2011 - A Year in Review Through Knits

So I have been asked to post what I am knitting, since I am almost always knitting something (or two or three somethings), but have had trouble with that the last couple of years.  The problem lies in the fact that my blog reading audience consists mostly of people who will be receiving the items I am knitting.  In order not to ruin a surprise, I hesitate in posting about what I've finished.  In 2010 it was quite a few pairs of felted slippers, though my mom helped by knitting about half of those.  This year I took a picture of all the items that were going to be shipped away for Christmas presents and was pretty impressed.

Again, I was not the lone knitting ranger in this endeavor, I am not THAT good...yet.  While I really enjoy knitting items for presents, mostly because I feel that a handmade item is a more heartfelt and meaningful gift because of the time spent looking for a pattern and yarn that the specific person will like, and the time spent knitting it thinking about how you hope the person will love it, I am going to be knitting more items for myself this year.  2012 will be the year that I get to knit up some of the projects I have bought and put aside for later.  There are scarves, shawls, socks, mitts, gloves, cardigans and baby items that I have yarn and patterns for and have all been sent to the back burner because I am trying to plow through Christmas knitting that takes me most of the year to finish.  So you will be getting more blogs about my knitting this year and fewer handmade gifts.  Okay scratch that last, I already have ideas for presents for next year, they just may not necessarily be knitted. :)

To start off the year right, after I had finished all of last year's presents by mid-December, I started on a cowl that I had been dying to knit.

Pretty right?  I ended up finishing it on the day after Christmas!  That's right it took me only a couple of weeks to complete!  I was surprised myself and I think I have all of you to thank, all of those miles of stockinette stitch that I plowed through has turned me into a pretty fast knitter!  So since I had the week after Christmas off, I picked up another project that I had knit about 4 rows on a year or so ago.  It was these fingerless mitts.

Soooo nice.  And I finished those in 2 days.  Instant knitting gratification!!!  And since they went so fast, they may be ending up in some Christmas presents this year....

We also had a pretty thrifty Christmas this year, mostly movies, books and a little bit of yarn, but I did manage (without using my credit cards >D) to get mom a loom.  We had seen this baby blanket to weave in a yarn catalog we got earlier in the fall.  It was so pretty, but it needed a bigger weaving width than the looms we had.  I got mom a Kromski Harp rigid heddle loom that folds up and can be taken places, like oh say, the beach.  She spent her time off putting it together and getting it warped and will be spending most of her evenings weaving while watching TV.

We hope you all had a Merry Christmas and have an awesome New Year!