Finished Things...part 1

I have not been very good at updating this blog. In fact I've been awful. I just looked back to see what knitted things I've posted pictures of, since we all know that I haven't been sewing until recently, and with the exception of some hats I knit for the homeless, it's been a year since I posted anything. So I'm way behind.

I knit some socks:

Here they are in more detail:

I called these "Raspberry Jubilee." I started them while we were on a cruise last year. The cruise was actually for work (our annual meeting and 15th anniversary of the company) but spouses were invited. And though we did have work meetings, I did have time to relax and knit on deck or on the balcony of our room. The yarn is TOFUtsies from Southwest Trading Company and the pattern is "Eyes on You" from the book Socks A La Carte.

These were started in April 2009 and I remember it was rainy so I dubbed them "Gray Sky Socks." I finally finished them last year after having set them aside. I only had 1/2 sock left and had the pattern so that part wasn't a problem. Unfortunately I had no idea what cast-off I used for the first sock so I had to guess. Should have documented this project better. I have a chart of the pattern but I didn't even write down the name. I do now it's from the book More Sensational Knitted Socks. The yarn is Panda Silk.

The third pair of socks were my "Simple Socks" - so called because I wanted an easy project that I could knit without thinking too much. These are just simple stockinette with a 4x2 ribbed cuff. I really like these socks, mostly because the yarn, Austermann Step, is really nice. They'd be great socks for a nice snowy day. Too bad we don't get snow here. ;-)

The rest of the finished knitted projects were gifts. I ended up knitting about 6 hats for the homeless - they were easy and a great TV knitting project. The pictures I took all came out blurry (I have not learned that the point and shoot Nikon is nowhere near the quality of the SLR!). But I do have pictures of the other gifts.

This shawl for my sister was knit mostly on the plane trip to/from New Zealand. A flight attendant was intrigued by my knitting and amazed at how much I accomplished during the flight. I am so thankful they no longer ban knitting needles on flights. I have to keep my hands busy with knitting or I get really restless in my seat. This shawl was knit with Stitch Nation "Bamboo Ewe" yarn. The pattern, called "Morning Frost Wrap", is from a Stitch Nation pattern pamphlet.

One nice thing about being able to knit (and sew) is that sometimes you're able to come up with quick gifts. A couple years ago I knit a scarf for a friend for Christmas and always intended to make some fingerless mitts to go with it. The yarn is Malabrigo and the pattern is Malabrigo Hand Thingies, available as a download on Ravelry.

I also whipped up a little scarf for a friend for her birthday. The yarn is Rowan Kidsilk Haze so I called this project "Purple Haze." The pattern is from the book Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I should have snapped a picture of her wearing it because it looked much nicer on her than on my boring white dress form.

Part 2 will be the sewing projects I finished. Yes! Sewing projects beside the dress that has been my only blog post for the last month. Hopefully it won't take a year for me to post pictures of them!