Tis The Season

As I sit here, slowly sipping a nice glass of good wine, I'm thinking how relieved I am to be completely done with all of my Holiday shopping and knitting.


Whew! Believe me, it was getting down to the wire. As of three days ago, I still had everyone to shop for, and a couple to knit for. But after a few days of marathon shopping and major speed knitting, I can say that I'm finished!

Holiday knitting started off being just a pair of socks for my MIL. (I'd long ago abandoned cozy images of knitting a pair of socks each for my sons, some fancy colorwork hats for both of them, and a pair of socks for my husband. Those were pipe dreams. Maybe next year. Or birthdays.)










Then a couple of days ago, my brother timidly asked me if there was any way I could knit him a hat for Christmas. Of course! As he's a huge Chicago Bears fan, he of course wanted Bear navy blue and orange.

This is the first time I've ever done any real colorwork (other than practicing on swatches) and I'm pretty pleased with how it came out. Most importantly, the floats have plenty of give so they stretch nicely when donned.










As for other knitting, I made another pair of Mrs. Beetons. I ended up giving the brown ones that I'd made to Steven for the shop, so I needed a pair for me again.

This 2nd pair I made in white with the most delicate frosty white beads. They are so adorable and will be a nice touch to my Christmas attire.

I also made myself my Onduleux Cables Cloche. This one is in a burgundy red angora yarn that really shows the pattern well and it's so next to the skin soft.

I suppose I should have really made this for someone for Christmas, but I really wanted one of my own and I don't think it's to the taste of any of my female family members.


I found myself being a little gun shy this year as far as knitting anything for anyone on our gift list. The two items I did knit were both requests. Oh well. Again, maybe next year.

Mmm this wine is good. Off to enjoy it. Happy Holidays!

Mrs. Beeton Goodness

Another finished object! I've been working on these little projects all week and they are flying off the needles!

Pattern: Mrs. Beeton, knitty
Yarn: Adriafil Carezza (angora), Brown; Rowan Kidsilk Haze, Ice Cream
Needles: Addi Turbo US 7 32" circular, Addi Turbo US 5 32" circular
Started: December 6, 2007
Finished: December 7, 2007

These are so cute! They were quick little knits, too, and would be perfect as a Christmas gift, if I were to give them up. But I'm keeping them.

I changed things up a little bit. I didn't bead the MC cast on (as I didn't have beads that would fit over the Carezza angora.) Instead I beaded the CC cast on using a cable cast on and beading every third stitch with a tiny crochet hook. It was a bit fiddly at first, but I really like the look of it. I also didn't pre-string the nine beads on there to go on the top of the bells on the Top Bell Edging. I added those with a tiny crochet hook to each stitch as I came to it.

I also changed the picot edging, making the picots line up only over the purl stitches in the ribbing.

I know I'll make these again.

Major (photo-heavy) Update

So um, I've been a little absent. *Ahem.* Ok, a lot absent.

While I don't want to make excuses, I have got a couple of reasons. (Which are really glorified excuses, let's be honest.) My computer was one of them. It died early November and I got it fixed over Thanksgiving weekend. Yay! It was just a fried power supply, nothing major.

Another reason was getting ready for Thanksgiving itself. We had hubby's family up and it was not only my first Thanksgiving that I hosted, but my first actual Thanksgiving dinner that I've prepared. So I was a little nervous. I don't know if I mentioned here, but I'm not that big on cooking. I can, I just don't enjoy it. My husband does most of the cooking in our house. So when I took on Thanksgiving, I was very preoccupied with making sure I got everything just right. (Which it was.)

I also think I just needed a break from blogging. After more than a year and a half, I think that's ok.

But I have been knitting. A lot. And I've got some things to show you.


These will be a Christmas gift for my mother in law. This is the 2nd incarnation of socks for her. I started some earlier this year out of Lorna's Laces and uggh. I just don't get it. There are so many knitters who just go crazy over that yarn, but its appeal is completely lost on me. I hated knitting with it, I hated the colors, I hated the fabric it was producing, and I just didn't think they would be socks that I'd want to give to someone, much less have them actually wear. So those have been frogged.

