A Little Yarn On The Side

As I get closer and closer to 111, I'm fantasizing more and more about quilts and sweaters and big lace shawls.  After 2 years of mostly small projects, I am really ready for some bigger projects. Yesterday I started the day by finishing up the new set of mitten ornaments: then cranked up Jeeves for a couple more towels, partly because it's a fast way to get a finished project, but mostly because I am totally in love with this design.  I bought several musical embroidery designs from Embroidery Library ,  so then it was just a matter of finding a quote to go with it.  I've always loved this one from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, even if it is uttered by Orsinio, whom I have always considered to be one of Shakespeare's biggest drips.  Still, it makes a nice towel AND finished project number 105. For project 106 I thought it might make a nice change to make something that isn't "one of two," so I'm making another chemo cap.  I've alm...

With only 8 projects left to finish to meet my goal, I'm actually a bit ahead, but today I am still a bit freaked out.  Only 44 days left in the year--YIKES!  For a few days last month, I was knitting a little mitten ornament every morning over coffee, which was fun but it got derailed when I decided to knit the Christmas stockings for my friends.  But now that the stockings are both done AND delivered, I thought it would be a good time to revive "Mitten Mornings," though this poor little guy has been in progress for two days now.  In my defense, yesterday (thanks to Theo) I was up at 5:00 and making breakfast and canning and cleaning and vacuuming and doing laundry--so  I wasn't really slacking.  I have also started a birthday present for next year, as so many of the Christmas basket stash-dash projects are coming out of the basket as gifts almost as fast as they go in, so these babies are for a February birthday and can stay in the darn basket f...

Normally, I've counted small things like ornaments as 1/2 a project, but for this one there won't be a second, so meet finished object number 103: It's cute enough, but as you can see from the grid, it's too big for a Christmas ornament and too small for anything else..........and I might be just a bit soured on it as the pattern called for grafting on both the toe AND the heel after suffering through colorwork on DPNs which is always a bit of a challenge if you don't want any tension problems.  The pattern calls for some duplicate stitch red berries on the holly leaves which I may or may not get to.  I think just for the sheer "crankiness" factor, this gets to count as an entire project. 8 more to go!!!!

With the help of Jeeves, I have now completed 4 towels with this design: though the first two were made with the weird plastic-type water-soluble stabilizer which never really works and are now "keepers" as one has a hole and knot where the "s" should be, and one has it where the "b" should be. Yep, it did actually take me two towels to remember not to use the stuff.  In my defense, I didn't have Jeeves for the majority of an entire year, and apparently have to relearn just about everything about embroidery.  Or I'm just an idiot.  Or a combination of both.  The November Project of the Month bag contained enough yarn for a third washcloth, and by finishing this one this morning I can now count them as a finished object, so I am down to 9 projects left to finish for the year.  I started a little mini stocking ornament,  and will probably try for another set of towels today.  With all these little projects, I am of course just dying to ...

I finished another towel last night, and am hoping to finish up a set of wash cloths today, so I'm now at 100 and closing in on 101..................but there are some stupid red tomatoes that will need my attention shortly.  Darn real life chores--they keep interfering with my crafting. Thinking more about the "Twelve twelves" idea in 2012, my current list idea: 1.  12 sweaters and/or shawls 2.  12 finished sewn apparel items 3.  12 decorations 4.  12 Christmas ornaments 5.  12 hats 6.  12 bags 7.  12 pen sleeves 8.  12 washcloths 9.  12 embroidered towels 10. 12 placemats 11. 12 WIPS (any craft) 12. 12 gifts Of course, with 6 weeks left in the year, this list might change as well, but I am already excited about knitting sweaters after two years of little items.  I think if I have a few fairly loose categories--gifts, wips, decorations, I won't feel too limited for the year.  And I think I could finish up the ...

The new Christmas stockings are DONE! And there is a finished towel that needs to be removed from Jeeves, and if I can get a second one done before having to call it a night, I could have project 100 done today as well! 111 projects might not be so insane after all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 They're done!!!!!! And fortunately the picture doesn't show that all the white of the "Allan" stocking except the very last 2 rows are a tiny bit more of an off-white than the other stocking or stripe that one can see in natural light on the bottom of the stocking.  DANG!  If I had the remotest idea what the yarn dye lot was or if this weren't a discontinued yarn I would have fixed the bottom rows, but as it stands, I would have to knit the entire stocking over which I'm not sure I have enough yarn for.......so I'm just going to hope that my friends are very forgiving or can't distinguish shades of white.  Rats. And the first Project of the Month washcloth is done: and since I'm counting 2 as a finished project, I'm halfway to having project 98 done.  Then I think I need to think about a few hats or caps to pad out my project numbers.  54 days isn't very many...................