a hand for afghans for Afghans

Pat and I are (you've heard this before) long-time supporters of afghans for Afghans. I sent things in for their very first campaign, and have missed only 3 or 4 in their entire history -- more than 10 years now. The current quick campaign is collecting mittens, socks, and hats for kids who live on the streets or are what is known as IDPs -- internally displaced persons -- who live in camps that provide little shelter against the elements. And winter that close to the Himalayas is cold. I am mailing these on Monday:

From top down: Lopi, a tweedy yarn that I will have to identify later, Brown Sheep Bulky green, Brown Sheep Bulky red with gold stripes (10 points for Gryffindor!), Brown Sheep Bulky purple, Lion Brand Fisherman's wool held double, Elann Peruvian Highland Wool held double, and Knitpicks gray and red ragg (Wool of the Andes, I think, and no longer available unless I'm not looking in the right place)  held double. All but pair #2 (Takhi multicolor) followed this pattern, using the instructions that start with a cast-on of 28 stitches and appropriate needles for bulky weight yarn. Variations in the thickness of the yarn created mittens of different sizes. 

The deadline to get things to A4A in San Francisco is sometime mid-July. There is still plenty of time to whip up a pair of mittens or socks, and think how good it will feel to know some kid in miserable circumstances feels just a little bit better.

In which we continue as we do not mean to go on

Hello? Hello? Is this thing on? Right, there we go -- yes, you in the back? Oh, um, yeah -- the March scarves. Um, yes. Well, we are now talking about APRIL scarves. . .

Meanwhile, I continue to love the yarn I talked about on March 14. I have told  a couple of local friends that it's the exact color of the sand on the beach where my family has always gone (northern NJ) -- I was there today, and here's a picture (that is a color photo, not a black and white, just to clarify):

10

The local knitting guild I belong to sends baby hats to the NICU at a local hospital -- they have plenty of preemie hats, but not everyone who ends up in the NICU is a preemie, so they need full-term baby size as well. Every once in a while I go on a binge and knit a heap of them. All machine washable, acrylic yarns -- not my favorite, but they need to hold up to industrial laundry, and the cause is worth it. And knitting these is a little like potato chips -- you can't do just one.

I'm not a huge fan of pink for girls and blue for boys, either -- but one of the main purposes of these hats is to make life feel a little more normal for the parents who (usually) went in expecting an uneventful birth and hospital stay and now find their world tilted off axis.  Even if the baby is just there for 1 day, it's a big stress -- and the normal pink or normal blue can be very reassuring.

My assortment is not entirely traditional, though (that would be a lot to ask). I'm particularly fond of the Easter egg striped ones. And look at that rogue purple (see how it's waving at you) and that dark blue one. Hmmm, just two blue hats this time - it looks like I may have to work harder at being even-handed in the next batch.

I got distracted

We won't talk about that scarf quite yet, OK? I still have half of March. . .

Meanwhile, I've been swept away by a sweater. I am in love with this yarn. I am also convinced that I will be knitting stockinette for the next 47 years. . .

The yarn is a natural sheep's wool from Maine. I got it from an on-line acquaintance in 2007; she had purchased it, at some point, from the Ledoux Family Farm in Wilton, Maine. I don't know whether they still have their fleeces spun into yarn, but I sure hope so, because I want more. This yarn is springy and warm and smells wonderful when our unseasonably warm March sun hits it. The color is most clearly shown in the upper left corner of this photo:

Because there are no landmarks in this desert, and one inch looks like the next, I've taken to inserting a little marker each day, to prove that progress is indeed occurring:

out of the box

First of all, for those who have wondered, there has not been a coup here at Two Left Feet. Pat is still out there, and we are still speaking to each other. The problem is that the work that she does for pay has been refusing to respect its boundaries, taking big chunks out of the time she would prefer to reserve for knitting and photography. She will be back.

It's March! Time for a new category. This month's category is Scarf.

Now, those who have seen any of my blog entries have a pretty good idea of what I like, I think. Lots of color, simple clean lines. . . But as I was searching for those four balls of red to make a really nice scarf that I've had my eye on for a while, I stumbled across this:

The color is almost true; the rumply skein is 100% silk, and the other one is 70% mohair and 30% nylong. I am not sure when I bought this. I think I know which friend it was intended for, but it may be reassigned. This time of year calls for a departure from predictability!

just one?

