Febru-Very

February was very:

 

Toothy…..

 

Knittymunchkin’s 1st Dentist Appointment!

 

Valentiney…..

 

Hand Knit Valentines for Knittymunchkin’s Prescchool Friends

 

• Pattern: Little Hearts by Teresa Fox (Ravelry link)
• Yarn: Random ancient Hot Pink wool from stash & Scraps of Valley Yarns Stockbridge in “Deep Red”
• Needles: Size 9, 32″ circs for Magic Loop
• Comments: These came out super cute!  I feel a little guilty because I had the fun of making them and Knittymunchkin really wasn’t that involved, but he had absolutely no interest in making valentines this year.  I had him stick stickers to the gift tags we attached and that was about all I could convince him to do.  I figure his class is getting pretty sick of my hand knits by now, but I did get a very sweet photo e-mail from one of his classmates’ moms telling me that her son had been hugging his heart all day.  Awww!  Gave the teacher the lone red heart and the kids all got dark pink.  I didn’t felt them because I didn’t have time, but maybe next time I’ll give it a try.

 

Swappy……

 

Back in September, I joined a swap group on Ravelry called Ewe LaLa Swap, mainly because the first swap they set up was one in which you swapped a handmade project bag and a ball of yarn and I was hoping to sort of force myself to learn to sew a project bag.  It didn’t come out too badly (I used this free pattern) and my partner seemed to really like it.

 

My First Handmade Project Bag

 
This year I did the January-February Box of Color Swap in which our partner picked a color theme and it was our job to make and send them items to fit this theme.  I amassed a big collection of stuff to send, which was really fun.  But the best part was making some handknits for my partner.  Her colors were a combination of red/orange/pink/ and a little dash of purple (here at design-seeds – which, by the way, is so much fun to browse!).  Of course I went a little heavy on the pink and purple!
 

Hogwarts Express

 

• Pattern: Hogwarts Express by Susan Ashcroft (Ravelry link)
• Yarn: Hazel Knits Artisan Sock  in “Blacklight”
• Needles: Size 6 circ
• Comments:  I love how this turned out!  One of the things I have always wanted to try, but have never gotten around to, is adding beads to my knitting.  It always seemed so intimidating, but I thought this would be the perfect way to try it out, as you only add beads to the “eyes” of the owls.  My swap partner loved all things owl, so this was the perfect choice.  It was a pretty speedy knit too, and I got to use some beautiful HK Artisan Sock from my stash.  The pattern was a little loosey-goosey for my taste and therefore a bit confusing for me at first, but I got it down eventually and this was a really pleasant knit.  I was actually tempted to make one for myself once I tried it on, but then reminded myself I don’t really “do” shawls (at least not yet) so it would just be silly to make one for myself.  The nice thing about swapping is getting to make things and then give them away!

 

I also made this for my swap partner:

 

Mosaic Pouch

 

• Pattern: Mosaic Knitted Pouches by Kate Sharaf (Ravelry link)
• Yarn: Noro Iro scraps in color #9 & random purple aran weight wool from stash
• Needles: Size 7 & Size 9
• Comments:  I am disgustingly pleased with myself for using random scrap stash yarn to make this.  It was a bit tedious to add the zipper and the lining and, in fact, getting up the resolve to do that portion of it took a lot longer than the actual knitting.  I had to seam one of the sides too and that kind of got me kerbobbled, until I actually did it.  And then I had to pat myself on the back for how easily I was able to match everything up.  Not too bad.  I hand sewed the lining and zipper in, figuring I could do a neater job by hand than with my machine.  I’m still a little zipper-phobic.  But it looked nice and it worked!  Bonus.  I almost (almost!) want to make some more of these….

 

Knit-Along-y:

 

Malabrigo Lace in “Continental”

 
On February 14th my friends Jess, Troy and I bravely began a laceweight sweater knitalong.  I’m knitting the Cloudette Cardigan with this lovely blue Malabrigo Laceweight that I have had in my stash for eons.  It’s actually going a lot faster than I’d expected, but I’ve had to put it down for a couple weeks because the purling is driving me bananas and I’ve been inadvertently pimped out to other knitting recipients by my Mom (more on that later).  I think I’m going to love this when I finally do finish it though!
 
