Friday, January 6, 2017

FMM - 2016 Knitting Projects!

Maybe I should have titled this post "Knitting Projects 2016" because it kinda looks like I am saying that I knitted 2,016 things.  NOT POSSIBLE.  At least in my world, it's not.  However, I did complete quite a few projects last year, so I thought I'd quickly revisit them with you.

It should come as no surprise that the item I knitted the most of was socks.  Hey, I should get double the credit for these, as I had to make two of them per project.  What, that's not a thing?  Well, harrumph.  If I were in charge, there would be all kinds of superlatives and ribbons handed out.  I grew up in an era before the participation trophy became a thing, so I'm a bit needy in that area.

Anyway, socks.  I completed nine pairs last year:
...and if you count the single socks that are still in process of getting their mate, I knitted a grand total of 21 socks!  I'm happy with that amount - I love sock yarn and really enjoy seeing how it knits up.  I still can't believe I can take what is basically some colorful string and a couple of sticks and turn that into a pair of socks, but that's the magic of knitting for you.

Hats were my next most-often knitted items - I separated them out into adult and baby groupings for this post.  Here are the adult hats:
Only one was for me (the hat in the top right square, made out of leftover yarn from hats I made for friends - I love sharing a hat with them).  

Baby items rounded out my completed projects - if you ever want to be entertained, just listen to me as I knit a baby hat or sweater...I can't stop myself from speaking out loud (usually only Paco is listening) about how darn adorable and tiny everything is.  Two more tiny hats, plus a wee sweater:
That monkey hat still kills me with cuteness.

So in total, I completed 16 projects in 2016 - OOOOH!!!  I just realized that!  Dang it.  You know I'm going to have to go for 17 projects this year.  Well, I have a good start on one - this sweater, which I began in March of 2016 but then set aside for the duration of our long hot summer.  I am very close to finishing it and I'm declaring my goal, here, in front of all 12 of my readers, that I will have it done by March 23, 2017, which is one year to the day of casting on:
Taking it out of the bin will be a big step in actually knitting it.  Which I will do.  Soon.

I've been knitting for five years now, and while I can see how my knitting has evolved and improved over those five years, I still feel somewhat like a beginner at times.  There are a lot of techniques that I won't tackle (like Fair Isle, or anything that is charted), but I'm getting braver - did you see all those socks?  And soon, a full-fledged, adult-sized sweater that I knitted will be in my closet - how wild is that??

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Well, we are on taper week for the upcoming Houston half marathon - this race sure came up fast!  At this point, we've done all we can do, so our run for tomorrow is going to be a Gump run - we'll just take off running and go until we feel like stopping.  Hopefully we'll stop somewhere near our vehicles, because otherwise that could be problematic, LOL.  Actually, there's a new road that juts off of the main road that we run on, and while it's not open to traffic yet, it is completed, so I think that's the direction we'll go...and see where we end up!

Have a great weekend!

21 comments:

  1. Your knitting posts make me wish I could knit! I love everything!

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  2. Wow great job on all your knitting projects last year!

    Have fun on your run tomorrow!

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    1. Thanks! It was pretty fun to see all the projects together like this.

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  3. "Taking it out of the bin will be a big step in actually knitting it." I'm still laughing. Because its SO TRUE. I am truly impressed with how many projects you finished, and that you only set the sweater aside for a matter of months, not years!

    And the Houston Half--I am surprised too at how fast it came up. I will look forward to reading about that adventure.

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  4. Good job on all your projects. I love the monkey hat, it's just adorable. Also I think I see a kitty hat up there? I'm having one done for me for the March on Washington. I waited until the last minute to decide if I wanted one or not, otherwise I would have asked/paid you to do it ;)

    Enjoy your taper. It's such a conundrum - it's nice to rest but it makes you restless lol.

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    1. I wondered if you were wanting a hat, but I ended up not knitting much over the holidays (some people want the room pitch dark when we watch movies), so I kinda let go of knitting for a bit. Really excited for you to go to the March on Washington and I cannot wait to hear about it!

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  5. 5 years. I remember when you first started knitting. It can't be 5 years!

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  6. I'm pretty embarrassed. I may have run a lot of races but knitting-wise 2016 was pathetic.

    I still haven't finished that pair of socks!!!

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    1. And I was inspired by your picture to finish my pair!

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  7. Do you have an Etsy shop? If not, I think you should start one. Also, I always love your sock projects and would like to offer a suggestion. Could you make longer socks (like boot socks) and then sew lace (or something) around the top. I think you would be able to sell those in a heartbeat. Heck, maybe you can get approved to sell them at the hospital gift shop. ( I teach an 8th grade entrepreneur class so of course my brain is always thinking like this...haha)

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    1. I appreciate when people suggest an Etsy shop because that means they like what I knit. But I am not a fast knitter, nor am I a cheap knitter - sock yarn can run me anywhere from $12 to $25 a pair, and that's not including any cost for time spent knitting. I don't think most people would pay $50 and up for a pair of hand knit socks, sadly.

      And your idea for the lace-trimmed boot socks is a good one - in fact, we do sell socks like that at the hospital gift shop. Simply Noelle brand. I think they go for about $23...you can see the difference in something manufactured overseas vs. handmade.

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    2. You make a good point. Most hand made items are usually made out of more expensive materials. My aunt knots/chrochets andd has made oodles and oodles of blankets and I know she has lots of $ into each one of them. What do you do with all your projects?

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    3. Well, I have a lot of socks, LOL. I give things to people who I feel appreciate a handknitted item (there are those who love machine knits from Target better, and that's fine - they just don't get stuff from me).

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  8. I am so impressed by all of those pairs of socks! Knitting amazes me because I cannot do it :) Can't wait to see the sweater all finished!! :)

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  9. Wow! You have completed a lot of projects last year. And all beautiful, hard to choose a favourite.

    I remember when you started knitting and yes, you have learned so much. To me you are definitely an experienced knitter!

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  10. You will totally get that sweater done! I have to show you the sweater my friend made her mom for xmas - it's amazing - https://micapie.com/2016/12/29/ambitious-arrowhead-coat-igan-for-mom/

    Everything you made turned out so great! I especially love the hat you made with leftover yarn. That's super cool.

    Hope your last gump run was fun!

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    1. Thanks for that link - the sweater she made is just beautiful. I can't even imagine taking on a project like that.

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  11. "All 12 of your readers"
    Ha!

    You silly...

    Chrissy

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