January Roundup

It's that time of month again. You know, a couple of days into the new month when I realize that I never did the previous month's roundup. So, here it is.

I finished:

--A camera bag for DD#2 who can already take better pictures than me (not that that's hard to achieve.)

--Three thorpe hats--2 are plain and 1 is fairisle. These are for charity and were mostly knit on "Knit for Others" Sundays.

Four more toddler charity hats as I couldn't get too much of the hats and kept using up the stash. (Can I see a dent in what's left? Not really. The space was taken up by several eBay purchases.)

I was on a fairisle kick as I finished a hat for DS#1, just in time for his snowboarding trip. (Literally. I put the pompom on about 2 hours before he left. Good thing I could still attach the pompom or I might not have made it.)

Pieces worked on this month include a couple of squares, several fish, and a piece of my first handspun sweater.

And one more hat was done, using the yarn I just spun.




Happy Birthday Janice! Hopefully it looks better as your hat than as my dreadlocks.

Snow day

We've finally had our first snow of the year. Yesterday we got a couple of inches--the worst being right when I was driving to work. I saw 5 accidents on a 20 minute drive. The schools were closed early and the drive was much better on the way home. (Plus, it was a nice, quiet day at work--always a bonus.)

Today, I was scheduled to go on a field trip with DS#2. I got up on time, obsessively checked the news and the internet for our school's closing, but there was none. Sigh, jumped into the shower and got completely soaked just in time to learn that the schools were closed. Went back to bed, and got up with a real doozy of a bedhead.

For the rest of the day I basically did some knitting and some watching of TV (We have a DVD of the Gilmore Girls that we've been going through--good knitting TV).

What I've been knitting is a hat. (And I won't even ask if you're surprised.)

This time it's different, though, it's a ski hat for DS#1. He's picked out the pattern and the yarn, preferring wool over acrylic (ah....brainwashing is beginning to work.)

I had him search through Ravelry to find a pattern available on the net, and he found this one. It's knit from the bottom up, but since I didn't know if I have enough green, I've been knitting from the top down. I've been knitting it like this, inside out, to give more stretch to the floats.



Here's what the right side looks like:



The only problem ( and I say that like it's not a big problem), is that it's too small. He thinks it might work, but I think I need to go up a needle size (for the second time, I started with 7s, ripped out and did this with 8s. Now I'll try again with 9s.) I'm pretty sure I'll have enough green yarn, so I think I'll do this version from the bottom up.

Third time's a charm?

-----------------

I've bought more yarn on eBay. This is Laines du Nord Maxi washable wool in a lovely bubblegum pink.



I bought it at the time with no plan for it. Just a couple of days after it arrived, I knew what it was for.



A couple of squares to be part of an afghan being put together by Elizabeth for Alison, who's really sick. We're hoping that this blanket will "Wrap her up in comfort" and let know how special she is.

Sending some "hugs and kisses" and lots of "love"!

Some fish

I've been in the yarn buying mood lately without wanting to spend much money. My solution? Buy on eBay. I've been only bidding on items that have a low list price and I haven't gotten into a bidding war (at least, yet). And I don't bid against other bidders. Since I'm not needing that specific yarn per se, I try to get it as cheaply as I can.

This is one of those purchases--5 skeins of Encore Colorspun. It's just like the yarn I used previously for a baby blanket, but it's worsted weight rather than DK. The colorway is just the same, though, so I see another baby blanket in the future.



I've also been knitting fish. I bookmarked this pattern for the tesselating fish afghan a couple of years ago, but have just started to make them. Here's a post of what a completed blanket should look like. They're rather addicting, take only about 20 yards per fish, and make up extremely quickly.



I'm not sure I'll do an afghan, but a tesselating fish scarf would be pretty cool.

What do you think?

In the last couple of days I've been spinning some yarn out of the roving that I got from MDSW '08. Remember this?



It has now become this.



It's very bumpy and I'm not sure how it will knit up. Spinning is not just like riding a bicycle, but rather has a bit of a learning curve every time. Hopefully it will knit up fine in all it's handspun unique-ness.

DS#1 seems to think that it would make good dredlocks.



What do you think?

Blogversary

I totally missed my blogversary which was (wait while I do the math. 366 because it was leap year - 353 = 13)

13 days ago.

I've been writing a blog for four years and this was my first knitted item to make the blog.



Thanks for hanging in with me!

Sunday's Knit for Others

Oh, look, it's a hat!




How unusual.

