But! I finally healed up enough to finish Amelia. Which makes me super happy!

Pattern: Amelia by Laura Chau
Yarn: O-Wool Balance in color 8014
Needles: US6 / 4.5mm Clover bamboo circulars

I made a lot of modifications to this one. The most obvious one is that I chose to add buttons all the way down. Sadly, I don’t love the buttons themselves, but they’ll work, and they’re easy to replace if I find ones I like better.

Other modifications: I mentioned this before, but I added shaping to this sweater. I’m still having a bit of a hard time with front shaping though, specifically bust increases. It’s more of a mental thing; for some reason I feel like my measurements are wrong there, and that the distance between my waist and full bust is longer than it actually is. I really just need to stop doubting the numbers and start increasing more rapidly. I did a better job at it this time, but there’s still room for shaping improvement.

I also went for set in sleeves instead of raglan shaping.

Oh! Speaking of sleeves, these are almost perfect! I could probably stand to add a little more ease in the lower arms on my next long-sleeved sweater, but these are pretty comfortable as is. Also, they’re just about as long as I wanted.

I do have a couple of quibbles with this sweater, both of which are sizing related and which can be easily remedied in future sweaters. This one’s a little too big in the back, and a hair too small in the front; just a teensy bit more ease in front would have prevented the gapping in the buttonband. Whoops. I’m pretty thrilled with the sweater despite these things, though!

I’m also pretty thrilled with the yarn I used, and definitely want to get more of it, once I let myself buy sweater yarn again. O-Wool Balance is 50% cotton, 50% merino wool; it’s not the first cotton/wool blend I’ve used but it’s my favorite to date! It’s warm, but not too hot for me to wear most of the year; it has a nice weight to it, but doesn’t feel as heavy as, say, Arm Candy does. The twisted rib pattern shows up beautifully, and the yarn softens up nicely after a wash, but not enough to make me fear immediate pilling.

So, overall, even with the minor sizing issues, I would still call this a win!

Pattern: Spey Valley by Nancy Bush, published in Knitting on the Road
Yarn: Mountain Colors Crazyfoot in Peppergrass
Needles: US0 / 2.00 Inox express circulars

I only did 8 rows of ribbing #1 and 3 repeats of ribbing #2, rather than 12 rows and 5 repeats respectively, because I made the whole leg shorter and wanted to keep the original pattern’s proportions relatively intact. I’m a little sad that ribbing #2 doesn’t show up all that well, but other than that, I’m pretty happy with the sock. Nice and simple knit, for the most part, although I don’t really know how I feel about working the braids.

I like the yarn a lot – soft, but not overly so, and the colors are gorgeous! Now I just have to figure out what to do with the rest of it… I have nearly half a skein left!

This is my third pair of my 2011 self-imposed sock club, which I obviously didn’t finish. But, with the three pairs I did from the sock club, plus the two for T, I beat my previous record of four pairs a year (held jointly by years 2006 and 2009). So, I’m calling this a win anyway!

Also a win is my first project for 2012:

My own Felted Clogs! Yes, it’s the same yarn and pattern as T’s, although I opted for a plain join for my slippers’ soles. It’s a little weird to have an item nearly identical to his, since we are SO not the matchy-matchy couple-y type. But I didn’t know what else to do with the rest of that bulky wool, so slippers it was! Now I just have to figure out what to do with the last 70-something yards…

I finished the fronts. Looking at them now, I kind of wish I’d made the twisted rib section a little narrower. But I’m not bothered enough to reknit, or even to ladder down and change, so… it’s all good.

I’ve also finished the sleeves, which I’m a little paranoid about, not gonna lie. The last couple of times I knit long sleeves, I didn’t do so well – Roam’s sleeves are too long, and let’s not get started with all of Eris’s sleeve issues. So I made T measure me several times just to make sure. I think these are good now, but we’ll see once I seam everything.

After seaming, all I have left is to knit the neckline edging. Oh, and to sew on the buttons. Can’t wait to have a new sweater!

Years ago, before I knew any better, I’d purchased a bag of bulky-weight wool on sale. It wasn’t until after it was too late to return it that I asked myself: “what the heck does a San Diegan need bulky-weight wool for, anyway?!”

