I love yarn clubs!

It's just so much fun to have stuff arriving in the mail all the time! Right now I'm actually in four different clubs, but I only have one more shipment from the Sheepy Time Knits Time Traveler club (which will be arriving in March), and two more from Mad Color Fiber Arts Geeky tour club (which will be arriving in February and March). Then it's the rest of the year with The Knitting Goddess and Cookie A :)

I do think I might join in for a second round with mad Color Fiber Arts though. I got the first shipment in that club a couple of days ago, and it is lovely! But first, I need to remind you of what I got from Sheepy Time Knits about two weeks or so ago:

This colourway is called the Medusa Cascade. It's really pretty, and I love how Mandy interpreted the colour inspirations. Then the yarn arrived from Mad Color Fiber Arts:

This is Shiny (70 % wool/30 % silk, 342 m/110 g). The collourway? ALSO Medusa Cascade! Isn't that a funny coincidence? The colours are completely different, and I love them both, so I'm very happy. This will probably also be more socks in the future.

I actually had two more packages arriving in the mail this week, but in my defence one of them was ordered right after Christmas. Sometimes it just takes a while for stuff to get here from the States. I ordered a stitch light from Buffy Ann Design, which is a little light that you put around your neck and direct at the knitting. 

Thomas always complains when I use the spotlight next to the couch, as he gets a glare from it in the TV screen when playing games. I hope this will suit him better. I like it just fine, even though it takes a little fiddling to get it pointed right.

The other package I got was from Garnkorgen, and contained three DPN holders that I really needed. I've been knitting so much stuff on DPN's simultaneously lately that my two older holders weren't enough. Now I have five, which is more than enough.

In that package I also got three super cute buttons:

I have no idea when I'll use them, but they were just too cute to resist. Tiny sheep!

This week seems like it has been a long one, and I haven't got a lot of knitting done. I did put the sleeves on the Grey Havens sweater, and I've knit almost one repeat of the chart pattern above it.

It is looking really good, and I really want it done so I can wear it! I'll probably try to get as much done on it as I can this weekend, as we don't have any real plans. Thomas is leaving on Sunday to be gone the whole of next week, with work, so I'll probably get some done next week too.

I also decided that I really needed a new work knit, since I finished the Aquaphobia socks. So the other day I cast on for a pair of Vanilla Bean socks, in my KnitPicks Felici yarn.

The colourway is called Time Traveler, and contains the colours of Doctor Who's scarf, and I keep it in my Doctor Who box bag from JessaLu to keep the theme going. I really like these socks, they are super easy. However, I'll make my first afterthought heel on these, which will be exciting! I have no clue how to make one, but I guess I'll be able to find tons of tutorials online.

Other than that I haven't touched my other projects. The Ill Met by Moonlight socks could really need some love, and I think I'll try to finish those once the sweater is done. And my Julissa sweater that I'm making with Wollmeise DK has actually started whispering my name some evenings now. But I think I want to finish Grey Havens first. 

Now it's time for lunch, and then maybe a short walk outside as we're actually having sunshine today!

/ Jenny

First FO of the year (plus more spoilers!)

Today I finished the first FO this year! It is the Aquaphobia socks, that I've made with Regia Design Line Garden Effects yarn (75 % superwash wool/25 % nylon) in the Spring colourway.

They are part of the Self-striping KAL that the Stockinette Zombies are hosting on Ravelry, and I guess this yarn barely qualifies as striping. But I'm very pleased with them, and I think I'll wear them to work tomorrow. The Regia yarn reminds me a lot of the Opal yarns, it has the same kind of work-horse feel to it. I bet they'll wear like iron!

