Here they are, the projects I aim to get done before 1 January 2013. Right now they're in no particular order, but as they get worked on and (gulp) completed, I'll try to arrange them accordingly.
Originally I was making the pattern shown in the photo above, but it just so happens that the morning I discovered it, I read about a free leaf facecloth pattern. So I wound up making two leaf facecloths instead:
Started: ummm, I vaguely remember starting this last winter. Not sure why, because I don't need any new ones. The new leaf pattern was started 18 August.
FINISHED: 18 August 2012
What stopped it: maybe that I realised I don't need any new ones?
What needs to be done: Sweet nothing. I rippped out the start of the old pinwheel pattern, and whipped these two up from that one ball of yarn, with a bit left over to use as part of a multi-coloured pinwheel sometime. Each leaf took almost exactly 45 minutes to make. I did one at the hairdresser's, then another when I got home.
Challenge: Accepting that I found a sixteenth item on the needles. But it's done now. This one was like ripping off a band-aid, with prettier results.
This is a late addition that I only remembered this morning just before I went to work (4 July).
Started: about 4 years ago, during the Toronto International Film Festival (something to knit while standing in queues)
What stopped it: the TIFF finished
What needs to be done: the rest of the back/sleeves, the front/sleeves, finishing.
Challenge: finding all of the yarn that goes with this; learning to accept that I'll never match the striping on the fronts to the back because the whole point is I'm using random stripes, and it will be nigh-impossible to tell if it was the blue-purple yarn or the purply-blue yarn for a given stripe. They're very blendy.
Started: August 2010
FINISHED: August 2012
What stopped it: Excruciating upper back pain (now thankfully under control).
What needs to be done: the rest of the sock in the photo, and the other sock.
Challenge: I may not have enough yarn. I also know I did make some mods to this sock to make the size larger, but I didn't write them down. I have to figure them out for the second sock.
Started: Over five years ago.
What stopped it: The realisation that I wouldn't get it done in time to wear it for that spring.
What needs to be done: The rest of the body and the sleeves; finishing.
Challenge: I was shortening the body by omitting rows whenever it was appropriate. Needless to say, I did not make any notes on what "appropriate" meant. The same will need to be done on the sleeves.
Started: It hasn't been started yet (see photo).
What stopped it: a variation on second sock syndrome — I'd made one in less than a week, and for some reason it was hard to get into making another one.
What needs to be done: the whole thing.
Challenge: figuring out where I downloaded the pattern to.
Started: sometime since I moved to the Beach. That is, in the last ten years.
What stopped it: the stitch pattern needs more chart attention than it looks, plus, being made of 100% wool, it was impossible to knit in transit during the summer.
What needs to be done: the fronts (one front started), one sleeve, finishing.
Challenge: I have more than one dye lot of this yarn, and have no idea which belongs to the jacket. Or, for that matter, if I have accidentally dug into the yarn for this jacket thinking it was stash.
Started: About four years ago.
What stopped it: Haven't the foggiest.
What needs to be done: Every time I pull this out and look at it, I'm surprised there's more done than I thought. There's maybe 2/3 of the stole plus the borders to do. Finishing is minor on this sort of thing (about the same for plain socks), but it will need to be done too.
Challenge: Figuring out which pattern I was using, and checking if I made any mods to it that I didn't write down (likely, but not proven).
Started: Last summer. Or maybe it was the summer before that.
What stopped it: Winter.
What needs to be done: The other half of the back, the sleeves, the fronts, the borders, finishing.
Challenge: There was something funky about the gauge and/or the body length, which is why I was working the back first instead of the fronts, like the pattern said (non-standard but that's how they wrote it). I'll have to figure this out again.
Started: um... five years ago?
What stopped it: a lack of confidence that I was finishing the fronts correctly. Also the constant worry that I will do all this work and it will look like crap on me anyhow.
What needs to be done: finishing the fronts, darning in the last of the ends (some are already done).
Challenge: will probably need at least one reality check with expert crocheter J-A.
Started: within the last three years.
What stopped it: I have no idea, but I seem to always get stuck on Kaffe Fassett patterns just when I'm getting the hang of them. Self-defeating masochism.
What needs to be done: the other half of the back, the sleeves, the fronts, the borders. Finishing. Hm, the same spot as the Mosaic Jacket. And as I recall, the Beaded Jacket had a similar sticking point earlier in its life.
Challenge: Will the colours be suitably blendy when I'm done? Will I have the guts to wear it?
