it’s the most wonderful time of the year

Right now, I am taking note from Dory in Finding Nemo, and I am telling myself to “just keep swimming singing, just keep singing” along to the Christmas tunes — every year I overload myself with a list of hand knit presents for my family. This year, I was able to cut it down a few presents due to some family receiving knits for other holidays.

However, that does not mean I can not knit. I equate Less Presents = More Knitting Time for Me!

So, without further adieu, I dedicate this post to an early (or late?) New Year’s resolution of Finishing All Projects on Needles before January 1. (Of course, this excludes those projects that I’ve given up on that are hibernating in my closet.) 😉

Also, you’ll have to pardon the poor photos due to my panic-stricken haze. 🙄 Plus, the invention of cameras on cell phones has made me too lazy to always lug out my “actual” camera.

Project #1: The Blanca Sweater test knit

Might as well start with the biggest and best project. It’s a test knit that I am participating in at Ravelry right now. This is my first cabled sweater, and I am so excited about it. In fact, I was so excited that I knit both sleeves without checking the pattern after one quick glance. This resulted in me mis-reading ONE row, every time it repeated, in the middle cable pattern which is drastically different than the written pattern.

Both sleeves took almost 21 hours! Yikes! And I didn’t even see my mistake until I was totally done…

Because the difference was too much from the original pattern, I had to fix the sleeves. At first I thought I would have to unravel 21 hours worth of knitting, but I realized I could be adventurous and unravel the middle cable back to the first mis-crossed row. Even if it would save me a few hours from re-knitting two sleeves, I thought it would be worth it.

Left photo shows ripping out in progress | Right photo shows progress of knitting back up. VERY SCARY.

I would love to finish this sweater on or before December 31, but I still have to do the back and front! (And seaming.) Check back for a future post, and to see if my “knitting surgery” works out. 🙂

Or, check out my Ravelry project page here for more notes.

Project #2: A Secret Present

Because I am unsure if a certain person reads this blog, I can’t say too much yet about this present. It’s an excellent break from other projects. I am using Malabrigo Rios in Cumparsita. This project reaffirms my new love for Malabrigo yarn. The yarn is SO SOFT.

WHAT COULD IT BE?? P.S. I am actually almost done with this project!

Project #3: More Malabrigo!

The third project is another present that I hope to knit (and finish) by Christmas. Because I haven’t started, here’s a poor quality photo of the yarn for you to look at:

Malabrigo Chunky in Pearl Ten. Again, very soft and squishy as Rios!

Project #4: Sister’s Birthday Sweater

I was feeling adventurous (again) and decided to knit my sister a sweater for her birthday, last month. Well…that didn’t get finished until this past weekend. I have a few minor things to do, so all in all, it’s pretty much done. This is my second Shalom Cardigan – I made the first one for myself.

This one still needs a blog story, but if you are interested, check out my modifications on my Ravelry project page.

Hmm…it fits me so well…do I have to part with it?

So, there you have it. It doesn’t seem too bad – only 3 projects to do, plus a little finishing on the last. Plus, who knows – maybe I will have some spare time to whip up a few more Christmas presents? 😉