I made a lot of changes to the pattern, most of them inadvertently. I misread the pattern, so instead of the slipped stitches that I was supposed to make, I held the yarn in front when I lifted the stitches, which creates a kind of woven effect. I also stopped mirroring the cables after about half of the first sock, because I forgot. So the second sock only has non-mirrored cables. I had to make some decreases on the leg part too, as it was getting very big on me, but now they fit me very well! I call all of the changes design features :)

Last week I also got the January shipment in my Knitting Goddess sock club. It's called 7 Degrees of Kevin Bacon, but it's about Helena Bonham Carter instead. The pattern I got is called Wallace, which is really pretty, and inspired by the Wallace and Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit movie. The yarn is The Knitting Goddess 4-ply merino nylon sock yarn (75 %/25 %, 424 m/100 g), and the colourway is called Trousers for a Fiend.

This yarn just screams my name! Green is my very favourite colour, so this yarn couldn't suit me better. It is so gorgeous, but I think it will have to mature a little bit in my stash before I decide what to knit with it. It will probably be socks though.

Yesterday my friend Anna had invited some of her knitting friends to a yarn swap day, so five of us gathered for a very nice, chatty day and evening at her place. We all brought a lot of stuff from our stashes that we knew we would never use...

Yeah, that was a lot of yarn! We gave a lot of it to Lovisa, who has a friend who does a lot of charity knitting, and we swapped some between ourselves. I got rid of a lot of the scratchier wools I had, foremost all of my Färgkraft yarn. It kind of hurt to let those go, because the colours are so awesome and pretty, but I really hated working with it! I made the Omelet shawl out of it right before Christmas, and my hands kind of hurt after working on it. So I'm happy to know that it will be going to new good homes, where it will be used (Lovisa got two skeins of Glam Goth, and Alexandra got two skeins of Cerise).

I got to take home some skeins instead though! The first haul was two skeins of KnitPicks Shimmer hand dyed Lace yarn, in the Deep Woods colourway. 

This is 402 m/50 g, 70 % alpaca/30 % silk lace yarn, and I really like it! It will become a pretty shawl some day, although not right now. I'm really into sweaters right now, if you hadn't noticed, so the lace knitting has gotten a bit left out. I'll pick it up soon again though, I kind of like having lots of different projects going at once. And now that I finished the socks, I think I need to start something new soon.

I also got two mystery yarns with me home. The first was another brownish lace yarn, that I think Maria said was Hand Paints Lace yarn of some kind. But I don't know how to find it on Ravlery (so if Maria has a link to it Id' be happy!), so for now it's just called Mystery Lace yarn.

It is very pretty, and more subtle in the colour variations than the KnitPicks ones. The second is a skein of green Angora/Lambs wool yarn that is kind of similar to the one I made my Tardis vest from last year.

I think this is around sport weight yarn, and I think it will become a hat and possibly a pair of mitts for me. It is super soft and cozy, and the angora makes it really warm.

I got all three of my yarns from Maria's stash, but I think we were all happy with what we got. She got some Kampes one-ply wool from me as well, which I find to be just on the border of too scratchy. It's a nice yarn, and the FO's are awesome, but it's just a little bit too stiff to work with for me to be completely comfortable. I guess I've become a real yarn snob!

I've knit a lot on the Grey Havens sweater too, I only have one more chart repeat left on the second sleeve! Then it's just the yoke and the collar left. I haven't gotten any new photos of it yet though, so you'll have to wait until I've attached the sleeves. I do think I'll run out of yarn though, so yesterday I went to Eat.Sleep.Knit and ordered one more skein. As the shipping is kind of expensive from the States, I figured I might as well get some more stuff while I was ordering, so now some Dream in Colour Classy and some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarns are also on their way to me. I'll tell you more about them when they get here.

Ok, it's time to tackle the laundry. Have a great week!

/ Jenny

Sheepy Time Knits Spoilers, and some other stuff too

I'll start with the other stuff, so the photo of the club yarn doesn't end up as the promo photo. When I got home from work today, two new packages were waiting for me! The first contained my very last project bag that I got for my Christmas money. I got this one from JavaJennie on Etsy, and it is sooo pretty!

I love the tiny fairies! And the top is actually a snap closure, which I haven't seen on a project bag before. Very practical, and very pretty. I love it! The size is perfect for two skeins of yarn, which I guess makes it a medium-ish size.

