first FO - cozy for the commute

Monday I go back to work, just in time for a HIGH of -14 degrees Celsius on the thermometer.  I travel with a cup of coffee and knit myself a cup cozy.  It's project #1 for my "12 in 2016 Tin Can Knits KAL".

Fast and easy, and used up a bit of stashed dk weight yarn.  On to the next!

12 in 2016 - getting ahead of the holiday curve

Now is the time to think about goals for 2016.  I don't make resolutions (I overthink my life on a daily basis, I don't need January 1st for that!), but I do make some goals to strive for as I look ahead to what worked and what didn't this past year.  Every year I get to December and wish I had stockpiled gifts.... so I'm going to try to do that this year.  I've decided to focus on accessories and have joined a "12 in 2016" KAL with the designers at Tin Can Knits.

They posted several patterns as 'gifts' this month in a "12 Days of Christmas" fashion, giving away a pattern a day for 12 days.  I queued almost all (I don't knit socks), and will knit them throughout the year.  In no particular order:

Main Street - coffee cup sleeves (one for me, one to gift)
Sweetness - a 2-colour cowl I'll knit with black and white yarn from my stash
Antler Mitts - bulky mittens that are adorable (I knit the Antler hat this year, may do another)
Paved - boot cuffs that are adorable and may be mine instead of a gift
Lowlands - a simple hat that will be a good 'teacher gift' perhaps
Sitka Spruce - a hat and mitts set
Honeycomb - super cute fingerless mitts
Gather - hat and cowl set that I'll knit with Arroyo yarn from my stash
Clayoquot Toque - a colour-work hat that I'll knit with yarn from my stash
Gothic Lace Cowl - a lace cowl in worsted/aran weight yarn, with buttons
Loch - a sport-weight hat and mitts set - I'll likely just knit the hat with some Rastita in my stash
Hipster - a basic hat with some slouch
Northward - a bulky cabled hat
2x2 - bulky cabled cowl (I knit one this year, it's fast and easy, with buttons!)
Bon Bon Toque - cabled hat

My other goal is to deplete the stash this year.  This is a goal I've set before but I'm determined to do it this year.  A few yarns I'll use for the projects above:

Malabrigo Arroyo

Malabrigo Rastita

Madelinetosh tosh dk

Lett-Lopi

I have lots planned, but hope for a year with lots of knitting time ahead!

finishing

I have many WIPs that must get finished.  Mentally, I don't do well with things that are incomplete.  I like 'works in progress' at times, or the idea that there may not be a 'finish line'.  I run for the joy of running, exercise because I feel good, eat well because I like to feel healthy - not to get to a size or number on a scale.  I am happy to abandon books I don't like (life's too short to read boring books), or read parts of books that can be picked up and put down.

In my knitting this year, I want to finish what I've started.  I say this often, but am committed to getting things done.  I have a few projects that have lingered for a variety of reasons:  set aside to finish gifts, set aside to join a KAL, or set aside for something different.  Now, I want to finish all the things I've started so I can focus on knitting things I really want to knit (info on my plans to come soon...).  To get finished:

Bastille  - a cowl that I've been working on for more than a year

Long waistcoat (vest) - this is knitting up quickly, and will get a lot of wear over leggings with boots this winter

Mosaic sweater - the back and sleeves are done (solid brown ribbing) so I just have the front to go.  I'm enjoying the mosaic pattern, and think this will fit well.  

I've been able to knit a lot over the holidays, so I am hopeful that all will be done very soon.  I need layers - looks like winter weather is finally arriving this week!

time

It's December 23, two days until Christmas.  Gifts were finished on time, so the time pressure has been relieved for now.  I knit a capelet for my mom from Vogue Holiday 2015 using yarn with a thread of sparkle.  It's cozy, but will layer well over a casual outfit on a cruise ship (for an upcoming trip).   Not modeled, but may get a shot on the recipient in a couple of days:

Other hats and cowls made it into the hands of friends and teachers, so I'm now able to go back to projects started but not finished.  My knitting has been interrupted though, as I teach my two kids how to knit.  Young grade-school boys are not as patient as one would hope.  They've mastered garter stitch and have knit a scarf, a hat (I did the crown shaping and seaming), and a cowl.  Both want to knit more, but also realize it's a slow process.  Bulky yarn helps!  It's fun watching them master a skill, enjoy a hobby, and have something to do in the rainy days leading up to Christmas this year.  Maybe next year, they'll contribute to the gift pile!

fast november - gift season

Slow October is followed by fast November, as I try to knit as many gifts as I can.  I vow each year to knit gift items year-round to avoid the rush.  So far I haven't kept that promise to myself!  I am committed to spending less this Christmas, and giving gifts I have made will help.

To that end, hats and cowls are flying off the needles as I knit as much as possible this fall:

2x2 - a Tin Can Knits pattern

Barley - another Tin Can Knits patttern

Still on the needles I have a One-Ball Cuffed Hat, a Hella hat (both in Lion's Pride Woolspun) and a Cropped Poncho for my mom.  The hats have a birthday deadline of Nov. 27, but the poncho is a Christmas gift.  Let's hope I finish!

Slotober - 'worn' or 'worn out'?

I wear a lot of knitted accessories.  They add colour to my fairly neutral wardrobe, and I'm always cold so cowls and scarves work for me year-round.    I also knit a lot of accessories to give away.  This year most people will get a knitted gift as I try to simplify (and reduce) the holiday budget.

My most recent one is a hat - Antler Hat by Tin Can Knits.  Made the largest size to fit my dad's head, so I hope he likes it.  The colour is a bit brighter than he usually wears, but I think he'll like it.  Teal is on-trend this year, but I'm pretty sure that's not on my father's radar!

