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January 31, 2006

Taking Care of Business

Thank you all so much for the blog birthday wishes! All your kind words and compliments and encouragement warmed this little ole blogger's heart. And my Better Pal says she got those light up ducks at World Market, for those of you who asked.

Now, down to business.

Last week or so, Julia tagged me with this automeme. I'm supposed to show you what makes my car distinctly mine. Probably just the fact that I drive a Jeep Wrangler, in the winter, with canvas doors, makes it distinctly mine. Or maybe that just makes me distinctly crazy.

In any case, here's my Jeep and the two things that I think make it distinctly mine.

The spare tire cover was a Christmas present from Dale. I'm a librarian, of course my spare tire cover should say "Read" and not "Jeep," don't you think?

And the magnet is all Scout's fault. She showed hers and of course I had to have one, too. You know you want one! Dale isn't thrilled about driving around in a Jeep with a pink ball of yarn magnet on it, but he'll just have to get over it.

The Jeep is mine, after all.

Posted by Carole at 4:09 PM | Comments (20)

January 30, 2006

The Blog Turns One!

Yesterday was my blog's birthday and it is now one year old! The first year for any baby can be difficult and growing pains are typical. However, I'm here to tell you that it has been a wonderful year for the blog and I!

When I started blogging, I had been reading other knitting blogs for a few months. I never felt comfortable leaving comments because I didn't have my own blog so I mostly just lurked. But one Saturday morning in late January I was home alone and I started fooling around on blogger. Next thing I knew, Carole Knits was born. It wasn't long before I wanted something more uniquely my own than blogger could provide, and that's when I contacted Missa. She created the "look" for Carole Knits and set me up with knitblog and Movable Type.

I always hoped for regular readers and commenters but really didn't know how I'd get them. I just figured I'd start leaving comments on blogs with the link to my blog and eventually people started commenting. It took a while but now I have regular readers and commenters and you like me! You really like me! For the bean counters out there, this is my 167th post and the blog has received 1676 comments. Pretty slick, eh?

The thing I didn't anticipate and could no way have predicted was that I would make real friends through this endeavor. Talk about the icing on the proverbial cake! The sharing of knitting stories lead to the sharing of life stories and that in turn lead to the forming of lasting friendships. It's really been a gift and I feel incredibly lucky to have made a whole bunch of new friends this past year!

Speaking of new friends, the January gift from my Better Pal arrived.

What a hoot! There was this fantastic kitty wresting card, along with the cutest light up floating ducks, and some chocolate dipped biscuits, and a lunch box full of Boston Baked Beans, and the most gorgeous roving from Lorna's Laces. I'm counting this as the blog's birthday present. Thank you, Better Pal! I can't wait to find out who you really are!

So, without getting any sappier than I already have, thank you all for coming back and reading what I have to say. Thank you for all the comments. Thank you for inspiring me to knit more, knit harder, knit cooler. Thank you for being my friends. Happy Birthday to my blog! Here's to the year ahead!

Posted by Carole at 9:08 AM | Comments (63)

January 26, 2006

More Knitting? No Way!

I promised more knitting, didn’t I? I always keep my promises!

First, allow me to show you some finished Feather & Fan Socks. These socks are for Cecily, my spoiler from Secret Pal 6. She was so good to me and her favorite color is purple and I promised her some socks. Like I said, I always keep my promises.

Here we have the full frontal pose:

And here we have the “dressed” pose:

My thanks to Grumperina for teaching me how to make a sock label. I just love the way it looks!

Of course, you know as soon as I finish a pair of socks I’m ready to start my next pair. See these?

Yup - my third pair of Jaywalkers! However, they are my first pair knit with Socks That Rock. They are for my Bloomin’ Feet pal. Now, there are lots of fancy sock patterns out there but I think my pal deserves the latest fad sweeping blog land, don’t you? Sure hope she likes ‘em.

Here's some exciting news, even if it's not about knitting. My friends Betty and Jim got engaged! Go tell Betty "best wishes," would ya? Thanks!

