12 Sweaters in 2012

Sweater Number 1:

I started this in October, and set it aside within a few inches because I had a different knitting deadline that I was struggling with. Picked it up in December when my "other" deadline passed and just loved working on it. Had to set it aside a couple of times for projects for Christmas presents... but I sewed on the buttons on the First... and I love it.

The Hooray Cardigan:

2012 Planning

• 12 sweaters/tops - for me - in 2012


• 40 hats for homeless charity


• two baby blankets for Project Linus by April 1st


• whatever else comes my way through Dumbledore's Yarny

I'm half-scared and half-confident that these goals will be pretty easy to hit. I did 11 tops/sweaters as it was for 2011 - but two were baby sweaters, and one was "a" boy sized 6.

Admittedly, one of the sweaters will be finished on January 1, 2012 - the sweater I'm working on right now.... but I don't think it will even need to be counted in on the "12" for the year (unless I really run out of time in the fall).

January plan:

1) January 1, weave in the last of the ends on my Hooray Cardigan. (turn in for detention)

2) Between January 1 & January 7th - one Brioche watch cap finished. (turn in for first class)

3) Cast-on First sweater - Pick, Pick, Pick it Up pattern (to turn in before the end of January for a class)

4) As soon as OWL is approved cast on for Cabled Sweater by Bernat - get it to the 40% finished mark and go back and keep working on Pick, Pick, Pick it up Pattern until it's done.

5) Portable/simple project - work on a Brioche Scarf (third class project) - and take "as artsy as I can get them" photos for use to promote my Brioche knitting class.

6) Simple Gloves in Worsted weight - with droid-friendly string worked into thumb and forefinger tip for me (!!) (fourth class project)

7) If I finish everything so far on the list early enough in the month, work Baby Blanket 1 as close as I can to get it finished on February 1 for detention.

8) If I'm to the weaving in ends stage, Do the 2 hour baby blanket in DC crochet (fifth class project)

9) If I'm still (ha-ha-ha) ahead of the game, make as many hats as can fit into either class projects and/or Quidditch that I have time to make and places to fit them.

101 hats for Charity

So, I didn't do a very good job maintaining the blog this year. BUT I did meet my Charity Hat knitting goal!

101 hats for the Homeless (ok, so I can't quite count and ended up making an extra one).

Quite a pile!




2012 goal? Will not be 100 hats... lol! But I'm looking at at least 40 hats for the Homeless shelter again; and some blankets for Project Linus. I'll work with Dumbledore's Yarny which is going to pick new projects every few months for charity and set a goal to pick out the rest of my plans.

More Progress

During the month of February, I completed 2 hats.

During the month of March, I completed 19 hats.

Brings my new year-to-date total to 62 hats.... 62!!!

Admittedly, with a month off of HPKCHC, I'm highly likely to make very few hats this coming month.... but with two terms of HPKCHC ahead of me, I'm fairly sure I can swing 38 more hats out in the next six months-ish.

Sticks and String, a knitting retreat

Spent the entire weekend at a knitting retreat.

Completely immersed in crafting and meeeting other knitters who were churning along on their projects as well.

There were spinners there as well.

It was really relaxing. Really, really relaxing.

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Progress

So, I vowed to make 100 hats for the homeless this year.

Its been a full month, and in order to meet my goal, The numbers tell me I need to make between 8 to 9 hats a month.

How many do I have done?

33 (decided not to count the chemo hat I made for the hospial)

That means that I hit 33 percent of my goal in less than one-tenth the time I have given myself to do it.

Huh

I would almost question upping the goal number, but the truth is that I am highly unlikely to be able to sustain this effort. The main accomplishment was yesterday when I competed in a 24 hour hat challenge on www.ravelry.com. Everyone who competed had the same 24 hours in which to create as many hats as they could. I wasn't even close to the top competiter (whom I think completed 27 adult hats, I might be third on my own team, even). But I am still very pleased with my final count of 20 adult hats completed in 24 hours. And I am even more pleased that I did as much as I did, yet managed to not cause a flare-up of my carpel tunnel issues. And that's saying something. Lol

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100 hats for charity

I contacted a homeless shelter arouund the end of November this year and asked if there was anything I could provide to help make Christmas a little more special.

They asked for some bathrobes and bath soap... easy.

I mentioned being a knitter, and having a handful of hats ready made and that if they were interested, that I could make a few more. They were more than a little interested, they were happy to hear it and said that they would be happy with any hats I could donate. I pulled out the six I had finished during a challenge this laast summer, and figured that I could probably make another five or six hats in the ten days left before I dropped the donation off.

And off I charged, making hats. I ended up making a total of 12 new hats. They house 34 women at any given time... so while I was thrilled with actually dropping off 18 hats, I was a little sad that it wasn't enough to provide each person a hat.

In the meantime, I found out that my boss's church drops off hats for the homeless by going directly to the camps and bridges where they actually stay. So a few more hats were knit to add to their supply.

Got me thinking, this did.

I will admit that after making 12 hats in ten days... then a handful more... I wasn't interested in knitting hats every single day... but I was enjoying the process. Armed with a pattern that doesn't get old, bulky yarn and big needles that work fast... I could probably knit enough hats this year to give a ton to the homeless... 40 for the shelter, and 20 for the camps and bridges.

60 hats, well that's only 5 a month. I can totally do that before December next year.

It's between terms at my knitting role playing game, so I have to wait to work on most of my other projects. So, what the heck, I've got nothing better to do... I'll make my first five hats now (this was before Christmas). Umm.... I now have hat number 11 on the needles. Huh. It is still three more days before the game starts again.... huh.

Five hats a month isn't going to be enough. I am now shooting for 100 hats total... eight or nine a month will be a little more challenging than five. And its a nice round number. Besides being already at 10% only a few weeks after making the challenge to myself? Well, I am all set to go now.

I figured I could raise this blog from the ashes and use it to chronicle the process, post photos, etc.

Note that some of the colors (one might call ugly) were specifically chosen for the camps. They chose to wear colors that will help camoflague them. Bright colors will be better received at the shelters.

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