The other package I got was from Sheepy Time Knits, and contained the Time Traveller club yarn for January. So if you are in the club and haven't gotten your yarn yet, please read no further!

The yarn is All Your Base (100 % superwash merino, 448 m/100 g), and the colourway is called Medusa Cascade:

It is so cool! Even Thomas commented and said it was a beautiful colourway. I'm thinking a pair of amazing socks! As I'm not very hard on my hand knit socks, I have no problem making socks without nylon in them either. I'll definitely join this club again if it comes back!

Ok, I think that's it for today. Now I think I'll knit on my sleeve for the Grey Havens sweater, before I have to go to bed!

/ Jenny

Shopping weekend

I feel like I'm only writing about getting new stuff lately, but to be honest: Most of the stuff I've been telling you about lately were all ordered around Christmas. It just takes stuff a while to get here from the States! At the beginning of the week my two AWESOME geek bags from JessaLu arrived, and I could not love them more. The first one is from Vincent and the Doctor, and features the Starry Night motif, with a tiny Tardis added:

It is just so completely full of win! I immediately transferred my Aquaphobia socks into it, so now it goes with me to work every day. I've finished the first sock, and am about half-way down the second leg. I think I might actually finish these before the end of the month (which means they will count in the Stockinette Zombies' self-striping KAL).

The second bag is a bucket bag, which I think technically is more for spinning, but I'll use it as a project bag anyway. It has Daleks on it!

It is so cool, and my inner Doctor Who nerd is melting in a puddle of happy goo just looking at it. At the end of March I'll get the last shipment from the Mad Color Fiber Arts yarn club, and as I'm in the one that's Doctor Who themed, I'll also get another JessaLu bag then! Yay!

I think it was the day after the bags arrived, that I got some more yarn in the mail. I managed to snag two skeins of KnitPicks Felici sock yarn from Great British Yarns, and I think these might have been the last two in the Time Traveler colourway because they don't have it listed any longer. It is a self-striping sock yarn in the same colours as the Doctor's scarf (do you notice a theme here?), and as KnitPicks don't have it on their website either I think this colourway is discontinued. So I'm very happy I got them!

I think these will probably become my February self-striping socks.

On Friday, my mother came to Linköping for a short visit, so on Friday evening her, me and my sister went to dinner at a lovely tapas restaurant. It was so much fun, and the food was amazing (and I haven't had breakfast yet, so I'm getting really hungry just thinking about it). She stayed with my sister for the night, and then yesterday we all went on a huge shopping spree for almost the entire day! Here in Sweden there is always a big sale on clothes right after Christmas, and now the shops are selling a lot of stuff for half of the sales prices. So both my mom and my sister got some clothes (I got some too, but mostly pyjama pants and boring stuff like that), and then we went into the crafts store. My sister needed to get some embroidery thread, as she's working on a HUGE Super Mario hanging. My mother offered to pay, and to be fair I got two skeins of sock yarn too :)

The first one was a skein of Four Seasons Gründl Hot Socks Nil yarn, in lovely teal colours. I haven't tried this yarn before, or even heard of it, but it seems like a standard, 75 % wool/25 % nylon, 384 m/100 g sock yarn. Sort of like Regia or Opal I think.

The second skein was Austermann Step sock yarn (also 75 % wool/25 % nylon, 420 m/100 g) in a lot of mixed colours. 

I think I might need to stop buying self-striping yarn for a while! My plan to buy only sweater yarn this year held out for almost an entire week... But technically, these skeins were gifts (even though I picked them myself), so maybe they don't count? I'll try to do better. I don't think I have any yarn money left for January at least, so I'll try not to get any more this month.

Oh, and while we were in town yesterday I also upgraded my phone! I've had a pink Ericsson for a couple of years now, and I've been pretty happy with it. Lately though I've found myself wishing I had a smartphone instead, so now I finally got one. It's a Samsung Galaxy, the mini version, and so far I'm very happy with it. I've got apps for Facebook, Plurk, Ravelry and blogger (the important stuff), so I think I'm set. I decided to actually pay for the Ravelous app, as that was the only one I could find for Android (I have the Wooly app for my iPad, and I like that a lot, but that one is only for Apple) that had my stash in it. I like it, and it really has all the important features of Ravelry that you might want on the go. 

