The Year of UFO's

No, this is not an UFO.  This is the newest member of my family, Purl.  This is her official baby picture, the one that will be framed and on the dresser, alongside Leo, Wally and Weft.  I finally had a print made for Bella's framed photo, and she'll soon be on the dresser, too.  
  Purl, true to her name, loves yarn.  Several times in the past few weeks, I've come home to, um, interesting rearrangements of balls of yarn in the living room.  It's been eight years since I've had a kitten, and I need to kitten-proof some things still.
  And, yes.  She is the most adorable kitten you've ever seen. At least since Weft, that is.



I did finally finish the lace pillowcases, though nothing else got done the last few months of 2017, fiber-wise.  They got into the mail in time for Christmas, and were seen with oohs and ahs.  I thought I was glad to see the backside of them, and then, a week later, I saw an intriguing lace pattern that I had to change and start knitting.  
  And I started a sweater for Mom, the Birkin by Caitlin Hunter. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/birkin-3
 It's a gorgeous Scandinavian color work pattern, and I think my tension is too tight so far for it to fit.  There might be some ripping out, but not just now.
  And I decided to try to knit some Brioche stitches, because I never had, and there's a great podcast called Fruity Knitting that I love, and they just kept going on and on about it, so I had to try it.  http://fruityknitting.com/  If you haven't seen their podcast yet, and you love knitting, you must watch it.  So, yeah, I'm also knitting their brioche hat.
  And then there's the overshot scarf, one of which I did finish before Christmas but didn't give away, because, honestly, I think my friends and family are getting a little tired of my scarves!  But it's lovely, and I really liked the second weft, some leftover Noro lace yarn that swerves in and out of matching the warp in a way I liked. Unfortunately, I made some bad bead choices for the second hem stitching, and it will need to undergo surgery to remove and replace them.

 The third and final weft for that warp is black 6/2 bamboo, and I didn't think I'd like it, but I really do!  I didn't bead the hem stitching this time, because I couldn't find the proper needle.  I will probably go back when it's done and bead the ends, because I like the way it makes scarves hang on the wearer.  I'm about 1/3 of the way done, and then, I MUST start something else. 
  Because the whole point of the blog entry is to say that I am determined that 2018 will be the year I finish all these started projects!  I have two sweaters that are completely knitted, but not sewn together.  Both sweaters, by following the directions, came out with sleeve caps that are too small, and have to be re-knitted.  l WILL do that this month, and get those two done.  I WILL finish Mom's sweater, and that pair of socks over there, and that brioche hat, and that dress that's been lying unfinished on the sewing machine since the lace took over my life last summer, and I'd even like to finish that last quilt I started 12 years ago before I got my first loom.
  Because, don't you sometimes look around your studio and think, oh my gosh!  What's going to happen to all this stuff when I die?  Who's going to care about it?  Wouldn't it be nice to have this "begun" stuff finished?
  For example, this warp has been, I'm ashamed to say, sitting in a garbage can, ends threaded through the reed, for almost a year.  I only just put the ends in a garbage can a few months ago when I noticed Weft sleeping on it!  Well, it was a mess.  See how in this photo it's in a box?  That's because when I started to thread the heddles, Purl couldn't leave it alone.  And as soon as I put it in the box, Weft jumped in and got ready for a nap!  
  It's now threaded and wound on, and getting ready for its first weaving.  It's kitchen towels, in Swedish Lace from that book, Lace and Lacey Weaves by Mary E. Snyder.  
  After the black and fuschia scarf is done, I do need to start one more thing:  A group of weavers in Brasstown is having a napkin challenge, 8/2 cotton, 16" square, and due on Mother's Day.  I've chosen hand-manipulated lace, because you know I love it!  And there's a lot of plain weave involved to make them go fast.
Another thing I've started but decided I didn't like and won't finish is the KAL by Mason-Dixon Knitting, Log Cabins.  I made one square, and my heart is just not in it. Purl likes it very well, or just enjoys being in my lap, tearing up whatever I'm knitting.
  And you know, the year is young, and I must just even finish the tapestry that's been on the loom in the living room for the last 2 years.  You never know!  Happy new year!