Pre-Apocalyptic Roundup

I joined, perhaps in a state of optimism, a small thread on Ravelry dedicated to finishing 12 knitted items in 2012.  Pff, thought, I (optimistically) 12 finished items in 2012?  A piece of p*ss, as they say.  12 months later, (almost) and I have barely scraped through...  I am in hope of finishing a 13th item, but boy, I'm cutting things fine.  I'm aiming for Christmas for this 13th item, though, so I'm perhaps not cutting it fine for 2012.  Unless, of course, 2012 ends on Friday.  Maybe I'll have the item blocked by then.  It would be a shame to go out with unblocked items lying around.  What would extra-terrestrial archeologists of the future think of us, when they find caches of unfinished items of the knitted sort, languishing on bent and battered (and by then, ancient) needles.  That the the human race never finished anything?  That we lived by a code of ooh-shininess?  

(Actually...)

But, they are done.  Huzzah.  And they're not 'just' socks.  No-hoh.  There are 3 - count them - THREE shawls in this.  (Meh, okay, so they're shawlettes, but there's still an astonishing amount of stitching going on in them.)  Maybe even 4, if you count the neck-shoulder warmer I finished last week.  Them's a lot of knitting, eyellhavyoono. 

From the top, we have Dellezig, which is basically a zigzag neck/shoulder warmer with a ribbed neck, by DROPS designs.  I'm not going to link to the pattern, because I find it ridiculously badly written.  The item itself is pretty, though, and should do a fine job of keeping my Mum nice and warm! I used Eden Cottage Yarns 'Fantasia' in Delle.

Next is a very pretty shawlette I worked on as a test piece for the designer.  The Samaras Shawlette is a pattern by Nancy Totten, and a very quick knit for for such a pretty little shawl.  It should have a nice scalloped edge, but I didn't have enough pins.  It does, however, still block nicely with a more traditional spiky edge!  I used Malabrigo Yarn 'Sock' in Violeta Africana.  

Following on are my dear Hippie Hippie Socks, using Noro 'Kureyon Sock' in 256.  (You can find a whole post about this pattern in the links to the right.)

Oblique and Acute socks (mine again) are close behind the Hippies.  Oblique uses Munchkin Knitworks 'String of Pearls Plus' in Hodgeberry stain, and the Acute socks use King Cole 'Riot' in Riot.

I go back in time for the next project - another version of my first ever pattern 'Traffic Island Socks'.  Aw, bless! This time I used Eden Cottage Yarns 'Tempo' in Bit of a Goth.

Another of my new 2012 patterns - this time Cherry Garni.  I made these using Araucania 'Ranco Solid' in PT485 and a touch here and there of The Yarn Side 'Walker Merino' in Red Lentil Evenings.

I volunteered for another test shawl earlier on in the year - this time it was a Stepped Laceline Shawl by Venita Kidwai.  Very pretty, slightly boring to make, but the end result is worth the monotony. 

 

 

My sister gave me the yarn for the next project.  She wanted socks.  Who was I to not indulge this adorable trait?  I made a mistake choosing the pattern, though - Kalajoki - it was fiddly to make over 3 needles, especially considering it was a DK pattern.  I ended up changing the toe structure to something that didn't break my fingers.  The yarn is Stylecraft 'Life DK' in Honey.

Doornroosje came next - a pretty shawl pattern by a real-life friend (as opposed to all the ones in my internet).  I made it with King Cole 'Mirage' in 874 Oslo.  I gave it as a birthday gift to a singer friend of mine, who uses it as a 'throat-warmer'!

My tragic 'Where Corals Lie' bag comes next in the collage.  Ah, I had such high hopes. You can see the full story here and here.  I used what I thought was Noro 'Kureyon' in 196, but it appears to have been a bag of knock-off fake Noro.  Sad, sad, sad.

Finally there's Rambling - a great semi-improvised pattern for a scarf.  I made the mistake of not making it wide enough, even though I knew I was using acrylic and I'd never get it to block.  Cygent '100% Acrylic Aran' in 185 Denim, to be precise.  It is, however, still being used by the person for whom it was made, so not a disaster by any means!

I'm kinda hoping we're not going to suffer the Mayan prophecy of doom, because I've just started a Wingspan shawl, and I'd really like to be able to wear it in the not-too-distant (non 999 degree apocalyptic) future.

To be continued...  Hopefully with a 13 for 2013 (optimistic) goal...