Posted by Carole at 5:31 PM | Comments (27)

January 25, 2006

You Want Knitting? I'll Give Ya Knitting!

I had someone tell me recently that I didn't include enough knitting content in my knitting blog. Hunh. You guys know I knit every day, right? It would be news if I didn't knit, so please go ahead and assume that I'm knitting, even if I'm not saying.

What? You want proof? Alright, then.

Here we have a finished red scarf for the Red Scarf Project. I used the pattern from Odd Ball Knitting and all my red leftovers. Red's my favorite color, so just happened to have some red yarn lying around.

You want more? Alright, then.

Here we have two progress shots on the Diamond Fantasy Shawl. Looking good, no?

There will be more knitting shots tomorrow. Sheesh.

Posted by Carole at 3:33 PM | Comments (34)

January 24, 2006

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly #2

Good: Having 32 people sign up for the Buy More Yarn program! I thought I might have 10!
Good: Supporting yarn shops through this endeavor.
Bad: Competing against the likes of Risa, Dave and Aunty Nin.
Ugly: Writing all that freakin' html!

Good: Receiving a sheep ornament from Margene for hanging on Lucy. Lucy loves jewelry!
Bad: Having Mason notice the spinning wheel for the first time!

Good: Winning Mim's mannequin naming contest and having her send me one of her home made books! It's so pretty.
Bad: Forgetting to take a picture of the book so I can show you. But you can see it here, on Mim's blog.

Good: Stephanie's Olympic Knitting program. I think almost every blogger in the universe has signed up for this one.
Bad: Committing to knitting Lisa Lloyd's Cable Moss Vest as my Olympic Knitting Project. I read the charts and instructions last night. Yikes.
Ugly: I'll be lucky if I get a tin medal, never mind the gold.

Good: Listening to Sirius EZ on the way to work and hearing Barry Manilow, which made me think of Cara and Vicki and Ann.
Bad: Hearing Pomp and Circumstance on Sirius Pops. I love the piece but it always makes me cry.
Ugly: Remembering just exactly how long it's been since I marched through a football field to that music.

Good: The ladies at Dunkin' Donuts have my medium black coffee ready for me every morning.
Bad: Dropping my medium black coffee in the parking lot at work.

Good: Playing Dance Dance Revolution with Hannah, Jessica, Patrick and Dale.
Bad: Having to wait my turn.

Ugly: Dale's attempts at playing this game. The man dances to his own drummer, if you know what I mean.

Good: Homemade cookies from the Superintendent of Schools
Bad: Earning the homemade cookies by recommending her for a new job.
Ugly: Eating the cookies for breakfast.

Good: Meeting a bunch of new bloggers at Claudia's last Sunday.
Ugly: Keeping up with my bloglines subscriptions now!

Posted by Carole at 9:33 AM | Comments (25)

January 23, 2006

B is for Bloggers

I'll bet you all thought my "B" entry in the ABC-Along would be books, didn't you? It was going to be . . . until yesterday. Yesterday was a knit blogger's nirvana. You see, Claudia hosted a gathering of knitters, spinners and bloggers at her home. You know what I'm going to say, right?

It was the best time ever! Ever. Ever. Ever.

Blogless Sharon and I went together and right there you know the day is going to be good. When we turned onto Claudia's street, I told Sharon what the directions said about house color, number, etc. Then I looked up and saw the cars. Oh my. Let's just say we didn't have any trouble figuring out which house was Claudia's.

I met up again with dear friends and made new ones as well. It was fabulous to see Norma again! That girl lights up a room just by being in it, even if she can't cook a steak. And my Magic Loop buddies, Julia and Cate, were there! And Sandy, who made really great Swedish meatballs for everyone. And Kathy, who made low fat macaroni and cheese that was really very good. Of course, Stitchy and Kellee and Wendy were all there. And I got to meet Maryse! And Beth and Cindy and Judy and Lauren. It was fun to see Teresa again, too. She, of course, was swatching for Crossed in Translation. I talked to Marcy, who is sadly blogless, and she showed me a great trick for plying on Lucy. Also in attendance was the Queen of the Jaywalkers (no, not Cara) but the pattern designer, Miss Grumperina herself. What fun to meet her and model my Jaywalkers for her!

