Mystery Monday

My current Mystery KAL is the Hazel Knits group KAL.  Clue 2 was released Saturday and I managed to get it finished today.

I am really loving this pattern!  So pretty!

2010 in Review & 2011

It's the second week of January already and I realized I hadn't looked back at all the projects I finished in 2010! I put together a quick collage of some of my FO's, but here is a list.....

12 Pairs of socks
4 baby sweaters, all were gifted
2 shawls, both were gifted
16 hats, 15 were gifted including 8 for Chandler's hockey team and 2 of their little sisters

I've been thinking about knitting goals for 2011 and can't decide whether I want to set some or just "go with the flow" this year. When I start to think about what I WANT to do, the list gets overwhelming pretty quickly. I think I should call it my Wish List instead of my goal list. So what's on that list??

1. Knit all the Rockin Sock Club kits. Each one comes with 2 patterns, so this is 6-12 pairs of socks.
2. Knit all the Cookie A Sock Club kits. Again, each one will comewith 2 patterns, so 6-12 pairs of socks. Plus bake all the cookie recipes :-)
3. Participate with the Knit.Sock. Love. KAL group on Ravelry, which will be 1 pattern a month, for another 12 pairs of socks.
4. Mittens for me.
5. Hat for me.
6. Finish my February Lady Sweater, which only has 1 sleeve left.
7. Knit all the sweaters in the Sweater for All Seasons Club. The 2nd pattern will be released next week and I haven't cast on the first one yet! So 4 sweaters....
8. Knit Dark & Stormy, because I just love it and really want one myself.
9. Finish up some of my UFO's
10. Anything else that strikes my fancy, and I know several will!

Quick tally of my 2011 Wish List is 36+ pairs of socks, 6+ sweaters, a hat, a pair of mittens, and anything else that stikes my fancy.  I know my list is a little over the top, but what the heck.  As long as I enjoy what I'm doing, does it really matter?  I can't wait to see what my collage looks like at the end of 2011

WIP Wednesday

What's on my needles this week?  Something old and something new.

I put aside my February Lady Sweater to do some holiday knitting.  Now that the holiday's are over, I pulled it back out.  I finished the body and started on the first sleeve a few days ago.  I'm making some nice progress and think I can finish it some time this weekend!  Hopefully the next time you see this, it will be finished!

This weekend I started a second sock project.  This is Twisted Mockery by Lisa Stichweh.  It was the Mystery KAL on the Sock Knitters Anonymous group in November.  I was too busy to join the KAL then, but I love the pattern. The Hazel Knits group KAL is a mystery sock by Lisa Stichweh or any of her patterns.  I'm using one of the Hazel Knits December Club colors, Cloudy Day, for this sock.

What's on your needles right now?

10 on Tuesday

This week's topic is "10 Things You Wouldn't Want to Live Without" and people don't count.  There are many things that I certainly take for granted, but are there any I wouldn't want to live without?  How about...

1. My car.  I love where I live, but it's not walking distance to anything.  Except the lake :-)

2. My knitting.  There's nothing like the feeling of making something useful with your own hands.

3. My Chuck-It.  I have  a big dog with lots of energy who is ball obsessed.  I throw like a girl, maybe because I am one, but it is a god-send at my house.

4. NH Downloadable.  It's my State Public Library of audiobooks. It's so easy, and free!, to download books to listen to.

5. Ipod touch.  I like being able to take my music or audiobooks anywhere with me, from the laundry room to the back yard, or out and about. 

6. My Ugg Boots.  I just treated myself to a pair of these this winter and I really didn't know what I was missing!  It's like wearing my big fuzzy slippers everywhere :-)

7. My Computer with internet.  It keeps me connected to the world.

8. Chocolate.  It's my favorite treat.

9. My favorite chair.  It's my spot, my place in the house that is mine.  It's where I primarily knit, read, visit with my family, and watch TV.

10. Toothpaste. Good minty toothpaste.  I actually can't do anything in the morning until I brush my teeth.  With my electric toothbrush with the floss action head :-)

I read a couple other 10 on Tuesday entries this morning before I finished my list and one of the participants listed toilet paper.  I laughed out loud, probably because it's true, but I felt like I would be cheating if I put it on my list too.  But yeah, toilet paper too :-)

Happy Tuesday!

Mystery Monday

It's the beginning of the month and that means the beginning of new Knit-a-longs.  I'm so often tempted to join in, but I'm really trying not to over-commit myself with my knitting goals.  But the Hazel Knits group that I'm a member of on Ravelry  has a Mystery KAL this month with a pattern by Lisa Stichweh.  I love her designs and I love Hazel Knits yarns, so I decided to join in.  I thought it would be fun to share with you on Monday's the progress from the most recent clue.  The first clue was released on Saturday, the 1st, and it didn't take hardly any time at all to complete. I present....... the cuff.....

 Next Monday, I hope to have clue 2 finished!

Want to join the fun?  Come join us here on Ravelry.  The official KAL is limited to Hazel Knits yarns, but the pattern is free so you can knit along using your favorite yarn.  The hint we have gotten is that this pattern uses both cables AND lace.  I can't wait to see what the leg looks like!

Hollyday Socks

I finished my gift knitting with time to spare, so I decided that it was time to knit myself  a pair of Christmas socks.  A quick look through the stash and I found my skein of Hollyday. Perfect. I wanted a design that was patterned, and not lace, and decided on Cedar Creek.

The sock starts with a nice picot edge..........

Then continues with textured stitch pattern that continues on the foot.

An Eye of the Partridge heel flap that resulted in great striping on the heel. I didn't take a heel picture but you can kind of see it in this picture.

I didn't finish them in time to wear for Christmas, but I did finish them by the end of the month to count for the Sock-A-Month 10 group.  This gives me a completed pair of socks for each month this round which was July through December. Yay!

Details....
Pattern: Cedar Creek
Yarn: STR lightweight in Hollyday
needle: 2.25mm magic looped
Mods: The pattern calls for a smaller needle size for the picot cuff and the foot.  I didn't change needle size

10 on Tuesday

The topic for this week is 10 Intentions for 2011. 

1. Eat a more healthy diet. Time to consciously add more fruit and dairy on daily basis.

2. Cook more from scratch. I plan to dramatically reduce the amount of prepared and convenient foods that are so easy to throw together when a meal needs to be put together quickly.

3. Exercise more.  I have been aiming for 30 minutes a day for a while now and yet falling short.  I'll continue that goal.

4. Read more for pleasure.  Some months the only book I read is for the book club I'm part of.  I'd like to read at least one book a month just because.

5. Reduce the size of my knitting stash.

6. Ebay stuff that I know I will never use or use again.

7. Finally decide on some curtains for my bedroom.  The roman blinds that I have now are great for keeping the sun out of my eyes first thing in the morning but are ugly as all hell.  Functional, yes, but ugly. 

8. Paint the middle bedroom.  It's the only room in the house that hasn't had a face-lift since we moved in 11 years ago and it desperately needs it.

9. Go to Sock Camp!  It is the best fun ever!

10. Spend more time with friends.  It is the people who are most dear to you that fill your emotional/spiritual tank. I must make more time for that.

So these are my intentions for 2011!  What are yours?