Yarn-Over, Ligature… Same Difference.
lig·a·ture [lig-uh-cher, -choor] noun. — Printing. a character or type combining two or more letters. (Yarn overs aren't all that different)

Yeah, okay, so it's not much of a "year" when you've only really learned to knit in July, and have only been seriously knitting since November ^^;; so, many a Christmas 2007 review? *sigh* I'm special.

*ahem* Onward! The final count:

2 pairs of mittens, one of them fingerless
4 hats
4 scarves (1 repeat)
1 dish cloth
1 pair of slippers
1 bag that I really need to line! Gah~!


The biggest loser was probably the bag since I keep meaning to finish it, but never do ^^;; (And you don't even get to see a picture of it so there!)

In first place I think I'll put Dashing fingerless mittens that I knit for my friend Lise (They're going in the mail soon, I promise!) in England because learning how to cable was a pretty big wall for me and I was pretty nervous about it. Thanks to these mittens, I'm fearless!



In close second I think I'll put the mittens I made for Grandpa for Christmas. Another hurdle was colour-work. At least to this degree. I think I was expecting it to be more difficult…

New years eve was an enjoyable evening with some friends, and I started a sweater so that's a great way to start the new year I think!

I was resisting doing the typical new years resolutions this year, but I think maybe I can make some knitting resolutions.

  1. Finish this sweater this year. I don't know how ambitious this is, but I do know that I have a crappy attention span so we'll have to wait and see if I lose interest or not.
  2. Go to at least one knitting gathering a month
  3. Participate in at least one swap per season
  4. blog at least once per week (to encourage knitting? Perhaps ^_^)
  5. knit a pair of socks!
2007 FO's

Drop Lacestitch Wascloth (Christmas game contribution)
knit sleep mask

Dashing (Fingerless Mittens at Knitty)
bubby (knit bear)

Manly Mitts (free pattern at knitty)
bubby (knit bear)

Foliage (hat on Knitty)
bubby (knit bear)

Cotton slippers (modified pattern)
bubby (knit bear)

Calorimetry headband (free pattern on knitty)
bubby (knit bear)

Brown vine-stitch scarf
bubby (knit bear)

Reversible lace-stitch scarf
bubby (knit bear)

Vine-stitch scarf (blue)
bubby (knit bear)

Mock-cable slouchy hat in green
bubby (knit bear)



German Gingerbread Cookies

I decided that it was time for Christmas cookies. It just doesn't feel like Christmas unless there are cookies and other treats around. Somehow they just weren't as good as Mom's, but they were still tasty ^_^ Chris helped!



Blue Fern Lap Robe (in Red)

In knitting news, I finished all of my Christmas knitting, the final packaged arrived on Monday which concluded my Christmas shopping, and I finished tagging and wrapping all of the knitted gifts last night. *siiigh* I can almost relax. Almost. Not quite. We fly out to Toronto tomorrow night and I should be packing not blogging XP

I also started a smallish afghan (ravelry link) the other night. I have all of this old Acrylic Bernat SuperValue that I bought before I knew better and needed to use it because they're taking up way too much space. I'm knitting it in the round so that it's easier to take it on the plane (and because it would get pretty heavy on two needles)

I also managed to get some progress bars thanks to Ravelry! They're awesome because they update themselves so I don't have to babysit them. Hooray! I still need to find a better way to archive my FO's though.

Christmas Spam!

Our Christmas Tree

The Traditional Christmas Penguin

The stash of gifts to bring home for the family. Pretty good job this year!


Merry Christmas, Happy Tidings, and Well Wishes to you and your family and loved ones. Take care in your travels and enjoy what the holidays may bring.


As of today, I am officially done my Christmas shopping. The final package arrived today and now all that's left to do is tag and wrap my knitted gifts. *happy dance* I didn't know if I would finish in time. Knitting Christmas presents seemed ambitious and a little scary and I didn't know what to expect. Hopefully they are met with surprise and hopefully people enjoy what I knit for them. Or I may join the ranks of bitter disappointed knitters everywhere whose knitted gifts are met with less than stellar reactions.

