Happy Birthday, Mom!

My mom, superstar knitter and 1/2 of my reading public, celebrated a birthday last month.  She and Dad were visiting (and helping pack) last week, so I was able to give her a birthday present.  I love knitting for my mom because I know she'll appreciate it, whereas when I knit for almost everyone else, I'm afraid they'll think I'm giving them the equivalent of a giant 1970s-colored, acrylic, crocheted couch slipcover.  I mean, if you're not a knitter or crocheter, do you know the difference between Becky-homecky and really beautiful crafts-womanship?  I don't know.  Anyway, I know my mom knows the difference, so it's fun to knit for her.

With all the cray-cray around here, I only had time for a hat, but it's a gem of a little hat!  The pattern is Plover from Twist Collective, and I can't believe there aren't more projects on Ravelry.

I found some great yarn, St. Denis, which is on sale in Webs' discontinued section.  I love the color and wish I'd bought enough to make a hat for myself, too.  I love that the yarn is light and lofty.  The cables might have popped slightly better in a more tightly spun yarn, but I still think they look pretty good.

The cables were slightly annoying to knit--crossing one stitch across three, and then knitting the three in seed stitch.  Then there was a weird instruction about doing all the yarn overs backwards and knitting through the back loop of alternating first or second yarn overs.  Even with super pointy needles, knitting through the front loop of the first YO every time was frustrating.  But I love the way it looks.  I was definitely a product knitter on this one, and not as much enthralled with the process. 
 

I am horrible at actually wrapping presents (just getting a present is sometimes all the effort I can muster), so I thought it would be fun to make the wrapping a present in its own right.  A few months ago, I pinned this project to Pinterest.  It's a simple tutorial from So Chick.  I can't believe it, but this little boxy bag only took me about an hour to make!  I'll be making more. 

If only everyone in my life were as easy to knit for as my mom!

Holy Complete Mess, Batman!

I'm doing something very brave.  I'm posting before pictures on the internet without any after pictures to immediately counterbalance their horribleness.  I'm doing this for the accountability, people.  So here it is: the modern world's messiest sewing room.

Please, stick with me!  Don't click away in disgust and horror!

You know when you're on vacation and you see a gorgeous vista and you try to take a picture to capture it all and the grandeur is reduced to something sort of uninspiring?  The same thing is happening in these pictures.  Trust me, in person, it feels like this room is going to eat you before you'll ever be able to fight your way out. 

I blame 75% of this mess on Christmas.  In addition to extra-intense sewing and crafting, we used the sewing room as a catch all for random stuff as we were cleaning the rest of the house.  This is not my normal, acceptable level of slightly creative clutter.  This is code red craziness. 

This is clearly fabric abuse. 

I had a thought that I should take pictures before cleaning this up, so I could do a before and after post.  But I've done that before, and you know what happens?  Things get better, but I never really get to a beautiful "after" point.  At best, I get to the "in progress" stage.  So I had a brainflash.  I should post the before pictures to motivate me into actually getting to the after pictures.

My game plan is to make the timer on my phone my new best friend.  Since this is all so overwhelming, I'm breaking it down into 25 minute cleaning sessions.  Twenty-five minutes isn't even half an hour!  Less than half an hour is totally doable.  (See the mind games at work?) 

I've already started by going through all my fabric, refolding it, and stashing it into three bins: big cuts, small cuts/garment left-overs, and quilting/crafting fabric.  I also have a bag of muslin fabric.  So I'm headed toward that after picture!  Watch this space. 

Knitting and Sewing Goals, 2013 Edition

Now that I've had a chance to recap the year, it's helped me focus on what I want to do this coming year.  

I love the way the knitting and sewing blogosphere has helped me think about these resolutions or goals.  Usually, I think of resolutions as a correction of a fault or bad habit.  "I want to lose weight, I want to do better at keeping in touch with people, etc."  But these crafty resolutions are all so positive.  "I want to challenge myself and learn new techniques and start something big!"  Why aren't all resolutions so aspiring?  I love it. 

I've created some short lists, but I have one main goal and resolution for the year.  Keep knitting and keep sewing.  I'm have this fear that having two kids to love and care for is going to zap all time and energy from me, and that I won't pick up a needle at all after April.  So if I keep knitting and sewing and working on projects, even slowly, throughout the year, I am going to feel awesome in 2013. 

Knitting:

Source

• 2 brave sweaters!  Most of my sweaters are of the play it safe variety.  Last year, I just wanted to knit some sweaters, any sweaters.  This year, I'd like to do some challenging, dramatic things.  Pieces with big, drapey collars or bold cables or even, if my skills progress a little bit, colorwork.  Those things are all over my queue, so I just need to pick one.
• Continue to study and work on colorwork and stranded knitting.  I'd like to get the tension thing down.
• Baby knits!  I might be the only knitter on earth who looks forward to adult sweater knitting, but thinks baby sweaters are too much work.  So ridiculous!  And I have a baby and a toddler to knit for!  No excuses for not knitting them both a winter wardrobe.
• Baby blanket, maybe this Vintage Throw, and another adult blanket.  I have yarn for a beautiful Girasole, and I really want to get on it.  

Sewing:

Source

• Pants!  When my waist comes back to me, I want to start working on pants.  I'm going to start with the Tori Crop pant from Style Arc, because, hello elastic waist and stretchy fabric.  If I can get those to look good, then I really want to work on some Thurlows.  
• A jacket.  I'd love to do the Minoru jacket, and with Tasia's awesome knit-a-long blog posts, I think I can.  I'll just take it slow.  
• An intentional palette and wardrobe pieces.  This was one of my goals for last year, and I didn't quite do it.  I blame getting pregnant, losing mojo, and then needing to work on maternity stuff.  But next fall, I should be able to make some great non-boring basics that would work together well.  I've already started a board on Pinterest for my fall sewing queue.  
• One home decy thing, just for fun, maybe?  I'd love to make these Amy Butler Gum Drop Pillows for the baby's room.   

