10 Days To Go

There is progress in the esp workshop, although it's slow going. I seem to take 2 steps forward and 1 step back (now I've got that old Paula Abdul song stuck in my head). And I added another project. 

My favorite project is the beaded scarf for Mom's birthday. It took forever, but was a lot of fun to knit. It blocked very well (and I used blocking wires for the first time which wasn't as scary as I thought it would be). I forgot to take a picture between blocking and wrapping, so I'll get one later when she opens her present.

2. The felted clogs are done, they just need to be felted. 

3. Big Snugs. It's insane how much knitting these things involve. You knit 2 outer boots, 2 linings, and 2 bases. It doesn't sound like too much, but I started this project 3 months ago and still have to knit most of the last outer piece and another sole. Hopefully they'll be done in the next few days so I can felt them (and the felted clogs) sometime next weekend so they'll be dry by Christmas. 

4. The chunky alpaca cowl. This was really quick, but threw me for a loop at the end. I used a provisional cast on so I could graft the ends together, eliminating a seam. I blocked it flat, then spent a while trying to figure out how to graft the knits and purls. I finally finished it this morning and tried it on- too big. Crap. After about an hour of ripping out the original graft, ripping a pattern repeat and re-grafting, it's done. Whew.

5. Pirates! I wanted a new challenge for my nephews, and as they're getting a little older (2 and 3) they need cooler stuff. They're into everything right now - dinosaurs, firemen, Yo Gabba Gabba (my personal favorite), knights, Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go, and pirates. After some serious work on double-knit reversible awesome pirate hats, I started to hate them. it was a really cool idea, but it did not work out. Sometimes the best solution is the simplest: knit a plain stockinette hat and embroider some bad-ass skulls on the front. Easy. They took just a couple hours each.

6. Dark Mark Scarf. Haven't touched it in a while (the recipient is going out of town for Christmas so I have a little extra time).

7. Robin's Egg Blue Hat. Done. I used Rowan's Cocoon and am now obsessed with that yarn and that pattern. Maybe I'll make another in January.

8. Toddler Socks. I started to swatch last night and can't seem to come up with a decent stitch pattern (out of all of my Barbara Walker Treasuries and other stitch dictionaries). I'll figure it out tomorrow.

9. Rowan Big Wool Vest. It blocked nicely, and I started to add the garter stitch border this morning (thought it would be something quick and easy to finish after the cowl gave me so many problems). It gave me problems. I ran out of yarn with about 4" to go. Rather than spending another $16.50, I'm going to rip and use less stitches and a bigger needle. 

10. Habitat Hat. This is one of the coolest patterns I've ever seen. I knitted until my fingers went numb and am head over heels in love with this hat. I kinda want to make myself one in January to wear when I don't feel like wearing the Robin's Egg Blue hat. This is one of those projects that is absolutely perfect for the recipient - I know he'll be really happy, which makes me really happy.

11. Men's socks. I bought the yarn, but haven't even wound it. I'm hoping to knit an entire pair of socks in 8 days after Christmas. 

12. This one I added yesterday, and look - I'm almost done! It's another Habitat for someone whose birthday is really close to Christmas and I was going to buy him something, but honestly, this is easier than running around town trying to find something for my Dad. The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted that I found in my closet so I didn't even have to spend any more money.

I have to knit a snug lining, felt some slippers, knit half of a scarf, design and knit 2 pairs of socks, rip and finish a vest, and buy a few things for Mom and the nephews. It didn't seem like a lot until I wrote it all out. I'd better go knit now.

Christmas is Coming!

I'm back! And I'm knitting A LOT! It's that time of the year when I try to knock out gifts left and right. My wonderful family and friends all seem to have birthdays in the fall, then Christmas, then a couple more birthdays in January, so my hands are busy. So far, I think I may actually be on top of things, because I would rather not spend Christmas Eve blocking 15 different things and weaving in a thousand ends. **If you might be getting a gift from me, stop reading this now**

1. Undulating Waves Scarf. Knitted, ends woven in, need to block.

2. Felted Clogs from Fiber Trends. Need to felt.

3. Big Snugs (boot slippers). Linings knitted, need to knit outer shells and seam and felt.

4. Chunky Alpaca Cowl. I threw in a big cable. Maybe 5" done out of 20" or so.

5. Pirate hats. They're double-knitted hats with a skull and crossbone motif. I finished one last night and am terrified that they are too big. I'll measure the boys' heads tomorrow and pray that they're the same size as mine. If not, then we'll find out if Encore can shrink.

6. Dark Mark Scarf. It's a really cool shadow-knitting scarf inspired by Harry Potter. I'm about a third of the way done and haven't worked on it in months.

7. Robin's Egg Blue Hat. Just started last night, will finish today. Loving it.

8. Toddler socks out of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted in colorway Happy Valley. Haven't even bought the yarn yet.