Ok, on to the knitting: I've mostly been working on the Grey Havens sweater, and it's finally coming along nicely. Later today I'll get to start the sleeves, as I'm up to the arm holes on the body. 

The pattern actually tells you to start by making the sleeves, but I feel more comfortable starting with the body. I really, really love this pattern, and the yarn (Madelinetosh Pashmina) is heavenly! I'll definitely get more of that in the future. 

Other than that I've worked some on the Aquaphobia socks that I showed you above, and that pattern is great to bring to work. It's more or less mindless knitting, so I can chat during the coffee breaks, and I really like how they are coming along.

Now Thomas has finally woken up, so I think I'll go make breakfast for us. Today will be spent mostly cleaning, as the house desperately needs it!

/ Jenny

Knitting like a maniac!

As you can see, I've made some changes to the blog. It's a new year, and I decided that things needed to be freshened up a little bit. The contents will not vary much though :)

I've been knitting like crazy since the new year began! I think it was probably good for me to finish off all of my old projects before the end of December, as I now want to do nothing but knit, all the time! Thomas has been away for three days this week too, which has meant three evenings of uninterrupted knitting time for me.

I'll start by showing you the Gray Havens sweater, that I'm making out of Medelinetosh Pashmina yarn, in the colourway Dried Rose:

I've made all of the decreases for the waist, and actually I had made all of the increases for the bust too, when I noticed that it was a bit short. I tried it on, and it barely reached my belly-button... So I ripped it back to the decreases, and now I'm elongating the straight part a bit. I think my row-gauge is probably off, but that doesn't really matter. I think I'll need to make six repeats of the chart instead of the intended four, and I'll be all right. I LOVE this sweater though! The pattern is great, and the yarn is awesome! I really want to finish it so I can wear it. I'm focusing mostly on this one right now, as I'm hoping to have it done by the end of the month. 

I started the Julissa scoop-necked sweater with the Wollmeise DK yarn in Sabrina a couple of days ago too, and that one is flying off the needles! It's knitted top-down, and I've already set the sleeves aside.

It is a really fun and easy knit, despite it looking pretty complicated with both cables and lace, but I haven't touched it since last weekend I think. I love it though, and that one will get a lot more attention once the Gray Havens sweater is done.

On Wednesday night I actually turned the heel on two different socks! First, the Ill Met by Moonlight socks:

I've made most of the leg part at work, during my breaks, but now I only have a couple of centimeters left until I'll start the cable on the foot. And that is a bit too complicated to make at work. The socks fit me perfectly, and that is actually something that I love about Claire Ellen's designs. All of them that I've made have a perfect fit on me.

The other sock that I turned the heel on was the Aquaphobia socks:

I'm very happy with these, even though I apparently haven't followed the pattern at all! I didn't look too closely on the pattern photos, but somehow made the assumption that the stitch pattern was the same weave pattern that I used on the Bobbie gloves (where you slip every other stitch with the yarn in front). When I had a closer look at the descriptions on how to turn the heel, it told me to slip with the yarn in back, and that's when I got suspicious. I went back in the pattern and checked, and sure enough it told me to do that all the time. I'm calling mine a design feature! I like the way mine look, so I definitely won't frog it!

I also noticed that about half-way down the leg I had somehow stopped making the cables mirrored, so after that they are just the same. Luckily the cables can't really be seen with the very busy yarn, so I decided to ignore that as well. I think I'll just make the cables identical on the second sock. I also had to decrease some stitches when I neared the ankle part, as it was turning out way too big otherwise. But with the decreases it fits me perfectly, so I'll just repeat that on the second sock too.

