So much for the resolution to blog

After getting back to London, I had a couple of papers to hand in for my MA. Shortly thereafter, my charming spouse decided to share his bronchitis, so I've been rather ill for the last few days. Nothing perilous, nothing needing antibiotics (unlike him!), but I've not really been up to much needlework. Still, I did manage to finish up the first project of the year.

Presenting my Travelling Blues Shawl:



Pattern is Travelling Woman, needles were 4.5mm, and those of you who have a good memory will recognize the yarn as some of my handspun! And a detail shot:



I love it. It's warm and snuggly and the colours make me happy. And I've nearly finished my first pair of socks for the year...

Old Year, New Year!

So, I am now back from a two-week vacation that included almost no computer time, and I am ready to get cracking on a new year of knitting and blogging! Quick wrap of 2010 in some numbers:

Projects completed - 29, which included

• 5 scarves,
• 5 pairs of socks,
• 6 shawls,
• 1 pair of garters,
• 1 pillow,
• 1 pair of mitts,
• 1 afghan,
• 5 snowflakes,
• 1 Thing,
• 3 lots of handspun.

My lowest count since the beginning of the blog, but then I have been working on my Master's degree throughout 2010. I'm not too worried! I'd intended to spend the year only making things for me, and I ended up with 4 things for other people. One was accidental - a pair of felted slippers that make me come up in hives that I've given to my spouse. One was for a wedding, and once-in-a-lifetime events were exempted from the ban. Mum's shawl* was my oldest WIP, so I wanted to keep working on that. The scarf I ended up giving to my spouse was a weaving experiment that suited him better than me, so there wasn't much point in claiming it.

I learned how to weave this year, and I took classes in spinning and knitting for the first time. I learned how to starch thread crochet and was again astonished at the magic of blocking. I finished up many of my oldest projects, and discovered that I don't like having fewer than two projects on the go at once! I neglected my wheel, but did a whole lot of fiber prep. I knit up more than I acquired, which to my mind compensated for the rather large volume of spinning fiber that's now living on my wardrobe.

As of this moment, I have five WIPs. They are:

• Yule Shawl (Posh cobweb-weight, and my oldest WIP),
• Posh Pink Scarf (weaving project),
• Travelling Blues Shawl (from my handspun),
• Peeps Massacre Monkeys (yes, another pair for me!),
• Sock Scraps Bedspread.

I'm happy with this number. The socks are living in my handbag, and I managed to finish the first while on vacation. The two shawls are good for working on when I'm in need of some stimulation, and the scarf and granny squares are perfect for tv-watching and talking to people. I'm not feeling the need to cast on for anything new, either!

My goals for the year are pretty basic. I'm aiming to finish 3 project per month - one spinning, one knitting, and one "other". I'm also planning to knit sweaters this year, which is going to mean getting over my swatching laziness! I want sweaters that fit me, darn it. I do have one long-term goal of crazy-making (besides a sock-yarn bedspread), which is to knit 6 cobweb-weight lace shawls for myself. I have all the yarn I need - all Posh of course! - and I've picked my patterns. One is the Yule Shawl that I'm currently working on. I'll do a big post about them a bit later on, but for now - summary done, goals posted, let's move on into 2011!

*Why yes, I do have a photo of the shawl. Here it is!