My First Quilt

Everything Else - 2012

I finished these while on ski trip.  I love Wollmeise socks.

Made from the leftover sock yarn.

Baby blanket for Brian's baby.  Love NummaNumma for baby blankets.

Wollmeise baby blanket for Melanie.

Bugga socks - I gave these to Nanan for Christmas.

Wollmeise baby blanket for Bonnie - love this pattern.

Garter stitch baby blanket for Beck - so squishy.

Another Numma baby blanket - for Collin's baby.

Wollmeise Rayures - I love this cowl.

Big Bad Baby Blanket in Koigu for Lindsay's second baby.  My go-to baby blanket pattern ( tho it seems that
Abby's Blanket pattern is a close second).

I made a couple of quilted Christmas tree skirts this year - fun and easy - one for me and one for Sis.

In conclusion, it looks like I slacked on knitting socks - I mean, how many pairs of wool socks does one really need in Louisiana?  I made quite a few baby blankets - my belief is that every baby I love needs a handknit baby blanket.  Wollmeise and NummaNumma seem to be my yarns of choice, along with my newest favorite, Plucky.

That's it for 2012.  I'll try to keep my 2013 items more up-to-date this year.  *try* being the definitive word there.


2012 FINISHED OBJECTS
1 cowl
1 Girl's Sweater
1 hat
15 Adult sweaters
2 baby sweaters
2 Christmas tree skirts
2 pairs of socks
4 quilts
6 Baby Blankets

The Rest of My Sweaters

I guess I need to wrap up my FO's from 2012...

#12

#13 - I wear this all of the time...

#14 - for Mom for Christmas

Amanda made this in a KAL.  I'm still on the second sleeve of mine.

A couple of baby gifts.  I didn't count these in my 16 sweaters count.

#15 - Another testknit.  I love this sweater.  It's very heavy, and I  wear it almost as a jacket on very cold days.

#16 - I made this for Ashtyn for her birthday.

Next post will wrap up 2012 FO's, which include everything else knitted besides sweaters.

16 Sweaters!!!! WHAT??!?!

It seems that I made a total of 16 sweaters this year.  My goal was 12.  Most were for myself, one for my mom and a couple for various others.  Another first for me this year was that I did a number of test knits, which were alot of fun.  Here are #'s 6 - 11....

Planter's Punch in The Plucky Knitter baby alpaca/wool/silk in Hula Skirt colorway

Urban in The Plucky Knitter Primo Fingering in Overcast colorway

Champagne in Green Mountain Spinnery Cotton Comfort in pink

Silken Straw Summer Sweater in Alchemy in Good Earth colorway

Ravi in The Plucky Knitter Primo Sport in Princess Phone

Raiun in The Plucky Knitter Primo Fingering in Bleedin Armadillo Grooms Cake

You can probably tell what my favorite yarn of 2012 was... Plucky!!!  Once I discovered it, I couldn't get enough of it.  The colors are awesome, and it is a dream to knit with in all bases, which are many.

Quilting 2012

When I last posted, I confessed to cheating.  Since then, I've made a few more quilts.  May I present .....
Quilt #2.  I made it and gave it to Johnny for Christmas.  The pattern is Take 5, and it measures 4'x5'.  He was very surprised and very touched when he received it.

And Quilt #3.  The pattern is Life is Good, and it measures 43 1/2" x 52 1/2".  Not sure who is going to get this, so it is stored in the cabinet in my craft room right now.  I did a pieced backing on it - I was strictly winging it, but it came out pretty cute.

Next is Quilt #4.  The pattern came with my Accuquilt that I received for Christmas.  I may have sneaked it out of the box and used it before I technically "received" it.  It is 36"x36".  It is also going into my cabinet for an as yet unknown recipient.  Also, it was my first try at stippling.  I loved it.

 I have now started piecing together Quilt #5.

That makes 3 quilts finished in 2012.  The 4th was finished on 1/1/13, when I had about a fourth of the binding left to sew on.  Another post to follow soon with knitting content from 2012.

Happy New Year!!!

I've Been Cheating .....

... on my knitting, that is.  I have started quilting.  I am taking a beginner's quilting class, and I love it!  I knew absolutely nothing about quilting, the how-to's.  All I knew is that I love fabric, and I wanted to create something with it.  It is alot like knitting, with the endless possibilities of patterns and yarn combinations.  The class started in September, and ran about every other week until everyone finished. I am finishing the handstitching on the binding of my quilt today, and I couldn't be more excited about it.  There are tons of mistakes in it, but I do not care.  I cannot say how much I enjoyed making it.  To think of how far I have come in a couple of months is mind-boggling to me.  I went from not knowing how to turn my new sewing machine on to zipping along at a decent rate, but not fast by any means.

Pattern:  Mine Shaft
Size:  ~ 42"x42"
Started:  September, 2012
Finished:  November 18, 2012  (TODAY!! YAY!!)
For:  ME.  I can't give my first quilt away.

So here are a few pics...

Finished!!

the back

handsewing the binding - I'm enjoying this more than I thought I would

all pieced together

I can't believe MOST of my corners met

laying it out

look how pretty it looks altogether

my fabrics match my new room

next up...guess who's getting this for Christmas

Oh, and don't worry, I'm still knitting........

Since I Have Declared 2012 "The Year of the Sweater"

May I present the first 5 sweaters of 2012.....actually, the first one is in the previous post.  These are 2, 3, 4 & 5...

I have finished 2 more, but one is a testknit so it is a secret for the time being, and the other is blocking as I type this. I feel so accomplished actually knitting beautiful, wearable, flattering, form-fitting sweaters.  So far, they have all been for me, but I will probably make my mom and daughter each one for Christmas.

I am having serious issues with my elbow at the moment, so I am laying off knitting with heavier yarns for now.

Drambuie in String Theory Merino DK

Water and Stone in Madelinetosh Pashmina
(probably my favorite so far)

Vodka Lemonade in Madelinetosh Tosh DK

Bulky V-Neck Pullover (highly modified) in
Spincycle BFL/20% silk handspun