I have gotten a lot of stuff in the mail recently too, I think almost all of the stuff I told you about last time arrived. I now have four new project bags, and possibly there might be two more coming that I ordered from JessaLu... And I might order one from JavaJennie on Etsy soon too, as I really love the snap closure on hers...

In the photo, from the left is the one I got from A Needle Runs through It, and it's currently holding the Julissa sweater. Next to it is the cone from CackleBerry Creations, which is now holding the Gray Heavens sweater. The third one is from Miss FiberFox, and that's holding the Aquaphobia socks, and out on the right is the one I got from Elizabeth Quintan Design, and it's holding the Ill Met By Moonlight socks. 

I also got some yarn in the mail this week. The first was five skeins of Cascade 220 in the Liechen 9338 colourway:

These skeins were totally not my fault. As I'm right now making four different projects with cables on them, I really needed some new cable needles as I hate having to move the ones I have between the bags all the time. So I went to Garnkorgen and ordered a set of KnitPicks wooden cable needles. But you can't order from a yarn shop without getting some actual yarn right? So I got the Cascade. I think this might be the yarn I'll use for the Dark and Stormy cardigan, but don't hold me to that.

I also got a great deal on some Garnstudio Drops Lima yarn (65 % wool/35 % alpaca) in the Ruby Red colourway:

This is a DK yarn, and I don't really know what to make with it. I got 12 skeins, which is about a sweater's worth, so it will probably become some kind of garment for me.

Oh, and my mom asked me if I could make her a slouchy hat in blue, so I'm thinking of using some of my KnitPicks Stroll yarn for that, in the Saphire Heather colourway:

She picked the Sofie's Slouch pattern, so I'll probably cast this one on fairly soon. The pattern calls for a DK, but I think I might achieve that with the fingering held double. That way it will be warmer too.

I'm also itching to start a new lace project, and I already have yarn wound for one! I want to start the Mandala II round shawl, and I have two skeins of Madelinetosh Tosh lace in the Rose colourway all geared up. I might hold off on starting these two projects until the JessaLu project bags arrive though, so I have something to put them in :)

I also got all of my buttons in the mail, and I love them all! I sewed two of the ones I got from Orit Dotan onto the For Good Hat, and it turned out super cute!

And still no new podcast episode! Today I'm in my PJ's, and I haven't showered, so you won't get to see me. I'm thinking possibly tomorrow, if I can just figure out how to set up the camera! Thomas got a new one for Christmas, which I think will get me a lot better quality. I just need to learn how to use it...

I'll be back once my next bags arrive. And possibly some club yarn as well :)

/ Jenny

Christmas shopping!

Happy New Year, everybody! I hope that you all had a wonderful New Year's Eve. We had some friends over for dinner and board games, and it was a very nice evening. Thomas spent two days in the kitchen, and he really outdid himself on this one! We served spring rolls with shrimp and cilantro, and mini quiche with saffron for starters. Then for the main course he did rice noodles with sesame oil-fried salmon, and red-boiled side pork (we saw a show on Swedish TV about Chinese food, and apparently red-boiled pork was Mao Zedong's favourite dish). Finally for dessert we had berries and fruit with ice cream and home-made sesame crackers. It was all delicious! We toasted on the stroke of midnight, and I think all of the guests left around 2 in the morning. I was really tired the day after, but it was well worth it.

I got some money this Christmas from my grandparents, and I think I told you last time that I spent some of it on Etsy. Some of it has arrived, and I figured I could tell you about it. Beware though, as there is a lot! Oh, and I totally swiped the photos of stuff from the respective Etsy shops.

First, yesterday I got a package from CackleBerryCreations, which contained a new project bag:

It is gorgeous, and I have already put a project in it! I started a new pair of socks yesterday, for the Self Striping Addicts KAL that the Stockinette Zombies are hosting (one each month all year long). I chose the Aquaphobia socks by Chrystal Flanagan, and I'm making mine in Regia Design Line by Kristin Nicholas Garden Effects, colourway Spring.