Finally, it was T who gave me an answer. We had a conversation a couple of weeks before Christmas that started like this:

T: “My feet are cold.”
K: “Dude, I made you two pairs of wool socks, why don’t you wear them?”
T: “I don’t want to wreck them!”

Which explains why I once thought he never wore his handknit socks. Turns out he does, but only in shoes. Since we don’t wear shoes in the house, and he didn’t own any slippers, he would swap out the wool socks out for cotton ones as soon as he got home.

And he’d been doing that because our carpet is pretty hard on socks. He witnessed me darn several of my pairs within the first six months of our moving into our current place, before I remembered that I actually owned a pair of slippers (a gift from my parents that I’d barely used in my previous laminate-floored place) and started using them regularly. I haven’t had much of a problem with premature sock wear since.

So, the conversation continued along these lines:

K: “Well… I could make you house socks out of heavier yarn so they wouldn’t take as much time, would you feel less bad about wrecking them then?”
T: “I guess. But what about slippers?”

And you know? That wasn’t a bad idea.

Pattern: Felt Clogs by Bev Galeskas
Yarn: Elann Peruvian Wool Bulky in Oxford Heather
Needles: US13 Denise circulars

I opted for this particular pattern, since I knew several people who had used it – more than once, even! And I can see why it’s so popular, it’s a nice, clever, and clear pattern.

We have a front-loading washer, and I wasn’t sure how felting was going to go – I hadn’t actually felted anything in years, and that was back when I had a top-loader. Turns out I shouldn’t have worried, it turned out fine.

They’re still going to wear through at some point, but neither of us will feel all that bad about it by then, I think. T should get plenty of use out of them before then. And these took me so little time to make, and they were pretty fun too, so it won’t be that big of a deal to reknit them.

Also? He’s worn them pretty much every day since I finished them. So, success!

This project actually went pretty quickly, after I started working on it more than once a fortnight.

Pattern: Textured Shawl Recipe (Ravelry link) by Orlane
Yarn: Jo Sharp DK Wool Tweed in Oatmeal
Needles: US7 / 4.5mm Clover bamboo circular

My only modification was to mirror the textured pattern.

It’s really more of a scarf or shawlette because of it’s size, but I like that, I think. Cute and warm, but not too bulky or unwieldy. I’m glad to have it, and I’m glad to have used up some of the oldest yarn in my stash.

Speaking of which, I didn’t really like working with the Jo Sharp DK Tweed – it was pretty rough on my hands. It did soften up a little after a wash, though. I wouldn’t wear it right next to my skin, but it’s nice as another layer.

This still holds true today. I’m slightly bigger all around than I was as a teen, but my general shape hasn’t changed. So, what do I do when I see cute top-closure sweaters? Avoid them altogether?

Hah! Why would I do that when I could add buttons all the way down, or change the pattern to a bottom-closing one instead?

This is Amelia, by Laura Chau. Sort of. I say sort of because I’m actually just using the stitch patterns and making a sweater with actual waist shaping. I’m also knitting it in pieces, because if Peregrine taught me anything, it’s that I don’t actually like working sweaters in the round.

I’m also changing the raglan shaping and doing set-in sleeves instead, because I don’t think raglan shaping works for my body if I use my preferred amount of ease in the bust. I mean, Roam fits okay, but that sweater ended up with way more ease than I intended. And all of my most comfortable store-bought items with raglan shaping are also oversized in the bust. Set-in shaping, on the other hand, has been working pretty well for me so far.

Let’s see how this goes!

Pattern: Peregrine by Kate Gilbert
Yarn: Cascade 220 Sport in color 8892
Needles: US4 / 3.50mm Clover bamboo circulars and Plymouth bamboo DPNs

The length and weight make this more of a skirt sweater, I think. Arm Candy’s a good casual sweater for jeans or heavier skirts. Peregrine, on the other hand, isn’t as heavy, so won’t look so odd with the lighter skirts I wear most of the year.

