Happy New Year...a little late...

From Idaho!

We relocated over the holiday season.  Now that the settling in process has started, husband and I rewarded ourselves last night with a tasty adult beverage.
Here's to 2016 being even better than we all hope for!

Made just a few things this year

I've kept a written list of all the craft projects I have completed this year.  The list has everything from jewelry making to sewing and embroidery projects on it.  With the two completed projects below, I have sixty one items on that list.
This was an impulse join, and I'm so very glad I did! The pattern is Just For You Two by Laura Aylor the yarn is Malabrigo Mecha in the Hojas colorway.

The yarn is soft, squishy, and beautiful. The pattern was a joy to knit as it flew off the needles.

The second project is out of Hunter Hammersen's latest book Fine Things for Plain Occassions the pattern is Distinct Moral Support made using hand dye from Lucky Ewe Yarn in the Sedona colorway.

It's unlikely anything else will get finished between now and when I start my list of finished projects of 2016...maybe I should knit a little faster?  See if I can hit sixty two?

Yarn Realization

So, I've been getting all my yarn together.  This is it, minus two more bins (one of the bins shown is actually sewing supplies).  The bags are yarn and projects that did not fit in the available bins.

I have realized I may have quite a bit of yarn.  My bag of sanity, plus a large purse, both with yet more projects worth of yarn in them have not been included.  Those bags contain a decent sized yarn stash in their own right. They may have a solid two dozen projects worth under their slightly stressed zippers. I will likely weed out a couple more by the end of the day, but there will be enough downtime through New Year's that the number of projects is not unreasonable, just mildly insane.

Distracted By Making

Mostly what I am making is space.  Space has been made in closets, cabinets and the garage.  Who knew we had so much stuff we didn't need?

Socks have also been made:

A couple of shawls have been completed.  Rincewind:

It is warm, squishy, and as is common for me, green and purple.
The Vanessa Ives knit along also got completed, though it is still unblocked. I chose to add more beads instead of knitting nupps (which are decidedly not my favorite).  I even did the crocheted bind off, which took me a solid four days!

I really rather adore it, but probably won't have a chance to block it into it's full beauty till some time next year.
The other thing I am making is practical and in colors I like (and isn't solid green). It can also be picked up and put down easily between bouts of space-making.  The pattern is Uncomplicated by Alicia Plummer in KnitPicks Stroll in the Inverness colorway, the size I am knitting is causing the yarn to pool and stripe in interesting ways that are unexpected and entertaining.

Cupcakes were also made.

They were mini Boston cream pies.  The candy eyes were left over from Halloween, we couldn't possibly leave them to go stale could we?

The Closest I Get to Participating in Black Friday

I am not a fan of Black Friday for many reasons.  Staying home, crafting things, and maybe doing a little shopping on Small Business Saturday on a weekend devoted to the consumer hordes is my personal rebellion against the status quo.
This year, Alex Tinsley has put out a knitting pattern collection (two of which I plan to knit once this move is done) called Knit It Black that I thought it perfect to mention today.
It's thematic and supports a cause I appreciate, works for me.

Having to be responsible....

There's been far less time to knit on large projects lately.  Mostly it's been going through old boxes in the garage and breaking down disintegrating shelving to get rid of things before the movers get here.

I did stop to put together my bag of travel projects, labelled for ease of identification:

Small knitting projects are getting lots of love right now.  I finished a green version of the Scathach hat.

It may not look exciting, but it's tightly knit and warm, knit in Valley Yarns Northampton Bulky, in the discontinued color Forest.
The next two projects getting most of my attention right now are to warm my feet.  The Bovary socks by General Hogbuffer and the Tangled Rose socks by Linda Antons.

The pictures show the colors fairly accurately.  Bovary is being knit in KnitPicks Chroma Fingering in the Lupine colorway.  Tangled Rose is being knit in Cascade Yarns Pacific in Beet, there is a skein of Cactus waiting to become a second pair.  Both have been incredibly enjoyable knits, resulting in beautiful things to put on my feet, (which will be more wonderful when I finish the second sock in both pairs).
As I have announced to the family, it will be a Sock Holiday this year.  When Daughter was told she was getting "socks in potentia" she giggled.  Boy is just thrilled I am finally willing to knit him socks, even though his feet are not much smaller than his father's.  Husband knows about his one pair, but not the pair I plan to knit out of super outstandingly awesome secret sock yarn I may have recently received, (with enough for a pair for myself as well) and already hidden away until I can sneaky knit a pair of fingering weight socks for U.S. size 13 feet.
 It may be a high bar. 
There are also six lace shawls in the travel bag, five have beads.
 I am aiming for the highly accomplished side of yarn insanity.

I was only going to make one...

Maybe two at the most.  I'm not quite sure what happened, but this is the result:

The pattern is Leafy Washcloth by Megan Goodacre.Worsted weight dishcloth cotton on larger needles makes for a finished project in just about an hour, which may be much of the appeal.  It also means putting a bit of a dent in the yarn stash with minimal effort and useful results.

I may knit just a few more.

To break the jag of washcloth knitting, I cast on a sweater, Uncomplicated by Alicia Plummer.  The yarn is KnitPicks Stroll in Inverness.

There's also an assortment of socks, shawls in progress and the prep work for the travel knitting bag(which is over-packed, I am okay with this).  I really am hoping to get a few more things finished before the movers get here, but that may be overly optimistic.

So...Halloween happened

My enthusiasm wasn't really there this year.  I still decorated, inside and out.  The kids carved pumpkins and took up station on the front porch (they were quite enthusiastic):

I wore the costume I had put together, but it just didn't seem near as flashy as everyone else's.

Though some of that probably comes from dressing as a character that you just have to raid your own closet for.
The evening concluded with a down pour paired with a flash flood warning.  On the up side....it means we have candy left!

The final piece is complete!

This adorable little guy will hang out and wave at people from my lab coat pocket on Halloween.  I even put a little glow in the dark fabric paint on the tips of his branches and head spikes.  I modified this pattern, using sock yarn held double.  I also knit the tubes for his arms around pipe cleaners, so they are poseable.  A cardboard circle in the bottom gives him extra stability, along with some fishing weights tucked into the stuffing.  Thus completes the craft projects for Halloween...mostly, I may cut out some skulls and bats to put in the windows.

It kind of flew off the needles

Cast on the morning of October 19th:

Knitting complete, ends woven in, washed and blocked the evening of October 24th. 
If I focus, in the face of deadline, I apparently knit quite fast.

A few more things finished

The first thing was secret knitting that has already reached it's new home.  The Reyna shawl  with a few beads along the bottom edge for some sparkle.

The Mountain Trails MKAL is finished, though unblocked at this point.

This is just a partial shot, but it's a large piece, rather cape-like, very lovely!
I also finished a hat, this is the first of two of these.  It is the Scathach hat.

I put my third Date Night on the needles on Monday.  This is the progress as of half a round into day three.  I really am hoping to have it done for an office shindig in about a week.

The last thing being worked on right now is a plant friend to put in my lab coat pocket for Halloween.

Mine is not as chubby, on purpose.  I just have the head, arms, and leaves left.  Though I am starting to panic just a wee bit over getting the top and stuffie done in time for when I need them; the idea of not working on them, not making that real push to try and finish them causes more panic. 
Continued  fevered effort it is!