These are made with Schaefer Anne, one of my favorite sock yarns. This yarn has actually been overdyed by me twice. I posted an after shot the first time I overdyed it, but forgot to shoot another.

You can see in this post what the yarn originally looked like and what colors I overdyed the first time. A few weeks after that, I thought how much prettier it would be if it was 90% one color, with the other ones peeking through. So into the crock pot it went again, this time with a couple of packs of grape Kool Aid and some purple food coloring. Since my MIL's favorite color is purple, I thought this yarn needed to be for her socks.


The pattern I'm using is based on Cookie A's Monkey. I modified the pattern rows to accomodate 8 more stitches around and I'm eliminating the lacy holes by knitting the yarn overs through the back loop. MIL is diabetic and I want these to be warm and practical, while still being pretty.

This is also my first foray into knitting socks toe-up. I did these this way because if they're not long enough on her or if the cuff doesn't fit right, I can just undo the bind off and make adjustments. (Theoretically, anyway. I hope it will be that easy if necessary. Actually what I really hope is that they'll be perfect right out of the wrapping. But I digress.)


This will be a hat and mittens (gloves? I haven't decided yet) set.

One of my coworkers at the stop designed these some time ago and they are just the cutest things ever. They're called Lori's Fabulous Fuzzies and are they ever fabulous. Sock yarn and a silk/kid mohair blend run together make these warm, soft, and colorful.

I'm knitting mine out of Austermann Step in Grass and Rowan KidSilk Haze in Ice Cream.

Now, which to do? Mittens or gloves? I have never been a big mitten fan. My mother forced me to wear them when I was little (while my brother got to wear gloves) and I hated them.


I've never had a pair of gloves that fit or kept my fingers warm. (Not that my mittens did, either.) Granted, here, I can make them fit my fingers exactly, which will be lovely, but will they keep my hands and fingers warm?

I guess I can finish them one way or the other and if I'm not happy I can frog back and knit the other option. It's only knitting, right?

Here's a close up of the hat to show detail in the texture and that wonderful fuzzy halo.

I *love* Lori's pattern. The hat flew off my needles and the mitten/glove is going quickly as well. I'd love to make these for my sons. At least the hats, anyway.


I did make a few changes to it, though (because I can never knit a pattern as written.) I did my favorite twisted rib cuff because it makes the knits very tidy and I did the decreases at the top differently, too.

I just love the way the top came out! Those perfectly straight decrease lines intersecting with the hexagons of color make an interesting star pattern.

I wore it last night when we went to get our Christmas Tree and it was just as warm as I'd hoped. (Our tree, by the way, is gi-nor-mous.)


Here's a little something I've been meaning to blog about for quite some time.

Brandy was so sweet to me! She sent me a belated birthday package in November and inside was this GORGEOUS alpaca. And not just any alpaca. Handspun alpaca but Brandy herself. The yarn is beautiful and so silky soft.

I've started the Eiffel sweater from Knitty with it, and I think it will be just beautiful.

Also in the package were the 2008 Knitting Pattern-A-Day calendar, a cute as a button needle satchel, a sweet little book about knitting and spinning tales, and bare silk hankies to dye and spin!

Thank you so much, Brandy - as always you are too kind and it was a lovely birthday gift!!


I'm finally knitting myself my Onduleux Cables scarf - the one I designed for work back in early summer.

I managed to get my hands on the hard to find white of the Elsebeth Lavold Angora late summer and I cast on for this a couple of weeks ago. It's stalled at the moment because I've been doing other things lately, but I expect this to be finished within the week.




Here's the matching hat I designed to go with my scarf, modeled by my older son, T.
There are a few ladies in my knitting group that are also working on the scarf and hat, too. (Which is super flattering.)

Speaking of them, I'd just like to say how much I enjoy going there and knitting with them. I'd been looking for a knitting group and when I was invited to join this one, I jumped on it. I'm so glad I did!




