eighteen

Posted on annePosted in book reviews/events, projects

ok, so this is my official last entry documenting my surge in the knitting wars—we are instructed by The Knitting Ruler to post our photos and a list of finished gift items.

i started my gift knitting very late (dec 1) and with just a small list of about half a dozen items, NONE of which i was sure i could finish.

almost a week later (dec 7) i was pretty much no further along with christmas knitting (and wondering what the heck i was gonna do for gifts, cuz i don’t DO shopping). having completed only the ribbing for one mitt, so i revised my list, paring it down a bit, and subbing in a couple of WIPs i discovered to help beef up the FOs for the holiday.

that very weekend (dec 9) i got my butt in gear and buckled down to finish a few quick knits (was it only three weeks ago??) for the mail carrier

and soon followed with a couple more for my nephew (who loves them by the way)

then, i was contacted by the Powers That Be, telling me i had been selected as a challenger in the knitting wars (dec 11), which coincided nicely with the chanting from the crowd for “MORE MITTS, MORE MITTS (and hats)”

i accepted the challenge even as i crossed yet another gift item from my list—

a finished pair of socks for david.
and well. you can’t tell me i’m being challenged without expecting a response.

another completed pair of socks (dec 15) and the real challenge was begun—was i seriously going to try to knit a sweater for big ol’ david with 10 days to go??

yup. after all the yarn had arrived, there was no turning back on the project, so i set out to do it.

and in the meantime, i remembered that i needed a couple of cute snugglies for some lil’ tykes in albany that must go out in the mail. so i cranked out these

and added these for good measure

and they went their merry way (dec 19), beefing up my total which was starting to look substantial (at least to me).

10 items was WAY more than i’d planned to knit and way, way more than i thought i could do.

but could i get the big item done (dec 20)??
that was still to be determined. i plugged away at it for the next few days, not even blogging much, and made excellent progress. but almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, and i had no backup gift for the love of my life.

in the meantime of course i could not stay away from the mitts (they should carry a warning label, i swear)

but after all, you’ve gotta have some time off. hehe.

was i going to finish the sweater or not?? let’s face it, i was dangerously close to being shamed.
of course, by now we all know the end of that story and a beautiful sweater (that fits!) was under the tree by christmas eve, and on the shoulders of the wearer christmas day.

phew.
i spent all of christmas day making a gift for myself . . i don’t know if this counts, but i really wanted to get one pair of mitts made for myself, and i did.

meanwhile, they’d pushed back the deadline to accommodate everyone’s holiday schedule and the fact that we all put off finishing knits gifts that we know we will not deliver til the week between.
(BTW, the sweater makes eleven . . .)

so i took advantage of the extra time this week to finish off gifts for friends

because you can never treat your friends TOO well—you will always need them at least as much as they need you.

and another for david

(i am SO not getting that back after yesterday; he was born to wear this wrap.)

which brought the total to 15.

and at the eleventh hour, i have a final two items

sorry for the terrible photo . . i almost forgot i had to post them tonight, so you get the after-dark pictures.

and i believe that makes seventeen. if you count the gift for i made ME, that makes eighteen. The Knitting Ruler wants a concise list, so to recap:

waffle mitts
waffle hat
plain james mitts
plain james hat
purple kiddie mitts
purple kiddie hat
blue and green kiddie mitts
blue and green kiddie hat
cardigan socks
marie antoinette socks
zig zag mitts green
zig zag hat green
red sweater
snow on cedar mitts
oh! canada wrap
pavé mitts large
pavé mitts medium
zig zag mitts brown (for myself, does it count??)
__________________________________________

that adds up to 18, or 17 if they are going to be harsh.

for myself, i feel a real sense of accomplishment . . . i finished of a bunch of WIPs that may have not gotten done, simply because i said, “oh why not?”—and made time for them.
i even knit myself something i very much wanted, which is a rarity.

and though i’m pleased, i am hoping that the recipients are even more pleased, and that the effort has the desired effect of helping to empty the coffers of the benefactors into the hands of knitters without borders.

my deepest apologies to those that backed me with money pledges in the race—i sincerely did not expect to finish more than half a dozen or so items. please know that your gifts are VERY greatly appreciated, and that i’ll try to knit slower next time (hehehe, i’m just sayin’ that).

thank you all for your encouragement and cheerful support of the knitting war . . . may we all live to see another.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

52 thoughts on “eighteen”

  1. …and every item you knit is nothing short of fantastic! I’m so glad I found you this year and look forward to ALL the inspirational knits you come up with!
    Happy New Year!!!

