New Year, Newish Blog Purpose

I've been using this blog just to post the finished projects I've made. Basically, I keep all of my notes on my project page on Ravelry and then when a project is finished, I just copy those notes, add a few pictures, and post here. There have been a few times that I thought about writing posts about knitting or what I'm currently working on, but I didn't because this blog was, in my mind, just for finished project posts. But why? Just because that's what I've done in the past doesn't mean that I have to continue that in the future. And so I am taking this blog in a slightly new direction. Not entirely new, because it will still be about me and my knitting, but it will be about my entire knitting life and not just finished projects. So with that in mind, here are some of my current thoughts on my knitting life.

Wait, knitting life? What life? I had a beautiful baby boy in August and my knitting life has definitely taken a nose dive since then. I just don't have as much time to knit as before and I don't have as much time to get into intricate projects (such as lace shawls) because I don't have the luxury of uninterrupted concentration time. So what little knitting I've done has consisted of very simple projects. I also haven't used my spinning wheel since my son was born (that's something else this blog will do--given that I have any time to spin--I'll also talk about spinning). Now, I don't want to give up any time with my son and don't feel bad that I'm spending time with him instead of knitting. But I do feel the desire to do something really intricate with knitting.

Now that my son is 4 months old, he's starting to take longer naps (sometimes) and go to bed an hour or two before me (sometimes). I plan to use those times, when he is sleeping, to get some knitting time in and time that I can use to perhaps create something that does more than just use stockinette or ribbing. So I'm spending this evening (my son is napping right now) planning out some of my future knitting ideas. I've gone through my queue on Ravelry and have pulled up some of the projects that as of right now get me excited. I'm going to list them here and pick one and then after I'm finished with this post, I will go wind the yarn and print the pattern and find the correct needles (swatching if necessary). If I actually get started on the project tonight, that would be great, but I'm going to make my goals small each day so that I can be able to meet them and feel happy when I exceed them (instead of disappointed when I don't meet them). So here are the projects I'm currently contemplating.

Evenstar Shawl: This shawl is circular and done in a lace weight yarn. As soon as I came across the pattern (it went into my queue on December 2, 2010), I knew that I had to knit it. And I bought yarn specifically for it: JulieSpins Vera Lace in True Blue. Can't you just see that beautiful yarn and beautiful shawl matched up together? I haven't done a circular shawl yet, so this would be something new. And the lace pattern really seems like it will match with my desire to do something intricate.

© Susan Pandorf

Trellis and Vine Pullover: This pattern came out in the Fall 2009 issue of Interweave Knits. I love the detail around the bottom, neck, and wrists. Although the pattern calls for DK weight yarn, I had in my stash some lovely MadTosh Eyre (worsted weight) in Lapis that I immediately pictured the sweater being knit in. So my plan (since January 8, 2010) has been to swatch this and see if I can get gauge for this sweater in my yarn.

© Interweave Press

Herbivore by Stephen West: I love the way that Stephen West designs look. And yet I have knit only one of his patterns (Akimbo). I really need to do more. And the shape of this shawl is appealing. I've also had it queued for a while: since June 1, 2010. I picked up some Malabrigo Sock in Solis on May 27, 2010, so I must have queued the pattern for this yarn in particular just a few days after I got it.

© westknits

Celtic Knot Stole by Sarah Kendra Hughes: Okay, so the name of this one definitely caught me, as well as the look, but it was not the pattern itself that I was first attracted to. Instead, it was some yarn. In the summer of 2010, I went on an Alaskan cruise and one stop was in Victoria, British Columbia, a town I fell in love with. There were several yarn stores there and I found this Skacel Merino Lace yarn in this gorgeous green and picked it up with no project in mind. So I started searching on Ravelry and that's when I found this stole. I thought it would look exquisite in the green and have had it queued since August 1, 2010.

Mediumweight Pullover by Hannah Fettig: I made the lightweight pullover a few years ago and I love it. I wouldn't mind making that pattern again, but then I saw that the designed put out a pattern of the same design but in a different weight of yarn. I've had this MadTosh Pastoral in Nocturne sitting around since December 30, 2009. I've been pattern jumping with it, but thought that to really highlight the beautiful yarn, this simple yet elegant pullover pattern would be perfect and have had it queued since December 25, 2010.

© Hannah Fettig

Pom Pom Peds: I don't like the pom poms. I'll just start off with that. But I do like the ankle socks. I've had it queued since October 14, 2011, but I have not yet matched up yarn for it. Actually, my plan is to make several pairs of these. And I have more than enough fingering weight yarn lying around to do so.

© Purl Soho

Miss Bennet's Beaded Bag by Joanna Johnson: When Jane Austen Knits came out, I fell in love with quite a few patterns and definitely have some great knitting plans for that special magazine issue. This pattern, besides just liking it, will do two things for me: first, I will be able to try some Spud and Chloe yarn, which I've been wanting to do and second, I could try my hand at adding beads to my knitting. The one downfall with starting this one is that I don't have the beads. I'll need to fix that and get some beads so that I can start this one.

© Interweave Press

Pemberley Slippers by Kristi Schueler: Another pattern from Jane Austen Knits. I love the lace edging. And sport weight yarn? Why I have some in a colorway named for a Jane Austen character (Plucky Knitter MCN Sport in Captain Wentworth). Matching these two up seemed great (so what if I'm mixing books: Pride and Prejudice with Persuasion).

© Interweave Press

Ashfield Cardigan by Melissa LeBarre: Finally, this cardigan is from the New England Knits book. I loved so many of the patterns in this book but this is one I definitely want to make. The yarn (JulieSpins MCN 250 in Veritas) has been sitting in my stash since November 8, 2009. I bought it originally for another pattern, but I think that I'll like it as this cardigan better and have had it queued since August 5, 2011.

© Interweave

So now which one do I pick? Do I go with the yarn I really want to use? The pattern I really want to make? The item I'm most immediately going to use? The one that has been queued the longest? The yarn that has been in my stash the longest? I think I'll actually pick two projects. First, the Pom Pom Peds (minus the pom poms) because I haven't done socks in a while and it will be a pretty simple project. Now I just need to go through my fingering weight yarn and pick something. Then I think I'll do the Ashfield Cardigan because I'd like to be able to wear it before the weather gets too warm and also because I want to knit a pattern from a book since I have all these books on my shelf that I always forget to check out when I'm looking for patterns (I usually just search on Ravelry).

So I have about 40 minutes before I plan to go to bed. That should be enough time to get the Ashfield Cardigan started: yarn wound, pattern read, needles picked out, and hopefully swatch started. Any leftover time I'll spend picking out yarn for the ankle socks. Unless the baby wakes, which is entirely possible as he's making a lot of movement right now (watching him on the video baby monitor). So we'll see what happens for the rest of this evening.