2008 Socks and Holidazed are Done!

What a fun pattern this was! Quickly memorized and just flew along. Maybe it is because I followed the pattern to the letter and only knit 6 inches of ankle: I have been making medium sized ankles and small sized feet to reflect my proportions, and ended up with 64 grams of yarn left over!
This was the last of the 2008 Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin' Sock club installments, and I loved them all for various reasons. I am looking forward to 2009 club, which my awesome DBF bought for me for an Xmas present, and I even managed to finish all 2008 before the first 2009 kit arrived!
This was Holidazed by Anne Hanson, in the beautiful colors of Muddy Autumn Rainbow.
And with props to Nartian, who did it first, I give you a recap of 2008!
Serendipity, Lucky, Cleopatra's Stockings, and Holidazed. Missing are the Sweet Tarts that I gave to my mom, and the Cloning Anemone Rib for my cousin. Yay!

Finished! Blue Celtic Knot Purse

I am very happy with this bag! It was a quick enough knit, with the cabling keeping it all fun. I finished it a few days ago, and completed a lining with a ton of pockets a few days later. Yesterday I sewed in the lining, placed all my crap into the pockets, and took it to dinner and the theater, where a random woman in the lobby complimented it!
The wool and the button I purchased for this specific purpose at Weaving Works in Seattle when we were there for DBF's cousin's wedding. One of the only times I have ever used the correct yarn for a project!
I back-stitched along the cables with a double-strand of the contrast yarn. Other than the double-strand, I didn't even modify the pattern much:
I made the button flap longer and wider.
I made the handles longer by only one repeat (10 cables each).
The pattern seems wrong in two places: Purling should always be done on the correct side (there is a note about this on Ravelry) and I made the decreases on the second short side match the increases on the first short side.
Felting was resistant: I worked the bag in hot and cold water in the sink, without much shrink. I spun it in the washer, then threw it in the dryer until it shrank around the plastic netting. It could still have used more felting.
The only thing I would change isn't a knit problem at all. I should have made the lining from a thicker material: As it is, the lining is so thin that all my gear just falls out of it. A stiffer, stronger lining would have kept everything separate, and perhaps help the bag stand up.

I Love this Skirt!

This skirt is finally done and I love it for these reasons: It is comfortable, cool, washable and dryable in machines! It has a cute flirty ruffle and lace cut up to there! But still can be dressed up or down.
This is Indigo Ripples Skirt by Kat Coyle from Interweave Knits Spring 2007. It took me several tries to get gauge (okay, I never really did) and I lengthened the stockinette portion for modesty, added short rows for a more curvaceous butt, and ended up only doing about half the lace portion of the pattern. I then threw it in the washing machine! And the dryer! It shrunk up a bit but not badly.
It took me from June 3rd to January 1st to actually get it done, and therefore is the first completed project of the new year. I also made it out of cheap, dishcloth cotton... which I purchased on sale at Ace Hardware for 60 cents a skein, meaning this skirt cost me just over $6!
I wore it out to sushi the other night and am just totally in love with it.
As for New Year knitting: DBF gave me a wonderful Christmas gift and renewed my membership with Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin Sock Club for 2009 (which there was no way I could have afforded this year!) So that gives me 6 socks for this year (as well as the last one from this year). Like this skirt, I am always looking for cool, wearable knits in a tropic environment. Any ideas?