Something Old, Something New -- January edition

Hello and welcome to the first post of this Linky party. If you are here for the first time and have no idea what "Something Old, Something New" is about, you can read the guidelines by clicking on the tab at the top of this blog. That's where you’ll find the “grab code” or you can get it from my sidebar. Some further background reading is in this post where I first proposed the idea.

Basically, "Something Old, Something New" (SOSN) is about two things each month:

1. Choosing one UFO to work on* -- for me a UFO is any project I haven't touched in the last three months; but you may have a different definition and that's okay!
2. Choosing one new technique to learn or practice

*Originally I said to "finish" a UFO but there are some projects that can't be finished in a month but can be worked on! For example, I have a cross stitch that was started many years ago and is nearing completion but there's no way I can finish it in a month and still have a life! So I'm changing the {rules}  from "finish" to "work on"!

Personally, I am intending to focus on both the "old" and the "new" each month but you might choose to work on only one or the other, it's totally up to you!

On the second day of each month, I'll put up a Linky party where we'll share how we went with our previous month's goals and list the goals for the following month.

I don't know about you but I have so many UFOs and so many techniques I'd like to learn that it's hard to choose one!

So, what do I plan for January?

Old -- Rainbow Blocks quilt

I made the blocks in 2011-2012 as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, and it's time to do something useful with them! I'm not sure I will get it finished but my aim is for a completed flimsy!

 

New -- Shadow (Illusion) knitting

I am booked to tutor a workshop in this technique in July and I haven't tried it myself; so if I start now (and continue to practise) I will have some level of experience by July! I can’t show you a photo because I haven’t started yet but here is a link to a great design on Ravelry.

How about you?

Are you going to drag an old project out of its hiding place and work on it?

Or are you going to start the new year by learning a new technique?

Maybe both?

Please link up here with the URL of your blog post so we can all visit and cheer you on.

If you don't have a blog, leave a comment with the address of where we can find your photos (eg Flickr).

Have fun working on your projects in January!

Something Old, Something New -- part II (with button and grab code)

Note: This post is almost identical to the information in the tab at the top of this blog so you may have already read it. Please leave a comment if you're thinking of joining the party! ;-)
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Nearly all the crafts-people I know are like me. We all have UFOs that we "should" be working on but the lure of the new beckons us.

In 2014, I want to concentrate on learning new techniques across many of the crafts in which I am involved. However I also want to get some of those UFOs out of my craft room and into use.

Hence: Something Old, Something New. I am challenging myself to finish (at least) one UFO a month and, at the same time, learn (at least) one new technique a month.

How do I define UFO? Any project I haven't worked on in the last three months is a UFO. If I've done some work on it in the last ninety days, it's a WiP and doesn't really qualify! But that's the boundaries I've set myself. You can set any boundaries/rules/guidelines -- whatever works for you!

Maybe you are unlike me and have no UFOs but would like to learn some new techniques.
Or maybe you've dozens of UFOs and no plan (right now) to learn new techniques -- you just want to get those UFOs done!

You've come to the right place.
For me it will be "old" and "new" but for you it might be either "old" or "new".

Won't you please consider joining me for this year's challenge?   
Any craft, any project, any technique is welcome.

I'll put up a linky party on the second day of each month (there are many other linky parties happening on the first of the month! LOL). In that post, I will share my progress from the previous month and list my goals for the month to come.

There will be no prizes, no give-aways; just the joy of sharing and perhaps meeting some new blog friends. 

I'd love you to join me -- parties are much more fun when other people come along! Here's the button for your blog if you accept my invitation!

<div align="center">
<br /><a href="http://2hot2knit.blogspot.com.au/" title="Never too hot to Stitch!"><img src="http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a607/ellebee57/85d98e30-e984-4b34-925f-027fc19b8dc5_zps40bbf708.jpg" alt="Never too hot to Stitch!" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
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Is frogging a finish?

In November 2011 I cast on and knitted the body of a sweater for a 12 month old child. It took me only a few days to knit but then I put it aside because I had to pick up stitches around the neckline to create a collar.

Cue 2013. This was the first project on my list of UFOs that I decided to finish.
(Having house guests makes it impossible to get into the sewing room but knitting and conversation go well together).

First I checked on the Internet for the correct way to pick up and knit stitches.

Attempt one
messy pick up, 80cm (32") circular needle too long for the job

Attempt two
The picking up of stitches was much neater but it was still difficult to get the same number of stitches down each side of the collar. Knitted this time on dpns -- dropping stitches was an issue. I had almost completed the collar and decided I had picked up stitches the wrong way (even though I had followed the pattern instructions). Frogged. (Then realised I had been right all along!)

Attempt three
This time I picked up the stitches using a tiny 2mm crochet hook. While still struggling with losing stitches from dpns, I managed to get the stocking stitch collar (as stated in the pattern) finished. No matter what I did, it would not lie flat. Of course not, stocking stitch curls! They must have severely blocked the sweater in the photos for the book to get the collar to stay like that! Of course, I could block but what happens when the new mother, unknown to me, washes the garment and doesn't know about blocking! Highly unsatisfactory; you guessed it - frogged!

Attempt four
I decided to knit a garter stitch collar. Still struggling with stitches falling off dpns, I didn't realise that I had created two slipped stitches, right in the centre back, on the right side of the collar.

I like the garter stitch, it lay perfectly, but I still didn't like my messy pick up of stitches.

By now I'm sure you can tell that I don't tutor on finishing knitting! I'm still working on that for myself!

I convinced myself that the two stitches weren't too bad and, once baby's head was in the jumper, they wouldn't be seen. Which brought me to the size of the head hole -- there is no way that either of my grandsons would have been able to get their head through that hole. Sure, the jumper could be given to someone with a small baby but how long would the child be able to wear it? Better a slightly oversized cardigan (and therefore no head hole) than a garment that a child grows out of long before it wears out!

It's a very long time since I've been defeated by a pattern but there it is.

And so we come to the crux of my post -- is frogging a finish?