There's is, however, something usual about this picture. Any guesses?

Again with the hats

I decided to spend my Knitting for Others time this week on a hat. Surprised?

It's a good way to use up oddballs of yarn, and that was my goal for the day. However, it seems like a little toddler hat shouldn't have so many ends.



Then, I didn't stop until today, when I realized that I had made three.



The oddball stash has been depleted and the hat stash has grown.

Forcing myself to move on.....

I finally started the Cobblestone pullover that I've been planning. I started spinning the yarn a year ago and finally got up enough courage to start the knitting. I quickly found out that the yarn is a bulky weight and not a worsted, which is what I hoped for.

I've started the pattern over twice now, each time going up a needle size and going down on the number of stitches. I started out using a smaller amount of stitches than the smallest size and then went down some more.

The result is still quite a lot bigger than a form fitting sweater,



But just a bit smaller than my heavy, use-as-a-coat, hoodie.



Since it's still hurting my hands, I'll size down the stitches and size up the needles once again. Maybe this time will be a keeper.

Hats

Finally, I have finished a couple, or three, projects that have been laying around. (Or have they been "lying" around? I'm gonna go with the laying. Anyway, they're not sleeping but just taking up space.)

These two hats were knitted on the Miami trip, in the airplane and at the hotel. However, I had that pesky finishing to do so there they sat.



Then, DS watched U of Miami play in a bowl game so I kept him company and knit an orange and green hat for old times sake. (He claims we were watching the Emerald Nuts Bowl, while I think it was the Frost Bowl. He claims there wasn't such a thing. Who to believe? Someone who was actually watching the game and routing for his alma mater? Or someone just sitting in the room but knitting with the team colors? You be the judge.)



Anyway, this attempt at fair isle turned out pretty well, for me. The same pattern was followed for all three hats. I used size 9 needles and Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride yarn. I tried to hold a color in each hand while fair isle-ing, but when my hands cramped up I switched back to both yarn in the left. I think the best hint I followed was to knit the hat inside out so as to have not-as-tight floats. It seems to have worked well and is a nice warm hat. (They all go into my charity stash and I did the finishing on last Sunday so I covered the "Knit for Others" for the week.) (... I just shouted, "I'm not done!" as I walked away from the computer to find my pattern... These pesky kids.....)
Pattern is Thorpe which lists both the plain and fairisle versions.

And here's a quick look at my new shoes. They're Sketchers (I had to specifically ask DD#1 if they were okay for me--I don't want to look like a teenage-wannabe. She approved them.).



Their main purpose? To show off my socks.

(Okay! Your turn for the computer!)

First FO of 2009

Here's my first FO of 2009. It's a camera bag for DD#2's new camera that, if you can see around the blinding reflection, is blue.



So, she chose a blue themed sock yarn to make a matching camera bag. (For me to make, not for her to make. I'll talk her into sock yarn one of these days, but so far she's avoided it.)

The yarn is Trekking XXL, leftover from a pair of socks using size 1 needles and knitted on 44 sts (20 down each side and 4 on each end. Wait. That's 48 sts. Okay, I can't count. Moving on.)



That's it for now. (I have a couple of finishings to do and then it will look like more. They were mostly done in 2008 but if they're finished in 2009 then they count for 2009.)(Because I said so.)(Which somehow reminded me that school starts back tomorrow and we all get back into a normal routine. Which is good. Except for waking up crazy early. Which is bad.)

Calendars

Out with the old. (But not totally out. I'll be saving this and doing more patterns as time goes by.)



In with the new. (But not before today. The shrink wrap actually came off today. When I was allowed.)



Happy New Year!

2008 roundup

Here's where my monthly roundups come in handy. I was able to look back and add up all that I've knitted this year. Here's my list:

6 pairs of adult socks
3 scarves
4 pairs of baby booties
2 shrug
1 shawl
2 baby afghans
3 adult sweaters
11 dishcloths
1 camera bag
1 pair of mittens
a bunch of chair socks
1 hat

I also made a bunch of toddler stuff for charity:
15 pairs of socks
3 vests
8 sweaters
9 pairs of mittens
9 hats


My trend is to make lots of smaller stuff and not as much larger stuff. I don't see that changing in '09, either (blame my short attention span.) However, I'm tossing around the idea of making an afghan for me, which definitely won't be small.

My goals for '09:

1. I'm going to try steeking. (I'm already feeling the anxiety). I might do a teddy bear sized sweater to attempt the steeking without having to do all the fair isle knitting that a larger sweater would require.

