The Crafts of 2011

Or should I say 'the knits of 2011' since I really didn't do much else other than knit this year. Yes, I did a ton of sewing but it was all project bags for my shop. So they really don't count. I think I should make it a goal for next year to do more sewing that doesn't involve project bags. Yeah?

Anyhoo, when I first wrote down the list of projects and then made the collage I was kinda taken aback about having only 30 projects for the entire year. I mean, really? I had knit my ass off all year long and out of the 30 projects I only have 26 knitted items to show for the year?? But then I smacked myself. Knocked some sense into me. First off, I'm knitting. As all you knitters out there know (and you non-knitters should take note) that knitting is one of the most labour intensive crafts out there. Yes, you can fudge things left and right but really, unlike sewing, you are the one making the fabric. Knitting a sleeve could take hours of work, but in sewing those very same hours could get you an entire garment already...and then some! So really, I shouldn't be all hard on myself for only having 26 knitted FOs under my belt. Last year I only had 14 knitted items! I've almost doubled that amount in a year! I should be darn proud of myself!

I also need to remind myself that these 30 items are completed projects. Cause trust me, I have UFOs (unfinished objects) left and right all over the place! Throughout the year I had started a bunch of projects and either still have them on the needles or frogged them before they had a chance to even resemble anything. There's soooo many projects that I haven't even blogged about! Talk about secrets! Hmm...still on the needles...well, remember Phinney? I had started that pullover at the very beginning of the year. It was suppose to be my first project of 12 in 2011. Technically she's off the needles. All pieces have been knit, the only thing holding me back from completing her is the sewing up and then picking up the stitches for the collar. That's it. Really. What else is still OTN? A capelet, a pair of stripey knee-high socks (it was for a sock KAL with Hayley), 4 pairs of socks (a test knit, a stripey Skew similar to this pair, a variegated Skew like my first pair...can't you tell that I love Skews? Oooohhhh...maybe I should just frog the stripey knee-highs and turn them into knee-high Skews??? The wheels are turning...oh! I also have an ill-fitting-should-just-be-frogged-now pair of crap socks on the go too. Something tells me I should have a day where I do nothing but frog unloved projects that I didn't have the heart to deal with at the time).

Ok, where was I? Oh yeah, projects still OTN...let's see...well there Brett's cardigan (which is a shoulder, collar, and buttonbands away from being done), the Dahlia cardigan (I was obsessed about it back in September and October, started knitting it as part of a KAL with some ladies in my knitting group, and never blogged about the actual knitting of it), an Audrey in Unst cardigan (again, not blogged...like, at all), and remember this bad boy of a yarn cake?

The blue one next to the normal sized cake? Yeah, that's currently being turned into a shawl slash wrap. Again, I haven't blogged about this project but I'm not even close to being even halfway finished and looks like a blob of blue. Doesn't make for pretty blog photos, that's for sure.

Then there's the projects that just need some finishings...like the jacket for the Munchkin (it just needs the icord closures) that I haven't had the heart to finish since he won't even wear the Thorpe I had knit for him, and another hat for the Munchkin (which again, I don't have the heart to finish...see previous item's reason for not finishing). My Hooray Cardigan should really be added to the FO list but it's still awaiting for some grosgrain ribbon to be sewn onto the button bands...and oh, some buttons too. We won't even talk about the projects I had knit in 2010 that just needs some simple sewing done to them that I thought I would do at the beginning of this year.

I've been trying to give myself pep talks about clearing out the proverbial knitting basket and clearing the knitting WIP clutter. I think it's starting to work cause I'm slowly getting antsy about turning those WIPs into FOs and reclaiming all my needle tips and cables back. Who knows, maybe I'll finally have a full set of interchangeable needles again? Wouldn't that be something?

I have a lot of plans and ideas for 2012. So much so that January is already looking to be a tightly scheduled month. I think I better go get a new day planner and start penciling in my plans and hope that my schedule is do-able. I hope someone somewhere will discover a way to add a few more hours to the day in 2012. Or am I the only person who's stupid crazy enough to put themselves on an intense crafting agenda?