I know I'm leaving out tons of people and I'm sorry. Go ahead and leave me a comment and chew me out. I can handle it.

Claudia's living room was overflowing with knitters, spinners, yarn and fiber. There were people on couches, people sitting in chairs and covering every available inch of floor space.

It seemed like everyone brought multiple projects and bags were spilling over with charts and needles and yarn. Claudia arranged a yarn/fiber swap in her fiber room and there was stuff all over the floor. I brought a big ole bag of yarn and I know Laura was pleased with at least a couple of my discards. I only brought home a small ball of fiber and some Sugar 'n Cream cotton for dishcloths. You know how I like to keep my stash small and manageable. ;-)

So we ate and we drank (great Sangria, Stitchy) and knitted and ate some more and talked and talked and talked. And boy did we laugh! And we shared stories of knitting disasters and triumphs. There were Rogues and Everyday Cardigans and Jaywalkers galore! Several of us were knitting for the Red Scarf Project and we just had to take a picture of our scarves together.

Sadly by the time we organized this Norma had already headed for home. Sorry Norma, but you were with us in spirit then.

If you weren't there, you were missed and I guarantee we talked about you. In a good way, of course. I hope you can tell by my enthusiasm just how much fun it all was. I feel so blessed to have made some true friends through my blog and there's something magical that happens when we get together. Thank you, Claudia, from the bottom of my heart, for organizing this day, for opening your home, for being an inspiration. Can't wait 'til next time!

Posted by Carole at 9:15 AM | Comments (36)

January 19, 2006

The Anti-Stash-Along

I'm really glad that you all like the newly organized computer/fiber/book space. It feels great to have it done, I can tell you that.

I've noticed a theme that keeps coming up in the comments for this post, however. I keep hearing that I don't have much of a stash. In my defense, I have to say that I have a difficult time buying yarn for which I have no plan. This is probably why I have so much sock yarn - you don't need a plan for sock yarn. So, I am soliciting advice on how to buy yarn when you don't know what you're going to do with it. Those of you with big ole stashes, how did you accomplish this? And how do you decide how much to buy of a particular yarn when you don't know what it's going to become? Hmmmm?

In the meantime, however, I've been called an amateur! My stash has been labeled anemic! I've been ridiculed about the size of both my yarn and fiber stashes! I have been challenged to increase the size of the stash! Well, I've never been one to ignore an outcry of this magnitude. You all have thrown down the proverbial gauntlet and I'm grabbing it. I am therefore announcing a new program over here at Carole Knits, at the suggestion of Chris. It's the Increase-Your-Stash-Along! My buddy Dave is joining me and he even created this nifty button:

(you know the drill, please save to your own server, yada yada yada)

There's only one rule and it's pretty simple. You must buy yarn.
Want to join us?

Edited to add: I've created a new blog page. Go check out Buy More Yarn for a list of rules and participants.

Posted by Carole at 2:45 PM | Comments (58)

January 17, 2006

Rearranged and Reorganized

As I have mentioned in some comments around blogland, Dale and I spent the weekend reorganizing the computer/yarn/fiber/book room. I don't have before pictures because I was just too embarassed to show you. Believe me when I say it was a disorganized mess of fiber, yarn, papers and junk.

First, a bit of background. This little project was inspired by the purchase of a new computer. Now, I have had a home computer since 1992 and back then it just sort of got stuck in a corner of our guest room. The only reason I got it was because I was in graduate school and also the mother of a one year old. This meant I couldn't trek to the library to study and do research whenever I wanted, hence a computer at home became a necessity. But, remember, there was no World Wide Web in those days, people. There were no search engines. There were gophers and Archie and Veronica and that was about it. Really, it was just this big black hole called the Internet. Therefore, a home computer just wasn't part of our daily lives, it was just something I used to get through school.

