The year in FOs (finished objects)

This is the collection of items I knitted this year. This set doesn't include the baby sweater I made for our friends Cory and Michele's baby Kai, because I forgot to take a picture before sending it, and apparently it's still too big for the baby so they can't take a pic for me either! The list also does not include a should-have-been-lovely item that I ripped out after several false starts. Also, technically, the top left item, which is most recent in the list, isn't technically finished because the ends aren't woven in. Who cares? I'm including it anyway. This is not being graded.

As it is a screen capture from Ravelry, the order is from most recent backwards. If you are on Ravelry, please feel free to look me up - kewpiedoll99.

Top row, from left:

1. Socks for Adam


2. Sweater with built-in mitts for my niece Julianne


3. Socks for me, using silk & wool yarn from A Verb For Keeping Warm and a very useful (and free!) pattern from Wendy Knits


4. Orange sweater originally for me, given to my lovely coworker Shannon J. instead; Alpaka Tunic by Deborah Newton in the Fall Interweave Knits


5. Lap robe made of silk and wool from Blue Moon Fiber Arts


6. Pillow for my sister as a thank-you gift for being my bridesmaid

Second row:

1. Socks for me, using a pattern from Knitspot


2. Scarf for me, using hand-dyed silk lace yarn from Sundara Yarns


3. Cashmere cap for Caitlyn, Tom and Renee's firstborn


4. Cap for my pal Beth V. as a thank-you gift for being my bridesmaid, made from silk & cashmere yarn


5. Socks for my mentor and role model, the great and wise Nora Y.


6. Mitts for my sister-in-law, Ange, as a thank-you gift for helping plan my wedding, using a pattern from Knitspot

Third row:

1. Socks for Adam


2. Cashmere hat for my sister-in-law, Tracy, as a thank-you gift for being my bridesmaid, in a pattern I made up to look like a hat from the TV show Bones


3. Neck warmer for my mother as a wedding thank-you gift, using a pattern from Knitspot, knit from yak and silk yarn that I spun myself


4. Cashmere & angora hat that got lost almost as soon as I finished working in the ends :(


5. Angora hat for my sister-in-law, Tammy, as a thank-you gift for being my bridesmaid


6. Cashmere neck warmer for my pal Dana as a thank-you gift for being my matron of honor, using a pattern from Knitspot.

I also did a decent amount of spinning, but don't have pictures to show of that work. I sold some of that yarn on Etsy, and through friends (thanks, Pete!), and I do have pics up on Flickr of some of my yarn still available for sale. I'm still interested in selling my yarn, but I want to find another venue. I found Etsy disappointing: It's such a huge marketplace, I felt like a tiny invisible ant. It seemed really hard to get found by people there. So I have let my store listings expire and am not certain I plan to re-list them; it feels like a waste of money and time (because it's not exactly a cake walk to go through all the steps in listing items).

In the upcoming year, one of the things I'd like to do is work through my stash. I have a ton of sock yarn, among lots of other stuff, and if I want to I can knit all year without buying any more yarn. Having said that, I'm sure I will buy more yarn, but I am beginning, at least, to feel like everybody else who has a stash, that I "should" use what I own before buying more. I also have a ton of spinning fiber that I can also work through before buying more. That includes up to a pound of fiber, or maybe more, that I dyed myself, and it's pretty nice stuff, Cormo and superwash Merino and BFL.

One thing I realized suddenly while drooling over some listings on Sundara Yarns was that what I really love doing is looking at the gorgeous colorways. I don't even get as much joy from owning it as I do from looking at the photographs! The same is true of other indie dyers whose work I like so much. Don't get me wrong, their wares are fabulous. I have their stores' RSS feeds in my blog reader, and I love to check in on what they are listing in their stores, but I actually don't HAVE to buy the stuff as urgently as I thought. I really felt almost this need to acquire some of the lovely fiber when I looked at the pictures, but I took a few deep breaths and the feeling did pass. (Almost like a nicotine fit.) So I'm holding steady here with what I currently own, mostly, reserving the option of course for special situations like the orange sweater from senior year in college that I have gotten a hankering lately to replace.

I wish everybody joy in their creative pursuits, whatever they may be, in this coming year. Whether you are a DM, a knitter, a spinner, a designer, an amateur chef, or a software developer, may you have all the pleasure and satisfaction there is to be found in solving new challenges, developing new skills, and doing what you love.