From Kat With A K’s blog: The Rules
1. Each month in 2007, find a UFO (unfinished object). This makes a total of twelve for the year. You do not need to have a list of all twelve at the beginning of the year - you can go month by month if you’d like.
2. You have two options for that UFO:
a. Work on it. You don’t have to finish it that month, if it’s something big, but it must be added into your rotation of “active” projects. A token row or two does not count.
b. Frog it. If you don’t want to work on it anymore, rip it out and move on.
3. Post on your blog each month (or comment if you don’t have a blog) about the project you’re resurrecting.
4. Everyone who finishes will be entered into a prize drawing. And even if you don’t win anything, you’ll have twelve fewer languishing projects making you feel guilty!
I dreamt Friday night about the felted carpet bag that never got finished, and ways I could turn it into the overnight DH would like to buy me, since he doesn't really appreciate checking into swanky any hotel (or, worse, visiting the relatives) with me carrying the plastique cheetah print overnight tote I got at a close-out price at Ross a few years back ("did ya ever think there might be a reason nobody else bought that tacky thing?!").
That led me, upon awakening Saturday morning and avoiding climbing out of bed to 20 degree temps outside as long as I possibly could, to ponder the small, cabled purse, unfinished except for a few minor details. That would be an easy one to add to the list of twelve, and now I only had ten more to come up with. Well, there's DH's vest to finish, my Rowan Calmer to recycle into a project to replace last year's CeCe failure, so now I have four months' worth...
There are certainly a dozen different ways I could approach this KAL, and on Sunday I tackled January's project, with partial success. Two years ago, I decided to make the Red Isis stole from The Knitting Goddess. I had bought this book when it was published in 2002, and loved the mythology stories, the connection to knitters through the ages, and the illustrations. I had enjoyed (and still wear a lot each winter), making the simple striped sweater, my first experience using Noro yarns. I had even purchased the yarn for the shrug pattern and was almost done with it; shrugs were all the rage in the stores right about then. I also had a wonderful time picking out the yarns for the stole:
However, when I was finished, the stole was too big, the yarns too loopy (it was also in the midst of the "bulky yarn, big needles" craze; I really should have known better), and even when I made some adjustments to turn the stole into a ruana with a reinforced crocheted edge on one side, I didn't like how hard it was to wear and manuever through daily life situations.... it was languishing in one of the baskets where I store soft clothing such as my shawls.
I had thought of deconstructing it before, as there are seven ounces of beautiful, hand-dyed Mountain Colors Alpaca Blend, in the Rosehips colorway, that I certainly could put to use for something I would be proud to acknowledge I had knitted. In the end, it was the motivation of using the eyelash yarn for a fun fur beanie that made me pick this as my January UFO resurrection.
Deconstructing took ALL day. The stole was constructed with lengthwise rows, each with two to three different yarns stranded together. 
I would unravel a few rows, then stop and separate the strands carefully and wind up each ball, before continuing. I stopped in between bouts of unraveling to do the laundry, make and eat two meals, take a walk in the afternoon with DH, but didn't completely finish til it was past my bedtime. No wonder I had been putting this off.
Now, I have eyelash to add to a beanie, and GGH Relax (which has been discontinued), a worsted weight wool/alpaca/nylon/acrylic boucle blend that will become a Malagaiter (and a chance to play with brioche stitch). I also have 440 yards of the Alpaca Blend, which is classified as worsted, but works up more like a DK; I am open to ideas for using this, and as it was the yarn that caught my eye in the first place, I would like to make something I will love and use a lot. That leaves two other yarns, a bright and shiny red ribbon (I can't read the label in my photo, and have lost it along the way), and one (or two) balls of Trendsetter Charming, a carryalong with lots of metallic and cute, little bobbles. As all of these yarns are reds, the Charming will probably end up put together with another red and made into a scarf to put in the co-op shop. Waste not, want not!
This first UFO Resurrection was almost as good as yarn shopping, without the bill. I will be back for more.
In the way of automatic cameras everywhere, mine has captured some of the nice stitch detail in this piece that Laurie knitted, a textured pattern made up in heavy cotton from Takhi, while blurring the printed fabric.
I am trying to make up my mind about which button, though I have to do that soon, since sewing it in place and concealing that sewing with the lining are steps best done in order. The bronze one would probably show up better against so much black... though I like the facets on the black plastic one. Laurie, what do you think? I am planning to ship this back to you when it's done!