Look, ma! No purls! (I saw that on a blog once, but can't remember where.)

These are another pair of Monkeys but without the purl stitches. On me, these fit much better. They don't fall down my leg anymore, which I like.

The yarn is Schaefer Anne (told you it was a favorite) in blues and greens. Can't remember exactly when I started and finished them, but I think it was late October.

After these and my MIL's Monkeys, I'm pretty good on that pattern for a while. ;)


Lastly, this is going to be a sample for the shop I work at. It's a shawl jacket, easy peasy construction and stitch.

The yarns are Tilli Tomas silk and Grignasco mohair. I'm almost halfway through this. I was booking through it, but I've got holiday knitting right now that is taking up my time. (Some of those aren't pictured because I don't know who might be reading this.)

Other than that, things have been good here. We got a *lot* of snow last Saturday, we're getting more today, and are supposed to get more throughout the week.

If you're still here at the end of this long and photo-filled post, I thank you! If not, well, I can't say you missed out on a whole lot.

I promise to be back more regularly again.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

Busy. Working. Cleaning. Was in a sling for two weeks. (Fell.) Catching up on knitting. Finished two pairs of socks. Finished hat to match my cabled scarf. In-laws are coming for Thanksgiving. Cooking lots of food. Still waiting to hear if computer can be fixed or not.

Sorry about not posting for almost a month. Have a great Thanksgiving.

Happy Halloween!

Hope you had a good time trick or treating!

We decided to do a character pumpkin this year. I sketched out the silhouette of Michael Myers from the cover of Halloween 5 and then carved it. It's not perfect, but I like it!

Here's where it came from:

















Oh, and I hope you don't see this guy anytime soon.

Sniff

My computer died.

RIP, old girl.

Eye Candy

Nothing exciting here, so I thought I'd give you an (old) pretty to look at.

The kids have a Halloween Dance/get-together at school tonight. They're supposed to wear their costumes and they sure are looking forward to it!

Birthday Flowers

My sister-in-law and mother-in-law (and their families) sent me birthday flowers earlier!

Aren't they gorgeous? My SIL knows me well. She asked the florist to do a "Halloween" themed arrangement. It's perfect! Very autumn, very Halloween.

I just love it!

Oh! And my new issue of Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts magazine came! There are some absolutely stunning designs in there.

And... this is my 300th post. Interesting coincidence of all these 3s and 0s today. ;)

Twenty-nine .... Plus One

(Note: in honor of this unwelcomed birthday, I'm hopping aboard the pity train and throwing a bit of a pity party for myself. Choo Choo.)

Thirty. The big 3-0. I'm thirty. It seems like such an impossible age to be.

Letting go of my 20s is proving to be very hard for me. I've been in quite a state for a month or so now, literally counting down the days.

My 20s are gone. In place of them comes 30, a formidable number to me.

Everyone tells me it's just a number. Some have told me that it just gets better from here. Others have said they loved everything about turning thirty. A few lovelies have told me I look much to young to be this age. (To those of who you said that, you're my new best friends. Thanks!)

I'm the youngest in my family, in my husband's family, and in my small circle of friends. As I've watched the rest of them shed their 20s over the last couple of years, I've secretly gloried in the fact that I still had mine. And now my day has come.

Meh.

Dear Hair

Note that I'd like to take a meeting with you at some point to discuss the status of your ... er, madness.

I'm not sure anymore exactly what look you're going for, but clearly I'm not able to style it.

Please get back to me ASAP on this matter or I will be forced to cut you.

Thanks.

Embossed Leaves Socks

And they're done! Socktoberfest socks: pair 1.

Pattern: Embossed Leaves, Mona Schmidt, Favorite Socks, Interweave Press
Yarn: Claudia Hand Painted Fingering, Pretty Posey, 2 hanks
Needles: Addi Turbos US1 32" circular
Started: September 29, 2007
Finished: October 4, 2007
Modifications: short-row heel, continued purl stitches on foot so that both sides of instep would match

I LOVED knitting these (which is probably why I finished them so quickly. ) My prettiest pair of socks.

