Final FO

Hoping to finish the mitts and the sweater by year-end, but for now one finished scarf. It really is a scarf,  I just tacked it on the mantel for a somewhat out of focus pic. So worried about getting enough light on a gray afternoon that I forgot about keeping my hand steady.

This one jumped the queue because I needed a simple crochet project to take my mind off the counting problem I was having with the mitts. The pattern is dottie angel's a woolly warm tres long-scarf . The yarn is Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Fossil, Woodsmoke, and Button Box.

The Clock Ticks

and the year winds down through the days which are shorter and shorter.  It's arbitrary, I know, but the year-round calendar of holidays, holy days, schools days and vacations was etched into my internal clock early on, and the dwindling light of December is impossible to ignore.

I've  a mere three items that I hope to finish by year-end: a scarf, a sweater, and a pair of mitts.  Let's not count the three or four (or more) things that are hidden in bags inside of cabinets inside of closets because although it's not quite "out of sight out of mind," it is "what I don't see can't spoil my fun." At least in the short run.

I did finish a pair of socks, men's size 11, this week.  Thank you, Opal, for producing the 8-fach XL that knits up in a flash. Even for giant socks the cast on is only 48 stitches, and I used a nothing fancy, practical K3 P1 rib for the leg and the instep.  These aren't the most glamorous socks in the drawer, but they will last for a really long time.  Unfortunately, the grim gray weather is also lasting for a really long time and the lighting around here isn't the best.

Last Minute

File this away for "Night before Christmas and no gifts in the house."  Or for "Polar Vortex coming and no scarf on the shelf."

Stock up on big thick yarn and a big fat crochet hook and be ready to produce something impressive in a very short time.

The very thing for time travel.

I've tweaked the prototype of my crocheted version of Clare's Outlander cowl and you can download the pattern right now:  Out of Time Cowl.  For free.

Happy Holidays to Me

We haven't exchanged gifts in our family for years.  At one time,  everyone gave something to everyone else.  Then we decided to draw names and be responsible for one gift only, which layered on the pressure for perfection and though we may have saved time we didn't save much money.  Next we tried stocking stuffers, but some of us kept sneaking things like earrings or fancy pens or artisan chocolates in among the candy canes. These days we stick to Yankee Swap and try to outdo each other with silliness, with bonus points for finding something and rescuing it from the landfill.

This means that outside of one or two small items for friends, and some baking, holiday crafting can be pretty much all about me. And since this is my blog, I can deck it out in the traditional, if garish, red and green color scheme for a few weeks.

This week the gift-me in progress is  dottie angel's a 'woolly & warm & tres long" scarf.

Bonus points for crochet which is easier on my hands right now.  Bonus points for simplicity; it's essentially a one-row pattern. More bonus points for using yarn that I already had:  five skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in shades of green and natural:  Button Jar, Foothills, Woodsmoke & Fossil.

Beating the Rush

I may be guilty of rushing the retrospective season, but I'm going to take a look back at my crafting year. There's a lot not to like, so I want to get it over sooner rather than later.  Then I can get on to the much more entrancing project of Pie in the Sky, or, Plans for Next Year.

2014: My Year in Crafting or The Little Engine That Couldn't

But before the pie, the penance, and so to the examination of a crafter's conscience:

Did I learn the new skills I planned to this year?

Brioche knitting? Stranded knitting? Nope, not a bit of either.  I signed up for a Craftsy course, bought a book or two, but that's as far as my education went.  Not only did I not learn something new, but I think I lost a few skills I thought I had, like counting.

Did I improve my picture-taking?

Some of my photos look better, but not because I really started focusing on composition or the quality of light.  What I did was use a microfiber rag to clean off the camera aperture on my phone.  Amazing  what a little housekeeping can do.

Did I make this the Year of the Sweater and the Sock?

Oh, dear, seduced by the quick and the colorful once again.  I did complete one sweater for myself, with a second about 85 percent finished which has slightly more than a snowball's chance in hell of completion by year end.  I knit four pairs of socks. Do the Frankenmitts count? They should, there's as much knitting as a sock, but without the complication of Kitchener Stitch.  So, I'll just count them in: five sock or sock equivalents, with one more pair of each on the needles.

Actually, I did complete one other top for myself, (I hesitate to call it a sweater, it's more of a lacy muuu-muu), but I think it is headed to the compost heap.  It's too dire for the donation bin, and I just can't bear the thought of frogging all those yards of fuzzy silk-linen.