Well, I don't know about you all and your computer use, but things sure have changed at our house since 1992. For one thing, it's a different house these days. For another, everyone in the family now has an email account and everyone uses the computer every day, including some family members who don't even live with us. Therefore, we decided that since the computer is part of our daily lives, it should be situated in a clean, organized and comfortable environment. Our goal was to create more of a den and less of a junk room so that it would be a space everyone could enjoy.

After 2 trips to IKEA, lots of anxiety, some cussing, and maybe a few tears (mine) this is what we've accomplished.

See that nifty new desk? And comfortable office chair? Woo and also hoo. And the bench under the window holds all my fiber.

The green thing (as we so lovingly call it) holds all Dale's junk crap important stuff, the rolling cart has all my quilting and sewing supplies and the POANG chair from IKEA is for sitting, reading and knitting.

Ahhh. Here you see books of all sorts but mostly on the subjects of the Civil War, quilting and knitting. And there's some yarn. That's pretty much all of it, too. Well, except for that Lantern Moon basket hiding under the green thing. Clearly, I need a bigger stash.

We still need to get a rug for the floor and rearrange the stuff on the walls. We'll probably wallpaper, too. In the meantime, though, I think we've succeeded in creating a nice place to hang out.

Posted by Carole at 2:56 PM | Comments (28)

Curses, Meme'd Again!

Betty tagged me with the latest meme that's been working it's way around. Like most of the memes I like, this one gives a hint into my personal life. I hope all you voyeurs out there enjoy it!

4 jobs you have had in your life
• Library page
• Secretary
• Switchboard Operator
• Library Director

4 movies you could watch over & over
• Gone with the Wind
• When Harry Met Sally
• Gettysburg
• Casablanca

4 places you have lived (I’ve only lived in 3 places!)
• Brockton, MA
• Norton, MA
• East Bridgewater, MA

4 TV shows you love to watch
• Oprah
• As the World Turns
• Desperate Housewives
• Gilmore Girls

4 places you have been on vacation
• The Bahamas
• Florida
• Gettysburg, PA
• Maine

4 websites you visit daily
• Carver Public Library
• Bloglines
• The Boston Channel
• SAILS Library Network

4 of your favorite foods
• Lobster
• King Crab Legs
• Mashed potatoes and gravy
• Banana Cream Pie

4 places you would rather be right now
• Visiting blog friends
• Yarn shopping
• A beach
• Touring the country in an RV with Dale

4 bloggers you are tagging
• Amanda
• Becky
• Leslie
• Margene

Finally, because I feel terrible that I haven't posted any knitting or spinning pictures, here is my first yarn spun and plied on Lucy. She and I are very pleased!

Posted by Carole at 1:32 PM | Comments (18)

January 16, 2006

Ladies and Gentlemen, We Have a Wiener

Here it is, the moment you have all been waiting for. What? You haven't been pacing the floor for a week? Wondering if it's you? C'mon, you know you have. So, without further ado, it gives me great pleasure to announce the winner of the movie recommendation contest is:

Ms. Too Much Wool herself, our dear Cassie!

Yippee for Cassie and have fun spending that money over at kpixie! And, hey, let's hear it for all the losers, too.

You guys came up with some great movies for Dale and I to watch. And, ya'all know my ulterior motive here, right? No, not to get more comments, although that is an added bonus. My ulterior motive is more knitting time because movie watching = knitting. This, my friends, is a very good thing.

So, you want a recap? The most recommended movie was An Affair to Remember with 5 votes, followed closely by The Phildelphia Story with 4 votes. Lots of movies were recommended by 3 people. We'll be planning on watching Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Bringing up Baby, The King & I, The Bells of Saint Mary's, Singin in the Rain, The Sound of Music, Roman Holiday and West Side Story. And, those mentioned by 2 of you include A Streetcar Named Desire, Little Women, The African Queen, It's A Wonderful Life, Arsenic and Old Lace, North by Northwest, Sunset Boulevard, White Christmas, Sabrina, Oklahoma, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Meet me in St. Louis, Billy Elliot, Pat and Mike, Desk Set, Babette's Feast, Key Largo, Harvey, The Lion in Winter, Going My Way, The Thin Man and Sabrina.