Other stuff:

• Pick one thing from my Pinterest boards a quarter and do it!  So four projects total over the year.  That's do-able, right?
• One blog post a week. 

2012 in Review

This year had a recurring theme: I've never felt so old in my life.  Obviously, I've also never been this old in my life, as is true for all of us.  But what I mean is, for the first time, I've started to feel old, tired and like not everything is open and possible the way it was 10 years ago.  For some reason, being 32 was more of a mental hurdle for me than turning 30 was.  So even though 2012 did bring me some great experiences--good family vacations, time with my beautiful daughter, good time with family--I'm ready for a new year and a new outlook.  I turn 33 in 11 days, and I'm going to work on feeling younger, lighter, happier and more hopeful this year.  It will take work, and I will do it. 

One thing that will make 2013 a great year is my current project: another baby! 

I'm nervous about how this will change my personal time, but I know it will eventually all balance out and our family will find the new normal.  We're expecting around the first of April, and I'm getting more and more excited to see who that new little person is. 

We found out we were expecting at the end of last summer, and that sort of killed my knitting and sewing mojo for a couple months.  I worked on small things like socks and cowls, but not with any kind of plan.  I started to get back into sewing in mid-October when my regular clothes no longer fit, and I discovered that I hated all my maternity clothes from my last pregnancy.  I've made some things I love, but more on that later. 

With all this retrospective on my emotional and mental state during 2012, I thought I'd like to add up my knitting and sewing projects in 2012, and show myself it wasn't a total wash.  Yeah, it wasn't an ideal year, but I did find a lot of space to be creative.  So here goes. 

Knitting:  

Accessories: 25 total

•  5 cowls (4 for me, 1 as a gift)
• 4 shawls, 2 of which were very lacy in laceweight 
• 2 scarves (made of scraps, total stash-buster)
• 10 hats or headbands
• 1 pair mittens
• 3 pair socks (only 1 pair made it to Ravelry)
• 2 home dec placemats (1 for me, 1 set of 3 items as a gift)

Sweaters: 8 total

• 1 pullover
• 1 vest
• 3 long cardigans
• 1 cropped cardigan
• 1 toddler cardigan
• 1 tee

Home dec:

• 1 huge couch blanket (crochet)
• 4 place mats (1 for me, 3 as a gift set; crochet)

Types of knitting:

• 3 very lacy projects in lace weight
• 3 crochet projects
• 6 fair isle/stranded knitting projects
• 4 projects with cables (although 2 of them were the same pattern)

Men left on base (hibernating WIPs): 5

Things I was really not happy with: 5 (3 of which I left unfinished)

Things I loved completely: 14

Sewing:

• Dresses: 3
• tops: 2
• tees: 1
• skirts: 2
• maternity shirts: 4
• maternity dresses: 4

Blogging: 

• Total posts: 27
• Months without posts: 6

2012 Knitting Plans

I've never made knitting resolutions before, but I've realized lately that I do have some projects and techniques I want to get to.  New Year's seems like a good time to write those things down.

Knitting Goals

• Complete four successful adult sweaters.  These certainly take more planning and thinking than a quickie shawl or baby hat, but I really would like to have some beautiful sweaters in my wardrobe.  I haven't bought sweaters in years, because I knit.  But I also haven't knit myself any warm, wool sweaters for winter.  I have a need, I have the yarn, and I have zillions of patterns I love.  All I'm lacking is the dedication to 1400 yard projects.  
• Learn fair isle/stranded knitting.  To me, stranded knitting represents some kind of glass ceiling in knitting, and I've always thought it was for knitters with superior skills.  I'm ready to attempt to break through!  
• Stash smash!  I am not going to buy any yarn from January 1 to May 30.  I will then reevaluate and see if I can go until October 30.  (I'm reserving the ability to buy yarn for Christmas presents.)
•  Crochet blanket a la Attic24.  (With yarn I conveniently ordered last week, just before the implementation of Stash Smash.)

Sewing Goals

• Create a wardrobe palette.  Hopefully, that will help more of my items work with each other.  
• Items to make: 
• lined skirt
• white blouse
• non-knit work dress for fall
• start to consider thinking about maybe making pants?
• make curtains for family room

It will be fun to revisit this list in the coming months and see what I accomplish and how my goals change!

2011 Knitting Year in Review

I may be a little late to the party, but I still want to play.  Here's what came off the needles this year:

Accessories
7 hats -- 2 baby, 5 adult
3 pairs mitts
3 cowls
2 pairs socks
10 shawls/shawletts
1 shrug
1 baby blanket
2 Danger monsters

Sweaters
3 baby/toddler sweaters
3 tees
2 adult vests
1 cardigan







Total: 38 Finished Objects! 


Final Thoughts

• I went a little nuts with the shawls this year. I'd never made any before this year, and then once I started, I couldn't stop.  I was one shy of the "11 in 2011" thing.
• I worked on gauge this year, and it paid off!  Three of my four sweaters fit very, very well.  The fourth sweater is too slacky.  I blame this on being a linen/cotton blend, but it could have been me over- or under-thinking the gauge. 
• I learned to cable without a needle.  
• I didn't know it before this year, but I super love lace knitting.
• I didn't do any crochet this year!  What the what?