A year in knitting

So it is march, and I haven't done my usual summary of the knitting of last year! I cannot believe it, time is flying, it's march! And this knitting blog is really not very knitting any more. So here we go, 2013 was a good year!



I didn't manage to knit 12 shawls in a year, but I did 10, which was quite good, and they were all well received!



I made my first steeking, and I am pleased I did.



I managed to knit three jumper, one for my niece, one for my brother and one for myself!



I finished two baby cardigans, one of which took me 5 years to complete… Well, that's off, finally!



I made a summery shirt in cotton for myself



 I managed to knit 13 hats, a bit more than one each month



I'm quite pleased with what I did, and have grand plans for 2014, so stay tuned!

september

At least I managed to make 13 August Break posts, I consider this as a major achievement.
Apart from working A LOT I have at least also knitted quite a bit..... and managed to finish, amongst other things, my yearly Melbourne pullover!!



Stay tuned.... ;-)

a scarf

So, I love you enough to make another scarf!!!



I knitted it with a great wool chosen by him, and he's happy with it!

steeking!!!

This year I have a knitting plan to accomplish: to produce a sweater each for my family. It's quite a task, and I foresee I'll need more than a year, but I have thrown myself into it with enthusiasm.

I have already produced a nice sweater for mum, so I just need only anothe 6 sweaters after all (+ one for myself, maybe).

So the most sensible plan was to start with the smaller one.....



and maybe throw in something new to learn, such as steeking! And color work, using icelandic wool.



The pattern is Olga by Olga Hallgrímsdóttir.
It is really easy and satisfying.



And it was a success!

another woollywormhead hat

I finished thia quite a long ago.
I really love it!



It's a woolly wormhead pattern, houndale, I love them all!



The construction is simple and clever, and the finished hat fits well and is lovely!

a little failure

I had eyed this nice model (Escargot by Veronica Parsons, here free on knitty) on Ravelry since a long time, and I have finally given it a go....



It's a gorgeous hat and a simple knit, but it came out SO big that I had to frog it!



I will re-use it for something better fitting!

a small baby cardi and some hats

While we were away at the beginning of the year, I knitted a small baby cardi for E. In the meantime we have seen her again a couple of weeks ago and she has grown so much! I love her, she is so cute, always smiling and of good humor, so bright and sunny, she really brings happiness wherever she is.



The pattern is simple and satisfying

It is the Top Down Garter Stitch Baby Jacket by Nancy Elizabeth Munroe, free on revelry, knitted with 3 skeins of cleckheaton county 8 ply. It also involved going button hunting, which I confess was really a lot of fun, and made me discover a nice little shop in the outskirts of Melbourne.

Finally, with the leftover yarn, I managed to knit two hats:

the first is kilkanna, by woolly wormhead, one of my favourite hats designers (go and have a look at her website, there a lots of free pattern, and she has a great group on Ravalry too.

The second is staggered, again fro woolly wormhead, and again a great, easy pattern that is excellent for men and women alike.

And it is also double face!

back with some knitting

This year is being rather strange, with so many things to do that I tend to neglect the blog, but at least NOT the knitting.
We have been around again, and are about to leave again, though for a short while.

This year I have again decided to play with the 12shawlsforever group on ravelry, that is to knit 12 shawls over a year. And I'm keeping up with it quite well, with almost a shawl every month.
First shawl to be campleted was multnomah, a pattern I saved ages ago wanting to make it as soon as possible, and so here it is!



If you want to make one, go here at helloknitty to download the pattern: there are many more, and they are all great.



I used a wool I bought at Melbourne crafts market, from Hawthorne Cottage, with a very vibrant color: I love it! The shawl is gone to a very good friend, who will use it a lot now that winter is coming there!

hands - catching up

Lately I have been quite busy, with work, and family, and I'm posting randomly. I try to stay on top of too many things, so the blog suffers.

I have knitted tons of things, so be prepared for new posts.



In the meantime last week I missed the Corner View beautiful theme "hands".
I'm fascinated by hands, they say so many stories about the people, and moreover they say so many things, sometimes even more than words!

a year in knitting

While I'm wrapping up last year and planning and dreaming about the new one, I'll start a recapitulation of 2012. Considering that this was born as a knitting blog, let's start from there!

