Ending On A High Note

Happy New Year!

When I wrote yesterday's post I planned to write something today about the end of the year. Maybe something forward thinking and positive. A list of knit goals perhaps.

Then something happened a little sooner than I expected and capped off my year perfectly. I actually achieved one of my long-held goals. I finally wrote a pattern of my own and put it up on Ravelry. DQ inspired these gloves and she says that the pattern around the wrist looks like waves so I called it Winning Waves Mitts.

Over the years, as my knitting has progressed I've often found that the patterns in my head don't exist in written form. Usually I pick something close and play with it a little. Over time I got quite a few books by Nicki Epstein and Barbara Walker to help with this but I never write it down. Until now.

My daughters love fingerless gloves. Stinkette wears hers to bed and all through the summer. DQ wears hers all the time too. Over time my girls have stopped just accepting what I choose to make and now they tell me colors, the weight of yarn, and other little design details they want - or don't want.

DQ wanted a drak-ish, moody, blue in midweight. Nothing too chunky. She also wanted long wrists and a short hand - nothing too far beyond her knuckles. A little patterning is ok but she nixed lace or lots of cables.

I started with the yarn, Drean In Color Classy in a color called Deep Sea Flower. I love this stuff. Colorful but not enough to obscure a pattern. DQ loved the picot edge on another pair I have so that was a great place to start a pattern and the Gull Stitch that I found in Barbara Walkers book's fit so nicely (after a little modification) and the pattern flowed from there.



In the end, these fingerless gloves are just what my girl wanted and I'm happy that I am able to share the pattern with others. It is more gratifying than words can express to see my little pattern being favorited, downloaded, and added to queues. I think it'll be fun to see other versions pop up.

Now I need to get to work on designing a pair for Stinkette. She wants stars or lightning.

Kiila - The Socks That Made Me Want to Scream

I'm finishing 2 felted projects right now and there is a second sock on the needles that may or may not get finished before the ball drops. Bottom line - this is probably my last finished object post for this year.

These are Kiila by Yarnissima in Malabrigo sock. I had a lot of problems knitting these sock. Partly because of the color I chose - Cordovan - which is lovely but makes it difficult to see the stitches. The other thing was the yarn itself. This Malabrigo yarn is gorgeous and soft but it's kind of gently spun which makes it difficult to work twisty cabley stuff. What can I say? You live and you learn and the next time you choose a better yarn for a project.



Even with the issues I had knitting these socks I count them as a win. Look at the definition that the twisted stitches give to the little cabley bits.



So clever to incorporate the gusset increases into a gently growing series of loops up the sides of the foot. Freakin' brilliant!



Aside from the issues created by a poor yarn choice I had lapses in knitterly attention that caused me to totally fudge the pattern on one leg (and elsewhere). This is not a pattern that you can knit with your attention split.

The sock feel really good on and nobody will notice the errors so I'm calling these a win.

Ten on Tuesday - 10 Favorite Hand Knits from 2009

As of this writing there is no Ten on Tuesday Topic so Carole suggested one. She is crazy good at that. Here are my Ten Favorite Hand Knits from 2009

1. It seems like ages ago that I started my year crocheting kippot. No, it's not technically a knit but these were the project that I am proudest of. I set a goal, planned the project out and executed perfectly to add a little special something to my girl's big day. Win!



2. When I knit these I called them "Socks He Can't Refuse." They were for my grandfather who always professes that there is nothing he needs. It turns out that he needed these and didn't even know it. He uses a foot brace and wears these socks under it each night when he goes to bed. He says it's more comfortable that way. Even better - he has pulled the socks out every time I visit to tell me again how much he loves the colors in them.



3. Last year I made a scarf just like this one for my brother and Bruce watched jealously while I worked on it. I've never seen him want a hand knit so much so I had to make one for him. He loves it!

4. These are the Eclipse socks I made for DQ. I had never tried over stitching before and I wasn't sure how it would hold up but it worked out really well. My Twilight loving girl has worn them many times, including to the midninght showing of New Moon, and they still look great.



5. Apparently DQ was the big winner in the knit department this year. I made 28Thirty for her as my NaKniSweMo project and I was shocked that I managed to complete it within the month of November. No, she isn't wearing it yet much but that will change. This sweater deserves a bit of love.



6. This beret was made for a good friend who's had a really bad year. I hoped that a bit of Malabrigo silky wool would give her a bit of comfort and it has.



7. I made this little dress for my niece. I love the design choices I made. I love the way the yarn feels. I love just about everything about this dress and was proud to have created it.



8. Simple stripes - simply perfect. I cannot believe that I got them to match so well.



9. It was such a relief to have this off the needles after years of picking it up and putting it down. I call it "That Damn Vest" because it was such a slog but it deserves better because the finished product is perfect. It fits just right and the mistake rib that was so boring to knit looks great on. Hooray for finishing!



10. These may just look like a simple pair of fingerless gloves, the potato chips of knitting, but they're much more than that. They represent the fulfillment of one of my goals for 2009. I knit so darn many pairs of fingerless gloves that I'm always looking for the perfect pattern and nothing ever seems quite right. I've said before that I was just going to create one of my own but I never do. This time I did... and I wrote it down so that the glove could become a pair. Better yet, when I was done I cleaned up my notes and I hope to put it on Ravelry soon as a free download. As my girl would say - WIN!