Monday, December 29, 2008

The deep snow, the long silence

First, let me just get it out of the way. The snow sucked. I hated it. I was ready for it to melt within 24 hours of when it started falling. Living on a hill in north Seattle meant that we got more snow than many parts of the city and it has melted more slowly. I hate my hiking boots, which is fine since I don't think they'll ever dry out again.

Whew, now that I have that off my chest...

Life has been full of fun bloggable activity that I just haven't blogged. I'll try to do better.

For today, however, I wanted to bravely state a goal for the upcoming year. I've been observing folks like Jessica, who are planning to knit a sweater a month in 2009, in much the same way a field researcher would cautiously observe rabid squirrels. Then Erika posted about her Stash-down goal for 2009, Total Stash Turnover (tm). This also seems excessively ambitious to me, but it's at least tempting in an "out with the old" kind of a way. So, after a little consideration, I've decided that my goal for 2009 is to finish (or finally frog) all the started sweaters (and sweater-like projects) I have. Here's the list, in order of how long it's been since I worked on it (with Ravelry links, for those of you who are members):
1. Trent's Schoolhouse Shetland Pullover - I'm almost done knitting the body. Half a pattern repeat more, and I can steek and finish the shoulders. Then I'll just have the sleeves.
2. Colette Sweater - I've knit all the pieces for this, and blocked the fronts and back. I need to seam front to back and pick up and knit the band, then sew in the sleeves.
3. Wensleydale Claire - I don't even know where this is right now. The fronts and back are knit, and I was somewhere in mid sleeve when I ran out of steam. So, half of the sleeves (I'm knitting them at once), sew, and band and collar.
4. Carpathian Roses - I at least know where all the parts of this are. I'm somewhere in the yoke section, and there's over half a sleeve knit.
5. Stupid charity baby sweater - of my own design. This is really embarrassing - its done except for the last inch or two of the second sleeve, and seaming it together. It was my "in my desk at work" project, back when I had work with a desk. I brought it home to finish it, but it went into the sewing room closet and never emerged.
6. Star vest - All this needs is arm facings. I'm pretty sure it's not going to fit, so it's been having an extended time out. I don't know if I can find the yarn. I should finish the sucker and just give it to someone, just to get it out of my mental space.
7. Linen-drape shell in a completely different yarn - I'm up to dividing for the neck on the front of this. There are only two pieces - just a front and back. You don't even have to knit bands - they're incorporated. I'm done with the back. I'm a smarter knitter now than I was when I abandoned this, so hopefully I can figure out where the hell I was when I quit.
8. Garter stitch jacket - one of my earliest sweater projects, in deep storage for a long time. It's on something like size 10 or 11 needles, so really, I have no excuse. The fronts and back are knit in one piece, and if I remember correctly I was about done with them, so just sleeves. Again, I'm pretty convinced I won't like this, but I showed it to my mom when she was here, and she did, so there ya go.

Most of this doesn't represent that much knitting, really (except the sleeves of #1). But given my rate of distraction, I'll feel really impressed with myself if I manage to get through these in the next year.

It would make me feel better if y'all feel inclined to chime in with stories of long-ignored projects, particularly those that are embarrassingly close to being done.

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