UFO - unfinished object!
If you ever hear knitters talking about UFOs, believe me they are not talking about flying saucers :) They are usually gripping about how many unfinished objects they have on the needles :)
Sometimes it's really just about needles - if you have scarf on size 9 needles, and you need those needles for a let's say a hat, well, either you buy new pair of needles or you finish your scarf :) Some people are more prone to "unfinishitis" then others also :)
I discovered that my treshold for unfinished objects are 5 - if I have more than 3 I get antsy; if I have 5 I feel compeled to finish at least one or I can't work on the new project regardless what it is. That's why I am not too much into sweaters I think - they take long time to finish, even with bulky wool, so they take too much of my UFO list.
So, I did finish bunch of projects lately, because I wanted to shrink my list of UFO to manageable size - I am back to 4 :) - 2 active ones and 2 that are waiting for me to figure out certain things.
Here they are:
1) Butterfly hats - I've made 3 of them, 2 as presents and one for me! I really like that pattern - it's actually very easy once you figure it out, and looks very nice and gives a hat unique look. Plus, it looks good with variegated yarn, what is not usually the case with hat patterns.
Here they are:
First one and third one are done with Purewool colorway Cactus - alas, that colorway is discontinued, so I had to scramble to finish second hat. I knew I will run out of wool so I mixed it with brown cascade to make transition easier, so top of the third hat is mostly brown, but with cactus woven through. End result is very nice, I am even impressed how seamless that transition is.
Second hat was done in Ming, from Artfibers - absolutely gorgeous yarn, 50% merino wool, 50% silk, thinner than Purewool, but so soft! That one will be a present for a cousin :)
Oh and I've finally finished hat for Ivan - he doesn't like hats, but in December, when we had that cold spell, he actually mentioned that it's cold enough for a hat, so I've jumped in and started a hat for him. Unfortunately, I've run out of yarn, so project languished until I've got a skein from a friend since that colorway is also discontinued (Smoke):
2) Then, I've made 2 pair of socks - I've decided to learn how to make socks and I made one pair for me, one for Ivan and they are both awesome :) I've made them in thicker yarn (DK) with big needles so I could see better what I am doing, and that was the right decision I've made - I would never manage this on regular sock yarn with tiny needles. So now I am making third pair on fingering weight yarn and yes, it goes very slowly, but now that I know what I am doing, it's a matter of patience now, not so much issue of new skills.
3) Scarfs - I've finished 3 scarfs :) I could never understood why people think that scarfs are good beginners projects. They are not! They take ages to be finished and beginners do not have that kind of patience. My first project when I learned how to knit was not a scarf, it was a felted bag, and I am still grateful for that! Felting a knitted object erases all mistakes that you make as a beginner, and bag in relatively small project, and something that you can use immediately.
Here they are:
ZigZag scarf:
Ripple stitch scarf - in Kyoto, another awesome Artfibers yarn, present for my friend:
Drop stitch scarf:
