12 in 2012

twelve knitting goals on 2012. oooh lala!!! As I get going on this, I will post more links and such to this page but for now suffice it to say that i will be a very good knitter by the time next year is over. I want to try 12 new knitting things in one year (although the ones i finish at the end of this year will count too!!!)

so far I have these for goals:

socks with an afterthought heel
finish my afghan
finish my amigurami
toe up socks
lace
something with little needles
sweater or cardigan
gloves
learn entrelac
double knit something
(this is 10 so far!! YAY!!)

so at this point I need four more goals... hmmm... I will think about it
PS these goals can overlap. I am thinking specifically that lace and little needles will overlap, or something liek taht

Yes i am crazy

but not for the reasons you think (or maybe EXACTLY for those reasons). I dyed yarn for the first time two days ago!!!! (cheers erupt from the crowd) the picture above is my first real attempt at beauty... I call the colorway Anansi the Spider ( which makes my spellcheck LOVE me) - a green/orange colorway 100% cotton... and for SALE!!!! (check my Etsy account... TrunkJunkie! :) )

Beginning Something New

My first contact with dye was when I was very young as a girl scout... we did tie dyeing. and we did a ton of it!! I still have shirts that I dyed over the years in my drawer. Which is why I smiled like I was seeing an old friend when I pulled out the Procion Dyes from my package from Dharma Fiber Trading Company... In many ways I was. Even though I have never dyed straight up yarn before (except a few premature and frankly unsuccessful attempts with Kool Aid), I know how this dye will react to certain types of fibers ( like.... cotton for instance. or wool.). I am so so so excited to get together with Adrishoes and work on dyeing yarn together! (for those of you who are crocheters, her blog is the one to beat. Check out the blog In Stitches for her creations)


Speaking of poorly dyed Kool Aid yarn, my first attempt at that was unsuccessful. my green all washed out the first time around, as did the blue, and the orange I tried turned into a salmon pinkish color, which may not even stay in anyway. I created a solution for the yarn though.... I am making a baby blanket to either donate or sell on Etsy (I have an Etsy account now!! check it out... I'm TrunkJunkie). which REALLY scared my boyfriend.... I had to explain that it wasn't for me. :) pictures up soon!

Swapping is FUN!

So I am not sure how I like the Mystery Item that i am making for the one swap... it seems a little strange with the yarn I am using. (this will all be so much easier when I am able to actually TELL you what I am talking about.) the pattern that i am improving is a go though because i love the way it looks... just not sure about the yarn. As far as other swaps go though... i couldn't be happier with the package i sent today for the Doctor Who swap! I splurged a little on yarn because that was the most important thing in the box.... but I also made cute Doctor Who cards with envelopes and sent Licorice tea with a steeper (for loose tea). yum yum yum! :]

because everyone needs something pretty

what perfect timing! just as the Doctor Who swap was ending, I got paired for another swap! it's a one item swap, and this month it is a "surprise" swap - you give your partner a list of things you would like, and they make one for you. I looked at my partner's list, and decided on a project (i won't say which one in case she finds her way here!), and i am trying to write a pattern for it. with a chart!! should be exciting. once I swap I will post the pattern here. :)

My new Dishtowel

Not bad for a first time if I do say so myself... I am now working on a second one. by this fall I hope to have six but we shall see if that comes to fruition.

Expanding my horizons

Because I obviously didn't have enough knitting to keep me busy, I have started a new craft. I picked up some iron on embroidery transfer patterns at the local Michael's while my sister was looking for supplies for her handmade christmas gifts. In case any friends she has stumble across my blog I will refrain from telling you what they are except to say that I WANT ONE. also I never made anything that big/time consuming for any of my friends, so she is definitely putting me to shame. Last year she made handmade bracelets, and they were beautiful!!!! so jealous haha.

But I digress. my New Apartment (which doesn't actually exist yet) needs new dishtowels when it DOES exist, so I found cool patterns that LG and DL will hopefully like... they are all rock symbols, so like an electric guitar, a drumset, a microphone, and a keytar (which will be SUPER awesome). currently I am working on a pattern that says "ROCK ON" in rockish letters and has a rocking out hand, in that longhorn sign thing. so far it says ROCK and has a hand (which is pretty decent for it being less than 24 hours into my project). when the first dishcloth gets done I will DEFINITELY post it up on here...