I'm quite pleased with my knitting accomplished, a grand total of 38 projects were completed in 2012, little matters that this productivity conceded with me waiting at hospitals for long days and weeks, at least it helped me relax and was useful. And no worries, I did enjoy a lot of time of peaceful knitting at home or with friends during 2012!



This year I managed to complete the 12 shawls with the "12 shawls in 2012" group and with some friends from "kal from Italy", some of them were very appreciated by dear friends, and so they were of great benefit for them and me alike. Which proves that caring for the others is carting for yourself as well. Thanks to al my dear friend, and let's hope 2013 will be much less harsh than 2012, you have been so courageous and brave, you now really deserve some peace.



I also managed to knit two baby blankets, some toys, for young and old, and some baby items for new babies that arrived this year.

Hats went well, with a grand total of 15, though it seems that my life list goal is still far away (Maybe I should try and get track of it).

But more than the "accomplishments" what really pleased me were the knitting friends and connections I made, in the virtual and real world alike. I lover oh so much the Kal from Italy group, I adored knitting at the Botanical Gardens in Melbourne, i loved dreaming of future projects all fibre related with so many people.

2013 will be another great year, I have plans, and dreams, and most of all I want to meet so many people (and maybe even take a course or two)!

A. B. 04

It's July!

Incredible but true: where has June gone? I realise only now that I managed to make many posts here, but life was so busy that I sort of missed june.
So let's prepare to live july at its best, I'm feeling the summer heat growing, and I'm a bit overwhwlmed by all things boiling in the pot right now. Holidays seem so far!

At least last month I managed to almost finish a shawl, so be ready for some f.o. very soon!

(almost) a week of hats - 04

So here we are witht the final hat-post. Now I have to knit some others, to keep up with my project (see the 100 things page....).



It was cast on immediately the previous one, and I simply used the same numbers but opted for a garter brim...



and then simply finished it in stokinette



This one fits me perfectly, but I suspect it will find some new owner soon: I have too many hats. So if you are reading this and want a hat, simply drop me a line!

(almost) a week of hats - 03

So here we are with another hat.



It is woolly wormhead's pattern, ribbed beanie, that you can find for free here.



I used odds and bits of strange leftover yarns, of different weight.



I'm quite pleased with it!



And there was enough left over yarn to make another.... stay tuned!

(almost) a week of hats - 02

Here it is my second hat!



As you can see, I'm quite happy with it. I improvised it, and used 5.5 mm needles, casting on 72 stitches.



It is beautiful outside



and inside



and fits me perfectly



Though I gave it away as soon as I finished it!

(almost) a week of hats - 01

I've fallen behind with the knitting, not only on it, but also on blogging about it!
So this week I want to catch up with hats! First hat of the week is Bobba Hat by Woolly Wormhead



It was really easy to knit it



and it is funny



and looks great!



If you like knitting and nice hats, go to Woolly Wormhead's site and have a look around!

March shawl

This year I decided to participte again in the challange 12 shawls in 2012. Last year I failed at the 11 shawls, and I have no clue of what I will do this year. Anyhow, I managed to finish one small shawl in march, and I have already a couple on my needles! As long as it is fun, and no anxiety, I'll keep on the challange!



The pattern is Deirdre by Linden Down, a simple and cozy shawlwith a stockinette body and lacy brder, that I did manage to mess up!



It's incredible how sometimes easy looking things are the nes where you make more mistakes! Truth to be told, this was knitted in difficul times by an often tired me, and hey, I like it as it is, after all, with all its little imperfections!



I used an Araucania Ranco in semisolids I bought in Mebourne, and I really like this very deep red.

aestlight

I finished this shawl a while ago, and it's already with ts owner (hallo mum!), who likes it quite a lot, or so it seems. I'm very happy with it.



It took a long time to finish as I left it aside at a certain point, I don't even know why, but sometimes ago I decided to finish. The pattern is Aestlight from Gudrun Johnson, it is the first shwl I knit with a knitted border. It is a nice pattern to knit, not boring and with lots of changes.



The wool is Wollmeise (sent by me by the lovely Paola  in color "Olive oil" and that was the first time I used it. It's a very dry yarn, but with a beautiful touch. I used it to the last bit, and cast off with the no yarn cast off method using a crochet hook.



The blocking was amasing: the shawl bloomed and became gigantic! How nice is that?