Hmmmmmmm . . .

Would you believe all of this . . .

is destined to become this?

Something Red for Tess

I have been reading Tess of the D'Urbervilles, which is this month's selection for the Knit the Classics KAL. The knitting project evolved into a "something red for Tess" KAL. Well I haven't had any inspiration for what to knit (however, I can find plenty of references to "red" in Hardy's book!) until tonight's trip to Barnes and Noble and my page through of Luxury Knitting. So, in honor of Tess, I'll be knitting the Barely There Wrap. Mrs. Dalloway is January's selection, I am hoping that something I am already planning to knit will emerge as a wonderful project for that one!
I love when knitting and literature merge in my life!

Please Mr. Postman!

I am patiently awaiting the kit I ordered to knit the Color on Color Scarf from the Scarf Style book. It was shipped out on the 23rd from Minnesota, so I guess it is too much to ask for UPS to knock on my door today. I hope sometime before New Year's Eve!

Santa's on His Way!

Wishing you a wonderful Christmas! I hope Santa brings you all the yarn you want!

This was posted on the Who Wouldn't Want a Hand Knitted Gift Knit Along Blog by a fellow knitter;0)

What to Knit Next?!

With Christmas only a few days away, and New Year's not far behind, all the Christmas knitting which has any chance of being finished, is in fact finished, I found myself making yet another list---things I want to knit in 2006:
1. Nicky Epstein Floral Purse--I adore this felted thing!
2. Color on Color Scarf--I am crazy for this scarf, and like the way it is worked.
3. Weekend Get Away Satchel--love, love, love this . . .
4. Yoga socks--these are so darn cute!
5. Neckwarmer--I have this yummy alpaca which I think would make a beautiful warmer. . .
6. Skully--I need to continue my recent skull obsession, initiated by Yorick!
7. Skull totes--need I say more?
8. Bulky Sweater for my darling--Valentine's Day gift . . . xoxoxox
9. Bobblelicious--my friend's birthday gift!
Now mind you, this is what I came up with today . . . no telling what will get added as we ring in the New Year! Next step--ask Santa for more yarn!

Branching Out Scarf

The infamous Knitty Branching Out has been finished for a while now, but I just blocked it this weekend. This scarf is for my son's teacher. I used a mohair blend which I bought at my crazy yarn shop; it sat in my stash for a while before it became this scarf. It looks beautiful now that it is blocked and we are hoping she adores it!

Merry Christmas!

If I were sending Christmas cards (which I am not!), this would be the front of the card you would receive! Not only are these my two angels, but they are sporting the Lopi sweaters I made for them at the beginning of the year. The inside of your card would read . . .
Wishing you 365 delightful days, 12 wonderful months and 1 glorious new year! Merry Christmas!

Noro Scarf

Joining the Who Wouldn’t Want a Knitted Gift KAL has had many benefits: it has kept my holiday gift knitting on track (sort of) and it has also given me many ideas for gifts! I had some Noro in my stash (I actually am starting to worry about my depleting stash!!!) so I thought I would start the Magic Scarf. The pattern provides for making 10 row blocks of stockinette/reverse stockinette, so it appears like a checkerboard. Noro is perfect for this pattern: Cast on 26 stitches/size 8 needles and knit 3 rows of garter stitch. I maintained a 3 stitch border at the beginning and end of teach row. And then: Knit 5 stitches; Purl 5; Knit 5; Purl 5. Repeat for ten rows. On row 11, begin the row with PURL 5; then knit 5; purl 5; knit 5. Repeat for ten rows. Go back to knit 5, purl 5. Knit 5, purl 5 for ten rows. Repeat for the length of the scarf, finishing with 3 rows of garter stitch.

Ballet Shrug

My daughter is a dancer, and as she was getting ready for class tonight, I remembered that it was a year ago I made her this shrug. This is the first pattern I created myself, after looking at various shrupg patterns. I used Pattons Allure (curly yarn) and Divine Fuzzy yarn). The pattern is based on 19.5 inch arm length + 14 inches across the back. Adjustments can be easily made for a smaller or larger shrug~
Cuff: On size 10 needles . . . cast on 22, and K1, P1 for 2 inches. The cuff will be approximately 7.5 inches wide.
First Sleeve: Change to size 13 needles, and with both yarns, knit for a total length of 16 inches, not including cuff. Mark end of sleeve with a pin.
Back: Increase 1 stitch each side next row; Purl 1 row; increase 1 stitch each side; knit until back measures desired length, in this case 15 inches. Mark with a a pin.
Other Sleeve: Decrease 1 stitch each side next row; Purl; Decrease 1 stitch each side, and knit until sleeve measures same length as first.
2nd Cuff: Change to size 10 needles and K1, P1 for 2 inches. Cast off, and sew sleeves to pin markers.

