Stuffed Things

I knit two stuffed things for my nephew, and one for me! First off, my Celestine, a finished object I love to death though I probably wouldn't knit it again. A bit more fiddly than it's worth, in my opinion:

Pattern: Celestine (Ravelry)

Yarn: Knit Picks Telemark in Columbine

Needles: US2.5/3.0mm

Timeframe: November 2 - 29, 2011

Mods: None.

Problems: Only that it was a more time-consuming knit than I'd anticipated. I thought I'd roll right through it and have a lovely finished product in a couple of days, maybe make a second one and give the blue one to my nephew. Nope! Took me most of a month!

What I actually made for my nephew for Christmas was a lovely little knitted ball from my Patons Classic Wool scraps, and inside I added a bell I found at the 100 yen shop so it rattles nicely:

Pattern: Braided Ball

Yarn: Various Patons Classic Wool scraps, under 15 grams per color, six colors.

Needles: US6/4.0mm

Timeframe: November 27 - 30

Mods: Did a 3-needle bindoff rather than sewing the strips together.

Problems: None, lovely little pattern, now I'd like to try a felted version!

And for his birthday, I have made the creepiest elephant ever, from a combination of bad yarn choices and running out of said bad yarn while knitting. Also breaking my last needle felting needle while felting in the last eye after midnight the night before it had to be on a 6:20 AM bus out the door so I didn't have to pay to ship it.

Pattern: Elephante (Ravelry)

Yarn: The last of my Navy and Bright Red Patons Classic wool, also some Rich Red

Needles: US4/3.5mm

Timeframe: November 30, 2011 - January 11, 2012

Mods: Braided rather than I-corded tail, used a popular ear modification, did odd things with the colors, used long tails from casting on as the sewing thread.

Problems: Only bad decisions and finishing it at the last-minute with one last needle felting needle, from the 100 yen store no less. Of course it was going to break, I knew it the minute I realized I only had one left!

See what I mean about the odd color scheme?

He is adorable from this angle though!

Found My Mojo!

I had minimal interest in things like knitting for most of November and December. Typically, I have something around all the time so if I'm walking, sitting at the lunch table conversing after I've finished my meal, reading papers, waiting in line, or any number of things that allow for my hands to be moving, I'm knitting. The last two months, not so much. I still got some stuff done, but not nearly as much as I should have, and nothing compared to October.

This month, however, I'm going strong. Whether it's the fact that I'm participating in the Harry Potter House Cup on Ravelry, the fact that we're in the final stretch of Japan and PhD applications are in, the fact that we're moving soon so the stash must be smaller, or the fact that I'm knitting selfishly until a few projects are done, I'm not sure. Probably a combination. Either way, I've finished a few things already this month, have plans for more, and have a very good start on a vest for me for work:

That's about 7" of the 12" of ribbing for the Rib and Fair Isle Vest I'm working on. It has ribbing up to the under bust and then colorwork on top, a nice cute little vest that works with stash yarn and seems to be working up quickly - maybe I can even wear it while there's snow on the ground!

Win Some, Lose Some

I'm on the way out of Japan, less than three months, so it's time to really crack down on all the crafts I've got lying around. I used up some glass jars making mint hot fudge for relatives for Christmas:

If you're looking for a good basic hot fudge, one that thickens when it hits the cold ice cream, I highly recommend this one. You can add the mint or change it to any other flavor you want to make delicious orange, raspberry, or just plain vanilla flavoring. Delicious! This one was a win.

Next up, I wanted to use a candle making kit I had in the closet. The instructions clearly show you drilling a hole in the bottom of an egg shell, sticking up the wick through the hole, and I suppose praying. I was a bit skeptical, but figured it'd work.

Instead of the wick and metal bit creating a seal in the bottom of the egg, the wick fell out of the metal bit, creating a hole for all the wax to spill out. I re-melted the wax and made paper cup candles instead of egg candles, but was a bit annoyed by the instructions. Next time, metal bit goes inside the egg, with no holes!

2011 Sock Roundup

Socks I finished in 2011 but never blogged:

Pattern: Thuja from Knitty (Ravelry)

Yarn: Random Scraps of Pierrot Drifting Colors

Needles: US6/4.0mm

Timeframe: June 25 - 30, 2011

Mods: None.

Problems: None. Love this pattern so, so, so much!

Pattern: Thuja from Knitty (Ravelry)

Yarn: Malabrigo Rios in Black

Needles: US6/4.0mm

Timeframe: June 9 - 30, 2011

Mods: None.

Problems: None. Love this pattern so, so, so much!

