2015 Year in Review

So, this year was definitely a knitting year. I managed to finish:

17 hats
7 scarves/cowls
2 blankets
1 rug
2 cardigans/sweaters
1 pair of socks
1 dishcloth
2 gloves
1 cami (technically, I made 3 of these, but only one was actually right!)
1 shawl

with a total of 10,772.5 yards knitted!

My stash also grew A WHOLE LOT this year, mainly because of getting some hand-me-down yarn from my aunt, along with just buying a bunch more than I usually do. Yesterday, I brought home my last yarn haul for the year - 4,846 yards of acrylic/cotton yarn from Michaels that were on sale. I was really excited about getting some more Lion Brand Heartland:



This stuff is REALLY nice for acrylic yarn -- and really beautiful colors too! I bought 4 skeins of it!

I also got some really inexpensive fingering weight yarn for making more socks:



I also bought some Lily Sugar and Cream  yarn to see how they compared to Knit Picks Dishie. In my house, we really need a few more kitchen cloths and potholders, so I'll probably be making a few of those in the future. The rest of the yarn I got was for a charity project I'm planning on doing for the Annual Meeting for the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. A nice skully - themed cowl using the Ossuary Chart!

Also, my mom got me a $75 Knit Picks gift card, and so I'm waiting on yet another large package of yarn! I got enough yarn for a bulky weight sweater, some socks, some dishcloths, and a pair of gloves! So, first thing for the new year -- go on a yarn diet, or really, a buying anything diet.

Also, here are a few more goals for next year:

1. Start a podcast - Obviously I'm not really great at writing on a blog, and considering how visual knitting is for those who are interested, making a video diary to share would probably simplify the process. Maybe.

2. Etsy - this will happen this year!

3. Socks - make more socks, a lot more! Goal: 5 pairs

4. Sweaters/Cardigans - I have lots of yarn I've already designated for sweaters and cardigans, so lets try to make 3 this year, minimum!

5. Stashdown - I signed up this quarter for the stashdown challenge, and failed miserably -- like 7,000 + yards miserably, so my goal for 2016 will be to end up with a negative yardage balance for the year. Also, I'll track my yardage in, yardage out, and how much I'm paying for crafting stuff, becuase I would really like to know what I'm spending on this! That can't be that hard, can it???

Happy New Year, everybody!

So, I've decided...

I hate this color.

Baby blue. Dull baby blue. And I have 11 skeins of this.

So, what is a girl to do?

Dye this crap. Dyyyyeeee it.

So, into the pot it went. I decided to try my hand at kettle dying, since literally anything would be an improvement upon this color. Anything. My test swatch came out this beautiful royal-purple color: 

But the final product (with Kroger brand food coloring), came out a little bit lighter and more variegated: 

I love it! This is such an improvement. It is now in my queue to be made into a beautiful henley-type shirt. Now to get to swatching....

Yarn porn

Earlier this year, my aunt sent me an e-mail telling me that her mother, who is sadly in hospice, has decided to relinquish her stash to anyone who is willing to take it. She told me that if I wanted anything, I should come get it. So, on my way to visit my parents, I stopped by my aunt and uncles place to have a look.

I left with six bags. SIX.

And no, I didn't take everything. There was still more left. SO much more. But six bags is still a lot.
I mean, it is beautiful, isn't it?

There was Italian yarn...

And Noro....freakin' Noro...

Maybe I won't buy anymore yarn... for a few months...maybe

Busy, but still knitting (sometimes)...

So, since beginning the PhD program that was the impetus for moving to Athens in the first place, life has been really, really busy. In the two years, I've survived my core classes, traveled to Italy for six weeks, survived yet another, even more disturbing year of school, and now I've just returned from two months in Italy. So, since blogging has not been a remotely high priority for me, I'm just going to review some of the things I have finished in the past two years (I can't believe its been TWO years!). Most of what I work on now are small projects, but I did manage to finish a large, beautiful lace shawl for my mom's birthday before the madness took me:

Japanese Waves

I'll be honest, I did not really enjoy knitting this, but I think that's because I knit combination style. Combination style is great for knitting quickly, but unfortunately knitting a flat piece means that all of your knit stitches will be facing the wrong way. Sooo.. knitting lace is a little difficult. Maybe one day I will learn how to knit continental style...

Nevertheless, I love how this turned out.. so beautiful! And my mom LOVED it!

 I've also finished making a Dragon Scarf for my aunt:

And multiple hats and scarves, usually as gifts for others.

In grad school, I have found that small projects are awesome because they don't usually take up much time. Time is precious now, so very precious...

Like Copper!