Not my most successful month. . . at least not in blog project terms. One pair of purple mittens is headed to Maine:

I had hoped to make more, but I was distracted by several other knitting projects (a sweater, baby hats for the local NICU, socks for a friend, socks for another friend, a couple of hats, a blanket to be mailed to Afghans for Afghans. . .). The kid who gets this pair isn't going to care that I made just one this time. There will be more before next winter.

And remember this? It came out pretty nicely, I think:

Summer Wind cowl, designed by Carrie Sullivan, Irish Girlie Knits; unknown sock yarn (probably Auracania Ranco)

I will definitely make this pattern again. . . in fact, there's a blue and white skein that's looking quite possible.

Happy Leap Day! And an extra happy birthday to those of you who only really get to celebrate every four years.

January scarf

Well, yeah, the "January" scarf is not quite done. Almost, though. . .

It is a lovely, rich shade of purple, and I have struggled to photograph it. If you average out these two in-progress photos, you'll be close:

The yarn escaped from its ball band long ago, but I suspect it may be Araucania Ranco. The pattern is Summer Wind (that's a Ravelry link, so if you're not on Ravelry, I don't think it will work). Beautifully written, and I will make it again. I expect to finish this cowl this weekend and will then struggle some more with photographing purple to show it to you in its final glory.

twinkletoes

One of this year's knitting resolutions (let it hereby be noted that I only make resolutions that are going to be fun) was to do more colorwork. It's certainly not hard to do more when you've done none at all for the last several years. First entry in the colorwork category:



I followed one of Drops' free patterns - I love that they made all of their wonderful patterns free - using Bartlett Yarns' Maine wool. I will be making a pair for myself, and have at least two pairs planned for gifts. You work the garter stitch portion first, back and forth, then join and work in the round for the patterned, stockinette portion. I made the smallest size and had to tinker with ljus placement to get them just right, but felt terribly clever when it all worked out. 

Highly recommended.

If you're going to San Francisco. . .

The deadline for Afghans for Afghans' current campaign is February 29. I've done better than usual for this one, and today I am mailing one sweater and three pairs of mittens:

(The aqua pair has been washed again since this photo and the stitches are now nicely evened out.)

The red and green mittens were knit with worsted weight yarn held double. The aqua mittens are Lopi. All were made following the smallest stitch and row counts from this mitten pattern, producing a small/medium adult size. I love the fabric that's created using a double strand of worsted.

For the sweater, I used Knitting Pure and Simple's Bulky Topdown Pullover for Children (#112). I had five skeins of this blue Lopi, and the pattern said that was enough for the largest size. I was skeptical, but even after adding an inch and a half to body and sleeves, I did not run out of yarn. I'll make this again! (The pattern is available for purchase in hard copy from most yarn shops, and as a downloadable pdf file from Patternfish.)

for February

February's category is easy: small projects for cold places. As I showed in my last post, two hats are already on their way to Nest Maine. Other possible beneficiaries of this one include areas in Pennsylvania, New York, and Vermont that were hit hard by floods last summer and fall, Lakota reservations, or any number of collection points in the northern U.S.

Stay tuned to see what happens!

wrong foot

So much for fresh starts. . .second post of the year, and I'm behind schedule already!

I am almost finished my main scarf for January's "assignment" -- but I have not yet managed to take a picture that shows that the thing is a glorious, rich purple. My camera and my phone prefer to tell you it's bright blue. One more try, tomorrow if it doesn't rain. And I almost finished my Special Olympics scarf, but I have a sad suspicion that I have had a willfully ignored case of crochet beginneritis, in which one end of the scarf fails to achieve right angles. I was close to finishing by the Pennsylvania deadline of February 1, but Pennsylvania met the quota before that. There may still be time to rip and redo for Louisiana's deadline; we shall see. No pictures of that right now either. . .


I did, however, finish these two hats for Nest Maine:

 

and this sweater and a pair of mittens for Afghans for Afghans:

All of the yarn was in my stash, so I am happy.

welcome to 2012

Another year, another blog project.

