It's terribly simple

Hey hey!  Here's one to cross off on the ole knitting goals list:  Terribly Simple.

I'm not a big scarf wearer, but sometimes I want a little sump'n sump'n around my neck, to which you may cry COWLS!  But I'm not a big cowl person either.  I hate having to pull something down over my head (picky much?).  I liked the look of this scarf a LOT, but I'm kind of particular about using garter stitch when I can easily change it to stockinette.

I'm a tight knitter, which I think affected some of the pulling that you can see in the scarf.  The scarf is worked by increasing one stitch on each side every single row.

I wrap it from the front and tuck the little ends inside the front for that puffy look.  I'm really happy with it!  And so's my neck.  Ravelry link!

(Also, I technically finished this at the very end of last year, right after I made my 2013 knitting goals.  Is it really already February?)

Hotpad for my sister, and my misadventures in double knitting

(My snippet regarding my goals is at the bottom of this post)

I decided to make this potholder/hotpad for my sister for her birthday.  I planned on making two, until my learning process for double knitting became a HUGE HASSLE.  Seriously.  I did not have a clue.

The pattern is roughly written by the designer, which is fine.  I don't expect someone to teach me how to knit every time they write a pattern.  However, I was shocked by how many people said, "this was my first double knitting project!" and yet I didn't find much help regarding the actual technique of pattern work within it.  (Also, this was mostly last minute, so I didn't have time to check out resources from the library - my bad.)

Essentially with double knitting, you are casting on both sides of a project at once by casting on twice as many stitches, and you knit every other stitch (which becomes one side of the work) and purl the other stitches (which become the back of the work).  Then you have a reversible piece of work that's really cool!

Here are the resources I used to help me through it: (all short videos)

How to cast on for double knitting
Knitting the first row with double knitting (by the same person as above)
Doing a pattern within the work  in my case, a teapot

I got really frustrated when I didn't understand casting on twice as many stitches (do I cast twice the number told in the pattern or did the creator already account for that? I ended up restarting 3 times before figuring it out). I went with the original cast on number in the pattern so it's a smaller hot pad that I'm not too thrilled with, but I get the process now.  I purled the last stitch of each row and slipped it knitwise the beginning of each row (you can partially see in my pictures that I didn't do this in the beginning, one side has a nice braiding and half of the other side is kind of twisted).

(My Ravelry link for this project)

Goals:
This gift fell under my "buy everything local for gifts" goal, which, womp womp, we didn't do.  I already had this yarn on hand from Michael's last year (which I don't feel bad for, stash yarn is okay!) but my husband designed her some Batman stationary, and we ran by Fedex Office to print it out instead of a locally owned business.  Doh!  It was only a few dollars and it was the first week in January so I have to get in the swing of things.  Not a huge deal, but I have two birthdays next month I'll (hopefully) be better about!  Here's the stationary Jesse designed for her:

Twelve's 2013 craft & non-craft goals

I'm one of those people that thinks using the term "new year's resolution" is pish posh.  PISH POSH I TELL YOU.  I haven't known many people who stick to things called "resolutions."  I do however, enjoy goals.  Goals are much more low-key and usually more attainable.  I probably won't lose all my excess pounds next year, but that's not what my goals are about.

I actually really enjoy reading, even though I don't get much time for it after a full time job and trying to keep up a pretty serious knitting habit.  My goal tends to stick around 16 books (I tried 24 last year but it was too much).  I did read all the Scott Pilgrims in 2012 to boost my numbers because they took hardly any time at all read, but I suppose that's only cheating in my mind.  My husband doesn't like that I don't consider graphic novels "real" books.  If you want to see my 2012 reading list, you can see that right here.

1. Read 16 books (should be attainable, considering that's been my number the last couple years)
2. Read all 12 Hellboy graphic novels (included in the 16 books, see Jesse!), main volumes only -- no Odd Jobs or anything
3. Knit my first sweater
4. Finish/frog all unfinished knit items (see this post)
5. Mystery photo project (12 photos)
6. Have all birthday and Christmas gifts be either handmade, bought via local handmade vendors, or through local independent stores

Purchasing all gifts locally I'm dreading and looking forward to at the same time.  I really want to devote a year supporting local craftspeople or buying through local stores (like Powells or local gift shops).  Any items handmade by me I want to purchase products through a local store, like Collage or Yarn Garden.  I know that my family of two buying gifts locally won't make much of a difference, but there are 12 people in my immediate family and that means at least 24 gifts being bought locally, and you can't deny that's a good effort!  If there are things that I need to buy from a store with a larger selection I have deemed Bi-Mart (a NW chain store) acceptable as well, because we'll be putting money back into a regionally local business.  And heck, I suppose I could even fork over my own $5 membership money instead of using one of my dad's old cards.

