Time to ring in a new year!

Here we are, once again standing at the threshold of a new year. I'm still in shock at the speed that this year few by. I don't really do resolutions much, but to say that there weren't goals for this year would also be inaccurate.

2007 was definitely the year of the stash. Of the 17 FOs for this year 9 were stash projects. In addition to that, nearly all my yarn acquisition (except for Stitches West) went to make the other FOs on my list, so the overall state of my stash is down at the end of the year. I also went to great lengths to lessen my UFOs and ended up finishing some great projects as well as get rid of some of the losers. I'm now in a steady rotation of about 3 active projects at a time. The only clear exception is that I did put a couple spring/summer projects on hiatus so that I could work on more seasonally appropriate projects. Given the very short nature of any 'winter' weather, this is almost a necessity in So Cal.

As for next year, I don't really have new knitting goals except to keep those I have started this year in place. I am, however, going to try to post about my projects more regularly. I have two projects on the needles (that are getting near completion) that have never even seen the light of day on this blog, the Celtic Tote and the Two Tone Shrug. So, I am hoping to change that for '08.

As for personal goals, I am going to try and make it through the first two months of this year without stumbling into the introspection/depression that has brought in the last two. Since my birthday takes place in January, the beginning of a new year also coincides with getting older and that unavoidable (for me, at least) reflection on where I am and where it is I want to go with my life. And with trying to understand who I am and what I need to work on personally. However, I don't wish to avoid this introspective period altogether, but rather make it a more positive experience for myself.

So, given all of the above, instead of this post inundating you with all of my end of the year projects, I think I will split them up into a few posts since they fit nicely into knitting FOs, crafting FOs and knitting WIPs.

First up is my last Christmas knitting project for the year: a Shedir for B.

I knit the hat in just under a full ball of Calmer in Onyx. Basically there was about a walnut sized ball left over, so it was a close one, but no left overs!...except for the whole second ball I bought just in case. :-P Oh well, it will make a lovely Shedir for someone else.

The combination of the black stretchy yarn, the too dull needles (traditional addis) on the cable twists, and the poor lighting in my house made for a rocky start at best. But after the first cable repeat of the body of the hat, the knitting became second nature. I did all my cabling without a cable needle and this actually made it easier for me to know if I was off pattern because the stitches didn't 'look right' while I was twisting them.

I was able to keep this project totally off of B's radar and was able to finish it up while he was out of town at the end of November/beginning of December. The best part is that he really likes his hat and it fits him great. :-)

Finally, I have a little stash-busting project that I actually started last year sometime but never got around to adding the fringe. It got buried in my knitting basket and I forgot about it entirely until I was organizing a few weeks ago. So, I pulled it out, added the fringe and here it is:

I made this out of some super chunky yarn that a secret pal of mine gifted to me many moons ago. I'd love to tell you more about it, but I know nothing. There were no ball bands and that secret pal never even revealed themselves to me to ask. If I remember right, they told me that the yarn came from Chile, but with my memory, who knows! I followed the Yarn Harlot's recipe for a simple length-wise garter stitch scarf that you can get here (but doesn't appear to be on Ravelry yet). It's a little warm for normal San Diego, but I have a feeling it will be great the next time we go snowboarding.

So, with that, I hope that the end of 2007 is finding you well and that 2008 will be a great year for everyone. Have a very Happy New Years and be safe!