A couple weekends of travel = a large quantity of stitching. The More Stripes vest is done, as are the Circus Panda Cotton socks. (photos to come) Sadly, the items that were intended as Hanusolskwanzmas presents are not done (in some cases, not started), but my family is generally understanding, and between the Twelve Days of Christmas and assuming that the Eastern Orthodox Christmas season also runs until their date for Epiphany, that gives me until mid-January, right?
I’m very happy with the vest, although I find that the edges do tend to curl. It fits better than I’d expected, and it actually makes me look like I have a chest. The socks are a teeny bit too long in the foot, but otherwise they’re great.
Things I expect to finish by the end of the year:
- Holly Heart ornament (assuming I get off my rear and work some more on it)
Things I could conceivably finish by the end of the year, but probably won’t:
- Vera socks (still on the foot, but getting close to the heel)
- one pair of felted clogs (haven’t started, but they are a quick knit
- first green sampler towel (weaving goes fast when I actually do it)
- Aran sweater (sleeves are close to the elbow)
- Regia Bamboo socks (gusset increases chugging along, almost ready for the heel)=
- Microsock (granted, it’ll take as many actual stitches as a normal-sized sock, but hey)
- Fair Isle swatch cap (assuming that the moth infestation I discovered didn’t go too far into the yarn; it’s currently sitting in the freezer waiting for me to have the oomph to deal with it)
- Flower Basket shawl (got a repeat done while travelling)
- black lineny shirt (frankly, it probably would take only an afternoon to finish the remaining seams)
- black lineny skirt (ditto)
- stupid Crane needlepoint (and if I don’t finish it, I should go ahead and unload it)
- Ivy socks (I’m not that far from the heel)
(Note that there is absolutely no way I will finish everything on this list, and it’s unlikely I’ll finish more than one or two, but it’s conceivable that I could finish at least one.)
Things I couldn’t finish by the end of the year even if I were childfree and had the rest of the year off to do nothing but needlework:
- Flutter Cardigan (still on the early part of the sleeves; haven’t started the body)
- Turkish Rug sweater (I’m finding I hate intarsia more than I remembered, or more precisely, I hate weaving in ends)
- latch hook rug
- Flanders map
- Fantasy sampler
- pentacle
- Ruby
Craft goals for 2008:
- Finish at least one of the big honking cross-stitch projects I’ve had pending for years.
- Finish all the sweaters I have in process.
- Knit as many pairs of socks as I buy pairs’ worth of sock yarn. Okay, let’s be more realistic…. Knit as many individual socks as I buy pairs’ worth of sock yarn
- Start the big bobbin lace doily.
- Try one of the needlecrafts I have books for but have never done, like Armenian needlelace or Romanian point lace.