I very quickly realized that the yarn is not striping but variegated, so I'm not sure if they will count for the KAL, but I'll make them anyway. I love them! The colour of the yarn is so much fun to work with, and I think they are turning out great. You can't really tell that there are cables on each side of the leg though, as the colours kind of eat them up!

Today I woke up with a fever and a really achy body, so I've been home from work all day. This winter has not been good to me! I've had several times where I had to stay home with my stomach, plus several colds and stuff. Let's hope this spring will be better! Anyway, I actually had three packages arrive in the mail today too. The first one contained a set of interchangeable ChiaoGoo bamboo needles for my Spin set, which I ordered from Grandma's Knit and Crochet. This is really my go-to shop for the ChiaoGoo needles, and the shipping is always fast. I got a pair of size 3 mm needles, as this was the one size that didn't come in my set. 

The second package was a second project bag, this one from MissFiberFox:

It is super cute, and also very well made. It is perfectly sized for a smaller project, like a pair of socks, but I haven't put anything in it yet. It sits on the couch looking pretty, so far.

The last package was a small envelope from BerryNiceCrafts, and oh my God does she have lots and lots of buttons! I got a set of 10 small ones that I planned to use on my Morning Echo cardigan that I'm making with my Wollmeise DK. Well, I say I'm making, but I've actually frogged it. I just couldn't get gauge! The DK knits up more like a worsted, so I've decided to make something else with it. I think it will be the Julissa scooped neck sweater instead. Anyway, the buttons:

I love the little pale teal paisley! They are just so cute! Right now I don't know what I'll use them for, as I frogged the cardigan, but I'm sure I'll find something. They cost barely nothing, so it was well worth it anyway.

Ok, that was the stuff that did arrive already. I figured I could as well tell you about the stuff on the way too, and get it all out of the way. I'm waiting for a small bag from ElizabethQuintan, with owls on it:

I am waiting for a large box bag as well, with Russian dolls on it, from A Needle Runs Through It:

This will probably hold my Grey Havens sweater once it arrives, as that one will soon be too big for the RoseKnits bag it's currently residing in (RoseKnits doesn't exist any more, it was an Etsy shop that I got two bags from a couple of years ago). The Grey Havens sweater is coming along very nicely, now that I've changed needle size. I've been working on it for most of the day today while sitting on the couch (when I've not been sleeping), and the pashmina is working out really well with the cables. Unfortunately, you can barely see them in the photo:

But they are there, and in real life they are very clear. The yarn is a dream to work with, and I'm really glad I got a sweater quantity of it. I think I might actually rip out the cast on though, as that is a bit too loose for my taste. I have to wait until I try it on though, to see how it will look stretched. I bought some buttons for this one too, from a shop called FeiYa (that's the next package I'm waiting on). Aren't they cute! I bought a set of 10.

While searching for suitable buttons I also found these super cool, steam punk cogwheel buttons:

They are from the shop TimberGreenWoods, and of course they had to come home to me too (they are also in transit). I got 12 of them.

I also got 3 buttons from Oritdotan, that I'm going to put on my For Good hat. I will probably only use one or two of them, but they were a set of three and I loved them!

Soooo, obviously I went a little over board... But it was so much fun! I also found some yarn clubs that I've joined, so I'll also be getting some yarn this year. I know I told you about the Sheepy Time Knits Time Traveller yarn club, which I joined last year. That one is three shipments, the first in December, the second in February and the last in April. A couple of days ago I also found Mad Colour Fiber Artist's Mad Geek yarn club, that also feature Doctor Who! This one will ship in January, February and March, and in the last shipment you also get a project bag from JessaLu! I've been raving one of her bags for ages, so I might actually buy one more later on. She has so many cool fabrics with geeky themes!

I told you about the Cookie A sock club a while ago, where I'll get yarn and patterns every other month for all of 2013. It will be awesome! I also joined the Knitting Godess' yarn club for 2013, which is called 7 degrees of Kevin Bacon. Instead of starting and ending with Kevin Bacon, she'll start with Helena Bonham Carter, and you'll get yarn and a sock pattern each month. The best thing is that this one can be paid for monthly, so I didn't have to fork out hundreds of dollars at once. 

