Lace Ribbon Scarf blocking in the kitchen

The blocking pads are great! Light, configurable, fun to put together, etc. Very functional. Blocking this really opened up the lace pattern, and holy crap does this yarn block up well!

Lace Ribbon pattern closeup

Then I went outside into the 80º weather and took pictures of myself in a scarf.

Lace Ribbon Scarf outside

Lace Ribbon Scarf outside

Nothing like an acne-ridden face to spice up a picture … Well anyway, at least the scarf is awesome! I don’t want to take it off, even though my sweaty neck is begging me to change my mind. We’ll see about that …

We’re about 25% through the year, which seems like a good time to check up on my list of things-to-do in 2009.

1- Major stash-organizing. Eh, not quite. But I’m pretty sure I’ll be getting more space in the house this summer so that will be my summer project.
2- Major stash-busting. Almost. The Warm the World stuff is boxed up and ready to ship. I’m planning on going to the post office tomorrow to take care of it.
3- Learn intarsia. Check!
4- Do more weaving. Haven’t really done any weaving yet. I haven’t felt motivated.
5- Start selling projects on Etsy/etc. I have sold a few things on Etsy, so go me!
6- Design more original projects. I’ve been making up projects, but not anything to make into designs. So I get a half-check on this one.
7- Learn to spin. Check!
8- Knit at least one project from every knitting/crochet book I own. This will be a big undertaking, but I have used a handful already.

So if anything I’m making progress. I’ll take that.

As far as knitting right now goes, I’m about halfway finished with a Lace Ribbon Scarf and I’m trucking along on a Lemongrass Bolero. Both green. Not because of St. Patrick’s Day. Just because I like green.

Poptart iPod Cozy

Success!

iDoom's new home

I’ve been meaning to make my own iPod cozy for some time now, and this pattern called out to me. It was a great way to experiment with intarsia.

Poptart iPod Cozy

I decided that I wanted some kind of closure, so I dug through my ridiculous button collection and found a tiny brown button that is almost exactly the same color as the brown yarn. Speaking of yarn, the brown is Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, and the pink is Cascade 220. The brown is a bit dark, so it looks like a toasted poptart which amuses me to no end. I’ll sew some sparkle bead thingies on there once I procure some. Totally fun, and now I know how to do intarsia, at least in blocks. I’ll eventually try out a shape, like a circle or something. Fun!

1- Major stash-organizing. I have little room to work with at my house, seeing as my bedroom is only 9′x10′ (thanks, roomies!). The result is that my yarn gets shoved in big rubbermaid containers in a hall closet. I forget what I have in there and it’s a major pain to get to. So when I get some $$$ I’m going to invest in some storage for my yarn. While organizing I’ll need to do some …
2- Major stash-busting. One of my big rubbermaid containers holds a ton of acryllic yarn from Warm the World, a non-profit that makes blankets. I can’t explain why, but I just can’t get myself to do the work. Maybe I am that big of a jerk/selfish knitter. Either way, the yarn should go somewhere that will use it. So I’ll probably box it up, plus some extra acryllic stuff that I will never use, and send it back to Warm the World. That will clear up a lot of space.
3- Learn intarsia. I really want to get into colorworking, and I feel like my total avoidance of projects involving colorwork is keeping me back. I’m pretty sure my LYS will have some sort of class at some point. I may ask the owner about it.
4- Do more weaving. I took a weaving class back in August and it was awesome. The owner of Hill Country Weavers reminds me every time I go into the shop that I should keep it up, and I agree. HCW has three properties, one of which is a house filled with large looms and warping umbrellas that are open and free to use. So I think I’m going to make a rug for the hallway outside of my bedroom. I’ll use up some acryllic yarn and scraps that I have from old projects.
5- Start selling projects on Etsy/etc. I’ve made plenty of things because I like the patterns. But what should I do with them? I think I’ll try selling stuff. I would naturally give full credit to the designers and would only look for reimbursment of material costs. I think that’s reasonable and fair. I don’t want to get in trouble with copyright but I’m not really trying to make a profit. If I want to make a profit from this then I’ll need to stick with #6.
6- Design more original projects. I’ve made one original pattern and it has over 100 projects on Ravelry. I think that’s pretty good! I’ve been asked by two different people to think up stuff from various knitting magazines/online zines so I’d really like to do that. Hopefully I can budget myself time to design and test stuff out this semester.
7- Learn to spin. I know there will be spinning classes at HCW, so whenever one pops up I’m going to take it. That will involve, at some point in the future, probably buying a wheel. We’ll see about that. I can’t really afford that and if all goes according to plan and I get a teaching job in the UK after I finish my PhD I won’t want to bother with trying to sell it/move it/whatever. But I definitely want to learn how.
8- Knit at least one project from every knitting/crochet book I own. I have quite a few, and this will be a good test to see what I should keep and what I should sell.

I think that’s a good list of stuff to do, and it seems pretty reasonable. I’ll keep track of the projects I finish for the year, like I did last year (62!), but now that I know I can have a large output of quality/cool items I don’t feel like I have to challenge myself in that way. This year I want to streamline and learn new things. I admit, though, that forcing myself to make so many projects this year has really improved the quality of what I make.

Here’s the list of what I did in 2008:
- Pineapple Hat
- Amigurumi Bear
- Amigurumi Squid x2
- Quant
- Womb
- 2×2 Ribbed Hat
- Amigurumi Raindrop x2
- Amigurumi Whale
- Birds of a Feather (amigurumi bird) x2
- Cthulhu Baby Bib
- Aramis (sweater)
- Tudora (cowl)
- Katamari Earmuffs
- Biscuit Pillow
- Adipose (Doctor Who, stuffed animal) x2
- Smocking Stitch Mug Cozy (by MK Carroll)
- Garter Stitch Mug Cozy
- “Cashmere” Cowl by Purl Bee
- Triple Cable Muffler
- Train Tam
- Lopi Lace Scarf
- Brain Slug x2
- Aspen Cowl
- One Skein Wonder (shrug) x2
- Parallelograms Scarf
- Twirly Top Toque
- Calorimetry x3
- Stella’s Hat
- Rose Red x2
- Sunray
- Reverse-Bloom Flower Dishcloth
- Rose’s Wristwarmers (Doctor Who)
- A Nobel Cowl (my original pattern!)
- “Cashmere” Neckwarmer by Kim K.
- Woven Scarf x2
- Amigurumi Ninja
- Beech Wood Cowl
- Clapotis x2
- French Press Cozy
- Wedding Shrug (improvised pattern)
- Amigurumi Lion
- Spring Beret
- Gooseberry Hat
- Baby Hat (from One Skein)
- Rib & Cable Quarter Gaiter x2
- Urchin
- Abalone
- Propeller
- Fence
- Give a Hoot Mittens

So that’s 50 unique projects and 62 total projects. Pretty good year, I think.

Rose Red

Rose Red

A few thoughts:
1- This red is not NTSC safe. Really. It was impossible to get a good picture.
2- I am really flippin’ pale.
3- This yarn is great for showing off stitches and stitch definition, but doesn’t shape very well.
4- Knowing me, I’ll be making this again in a few months. I love this pattern.
5- I really need a haircut. My bangs are out of control.

Well, I’m off to read up on Matt Smith. Happy New Doctor Year!

The Eleventh Doctor