The Claudia yarn is just amazing. It's soo yummy and the dye job has such a richness to it.


I wanted to finish these so I'd have them to ready for the Knit-Out at Brookdale this weekend. Our store is going and Steven asked if I could have a little Sock and Lace knitting corner. So I'm bringing (and preparing) some of my favorite pieces. I can't decide whether to wear these or display them!


I really wish I had shoes that could/would show off my handknit socks!

Socktoberfest 07!

It truly IS Fall! And with the lovely colors of Autumn comes Socktoberfest!

This will be my second Socktoberfest year. I enjoyed it last year when I was just beginning the down the road of hand-knitted sock goodness. And during the 'fest last year, I completed, oh, let's see. ... *blink* Wait, that can't be right.

One. Pair.

That's it? I thought surely I'd knitted more than that! Oh well. I've got a better start this year. ;)

The sock in the photo is the Embossed Leaves socks from Interweave Press's Favorite Socks. They're gorgeous! I'm using Claudia's Handpainted in Pink Posey. Mmmm, I've found another favorite sock yarn. Claudia's is a yummy yarn, very similar to Koigu.

I started this sock Saturday night and finished it yesterday afternoon. Cast on for its mate last night. This pattern moves fast! (I like fast.)

There's a Knit-Out this weekend in Brookdale and I want to have these finished for that.

Other socks I'd like to finish this month:

Hubby's socks (one sock down, the other one is well into the leg.)
Mother-in-law's socks (I HATE the yarn I'm using and will probably buy new yarn for them.)
A pair each for my sons. (I think it's high time I made them some.)

That should be a good start! ;)

More Monkeys!

Pair #4! Hey, you can never have too many handknitted socks, no matter what pattern they are!

Details:

Pattern: Monkey, Cookie A, Knitty
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock, Autumn shades
Needles: Addi Turbos US1, 32" circular
Started: July-ish, 2007
Finished: September 26, 2007
Size: US 6.5-7
Modifications: Short-row heel and short-row toe

I literally finished these yesterday afternoon, slapped them on my feet, and went to work.

I've spent most of the morning (and early afternoon) putting stuff up on Ravelry. Damn, that's a cool site. I've got a lot more to add, but it can't all be done in one day, now can it?

WOOT!

I'm there! Look me up and add me to your friends!

My Ravelry name is myyarns.

My word, I can see what I'll be doing for, like, oh, the next few years.

Squee!!

Found you!

• You signed up on July 17, 2007
• You are #18177 on the list.
• 128 people are ahead of you in line.
• 18059 people are behind you in line.
• 49% of the list has been invited so far

See you all on Ravelry very soon!

Monkey Swap Revealed

I heard from my Monkey Swap Pal that she got the package I sent her today! That means I can show what I sent!


This was the view that greeted her when she opened the box.

I found this great monkey drawstring bag for her at Target. They had a bunch of monkey things!

Inside this bag was almost all of the goodies. (I put the pattern underneath the bag in the box so it wouldn't get folded or rumpled.)










And of course the "money shot" of everything!

A monkey stuffie, Cookie A's Thelonius sock pattern, monkey drawstring bag, "What Every Woman Should Do" book (this is so cute), Seacoast Handpainted Yarns Merino/Tencel sock yarn (color: Butte) in pastels and light brown, Schaefer Anne Merino/Mohair/Nylon sock yarn in berry and purple, a monkey dishcloth, monkey tape measure, Monkey socks, 5 little monkey themed magnets for her fridge, a monkey on a bike journal (for keeping track of all of those important knitting notes!), two monkey pencils, and the leftover yarn from her socks (just in case.)

Here's some individual shots of everything! (Click to make bigger.)













I had the MOST fun making and preparing everything for her package, and she emailed me the nicest thank you earlier.

Swaps are fun!