Woo! That's quite a list and we'll be busy, busy, busy. Thanks everyone for playing along and sharing your favorite movies with me! I've got to go make some popcorn now!

Posted by Carole at 10:49 AM | Comments (11)

January 12, 2006

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

In my very own version of Mamacate's Random Wednesdays, I present a new and probably (I told you it was in the spirit of randomness)recurring post on the various good, bad and ugly things in my life.

Good: Having the temperature soar close to, and sometimes above, 50 degrees this week.

Good: Driving home from work without headlights!

Good: A new roof. We went with a recommendation from a friend and the company was great. They finished in about a day and a half and replaced almost 240 square feet of plywood on the roof. Yikes! Sometimes, living in an old house is a scary proposition.

Bad: Having to pay over $8000 for said new roof.

Good: SIRIUS satellite radio. Thanks to Stitchy (and Christmas money from my father-in-law) I'm loving this!

Bad: Being lumped in, statistically, with the listeners who bought SIRIUS because of Howard Stern.

Ugly: Accidentally tuning into SIRIUS TalkRight. Eeew.

Good: Knitting in the dentist's office while Hannah gets her teeth cleaned.

Bad: Finding out that Hannah has eleventy-million cavities.

Ugly: Finding out that Hannah needs a root canal. That's a lot of yarn money, dude.

You do all have the theme song running in your heads now, right? No need to thank me, just my own way of spreading a little cheer throughout blogland.

Posted by Carole at 2:30 PM | Comments (19)

January 11, 2006

Values

I had an email "conversation" with Mim yesterday that I found to be really interesting.

Mim was debating blocking a sock because she was concerned that it was lumpy. I left her a comment saying that the lace socks that I've knit have been just fine once I've worn them so I don't bother blocking them. The *ahem* ampleness of my leg *ahem* seems to spread out the lace just fine. However, Mim then pointed out that these socks are being knit for someone other than herself and therefore they can not be lumpy.

Hunh. Socks for someone else cannot be lumpy. Socks for self can be lumpy. And that's when I realized that I would do the same thing. When I'm knitting for myself, I sort of wing it. With socks, mittens, whatever it is, I just don't really worry about perfection when it's for me. And yet, when I'm knitting for someone else, suddenly the goal is absolute perfection. There can be no wonkiness in the thumb increases of a gifted mitten. Socks must match perfectly. Sweater seams must be flawless and shawls must be blocked to within an inch of their lives.

What's up with this? Why, oh why, do we (well, Mim and I, anyway) consider something knit for ourselves to be substandard? Does this mean we don't value ourselves enough to strive for perfection in the knitted items we keep?

Oh, this sock is just for me, I don't care if the stripes line up.

Or is it that we're trying to garner recognition for the importance of our knitting?

Look at this perfect sock I knit for you! I know you could buy one for a fraction of the cost but isn't this amazing? Of course it's worth my time to create something that's so much better than store bought.

I've been thinking about this a lot and really wondering what it means about myself as a knitter and a person. I'd love to hear what you all think about this topic!

Posted by Carole at 8:20 AM | Comments (28)

January 9, 2006

Ready! Set! Action!

I had a very pleasant weekend. It was great to have two whole days with no holiday pressure, no social commitments and just plain nothing that had to be done.

I was able to spin on Saturday and I'm almost finished with the BFL. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with the colors when I ply it. I finished the main part of the Nordic mitten, too. Now I have to do scary things like take out the cast on edge and finish the picot hem. Then I have to undo the thumb stitches and pick them up and finish the thumb. Yikes. So, I put the mitten down for the time being. I've made pretty good progress on the Feather & Fan Socks for Cecily, my pal from Secret Pal 6.

