2011: A Year in Knitting

So, 2011 was the year of Knitting the Almanac for me. I've already talked about the first half of the year, but here's a bit of a recap, in case you missed it, and in order to provide completeness. (If you click to see the whole picture, it does include almost everything I talk about, starting from centre top and working clockwise through the year).

January: an Aran... my first self-designed project, using Elizabeth Zimmermann's recipe, and a cable stitch dictionary to knit my own saddle-shouldered aran cardigan. The first time I steeked, too!

February: a baby thing (February Baby Sweater) - easy and successful, about to be posted off to friends who've just had their first child.

March: a difficult sweater - FAIL. I like the idea of the technique, but the design I worked out to make it work for me as a jumper had too many stitches between colourwork sections - meaning really bad gauge issues, and a session at the frog pond. It has since become October's child's jumper, and stash for a Coraline cardigan and textured vest top.

April: a mysterious blanket - success! Not all that mysterious, in that making a multicoloured blanket rather displays the way it was knit, rather than hiding it as per EZ's plan, but I'm very pleased with it.

May: Squirrel mittens - great success, but recurring gauge issues... I love these, and am going to try them again, but I've found that my tension in colourwork is very, very tight, and they do not fit my (quite big) hands. (Here's a gratuitous shot of the person with whom they have found a home)

June: a hat. Easy, and actually quite nice. I removed some of the point, and it has not yet been cold enough to warrant hats here, but it will be pressed into service as temperatures drop.


July: a Pi shawl. I love this. I've blogged about it in detail before, but that was before I wore it much, and I was concerned that a circular shawl might be better used as a tablecloth than as a shawl. Not true - it's a great wraparound item, and I've been wearing it whenever my coats permit (ie, when I'm not wearing my winter waterproof, which has velcro)!


August: Christmas fiddle faddle - quick and easy. This felt a bit like a cheat, but I was rather busy with other things (getting married, specifically), and so I was very relieved to find that I could knit an EZ Christmas star in 45minutes. They even found a home amongst my Christmas card display for the festive season.

September: Nether garments... the unfinished project of the year. It hasn't been frogged, but thanks to my long legs, the fine yarn, and the simplicity of the knitting involved, this project is (so far) stalled at the just-above-the-knee point of the first leg. I'll go back to it, but not yet.

October: Open-necked pullover - really good knit. This was complicated by the fact that I had a child in mind, but not to hand for fitting, but it does, after all, fit, and I love the final effect. It was delivered just before Christmas, so missed the mass photo shoot, but here it is before it got buttons!

November: Mocassin Sock - qualified success. I knit one sock for the project in this month, because I was in the midst of writing and test knitting basic sock patterns (mini, child and adult) for my workshops, and so felt I had paid my sock-knitting dues. The mocassin construction is interesting, even if it looks very very strange off the foot, and involves 5 inches of 2x2 rib worked flat. I will make the second sock soon, I promise!

And finally, December: Hurry up Sweater! I think he likes it - it's Jared Flood's lovely Cobblestone pullover, started on December 1st, and finished December 31st. This is the only pattern of the year where I really stepped away from EZ's instructions, and followed someone else's pattern. Partly because I don't like Chunky knits, partly because Mr P is quite particular about styles, and partly because I didn't like the wishbone neckline.