Friday, June 24, 2011

So how about those goals?

Way back at the beginning of 2010 I set some knitting goals for myself, things that I wanted to accomplish in order to progress to the next level as a knitter.

I wanted to knit a full sized sweater.

I wanted to knit a pair of socks.

And I wanted to knit something lacy.

I wouldn't say that I succeeded in knitting the most complicated or the most impressive projects for those 3 categories, but I definitely accomplished something in each category.

The Sexy Sweater only took me a year and a half to knit. You may laugh but I say: A project done is a project done, regardless of how long it takes. I finally finished the sweater in June 2010 I used the Aran Off the Shoulder Sweater pattern and Classic Elite Wool Bamboo. I really loved both the yarn and pattern! I knit the sweater in the round instead of in pieces, and in the end the neck pulled off the shoulder to much so I stitched elastic thread around the neckline.

My other 2 projects have TERRIBLE photos, so I apologize.

For the lace project I started one thing, the rose scarf I think? Well, I still haven't made much progress on that. Tiny needles and I just aren't friends. So I decided to do something a little easier. I took 238 yards of my own handspun in a worsted/aran weight and set out to knit a shawlette for my mom's 60th birthday present that I named Boheme Flourish. I finished knitting it in late July 2010. I used the Flourish pattern found on Ravelry.com. I'm really happy with how it turned out. It's a little small, but I found a gorgeous shawl pin to go with it so it stays in place.

The socks turned out to be a big letdown. I went on a cross country road trip from Seattle, WA to Madison, WI with my friend Carrie 2 weeks before Christmas 2010. I decided to surprise my husband and knit him a pair of socks so that he'd stop asking me about it. I'd always wanted to knit him house socks using the Log Cabin Socks pattern. It was a great pattern. But I didn't think much about the yarn and just got what the pattern recommended, Cascade Yarns Pastaza. BIG mistake! It's wool and llama, no nylon to keep it in shape and the llama is so fuzzy! The sock stretch terribly every time my husband wears them, the yarn fuzzed so much that you can't see the cables and it attracts pet hair so much and it's impossible to get out! Boo! I guess at least I can say that I knit my husband a pair of socks, and I got them done in 10 days.

Goals for 2011-2012: Knit the boatload of superwash yarn I got for baby knitting for a baby that hasn't even been made yet. Again with the overachieving....

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I do like that sweater. I think it was one of the Ravelry projects that convinced me to give the pattern a go myself. Be proud of getting it done!