But, really? Even with all that stuff that I did? I kept thinking how I had nothing for the blog. Dale and I went for a ride yesterday and visited Plymouth and Duxbury. I knitted some in the car and kept thinking I should take a picture of the sock at the beach or the sock at the boat ramp or the sock going over the Powder Point Bridge. But the sky was gray and the air was cold and I just didn't have the motivation to get out of the Jeep and do it. I'll tell ya plain, I was worried about what I would have to say this morning. And, let's face it, the Monday morning blog entry is an important one.

Then, last night, while Dale and I were having dinner, I found inspiration. We were discussing classic movies - those we've seen and those we've missed. There's a fair number that we saw before we met each other and most of those we wouldn't bother seeing again. Then there are the must-sees that we have watched together because they are so good that you want to watch them over and over. Casablanca and To Kill a Mockingbird and All About Eve, for instance. We have made the effort to watch the major Hitchcock films like Rear Window and Vertigo and Pyscho. We've seen Rebecca and Gone With the Wind and Jezebel. We've watched most of the major musicals including The Music Man and Hello, Dolly! and Brigadoon.

But, the bottom line is we're worried that we've missed out on some great classic movie because we've forgotten about it or we just don't know about it. Oh, sure, I could go trolling in the Internet Movie Database and start fishing around. But why would I do that when I can ask my blog readers for some advice?

So, here's the deal. I'm asking for you to send me a comment and let me know what your favorite classic movie is. If we haven't seen it, we'll make an effort to do so based on your recommendation. But, whether we've seen the movie you suggest or not, I'll pick a random name from all the commenters and that person will win a $25 gift certificate to Kpixie. That's enough to get yourself a skein of Vesper Sock yarn or some Claudia's Handpaint - which is in stock, by the way.

You have until midnight Friday, January 13, 2006 to enter. I'll post the winner next Monday. Thanks for playing along. I can't wait to hear what everyone's favorite movie is!

Posted by Carole at 9:55 AM | Comments (57)

January 6, 2006

I've Got Nothing To Hide

In the interest of full disclosure, meet Lucy, my new wheel.

I've been spinning for, what? 3 months? And, yes, I bought a second wheel. I feel a little guilty about Alice, but she and I had a talk and she agreed that riding in the back of the Jeep just isn't all that fun for her and she'd just as soon be the wheel that stays at home. And, since I really wanted something portable to take to spinning guilds and parties and such, I just had to buy the Lendrum. Cuz you just never know when a spinning guild or party or such might be on the horizon. I'm just saying.

The Woolery is having a special (buy the wheel, get the carrying bag for free) and Risa (she's so naughty) hooked me up. I decided to try the double treadle this time, and, while I think I'm still most comfortable with the single treadle, it's good to learn both. You know me, it's all about being flexible.

Clearly, I've been putting Lucy through her paces. And, she's doing just fine, as evidenced by this lovely BFL in Mardi Gras from Lisa Souza.

Good stuff, that. I'd recommend you give it a go.

Finally, on a political note, did you hear what Newt Gingrich said about the Abramoff scandal? He said, "You can't have a corrupt lobbyist without a corrupt member [of congress]." I can't believe I'm agreeing with Newt, but, ummm. Yeah.

Posted by Carole at 3:43 PM | Comments (22)

January 5, 2006

A is for Avatar

Tagged by JenLa to create the Ugliest Avatar, I present:

See that look on her face? She just found out that the frog beside her is just that. A frog. The kiss she planted on his head didn't do anything but give her warts. He's no handsome prince.

So, the romantic evening in the park and the ride off into the sunset? Ka-Put.

It's enough to make even an avatar princess turn ugly.

Posted by Carole at 11:10 AM | Comments (16)

January 4, 2006

Jaywalkers the Second

Last Friday, Dale, Hannah, and I went into Boston for the day. We were hoping to see some preliminary First Night ice sculptures, but they weren't ready yet. We did, however, visit the Frog Pond and watch the ice skaters. The Jaywalker socks enjoyed the scenery and hardly laughed at all when people fell on the ice.