We've noticed that we have trouble, toward the last third of the year, sticking to the same category every month. So this year we're making it easier -- our blog knitting will fall into two categories: scarf knitting and charity knitting. We've laid out a schedule that has us knitting 6 scarf projects and 6 charity projects, while also giving us 2 wild card months. Yes, you've done the math, and I can see that you're confused. . . there are two projects that are scarves for worthy causes!

Last year we diverged from our original plans because the weather in the U.S. brought so many disasters that we felt compelled to respond. The tornado that leveled a large portion of Joplin, Missouri last spring inspired us to knit (with Debbie, Ruth, and Ann, and RTDD's gift of yarn) a rainbow blanket. And the terrible flooding caused by Hurricanes Irene and Lee in Pennsylvania, New York, and Vermont also called for a response; my sister and I sent a box to Vermont, and Pat made several hats to be distributed in Pennsylvania.

Because we have learned that things often change as the year goes on, we're building in some flexibility by not announcing the whole year's schedule in advance. We'll do it month by month, or sometimes one month in advance. (And if there's one of those hurry-up quick A4A campaigns, that will be inserted into the schedule whenever it comes up.) Sometimes we'll use the same pattern, sometimes not.  For January -- a scarf. Any pattern, any design, any target. More news in the next couple of days when we've both decided on specifics!

I'm also going to try to continue what I did last year, and knit a hat each month from stash, to go somewhere in December. . .

winter solstice

It is winter now, even though last night at 10 p.m. it was an unseasonable 63 degrees (Celsius friends, that is 17.2). It is too late to knit for Christmas (which is almost a relief) but time to plan for the knitting that will commence on December 26. As usual, I would have to be 3 octopuses (octopi?) to accomplish all I think I can. . .

Meanwhile, here's something to celebrate the beginning of longer days:

http://www.npr.org/2011/12/16/143834363/a-paul-winter-solstice-concert-2011

Baker's Dozen

Our long-time readers will remember that last December, Pat and I sent a bunch of hats to Hats for the Homeless, a group that distributes hats to homeless people in New York. At the beginning of 2011, I decided I'd knit a hat a month (hats don't take long) from yarn already on hand, so that I'd have a pile of them by the end of the year. And it worked! Today I mailed off 13 hats:

Obviously, I will do this again next year. I will make just one change -- I will mail them a week earlier!

could it be the year of the sweater?

I can't remember the last time I made a sweater. Sad words from a knitter! Why am I wearing all of these Polarfleece sweatshirts? This one is on the way to afghans for Afghans. It should fit a kid about 11 or 12 years old. I added length to the body and the sleeves, and added 4 stitches when I cast on for sleeves because Ravelry reports indicated that they were kind of skinny. It's all stash yarn, and has been in progress, or in time out, for at least two years. I think. The brown yarn was from two different dyelots, but I can't tell the difference.

brown Alafoss Lopi; red and gold Lamb's Pride Bulky. Pattern is Child's Fairisle by Design by Louise

 

It's so much fun to zip along at 3.5 stitches per inch (14/10 cm)! I love Lopi yarn. I'm already nearly finished another sweater, soon to appear on this page. That one is knit in the round, top down, so I won't have to beat myself up trying to achieve perfection in seaming.

(Someone was worried that this picture was taken on a grubby bathroom floor -- no, no, it's a charmingly rusticated painted porch.)

The Joplin Blanket: A Saga

Remember this?

Pat and I both like to try to use our knitting to help people out. We can't respond to every disaster -- we'd be curled up quivering in the corner if we even tried. But every once in a while one comes along that makes us feel the urge to do something. The tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri, last spring was one of those. It's just one of many in a year of terrible events, but this one hit a nerve, and we decided we had to respond. We recruited some friends, and here's what happened:
 

My sister was downstashing, and had plenty of Encore (machine washable and dryable was on our list of requirements for this one) from an early fling; she gave us 2 balls each of 6 colors. I added the darker of the two blues from my extensive holdings. I drew up instructions and a diagram, so that each of the five of us (thank you, Ann, Debbie, and Ruth) could see at a glance the color order for our individual strips and where each one fell in the greater scheme. I knit a test square and weighed it. According to that, we should have been able to get 3 blocks from 2 skeins. I set to work weighing out 65 grams of each color for each knitter. Of course, I'm the only one of the group who doesn't live within about a 5-mile radius, so I plunked these lovely packages into the mail. But -- apparently my scale decided it had had enough of being meticulous and fussy.  It wanted to be artistic! It lied. Many of us ran out of colors, or weighed them at home and found out the grams were off by a huge factor. . . extra yarn was purchased (some colors were conveniently in my stash, so extra investment was not too bad) and mailed or swapped around.

