December Catch Up

As usual, I have weeks to catch up on so let’s skip the whole 2012 year-in-review thing and the inevitable 2013 resolution post (at least for now) and go straight to the yarny stuff.

No, I have not been gone for weeks because I died under a pile of smittens, but I did keep going with them for at least a few more days.

After smitten #10, I was able to conquer the obsession  (okay, fine, I started running out of appropriate handspun leftovers).  A day or so after I cleared my head from the smitten haze, I started back on my WIPs and the rest of December actually ended up being rather productive.  First up, I almost finished a sweater.

Yes, it's an odd picture, but the sleeve cuffs (can you call 8 inches a cuff?) are the coolest thing about the sweater so there ya go.  I totally could have been wearing this one for Christmas had I planned a little better when I bought this yarn for a completely different project over two years ago and psychically realized I was going to change patterns and probably needed one more skein.  For a couple of nights, I played the "maybe if I knit fast enough, I can finish before the yarn runs out" game.  Then I came back to reality, weighed my yarn, and admitted there was no way that what I had left would get me through the second sleeve.  I hunted up and ordered an extra skein, but was forced to put the sweater aside to save my remaining yarn so that I could alternate it with the new skein.  MadTosh is not exactly known for consistent skeins even when you buy them together, and two years apart?  Yeah, I was just hoping it was still some shade of grey.

Forced to abandon the sweater, a funny thing happened.  I was hit with strange motivation to knit my heart out and finish a pair of socks that were intended to be a Christmas gift--an idea I had long ago given up on since the first sock wasn't even completely finished.  This motivation hit on Dec. 22nd.  Nice timing, right?  Here is what the next three days looked like:

Yup, I said it, BAM!  I knit the entire second sock in two and a half days.  Yes, I know there are awesome knitters out there that can bust out a pair in the same amount of time, and yes, I realize these aren't exactly tall socks, but whatever, a sock in three days is about as good as it's ever going to get for this fickle knitter.

With the socks finished, I had the drive back from Connecticut to Maryland free to turn back to the handspun projects.  Relaxing on the couch after we got home, I finished up the Lacy Baktus scarf.

 

A few days and three different bind-offs later, Mike's socks made their way to the finished pile.

Then I threw some handspun on the loom and busted out a scarf for no particular reason.

  

And yet, I still wasn't quite finished.  I managed to squeeze one more skein of handspun and most of a hat in before the calendar hit 2013.

I tried to spin bulky yarn.  I mostly failed.  And while I love, Love, LOVE the hat pattern (Squall by Glenna C.),  I do not love how it looks with the color variation so the yarn is destined for another project.  Still, I enjoyed the hell out of myself knitting it, so it's all good.

And there's the December crafting.  Phew!  I'll try to get January in before we hit February!

Finished Object Friday: Smittens!

That list of WIPs I wanted to finish before the end of 2012?  I should really stop pretending.  I’m considering abandoning the idea that I will ever finish any knitting project again.  Ever.  That is, any project that is not a smitten.  I’m having no problem finishing smittens. 

The pattern is aptly titled—I am completely smitten with the smittens.  My WIPs?  Haven’t touched them.  Holiday gift knitting?  Not happening.  It’s all about the smittens.  It all started earlier this week when I stumbled across pictures of handspun smittens on Ravelry.  I imagined a garland of adorable mini-mittens hung up on my fireplace mantle, rejoiced at the idea of using handspun leftovers and single skeins, and it was all over.  I started knitting a smitten Tuesday night and haven’t stopped since. 

3 days, 6 mittens (I finished another after taking the above picture).  I originally figured I would knit 2 per month so as to have 24 by the 2013 holiday season.  It looks like that might have been too modest of a plan.  At this rate, I could have 24 finished by the end of next weekend and have a garland in time for this holiday season.  Too bad my fireplace is in pieces, and I don’t actually have a mantle at the moment. Mike has agreed that if the fireplace isn't fixed by next year, I get to strangle him with the smitten garland.   

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