Good-bye, 2011!

I am going to do a quick and easy year end summary this year...a slide show:



I hope you enjoy.

If you want any more detailed information about any of these projects, look for the list of 2011 completed projects in the sidebar on the right.

Happy New Year!

Remember Those Goals for 2010?

It's time to look at how I did for my goals of 2010. Last January, I listed a few "big" projects I wanted to do in 2010 in this post. Don't worry if you don't want to go back and read the whole post, I will summarize here:

First was to quilt my Hawaiian Star quilt top. I set my goal low, actually, and only challenged myself to start the quilting on this top.

I didn't.

But I'm not calling this a complete fail. I think my piecing skills are way ahead of my quilting skills. So, I bought Marti Michell's book, Machine Quilting in Sections, to help me handle this large quilt in my home machine.

I also finished my mini Crossed Canoes quilt, which involved lessons about quilting. And, in fact, quilting on my Kaffe Fassett quilt this fall has also taught me a lot.

Another part of the goal was to quilt each month on what had been my afghan Sundays. This actually worked out really well; I think I only missed one month all year. And I did a lot more quilting than I ever had before.

Summary: I didn't meet the goal, but progress was definitely made.

Next was a trench or rain coat made from plarn. I had in mind this pattern:

(It was available from the Moda Dea website, but that has since been discontinued. You may now find it on the Coats and Clark website.)

I went so far as to swatch this stitch pattern and found out that there was no way I was getting gauge with the plarn. Plus the stitch design just didn't look good.

I've tried to find other patterns but I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to have to swatch a basic stitch and then design the thing myself with the top down method. So no, I haven't gone any further. I'm finding this daunting to start. (And there are so many other fun distractions...)

Like this sweater:

Who is surprised that the one goal I met was a knitting project? Nope, not me either.

But let that not detract from the fact that I did get it done and it turned out great. I was wearing it the other day and was amazed again at just how well it fits and feels. The sleeves are the perfect length; it just skims my hips.

Hurray! One done.

I'm not setting new specific "target" projects for 2011, but I would be happy to continue quilting at the rate that I am and to just get a start on that plarn trench. (The start will be the hardest part anyway.)

I also would be like to add a little more charity knitting into the mix. I notice I've done less of it in 2010. Getting those three turtleneck hats done and shipped off would be a good start.

All for now! Keep those needles clicking, sewing machines humming, or your tool making whatever sound it makes as you get going and do stuff!

Review of a Crafty 2009

The end of the year is as good as time as any to look back and see what you've accomplished. I've got a lot of pictures and not much text for you today. (Because let's just say it out loud, I was verbose enough about these projects while I was making them!)

First up: a series of necklaces made with beads from a necklace my father wore:

Next, I've made a lot of sweaters/shirts for myself...

The Sahara by Wendy Bernard:

The Pencil Sketch Camisole by Iris G:

The Deep V Argyle Vest by Eunny Jang:

The Pioneer by kBomb (a Red Purl summer knit-along):

The February Fitted Pullover by Amy Herzog:

Next are a couple projects I started years ago and finally finished this year. (Yeah!)

A baby cardigan by Michele Rose Orne from Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2007:

and the Mariah by Jodi Green:

I crocheted a couple of plarn bags, but it was new to add embellishments and purchased handles:

I made a lot of slippers for family Christmas presents this year:

The project also turned into a popular class at Red Purl.

I also started to get into socks this year and made a few:

Finished my Hawaiian Star quilt top:
I got to take it to my first quilt show (the AQS show in Des Moines) and get some advice from Helen Squire on how to quilt it.

And the last big project finished would be the Red Purl knit-along afghan:
Phew!! That's a lot of knitting in a year!

See you next year!