A Bitter Knitter

In the summer of 2013, I participated in something on Ravelry called an "MKAL" - a "Mystery Knit A-Long."  The designer of the pattern creates a schedule and releases parts of the pattern one at a time.  When you join, you don't know what the finished product will end up being.  In this case, the pattern was "Ohh Summer" by Elena Nodel and I knew it was a cardigan and I measured my toddler so I'd know what size to knit.  I was told what weight of yarn to use, what size needles to use, and how much yarn I would need.  And that was about it.  At the end of the MKAL, I had this: Here it is, modeled on my wiggly toddler: This is modified from what is written in the pattern in that I used the same lace pattern from the sleeves on the body of the cardigan instead of the much bigger lace holes the designer wrote for the body.  I also knit the body a little longer than the pattern called for. The only problem is that she doesn't really wea

Some several months ago, back when it was summer, I realized I needed a bag.  Not just any bag, but a bag to carry sand toys.  I have a toddler who likes playing in the sand and needed a way to schlep her buckets and shovels from point A to point B.  While at a charming LYS near my parents, I spotted some fantastic cotton.   I snatched up three skeins of it and one of a solid blue that coordinated with it.  Then I wandered through the pattern database on Ravelry until I found a market bag pattern I liked. The resulting bag is big enough for a couple buckets, shovels, and a beach towel, as well as the occasional bottle of bubbles.  Plus I love the detail of the knotted strap - one of the other Ravellers who made the bag added that and I thought it was darling.  The pattern is the Grrlfriend Market Bag by Laura Spradlin .

In 2013, I participated in a group on Ravelry that does something called "Travelling Monsters."  Everyone who wants to participate knits a small monster or other critter designed by Rebecca Danger , the author of the Big Book of Knitted Monsters .  The group moderator sets up the shipping circle and then they're off!  Person A always ships to Person B, who always ships to Person C, and so on.  Monsters ship twice a month so each monster visits for two weeks.  While monsters visit, they go on adventures with your family and get their picture taken and everyone in the group shares the adventures of their current visiting monster on the message board.  My 2013 travelling monster was Minti. Minti was knit using the pattern " Cecil the Computer Monster ".  She is small enough to fit in a pocket: And was much loved by my toddler, who at the time called the monsters "babies."  Over the course of the travelling monsters, she stopped calling the

2013 was the year of the beaded bracelet.  There's a pattern that I like that I'd made once before so beaded bracelets became my standard gift pattern this year.  Really, it takes more time to string the beads and seam it at the end than it does to do the knitting. I knit it in orange: Red on black: Aqua (x2): "Moonstone" on grey (x2): Blue: Pink (x2): And I've got beads for at least a couple more... I may be developing a bead addiction.  Sometimes I used toggle clasps, like the one pictured above, but then I found magnetic clasps and switched to those.  One of the aqua bracelets got a bead clasp (which is pictured above) because the recipient is allergic to nickel, so the bead is plastic. My toddler really loves these and I think I may modify the pattern and make one or two in her size.  (She loves bling.) Until my next drive by blog post!

It's amazing how much importance we give to the magic date that is the first of the year and the mystical event of trading a calendar with one number on it for a calendar with a number one greater... In the year 2013, I knit 6822.6 yards.  This is more than any previous year by over 900 yards.  Having knit 6822.6 yards is also significant because I bought 6530 yards, which means I just about broke even on the amount of yarn I knit vs. the amount of yarn I bought, even managing to stash down just a smidge.  I have been working this past year on decreasing the size of my yarn stash.  Presently my stash is just over 40,000 yards.  At my current rate of knitting, this means I have a stash that could last me a couple of years...  My goal in 2014 is to actually stash DOWN and buy less yarn than I knit, rather than just breaking even.  Don't get me wrong.  I love  yarn.  But I have finite space and finite yarn budget, plus I have all sorts of yarny loveliness sitting in my stash u