Lopi V-Neck / Sesame Cardigan / Glee Tee
Wren Cardigan / Easy Street Pullover / Aftur Pullover / Street Smart Hoodie

Seven sweaters in 2007. How fitting. Perhaps I should make eight in 2008? I do have my eyes on quite a few things… and sweaters have been my go-to knit in the past few months.

I have become a better knitter this year. I have learned new skills, and I have gained a little patience and confidence in the process. I have produced knitted garments that are wearable and (in my opinion) stylish. I do hope the trend continues into 2008!

Since I was reminiscing, I decided to put together a few other collages of my 2007 knits. You can see them here:

• Scarves/Shawls
• Socks
• Hats

In the spirit of looking back over a productive year and planning for a new exciting one , I have decided to answer Knit Lit’s Best of 2007 meme.

1. your best FO of the year

While all of my knits hold a special place, I think my favorite finished object of the year is my Aftur Yoked Pullover. When I look at it, I am still surprised that I actually made it. In terms of wearability, I also love my Verona Shawl and my sister’s Montego Bay Shawl. They were not difficult knits, but match well with many different types of clothing. And for the sheer fun, my Noro Silk Garden Lite socks are quite nice to wear!

2. best FO of the year made by a blog you link to

This one is extremely difficult to answer – I read almost 400 blogs! and I follow many talented knitters on Ravelry and Flickr as well. Instead of one single finished knit, I had many favorites. Some of them are (but there are so many!): Stacey’s Turkish Stockings, Minty’s Shocking! Skirt, Elliphantom’s Demi, Claudine’s Little Majolica, Olga’s Bubble Pullover, so many more… including the continuously beautiful knits (and photographs) by Leslie, Lucy, Kirsten, Tiennie, Margaux, Jody, Vanessa, Pamela, and Terhi. (See? I told you I could not narrow it down – there are so many more!)

3. best yarn you tried

I got the opportunity to work with some very nice yarns this year – many from my stash. The two favorites that come to mind are the Elsbeth Lavold Silky Wool that I used for Glee, and the Cottage Craft 2-ply that I used for the Street Smart Hoodie.

4. best new book/mag/pattern of 2007

For me, this is nearly as difficult to choose as a favorite finished knit! There are still a large amount of knitting books hitting the market every season, and it is hard to keep up with them all. I like the new trends of looking to traditional patterns and motifs and updating the patterns for modern use. This is what attracts me to Nancy Bush’s work, and what also excites me about the new books like Terri Shea’s Selbuvotter. In terms of magazines, I am continually inspired by the Interweave Press publications – my favorites are Knits, Knitscene, and Piecework.

5. best new knitting technique or gadget you tried in 2007

I love colorwork. I cut my teeth with two stranded colorwork patterns this year, and there will be many many more in my future.

6. top 5 inspirations–what five things inspired you the most over the past year?

In terms of general inspiration for both life and art, I receive my greatest inspiration from ONE main thing: the beauty of the natural world. I love to be in nature and get the fullest sensual experience of sounds, smells, sights, and feelings. This year has brought the opportunities to see varied landscapes and climates, and I have gathered endless inspiration from the world around me.

7. designer who most amazed & inspired you throughout the year

Norah Gaughan has continued to amaze me – I love seeing her influence and touch in Berroco’s design work, and I am looking forward to seeing more of her work in 2008. (Tina had a very nice interview with her on Christmas Day!) Another designer who continues to amaze me with her sheer skill and eye for detail is Eunny Jang.

8. knitting resolutions for 2008–what’s next for you and your blog?

My immediate goal is to just keep getting better. I plan to focus on stranded colorwork and continue my study in technique and practice. In terms of general fiber, I will also be testing the waters with some other fiber activities. I am doing a weaving workshop in January, and am hoping to learn more about textiles through this new medium. As for me and the blog, we will continue our long-standing relationship I will continue to write, and hopefully work towards a larger body of work that can be published in the near future. I have rediscovered my love of writing, and am hoping that 2008 will bring more opportunities to share my work.

Thank you for reading!! I would love to see your answers to this questionnaire as well. Check out Knit Lit’s blog for more information on this particular set of questions!

The Calorimetries for my nieces were a last minute addition to the Christmas gift pool. Perhaps it was a quickie stashbusting solution or perhaps it was Auntie Lolly’s subversive way of countering all of the rampant consumerism and making a simple hand knit piece… or a little of both. Either way, the little headbands were a success!

M and K’s Calorimetry Headbands

Pattern: Calorimetry, Knitty Winter 2006
Yarn: K’s is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky (ivory) held together with a leftover Opal self-striping sock yarn scrap /M’s is Dale of Norway Free Style (eggplant) held together with a mohair glitter novelty thread leftover
Needles: Size US 6 needles

I modified the headbands to fit their smaller heads by following the notes from NuttyIrishmanKnits. I cast on only 80 stitches instead of the 120 called for, and only completed half of the short row repeats – I think I only did 7. I sewed small mother-of-pearl buttons on the back, and they fit both girls very comfortably. M even wore hers all day! (K is sometimes a little too rambunctious… can you tell by that silly smile?) K’s front tooth was barely hanging on… we thought we may be able to get her to sing “All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth”, but it held on throughout the day.

It was a wonderful holiday with both of our families ~ with my family, it was the first time for all of us to celebrate together in many years – with the addition of my brother-in-law who is recently back from his year-long military deployment. It was the first Christmas to spend with him, and it was so special because of it.

