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"Miscellany"
Part the First, January – March
As a reminder, pattern links are Ravelry links. All photographs from Flickr are copyright their respective owners and used for illustration and inspiration only.
April – Petrea by Amy Herzog
I fell in love with this cardigan the moment I saw it. Amy’s patterns are always so gorgeous and elegant but simple. I think this cardigan may have been part of what spurred me to want to do this 12 Cardigans in 2012 project in the first place. The original yarn called for would cost a fair penny and I miiiight use it anyway because it would be fabulous, I’m sure, but Madeline Tosh Vintage seems like a good substitute and several other projects have been done using it and look great as well. I’m torn between several colors at the moment, but it’ll probably depend on what’s available when it comes time to buy it. So far, I like Amber Trinket, Forestry and Lepidoptera.
I have really high hopes for this cardigan and may end up making more than just one!
May – Honeybee Cardigan by Laura Chau
This is a cardigan that I think will be great as a learning experience for me and should also boost my self-confidence as a knitter and as a cardigan-wearer, as I expect it will get lots of compliments, especially after I tell people I knit it myself. I haven’t yet decided if I will do a full length or cropped version – I think that will largely depend on how fit I am when it comes to making it. If it’s a good pattern, I might end up making a full length first and then a cropped one later.
I had contemplated using a double ended zipper for this one, but I think that might interrupt the flow and femininity of it. It’ll be very fun to choose buttons for this I think.
I will use Malabrigo Sock yarn, and I think I’ll use the color Impressionist Sky (though again, that might depend on what’s available when it comes time to buy the yarn).
June – Tappan Zee Cardigan by Amy King
I have 8 oz of Frog Tree yarns Meriboo top to spin up into this cardigan.
I am so excited to start spinning it up (though it will have to wait until after I actually get a spinning wheel). I am hoping to have the yarn spun and plied well before June, so that I can get more if needed. Actually I don’t think I’d be able to get the same color, so I’d try for a coordinating color, but I’ll cross that bridge if I come to it.
In any case, I expect this to be an absolute delight and suspect that I may have several Tappan Zees come off my needles in the coming years.
Have you knit up any of these patterns? What do you think of them?
I’m really excited about making 12 cardigans next year. I’ve been planning for a few months now, finalizing patterns and pairing them with yarns. I want to be open to changes throughout the year – I won’t stick with a certain cardigan if I don’t feel it anymore or if another one comes out that I like better. My goal is to have 12 cardigans at the end of the year that I absolutely adore and love wearing. (Pattern links are Ravelry links. All photographs from Flickr are copyright their respective owners and used for illustration and inspiration only.)
January – Liesl by Ysolda Teague
It’ll be a quick knit (judging from my previous attempt) and I think it’ll be just the thing to get me started with this project! I’ll need to put buttons all the way down the front, I think, just so it fits my body type better, but that’s okay because I like buttons. 
February – February Lady Sweater by Pamela Wynne
This is a crazy popular pattern, but I’d love to have my own. This will also require buttons down the full front (most likely). I want to use Malabrigo Rios in either Ravelry Red or Purple Mystery. I think if I use Purple Mystery for this (which would be fitting as it’s the February Lady Sweater, my birth month and amethyst is my birthstone), I would definitely use the French Blue for Liesl.
March – The Cooke Cardigan by Amy Herzog
I love the closure Amy uses here, so might try for something similar. I’ll probably end up wearing it open a lot too, which looks great.
I’ll write about the rest in 3 more installments. Don’t want to overwhelm you, or me, with writing about all 12 (plus some standby patterns) at once!
Have you knit up any of these patterns? What do you think of them?
I’m excited about crafting and recording such crafting adventures. That’s part of why I started this blog, I think, but I let other things overshadow that initial, and most important, desire. I’ve done a lot of projects in the past and either forget that I did them (the HORROR!) or can’t remember exactly how I did them in order to repeat or adjust the process because I didn’t take notes or write up an account of the project. I want to be able to look back over a year (and 5 and 50) and be able to see what I’ve done.
I’m hoping this blog will be geared more toward that in the future. Hooray for documenting projects!
In that vein, I did not end up doing the commissioned accessories – the woman that did them last year decided to do them again. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any jewelry made waiting to sell, otherwise I probably could have sold some of that to the gift shop instead. I’m hoping to have some regular jewelry making days going forward so that I have inventory on hand if the gift shop needs any. (I had been doing a full weekend or two of jewelry just every once in a while instead, and I believe it leads to specific-craft burnout. So no more!)
One of the things I’m SUPER excited about at the moment is purchasing a spinning wheel. It’s all I want for Christmas and I’ve told the appropriate people that so I’m hoping to cobble enough cashola to be able to buy one toward the end of the year. I’m stoked!
Having a spinning wheel will enable me to spin up the Spunky Eclectic Fiber I’ve been getting since July from the club! I’ve spun up a bit here and there on my spindle, but I really want to do the majority of it on a spinning wheel. Even though I’ve never used one, I’m convinced it will be faster and easier after I get the hang of it. I do like spindling and at some point would like to invest in a Turkish spindle, but I can’t wait for a wheel!
Being able to make handspun yarns in a timely manner will also aid in my 12 Cardigans in 2012 project/goal! I’ll devote an entire blog post to that soon, but at least one of my cardigans will need handspun yarn and I’d like to make maybe 2 – 4 more out of handspun yarn. It’s like doubling the entertainment value for my fiber dollar!