It was important to get similar row gauge, so the strips would match, so I went with what the ball band recommends, knowing that my own row gauge tends to be eccentric and assuming the recommended number would be easily obtainable. All of us (all experienced knitters who think we know what we're doing) struggled with that. We started knitting in July; I received the last strip back on October 28 and then sewed many, many miles of seams. (OK, OK, it was only 252 inches. It took awhile. But I felt quite experienced by the end.)

This blanket just looks happy to me. As soon as I get the address, it will be on the way to help someone through a very strange and difficult year.

knitting for Vermont

On, August 28, Hurricane Irene -- no longer a hurricane, but still terribly destructive -- caused massive flooding in Vermont and upstate New York. Thirteen towns in Vermont were totally cut off when all access roads were washed out, and many, many families lost everything they owned. It is cold in Vermont in the winter, and cold starts early. This week, I sent them these:

On the left, 4 pairs of socks (Peace Fleece, Baghdad blue) and a pair of mittens (Araucania Panguipulli) from my sister. On the right (bigger picture below, because I cut off the righthand side, but it's the same things), 1 pair of socks, 3 hats, and 4 pairs of mittens from me, all from yarn I already owned. The brown hat is Morehouse Merino (exquisitely soft); the purple hat and the green hat are Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride bulky. The socks and all of the mittens were made using Bartlett's Maine wool:

I am glad to know a few people will be a little bit warmer.

Red Scarf Season

I was surprised -- and relieved -- to realize that I hadn't done as badly as I thought in keeping to the schedule we set out at the beginning of the year. Detailed report to come. But I have been busy knitting the first of this season's red scarves:

Pat and I have knit for the Red Scarf program for years, even before it became wildly popular. This year, while looking for something else, I stumbled across red yarn I'd bought last year, so here it is. Webs' own Valley Yarns Superwash. Very nice yarn -- but must stay strong and knit what is here already!! I am using a simple stitch, which must have a name, but I don't know it. Cast on a multiple of 3 stitches (for this scarf, I cast on 30). Then work every row the same: *k2, p1* all the way across. It's totally reversible, and you never have to stop to figure out what row you're on. And it's suitable for men or women, and it will make someone happy and warm this winter.

I know you'll be seeing Pat's very soon.

we are still here!!

Pictures and posts soon, promise. You will see what happened with that rainbow of yarn, and what happened with our schedule for the year -- yes, the absence of monthly updates tells the truth, and it did indeed take a tumble, but we continue knitting for others . . .



Today in Pennsylvania it is cold and dreary, and I must get back to knitting the thumbs on a pair of mittens destined for Vermont, where so many people lost everything in floods a week ago. If it's this cold here, it's colder there.

a taste of things to come

+

=

Watch this space!

April Hat Knitting

In April, Elizabeth and I knit Chemo Caps for A.I. duPont Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware.  I've finally photographed mine.  They've been done for ages but I couldn't find anyone to model for me, finally I bought a head and now I  have a full-time model.

Hit me with your best shot

I believe this blog has had a bad case of spring fever. We may be back now. . .

It is widely known that my sock yarn collection defies reason. It's causing me a bit of panic, to tell the truth. In honor of the upcoming sock-knitting season (some call it summer), I'm giving some away. You can do any or all of the following:

• tell me your favorite color
• tell me the color you find intolerable
• give me carte blanche, i.e., invite me to "hit me with your best shot."

And I will send you (up to 10 people)  a skein of sock yarn from my copious archive.

Send your color preferences plus your name and mailing address to me at yarnystuff@gmail.com -- do not post it here in the comments, because you don't want strangers with ill intent to get hold of it.

It's April!

And it's neither raining nor snowing -- which is good news, considering it was doing both, at the same time, yesterday morning.

I finished 3 pairs of mittens, with 2 still in progress, in March. Photo after they're dry and looking their best.

April's project is chemo caps for kids -- which means toddler on up to full adult size. Unfortunately, it means easy care and non-irritating fibers, and I really don't like either cotton or acrylic. But, for all the kids and their parents, I can do that. Because heads that are bald as a result of treatment have very sensitive skin, I'm not even going to try washable wool blends.

I plan to stick with very simple patterns, roll brim caps and the first couple from this site; I like numbers 1, 5, 6, and 8. For teenagers, I have my eye on the London Beanie, which has been found to be very popular with young men. (Ravelry lists 1012 projects, and the pattern was around long before Ravelry.)

Anyone who wants to is welcome to knit along. We're donating ours to the A.I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware, which is not far from us. If you live nearby, you are welcome to give caps to us for delivery (and, although I used the plural, just one cap is one more comfortable kid so don't feel you have to go into mass production mode); if you don't, your local hospital will be happy to have them.

I have track meets and soccer games in my future -- knitting round and round mindlesslly (mindfully?) is a great way to fill the gap between the time when you have to get there with your player and the time the action starts.

The Best of Intentions

Really, I started out this year knowing that I would blog here each week.  I knew that I would discuss in detail all my knitting but I didn't deliver on that promise.  Writing isn't my strong suit... anyhow, here I am and I am ready to write the epic January, February and March, Knitting Tell All!

January, the "Something for Me" month.  I finished my Noro afghan.  I started this on my birthday last year and only had the finishing to go but it was a lot of work knitting it together and putting on the edging and finishing in the ends.  It's done, it's for me and I love it.

 

 February, the wool mittens for Maine month, but I found a need much nearer to home.  A dear friend mentioned to me that she didn't have any hand knit socks and it was her birthday month.  Of all the sad stories I've heard, I just had to put down my mittens and make socks.

Once finished with the socks I went on to make my husband a knit cap.  This is yarn we bought last summer in England and he carried in his bag all the way home.  It's so soft and nice and the colorways are wonderful.  I've got mine on the needles now but have so many other projects distracting me...

 

March, the Afghans for Afghans month, found me knitting (as I was suppose) to a little vest for A4A.  I enjoyed knitting this thing.  It was a simple design, I scaled it up a bit by using heavier yarn and I made it longer so that it would fit a larger child.  The pattern has no real finishing except sewing the shoulder seam and putting on the buttons, which I got my mom to do...yeah, my mom still helps with my knitting!

Beyond the knitting mentioned herein, I've knit lots of other things but they gone off to be worn before I got pictures.  I also cast on a Nimbus sweater, knit 11" and then decided it might be a few inches shy of fitting around me.  It was then that I decided to find a pattern knit from the neck down and try again.  It's put away right now, to age and allow me to forget the 11" of stockinette that I need to pull out...meanwhile I've cast on anther sweater for me in Denim that might work out.  I'll discuss it in detail if I get it right.  That's about it for now.  I'm looking forward to the next few months.  I love knitting caps so the chemo project will be a breeze.

*All the projects discussed in the blog entry have full details of pattern used, needles and yarn at my site on Ravelry. 

Pat

first daffodil

Yipes! Stripes!

I like striped mittens.

There may be a reason I don't make them more often.

visual interest coming soon!!

1. I do not have Pat locked away in a cell, away from her knitting and camera. She is well, and knitting, and taking pictures, and will emerge at some point, as soon as the sun gets a little higher in the sky.

2. No pictures from me either. I have a new camera. (The old one is still in hiding. I'll probably find it in a bird's nest in a tree down the street.) Cameras no longer come with convenient little booklets -- they come with the instruction manual on a CD that you read on your computer. So you have to run back and forth between your subject and your computer (or send it to your phone, where you can read it in 3-point type), and it is remarkably frustrating and inefficient. I'm having a little trouble getting settings, color, etc, to work properly, and I don't want to post any more bad pictures. Mastering this lovely little machine is at the top of the list of things that will happen in March.

3. February mitten review. Um. I started the month with two pairs in progress, found a third I'd forgotten about, and cast on two more. That gives me five pairs of mittens in progress. Do not even try to figure out the logic; there is none. March is a wild card month, and I plan to finish all of the February mittens.

4. And -- ta da! -- Pat and I have discovered a very cool project, which supports one of our favorite efforts, the Heifer Project. Thanks to Kaleidoscope Yarns in Vermont; it's their newsletter that led us to this great idea: Hats for Hunger.

Details to be firmed up soon, but Pat and I will do something for this group during the month of March. We thought we'd put the link up right away in case you want to play along.

P.S. The first 3 crocuses opened up yesterday.

Not mittens

Hmmm. As part of the very small committee (n = 2) that laid out this year's TLF schedule, I seem to be breaking the rules pretty enthusiastically!! To start, I did not knit myself a sweater in January. (I did, though, make myself a hat and some mittens, so I might qualify on a technicality.) Now it's February, and our schedule says to make mittens for Afghans for Afghans if there's a campaign that calls for those, or for someone else if there isn't one. But -- I had to finish this blanket for the February 14 Afghans for Afghans due date:

I call it "24" -- 4 large blocks, each of which measures 24 by 24 inches, and each of which is based on a multiplication fact. The first one I knit was 4 stripes, each 6 inches wide (4 x 6). Then 6 4-inch stripes, then 8 3-inch stripes, then 12 2-inch stripes. Seven colors of Peace Fleece, using more than 1 skein per color, and all from my stash. The colors are so much warmer and richer than this picture says, and this thing is WARM! I love garter stitch stripes; you'll see more.

I do have two pairs of mittens in progress, so I will finish those up for February, hitting the assigned target. And there's a sweater that needs only a sleeve and a half; that's on my list as well. Not to mention, as soon as I've crocheted the shoelaces, some outrageously adorable little red booties. Watch.this space!

Dear Witness Protection Program

Please return my camera, which has been in deep hiding since two days after Thanksgiving. Accept my assurances that all threats to its continued wellbeing have been neutralized.

Without it, how can I adequately horrify Pat with this week's wild binge of casting on new projects without finishing older ones?

my love affair with the post office continues

Tomorrow I will send these to Afghans for Afghans:

Blue mittens by RTDD, gray mittens (they are gray, not white) with turquoise edge and green mittens from me, stripey mittens and blue socks from Pat. There's also a dark gray hat that did not make it to the photo shoot.

And these to the Red Scarf Project (I missed the deadline, but I wrote and they said OK to send -- I always check first):

      

The scarf on the left is Knitpicks Swish worsted, using the Corrugator pattern; the scarf on the right is Knitpicks Shamrock, a hefty tweedy yarn that did not want to be ribbed. I used a 2 x 2 basketweave pattern instead.

All of the knitting is from 2010; I just never got these things into boxes. It's time.

Begin again

January 1. I make one New Year's resolution every year. The rules are (1) it does not fall into the "become perfect" category, and (2) it has to be fun. For instance, one year the resolution was "see more movies." So this post is not to be seen as a resolution! It's a plan.

Pat and I both believe in knitting for people in need. Sure, we write the checks, too, but both of us think that, in addition to helping someone stay warm, there's an intangible benefit to receiving something handmade. The energy of the work, the knowledge that someone cared enough about you, a stranger, to make this thing -- we think the benefits go beyond the immediate and physical. And we've been knitting in this spirit for years.

It was Pat's idea, enthusiastically welcomed, that for 2011 we do a project each month that falls into that category. We both loathe the phrase "charity knitting" -- it sounds, to our ears, condescending, and has a certain "Lady Bountiful" sense to it. In the knitting guild I belong to, I changed the name of our charity committee to Knitting for Neighbors; Pat and I call our efforts KFO -- Knitting for Others.

We've made a schedule for the year. Unlike last year, we're posting this at the outset, in case anyone wants to follow along or jump in for a month or two. Subject to change, of course, because stuff happens. And Afghans for Afghans sometimes has quick, intense projects that can't be deferred. For now, though, here's the schedule. Each of us has three free passes, so we can skip a month if necessary, without penalty or need to justify. And the year doesn't really start until February 1; in January, permission is given to knit something for ourselves. Another new rule -- the project can have been started before the first of the month. As long as it's finished during the month of the challenge, it counts. (I can't count the finished red scarf sitting on my desk right now for next September, for instance.)