9. Cinnamon Vest from Rowan's New Shapes. It's out of Big Wool and took no time. Need to block and add the edging.

10. Brooklyn Tweed's Habitat. It's a gorgeous cabled hat. Will start today.

11. Men's socks. Technically not due until January 2nd, so I haven't bought the yarn yet. I think I'll use Smooshy from Dream in Color.

I still need to buy a couple of things and have no idea what I'm going to get mom and dad for Christmas (they each get one knitted gift and one purchased gift because their birthdays are so close to Christmas). Whew. I have plenty of coffee, some Titans football coming up on tv, and am ready to knit all day.

By the way, I'm sorry for completely neglecting this blog for a while. I didn't want to blog for a while, then life picked up and got better and much busier. Now I'm knitting so much that I have to share! 

Merry Merry!

I'm hopped up on coffee and cream cheese braid (my favorite Christmas delicacy). Today I made 6 pairs of pajamas in 4 hours. It's a personal record.

The gifts are done, and I even had time to make myself a little somethin'. Here's the rundown:

PJ pants for Dad (goldfish), Sis-in-law (flowers) and Bro (monkeys for the monkey):

Curious George / fire engine pj pants for the nephews:

Fair isle snowflake hats for the nephews:

A shawl thingy for mom (which I gave to her last week on her birthday, although it's a birthday / Christmas gift). Back:

Front:

And of course, the Alchemy silk scarf for big Sis:

And the little somethin' for me! Tennessee Titans PJ's!

Now all I have to do is wrap the gifts and try not to eat any more cream cheese braid until morning, which is easier said than done.

Merry Christmas! Hope everyone has a happy happy holiday!

Making Plans

First, a fish picture. Just Fish is just pretty and he's the best roommate I've had since his predecessor went to fishy heaven. He was a Beta too, named Buju Banton, and that poor fish had to live in several apartments, with several roomies, until he died a couple years ago. The nephews are so excited because I'm going out of town for New Year's and Just Fish is living with them for a few days. Just Fish would probably be fine at my house, but it's an excuse for the nephews to have some fun.


I jumped on the Quant bandwagon yesterday and am loving it! This is yet another Christmas gift, and a very manageable one at that. I used a yarn called Teseo, by Dive. It's a soft, fluffy wool that stripes perfectly for this design.


In order to make it through the last week or so before Christmas, I've been daydreaming about my post-holiday plans. I bought some gorgeous yarn yesterday - Lana D'Oro in charcoal and teal for a New Year's present, the Teseo for Quant, and some sock yarn for me - Regia in Kaffe Fassett colors, and some Lana Grossa that I've been drooling over.


I am desperately waiting until I can make myself some socks. I finally bought plane tickets to Florida for New Year's, and then started to remember how much I hate flying. And I have 2 long plane trips planned in the next month. Ugh. So I'm stocking up on plane necessities, like audiobooks, Dramamine, and portable knitting. My idea of a perfect vacation definitely involves knitting, and I'll have plenty of time to relax, but also have to think about which projects will be suitable for planes and boats. Socks are perfect.

It's been over 3 years since I've had a vacation, and cannot freaking wait! It's hard to leave my job for more than a weekend without missing the store and everyone there (I know, it's strange, but I work at the best place in the world). But once I feel the warm sunshine and see the ocean again, I'll forget all about TN and will come home ready to start a new year.

I just have to get through the next couple weeks.

The Titans gave me some great knitting time today - we won!!!!! The final score was Titans 26- Chiefs 17. It was a great day for football. Brett Favre broke Dan Marino's record for all-time yardage, and the Dolphins got their first win of the year. Better late than never.

Next week we play the Jets, then finish out the season with the Colts. The only problem with the vacation is that I will be away from the tv, internet, and civilization in general (which is generally a good thing) but won't be able to watch the game. It'll be tough to stay away, but maybe I can call friends in Nashville to get a recap. Go Titans!

Sugar, Yarn, and Wine

Whew! Yet again, December is doing a number on me. I really tried to have my Christmas / birthday knitting done in time so I could enjoy this wonderful month, but it hasn't worked out like I planned. Oh well. I'm still having a blast!

My favorite day of the year is Christmas Cookie Day. Bro, sis and I made cookies every year as children, and never stopped as adults because it's so much fun. We listen to the same A Very Special Christmas cd over and over, make the same psychedelic cracked-out cookies, and now we have 2 more cute little helpers.


Sis, sis-in-law and I cut out the cookies while bro puts together the colors. This year we had red, green, white, yellow, orange, burnt orange, brown, black, 3 shades of blue, spearmint, and a couple more that I can't quite describe. We make the usual Christmas shapes but don't stop there. There are numbers, elephants, rhinos, monkeys, fish, whales, aliens, hearts, guitars, cacti, pigs... you get the idea.


Note that there's wine in most pictures, because that makes it a little easier to deal with the little boys who have been pouring sugar sprinkles straight into their mouths. After an hour Buddha Bear was running in circles around the table screaming and Hoss was jumping up and down in the corner and then shaking his booty to the music.



