But first, I’m under the impression that in the past few days people have been talking about the past year and then resolutions and hopes for the next. I think I’ll do the same, and split it into two posts. First I have three last FOs of 2009 to present:

My favorite aunt and uncle requested hats for Christmas (in the summer). I completely forgot until December. Luckily hats are easy and I whipped these two up pretty quick.

uncle’s hat (Ravelry):
Pattern: Marsan Watchcap
Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers in 2445. I was really impressed with this yarn. Such beautiful colors and it felt so soft under my fingers.
Needles: Size 7 bamboo circulars

aunt’s hat (Ravelry):
Pattern: Stella’s Hat
Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers in 9408. See yarn notes above. Great yarn.
Needles: Same
Modifications: Knit to 7″ instead of 6″ before starting brim. Thought it would stay puffy at the top that way. In retrospect probably should have just knitted the 6″, as my aunt was folding the brim up to wear it. Then again, she said she could pull it over her ears as she needed to (and she will need to).

These have been done a month, but I keep procrastinating on washing them, which is why I hadn’t posted them yet. They’re Through the Loops! Mystery Socks of 2009. These were so much fun. And so cute. The yarn is pretty delicate though. I’m not sure how I feel with wearing them on an everyday basis; they seem more like something to wear on special occasions.

oh my lusciousness (Ravelry):
Pattern: Mystery Sock 09 from Through the Loops!
Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Sock, which is pretty inexpensive actually
Needles: 2.5mm

Finished in 2009:

2009 really wasn’t the year for knitting. It was more of a year of personal growth—although there were backslides at times. I think I’m growing and changing. But I’m scared of a lot of it. All I dreamt of achieving is behind me, so now I have to figure out my new dreams, and how I’m going to achieve them. It’s scary. It’s hard to believe.

And at the same time, the knitting has picked up. I’m enjoying it a lot more. The last four of 11 of my finished objects were knitted in the last two months of the year, and the knitting mojo is staying. (Soon I’ll talk about my current WIPs, soon!) Stay tuned, because next time I’ll talk about my knitting resolutions for the year. Happy knitting!

Ahem.

What do you think? I look absolutely strapping, right? :D I’ve been getting great compliments on this argyle sweater I got at JCPenney to put more ORANGE into my wardrobe. I think it’s doing a great job. And this new LIME GREEN shawl? Matches perfectly.

Since I tend to have the heat on super low and it reached something like 10˚F today, it was a very very good day for wearing something around my neck, even inside. Layers are a VERY good thing. Even over cold faces.

I couldn’t believe how easy and quick Ishbel was. I’m even working on another now—although I think I’m going to wait until I get home to a swift so I can re-wind the yarn a bit, then I might frog part of it and re-knit it. Large stockinette body and small lace chart is turning out to be too big for me, and I’m too worried about having enough yarn with it.

But that’s for the next Ishbel FO post.

I’m sure part of how fast it was was that I was stranded in an airport for 5 hours when I started it. Needed to do something all that time, although I slept once on the plane. But the other part is that it was fun and interesting and not TOO mentally consuming. It worked without my thinking about it too much (unlike some other garments I could name!)

I think I might have to add shawls to my repertoire of knitting tricks.

first shawl (Ravelry):
Pattern: Ishbel by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Fyberspates Sock yarn bought in Edinburgh, Scotland, home of Ysolda Teague herself :)
Needles: Bamboo US 6

Ta-da! Sooner or later I’ll post up some finished socks too!

Which, you know, is probably because I only had time to take an awful photo before finishing them. Apparently I didn’t even put them on Ravelry! I did finish them in time to give them to my mom for her birthday in September.

Graceful (Ravelry):
Pattern: Baudelaire by Cookie A.
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in “Cocoa Kiss”
Needles: Um, probably Knitpicks 2.5mm circular, magic looped

Sooner or later I need to get better at taking pictures. Hopefully sooner. I’m wearing my new shawl today and I’d like to take some FO pictures this coming weekend.

A drying rack for socks. Woo hoo! They should dry faster with air underneath than with carpet, right? Very good discovery.

