Emilee Knits

 This is the same list that I have in my January 1, 2008 post. I’ll check items off as I complete them.

Finish the following projects:

• Ms. Redjeans: I will finish this soon, because it is for my mom and her birthday is this week. I’ve decided that it won’t be totally finished when I present it to her. I’ve been using myself to judge the size, but she’s a bit smaller than I am, so I’ll have her try it on to see exactly how long the body and sleeves should be.  DONE!
• Socks for mom: These have been kicking around forever, and I need to finish them. I messed up the toe on one, but I fixed it finally and there is only a tiny bit left to go.  DONE!
• Red Light Special: This has been kicking around for A YEAR. My tension is usually so even that I’m embarrassed by the wonky tension I’m getting with stranding. I’ll finish this, and then begin the Stranded Challenge (see below) DONE
• Serrano: This will be tough. I’m having a hard time finishing Serrano because I’m not very good at seaming, and I want the seaming to be PERFECT. I spent so much time knitting it, and it has such potential, that it would break my heart if the crappy seams detracted from it.
• Caroline’s Bagstopper: This is a very easy pattern, but the cotton yarn is hard on my hands. If I commit to doing a couple rounds a day it wouldn’t take all that long to finish.
• Wearable Afgan/Tailored Scallops: I’ll finish it some time in 2008. I only started it in November though, so I’m not embarrassed about it yet.

Master a new skill:

I used to be decent at stranded colorwork, and I went through a big Lopi phase in college. (Exhibits: A, B, C, D). I hold the yarn differently now though, and while that generally makes me a lot faster, I’m not as good at stranded colorwork anymore. I’ve decided to work on that this year, with the help of Eunny Jang.

I want to complete the following projects in the following order:

• Endpaper Mitts
• Anemoi Mittens
• Deep V Argyle Vest
• Ivy League Vest
• Venezia

I figure that the projects increase in difficulty at a manageable rate, so it will be a good way to build my skills. I also figure that it will take more than a year to complete all of those, so I will be satisfied with myself if I have at least swatched for Venezia in the next year.

Design related Goals:

• I’d love to get into Knitty again in 2008
• I want to get up the nerve to submit to two print publications.
• Finish that submission for the other online publication that’s been on my desk for six months! I can’t tell you what it is yet, but I’ll tell you once I’ve done it.
• Manage my time better: I have a ton of design ideas percolating in my head, but I’m bad with knitting deadlines. I need to organize myself so I can work on stuff and get it submitted in the right season. No more finishing Halloween stuff right before Halloween so it’s too late for this year and frustratingly early for next year.