camp out mitts

Just a quick hello to show off my new Camp Out Mitts. I really had fun knitting these up with Noro Kureyon. They add a bit of much needed color to the seemingly endless grey cold days that we have been experiencing lately. I don't know about you, but I am so ready for this winter to be over with! Today marks the beginning of the Year of the Horse. May the New Year bring you good health and prosperity!

kaari

Kaari is exactly the type of pullover that I would wish to be wearing if I were to find myself lost in the wilderness during the middle of winter. So warm and since it is knitted out of lion brand fishermen's wool, this sweater is more like outerwear and feels pretty indestructible. I love the relaxed feel of the shaping. Didn't love all the seaming. I ran out of yarn at the midpoint of the collar which ended up being a good thing. Luckily, I had a skein of fishermen's wool in a dark brown maple tweed which matched well with the lighter oak tweed. So now I can choose to wear the collar folded inwards with the reverse stockinette side showing or folded outwards with the dark brown tweed on display.

As for those handy dandy utility pockets? Sadly, we don't have a dog to walk and I certainly do not have a green thumb. Not much good with woodworking tools, either. Good thing I know how to knit! This could be my knit walking sweater if I can learn how to walk and knit at the same time without tripping :)

quick recap of vkl

the view of Times Square from my room

Tomorrow reality sets in again with my first day back to work. But today I am still daydreaming about what an amazingly fun vacation it has been. Vogue Knitting Live was so cool on so many levels. The best part was meeting and socializing with a bunch of friendly & fun loving knitters from different parts of the country (one as far away as Alaska!). Knitters are the best people! I also had a chance to meet up and go out to dinner with an internet friend :)

Siljan Mittens by Nancy Bush

My second favorite part of the event were the two day long classes that I took with Nancy Bush (on twined knitting) and Franklin Habit (on different colorwork techniques). Both are awesome teachers who are passionate about passing their knowledge onto new knitters. I am very excited to apply some of these new techniques to my knitting and to share them in more detail with you.

Riverside Studio Yarns from Quebec

Matryoshka doll shawl pin from Michelles Assortment & bird buttons from Incomparable Buttons

As you can see from the above two pictures, the third best part was the Marketplace. So many terrific vendors, so little time to shop. Plus, it was super busy. But I did manage to get my greedy hands on some new-to-me yarns and pretty little notions. Aren't the buttons adorable? They, along with the woven basket below, were handcrafted in Africa.

Camp Out Mitts

Lastly, it was simply wonderful to knit knit knit without interruption. I love my two guys, but sometimes a girl just wants to knit have fun! Lots of things came off the needles this week and I am excited to show them off on Friday. Until then, I have a lot of blog reading to catch up on!

mitten emergency

All knitting on my WIP's came to a screeching halt due to having a sudden mitten emergency on my hands. (oops *sorry* couldn't resist!) As is often the case with things that come in pairs, Thing One became separated from Thing Two on several occasions. Which translated into mitten language meant that the little guy had 3 lefties but no righties to be found. Personally, I blame this sad state of affairs on mischievous household sprites ;) Luckily for the little guy, my knitting skills are better than my organizational ones.

I am calling these his Arctic Blast mittens because they are super toasty warm. Love the waffle stitch and the unexpected pop of red. I modified this pattern to fit his hands with a little room to grow into. Hopefully, those darn sprites will resist stealing these for a few years yet. We had chilly cold temps in the single digits here and no power for several hours yesterday, so it was a great day to hide out in bed and knit mittens!



p.s. Mittens are very hard to photograph. I almost caused myself an injury while taking the picture for my new header :)

lessons learned in 2013 :: looking ahead

Cowls

Shawls

Accessories

Ornaments

Sweaters

2013 could best be described as the Year of the Turtle for me. It felt like a slow meander through the days and months leading up to this point. My total number of finished objects (just 23) reflect this.

But I have learned from previous years that it is not the quantity but the quality of the projects that matters most. I started the year with only one set goal: to enjoy and have fun with my projects. I can happily say that I have accomplished this goal. It is also interesting to see that despite giving myself such directionless freedom, I have actually learned more new techniques and skills this year than in the previous year:  brioche knitting, three dimensional knitting, dyeing yarn, spinning with a spindle, designing (just a little).

Looking ahead to 2014, I would love to continue to play around more with spinning, dyeing, designing (and actually learning how to properly write up my patterns) & fair isle knitting. Also, this year will be the Year of the Steek! I know I say that every year but this year I really mean it ;)

And guess what was under the Christmas tree? A trip to NYC for Vogue Knitting Live in a few weeks! I am very excited to be taking classes with Franklin Habit and Nancy Bush. These are two people whom I have long admired and look forward to learning from. A big thanks goes out to my hubby who will be holding down the fort while I get a jump start on my new year of learning. Also a heartfelt thank you to all of you guys. You make this crazy creative journey fun! Happy New Year!