knitpurldrop: Resolutions and such

Happy New Year! I feel like I've been running around since my New York trip the week before Christmas- got back from New York in time for Christmas, went up to Rochester Indiana to spend Christmas evening with Rob's family, drove back through a snow storm to get home, packed my bag again and headed to sunny Sarasota Florida for New Years! Inevitably, when there's holidays, over indulging, traveling and lots of things to do I come down with something of the sniffly variety. So the first thing I did when I got to Florida was go to the Dr to get rid of the smoker's cough because I'm not a smoker and I shouldn't cough like one. So I started the New Year off with an upper respiratory infection and an ear infection, nasty antibiotics and inhalers and an extra 5 pounds hanging around (New Year's Resolution- cut back on the potato chips and fruity candy)- I haven't had a decent run since Thanksgiving from this series of colds I've had. I'm getting back on track though- I have to. I'm running a half-marathon on February 24th.

And then there's the knitting...

I've made a couple hats. One was intended for me, made from my handspun and it's absolutely huge on me. So I gave it to Meghann, who ends up with most of my hats. She's very appreciative so I am always happy to hand them over- I know they'll be loved and hand-washed with care.

The other hat was for Rob. I'm still holding it hostage in my purse and he's not allowed to have it until I get a decent picture of it on his head. It started out with a cabled knot pattern but I'm kind of over the cables (see next project) and ended up....like this. I think it's quite cool. Yarn is Chord from Good For Ewe, color is Timberwolf, 2 balls. It's my favorite yarn for hats and garments that you don't want to be overly toasty, and since Rob is always a little on the warm side I figured he wouldn't want a hairy wool hat.

When I went to Florida for the week, I took with me my cabled mittens that I swore I'd finish before I went to New York. So then I swore I'd finish them in Sarasota. I took the mittens, the magazine, all the bells and whistles to finish them properly...and didn't knit a stitch. But Rob got a hat so all is good. I worked on them at knitting today and made quite a bit of progress. I had no idea, but it turns out that just carrying your projects around doesn't accomplish anything- it's the knitting part that does! So I'm really close to having a pair of mittens. But at the rate I'm going I'll start the second thumb and put it away for 4 years. (New Year's Resolution- stop putting projects in hibernation when they are only a couple hours from completion)

When I was in Florida I did do a little stashing- but just a tiny bit. I was really good last year. And I was in these shops promoting Good For Ewe so these totally count as business expenses, right? The one on the bottom is a light worsted wool- it's mill ends spun together and no two skeins are alike. I think it's awesome. Hat perhaps? I wanted to get a few and make a little sweater but more than 1 was out of my budget. The top skien is a self-striping hand painted sock yarn from Quebec. The ladies at the shop said it's all the rage right now, so I'm going to give it a try... eventually.

I have another doily on the hook (boring) and I made a cute crochet pair of boot cuffs as a last minute Christmas gift and I'm working on a couple warshcloths for my web designer's last Christmas gift, but I didn't get pictures of those yet. Not the most exhilarating knitting.

But there is a project that I really really love right now. It's a baby quilt for one of my friends who is due on January 20th and is having a little girl! Since quilting is new and fun and exciting I wanted to make a girl quilt but not necessarily a baby quilt. I dug through tons of quilt patterns but I didn't find anything I could make (still very much a beginner quilter) that I liked any better than the Swoon quilt I started in May. So I figured I'd make it 2x2 instead of 3x3. That's a huge child's quilt, but it should be fun. It's made with bright but girly colors and I hope she can use it for years, like have tea parties and picnics on it and you know- quilty stuff. I have the 1st square of 4 done and the second in progress. Instead of a white background, it's a pale lavender. I'm very pleased. If I make a square a day, spend a day putting the top together, a day quilting and a day binding, (mind you- a "day" is a couple hours, not a 9-5 thing) then I should be done Friday which would be great because I highly doubt this fetus is waiting until the due date. I'm also terribly pleased with this quilt because it's giving me a chance to play with my new quilting goodies that I got for Christmas.