Anything positive to report?

Stash accumulation diminished quite a bit, although de-stash foundered.  I did haul my sewing machine from the back of the closet and completed some minor home-sewing and clothing alterations.

I don't want to make any excuse except to say that 2014 has been a stressy year, with a lot of distractions.  This year, the knitting and crocheting took the place of the comfort food I couldn't eat.

Comfort crafting, like comfort food,  is more soporific than stimulating.  It doesn't engender much of a feeling of accomplishment, just a sense of time spent.  It can be soothing until it becomes just plain boring. There is a place for it, of course, just like there's a place for mac and cheese or a soft blankie, but I'm hoping for something a bit more adventurous in 2015.  Colorwork, here I come.

Dregs It Is

The Pantone Color of the Year 2015 is actually called "Marsala," but what the style overlords mean is not a festive bottle, but the red-brown dregs, the residue, the leavings.  And Marsala? As in Veal Marsala? Veal as in meat in captivity?

Appetizing or not, I'll take it, because it is the first color in years that I can actually wear without looking like an escapee from either the clown factory (I'm looking at you Radiant Orchid) or the ICU (that would be you, Emerald).

I just happen to have a sweater's worth of one of my favorite yarns: Quince & Co. Lark. And it is  the Malbec colorway.  Wine is wine, right? I think I can drink, um, I mean knit, to that.

Square Interlude

Still working on the Hell Train Socks, which feel like they have been knit twice over what with all the pulling out and reknitting. Still haunted by the unknit sleeves of the green cardigan which are  two lumps of  yarn yet to be cast on. It's not been a good year for the crafting team, but I am thinking about how to make next year better.  Yeah, me and the Red Sox.

The bright spot was completing two afghan squares for a group project.  Pure pleasure. I swatched, determined the number of stitches I needed, cast on, knit, washed, blocked, and smiled.

Both stitch patterns are from the Learn-to-Knit Afghan Book by Barbara G. Walker.  The cabled square is knit in Cascade 220 Superwash in Sky Blue, the other in Classic Elite Liberty Wool in Smoky Bonfires.  Both patterns look good on the front and the back. Both were quick and fun to knit. Both washable yarns were a pleasure to work with.

I think I know where to find my  2015 knitting, what with two nieces graduating high school and all, and my own need to go back to elementary knitting school.

Franken-finish

I've overcome my fear of fingers.  I tried to knit a pair of gloves once. The fingers did me in and the gloves ended up unraveled and tucked away for something else. The yarn remains tucked away. Somewhere.

I decided to try again when I saw this pattern. The open top fingers seemed less intimidating, even though the tricky bit is the first row of picked up stitches. Even that turned out to be no big deal; I only needed to watch out for the spaces in between the fingers and making sure I left no gaping hole. Not so very different from working a sock gusset, but with far fewer stitches to deal with.

Pattern:  Frankenfingers by Elizabeth Green Musselman, Dark Matter Knits. The pattern includes several video tutorials for the tricky bits.  Check out her other patterns including those for men and boys. She also does a periodic round up of patterns for men and boys on her blog and puts out a video podcast.

Yarn:  Regia Design Line Kaffe Fassett, a colorful and long-wearing sock yarn. These mitts are for my husband, who gladly wears brightly colored socks and mitts though most of his wardrobe is neutral. The benefits of working out of the house include please-yourself dressing.

Frankenmitts (ravelry project page)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN DEPARTMENT

I have mostly fond memories of Halloween--candy, roaming the neighborhood after dark, candy, costumes--but still get the creeps when I think of the rubber witch masks my sister and I had one year along with handmade witch costumes. No one did face paint back then or made sure your costume would be visible to drivers and we were allowed to risk suffocation, blindness, and sweat in the name of fun. I prefer to remember the candy.

 Here's a little treat. Long before there was the Monster Mash, there was: The Skeleton Dance. The Skeletons don't arrive until about the halfway point. Yes, it was a more leisurely world for sure.

Progress Derailed

The socks I nicknamed "Take the A Train," should have been nicknamed Derailed, if not Train Wreck. Or maybe I should call them Goldilocks, because one is too long and the other too short and I am still seeking "just right."

I have analyzed the difficulty I have had with this pattern and the answer is:  the triumph of wishful thinking over the evidence of my senses.  I won't go so far as to say this a life problem, but it surely is a craft problem.