2. I will finish that sweater made with my handspun yarn. (after I start it, of course.)

3. I will knit enough from my stash that my yarn will fit in the four bins that I have. (Rather than in the four bins plus those bags over there. Oh, yeah, and that bag over there.... It's not like I have 20 bins worth, or anything, so I should be able to achieve this goal.)(Wait, I only have 3 bins. One is for roving.)(Does that mean that I can now buy another bin?)

4. I will try to knit for others at least once a week, aiming for Sundays (but it's okay if it's another day.)

That's good enough.

Happy New Year!

December roundup

Here it is, the last day of December. My, how time flies.

I didn't go overboard on knitted Christmas gifts, and they were done ten days early. And I didn't add any on at the last minute. These are the socks that I haven't shown to you yet, for my friend with the tiny feet!



Patons Kroy yarn, size 1 needles(which worked much better than 2s). Basic pattern, but with a short row heel and a star toe.

I'm making an attempt to set aside Sundays to do some charity knitting, and as a result I did four hats and a vest. (If I wanted to go now and hide some ends, I'd have a couple more hats. Instead, I'll put them on next year's count so it looks like I've been knitting really quickly in '09.)

A pair of moc-a-socs for a niece to be born in March.

Three dishcloths.




Also, I've worn out (and thrown away) the first dishcloth that I've made for me (and used).

A pair of Kroy socks for me! (And a partridge in a pear tree).

Opportunity was there, knitting was missing

I had two appointments today: the eye doctor and the dentist.

Last Tuesday I managed to poke myself in the eye and lose my contact. It's taken until now to get an appt. and then will take another week for the contacts to arrive. In the meantime I've been wearing my regular glasses. Uggh. Sometimes I double layer them with my reading glasses, and sometimes I double layer them with my sunglasses. Sometime I have my glasses on my nose and my reading glasses on the top of my head. It's an attractive look. Especially when I'm at work.

I went straight from the eye doctor to the dentist. I was informed that the dentist was running 45 min. to an hour late and I could reschedule if I chose. Forget it! It's way more trouble to reschedule the appt. (and then remember to go) than to just sit there for another hour.

Which I did.

Except....

I managed to forget my knitting at home.

Both places had uninteresting magazines from at least six months ago. One place had a Time magazine that I read the last time I was there.

(The last time I was at the dentist's, I was told I'm grinding my teeth. I totally denied that I was doing that. However, in the next few days I've discovered that in fact, I am. Not while sleeping. Not while under stress. But, I find myself singing a song in my head and grinding my teeth in rhythm. Seriously? How weird is that? Is this just another way I've found to fidget--this time with my teeth? Is this what happens when I don't have my knitting around?)

Two things this has taught me:
1. Knitting will save my sanity and my teeth!
2. Always keep some spare knitting in the car!

And how was your day?

Who?

Nov. 17:

Remember this? This was a Christmas present for my brother.

It unrolls to something very long.

15 feet, to be exact.

Did anyone guess that it was a Doctor Who scarf? Doctor Who is a British science fiction series that has been going on for at least 18 seasons. There are different versions of the scarf that the Doctor wears, but this is from season 12.

I followed along on the pattern, trying to buy the correct colors (almost everything is Vanna's Choice yarn. See my Ravelry entry for more details.) This was started on Oct. 21 and finished on Nov. 17. Not too bad!

However, I made one really big mistake. The pattern calls for doing the colors by the number of ROWS, and somehow I read that to be the number of RIDGES. I was sure I was right, but somehow I was wrong. Anyway, this meant that the stripes are each TWICE AS LONG as they were supposed to be.

When it's 15 feet long, there's no such thing as a do-over!

Dec. 26:

My brother almost guessed what this was. First, it was a "hmm....I wonder what this is.....", then he rolled it out and put it on. He thought it reminded him of a scarf that Doctor Who wears. That's guessing very well after not having any idea of what it was! (I won't hold my breath that he wears it, but it might be handy in a snowstorm!)

Our recent trip

This will be mostly a non-knitting blog post, as I catch ya'll up on what I've been doing.

First, work. At a retail store. During December and before Christmas. When several people have either quit or been let go. 'Nuf said?

Next, we took a trip to Miami.

Our main stop was here:



To see this:



If you look closely, you can see DS#1 on the big screen, shaking hands with Donna Shalala, the president of UM, congratulating him on his GRADUATION!



Phew!