Started: about five years ago.
What stopped it: I started it because I hate raccoons sooo much — they cost me over $3,000 in extra heating bills one year because they destroyed the attic of the apartment I was living in. The jacket is not from real raccoon (100% synthetic, in fact), but it wasn't making me hate the real vermin any less.
What needs to be done: Darning in ends, sewing on closures. It should probably be lined as well, but strictly according to the instructions, that's it.
Challenge: I think the sleeves are too long, and due to the construction method and fibre content there's not a whole lot to do about it.
Started: about five years ago
What stopped it: moving to the apartment I live in now (and losing the lining pattern paper pieces I'd traced out).
What needs to be done: Lining and finishing; maybe add a clasp.
Challenge: re-doing the lining pattern.
Started: over twelve years ago.
What stopped it: Moving cities; stress-induced starting of many other projects.
What needs to be done: the rest of the border and the entire centre part of the shawl; finishing.
Challenge: I hope the needle size I remember is the needle size I was actually using. I also hope the yarn I bought to finish the centre actually matches the handspun I used for the border. Oh, and I hope the thick-and-thin handspun does not break stitches when it comes time to block the thing. That's all.
Started: last summer.
What stopped it: I did finish the mat part, as you can see from the photo above. But I still want to add the flowers like I did to the Mark I mat.
What needs to be done: The flowers and attached them to the mat.
Challenge: Finding where I put the flower yarn. Okay, I think I know where it is, but I'm scared what state I'm going to find it in.
This is now finished. Quite frankly I got tired of accidentally knocking the bag of flower yarn over and causing more tangles. Inspiration comes from all sorts of places.
Started: a year ago last spring. Now finished!
What stopped it: Excruciating upper back pain (now thankfully under control).
What needs to be done: the rest of the sock in the photo, and the other sock.
Challenge: Finding the yarn needed to finish the other sock.
Started: last winter
What stopped it: it got replaced with the zombie pillows, which were for a birthday gift.
What needs to be done: The rest of this piece, plus the other front, the sleeves, the back, the borders, and the finishing.
Challenge: Figuring out where I was at with the decreasing for the module currently on the needles. This time, I do have some notes, though.
FINISHED surprise facecloth
Just when I thought I'd found everything, this facecloth showed up while I was gathering up the cotton for the doris daymat mk ii (see below).Originally I was making the pattern shown in the photo above, but it just so happens that the morning I discovered it, I read about a free leaf facecloth pattern. So I wound up making two leaf facecloths instead:
FINISHED: 18 August 2012
What stopped it: maybe that I realised I don't need any new ones?
What needs to be done: Sweet nothing. I rippped out the start of the old pinwheel pattern, and whipped these two up from that one ball of yarn, with a bit left over to use as part of a multi-coloured pinwheel sometime. Each leaf took almost exactly 45 minutes to make. I did one at the hairdresser's, then another when I got home.
Challenge: Accepting that I found a sixteenth item on the needles. But it's done now. This one was like ripping off a band-aid, with prettier results.
fractal jacket
Started: about 4 years ago, during the Toronto International Film Festival (something to knit while standing in queues)
What stopped it: the TIFF finished
What needs to be done: the rest of the back/sleeves, the front/sleeves, finishing.
Challenge: finding all of the yarn that goes with this; learning to accept that I'll never match the striping on the fronts to the back because the whole point is I'm using random stripes, and it will be nigh-impossible to tell if it was the blue-purple yarn or the purply-blue yarn for a given stripe. They're very blendy.
FINISHED hearts and harps socks (Kristi from Sock Innovation)
Started: August 2010
FINISHED: August 2012
What stopped it: Excruciating upper back pain (now thankfully under control).
What needs to be done: the rest of the sock in the photo, and the other sock.
Challenge: I may not have enough yarn. I also know I did make some mods to this sock to make the size larger, but I didn't write them down. I have to figure them out for the second sock.
double knitted jacket (Central Park from Double Knitting)
Started: Over five years ago.
What stopped it: The realisation that I wouldn't get it done in time to wear it for that spring.
What needs to be done: The rest of the body and the sleeves; finishing.
Challenge: I was shortening the body by omitting rows whenever it was appropriate. Needless to say, I did not make any notes on what "appropriate" meant. The same will need to be done on the sleeves.
1942 doily
Started: It hasn't been started yet (see photo).
What stopped it: a variation on second sock syndrome — I'd made one in less than a week, and for some reason it was hard to get into making another one.