Other knitting will continue, too, and you'll see that here as well. We're looking forward to the variety!


We have participated in all of these projects before, and know them to be well run and successful at getting the knitted items where they need to be:



January -- knit for yourself 

February -- wool mittens, for any organization (e.g., Nest Maine, afghans for Afghans, one of the reservations)

March -- wild card (project or organization of our choice; we may both do the same one or we may choose different projects)

April -- chemo caps for A. I. duPont Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware, one of our many wonderful local children's hospitals. Any size kid, infant to age 18.

May -- scarf for Safe Harbor for next winter. Safe Harbor is a local organization (West Chester, PA) that helps formerly homeless, recovering addicts get back to normal life. Mostly men, they sleep at Safe Harbor but must go out during the day. Many are those guys you see selling newspapers at intersections.

June -- wool socks for Adopt a Native Elder (supports Navajo elders living in the traditional way)

July -- blanket squares for any organization: Pine Ridge, A4A group project; South Africa; other. Overachievers can just go ahead and knit the whole blanket. What? Stop looking at me like that!

August -- Caps for Kids, to be delivered via Knitter's Day Out, a small, annual Pennsylvania event every September that Pat and I always attend and where both of us usually teach. It's very early this month, so knitting will be done in August.

September -- red scarf for the Red Scarf Project

October -- wild card

November -- Hats for the Homeless (in New York; if we can find a Philadelphia equivalent, we'll donate there instead)

December -- wild card

A Year in Socks…

OK, I didn’t knit a pair of socks every month in 2010.  When I look deep within myself I know that it’s alright, I’m not a sock-a-month person.  Unlike Elizabeth, I have lots and lots of socks; my daughter has lots and lots of socks.  I’ve knit a lot of socks in my life.  I like to knit socks; I always have a pair of socks on my knitting needles, just one pair at a time but always a pair of socks in the project bag.  I got all the way through June before the project began to wear thin, we traveled to England and I didn’t finish a pair for July.  That was the beginning of the end of this project for me.

 

Just so’s you know, I’m OK with not finishing the year.  I did spend my first year in our newly renovated house, hanging pictures, figuring out what went in each kitchen drawer, finding a spot to display my mug collection, the list is endless. I posted a photo a day on my art web site.  I traveled to England.  I lost 22 ½ pounds.  I took care of my family.  It was a great year and 2011 is going to be even better, the mind boggles.

I did lots of charity knitting this year.  I’m a very fortunate person and I believe in giving back; I hope to give back even more in 2011.  I’d also like to lose another 20 pounds, exercise a bit more, knit more, travel more and grow less facial hair.  I expect to reach most of those goals and the ones I miss; well it just goes to show you that I’m not perfect.

Retrospective

Pat and I had discussed knitting a pair of socks each month in 2009. I think we made it to mid-January that year, although we agreed we'd still really like to do that. So in 2010 we decided to try again, this time blogging the project. Somehow, that was what we needed. I was motivated by several things: (1) the pure fun of the challenge; (2) a large collection of sock yarn; and (3) the fact that I found out that both my sister and one friend each had more than 15 pairs of socks I'd made for them, but I had only three. I needed to fill my own sock drawer!

I started out strong, managing not only to meet the monthly challenge but also to finish up a pair or two that had been languishing on needles for months or years. Then I started missing deadlines, just by a day. By fall, the thrill had diminished somewhat; finally, Pat and I both agreed that we'd come close enough, and that it was supposed to be fun. I tried to make the November sock, but it didn't work out as planned. I have all year to fix it, so that's on the list.

January: green socks, rainbow stripes pair finished -- 2
February: Afghans for Afghans socks and a series of sock-knitting lessons on the A4A knitalong blog; another languishing pair finished --  2

March: Socks that Rock; green and yellow socks finished -- 2
April: blue socks and contemplation of stash -- 1
May: purple cables -- 1
June: solstice socks (flew away to a friend just in time for December 21) -- 1
July: Afghans for Afghans; 3 worsted pairs, 2 pairs using a double strand of sock yarn -- 5
August: wild card; I finished two pairs in progress, so actually knit more than one pair -- 2
September: golden socks -- 1
October: we made mittens instead
November: no socks, but hats for 6 homeless guys
December: crash and burn, illustrated by the fact that this is the first post of the month

Total pairs knit: 18, 9 of which stayed here with me


I learned: blogging is fun and easy; knitting to a challenge is entertaining; and having a lot of wool socks is wonderful. I already knew that there's no sense in continuing to push yourself to do something that's supposed to be fun once it turns into a stressor and that a project is much more fun if you do it with a friend..

