Year in Review

Never fear, I am still knitting away~ things are a bit hectic right now with the holidays and "wrapping up" my two jobs in preparation for my vacation. The going is extremely slow since I am knitting only when I have the time for it.

At this yuletide season, when the dark has reached its full power before being conquered by the light, it is that time to look back at the year that is passed, and look forward to a new year!

2008 began just like any other year, quietly and without much fanfare. I worked, took care of the home, paid the bills, and knitted. I also did a little spinning in the late winter, and came up with 5 hanks of pretty homemade yarn. Those yarns are stored away for a future project, whatever it may be.

Things started getting lively around March when I decided to do an ambitious lace project complete with beads. It took me two and a half months to finish the shawl.

The shawl got stored away. For whom? I hadn't determined the lucky recipient yet.

Things picked up even more at the beginning of May.

I got to show off one of the sweaters I designed at a Beltaine celebration.

This was also the time it was decided that the driveway in the backyard is to be demolished. I felt the contender for Paul Bunyan as I smatched the concrete to mere rubble with the aid of only a sledgehammer and a crowbar (check out the picture at the beginning of this entry). The old fences were pulled up and banished from the property along with the concrete rubble.

The topsoil to fill the gaping hole in the backyard didn't arrive until the day before I had to fly for the NorthWest. Trust me, when I got home the dirt went flying, and a prayer was recited over the topsoil after everything was raked smooth.

The end of May and the beginning of June was in Vancouver and Seattle. Had a blast.

Aunt Julie ended up being gifted with the lace shawl as a thank you in her willingness to put up with me.

The Summer was spent puttering around in my new garden where the driveway use to be. Planted a lot of herbs ~ and the fresh herbs were a nice addition to my Summer cooking. The garden did well for the most part, even though I lost the squash to powdery mildew.

I also had a job interview at the community college which went well. I was offered a position to teach American Sign Language classes offered by the college. I accepted, of course.

The Autumn was a whirlwind of working two jobs, harvesting and putting the garden to bed, and attending a couple of workshops offered by my LYS. I had a chance to learn from Cat Bordhi and Jared Flood when they were in town.

Now, I am just busy and looking forward to a long vacation starting next week. I guess my only plans for 2009 is to finish up the Aran Afghan, maybe design a few knitting projects, and complete my requirements toward a Master Knitter's certification. Wish me luck!

May you all have a great holiday and a prosperous New Year!

Yours,

Ro'

Cabling Binge

Well, I've been on a cabling binge where I've knitted up 6 cable projects all for the month of October! Whew! The first for your viewing pleasure is my cabled winter cap using a Cashmere/Wool blend of my own making. Very thick and very warm ~ so let it snow!!!!

This is me modeling the cap.

And I've completed five more squares for my afghan project. This is 10 squares down and 10 to go (YESSSSSSS, I am half-way through!!!!!!).

This one I am calling the "Support our
Troops" square. I don't necessarily support our wars overseas, but we can't abandon our soilders who are fighting on foreign soil. Also, both of my brothers are in the military (one in the Navy, and the other in the Army and in Iraq), so I've knitted this square in their honor. Hey bro's, you rock!

I love this square with the Saxon braid.

This is a really quirky cable designed by a Quebecois.

I call this one the "Interlocking Lockets".

And, finally, the Reversible Square. This pattern is on both sides of this square, thereby making it reversible.

Trailblazer II unveiled

Well, it took a while, and putting in the work whenever I had a spare moment between two jobs. I just finished the Trailblazer II, modeled after the original Trailblazer I came up with, but using finer yarns and smaller needles. I am very pleased with this pattern ~ simple, masculine and comfortable.

Here's the simple increase along the top of the foot.

This was a toe-up pattern, which worked perfectly.

The balls of the foot and the heel are reinforced to resist wear.

I just had to add the seam along the back of the cuff. So cool and it gives the sock another point of interest.

Two more squares done!

Finished two more squares for the afghan. Here they are!

This is five squares down and 15 more to go! This means I am a quarter of the way in knitting all my squares ~ not bad!

Knitting the Garden

I love how this square has turned out!

It literally looks like a scene you would find in my garden. Knitting the spider and the bugs (complete with wings) was a blast, and this square would make an appropriate addition to my dream afghan.

Well, this is three squares down, but I have 17 more to go. I am currently working on the fourth square (1/4 of the way done), and so far it is looking pretty good. Yes, I will post pics of that square when I am done with it.

This & That

My Trailblazer II socks are coming along. It takes a while since I work full-time and I have other projects I am working on. The foot and the heels are done ~ now I am just working on the cuff. Easy as pie

I've decided to work on an afghan. I found some really cool patterns in the booklet The Great American Afghan and decided to go with that. I have to knit up 20 squares (12" by 12"), graft them all together for a 4 feet by 5 feet afghan, pick up the stitches on the outside edges and knit a cabled border. It is a fun project, I've already finished two squares and am working on the third.

This was a simple square to get me started.

This one was a fun and quirky project. You start on the outside and spiral in to the center as you knit.

Mum's Shawl & "Trailblazer II"

These are the two skeins of yarn that Mum bought for her shawl. They are both spun from mohair, and felt like butter as I was knitting them up.

The shawl is done! This was certainly a quick project considering the size of it. It is literally a triangular, warm and fuzzy blanket!

After designing my own "trailblazer" sock, I decided that I would like a pair using finer charcoal yarns and a size US1 circular needle. Since this is NOT a written pattern, I decided to knit both pairs on one needle at the same time so that they would be absolutely identical to each other ~ stitch for stitch, and row for row ~ when I cast them off the needle! So far the toes and the foot is looking pretty good. Keep your eyes open for future posts about the "trailblazer II".