Wrapping it Up

I suppose it is the time of year when one must do a bit of a roundup of everything that was and focus on what will be, or dream of it at the very least.  

What was is pretty obvious.  Much knitting, a grandbaby, some garden stuff, a daughter.  It was a very big, big year her at Chez Needles.  May 2013 be just as good.

As you all can see by the sparse posts this past week, I am taking a bit of a holiday.  Not from knitting, but from everything else.  I'm doing lots and lots of knitting.  

In the deep parts of my head, there were yarns that I wanted to use this year and it occurred to me that I was hanging on to them for no good reason.  I had long worked out what I wanted to do with them, so it was time to use them.  

And you know what the best part of using them is.  Falling in love all over again.  How could I not?

I decided to pull out my Noro Kureyon.  I had split some bags with a friend and they decorated my shelf in the nicest way, but it was time to use them.  I can always use another addition to my sweater wardrobe.  This time between Christmas and New Years seemed the perfect time to get a serious amount of knitting done.

I started on Thursday.

I did more on Friday and Saturday

And by Sunday I was here.  By Sunday, my hands were tired so I slowed the pace on Sunday.

I'm not really sure if you can see what I am doing here.  The top is ribbed and the bottom, stockinette.  I'm about 2 inches into the stockinette.  I still have a long long way to go.  I'm going to be cutting it close on yarn, but then, isn't that my usual fear at this point in any sweater.  I do have the most marvelous fallback position though.

The 'skirt' of the sweater needs to be quite long.  I would like to have sleeves that are at least 3/4 length, but I suspect that I will have to give them up to keep the length of skirt it needs. I can live with short sleeves, I suppose but my bigger and better option is that I could, if needed, do a black border on all of it.  Button bands, sleeve ends, and bottom welt could all be a solid black.   I figure those things will give me at least 2 extra balls of yarn to work with and at least 3 more inches of length.  

I'm going to knit the start of the sleeves in a little bit, but only to the best short sleeve length, and then put them on holders. Then I'll see what I can get out of the rest of yarn I have for length.  If there is enough, I'll come back and finish the sleeves longer and if not, they will get a nice black yarn welt.  

I don't mind knitting without a pattern but I am most decidedly uncomfortable knitting without a safety net or sound fallback position.  And that is the state of my knitting.

I'm not sure if that is everything I have to say about the year that was, but it is everything I have to say about it today.  It was a pretty good year.  Life has been kind.  

Can't beat that as a year end wrap up.