I'm so excited about getting all of this mail during the year! As I don't knit a lot of lace any longer (I haven't stopped all together though, just slowed down on the lace knitting bit), I don't think I'll buy very much lace yarn during 2013 (don't hold me to that though!). And with all the clubs, I should be set for sock yarn too (and don't hold me to that either). So hopefully I'll only buy sweater yarn this year (and we all know how that's going to go, but I can have intentions, right?!).

Ok, this turned into a very long post, and my head is pounding! I had planned to do a podcast episode today too, but as I'm sick and in my PJ's you'll have to wait until I feel batter. I think I'll go turn in, and see if the fever is down tomorrow when I wake up. Let's hope!

/ Jenny

Looking back on 2012

Wow, this year has gone by so fast! I wonder if it's a sign that I'm getting old, that I feel like time is going faster?!

I've done a lot of new stuff this year, but I think the biggest thing that happened is that we bought a house. We moved in March, so we've soon lived here for a whole year, and we love it! We haven't regretted that decision one second. The house is old, and we have mice in the walls, but I'm ok with that. The cats will catch them if they come into the house. I hope!

And speaking of cats: We got a new family member this summer as well. Toki is settling in very well, and after having spent Christmas at my parents' house, him and Hobbe seem to be much better friends too. They are just the cutest babies!

Knitting-wise I've managed to finish 20 projects this year, which is only one less than last year. I thought it would be a lot less, since I didn't knit very much during the move and the following unpacking period, but I think the last month's Crazy KAL when I knit down to zero helped me a lot. I'm quite happy with 20 projects, that's almost two every month. And since this year also seem to be the year of frogging (I ripped out nearly a whole cardigan when I decided that the Chili Gredelin Anastasia yarn and the Austin Hoodie pattern didn't work well together, and recently I ripped out more than half a shawl when I ran out of yarn on the Omelet shawl), I could almost say that I made 22 things :). I actually had to rip out the start on my Gray Havens sweater today as well, as it turned out way too big. I've restarted it with smaller needles and in a smaller size as well, so I'm hoping that will be enough.

I've branched out in my needle usage this year as well. Since I started this blog in 2009 I've almost exclusively used KnitPicks Harmony needles, both circular and dpn's. But this year I grew tired of the quality of the circulars, so I've tried some new brands. I have a set of interchangeable ChiaoGoo bamboo needles in the smaller sizes, and I really love those. They aren't as sharp as the KnitPicks', but the amazing cables makes up for that. I got myself two sizes of Blackthorn dpn's as well, in carbon fibre, and those are really amazing as well. I don't plan on using these exclusively though, as I still love my KnitPicks dpn's a lot. They are super sharp, and the hard wood makes them practically unbendy (except for the smallest size). But I like the Blackthorn's a lot, though they are very expensive. I had high hopes for the Knitter's Pride Karbonz needles that came out about a month ago, but it turns out that they are nickel-tipped, and as I hate working with metal I decided not to even try them.

Today I got a Christmas package in the mail as well (from myself, I spent some of my Christmas money at Garnkorgen), which contained a set of Addi Click Bamboo needles that I was really curious about. They are size 3.5 mm, and I can say without even trying them that they are pretty blunt. I think that the Addi lace needles are a lot sharper, but as I don't like metal I don't think Addi's are for me. I don't know about the sharpness of Signature needles, as I haven't seen them, but I think I might be set for now with my KnitPicks and my ChiaoGoo.

I've tried a lot of new techniques this year as well. I started the year by finishing the Ramona Mittens, which were double knit. I have used those mittens all this winter, and I love them! I think I'll probably wear them to death, and then make a new pair when they break! I made an Entrelac Cowl for my mother this Autumn as well, which was also completely new to me. I'm very happy with that result, and now that I write about it I realize that I completely forgot to take pictures of that one, and the Bobbie gloves that I also gave mom for her birthday, when I was home for Christmas! Oh well, maybe next time.

