Progress on 2013 Plans

When I began the year, I wanted to do certain things, which believe it or not, I've been doing! In particular, I wanted to stop buying yarn (I have), and start using stash (I have), and I especially wanted to finish many projects that were on the needles. These were really important choices I made, as I'm a bit of a spendthrift when it comes to yarn...oh boy.

So it's with a lot of glee that I report that I haven't been buying yarn! Ok...not MUCH yarn. I did pick up yarn for those ruffle scarves (for gifts). I had also exempted sock yarn, but so far, I've not succumbed to the lure of that. (I haven't been to any new yarn shop, either, which is a criteria for buying sock yarn in the first place...)

I'm trying to hold to just starting new items when I finally finish big projects. And for the most part I've held to that, too. I exempted socks, there as well, because My Sweetheart doesn't have many pairs of handknit socks, so I'm trying to remedy that. To that effect, I began these new Brown Tweed socks (Trekking XXL) last week, after finishing the last pair. I had the Trekking in stash, of course.

Himself seems really pleased with the look of them, so that's another good thing!

And the big project I finally finished is this:

My sis-in-law will finally get her Landscape Shawl. I have to admit this was one of the toughest knits I've done - not because it's complex, it's not. But I totally and completely LOATHE Seed Stitch. And I've apparently not quite figured out the yarnover when moving from purl to knit. I think that's the one. The yarnovers are erratic on one side (on the other, not so much). Can't you just imagine The Tonk here expressing his disapproval? I can.

Maybe I need a remedial knitting class? This was literally just garter, stockinette, seed, and moss stitch. I dislike the last two. And so it made for a very unpleasant knit, and that's another reason it took so blasted long. I started this in November 2010! And I didn't make the entire pattern. I was getting to the point where I hated it so much I couldn't make myself pick it up. I finally took it and measured it on sis-in-law, and stopped it after the last bit of the fourth pattern section. There was yet a FIFTH pattern that I completely eliminated.

Glad I know how to make socks. At least I can feel accomplished about something!

By the way, I'll be forced into something of a knitting hiatus come May, when I have shoulder surgery. Not too sure how long the recovery will be, as they're not sure what they'll find till they get in there, but it's potentially a long recovery. So I think I might pick up a few crochet books and see about spending those weeks with the hook. I've been wanting to learn it better. This seems like the perfect time. You're suggestions about good books to learn crochet (I'm thinking along the lines of Knitting for Anarchists by Zilboorg, might be a great one. Something that can teach me to SEE the stitches and learn to read them the way I do knitting stitches - and I'm still learning on that one, too).