~I do hope that your holiday was meaningful as well~

PS – Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband/life partner/best friend/photographer/”sounding board”, Kristopher~

…I started the Komb afghan, and I can barely put it down…

Seven of the SIXTY hexagons complete!

Pattern: Berroco’s Komb Afghan (Keltic book)

Yarn: Jojoland Rhythm (100% wool)

My color choices were a “shot in the dark”. I knew that Becca wanted green and blue tones, but she mentioned accent colors too. I wanted a neutral border yarn, and I chose the M01 (khaki with light blue) as an experiment. For the main color, I am using M20, which has some rich green tones with some yellows and reds. While I still have much more to knit, I feel pretty confident about the yarn choice. The quality of yarn is good – this Jojoland is beautiful!

In between holiday celebrations and meals, I will be making a few more hexagons, and (hopefully) working on Kris’s anniversary pullover. I managed to fit in two small knit gifts too, which I am hoping to get a modeled photo of over the holiday…

Enjoy your holidays!!

PS–Please give your opinions and suggestions for the next Project Spectrum incarnation over at Ravelry and Flickr. We will be starting a new cycle in February 2008!

Definite Article

Did you happen to catch the story about sock knitting in this past week’s Wall Street Journal? (Yep, you read that right!) There was a story about the popularity of Sock Wars, one of the online knitalongs, and the briefest of mentions of our own little Socktoberfest as well! How about that?

“Sock It to Me”, Wall Street Journal, 17 December 2007

Ravelry also got a nod. I wish that they had included a website address for further information about Socktoberfest, but a random mention is pretty good too! It was a total surprise to me, and I thank Parikha for pointing it out to me.

—

By The Book

When my dear friend Jenna was in town last week, I was happy enough with the pleasure of her company. We ate delicious veggie foods, caught up on Project Runway, and knit and calculated sleeve cap measurements for her gorgeous Pentagon Pullover.

You have to send Jenna some good vibes ~ she has run into some issues with the sleeve caps, but after seeing this pulli (and actually trying it on too) I can tell you that this is one of the most amazing sweaters I have ever seen. I simply cannot wait to see it finished and modeled. She is using a silk blend of Botanical Shades (the same line of yarn that I used for my Aftur Yoked Pullover – I had alpaca/wool/mohair blend – we bought it together at MDSW 2006) and the yarn is impeccable. Of course, so is her knitting.

…and we did a little exchange of goods. I got her some yarn, and she got me a book! And amazingly, it was the same day that I had admired Carole’s lovely Selbu mittens patterned from the same book – and I was this close to purchasing it on my own. Now this lovely book is mine. Not only is it full of amazing patterns of mittens and gloves knit in the traditional Norwegian style, but it has some wonderful historical details included. I am thinking that I should ring in the new year of 2008 with some Selbu mittens of my own! (and I definitely have to get to the Nordic Heritage Museum when I visit Seattle…)

Many many thanks for the lovely comments on my “long-time-comin’” hoodie. I am still contemplating the closures, but in the meantime, it is keeping me warm and cozy!

I started her last January… and here we are in the middle of December. It is good to have this little darling finished and off the needles!

Pattern: Hoodie from Patons Street Smart
Yarn: Cottage Craft 2-ply in Maritime Blue (100% wool)
Source: Stitches East 2006 (Baltimore)
Needles: Size US 7 and 8 circular needles
Started January 2007 / Finished December 2007

I did not make any modifications to the sweater, although I have to admit that I have not yet sewn in a zipper. I had a little mishap – purely my fault. I bought a zipper at the craft store and was thrilled to find such a close color match (without customization) and in my haste, I neglected to study the package: it was a non-separating zipper, which is really of no use for a cardigan. So, I have a choice of going back and looking again, or just holding off (à la Central Park Hoodie?) on the zipper all together. It does not pull to the sides, and is quite comfy, so it is quite wearable without it… still have to decide on that one.

The pattern was pretty easy to follow, and once I got going, quite enjoyable to knit. I really enjoyed the cables and the bobbles. The cables remind me of chromosomes (inner voice: hush now, your nerd is showing!) and I guess it is fitting that it is a female cardigan I considered cutting the cables out of the back panel, but I am glad that I stuck with it. They turned out really nice. I made the Medium size – which is supposed to be for a 38″ inch bust with ease to 41″ inches. I went up one needle size, so I think it may be closer to a 39″. It is a great fit – perfectly comfortable with different tops underneath.

The only notable problem that I had with this garment was the hood. It is BIG. Totally HUGE. It was a nightmare to seam up, and I am still not 100% happy with it (but I will settle for 98%) I blocked the thing like crazy, but when attaching it to the body in the seaming process, I had to do about five hood stitches to every body stitch. I looked at the directions, and I did it right, so I guess it is supposed to be that way. If I had known this earlier, I would have made the hood smaller in the first place. However, I do feel some accomplishment: this was my first hood ever, and overall the results are pretty good. Funny how a head covering can make you feel like a completely different person. (I can’t quite place it: I feel like a 16th-century milk maid, or a fantastical gnome…) Of course, the hood will be worn down most of the time.

I have already sung the praises of this yarn. I could easily sing an encore. It is amazing. I love it. It is a wonderfully simple wool yarn that blocks and blooms beautifully. It is one of those quintessential yarns that works for a large number of projects. I have only seen the distributors at Stitches, but I imagine that you can probably mail order from them as well. My stashbusting mantra forbids me from ordering more (now) but this yarn will undoubtedly be used again the future.

…and now my hoodie and I are headed off to the library for a first outing…