Old And New And I'm Not Such A Slacker

The New:

First, Happy Last Day of 2008! I'll start with what's new:

Here's the Golding spindle I got for Christmas - it's one of their 2" lightweights in their Tsunami pattern:


This spins like a dream - the metal ring around the whorl gives it a little extra weight and stability, and it just spins on and on so all I have to think about is drafting.

I've been making good progress on the Clapotis:

This is a little over 2 feet long right now. The Twisted is great to work with - it's soft, not splitty in the least, and it's fun to watch the colors change. Here it is blocked slightly to show the dropped (on purpose) stitches and the colors:


Another New Thing

I joined Facebook about a month ago (if you want to Friend me search Rachel Debasitis - and if your real name isn't on your blog, shoot me a note so I'll recognize you) and have reconnected with a huge number of old friends. Long story short, an old schoolmate is in this band, and I liked their music so much I bought their latest CD. Check it out - some of their stuff is just beautiful.

Old Things (Kind Of)

A number of bloggers recently posted about their completed projects for the year. I wasn't going to because I thought I'd been a real slacker and hadn't accomplished that much in 2008. But after checking my blog and Ravelry I realized I've done quite a bit - 32 projects completed! I'm not the slacker I thought I was. Here's a quick review:

Zig Zag Shrug:

Handspun 100% Tencel from Tactile:

Promptly knit into a Montego Bay Scarf (my 3rd and the only one for me):


Some handspun Crown Mountain Superwash Merino in Touch Me:


And some more Crown Mountain in Wild Thing:

Which I knit into my first socks made from handspun - Stria:

A slightly ghetto dishcloth:

A slightly fancier one in case there's someone in my kitchen I want to impress (not likely but it's nice to have):

A Ribbon dishcloth I sent to Ryan who was helping a friend raise money to fight breast cancer:

Some plain ol' socks for me:

This is handspun roving from Pigeon Roof Studios in Royale. I'm not sure what it'll become but I'm leaning toward a cowl.

I spun some Fiber Fiend 100% bamboo:

And turned it into another Montego Bay Scarf:

This was a big one - Lizard Ridge:

Definitely one of my favorite accomplishments!

These are slippers for my father-in-law - I have since felted them but haven't taken a picture since their floppy, pre-felted stage:

I made a little pouch from handspun for my iPod:

Spun some dryer lint - I mean Quiviut:

I spun 2 projects for my son's girlfriend Heather:


Some more Crown Mountain Superwash Merino - this time in Albatross:

Which I knit into another Montego Bay Scarf and sent to this lovely blogger as a Pay It Forward gift:

2 more Pay It Forward gifts:

My Mr. Greenjeans sweater knit with Malabrigo in Stonechat:

My Gisela sweater which came out too small (in spite of getting gauge) but luckily Hannah's smaller than I so I gave it to her:

One of my favorite projects for this year - my February Lady Sweater:

More dishcloths - this time with a dolphin theme, sent as thank-you gifts to friends in Hawaii:

A cowl made from Merino/Tussah handspun for a Secret Santa gift exchange:

The Ugliest Blackberry Cozy Evar. Friends were afraid to comment on it until I pointed out that I thought it was one of the ugliest damned things ever made and it was a joke - they were relieved. The person for whom it was intended actually had the guts to wear it at the office - and some who saw it wanted one for themselves. Now that's just sad!

Ariann is technically finished but blocked out so big I need to re-knit at least the shoulders. I might re-knit the whole thing. I haven't made a decision on that yet.

Last, I was invited to participate in 3 surprise projects. One was an afghan for Anabel - I contributed a square:


The other 2 projects were such a surprise and so secret that apparently I didn't want to possess any evidence - and therefore never took a picture of my work. Apparently I watch way too many of those forensic science shows. Anyway, I contributed squares for Femiknit Mafia, and Rachael, both of whom went through some tough times this year.

Wow. 32 projects completed and here I was, calling myself a slacker. I think for 2009 I'm going to try to not be so hard on myself.

Happy New Year!