Potato Chip Scarf

While surfing the net, in search of yet some more yarn, I find the pattern and photo of the Potato Chip Scarf! I read the pattern quickly, and thought, only 7 rows, I can knock this out in a flash. After casting on, and reading the fine print, I discovered that you start with 90 stitches, but this doubles every other row. Soooooo, in case you ever wondered: 720 stitches take an awfully long time to take off your needles!
The yarn is acrylic from Target at 25 cents a skein---believe it or not, I wouldn't buy it when it was a dollar a skein, but I bought 8 skeins when it was a quarter! I had no ideas what I would do with it, but it is a fun little yarn for a scarf like this--this is supposed to be for my daughter's best friend, but I have a funny feeling she may keep it for herself, and I'll be binding off another set of 720 stitches of 25 cent yarn!

Bear-y Special

This is my first attempt at a stuffed something, and I have decided that cute as all these bears, rabbits, aliens and other pal like creatures are, it is all about the finishing, of which I am not that fond of or good at! I read about The Mother Bear Project on a website, and decided to order the pattern and knit one in the midst of all my other Christmas knitting. As I knitted his grey pants, this idea occurred to me: I will knit each of my children one of these cute bears--I am wrapping an addressed envelope and the requisite $3 and tag . . . and then I am printing little instructions, from Santa & Mrs. Claus, directing them to sign their tag, put their bear in the envelope and send it off to The Mother Bear Project knowing they have done something very nice for someone else. I knit, they give . . . others receive: ho, ho, ho!

Laptop Case . . . NOT!

I started knitting a laptop case to felt and give as a Christmas gift way back in September . . . and then I put it aside and got busy knitting other things. Last night I dug it out, only to find I had about 10 more rows and then it would be finished! I knitted, finished and felted it . . . right down to this. It was supposed to be 12" x 10" and it felted to 9.5" x 7."
Soooo . . . it is NOT destined to be a laptop case. But a little purple ribbon closure, to match the purple stripe, and I guess it will do for a clutch, or yet another rendition of the stash bag!
In non-knitting news . . . it snowed 10 inches here last night!

My Secret Pal

The Holiday Secret Pal round has ended, and this is what I came home to this evening---a huge box of goodies from Sheryl who lives in Wisconsin! I should have photographed how beautiful everything looked BEFORE I tore open all the packages! Each and every thing in this box was a complete delight, from the Alterknits book (I am squealing with glee!) to the "Yarn is Love" pencil! The chocolates, snowman candle, tablets, skein of noro and the 3 (yes, count them) classic books (none of which I have read!), along with the ornament, made my day. She also included silly putty, I am sure, for my children and this fabulous butterfly bookmark! Sheryl has been a wonderful Pal, but I think she must be a simply wonderful person! I am so happy to have had this opportunity to get to know her via our emails and have so much fun throughout the month! Coming home to a "care package" like this is a really special moment!

Lace and Agate

I love this pattern, and I love this yarn--I am going to love this scarf, when I finish it! The pattern is the simple razor shell lace pattern . . . cast on multiples of 10 + 1 more and then:
row 1 (wrong side): purl row 2: K1, yo, K3, sl1-K2-po, K3, yo, K1

The yarn is Blue Sky Alpaca in that pretty pink. At the ends, I plan to hand some agate beads. This might be a keeper, as opposed to a gift!

ps: It didn't snow a flake last night!

Stash Bag #2, Tess & Snow

I had no idea that Lopi felted soooooooo nicely but so furry that it needed a haircut! Good to know as I plan other felting projects: lopi’s fuzzy. This is Stash Bag #2, another Christmas gift ready for a zipper and then ready to be wrapped!
They are forecasting 4 inches of snow this evening---I am praying for snow so there will be no school tomorrow and I can stay home to knit and read!! I have joined The Knit the Classics kal, and December's selection Is Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Now what will this book inspire in the way of knitting?

Flora

This is Flora, a Knitty pattern that worked up in no time! The neckwarmer itself took me just a couple hours last night . . . that lovely flower occupied me most of this evening. That, in combination with attaching the flower, the button and matching the button hole----these were the hardest things about this project! I used yarn from my stash basket: two strands of a cotton wool blend and one strand of Blue Sky Alpaca. With only 3 rows to go on the flower, I ran out of the alpaca (the hazard of using stash stuff) so I added the purple. The button is the same one I used for my suri soccer sweater--2 in a pack! I am saving this for a Christmas gift, but I would love to wear it tomorrow!