(P.S. My mom found Lunsh recently and when she saw that post she sent me an e-mail begging me to buy more clothes. That made me laugh. And try to schedule time to go shopping…)

ETA I forgot to take a “finished” picture so this is now the FO post. Details:

socks for elizabeth (Ravelry):
Pattern: Improvised – double moss stitch on leg
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in Night Watch, 2 skeins (with enough left over for a cowl or something for me)
Needles: KnitPicks Harmony Wood DPNs, 2.5mm? I rarely really know.

The Great Freshly Brewed Root Beer Hunt didn’t work out, as every brewery that my parents wanted to sample beer from was out of root beer. Who is ever OUT of root beer? I was severely disgruntled to not be able to be part of the fun. Fine, no souvenirs from the brewing companies.

As I mentioned, I couldn’t do fun things like raft or hike while on vacation. (Although my dad took me kayaking by doing most of the paddling, but that didn’t really count.) So I did more shopping than everyone else. Which I’m actually not the biggest fan of, shopping.

Until I found these shoes.

I’ve heard a lot in the ‘blogosphere’ about Dansko shoes. So much that I wanted to try them for myself. Sadly, the price tag is a bit much for college student. I can’t really justify spending more than $20 on frivolous pairs of shoes until I graduate and have a job.

Oh well then, let’s just check out the huge Goodwill that my aunt’s been talking about… gosh, I’m impressed by the thrift stores in this town… You go on and check out plates, Mom, I’ll just look at the shoes really quick. Oh my god. Those red shoes. Are those DANSKOS?! Wait a minute, are they in my size?! THEY ARE! What do they cost? In the great state of Oregon, there is no sales tax, and I stared at the price. $19.99 for not-very-worn Dansko shoes. I picked them up and walked in a daze over to my mom and aunt.

They agreed, it’s a steal and I should get them. I got them. I walked around a museum a day later. I hardly felt like I was standing, I told everyone. That’s how comfortable they are.

Oh, and the socks?

Well, those are the original mismatched pair. I got the yarn over two years ago and couldn’t get two skeins of the same colorway so I got two similar but different ones. After all, I’d wear wacky socks of my own making.

Lacy goodness (Ravelry):
Pattern: Baudelaire by Cookie A.
Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in Icehouse and Jay Pond, from The Loopy Ewe
Needles: KnitPicks 2.5mm circular, magic looped

Yesterday I cast off another pair of Baudelaire. Hopefully by Friday they’ll be washed and blocked and ready for their photo shoot!

Ummm. Hi! Sorry I disappeared for a bit. What can I say? I got sick. I almost want to join the ranks of the non-able-bodied. (There’s a fine line between that and able-bodied, for me.) Would a pair of finished socks make it up to you? A pair of finished socks that I actually washed and dried and therefore officially finished at the same time as the Pomatomus take 2 (which were received well, by the way)?

Actually this pair is a mismatched pair. See:

Come Dancing

and

River Rapids Sock (PDF)

Why mismatched? I thought it’d be a cool way to avoid Second Sock Syndrome and have a neat new pair of socks. Because, you know, not everything has to be the same. My only requirement was to put a picot edge on both: for some reason I had a baaad hankering for a picot edge. Oh picots, I love making you and I love how frilly you are.

Actually, in retrospect, it really wasn’t that great of an idea. I really liked the Come Dancing pattern and probably should have stuck to it—River Rapids didn’t thrill me quite as much. Maybe I’ll revisit Come Dancing another time.

On-the-go Knitting (Ravelry: Come Dancing and River Rapids):
Patterns: Linked above
Yarn: The very last of the Violet Green. This makes me very, very sad.
Needles: Um. Probably Knitpicks Harmony DPNs. I don’t even remember anymore.

As I mentioned earlier, I’m working on a pair of Baudelaire, only I’m now on my second pair. I can now understand why some people go on knitting jags, only knitting the same pattern over and over. It’s like I’m perfecting the pattern as I knit it again and again. Okay, okay, and my mom requested a pair of socks after she saw mine in this pattern. ;) I still have to wash and block my first pair but as soon as I do I’ll have another FO post.

I’m also excited to finish my mom’s pair because someone I look up to very much needs socks. I have ordered yarn and am perusing Sensational Knitted Socks for stretchy ribbed patterns for these very special socks.

Now that you’ve read this far, I’d like to ask a favor. Please go here and request a postcard, either from me or from Elizabeth McClung! I really want to send you a postcard and brighten up your mail day, so please let me! =)