Even though he has that professional baseball career, he still has a slightly panicked, "gee, what's next in life" look to his eyes. Plus the whole "I'm glad finals are finally over so I can catch up on sleep" look around the edges.

How many campuses have palm trees growing? (Probably a lot in the south, but it's new to me.)





While in Florida, we decided to take a trip to Key West. Here we are at the buoy that designates the southernmost point of the continental U.S. (Take a close look-- DD#1 and DH are in this picture--they don't show up very often as one is camera shy and the other is never home.)



We went to Mile 0 of route 1, which starts the highway which goes up to Canada, I believe. (Not completely sure, but I think so.)



We spent some time at the beach where DH took some cool photos. Here's one:



The weather was overcast and breezy for most of the time. However, it still didn't seem like mid-December. It just didn't seem right looking at Christmas decorations while we had flip flops on. It was a shock to arrive back home in 30 degree weather, with the temperature in the teens this morning. It is Christmas time, after all.

(I guess it's a totally non-knitting post. I'll save the knitting photos, such as they are, for the next one.)

Announcement

Just a brief Announcement (with a capital "A").

The knitted Christmas presents are done.

You may go back to your normal activities now (and I'll try not to add any last minute items.)

Continue on.

Kntting for others: Two hats

In effort to continue my "Sunday knitting for others" for more than one week, I worked on a hat yesterday. And started another. And finished it today.



I'm using up my White Buffalo stash (yarn brand, not fiber). Both hats are 48 sts, 3x3 ribbing, knit until it has a big cuff, decrease using smaller needles (Note to self: Must buy larger dpns).

There is only one wheel of teal White Buffalo left, so I think I'm going to leave that alone and start something else.

Hmmm...what to knit, what to knit.

Birthday Spoils

Just thought you'd like a peak at what I got for my birthday this year from the people that know me the best.



An expresso machine and some chocolate (yes, I haven't eaten it yet. Maybe tonight. I have to plan these things out.) It's taken me two days to take the picture since the expresso machine always needs to be cleaned. I'm getting good use out of it already.

Also, the new 2009 page-per-day calendar from the Yarn Harlot. (I haven't opened that either. I've been good. And DD#2 has been guarding it since she thinks I should read it one day at a time like it's designed. We'll see. She has to go to bed sometime.)

I also received 3 more penguins for my penguin collection. We've named them Happy, Confused, and Slim.



DH and I both happened to have the day off so we went to the mall in an attempt to go Christmas shopping. We didn't get much accomplished but we did have a nice lunch. And we made it back home in time for the school buses. The kids made me cake and we got takeout for supper. The evening was spent knitting and watching TV. Ahhh....what a nice day.

And here's a Shout Out to my twin cousin--Happy Happy Birthday!

Knitting for others

I've been tossing around an idea of making Sundays in 2009 a day of knitting for others. I tend to do a reasonable amount of charity knitting anyway, but I thought it would be interesting to concentrate on doing it on a specific day each week.

So, I decided to try it out last week. I spun a bit more homespun to finish the hat, so last Sunday it was spun, washed, and dried and I finished this hat.



52 sts, size 9 needles. 1x1 rib, just enough homespun to finish it.

The problem I had, though, is stopping.

I then cast on for this hat:



White Buffalo 3 ply unspun brown mixed with rust sock weight. 48 sts, 1x1 rib, size 11 needles.

And then, there's the vest (this was not done all on Sunday. The vest was just finished today).



White Buffalo 3 ply unspun brown mixed with white handspun (not mine). Normal "What's in my pocket" vest pattern, size 4 (that looks much larger), size 11 needles.

Not that it's a problem continuing my charity knitting throughout the week (I already have tomorrow's charity knitting picked out). It's just I can't seem to stop.

Anyone want to join me in 2009?

You Nork Mets

Look what came in the mail:



Sock yarn from Knitivity. The color is called You Nork Mets. How cool is that?

I wasted no time in winding it into a center pull ball.



The next day, I knitted it up.

Usually when I buy a skein of yarn, I buy it with a pair of socks in mind. After the socks are knitted, I have leftover yardage that I use here and there as the mood hits.

This time, I used the leftover bits first.




Little baby booties with Mets socks attached.

Pattern: Baby Moc-a-Soc from Bekah Knits, following the pattern as written. I had the Moc part already made up in Baby Ull so when I was ready to make the Soc part, it was a quick knit.

This is going to the soon-to-be newest Mets fan (aka nephew due in March).

Now....what to do with the rest of the yarn?