What needs to be done: the whole thing.
Challenge: figuring out where I downloaded the pattern to.
beaded jacket
Started: sometime since I moved to the Beach. That is, in the last ten years.
What stopped it: the stitch pattern needs more chart attention than it looks, plus, being made of 100% wool, it was impossible to knit in transit during the summer.
What needs to be done: the fronts (one front started), one sleeve, finishing.
Challenge: I have more than one dye lot of this yarn, and have no idea which belongs to the jacket. Or, for that matter, if I have accidentally dug into the yarn for this jacket thinking it was stash.
estonian stole
What stopped it: Haven't the foggiest.
What needs to be done: Every time I pull this out and look at it, I'm surprised there's more done than I thought. There's maybe 2/3 of the stole plus the borders to do. Finishing is minor on this sort of thing (about the same for plain socks), but it will need to be done too.
Challenge: Figuring out which pattern I was using, and checking if I made any mods to it that I didn't write down (likely, but not proven).
mosaic jacket
Started: Last summer. Or maybe it was the summer before that.
What stopped it: Winter.
What needs to be done: The other half of the back, the sleeves, the fronts, the borders, finishing.
Challenge: There was something funky about the gauge and/or the body length, which is why I was working the back first instead of the fronts, like the pattern said (non-standard but that's how they wrote it). I'll have to figure this out again.
crocheted jacket
What stopped it: a lack of confidence that I was finishing the fronts correctly. Also the constant worry that I will do all this work and it will look like crap on me anyhow.
What needs to be done: finishing the fronts, darning in the last of the ends (some are already done).
Challenge: will probably need at least one reality check with expert crocheter J-A.
red diamonds jacket
Started: within the last three years.
What stopped it: I have no idea, but I seem to always get stuck on Kaffe Fassett patterns just when I'm getting the hang of them. Self-defeating masochism.
What needs to be done: the other half of the back, the sleeves, the fronts, the borders. Finishing. Hm, the same spot as the Mosaic Jacket. And as I recall, the Beaded Jacket had a similar sticking point earlier in its life.
Challenge: Will the colours be suitably blendy when I'm done? Will I have the guts to wear it?
faux raccoon jacket
Started: about five years ago.
What stopped it: I started it because I hate raccoons sooo much — they cost me over $3,000 in extra heating bills one year because they destroyed the attic of the apartment I was living in. The jacket is not from real raccoon (100% synthetic, in fact), but it wasn't making me hate the real vermin any less.
What needs to be done: Darning in ends, sewing on closures. It should probably be lined as well, but strictly according to the instructions, that's it.
Challenge: I think the sleeves are too long, and due to the construction method and fibre content there's not a whole lot to do about it.
handbag
Started: about five years ago
What stopped it: moving to the apartment I live in now (and losing the lining pattern paper pieces I'd traced out).
What needs to be done: Lining and finishing; maybe add a clasp.
Challenge: re-doing the lining pattern.
shetland shawl
Started: over twelve years ago.
What stopped it: Moving cities; stress-induced starting of many other projects.
What needs to be done: the rest of the border and the entire centre part of the shawl; finishing.
Challenge: I hope the needle size I remember is the needle size I was actually using. I also hope the yarn I bought to finish the centre actually matches the handspun I used for the border. Oh, and I hope the thick-and-thin handspun does not break stitches when it comes time to block the thing. That's all.
FINISHED doris daymat mk ii
Started: last summer.
What stopped it: I did finish the mat part, as you can see from the photo above. But I still want to add the flowers like I did to the Mark I mat.
What needs to be done: The flowers and attached them to the mat.
Challenge: Finding where I put the flower yarn. Okay, I think I know where it is, but I'm scared what state I'm going to find it in.
This is now finished. Quite frankly I got tired of accidentally knocking the bag of flower yarn over and causing more tangles. Inspiration comes from all sorts of places.
space invaders socks
Started: a year ago last spring. Now finished!
What stopped it: Excruciating upper back pain (now thankfully under control).
What needs to be done: the rest of the sock in the photo, and the other sock.
Challenge: Finding the yarn needed to finish the other sock.
modular jacket
What stopped it: it got replaced with the zombie pillows, which were for a birthday gift.
What needs to be done: The rest of this piece, plus the other front, the sleeves, the back, the borders, and the finishing.
Challenge: Figuring out where I was at with the decreasing for the module currently on the needles. This time, I do have some notes, though.