On one of the very last projects I made this year, the Companion Cube that I made for Thomas, I got to try out three new techniques! I made steeks and cut them, I did duplicate stitch, and I did matress stitching when I sewed it all together. I'm feeling pretty proud of myself for that one!

Finally, the last new thing I did this year was trying my hand at podcasting. I've only made three episodes, and there won't be a new one today as I'm still in my pj's. But that has been a lot more fun than I thought, and I think I'll ask Thomas to help me with that so we can set up the new camera he got for Christmas, and possibly try to get it on iTunes as well.

Ok, I think that was my year in hindsight! It's been an eventful year, but I've had lots of fun and learned a lot of new stuff. And I got a lot of yarn!

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Ok, let's talk about the more recent events. How has your holiday been? I went home to my parents' house on Sunday, and came back yesterday. It's been a good couple of days, but there are always so many people that you want to see in such a short time! I feel like I've been driving around almost constantly. But I spent Christmas Eve with my family, Christmas Day with Thomas' brothers and father, and Boxing day with some friends. Then we drove back home yesterday, and it felt rather good to just sit on the couch and knit for the whole evening yesterday!

I think I told you that I got the Cookie A sock club from my parents this year, so I didn't get very much else from them. I got an electric blanket from my sister, which I freaking adore (why haven't I had one of these before?!), and I got a Sandman comics collection from Thomas that I'm really looking forward to reading.

I also got some money from my grandfather and some from my grandmother (they're divorced), and I've spent some already. I should never be left alone with an internet! I was bored the other night while I was waiting for my sister to call (she was out partying with her friends, and I had promised to pick her up in the night as her designated driver), so I went on a small shopping spree on Etsy. I ordered three new project bags, and some buttons for upcoming projects. None of that has arrived yet though, so I'll tell you more about it next year when it gets here.

I also got the package with the Addi needles from Garnkorgen, and they were accompanied by two skeins of Koigu KPPPM sock yarn, in colourway 860:

I have been looking at these skeins for such a long time, and now that I got some spending money I finally ordered them. They are gorgeous! I'm just really into self-striping and self-patterning sock yarns right now! That is quite good timing though, as the Stockinette Zombies are hosting a January KAL for self-striping yarns. Actually, they'll be doing one each month, as the goal is for Megan to finally use up some of her stash, and all the other participants are just joining her. I'll probably cast on for a pair of socks on New Year's day!

Oh, and speaking of KAL's! I finished my For Good hat!

It's made with Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted yarn (100 % merino) in colourway Berry, and I love it! It's a little bit big on me, but I'm ok with that. I'm just waiting on the buttons I ordered to arrive, so I can sew them on! I actually have almost half a skein left, so I'm thinking about making another one in a slightly smaller size.

I've also made some progress on the Ill Met by Moonlight socks, that I'm making in the Mackintosh sock yarn:

I enjoy these quite a lot, and they are turning out pretty great. I can't say enough good things about Claire Ellen, as all of her sock designs are gorgeous. I'm planning on making a lot more of them next year!

I have barely had time to knit on anything else while at my parents', but yesterday I made a lot of progress on the Grey Havens sweater. This morning I decided to try it on, and it was HUGE! I'd only made the bottom ribbing, and it was anything but tight on me. So I ripped the whole thing out, and started over again. So I have no new photos to show you on that one. I haven't knit anything at all on the Morning Echo cardigan either.

But tonight I found the Christmas Ball that I completely forgot to unpin before we left, so I've stuffed it:

I'm pretty pleased with it, even though it isn't perfect. I just have to make a loop of that last yarn end, and hang it on the tree. I'm not sure if there will be any more for next year, as I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought, but maybe I can make a tradition of making one each year :)

Ok, I've been rambling on for ages! Tomorrow we're going into town to buy groceries for our New Year's Eve party, and Sunday will be spent cleaning and preparing the food. I'll be back next year, hopefully with a new podcast too.

Happy New Year!

/ Jenny