2006 project overview

Project: Sunrise Circle Jacket, designed by Kate Gilbert for Interweave Knits (pattern available on-line here)
Yarn: Recycled Vinnie's jumper (100% cotton), 880g
Needles: 4.5mm Addi turbos
Blog Entry: lazy summer holiday
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Project: Lady Eleanor Stole from Scarf Style
Yarn: La Lana Wools Forever Random Blends (60% wool 40% mohair), Faerie Queen colourway, 15 skeins
Needles: 6.5mm Addi turbos
Blog Entry: A long piece of work
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Project: Fetching from Knitty
Yarn: Cleckheaton something or other from stash
Needles: 4.0mm Addi turbo's
Blog Entry: Yes, alright, just a little bit more
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Project: Buttonhole Bag ("un-pattern" from Mason Dixon Knitting)
Yarn: Salvaged Vinnie's wool (also used for the French Market Bag)
Needles: ???
Blog Entry: Yes, alright, just a little bit more
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Project: Baltic Sea Stole (Faina M. Letoutchaia for Fibertrends)
Yarn: Jaggerspun zephyr in Sage
Needles: 3mm addi turbos
Blog Entry: The paparrazzi have coughed up the goods
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Project: The rabbit from Last Minute Knitted Gifts for an expecting co-worker
Yarn: Odds n ends including Cleckheaton Merino Supreme left over from this and Paton's Powder Puff for the ears.
Needles: I have already forgotten!
Blog Entry: Oscar the Rabbit
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Project: Pomatamus socks by Cookie A from Knitty (Summer 2006) for my mum (a mother's day gift)
Yarn: Sundara's Sock Yarn in the Mixed Berry colourway
Needles: 2.5mm Addi turbos, magic loop
Modifications: None. I stuck to that pattern like glue!
Blog entry: Socks and stoles, oh my

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project: Pea Pod Baby Set by Kate Gilbert in Interweave Knits Summer 2006, for Pantoufle's brother
Yarn: Jo Sharp Summer Soho cotton in Paprika (colour 231) (I used only about 3 balls for the set)
Needles: 3.75mm Addi turbos
Constant companions while knitting: Booker prize longlisted books and the AFL finals series
Blog entry: Nothing says get going with the baby knits

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project: Leaf Lace Shawl from Fibertrends
yarn: Lana Gatto Feeling (70% merino, 20% silk, 10% cashmere)in colour Port (10107)
knitting specs: 5mm Addi turbos (though there was some agony over this decision, I'm happy with the look of the finished product. I think 6mm needles, as called for in the pattern, would have resulted in unreasonably large holes)
modifications: None apart from using smaller needles and doing more pattern repeats, resulting in a shawl which fell neatly between the 'small' and 'large' sizes offered in the pattern.
blog entry: Leaf Lace Shawl Leaves Lace Race Lacking
interesting fact: Here is an interesting method for calculating the number of leaves on a tree!

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project: Fiery Bolero by Debbie Bliss from Interweave Knits Summer 2005 (There are 'expanded instructions' here for the short rows.)
yarn: Salvaged yarn unravelled from a Vinnie's jumper. The fibre content is 70% lambswool, 20% angora, and 10% nylon. This means the bolero is lots fuzzier and woollier and has less stitch definition than the original (which was made from Debblie Bliss Cathay) - but I like it, it's soft and warm.
knitting specs: 4mm and 3.75mm Addi turbos
modifications: Apart from the yarn sub, none.
blog entry: Need a quick fix? Enter the Blob...
interesting fact: Maurice Ravel's composition Bolero was the music ice chosen by legendary ice dancers Torvill and Dean in their 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics gold-medal performance, the only Olympics ice dancing performance to receive a perfect score from every judge.

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project: Leo by Kristi Porter from Knitty Autumn 2004
yarn: Eki Riva superbaby alpaca 4-ply in colour 2259 (olive green). Used 8.5 50g balls (200m per 50g).
knitting specs: 2.5mm and 3mm Addi turbos
modifications: lots, due to drastically different gauge from specified yarn. Would knowing my recalculations help anyone? I could post them if you like. I also knit the body in the round.
blog entry: Leo: challenging the curse
eta: There are a few tips for making Leo in the round posted here.
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project: French Market Bag by Polly from Knitty Winter 2003 (This is my second Polly-designed FO for 2006. Maybe I should declare it "Year of the Polly")
yarn: Reclaimed 100% wool from a Vinnie's jumper, originally that sort of traditional Aran cream/white colour, dyed 'saxon'. This was my first unravelling project and I learned that this fiber wasn't going to be good enough to use for anything that wasn't felted or processed in some way. The twist (don't know the technical term) had all gone out of the yarn (if it was ever there in the first place - the jumper was a machine knit thing made in China).
knitting specs: 4.5 or 5mm (?? memory fails me... it was last year!) Addi turbos (magic loop method to start out with for the base)
blog entry: A feeling french market bag

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project: Black lace kneehighs from Interweave Knits Winter 2004. Many thanks are due to Kris for professional advice in the planning stages of this project.
size: Size? whatever came out in the end... luckily they fit like a dream.
modifications: the pattern contains some errors which were addressed in this errata. However, I corrected the errata and worked the additional repeat of Chart 2 for the extra length. This required some adjustment of the 'border' lace pattern, but nothing too mentally taxing...
yarn: Grignasco Bambi Merino Extrafine 4ply (225m/50g) in black. I know this is not the most practical selection for socks, but - these weren't meant to be hard-wearing necessarily. Incidentally, the yarn is left over from the most horrible knitting mistake I have ever made, which shall not be discussed here, at least until after I've gone through 100s of dollars worth of therapy. Suffice to say there are still numerous, oh, too many to count, balls of this stuff in my stash. Each sock used just under one 50g ball. Despite the huge mistake I committed with this yarn, it continues to be one of my favourites - it has made an appearance in these pages previously as an Ene's Scarf.
knitting specs: 3mm Addi turbos in magic loop method
blog entry: They're black, they're lacy, they're...socks
(See also Sock it to me Summer entries on this project)

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project: Kiri shawl, design by Polly of All Tangled Up
size: about the same size pictured in the pattern - approx 1.5m across the neck edge
yarn: Lana Gatto Mohair Royale in a woodsy green (215m per 25g ball) - 2.5 balls used
knitting specs: 3.75mm Addi turbos
blog entry: First FO for O6