Two Left Feet has a new project starting January 1. Not socks this time, but no need to change the blog title, because we do, indeed, still have two left feet.

Hats for the holidays

Pat and I both know we've been lucky, especially when we compare our lives to the whole rest of the world. That's not to say everything has always been perfect, and we've had our share of stresses and sadness, but we've never had to live on the street, and we've never had to raise our kids in a war zone. And the list goes on. That's one reason we both like to knit for people who have less. . . so when we found the web site for Hats for the Homeless, we both cast on immediately for hats.

I took a bag of yarn I'd stumbled across -- bought I'm not sure when, probably for mittens, and made these:

Fast, easy, and very very warm.

Pat found some leftovers at her house and made these:

(Please note, I used a highly paid model!)

They went to New York in yesterday's mail. We like to think they'll make a few people's lives just a little easier.

Sure don't feel like love

Pat and I have been starching our upper lips every morning and trying valiantly to soldier on. . . the fact is, the sock love has gone AWOL. So in a chat this morning we agreed that the year of socks came close enough, and we have freed ourselves to work guilt-free on whatever knitting speaks to us until at least the end of December.

Ahhh, that feels better. . .

You will still see great and wonderful things!! But they may not be foot-shaped. Off to knit without that nagging little voice in the back of my head. (I am wearing, by the way, the green January socks -- and yes, they still seem to radiate green light.)

simplify, simplify, simplify

The category for November is "holiday" socks. So far, I've got to the point where you print out the sheet of graph paper you need to chart the design. . .

I just read the Process Pledge on a quilting blog, and it seemed to apply to us too. So, here's the very beginning of the process, represented by the yarn I plan to use (click to make it bigger to see the sparkles):

Yes, it is green and sparkly (Black Bunny Fibers, Stella, colorway UFO). But -- it is not the green and sparkly yarn I meant to use. That is in a Safe Place, from which it will emerge when it's just a little too late for this pair of socks. (Yes, I can see the future.)

I want these to be festive, but I did not want them to be socks that can be worn only at Christmas time. So I've eliminated all plans to add red, and probably even gold, and have to rely on this yarn alone for the design. I'm trying to chart something out -- my original idea was way too complicated, because I would have had to follow a graph for every single stitch. In that case, I would have finished one leg of one sock and then put the whole thing away for some imaginary time in the future. I'm hoping to do better than that with this pair. So I'll be off to print out another sheet of graph paper (I just made an awful mess of this one) and try to formulate a more rational design.

without further ado -- the end of September

I know, I know -- what can I say? Sometimes I have trouble letting go. . .

Socks That Rock, medium weight, 24-Karat

Only I would make lacy boot socks. But I do think they came out well. I'll be using this stitch pattern again (right after Christmas, not before) on thinner yarn, where I think it will show to better advantage.

Christmas socks

No, I'm not making these socks, but one of you might like to. Check out this one (of many) of the free patterns over at Drops. They're on my Definitely Someday list.

when September goes

I, too, managed to finish my "September" socks before Halloween. Camera is downstairs and I am not, so picture will come tomorrow.

Meanwhile, we seem to be well into November. Perhaps I should use tonight's extra hour to cast on my November socks. The category is "holiday." That can be any holiday, of course, but for me it's Christmas, and I have a great idea. Can't find (oops) the yarn I originally intended to use, but I have a close second. Just have to work out the design. . . watch this space. And send extra hours!

September Socks

 I finally got around to photographing my September Socks...took me long enough!  The yarn is Blue Moon's Socks that Rock, knit on size 2 needles using the Dublin Bay Sock pattern (only I knit it from the toe-up).  What I know now is that I'm not very good at lace patterns, I have several errors in these socks, but nothing that will effect the wearing of them.