We hiked over to Downtown Crossing, with a brief stop at Windsor Button, of course. Did some shopping at Barnes and Nobles and DSW and then jaywalked over to Fanueil Hall for a late lunch/early dinner at Cheers. How cool is it that I actually jaywalked, in Boston, with these socks in my bag? It really got me into the spirit of the pattern, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, I finished this pair of Jaywalkers last night. These are for me and I love them.

Anyone notice anything unusual about these photos?

Posted by Carole at 10:15 AM | Comments (38)

January 3, 2006

Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

Thanks to everyone who voted in the "which shawl to knit" blogpoll. The winner is . . .

Diamond Fantasy Shawl by a nose!

There were a total of 93 votes, 47 for DFS and 46 for FBS. Jess and I freely admit that we were both routing for Diamond Fantasy. Me because I wanted to knit something more challenging than Flower Basket and also because Flower Basket is so similar to Leaf Lace, which I did last summer. Jess because she was hoping to get a diamond engagement ring over Christmas and didn't - pout. So, she needs some diamonds in her life and this is our temporary solution. Until Roger gets his act together, that is.

On January 1st I cast on Sivia Harding's Diamond Fantasy Shawl with the Cherry Tree Hill that I bought last September while visiting Norma in Vermont.

I've made it through Chart A and one repeat of Chart B. At the risk of getting dope slapped by the knitting goddess, I will say, so far, so good. The pattern is extremely well written, the charts are easy to follow, and when I've made a mistake I've been able to find it and fix it with minimal swearing.

Jess and I haven't set this up as an official knit-a-long but if anyone wants to join us, we'd be happy to have you. Just let us know and, if there's enough interest, we'll do a button and a blog page and the whole she-bang.

New year, new project. This feels good.

Posted by Carole at 10:35 AM | Comments (18)

January 1, 2006

Reflections on Knitting, 2005

I saw this post over at PumpkinMama's and I thought it was a great way to sum up my previous year of knitting.

Top 5 for 2005
1.New Technique: Oh, I learned so much this year! I knit lace for the first time and that was pretty cool. But I also learned to spin and that takes the cake for a new technique.
2.Favorite Finished Object: Leaf Lace Shawl, hands down. While I struggled with it in the beginning, I ended up learning so much. And I wear it all the time.
3.Favorite Knit Along: Sheesh, I don’t know. If I say Knit Unto Others then I’m sort of tooting my own horn since Margene and I hosted this one. But it was really cool to encourage people to knit for charity. I guess, though, it’s Warm Hands, that was my favorite. It really got me going with knitting mittens – even stranded ones!
4.Favorite Shop: I buy mostly online and I love ‘em all, but kpixie is my favorite because Missa and Jessica are my buds. It may also be because of the Vesper.
5.Favorite Tool: This is a toss up between the spinning wheel and the drum carder. I can’t decide because I love ‘em both.

Here are my stats for 2005:
10 pair of socks
9 shawls
8 hats
6 bags
5 pair of mittens
4 scarves
3 miscellaneous items
2 sweaters
That's 46 finished items and I don't consider that to be too bad. Oh, it's not as many as some people managed to churn out, but it's n accomplishment for me. And a fair portion of it was for other people. I feel pretty good about that.

Finally, Goals for 2006

1. Knit 12 pairs of socks.
2. Learn to dye roving and yarn.
3. Learn to Navajo Ply. Cate has already promised to show me at SPA.
4. Knit that cabled vest for Dale.
5. Finish the Einstein Coat!

I have had so much fun with my blog this year and that's mostly been because of all you fabulous readers. I have been inspired to knit things I never would have dreamed of trying because of your encouragement. I just want to take this opportunity to thank you all for reading, and commenting and coming back! You guys are the best and I love you all.

Happy New Year!

Posted by Carole at 9:24 AM | Comments (9)