Good-Fucking-Bye

In a few hours, 20-I-HATE-teen will be a mere memory. Lost forever to time.

THANK ALL THE BLESSED BLOODY STARS

So, let's pour the champagne, put on the comfy pants, and take a quick look back at all the projects I managed to finish over the last 12 months.

First, my octopus hat.

My first blanket.

The first Rios Lace Tam.

Quite a few dice bags.

Cute little soft friends.

 

Soft friends wearing soft things.

The second lace tam.

A few odds and ends.

And most importantly, a few shawls.

The fact that I got so much done despite the absolute bloody disaster this year stands as a giant, defiant middle-finger to it.

So, goodbye, so long, and fuck you, 2018.

2019, you better be better. I'm fucking watching you.

Alright, friends. We made it. Let's kick ass next year.

Love you all. <3

*Creative Pun Filled Title About Presents*

So! Presents have been gifted and now I get to show them off!

First off are the socks I made for my grandma.

Pattern is Traveler's socks on Ravelry.

They were done in Sweet Georgia Worsted in color Mink.

You know, for hating cables so much, I actually didn't mind these too much.

Next up is the pillbug for Emmy!

He wasn't supposed to be felted, but I was in the mood for experimentation.

He's done in Wool of the Andes Worsted from KnitPicks, though I din't recall the colors off the top of my head.

I *nearly* ran out of the dark purple I used for the shell. I was DEFINITELY sweating on that one.

Also in the cute and cuddly category is the crab in a jar I did for Mom.

He was mostly improvised, especially as the original pattern had you using FRENCH FUGGIN KNOTS for the legs. And that is NOT in my wheelhouse.

He was made with the little bit of Rios I had leftover from my hat.

A hat for my grandpa was next, which if I'm honest, was pretty dang boring.

BUT! BUT! LOOK AT THIS COOL THING I MADE!

SEE IT?

IZ A LIL BLACK GOAT LABEL!

And on the back...

I used a scrap of leather and my wood burner. I'm pretty damn proud of myself.

And rounding out the presents for the year is this wee little scarf for my Hufflepuff husband's Christmas present: a little plush badger.

I *technically* have one other present, but I can't show it because it hasn't made it to the recipient yet. But you'll see it next month!

For now, though, I'm going to contemplate the like 80 different things I want to cast on right now before I inevitably end up doing another shawl.

The Year Closes Softly

Y'all, it's been a shit fucking year.

You're mostly aware of the trials, tribulations, disaster, and the like we've dealt with. So I'm not going to restate it here.

The only thing I want to talk about is the beautiful thing I ended my year with.

I decided back in the fall that I was going to spend the month of December making something for ME.

No frantic Christmas present making, no commissions. Just something pretty and lacy and wonderful that I could wrap myself in for the winter.

I wanted it to be winter themed. Something that evoked visions of ice-coated windows, snow piled high outside. And it HAD to be done by the Winter Solstice.

So I settled on Winter Largo.

And seeing as this was a present to myself, I wasn't skimping on the yarn.

So I made it with my pure cashmere from a kickstarter I backed.

And, my stars, I NEVER could have dreamed how amazing it would turn out.

Yes, the pattern itself is lovely.

But nothing... NOTHING compares to how FUCKING UNBELIEVABLY SOFT THIS THING IS!

I'm serious. I want to *cry* when I touch it. I have NEVER had something so amazing against my skin.

I had debated about adding the beads the pattern called for, but I am *so* happy I didn't. It would have detracted from the feel of the cashmere.

I didn't try to Ashtan it at all. It was a fixed pattern, no way to make it bigger.

Annnnnnnd... it still came out huge...

Okay, I *may* have lied about not having magical powers...

I was actually worried I wouldn't have enough yarn, but I ended up with just over 100 yards left.

So... I took a little bit of it and made a wee little something for my darling Renee.

Because everyone obviously needs a cashmere stocking for their tree.

Anyway, it's Christmas Eve. So I'm going to leave off here for now. Get myself some sleep and then take the time to enjoy my favorite time of year.

The snows come back, the new year begins.

And we move forward.

Blobs and Blurbs

Well, we're getting close to the end, y'all.

Just 8 days left until Christmas. And then I can FINALLY show you all the stuff I've been working on!

Not that I've done much in the way of Christmas presents in the past few days...

Yeah, I've just been working on the "I-just-need-a-hit-of-lace" shawl.

I mean, I guess I can show you my progress on it.

I'm affectionately calling it The Blob.

I've got 32 rows left to do, but mah god, they are So. Damn. Long.

And it's a fixed-size shawl. So there's no Ashtan-ing it. Which is TERRIFYING!

But the pattern is gorgeous and winter themed and the shawl's being made with 100% cashmere, so really, I'm in heaven right now.

Also, I *may* have picked up some mohair at the last pj party because I have a cool idea for another shawl that I want to try out.

It'll probably turn into a nightmare, but what's life without a little risk?

In other news, my hair's been regreenified thanks to my lovely Kayla.

It feels good to be my emerald self again.

I also FINALLY got to put up my grandma's ceramic village that she gave me a few years ago.

I'll leave you with this comment I left on a reddit thread talking about knitting. I could have rambled on even longer about knitting and what it's done for me and some of my thoughts on it, but I still think this is a pretty good little blurb.

"Knitting has pretty much been a driving force in the stabilization of my mental health. It's given me an outlet for my anxiety, connected me with a great group of people, and taught me how to value myself as a person. It also drove me to start a blog about all my craft work, which I've been consistently writing and posting on for over 3 years. And that in itself is a huge accomplishment for me. I'm bad about consistency. 

I've learned that it's okay to make mistakes, for everything to not be perfect. There's value in those mistakes. 

I've also learned that there's something to that notion of, "If you set your mind to something, you can accomplish it."  I'm entirely self-taught. I learned crochet first and then discovered a knit shawl pattern called Celestarium. This shawl is a circular one with the constellations of the Northern hemisphere in the lace work. So I taught myself to knit just so I could make it. And I did. 

I'm actually known for my shawls now. And my seemingly supernatural ability to either make them very fast or very large. Usually it's both and it's actually become known as "Ashtan-ing" a project in my circle. 

Lace work speaks to me. It's my meditation and my craft. And the shawls I make become armor for myself when dealing with uncomfortable and anxiety-inducing situations. I'm wrapping hours and hours of work and accomplishment around my shoulders. How can anyone hurt me when I've made such an amazing thing?  They also become a shield of love for the people I gift my work to. My love and care made tangible and just for them. 

I will never sell my knitting. I decided that at the beginning. Knitting was to always be for myself before anything else. Never a job, never because someone demanded or assumed they'd get something. But I am always happy to gift people I love dearly with things I make. The people I know who value what I make and will take care of it. Because you really are gifting a piece of yourself every time you make something."