I can't bear to take a picture of these two deformities, so I'm including photo of an autumnal project that did work out.  Thankfully, no one has to wear a flower arrangement.

  

I worked on one sock to the all but the toe graft point and found it long enough for one foot plus another smaller foot.   I left it be, went back to the other, tore back a few dozen rows and, after what I thought was careful calculation, shortened it by deleting some repeats in the middle of the foot.  I knit along, again to the all but the toe graft point, and this time it barely covered the toe cleavage.  Tore back again to add a few more rows before the toe decreases.

What I have learned (in addition to the wishful thinking bit):  not all sock patterns are suitable for all foot shapes.  I will pay more attention in the future.

For now, I just want to get them off the needles and onto the feet and move along to something else.

I hope everyone else is making fine progress this week.

Treasured Finish

Grabbed this to wear the other day with a light jacket.  Found out that it is really warm.  Too warm for the day I wore it.  Found out that it is easily squashed down into a bag, without weighing it down. Will be just the thing in a week or two when November rolls around.

Pattern:  Treasures in the Sand Wrap by Susan Carlson. Clear directions, and great styling photos.

Yarn:  Brooklyn Tweed Loft in (from the top): Fossil, Woodsmoke, Sweatshirt, Soot, and Sap (contrast and edging). Those names. Hand me my axe. I always feel like I should be wearing hiking boots when I knit with Brooklyn Tweed yarns. 

Succumbed to Temptation 

(ravelry project page)

I was on a mission to finish off all the things I didn't get to over the summer, but this pattern grabbed me and wouldn't let go.  I had Loft on hand in various neutrals and away I went.  Excellent crocheting project for TV.

Snail's Pace Progress

This is my love-hate project. Instead of nicknaming it Take The A Train I should have called Take the Snail Train.  I love the design (Ellington by Cookie A).  I love the yarn (Lina from Spirit Trail Fiberworks).  The hate part has been the knitting.

I've had a hard time figuring out why it is that every time I approached the avalanche of unfinished projects, my heart sank when I opened the project bag and saw these socks.

I love to knit socks.  They are practical, ingenious in construction, and satisfying while in progress and when finished.  If they are gifts, they unduly impress the recipients.  If for my own use, they make me happy when I pull open the dresser drawer and see them lined up like cupcakes in a pastry box.  They make me happy when I wear them, in colors that are sometimes clownish, sometimes as sober as a nun's habit.

Lurker in the Shadows

So why have I dreaded working on these socks? Maybe the stitch patterns were too complicated for the mindless work that seemed a necessity over the past few months; they demanded too much concentration from my tired brain.  Maybe it was the needles I chose, knitting two at the same time on two circular needles, a technique that has served me well in the past, but which seemed to make them drag.  Once I switched to square metal DPN's, things seemed to go more smoothly, but I fear it affected the gauge.  I look at these socks, and all the work that has gone into them, and I wonder if they are going to fit the recipient.

The end is in sight, as I have completed both of them to the point where the toe pattern begins.  Eight more inches of knitting, four on each foot, the grafting (another thing I love), and then the test. We'll see whether next week's finished object report is bordered with smiley faces or a thick black band of mourning.

Express Finish

Expressway

(crocheted infinity scarf)

Big. Quick. Cozy. Quick.  Stylish. Quick. Minimal Finishing. Very Easy. 

Did I say quick? It's crocheted in the round with bulky yarn held double and a very large hook.

Long enough to wear doubled.  

I wrote it up.  You can find it free on ravelry.

I've been on a mission to finish up most of my languishing works in progress, but it was tempting to use the yarn I had left from a sweater for an instant gratification project.  You can blame me for the 70 degree weather we've been having around Boston this week, since, in addition to finishing this scarf, I bought a new winter coat.

Sew and Sew

It's not all about the yarn.  Sometimes the fabric makes me do it and I sew some curtains or pillow covers or tablecloths, or hem some yoga pants.  There was a time when I made most of my clothes.

Looking at the runway shows for Spring 2015 with their 70's vibe, (especially this one, swoon) I now wish I had some of those items, but if I did have everything I've ever worn and tossed my home would resemble a rainbow landfill, and the yarn closet is bad enough.

The only sewing blog I follow is the coletterie.  I enjoy her musings on wardrobe and style and there are loads of tutorials, tips and tricks.  She has just issued an e-book, The Colette Guide to Sewing Hems 100+ pages of excellent tutorials with extremely clear photos and it's free.