Speaking of the shaping, I kept the bulk of it at the sides, just like in the pattern. But, I added vertical bust darts. Unfortunately, they’re still a bit too high. I actually started them at a good point, but I think I need to do the increases more frequently next time. Still fits fine though.

I get why this was written to be knit in the round, but for some reason, it felt like it took longer to knit than something in pieces would have. Something about the length of the rows/rounds. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me.

I was waffling on working the picot edging for the sleeves and body – I hated the first couple of rows so much, I almost ripped them out and went for a plain bottom hem – but I guess it was worth it. I’m not sure I can say the same about the bindoff for the collar, since you can barely see the points.

I had just barely enough yarn to finish; I had to cannibalize my swatch. No big deal though. Speaking of the yarn, the Cascade 220 Sport was lovely to knit with, though it did stain my needles. But there was very little bleed when I was actually washed the sweater, and it blocked out beautifully.

I don’t see myself wearing Peregrine during the hottest months – it is a wool sweater, after all. But it should be perfect for pretty much the rest of the year. Yay for (nearly) year-round wear!

My version’s cobweb weight on US00 / 1.75mm needles. Which you might think would drive me nuts, but you’d be so very, very wrong. I’ve finished chart 1, so I’m a little over 90 rows in here, and so far, so good!

I’m using Yarn Place Heaven, which is actually finer than the last cobweb weight yarn I knit (Jade Sapphire Lacey Lamb, which I used for my Peacock Feathers). This yarn has a drier, crisper feel too, and is a little easier to split if you’re not careful. So I have to be a little more attentive this time, but no big deal. I’m having fun with this, so why would I mind paying more attention to it?

Seriously, I like lots of detail when it comes to lace. As you may have noticed, I get really bored really fast on patterns that are basically the same two rows over and over. This project? I’ve just gotten to the part where there’s an eight-row repeat at the edge of the center triangle, and a 30-row repeat in the middle. So, the detail-oriented part of me is really loving this right now.

My only beef with the pattern so far is the size of the charts – as printed, they’re ridiculously hard for me to read. They were easy enough to blow up, though, so I can’t complain too much.

Pattern: Juno Regina by Miriam Felton
Yarn: Malabrigo Lace in Purple Mystery
Needles: US1 / 2.5mm Addi Lace circulars

My only modification was width – I only did chart 3 thrice, because I wanted a narrower scarf. I’m glad I did that, though, because it meant there was that much less knitting to do. Because it’s a pretty scarf, and I’m glad to gave the finished product, but I really, really did not enjoy working on this.

It would have been a good work project because other than the ends, it’s basically the same two rows over and over again, so easy to do while on the phone. However, the incredible stickiness of the yarn made it really difficult. It got easier when I started working from the outside of the ball rather than the center, but… that’s really not saying much.

In fact, if you compare both ends, you can totally tell which one I started from because that end’s already a bit felted. It’s even more noticeable in person, but I think you can get the idea from the photo.

The pattern itself was nice though. I liked working the ends. The middle was boring, but again, there’s a place for that, given a better yarn.

I’ve got a Textured Shawl in progress, using some Jo Sharp DK Tweed I’d had since… 2005, I think? I know I got it early in my knitting life, started a scarf with it, and then got bored with it about two inches in. This project, on the other hand? Much better. Easy, but not mind-numbingly dull.

Next, a new pair of socks! I’m so glad Spey Valley turned out to be the next pair for my self-imposed sock club, because I really didn’t have the heart for another pattern with twisted stitches so soon. Sadly, I don’t think it’s the best yarn-to-pattern match in the world – the second ribbing pattern is especially lost here – but oh well.

Speaking of finishes, the third new project is also an FO. I got a new phone in October, so I decided I’d make a quick little sleeve for it. Or sock. Whatever. As long as it helps keep my phone from getting scratched in my purse, it’s all good! The yarn is left over from the Kindle sleeve I made earlier this year, though I knit it on US0s this time.

Unfortunately, it pools a bit at this gauge, though the worst of it’s actually happening on the back of the phone (in this photo at least). Oh well. I can live with it. I think.

So, what about the fourth project? That’s also an FO now, but it merits its own post. Just need to take decent photos of it first…