And, as expected, March has come roaring in like the lion it’s supposed to be.  Meaning, I finally have an explanation for the bone-crushing weariness that has been plaguing me since November.  Yep.  I have a nasty little abscess hanging out next to my crown on tooth #30 and I gets to have me a big ole root canal on March 22.  Fun.  I hope this means I can expect March to go out like a lamb…..

 

The Glee of Three

The Birthday Boy!

 
My darling Knittymunchkin turned three on Saturday, February 2nd.  Yes, THREE.  Whoa!  Where did that time go?  I asked him if he was excited to be three when I wished him happy birthday that morning.  He said no, because when he’s big I won’t be able to hug him anymore.  Aw.  Such sweetness!  We took him to the Children’s Museum in Everett and then had a small birthday celebration with Nana and Papa (R. Darling’s side of the family) afterwards.  They spoiled him rotten.  All day long I thought to myself how far he’d come.  From arriving 5 weeks early, to spending a month in ICU, to being so small we were afraid to pick him up.  And then how he got stronger and started to coo and smile, then walk, and now run and talk a nonstop streak of chattery all day long.  My life is blessed because of this child and I am so very grateful to be able to experience the joy of just knowing him.  I hear the threes will be even more of a challenge than the twos (though the twos were not bad at all!), but I’m excited to see what kind of adventures Knittymunchkin’s new year will bring.
 
Knittymunchkin absolutely adores kittens and keeps asking if we can get one.  I wish we could, but R. Darling is severely allergic, so that’s not a possibility.  Instead, I decided to knit him a hypoallergenic one for his birthday.  I’d been working on it in secret for a week or so when, one day, he climbed on my lap as I was clicking through Ravelry.  When he saw this pattern in my queue he shouted out, “Make that for me Mommy!”  I secretly smiled to myself, knowing it was already in the works.  At the time he said he’d name his kitty “Carly” (no idea where that came from!) but of course he now just calls it “kitty”.  Maybe one day he’ll get a little more creative with the creature names.
 

Kitty Kate

 

• Pattern: Kate by Jess Hutchison (Ravelry link)
• Yarn: Caron Simply Soft Brites in “Limelight” & “Blue Mint” & Red Heart Soft Yarn Solids in “Tangerine”
• Needles: Size 6 circs for Magic Loop
• Comments:  This pattern has been in my queue since the dawn of time, and on my t0-knit-list way before Ravelry came along.  It was nice to have a good reason to knit and gift it.  Super cute, super easy, and a fun way to use up the acrylic I keep around for toys.  Knittymunchkin loved it and wouldn’t let it out of his hands long enough for me to photograph it.  I had to sneak it away while he napped one day.  I guess that means it’s a winner?

 
Happy Birthday Knittymunchkin!  I love you :)

 

Interested in Pinterestin’

I’ve been thinking about a few little home projects to do this year and while cruising the intrawebz I’ve noticed that I’ve been encountering lots of cool visual stuff on Pinterest and lots of talk about the site.  Usually I am a couple years behind the cool kids when it comes to tech stuff online like this.  It’s no different with Pinterest, since I’ve been hearing about it for a couple years now.  I don’t need a reason to up my online time (I’ve heard of those crazy Pinterest addictions that require full blown Pinterventions!), because I’m doing fine with less, but I have to admit a high level of curiosity.  I asked you all about Twitter and Facebook a few years back and I have to say…..meh. Nothing personal if you love these, they just aren’t for me.  I deleted my Twitter account after a month or so and rarely go to Facebook anymore.  But those of you who do the Pinterest thing – what do you think?  I’d love to hear the pros and cons if you want to share.  It seems like such a great source of inspiration for crafty peeps.
 
One of my goals for 2013 is to create a gift stash for myself that I can draw from if I want to give a hand knit to someone.  Maybe some of these will be actual gifts for occasions, maybe a lot of them will end up with charity groups, but either way I get to use up my stash and have the fun of knitting something that I know (hope) will get used and loved by someone.  My first finished project for 2013 is, incidentally, also my first hand knit for my gift stash.  Here it is!
 