Pattern: Eminence Rouge Socks

Yarn: Knit Picks Swish DK in Hollyberry

Needles: US4/3.5mm

Timeframe: September 1 - 17, 2011

Mods: None.

Problems: Nice pattern, but the yarn may not have been the best choice. Seems as though it will fuzz and pill and obscure the lovely cables fairly quickly, since it was starting to do so while I was knitting it. Oh well, they will be nice and comfy, even if they won't be gorgeous for too long!

Pattern: Wedge (Ravelry)

Yarn: Fleece Artist BFL, Loopy Ewe Sock Club May 2010

Needles: US1.5/2.5mm

Timeframe: September 13 - October 31, 2011

Mods: None.

Problems: Kind of a lot, mostly just because this pattern is deceptively complex - it looks and is very simple, but if you don't keep a careful count of stitches and short rows, you will have to rip back. Multiple times. Like me. I didn't love either this pattern or the yarn in the skein, but wow, is it wonderful knit up! I loved it so much I considered keeping the socks! I must get myself some Fleece Artist BFL, as soon as I have less yarn. So, like, in a decade?

I finished another pair and a single sock that I am counting as done, but those are test knits so I can't show them off yet. Lovely socks though! I also knit one Rhiannon, two Treetop Socks (though I need to re-knit one), one other test knit sock that needs its mate, and that black sock. Methinks I have enough carry-around projects to last me until I leave Japan!

2012 Goals?

Should I even make any this year? I'll be packing up and moving in a couple of months. What should I be working on until then?

I'll be selling my spinning wheel here instead of bringing it and possibly getting it damaged, so spinning the white Corriedale, dyeing it, and plying it is one goal. I have a sweater picked out for the bulky yarn I'm spinning up, so maybe I'll get to that, or maybe that will be my plane ride project.

I still have a bunch of Worsted Weight yarn that has lovely patterns chosen, I just need to knit them up and wear them. Since there's still some cold months ahead, I'll probably be focusing on that to slim down the yarn I'll pack.

I won't have my stash with me from April through August, just some cobweb weight yarn, so I need to choose the pattern for that project and whittle down my WIPs so I can start fresh with my stash when we meet again next fall.

I have three months and roughly two years' worth of knitting I want to do. This probably won't work. I'm just going to take it as it comes and see where I get!

Year's End

Well, it's almost already 2012, I just didn't have internet on my vacation. This past year's goal was to finish WIPs, with carryover goals of using my non-laceweight stash so I don't end up bringing more back from Japan than I brought to Japan.

I started with 15 WIPs, so the largest difference between how many FOs and how many FOs this year should be 15. I decided that since I'd actually cut out 3 box bags, they were added to the WIP count, and then I counted an addition to an old project as a finish, so that was not technically a new project either. 19 official old WIPs. I did not finish all of my 2011 projects either, ending the year with 22 WIPs, five of which were Christmas presents and four unfinished socks.

Almost all of my pre-Japan WIPs (except for the pesky cross-stitches and a stole) were finished, hooray!

As for yarn count, well...I have a lot of yarn. More than I'd like. More than I started the year with, even. I am disappointed by that, since I was hoping to use all the yarn I'd brought to Japan and ship minimal crafting stash home. I blame the internet - too many pretty yarns that all can be shipped anywhere in the world! Sure, maybe somebody had to click the correct buttons, but if it weren't for the internet...who am I kidding, I'd've bought more yarn anyway! Just probably not quite so much.

If I counted the skeins of yarn used in unfinished projects, I did in fact knit more yarn than I purchased this year. Officially, however, I did not.

I do have some lovely new additions to my wardrobe, though not as many as I'd like, and some gorgeous yarns I'm happy to have on hand. I also have a large number of overestimated yarn leftovers that are really annoying. I'd rather have that extra skein if it's going to be close, but nearly two full skeins leftover from a three skein purchase is a bit much. I have more worsted weight yarn than I'd like right now, but most of it is project leftovers.

All in all, I sucked at knitting goals this year. I finished 68 total projects, 59 of which were started and finished in 2011. 11 of the 19 pre-2011 projects were finished, meaning I have 15 2011 WIPs. I'm going to try to start January off with a bang and finish a few things!

Merry Christmas!

100 days left in Japan, and we celebrate with Christmas (on the 23rd, before we head to Okinawa for break!)

As you can (maybe) see in this picture, I made a Portal turret to guard the presents against early openers, and a Darth Vader and Yoda snowflake. Yup, I am that dorky!

Happy Holidays, and Joyous Crafting in the New Year!