A Year’s Projects

I was counting the things I’ve made this year. I like having a notebook that contains all the notes and patterns. Besides having all the info in one place for reference, it gives me an overview of how much I’ve actually accomplished when it feels like I never finish anything. Because I work on more than one thing at a time it seems to take much longer than it really does to complete each one. Here’s the final totals for 2009:

• 7 pairs of socks
• 1 pair of legwarmers
• 8 scarves (5 of them crocheted and 3 knit)
• 3 lace shawls
• 4 hats (one crochet and 3 knit)
• 3 sweaters (one adult size, one kid size and one baby size)
• 2 dresses (one knit and one sewn)
• 3 pairs of gloves/mitts (2 with full fingers)
• 1 toy
• 1 hot water bottle cosy

I also dyed several pounds of wool roving and skeins of yarn, mostly using natural dyes. Notably I didn’t do very much spinning except for some of the scarves. Must remedy that before I forget how to do it! And I still have a few items that are not yet finished. The crocheted afghan from sock yarn remnants is definitely going to be an ongoing project for some time to come. I hope to finish the rest sooner rather than later. Each item completed gives me the incentive to start something new!

I notice that I made less than half the usual number of socks. Slipping there! Maybe I’m just tired of knitting socks or that nearly everyone now has lots of pairs so I’m not feeling the same urgency? However, I know T-Man needs a new pair because he actually Wore Out one and at least another pair or two are getting dangerously thin. And Stargazer has grown out of all of his Granny Socks. (Today is his Third Birthday! Yikes!) I obviously need to get on the job again, huh?

However the most urgent project right now is preparing for a lecture I have to give to my weavers & spinners guild in February. The subject is Natural Fibres. I need to learn how to use Power Point, find all the images, spin some samples and write up my notes. I haven’t even started yet. Wish me luck!

Since I haven’t photographed Blodgie’s Sweater yet (aka my hot water bottle cosy) I’ll leave you with another shot from Saturday. That big ball is Science World, a legacy from Expo ‘86. (In the dark it looks like a dandelion puff with lights at each intersection of the dome!) I love how still the water is in False Creek. Made for great reflections.