These are the bleeding hearts courtesy of bro. The political beliefs in my family are all across the board, so we make fun of each other (and ourselves). I think the grey/green blob is some sort of camouflage camel.


And of course, most of the cookies have been eaten by now (I've got one left - saving it for breakfast in the morning).

I've been using the sugar high to knit even faster. Here's a goofy picture of yours truly in my unblocked new hat - Misti Alpaca Chunky. So pretty! It's now on my hat blocking thingy - a canister with an upside down bowl on top of it. It should be plenty cold this weekend so I'll put it to good use.


Everything is at least started, except the pajamas. Best Friend is getting an alpaca scarf - Cascade's Baby Alpaca Chunky - in her signature color. I got lazy on this one and am using a pattern from a fabulous gift book, One Skein. It's coming up quickly and is so darn soft!!!


My super cool totally awesome project is for mom. She has a big birthday coming up next week and asked me to design something based on a shawl thing we saw this fall. The original was not shaped, made in garter stitch out of cheap acrylic, and the shawl collar was a total joke. She picked out some Pastaza to match one of her favorite outfits and we took some measurements. The fronts and back worked up fine, but the shawl collar was more of a challenge. It's all done with short row shaping and took a few tries to get it right, but that part is done. Now all I have to do is pick up about 300 stitches for the border, weave in ends, and block.

But at the moment it looks like one of those sea creatures that only lives miles below the ocean's surface.


The knitting has taken over my life and I've completely forgotten about dishes, laundry, and general apartment tidiness, so I must clean now. Hopefully there will be more updates soon...

Just Fish

See what I've been up to? Having fun with scarves. I still have a whole lotta knitting to do before Christmas, but am making headway. The boys' hats still need to be blocked, the hat for my "niece" needs to be embroidered, Dad's socks are 75% done, but they're not due until January 2nd, Sassy's present is in the works, and I still have to start mom and Abbie's presents, and finish some knitting work for the store. OK, I don't have a handle on things, but look at the pretty scarves!

The one on the right is an entrelac scarf for me, just because. It's knitty's Danica scarf, and I completely stole the idea from Lauren. And she quoted me on her blog recently. I used K1Ctoo's Paintbox, and it was one of the most addictive patterns I've ever knitted.

The gorgeous red one is for my sister. It's Alchemy's Silk Purse, a yarn that I am completely obsessed with, and the picture doesn't come near to giving it justice. It's the prettiest red I've ever seen in my life. I got all I could out of 163 yards, and it's a good length. The pattern is Fir Cone from one of my Barbara Walker Treasuries. I pinned it to my towel and grabbed my iron to steam it, but realized I made a big mistake by letting my neighbor borrow my iron and now it's broken and they're not home, so it's just chillin out waiting for blocking.


Nephew Hoss and I had a fun little adventure this week. We went to my dad's favorite store, Aquatic Critter, and had a ball checking out all of the funky reptiles and cool fish. I really liked the boas and caymans, but Hoss only wanted to look at the tarantula. He knows I'm terrified of spiders and I think he just wanted to torture me. We decided on a gorgeous orange Beta, picked out some blue marbles and a pretty little fishbowl, and went to Starbucks for a cookie (and Auntie needed caffeine).


We had a tough time picking out a name. I suggested all kinds of crazy names, from Elmo to Orangina to Bob Marley to Macchiato (we were at Starbucks and I was getting desperate). Hoss said "No!" to everything I said. I asked him, for the 100th time, "What should we name him?" and Hoss looked into my eyes and replied, "Just fish." I asked "Fish? Or Just Fish?". He replied again, "Just Fish." So say hello to my new pet, Just Fish. That's what I get for letting a 2-year-old name my pet.

Prime Time Monday Night

It's Monday Night Football time!!!!!

The Titans are playing the Broncos in Denver tonight, kickoff is in 3 minutes so I'd better hurry. It'll be a close game, and I'm so sad to hear that Albert Haynesworth is still too injured to play. Also, Travis Henry (an ex-Titan who now plays for Denver) is out of the game too, and I was really excited to see our defense give him a good challenge. Oh well. It'll still be a good game.

My pick: Titans 20, Broncos 14.

I've been knitting a lot lately, and have had a ball designing Christmas and Birthday presents. I'm also doing some knitting for hire at the moment, which is keeping me very very busy. I've got 2 scarves on the needles (actually, on the same needle). I fell in love with the design of my sis's Alchemy silk scarf, so I'm using the same pattern for mine, so why not knit them at once? Dad's socks are coming along well, but I'm really psyched about the boys' fair isle hats. I'm toying with double knitting earflaps and have had a lot of fun playing with that.

Here comes kickoff! Time for hot chocolate, knitting, and most important of all, FOOTBALL!!!!!

GO TITANS!!!