Christmas Gifts... Knitting

More Christmas Gifts... Knitting

I made a number of Christmas gifts this year. Some items were sewn and others were knit. I showed the sewn items a week or so ago.  Here is a quick post to show some of the knit items.  

Socks for my husband. He wears size 13/14 shoes so socks for him are a BIG commitment.  The yarn is Zitron Trekking XXL and I used 2.50 mm needles and 72 stitches per round. The sock is basically a knit 3, purl 1 ribbing and I used a Fish Lips Kiss Heel.  I let him have these socks before Christmas actually. He really appreciates the hand knit socks I've made for him which is nice.  He's proven himself to be knit-worthy.  And trust me... if you are knitting socks for a person who wears men's size 13/14 shoes, that person better be knit-worthy.

This is a super quick cowl that I made for Sylvia (my son's girlfriend). The yarn is Alpine by Sirdar.  The pattern is called "Two Ball Snood". It calls for size US 15 needles.  The color way is "Polar" but this yarn comes in so many great colors.  This would be a great yarn to make some sort of stuffed animal. So plush and squishy and soft.  If you see this yarn in person at your local yarn shop, I bet you'll pick up a ball and just carry it around the shop while you are petting it.  So SOFT!  Also, most people tend to rub this yarn on their face when they pick it up.  It's like picking up a kitten.

And finally, Sylvia also got some felted slippers.  The yarn is Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted primarily and I also used a novelty ladder yarn called CityLife by Premier Yarns.  I gift wrapped the slippers before felting which I thought would be kind of funny.  I explained "felting" to Sylvia when she looked at the huge floppy slippers in the box.  She still looked a little puzzled after my explanation. We threw the slippers in the washing machine Christmas night and we shrunk the heck out of them until they were just right.  She's been wearing them around the house once the slippers finally air dried.  

Slippers: before felting.

What a great year of knitting.  Ravelry had a challenge on their website at the very beginning of 2018.  They encouraged folks to set a goal for the number of projects to complete in 2018.  I set a goal of 18 projects in 2018.  I actually completed 59 projects in 2018.  Truth be told... many of the 59 projects were started well before 2018 began, but setting the goal got me motivated to finish up those long over due UFOs.  Also, many of my 59 projects were small, quick projects (dishcloths, Christmas ornaments, hats, fingerless mitts, etc.); however, I was very excited to have completed two big afghan projects and 10 pairs of socks.  I also made a number of knitted-felted projects this year out of the blue which was a lot of fun.

Ravelry has again encouraged folks to set a goal for 2019. My goal is 19 projects in 2019 but I bet I'll make more.  I started a list of things to finish and make; I know I can and will be busy for months just with the projects I already have lined up.  One thing I noticed about my knitting in 2018 is that I felt quite overwhelmed and burdened with all the yarn in my stash. I was often tempted to cast on projects that called for one skein of yarn and were quick knits.  I made a lot of garter stitch shawl patterns for example.  Toward the end of 2018, I found myself trying out some more challenging patterns and I was loving it. It occurred to me I was really craving my challenging projects.  So in 2019, I have also set a goal to try to challenge myself more.  I would like to learn Brioche knitting and also Double Knitting.  I would really like to improve my Fair Isle technique and I'd like to learn the Moebius cast on.  Just recently I finished up a pair of socks using a pattern called "Squircle" and I loved the innovative, unique construction.  I have decided to out some more challenging sock patterns this year as well.

That's all for now.  Do you have knitting goals for 2019?  I'd love to hear about them.