It Must Be Fall

You know how I can tell it's Fall?

a) it's getting cold
b) the leaves are starting to turn
c) my internal clock says to start watching Halloween
d) I start knitting Entrelac
e) all of the above

If you answered e, you win the booby prize!

Er, well that would be if I actually *had* a booby prize.

... Anyway ... If any of you dear readers were around last year, you already know of my obsession, er, fondness of knitting Entrelac (which is well documented here, here, here, and even here, too.) I can't help myself - it's hypnotizing in its "looks-really-hard-but-it's-really-simple" technique.

But that's neither here nor there. (Or wait, what the hell does that expression really mean? If something is, isn't it safe to assume it's somewhere, ie here or there? Hmm...)

The other day I was looking through some of my past finished objects and came across my Lady Eleanor, who appeared pretty rumpled. (I guess I'd be pretty rumpled, too, if I were folded up and stuck up on a shelf in a closet for almost a year. In fact, I'd be pretty pissed off.) So I blocked her. And laughed a little about it, too. Last year when I finished her, I'd decided not to block her because I liked the texture of the fabric. Yea, that's changed. While I still like the texture, I just thought she would look so much better (read: finished) if she was properly blocked. And she does!

What's the point of me droning about that you ask? Well, nothing really except it awoke the desire to knit entrelac again. See, Lady E is gigantic, ginormous, gihundo - in fact, she's all that and more. Not to mention dense. I'm what you would call petite, standing at 5'4". And my Lady E is, oh, maybe 7' long. (After blocking, you see. She wasn't quite that large before.) She kind of doesn't fit me anymore. And she's too thick and heavy to fold over and wear around my neck as a scarf. I mean, my neck is only so long. (To those who have made Lady Eleanor, how do you wear her?)


I had another skein of the yarn I used for my Monkey Sock Swap Pal's socks (plus two more on the way) and decided to knit a smaller and lighter weight Entrelac scarf. I'm enjoying the process just as much as last year!

This one will be almost as wide as Lady E, but no where near as thick. I'll probably stop when it hits 60" long before blocking, as I like medium to long scarves and I think I'll be able to get maybe 5 more inches when I block it.

Plus, I can double this one over and it will still fit!

Pattern: Based off of Lady Eleanor from Scarf Style
Yarn: Lana Grossa Mega Boots Stretch, color 707
Needles: Addi Turbos US 5, 32" circular
Started: September 18, 2007
Modifications: one less base triangle, 10 stitches per square


And a shot of the whole thing, so far.

____

Omgoodness, I have to mention this.

My song for the day today is
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite - Eddie Izzard, from the Across the Universe Soundtrack.

I loved The Beatles' original, but this one is just hilarious.

To quote: "... and of course, Henry the Horse is gonna do the waltz! Oh, you've gotta see it. It's genious! I mean, she's brilliant, she does this stuff... and movement, it's waltz. Horses, how do they do that stuff? You gotta give 'em sugar, you know? And she's called Henry, and it's a lot of explanation, but don't worry about it, kids, ok? Just tune in, turn off, drop out, drop in, switch off, switch on, and explode."

Seriously, check the song out. Eddie Izzard's commentary between the lyrics is fantastic.

Monkeys & a Woodin

I finished the socks for my Monkey Swap Pal!

Pattern: Monkey, Cookie A, Knitty
Yarn: Meilenweit Lana Grossa Mega Boots Stretch, color 707
Needles: Addi Turbos, US 2, 32" circular
Started: September 5, 2007
Finished: September 13, 2007
Dimensions: can't tell - she might read this!
Modifications: short row heel and toe

I really like how these turned out. The one on the right was the 2nd sock and I like it's color line up better, but oh well. I have to stop being so anal about my knitting, including how stripes line up on socks. Sometimes it's ok if they're fraternal. (Please tell me it's really ok?)

The colors in this yarn appealed to me so much that I ordered another ball for myself. Hee hee ;)

I've been gathering goodies and monkey-related items to send along with the socks and I'm almost ready to send her package out. Can't wait till she gets it!