Next up is a cowl that I will gift to someone (kids' teachers?  colleagues?  not sure yet...).  It's another Tin Can Knits pattern - 2 x 2.  It's a buttoned cowl in bulky yarn.  I have some dk weight in the same colour (both are Patons Classic Wool) so maybe a matching hat or fingerless mitts will come too.

 
But those will come in November, as I'm worn out now!

SMALL and LOVE

Love this tunic.  Wore it with a skirt, with jeans, dressed it up, dressed it down.  Also love the that the yarn is Canadian -  Briggs and Little - bought at my Local Yarn Store.  It's Irish Coffee by BabyCocktails, so also like that it's an independent design.  I do buy magazines and like the feel of a pattern in my hands rather than on screen, but this one was a winner.  I want my closet to be full of sweaters and garments that are versatile and that look great on.  

This weekend is Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada so I am also thinking about the holidays a little earlier than my neighbours in the USA might be.  We don't typically go for Christmas 'stuff' until after Halloween, but it's still on the mind now that it's Thanksgiving.  I'm queuing up lots of gift knitting.  This is not 'slow' knitting as it's deadline-driven, but it is knitting that lends itself to the notion that a gift is more than a thing in a bag.  It represents both the recipient and the giver.  I want my gifts to be hand made, and to reflect the care I have for my family and friends.  Not a quick purchase but instead a well-planned present that took time and careful consideration.  I guess that best sums up the slow fashion idea for me:  careful consideration.

Slow October

Joining in at Fringe Association for Slow Fashion October.  I'm thinking about need versus want right now, as we head into holiday season.  I'm trying to scale down what I buy and what I wish for so that I focus more on enjoying what I have instead of longing for what I don't have.  This is not a huge mind-set change, more of a honing in more mindfully on what I've always been thinking but have not always been living.

I usually knit holiday gifts, but this year most people will get a handmade gift as the main thing rather than an 'add-on' to other gifts.  So far I've knit some hats (some started in the summer), both from Babycocktails Tiki collection:

I've also knit a baby gift for a colleague instead of donating money to a group gift - very cute Tin Can Knits pattern, Gramps:

I've started a cowl for a friend's birthday that needs to be done by the 9th (so not so slow after all!):

I don't sew (used to but it wasn't for me, mostly because I don't have a space to keep things out until they are done, and packing away everything/unpacking again the next day was tedious), but I do cook.  We usually go out for dinner when we have a sitter or when kids go to grandparents', but this time we stayed in.  I bought a book for inspiration (author's blog isNot Without Salt) and made three dishes from two menus.

Dinner at home, at our pace, for a fraction of the cost at a restaurant seems to fit with the theme for me.  Spend less, enjoy more.  For me, that's the driving thought behind my Slow(er) October.

Dansez - FO

Dansez is done!  The colour changes aren't noticeable now that it's seamed so all is well.  Modelled shots to come...

FO - Rory

I finally finished my Lorelai shawl.  It's lovely, and will get lots of wear in the fall and winter.  Too hot to model but it's done!

blocking

I'm blocking my Dansez pullover and notice a glaring difference.  The front is a different colour than the back and sleeves.  I knit it last, but the front was made with a different skein than the sleeves, and the back used a third.

I'm not frogging or reknitting it, as I think it will be less noticeable once it's sewn together.  We shall see!

progress

I've had time to knit so progress is being made:

Rory (my  Lorelei shawl) - finish line is in sight as I just have the garter border to go.

Dansez - I'm at the shaping for the back after adding an extra 4 inches in length (because anything that ends right at the waist is not flattering on me).

Seattle Cowl (my version of Bastille) is finally past the half-way point.  Taking forever not because it's complicated but because I keep moving to other things.

Feeling less 'stuck' now that I can see progress.  I think most of us are like that - we'll persevere if we can see the finish line.

Windward Hat - FO, a WIP, and the Stash-Down

A finished hat!  It's Windward Island from Babycocktails' Tiki Collection.  I plan to knit the whole collection.  Perhaps by Christmas but deadlines are not my friend in the world of knitting, so we'll see.  The hat is lovely, the yarn was fantastic to work with.  I'll definitely be using it again.  When I'm done using my stash.

Speaking of stash, I bought this yarn to make Sous Sous, which I realized wouldn't really be fore me as I saw other FOs on Ravelry.  It's now going to be Dansez from Amy Herzog's first book Fit to Flatter.  I have it from the library so will knit like the wind to get it done in August before I have to return the book.

I've just cast on the back.  I have a bit more done that you see here (a very, very small bit - like 2 or 4 more rows), but am confident I can get it done.  I've joined the Very Shannon Summer Sweater Knit Along to motivate myself.  The idea is to knit a sweater in time for the start of fall.  Which, here in Canada, comes sooner than I'd like to think.  The sponsor is Brooklyn Tweed.  I love their patterns and yarns, but cannot afford the yarn (sigh) and am determined to only knit from my stash for a very long time (or until it's almost gone).  I've said this before but am determined this time for a variety of reasons:

- need to declutter, and am committed to having what I need on hand, and not spending on yarn that I love in theory but don't have time to knit or the impulse of the pattern passes (or both)

- need to spend less and use what I have (in all areas of life, not just knitting - read from my bookshelf, cook from my pantry...)

- commit to the purchases I've made and follow through 

So off I go to knit a sweater by the end of August.  And yes, this is the same blog I joined the KAL for the Lorelai shawl that is almost but not quite done.  It will be finished by the end of September.  I hope.