  3. Wow! That’s a lot of knitting! I’m so impressed because you even cranked out a couple of patterns. Maybe you could get bonus points for Christmas Gifts knit of the patterns you produced? (I’ve got 4 from Hot Waffles.)

    And yes, mitts are addictive. I’m scared to know what would be the cure…

  5. The recipients I am sure would be happy to receive one of your hand knits! Everything you knit is magnificent!

    I am simply overwhelmed by the amount of knitting you go done in Dec… You must knit like speed lightning:)

    Happy New Year!

  9. Those are wonderful gifts. The sweater you made for David is awesome! It looks great on him. 🙂

    Happy New Year to the both of you!

  14. Congratulations! You are a wicked fast knitter! I’m going to run right over to donate the $5 per I pledged. (I haven’t had my champagne yet so I ought to be able to do the math right. Let’s see, carry the…) $90 right? off I go…

    Happy New Year to both you & David and all your loved ones.

  15. I have kids..I made two hats and a pair of slippers in the same time :D. I pretty much had to lock myself in the closet in order to do it…but it got done!!

  16. What a fantastic effort on knitting all of those beautiful items. I love every one of them. Happy New Year to you and David as well!

  17. Okay I am writing a HUGE check to Doctors without borders – YEAH Anne!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Way to go girlfriend!!!

    Happiest of New Years to you and David!

  20. Happy New year, you did an outstanding job with all your wonderful knits!! I’m completely impressed by how you dug in and plowed right through to the very end of the challenge, way to knit 🙂

  23. Eighteen!! beautiful projects – all so different in their own way. I like them all, soooo much. I’m in awe of you. A wonderful 2008 to you both!

  29. Congratulations, Anne! You’ve accomplished more in the last month than I did in the whole year! I’m hoping to knit as much in the coming year than you did this last December…
    I wish you a very happy new year. May 2008 see your dearest dream come true!

  30. Holy crapoly, that’s a lot of knitting! And, to parrot other commenters, all so beautiful. Not a dud in the bunch. You’re an inspiration.

    Happy 2008!

  31. Woman, you amaze me. Yes, you totally deserve a gift for yourself with all that, even if I’m going to be eating ramen this month thanks to you. I’ll get my wallet.

  32. I gotta say that your past few posts with David have raised the bar for prospective husbands. Note to self: if he doesn’t completely love the knitting, keep looking. =)

  33. I have learned my lesson – if I knit fast my stitches turn to shite and then people think I am a shite knitter! I have tried all sorts of things – even wine and chocolate don’t help.

  34. Lovely, beautiful and wonderful!

    I bow to your magnificent skills and ask that you invite each and every one of us to spend next December with you!

    Happy New Year and the warmest of Blessings for all that is good to come your way!!

    (I’m still taking baby knitting steps but having a blast doing it!)

  37. Amazing, just amazing! You truly are an inspiration!
    Love all the FOs, especially the sweater and the wrap. David sure is lucky! Happy New Year!

  38. Anne, you are a constant source of amazement. LOL You knitting fiend, you! Congrats on all the finishes, and Happy New Year!

  39. Woah–you totally kicked ass. I only finished 14, and still got beat by my opponent (she did 16–arrugh!). Oh well. All in good fun, right? 🙂

    P.S. Happy New Year!

  43. Great job, Anne. I love the mitts you made for your nephew, and the green hat/mitts combo you made as a gift for a friend. Are you selling the patterns for these, or should I order the hot waffles pattern and adapt? I’d love to make two pair (for my mom and aunt). All of your work is lovely, as always.

    Thanks! Carole

  44. I am speechless. I couldn’t finish five lousy projects, and you made eighteen! Almost four times as many! And one of them was a freaking sweater!…

    I bow down before you. 🙂

    p.s. David is SO LUCKY. 😉 He looks great in that sweater.

  45. Congrats on your win. I haven’t finished my final Christmas project yet but I will be needing to make some mitts for myself when I finish.

  46. We were all rooting for you and you outdid yourself! All your projects are wonderful and I’m sure well loved, too. Happy New Year to you and David.

  48. Oh for goodness sake – just reading that makes me feel tired. Congratulations, you! Hope your fingers are having a good rest in those cosy mitts.

  49. That lacey number does look great on him…and still totally masculine. I’m inspired to knit something like that for my husband…although I might have to trick him into wearing it. lol That red sweater is great too.

    I drool over your blog every day, btw!

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