I’ve never been very good at picking resolutions for the year.  About the only one that ever worked for me was giving up french fries for an entire year.  But I think that was because it finally hit me that I feel a lot A LOT better if I don’t eat fried food.  It’s a gall bladder thing that I like to ignore and pretend doesn’t exist.  And really, if I don’t eat fried food, it really doesn’t exist.

I’ve tried to pretend that I resolve to Knit Only Out of My Stash. I’ve tried to pretend that I resolve to Buy Less Yarn.  I’ve even tried to pretend that I will Knit Only Patterns and Yarn That I’ve Pre-Packaged Into Cute Little Bags and Made Into My Own Kits.  Yeah, that didn’t work so well.

So why would I think that participating in my own version of a 12 in 12 would work?  The challenge is to knit 12 sweaters in 12 months.  The idea intrigues me.  The problem?  The yarn store in question is 2 1/2 hours away and I need more yarn like I need a hole in my head.  (Really, I do not need a hole in my head).  So I probably would not participate in buying the yarn at their store (although it’s a perfectly lovely store and if my in-laws wanted to buy me a gift certificate to the store since that’s where they live I certainly wouldn’t turn it down.)  However, I don’t think I have enough sweater quantity yarn in my stash.  I’m sort of the queen of one skein purchases.  I do have enough (I think) for the

Sullivan - February

and the

Featherweight -April

and the

White Russian - June

and I’d probably find yarn to make the

Zephyr - September

and maybe this one.  Although I might try to modify it to have long sleeves.  I’m not a huge fan of short sleeved sweaters.

Rusted Root - July

So that’s 5 out of the 12 months.  What if I threw in child and baby size sweaters to round out the months?  Could I even do it?  The baby sweaters would help me “catch up” on months that I would be behind.  Is it possible for me to finish an adult sweater in a month with my limited knitting time?  Could I keep focused for that long?  After all, I am the poster child for “Ohhh… shiny!”

Is anyone interested in knitting these along with me?  Pick your own sweaters from the 12 in 12 list or start your own list.  I’ll start January with a sweater I’ve already picked out for myself.  Velynda by Bon Marie Burns.  I have some navy blue Malabrigo that I bought with a gift certificate my hubby’s Aunt gave me.  Leave me a message in the comments and let me know what you’ll be knitting.

Classic Knitting, Vogue Style

I’ve been sent a couple of knitting books to review.  I know, having a blog is tough work.  I get sent random books, I ooh and ahh over them, they get put into a pile for blogging about at some later date.  The really sad part is that this particular book is well worth raving about and I haven’t had much free time in which to rave.

Vogue Knitting:  Classic Patterns from the World’s Most Celebrated Knitting Magazine is well worth putting on your Christmas List.  It’s that good.  Classic Patterns is a celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the magazine.  The book showcases some of the most sought after patterns in the last 30 years.  It also talks about the resurgance of knitting and some of the trends that were going on during those decades.

Remember the 80's?

I’m going to be brutally honest here.  There are some patterns that I would not knit.  However, those items are still beautifully shot and have a fashion forward (for that time period) flare.  Do I like dropped shoulders?  No.  But there was a time in my life (granted I was barely old enough to pick my own clothing) when I wore a lot of those type of sweaters.  My point is that this was a sign of the times and the patterns are well worth saving if for no other reason than pure historical value.

Historically Large?

It’s not all bad fashion flashbacks, there are a lot of patterns in this book that I would love to knit.  (Could someone find me 50 more hours in the week in which I could knit them all?)

Comfy & Snuggly, Pair with a Belt on a Casual Office Day.

Vogue Knitting is known for having well known designers grace it’s pages, and this book is a veritable who’s who of knitting and fashion.

So kick back, pour yourself a glass of wine and enjoy three decades of fashion.  If you’ve been a very nice Knitter this year, maybe Santa will put this book under the tree for you.

My Work Wardrobe

7 Year Olds Take Interesting Photos

One of the women I knit with is fond of saying, “Good help is hard to find.”  Generally she says this while working at the yarn store when she can’t get the cash register to work the way she wants.  Mostly, I think she says this because she’s a naturally humble person with a great sense of humor.  She’s one of the best knitters I know and I’d like to be just like her some day. 

This same knitter has made two of the Sideways Shawlettes in the time it’s taken me to do one.  It’s not because it was hard, but because the fringe was boring me to tears.  I finally finished this at a scrapbooking retreat I was at this past weekend.  Yes, it was a scrapbooking retreat.  Yes, I mostly knit.  It’s what I do. 

Modelling is Hard Work

But back to the shawlette.  I had decided this particular shawl needed a bit of bling.  So I bought some beads to put along the fringe.  The shawl travelled with me to Sock Summit, to Chicago, to my parent’s house, and finally to the retreat.  To be honest, I only worked on the shawl fringe at Sock Summit and at the retreat.  The fringe was just that boring. 

As for the crazy pictures, well that’s where the good help comes in.  My model is my 7 year old daughter who was less than enthused about helping out unless she was able to use my shawl to be an “old west bad guy.” 

Knit Whits Mini Skeins

 These little mini skeins from Knit Whits also showed up in my mailbox.  I tried telling my husband that I had no idea how they had gotten there.  I couldn’t quite keep a straight face though.  Honestly, these little mini skeins are a little addictive.  They’re so tiny and cute!  I may have found even more sources of mini skeins at Stitches Midwest.  They’re like cupcakes, cute and perfect for those instant gratification projects like baby hats.  At approximately 90 yds. each they’re great for baby socks and hats.