2009 Knitting Roundup

I managed 28 projects last year. It wasn't as good as the previous year, but then I did knit all those hats the previous year, so that sort of skewed the figures. I feel slightly guilty as well, because the cherry blossom bag was mostly knitted in 2008; but coming up is my first FO post of 2010 and I knitted almost the whole garment in 2009 so I suppose it balances out. The 28 break down as follows -

• 5 tops
• 5 hats
• 3 baby items
• 2 cardigans
• 3 pairs of handwarmers
• 2 bags
• 2 necklets
• A shawl
• A headband
• A teacosy
• An iphone sock
• A practice Fairisle pouch
• Some igneous rocks

An incredible 11 of these projects were gifts for other people, too. I am perhaps not the selfish knitter I claim to be. I fear I have added a LOT more to my stash than I have used, but I certainly have some good knitting ahead of me this year...

I should write about the final FOs of the year. Firstly, there were these -

Pattern: Cabled Beaded wristwarmers, a pattern by ME!
Yarn: Rowan Kid Classic, plum
Needle: 5.5mm (should have been 5mm really but I couldn't find them)
I knitted these for a secret Santa gift, intending to knit a second pair for Kath for Christmas and improve the pattern a bit, but in the end they weren't needed for secret Santa so she got the first pair. I was very pleased that I managed to remember this pattern, which I made up as a new knitter, and was able to improve it with a few little tweaks I wouldn't have known when I started. I am intending to write the pattern up and put it somewhere for downloading. One day.

Then this...

Pattern: Belted Hat by Meg Swansen, in the current issue of Vogue Knitting
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, worsted held double (black and white) and bulky (blue)
Needle: 6.5mm
This was a gift for my line manager at work, who has just left. She was a good line manager and friendly, but I am not sorry she has gone. She took things extremely personally. I don't know how a person can survive in teaching and take things so much to heart, but there you go.

Anyway, she asked me to knit her a Bath Rugby hat last year when I was doing the tutor group hats and I thought I had better get on with it when I realised her leaving date was coming up so quickly. Then the perfect pattern popped up. I messed up the crown a little, but not so you'd notice, and I fastened it with a BRFC pin instead of a button. When I gave it to her, she cried. Result.

Then this:

Pattern: Sideways Grande Cloche, from Boutique Knits
Yarn: Araucania Azapa, less than a whole skein
Needle: 5mm, 4.5mm, 4mm
Mods: I bound it off with the CO edge as a 3 needle bind off (of course...I am a bit obsessed with the 3NBO) and knitted the top in the round. I don't get why you wouldn't do this in the first place. I didn't even have to faff with provisional cast on because the mock cable covers the seam, which is in any case much neater for being 3NBO'd.

I also cast on less stitches than required, and I didn't go down 3 needle sizes through the course of the hat as written. I went down 2 needle sizes and was still way off gauge, and feeling time pressure because this was for Parpy Jo (she is the one pictured) for Christmas and I left it soooooo late to get started. I was only saved by the snowfall which pushed our Christmas celebration back a day. Anyway, I started with 36 stitches instead of 42. Then, I was closer to gauge than I thought so it was a little smaller than it was maybe intended to be, but a perfect fit nonetheless.

This is a fabulous book and I bought yarn today to cast on for the same hat for Ali, because it was so quick.

And finally this:

Pattern: Improvised. I used the moebius cast on video by Cat Bordhi from YouTube to put 108 stitches on the needle, and then knitted in a 2x2 rib, after trawling through moebius cowls on Ravelry
Yarn: Manos del Uruguay silk blend. Fast becoming a firm favourite with me.
Needle: 4mm
This was for Sib for Christmas. I like to call it a Bromoebius, because I am a loser.