(A note on handmade gifts: I try not to force myself to make gifts for everyone on my list.  If I know someone will love something I make, I'll make it.  Otherwise I buy something!  Not everyone is excited about a handknit item, and lots of people just don't understand the amount of time that goes into a handmade craft - and that's okay.  It means more knitting time for my own bad self.)

2013 non-craft goals commence!

Gotta reach for that goal

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” 

-Albert Einstein 

I'm always making lists of things I want to get done. I'm also always losing those lists and forgetting what I wrote on them. I get a jolt of inspiration (usually at work, it seems) and just feel the urge to go for it. Then that feeling fades and I completely forget what it was I wanted to do and why it felt so right to peruse it.

In order to avoid that this year of 2013 I am writing it right here, right now. For all you lovelies to see and perhaps hold me accountable if it sounds like something you'd be into. You know.. harassment and stuff. These will be knitting/craft only goals, for now. My other goal list will probably be a little longer but fret not, you shall see it in good time.

Lets cut this turd loose!

1. Knit a Sweater - twelve and I decided this is something we would do as a kal (knit-along) so that we have the proper motivation to finish. Should be started soon and I'm sure we'll post about it a lot.

2. Make most of my gifts / buy locally - I really need to do research and find stuff for even the hard to make/buy for. I know twelve wants to try to do all local/handmade stuff this year and I think I may be tentatively joining her. Everyone can use a soft snuggly something or other...

3. Bust the stash - I have a lot of crafting stuff. It's hard not to call it crafting crap... there is just so much! I need to go through my yarns and use what I have for what I can. I need to organize my scrapbooking paper, all my threads, my w.i.p., and my little pieces of little crafts that are in 80 different places.

4. Clean the craft room - This kind of goes with the above goal. I really need to clean it so I can take pictures and show you. It'd look super cool if it weren't so cluttered. Someday.

5. FINISH THE W.I.P - WIP is works in progress, fyi. I have about 5 that I remember. It's sad that I have to add 'that I remember'. No patterns for most of em, they were just things I decided to go for. Go for and then completely forget! Once 3/4 are done the number of wip will surely rise.

6. Be better at cataloging my crafts - this means using the blog more, taking more pictures, putting them on Ravelry, actually keeping track of what I've made. I find things in boxes all the time that I made and forgot about. I found gloves just last week that I didn't remember making last year. It's a little sad...


So there.
Wham
Bam
Thank you, Ma'am!

Time to get crackin!

Knitting goals for 2013

I thought I would mention my 2013 main knitting goal, which is to finish all of my unfinished projects.

This is the story of some of those projects.

Some of these I started in 2010.  I'm distracted by things!  Namely soft, beautiful yarn and cool patterns.  My goal for 2013 is to finish a lot of the crap that I've started and left in the lurch, hidden in a bag or a tub, unfinished.  Alternatively, I can decide which ones I don't want to make and go ahead and scrap the project already.

Here's my list, which I plan on updating as they happen:

• Bike Basket (only the bottom is done, with stitches cast on to start working up the sides.)

• Sprinkles hat (the main body is done, and I knit a band that was FAR TOO LARGE and threw it in a box for like a year.  I finally picked it up back, took off the band, picked up the live stitches and now feel healed enough to continue.)

• Jesse's socks (One is finished, and the other one has been started.  He has been not at all patient about getting his own handmade socks, and really, being married to a knitter, he should already have some!)

• Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks bag (I'm improvising a bag with this stitch pattern. "Improvising" was apparent when I had to keep restarting it to get the number of stitches right...the Manos yarn I have chosen is BEAUTIFUL with this pattern.  I plan on sewing in fabric, which is really what's worrying me.  New territory!)

• Terribly Simple Scarf (this one IS terribly simple, but had to be put on hold for Christmas/birthday knitting.  Instead of garter stitch I'm using stockinette because I'm kind of a St st stickler.)

• Miss matched fingerless gloves (basic fingerless gloves pattern, one red and one green - would have been better if finished before Christmas, but so is life.  Green glove is already finished knitting, ends need to be weaved in.) 

• Pumpkins I started making over a year ago.  I finished one and never got around to finishing the other ones.  Should be a cute decoration come Halloween (there are orange pumpkins and glow in the dark white ones).

On my "maybe" list is a slouch hat I tried to make for Jesse and it was HUGE.  He thought it looked cute on me (sans, like, 5 inches circumference), but I'm leery of joining the slouch hat club. 

A new project that I know I want to make next year is a sweater!  I have a few sweater patterns in mind, but I would like to make the one linked, Basic Black, first.  Birdy and I got a bunch of yarn at a second hand craft store, which should be enough yarn (fingers crossed) for a sweater like this.  We are planning on doing a knit-a-long for our first sweaters!

I also have a friend who has a baby due in February, and now that I know he's a boy I want to work on a little something for him.

Here's to 2013's knitting!