Colette Guide to Sewing Hems

I won't be whipping up one of her cute retro dresses or skirts any time soon, but I'm off to try some mitered corners on a linen tablecloth.  

Outlander-ish Fashion

It's Finished Object Friday and one of the benefits of ignoring my blog for months is that I have  a stockpile of finished items to post.  Fridays, here I come.


Although a fan of the books, I haven't ponied up for STARZ  to watch the time-traveing kilt-fest that is Outlander.  (I love you, hunky Jamie, but ten bucks a month on top of the outrageous amount I am already paying to watch murder and mayhem on other cable channels seems a bit steep.)

What I have seen are many versions of a knit cowl worn by Clare.  But those versions are knit, and I just don't like working with big, fat sticks. However, with some big, fat yarn and a big, fat hook, I whipped up a crocheted version.

Out of Time (cowl)

Here's how to make one of your own.

Yarn:  300 yards of Super Bulky.  I used the aptly named madelinetosh A.S.A.P.

Hook:  19 mm (S)

Chain 21 
Row 1 SC in second chain from hook and SC across (20 sts). Turn. 
Row 2 Chain 1, SC TBL (through the back loop)across. Turn. 
Repeat Row 2 until almost out of yarn, leaving enough for the slip stitch seaming. (I had enough for 38 rows or 19 ribs.) 
Lay flat twist. 
Seam with slip stitch, working TBL of last row and into the foundation chain.


Since this post was published, I tweaked the directions and you can download the updated pattern here:  Out of Time Cowl.

Greetings from Planet Narcissus

It's been a long few months but autumn is a time for new beginnings and though I've been gone from this space, I haven't forgotten about it.  And, I am shocked to discover, people still come over and take a look.  Thank you.

It's WIP Wednesday, so here's a couple of the many, many unfinished items lurking about.

For the crocheters:  Treasures in the Sand wrap.  It's worked lengthwise in four main colors with one contrasting color.  I'm using Brooklyn Tweed Loft in Soot, Sap, Sweatshirt, (which are pictured from bottom to top) and in Woodsmoke and Fossil (which a ways from joining the party--those rows are lo-o-o-ng). It's fun to work because the stitches are varied every few rows.

For the knitters, and procrastinators:  Caissa cardigan.  I began this in February of 2013.  For shame! I have completed the back and the two fronts.  The sleeves remain to be seen.

Autumn is the time of old (very old) beginnings as well, and in the spirit of blogger narcissism, I will celebrate my birthday with a giveaway.



Wish me a happy birthday in the comments and then I will pluck the magic twanger and generate a random number and send that person a surprise.  Okay, this is a knit and crochet blog, I think you can guess that the surprise is going to be yarn.

Visit Tami's Amis to see what others are up to in the craft-o-sphere.

I'm So Finished

with this winter.

Lots of time indoors to knit and crochet, though. This project resulted from mid-winter color craving.

One-skein version of this pattern: Solveig 

Excellent pattern for long color-change yarn such as this Noro Kureyon Sock as well as solid colors. Beautiful textured stitch, and looks good with or in this case without the narrow ruffled border.


Using Crystal Palace Mini Mochi, I made this version--longer and with the ruffled border-- three years ago.

I have crocheted many of eclat du soleil's designs.  Her patterns are quite detailed with explicit photos of every step. You can find them on-line at annette petavy design where they are available in French, English and Swedish.


To see what everyone else accomplished this week, check out Tami's Amis Finished Object Friday.

Colossally Finished

Not as time-consuming as all that, but still a lot of stitches.

Pattern: Biggie Cowl by Kaye Gardiner of Mason-Dixon Knitting. 

Yarn: Berocco Comfort Chunky (Acrylic/NylonBlend)in "Adirondack," 6 skeins.

I held the yarn double to get sufficient heft. The cowl is knit in three sections. The center cable is knit back and forth then grafted. Stitches are picked up along one edge for a section of welting, then along the other edge for the ribbing.

I knit fewer rows than called for on the ribbing section because I was sick and tired of working on it, and because it was really quite wide enough.  

I knotted the various ends together as they occurred, wove them in, snipped them, and then added some Fray-Check for good measure. I think it should stay together. I really prefer working with wool for this type of thing because I just spit-splice it as I go, but no animals allowed for the Vegan Niece who requested this.

