Mission warm hat:

I have been on a knitting mission lately; to knit a very warm hat. You see, I'm going skiing in February in Colorado and the hat I currently wear is much too lightweight for the type of cold you endure while skiing. So I dug through the stash and found this yarn. And this pattern. To make it even more warm and to decrease the contact of itchy yarn with sensitive skin, I added a cashmerino lining.

I started the decreases and I don't really like them. :/ I also wish I would have started the wavy motif 6 rows earlier so that the hem didn't need to be attached halfway up the pattern. Erk. But I'm not going to re-do it. It will keep my head warm all the same. Strange things happen when you knit a pattern with a completely different gauge. Sometimes you don't guesstimate things correctly... ooooh well.
Doing the fair isle portion was fun though. I think I finally got the hang of using my left hand to carry the yarn. Stranding is pretty fun.

Ok, time to sleeeeep. We will tackle the decreases later. Good night!

Domestic Goddess.

Today I was a domestic goddess. I planted some flowers this morning to replace the one's I killed over Christmas break. Then I baked a pumpkin pie. I also started a new knitting project.

I have grand plans for this yarn. Can we say "warmest hat ever"???


Delicious pumpkin pie.

The pumpkin pie was for a Turducken party. So much good food!!! We stuffed our self silly while watching the football game. Fun stuff.

ETA: Yay for pretty flowers that I planted! Now let's not kill these... must remember to water...

Other's FOs

Eugenia finished her scarf today at lunch!

Yay Eugenia!

This scarf is her first FO ever and she completed it in record time! Darn those continental knitters... maybe they really do have needles of fire?

Mermaid Gloves

I finished the Mermaid Gloves just in time to go camping in Big Sur. They came in handy (haha) because it got pretty chilly at night!

Mermaid Gloves among the beautiful scenery.


How about a close-up? Notice the scarf? It's the first one I ever knit and I still wear it all the time!

During the camping trip, the Mermaid Gloves were well-used and got kind of dirty...

Takin' a bath.

Now they are dry, clean, and happy. Aaaaaand I love them.

Specs:
Yarn: Socks That Rock Lightweight Apple Valley Lane
Amount: 77grams
Pattern: Mermaid Gloves (using the Pomatomus Sock pattern and these and these and these and these for inspiration)
Needles: US0
Started: November 1st-ish, 2006
Finished: January 12th, 2007

Yay for cool pink gloves.

The first glove took awhile because I kept messing up the thumb gusset. But I figured it out and the next glove was a snap... after I deciphered how to make a mirror image of the Pomotomous lace pattern. Haha. Next up? Maybe the Urban Aran or something lace?

Knit Night II!

I hosted another knitting night this week. It was a lively crowd and we had fun! I taught Rosalind, how to knit... More knitting minions! Muhahahaha.

Go Rosalind go! Her hands are a blur she knits so fast!

Sarah blasted through a washcloth and was more than halfway done by the time she left.

Sugar'n'Cream Grandma's favorite.

And I made some dinner... it was actually really good! Mushroom pasta and prosciutto.

I'm so glad that more people are learning to love the craft that I love. Until next time!

I love pink

Knitting continues on my Mermaid Gloves.

Basking in the sun.

I flipped the chart for the second glove which involved figuring out what the mirror decrease of the k2togtbl (knit two together to the back loop) involves. Let me tell ya, it took a 1hr flight and some time away from the frustrating string loops to finally figure it out. BUT. I figured it out myself and, while it might not be perfect, it looks pretty darn close to the opposite of the k2togtbl to me.

For those interested (which may be few) this is what I figured out. K2togtbl slants to the left. So you'd think that you could just do a k2tog as the opposite, but that doesn't give the same "twisted look." In other words the decreased stitch looks too loose compared to the k1tbl, p1 ribbing. Plus, in order for the pattern to flow along the cool scallops in the Pomotomous pattern, the left stitch needs to be on top of the right stitch involved in the decrease. So. This is what I'm doing:

1. knit in pattern to the two stitches to be involved in the decrease
2. k1tbl
3. slip the next stitch to the right needle twisting it along the way (slip as if to purl to the back loop)
4. slip both needles back to the left needle without twisting (as if to purl)
5. pass the left stitch over the right stitch
6. slip remaining stitch back to right needle

Voila. One stitch decreased. It might be way too complicated and there is probably a simpler way. But I figured this out myself and it's working.

Now let's see if I can finish the second glove in one week. The first glove took a LONG time because I had to rip back substantial amounts of rows, multiple times. But this one is coming a long well. Happy Sunday!

A Christmas Review

Now that Christmas is past, I can reveal all the secret knitting I have been doing these past couple weeks. It was surprisingly easy to get all the knitting I wanted to do for the holidays. I even knit my sister some iP*d socks at the last minute (aka Christmas Eve Eve). Here are the goods:

Jason got some fingerless gloves to match his scarf from last year.

Eric got a hat made of warm alpaca that can fold up double to keep the ears toasty.

Kaylee and Paul got a vintage cloche and a scarf, both of my own design.

Lynn (Eric's sister) got a purple fuzzy scarf! So soft!

I didn't knit this, but my Mom got Berroco Ultra Silk for Christmas! Yummy!

Everyone seems to really enjoy their handmade gifts and I had a lot of fun making them! Speaking of handmade gifts, I received a few myself this Christmas. My sister made me super cute earrings and a shawl pin. Did I mention she was a metal working mastermind? Paul (my sister's fiancee) photographed a nautilus shell, developed, and framed a print for me. And my mom made me a cool bracelet out of glass and metal hoops... sorta like chainmail. I've got to get a picture of these things to share. There is just something really cool about handcrafted gifts! I love them!

Also, over the holiday break, I completed a Mermaid glove. I looooove it and I already have a good start on the second.

Photo courtesy of Jason. :)

One last thing:

Ooolala.

I got new glasses! Aren't I supah sexah?

P.S. I love my camera.

Flora.

Welcome back to SoCal... the flowers are blooming and it's 80C on January 2nd.

So. Strange.

Unfortunately, my hanging flowers expired due to lack of water while I was gone. Oooops.

Here's to a new year...

Happy New Year!

I'm so ready to start a new year... 2006 contains some painful moments and I'm optimistic that 2007 will be a year for renewal and happiness.

One small resolution for the new year is to update this little blog more regularly. Whether it's just a few words or a simple picture, I'd love to keep up more frequent entries here.

Hope everyone had an excellent holiday. I'll post more pictures of my visit home to PA soon. My new camera was well used. :)