Yesterday I saw the new Knitty was up. OMG, there are a few things this time I am going to make. Muir is gorgeous, and I think it would be pretty in a delicately colored yarn. Cherie Amour made my jaw drop. I so badly want to buy yarn for this right now, but good sense tells me to press on through my WIPs to dwindle them down first. But seriously, it's a sexy and flattering design! Totally Autumn intrigues me, but I'm actually thinking of doing it in laceweight and making a large stole out of the pattern. We'll see. The Diamond Waffle Socks I think would be perfect for my hubby as dressier socks to wear to work. (Let me know what you think on that one, babe, ok?)

Last but not least, the Woodins! SO CUTE.

And um, made.


I couldn't resist.

Pattern: Woodins, Anna Hrachovec, Knitty
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Angora, white
Needles: Addi Turbos US5, 32" circular
Started: September 13, 2007
Finished: September 13, 2007
Modifications: *edited to add* I didn't felt mine like the pattern called for. I simply brushed it to bring out the fuzz in the angora.

Last night when I finished, I showed my hubby and older son. My son thought it was adorable, hubby just looked at it, then me, like, "Wha??"

T asked hubby why he didn't like it. I said, "Because your dad can't understand the simple pleasure of knitting something pointless just because it's cute and it makes you feel better." Hubs giggled.

This one's for me, but both my boys have asked for one. T wants a green one with a yellow tail, and C wants a red one with a purple tail.

Well, that's all for today. I haven't blogged regularly lately (sorry.) Hopefully now that the initial first week of school rush is over I can get back to it.

Just So You Know

The Across the Universe Soundtrack album that just came out?

So. Good.

Can't wait to see the movie!

Exuberance, Thy Name is Socks

A sock sandwich!

There's a lot of knitting going on around here.
There's a lot of sock knitting going on around here, too.

Top to bottom:
- Monkeys for my Monkey Swap Pal
- Vanillas for my mother-in-law
- Monkeys for me
- Jaywalkers for me (but I'm thinking these may be headed to the frog pond)
- Wide Ribs for hubby

They're all in various stages of progression. The closest ones to being done are the Monkeys for me - just need to do the toe then start the other one.

Good grief, I just realized these are all socks 1 of 2 in the pairs. So lots more sock knitting for me.

And here's a shot to see them all.

I still love knitting the Monkey socks. (Thank goodness, since I have two pairs going right now.) It's a pattern I have long since memorized and can knit anywhere.

The Jaywalkers in shades of green... eh. I love the first pair of Jaywalkers I knit (and wear them often), but I'm just not feeling these. I started them quite a while back and knitting has stagnated. I think I'll frog them and find another pattern for these colors.

Hubby's socks came about because he's been bothering hinting at me for another pair. I bought the yarn over the weekend and cast on Monday night when we got home. These babies are flying, which makes hubby very happy.

MIL's socks are actually a 2nd incarnation. I was knitting a mock cable design, two at a time, but hated the pattern and it didn't look like they were going to fit. So I frogged them both and started over with just a Vanilla, one at a time. Now these, too, should go pretty quickly. I hope she likes them.

My other projects are probably feeling quite rejected. I'll bet they're planning a coup as I'm typing this.

---

On the school front, everything went great for both boys on their first couple of days. T loves 3rd grade and says his teacher is very nice. He's most excited about the brand new playground that the school built this summer. I drove past it - it looks like one heck of a good time!

C adores Kindergarten and came home yesterday full of smiles and stories about his day.

I'm enjoying my free time immensely. Who wouldn't?

First Day of School!

I love the First Day of School.

T boarded the bus a little while ago for his first day of 3rd grade. (Man I can't believe how big that child has gotten.)

And C goes for an hour orientation this afternoon and will begin his first day of Kindergarten tomorrow.

Ahhhh, Summer. You were fun while you lasted, but here's a big BUH BYE to you.

First Day of School! First Day of School! First Day of School!

Um, can you tell I'm a little bit excited?

Four Years

Four years ago I married the most wonderful man on earth.

Happy Anniversary, J!