Go visit Tami's Amis for more FO Friday entries.












BIggie

3-2-1-WIP

Plus Bonus Progress

Sick of all the cold, the rain, the snow, the gray, I began a colorful crocheted scarf.

Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn is wildly colorful, but not very suitable for socks. It is very thin with occasional thicker sections, but it works fine for a crocheted scarf. Although it is a bit rough, it should soften up with a wash and a rinse.

Pattern: Solveig by eclat du soleil. 

I like to have a crochet project in addition to knitting on various sized needles so that I can give my hands a needed break from too much of one thing.


Three Clues

Mystery KAL continues and the third clue is completed. This is a snippet; if you want spoilers you can go to the Follow Your Arrow KAL group on ravelry and be amazed at the gorgeous color choices. Mine are on the subdued end of the continuum. I have chosen clues 1B, 2B, and 3B. Two more weeks of clues to go.

Two Sock Cuffs

Completed the leg portions of this pair of socks. Have learned from experience that I need to knit them in tandem, moving back and forth from sock to sock. This avoids "Second Sock Syndrome" as well as "Two Different Sizes Syndrome." 

One Sleeve

One sleeve down, one to go and then this cardigan will be complete.  I knit the sleeve on two circulars, as I found DPN's too cumbersome for the other one that I knit. 

The only thing I can say about the Polar Vortex is that it gives me plenty of knitting and crocheting time.

Visit Tami's Amis to see what else has been accomplished this week.

10 Degrees of Finished

Thermometer reads 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Time for every one of those gigantic cowls and scarves to earn their keep.

This is the Gap-Tastic Cowl, knit up in Quince & Co. Puffin in the Peacoat color way. Looks a bit purple in the photos, but it is a perfect navy blue. This was knit for my niece who chose the pattern and the yarn and it was a quick and easy project with a great result. I'm sorry I didn't get a shot of her wearing it, but it was so cold, dark and rainy on the day I saw her that it was all we could do to find our way down the street, let alone pose for pix.

Quince & Co. yarns are just about my favorite yarns to work with, both for knitting and crochet. The palette of colors is beautiful, and somewhat varied for each yarn type/family, and the fabrics wear very well. 

Visit Tami's Amis for Finished Object Friday and see how others are starting the year. It's an international group of posters, and I enjoy reading about the sunny warm weather in other parts of the world where it is way too hot to knit a wool sweater and no one needs a King Kong-sized cowl to survive the season.

Hazy Shades of Winter in Progress

The sun is elusive these days, and we are hunkering down once again for Arctic weather.

That's a concrete toad,
not a lump of dirt.

Good weather for knitting and progress is occurring on several projects.

1.  Biggie Cowl

Cabled center complete. Working on
welted border.

This is going to be huge, and will look great, but I am not thrilled with the actual knitting. The microfiber/acrylic is hard on the hands, especially when doubled, but it's for the Vegan Niece, so no animal fibers allowed;)

2.  Ysolda's Mystery KAL: Follow Your Arrow

No real spoiler here, but
you can see more here.

This is an extremely fun KAL. Five clues, each clue has two options, and you can do single color or multi-color. The knitting includes stockinette, garter stitch, simple lace motifs, and short rows. The group is very supportive and Ysolda has posted some very helpful videos.

I love the yarn that I am using:  Quince & Co. Tern a 70/30 wool/silk blend fingering yarn in the colorways Oyster and Barnacle.


3. Uma Sweater

Doesn't look much different from last Wednesday, except for having two thirds of an arm now.

Think I'm on track to finish the cowl and sweater by the end of January. The KAL extends into February.

To see some other work in progress, visit Tami's Amis.

FO Score: Fantasy 1, Reality 0

Long ago, in a universe far away, there was no ravelry. There was an internet, and for some reason, I found out about and signed up for the Rowan Yarn club. I stayed with it for a few issues of the magazine, and for some reason this project (Bark) captured my imagination. Not because of the blond guy in the skirt. Because of the thick shoulder shawl. 

SHE: Why are you wearing that thing around your waist?
HE: Same reason you are wearing that thing around your shoulders.
SHE: I can't wait to get home and wash my hair.

I acquired the yarn. I held on to the Rowanesque fantasy of somewhere in the countryside (British), somewhere in time (not the 21st century). Oh, let's add in someone thinner, younger, blonder, more Bohemian.

All that super-bulky yarn took up a lot of space, both in the closet and in my mind.

