Wednesday, January 7, 2015

2015 - The Year of the Hat?

Happy New Year, Knitters!  I hope your Christmas/ Holiday Season was as blissful as mine was.  There was lots of time to rest and relax and still sufficient time to enjoy the people who mean much to me.

Two weeks of vacation left me with the required time to finish several projects. First, I finished a weaving project -- the first one in about ten years.  The loom was warped in July, on my summer vacation, and I cut the warp off in time to wash and finish the table runners and placemats I'd made for Christmas presents.  Setting up the loom takes a lot of time, but it's really rewarding to see that strip of fabric, months later!

I also got an inherited knitting project finished.  Last summer, my mother handed me a bag containing a nearly-finished cardigan that her sister didn't get done before she passed away.  It just needed the pockets and bands, and there was LOTS of yarn, so I got this finished in December, and now my Dad has a sweater made by my Aunt Linda and me.

Designing continues in my world.  You won't see any of my designs in A Needle Pulling Thread in 2015 -- I'm taking the year off to work up new designs.  In December, I finished the first prototype for a vest.  The first draft of the pattern is done, and I'm checking the numbers.  This vest is made in an acrylic yarn, which makes it a most affordable project.

Stash busting took the form of two pair of fingerless mitts.  One pair was done before Christmas, and another pair materialized the day after Boxing Day.

Since then?  Well, I've started a large project, but it's hard to argue with the instant gratification of hats.  Three have come off the needles since December 27, and there's a fourth one that just needs cap shaping.  What's your "go to" project to knit when you can't think of anything else to do, or when you need a quick little "in between" project?

While I'll probably go on to other projects in another hat or two, so far, 2015 is "The Year of the Hat."

Here are two toques.  Both are made of wool superwash yarn, and both are destined for charities.