I can also give handspun yarns as gifts to knitterly friends and that’s pretty amazing. I’d love to see what someone made with one of my handspun yarns.
Speaking of gifts, this year I started fairly early on knitting gifts for the holidays. And it paid off! I’m nearly done with everyone’s handmade gifts. I’ve got some finishing touches on my international packages, and then those are going to go out tomorrow. Domestic packages should go out next Saturday, so there will be plenty of time for all packages to be received. I’m super excited about being done with knitting for Christmas well before Christmas Eve. It’ll be nice to enjoy the holiday itself without having to worry about finishing any projects. Because of the success of planning and starting ahead of time, I think I’ll do it every year. Though next year might not be knitted gifts, since I’ll be doing the 12 Cardigans in 2012 project. That gives me plenty of time to figure out other handmade gifts, though.
Now I’m off to finish up some gifts and get them sent out by mail today!
What have you been excited about lately?
I’ve been lucky enough over the past year to sell several of my jewelry pieces to a local gift shop. It certainly wasn’t enough to quit my day job, but it helped offset the amount of discretionary money spent on crafts and hobbies and maybe paid a bill or two.
Last year this same local gift shop had a HUGE hit with a knitted accessory and they were hoping to have about 200 of them for sale this holiday season. The artisan who made them last year will be unable to make them this year. I’ve been asked if I could make them.
I am flattered and feel very honored that I was asked to help. On the other hand, 200 accessories is a lot to knit up in a somewhat limited time frame. It will mean putting a few of the holiday gifts I had planned on hold (I’m ahead of schedule at the moment so this is okay), but even doing that I’d still have to try to make 200 knitted accessories in probably less than a month. That’s about 50 a week, or 7 a day, for a solid month.
On the other other hand, it would be an awesome influx of unexpected income which would mean I could get a spinning wheel for Christmas! One that I want rather than one I would possibly have to settle for due to cost. And that would be AWESOME.
I have to mull this over a bit still, and will have to determine exactly how quickly I can knit up one accessory. Though I must say I’m leaning toward whatever gets me a spinning wheel faster. 
My clothes have never been a high priority for me. They allow me to roam about the world not-naked and I appreciate that (as I’m sure my co-workers do), but otherwise, they’re just there. Which you might not actually believe when looking at the amount of clothes I have somehow acquired over the years. But none of it was planned, it was all impulse purchases. And I’d like to change that.
I believe that by having a planned wardrobe, I might actually have LESS clothes, which would make me super happy. It would cut down on laundry and free up some closet space. In short, it would be amazing.
But, because I’m not all about fashion and clothes are just clothes to me, I don’t exactly know where to start with planning a wardrobe.
I take that back as it’s not entirely true. I know that starting with the basics is always a good idea. So, here’s what my ideal basic wardrobe would consist of:
Jeans, probably 4 or 5 pairs (but NO skinny jeans):
Source: oldnavy.gap.com via Kati on Pinterest
Long-sleeved tees, in a few different colors (red, blue, gray, black and maybe bright pink):
Source: oldnavy.gap.com via Rebecca on Pinterest
A few button-down shirts (long-sleeved and short-sleeved):
Source: maurices.com via Claire on Pinterest
Casual Skirts, maybe 4 or 5, depending:
Source: therainforestsite.com via Paula on Pinterest
And about a dozen handknit cardigans (which I will have by the end of next year!):
Source: knitty.com via Ruth on Pinterest
What would be in your basic wardrobe? Is there anything obvious I’m missing?
It’s been almost two whole months since I’ve posted – oops. That wasn’t my intention at all, but I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what I want the blog to be and what it is now isn’t quite it. So! I’ll be starting over and we’ll see where it goes.
First, there’s no more podcast. I love the idea, but it doesn’t work for me right now. Maybe some day in the future it might, but for now, I’ll stick to writing.
Second, I do like the idea of each day having something different, but expected, like “Media Mondays” and whatnot, but I think it was more limiting than I thought it would be. It was supposed to be freeing, so I could write posts ahead of time on a small range of topics and make writing easy. But there were times that I wanted to write about something that didn’t quite fit into one of those daily categories, and it just felt forced. So, no more categories! In the future, if they evolve (gee, I seem to be writing a lot of game reviews, I should make a category for that) then so be it. Otherwise, I’ll just write whatever comes up.
Third, it may or may not be everyday that I write. Yes, I would like to make a habit of blogging, but not at the expense of living my life or getting enough sleep or making it to the gym.
Fourth, even though I really, really, really want people (actual people, not just spambots) to read this and comment and interact with me, I will stop focusing on that as a goal. (But please, still leave comments!)
So, I’ll be writing whenever I feel like about whatever I feel like. That sounds like a fantastic plan to me!
Thank you for visiting my corner of the internet!
As with life, this website is a work in progress and there will always be room for improvement.
My current plans for the site are to maintain a blog detailing my DIY projects, adventures in handmade entrepreneurialship and other (hopefully!) interesting things. I will also be starting a podcast so those shownotes will be found here as well. This site will also serve as a means for customers to get to know me and my products better, as well as introduce readers and friends to my wares!
If you have any suggestions, comments or questions, please send me an email!
Thank you for your Flattry!