Eventually, this is what happened:

There is almost as much yarn left over
as was used up. Maybe I should crochet a few hats.

One of the most bizarre projects ever. This thing is a quarter circle, crocheted in super-bulky yarn. Trust me, it doesn't look quite the same over yoga pants and a fleece jersey as it does over a plaid shmatte next to a hunk and a tree. Very appropriate for the Polar Vortex, I guess, but I'm hoping one of the style-nieces will take it off my hands:)

For less weird finished items, go visit Tami's Amis.

Request-A-WIP

Starting out the New Year with requested projects, and making good progress on them so far.

1. Biggie Cowl, Berocco Comfort Chunky, "Adirondack" colorway

With the yarn held double and Size 13/9.0 mm needles this should go quickly. The construction calls for knitting the cable section first and grafting it together. Then, pick up stitches and knit a ribbing section. Then, pick up stitches on the other side and knit a welted section. For me, the worst part will be picking up the stitches.

1. Uma Sweater, Brooklyn Tweed Shelter, "Longjohns" colorway

This was begun in 2013, but my plan is to finish by the end of January at the latest.  The body has been completed, including the pocket linings. On to the sleeves, which are worked by picking up stitches around the arm and knitting from the top down. For me, the worst part will be picking up the stitches.

Lousy photo, good progress.
Because lighting.

Notice the theme? Not sure why picking up stitches is so daunting. It doesn't bother me at all when knitting socks. Maybe it's because the socks only require 20 stitches not 60 or 160. Yeah, that's it. I'm just lazy.

To take a look at the progress of others, and much better photos, visit Tami's Amis.

Final FO

Two final items from 2013.

1. Painted into a Color Corner Blanket

Begun in July, finished December 30. Pattern used: Stash-Buster Blanket by Jennifer Hansen, with an added herringbone double crochet border. This one is airy and lightweight which is what I wanted for a throw to be used in the summer on a cool evening.

2. Half a Cowl

Started and finished on December 28. Pattern used: Tamatori Cowl by True Brit Knits. This may look familiar. I knit the double loop version for me, me, me in some pre-New Year's selfish knitting, but when I wore it to my sister's on Christmas Eve it stayed there as a gift. Since I had extra yarn, I made this single loop version for myself. I knit the whole thing while watching The Great Gatsby. Wonderful design: quick, warm, and stylish. 

To take a look at other finished projects, visit Tami's Amis.  Be sure to visit Creative Fridays at NaturalSuburbia, too, for any number of different crafts. 

Pre-Hindsight

Or: Why I Will Knit More Sweaters This Year

I read an interesting article the other day which discussed the role of emotion in rational goal-setting, or as we call it on New Year's Day, making resolutions. If you want to pay $4,000 you can take a three-day workshop. If you want to pay $0, you can try this free tip (from the article)and see if it works for you.

• Pre-Hindsight:  Use emotions to evaluate how likely you are to succeed at a goal. Imagine that, six months from now, you have not achieved your goal. The level of surprise you feel at this outcome is a good predictor of whether you will actually succeed.

So, I imagined that six months from now I would have not completed even the one sweater for myself that I started in February, 2013. Did I feel surprised? Hah! I say: Hah!

Since I really would like to complete that sweater, and maybe one or two others, or a few pairs of socks, I had to think about what would be getting in the way. I didn't have to look any farther than  my ravelry projects page. I'm heading in to 2014 with three WIP's:  two half-knit sweaters and about 5% of a pair of socks. That seems like not very much to accomplish in six months, doesn't it? Wrong! I say: Wrong!

Wrong, that is, unless I stop choosing to knit and crochet scarves and their sneaky cousins cowls, infinities, and shawlettes. Wrong, unless I keep the mix of projects in progress from overbalancing toward the cute little quick items that can really pile up and give a not very satisfying sense of accomplishment. 

When I look in my closet do I think: gee, I wish I had another scarf. No! I'm afraid to count the ones I have. What I think is: gee, I wish I had a sweater that wasn't all pilled and good for nothing except slouching around the house or sneaking out to the trash bin with yesterday's papers. I wish I had a sweater in a flattering color. I wish I had a sweater that fit me. 

Then I go back to the knitting chair to work on another cowl. Well, not this week at least. This week it's all red sweater all the time. Check in next Wednesday to see what happens. For other current progress, see Tami's Amis.

In the meantime, best wishes for 2014!