FO - boot socks for me

After knitting "boot" socks for everyone else who is "sock-worthy" in my family, I finally knit a pair for myself. What makes these boot socks is the yarn is DK weight and I make the tops taller than usual.

Pattern: None to speak of, just your basic toe-up socks.
Yarn: Online Supersocke 6-fach Milano color, colorway 1620
Needles: US3
Details: Turkish cast on (12 stitches, increased to 56 stitches), stockinette for foot, gusset heel, stockinette for leg, 1x1 ribbing for cuff, Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off

I have one more skein of this DK yarn, and my crystal ball says they will become another pair for ME. The only question is, will that be sooner or later? Since we still have the month of February to get through, I'm thinking sooner.

Getting a head

I finally purchased a Styrofoam head, at Joann, for about $2.50 (with coupon). It's not quite adult size, but will suit my purposes.

I'm guessing someday my g'daughter will get hold of it and apply "makeup".

Handknits in 30 Rock

While binge watching "30 Rock" (it started when I was laid low by a nasty cold), by season six I was spotting a lot of what looked like hand knit items. Most were worn by Tina Fey, a.k.a. Liz Lemon, but not always.

This scarf reminds me of a Brooklyn Tweed design

Pattern at http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/liz-lemons-slouchy-hat

Mitts with fingerless gloves probably not hand knit

Good ol' granny square

FO - Sockhead hat

If I were to design a hat and call it "Sockhead", I would make it like a sock, complete with heel turn and Kitchener toe. This Sockhead hat was much easier than that - four inches of ribbing, nine inches of stockinette, crown - but felt interminable. HOWEVER. It was excellent brainless knitting, the yarn is pretty and soft, and I was able to binge watch "30 Rock" for much of it.

Pattern: Sockhead Hat by Kelly McClure
Yarn: Vermont Farmhouse Yarns fingering, colorway "Frosted Berries" (love the name!)
Needles: US2
Modifications: none.

I really need to get a mannequin head for hat shots. Trying to showcase the slouchiness of this hat by taking a "selfie" in the bathroom mirror just does not cut it.

Nary a resolution but many goals

Sometimes I post an end-of-year recap of everything I knit in the past 12 months. With the way I procrastinate and have WIPs/UFOs with project lives that cross years (decades?), this exercise seems more and more pointless. Besides, I didn't finish all that much this year: two pairs of preschooler socks, two scarves, one vest, five pairs of adult socks, two preschooler sweaters (neither of which g'daughter will wear), three hats, one pair of preschooler mittens, and a doll's cape. My excuse is that I was, in spite of retiring mid-year, very busy.

So let's looks forward instead. Here are some WIPs that I plan to turn into FOs in 2015:

• Sockhead Hat - this is my brainless knitting project
• Chunky Sleeveless Sweater - my goal is to master top-down sweater knitting
• Orangy Boot Socks - because everyone has a pair of boot socks except me
• The Gray and the Black Mittens - all that remains is a thumb. ONE THUMB.
• Easy as Pie Blanket - My g'daughter has probably given up on this project.
• EZ Suspender Cardigan - All this needs are buttons. BUTTONS.
• Minimalist Cardigan - All this needs is seaming. SEAMING. NO BUTTONS.

There is a hat in the car that I work on while waiting for one thing or another, a project that I did not enter into Ravelry and whose pattern completely escapes me. Hopefully, there is a note somewhere, to remind me what it is supposed to look like.

There are also some unfinished projects I plan to frog: toddler wear that the g'daughter outgrew already, schmattas that no one I know will wear, etc. I am also eyeing a couple of FOs that languish and give no joy - maybe they will be repurposed somehow.

As far as new projects go, I have a few:

• Stephen Colbert Socks
• Errant Socks
• Danish pullover
• Knit Your Family sweater - My own design, inspired by Ann Shayne's Knit Your Life sweater.

And then there will be the usual xmas knitting. Maybe this is the year I knit felted slippers for all. And I'd like to learn to darn socks. I even purchased the egg for it a while back.

But what about the spinning? you may well ask. Somehow, some way, that has fallen completely by the boards. The woman I purchased by wheel from holds a "spin in" once a month at her shop, and there is a spin in at Teasel Hill Angora Farm whenever a month has a fifth Saturday. Attending these events is part of my get-out-and-about-more resolution, and hopefully they will help jump start the wheel.

Any New Year resolutions or goals for you this year?

Emergency hat

My g'daughter lost her primary winter hat, so g'ma to the rescue with a quick pink knit. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of it before gifting it. If I someday do get a pic, I will post it, just for reference.

Pattern: Basic Hat Pattern, by Ann Budd
Yarn: Cascade 220, colorway 9478 (pink)
Needles: US8
Modifications: I didn't follow the pattern directions very closely - details are here on Ravelry

Which brings me to a dilemma. I try to keep track of project details on Ravelry, then use those notes to create a blog post. It feels like a duplication of effort, so I am contemplating just using Ravelry in the future instead of blogging about my FOs. Still contemplating this issue. Any thoughts on the subject?

3 days until xmas

This is the LAST handknit xmas gift for 2014. It is blocking as I write. I need to give the xmas socks a good soak to plump up the stitches, but otherwise I am DONE (unless I decide to whip up something extra for the g'daughter, like a hat, as she lost one).

Pattern: Noro Striped Scarf, by Jared Flood
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden, colorway 357
Needles: US9
Modifications: I used only one colorway but knit from two skeins at a time, staggering the color shifts. Also, I used a provisional cast on and joined the ends to make it a moebius. Grafting instructions for ribbing may be found at Techknitting.

I draped this around my neck while preparing to soak it - MMM! Very soft and warm and cuddly. I may have to make one of these for myself. When I am done with my fiber diet. Which right now appears to be NEVER. Many stash-busting projects are lined up for 2015.