hat in progress or just frog it all.

* Dad’s mittens. I had him try on the Cigar gloves, and he says they fit great, but he’d prefer full fingers. ok, can do.

mom loved her Fetchings, my sister loved her mittens, and everyone gathered for New Year’s was amazed by all the mittens, the lion hat in progress, and the snowflake sweater. Which fits perfectly. (my sister thought I must have sneaked measurements or something. apparently Lilin’s at that inbetween stage where things are too short or have ginormous sleeves).

ok, one picture, my sister is awesome and got a pic uploaded already!

The pattern is in the book Kids, Kids, Kids, this is the size 6. I used 3+ balls of Lion Wool-Ease (I swear I calculated that by the pattern’s yardage I’d need 5-6 balls) in the white with the sparkle strand. Took me about a month. (Had I not been distracted, I’m sure I would have finished the scheduled xmas knitting. ah, well.) that’s mom & dad’s tree in the background.

I think this is one of my favorite FO’s of the year. (The socks I made for the kids rank up there in the favorites as well.)