I also signed up for the Hot Cocoa Swap yesterday. I'm looking forward to starting my accumulation of gifts for whoever my pal ends up being, but for now, I think it's high time I knit something for me! Why is it so much easier to deside on making something when it's for someone other than yourself? Maybe I just get overwhelmed with all of the awesome free patterns out there.

And then there's the whole instant gratification thing. I mean, I could start a big project like a sweater, but then I would have to go possibly months before completing another project and then what if I get bored? If I knit something small, then I can play with my new toy much sooner! Ah, decisions decisions.

As promised, pics of my first attempt at cables. I chose Dashing because I figured the simple cable was a good one to learn on. So they aren't symmetrical so what? So the mittens are slightly different lengths? So what? I'm happy so there!

Pictures! ^___^



I'm quite happy with the results, and I do hope the recipient will be happy with them as well. The pattern calls for English Tweed which Wool-Tyme didn't seem to have (as per their website) so I used Silk Dream (Lang) which is 50% Merino and 50% Silk and is very very soft. The gauge was perfect and the fit it lovely. Knit up on size 3.5mm dpns, I declare these mittens a success! Original Pattern here.

So with those out of the way, I only had one more Christmas gift to knit and that is a secret santa/random family member gift. So, I'm knitting up some dishcloths in Mission Falls 1824 Cotton and bought a dish scrubby to go with it. The first one is making progress and I should have these done by Monday hooray! Then I can start knitting for me again ^___^


Christmas knitting is sloooowly coming to a close. It was ambitious, I know (for a beginning knitter, I mean) but I think it's been successful so far. I have 7 knitted gifts done, finishing up another, and have another one scheduled to knit for a family secret santa and then I'm done everything I set myself up for. *sigh of relief* Now if only I could stay home from work and just knit all day XP

I'm not going to post on what I'm currently knitting (ssh, it's dashing at knitty) because the person it's for is a bit too web-savvy and probably reads my blog ^^;;;; Needless to say it's going well, I love the yarn I'm using and the colourway is awesome too.

I also want to say hello to anyone who happens to be reading today. Thank you for commenting on my Manly Mittens. I'm so excited that people actually read my little knitting thing over here. Yay! ^_^

So after Christmas I'll do a big post with pictures of everything I knitted for people this holiday season, and maybe we'll see something knitted for ME. Finally. Happy Holidays everyone.

I finished my Manly Mittens last night at a housewarming party. I finished the first mitten earlier in the week and was so happy when I got to this thumb. Not that I didn't enjoy the pattern, but I was getting really bored with mittens and wanted to move onto something else. Behold! Pictures! (specs to follow)

This was my first attempt with such a complicated colour pattern. I know it's not really that complicated, but it was ambitious for me, since I only started doing colour a couple weeks ago. I love the pattern, it was easy to follow and easy to remember. The mitts are warm and the Falk yarn is awesome because even though it's 100% wool, it's still soft and not too scratchy.




SPECS:

Pattern: Manly Mitts (free pattern)
Source: Knitty.com
URL: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer05/PATTmanlymitts.html
For: My grandpa for Christmas
Yarn: Falk by Dale of Norway/Dalegarn
Main Colourway: #0900 Black; 2.25 skeins (dye lot 2811)
Contrasting Colourway: #2931 light sheep heather (off-white dye lot 9162)
Weight: Sport / 5 ply (12 wpi)
Yardage: 116 yards p/ 50g ball
Needles: 3.5mm double pointed needles
Timeline: started 12.01.2007; finished 12.08.2007

To continue in the theme of christmas gift knitting, I'm currently knitting my grandpa a pair of Manly Mitts from Knitty's summer '05 issue (free pattern here)



I apologize for the low quality pic, I took it with my camera phone for lack of other options ^^;;

Overall I'm really happy with how the mitts are turning out. This is my first attempt at Fair Isle and colour changing at that! I will post better pictures once the mittens are done, but enjoy your progress post ^_^


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