Ciara’s Cowl

 

• Pattern: Ciara’s Cowl by Ailsa Daly (Ravelry link)
• Yarn: Trendsetter Yarns Tonalita in “Starry Night”
• Needles: Size 4 circulars, Magic Loop
• Comments:  This project may look lovely, but it was a miserable knit.  Originally intended as a Christmas gift for 2012, I had to put it aside in favor of something quicker because it was such a struggle to get through it.  The problem was not the pattern (which I do really like) but the yarn.  I’ve decided that I just don’t enjoy single ply yarns (at least the ones I’ve tried so far).  With all the p2togs in the pattern, I really had to keep close attention on my knitting so as not to split the yarn.  And any time I had to frog something it was a total bitch because the yarn was just so dang hairy.  Ugh.  This looks very unisex to me, as evidenced by R. Darling glancing over at my knitting now and then and commenting on how he liked the colors and the pattern.  Finding a guy who will wear a cowl is another matter entirely though.  This is now tucked away in my gift tub awaiting a good blocking, a “handmade with love” tag, and a special recipient.  It feels good to be prepared!

 
I’ve noticed a lot of little details out of date in the sidebars over there.  You know, that place you probably never look anyway, but which still bothers me by being inaccurate.  So there will be a few changes coming up over there in the next few weeks.  Look, or don’t look, whatever you like.  But I’ll feel better, in all my OCDness, knowing that everything is as it should be.

 

Christmas Blitz 2012 Wrap-Up

Whew.  I did a hella ton of Christmas knitting this year.  Well, for the Queen of “I-Don’t-Knit-For-Christmas” anyway.  I know it’s way past the fact now, but I haven’t shared any of those FO’s with you before now and I figure it would be nice to see some pretty knit pictures here on the blog, not just shots of my cutie son and my not-so-cutie face.  Warning, this post is project heavy, but I’ll try to keep the details to a dull roar.

Every year my husband makes an agreement with his Dad that only the kids will receive gifts. And every year his Dad’s girlfriend still buys us stuff. Usually we don’t worry about it too much because we don’t see them until January or February anyway and then it’s not quite so awkward to receive without gifting in return. But this year we went to see them on December 22 and I wanted to be prepared. Currently we are also despairingly broke, so everyone got hand knits whether they wanted to or not.  My friend Troy has this great attitude about his handknits.  He figures that once they leave his hands he doesn’t need to be sentimentally attached to them anymore.  If someone doesn’t appreciate it, gives it away, lets the dog sleep on it, or puts it in the dryer, he doesn’t get hurt.  Once he gifts it he’s done with it emotionally.  This year I strove to do the same.  Because I used stash yarns that weren’t being used anyway, it didn’t really break my heart to think someone might toss this into the closet and forget about it.  Realistically, it was doing the same thing here and there was just the smallest chance that my hand knit would end up with someone who would truly wear and enjoy it, whether or not it was the original recipient.  That’s more of a chance than it would have hanging out here in one of my rubbermaid tubs.  And besides, I got the fun of knitting it.

Without further ado…..  Christmas Knitting Blitz 2012 Show And Tell begins!

The Boys (my Father-In-Law & Brother-In-Law) received simple, but not plain, hats in black.  I really didn’t know what each of them would wear and figured it would be best to play it safe.  I used black yarn that had been in my stash since dinosaurs roamed the earth: Valley Yarns Berkshire.  This is a nice all purpose sort of yarn, a bit like Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride, but possibly softer.  I don’t know how it will wear because it is pretty fuzzy, but hopefully it will last a while even if it pills.  In retrospect, I wouldn’t choose a fuzzy yarn like this in the future for either of these patterns.  The design elements were sort of lost in that alpaca halo and would have been more crisp and well-defined with a plied yarn of some type I’m guessing.  Oh well.  Lesson learned, stash busted.  Moving on.

Berruti Hat

• Pattern: Berruti by Wendy Neal (Ravelry Link)
• Yarn: Valley Yarns Berkshire in Black
• Needle: Size 7 circ, worked with Magic Loop
• Comments: This is my second hat in this pattern and I still really like the way it looks, not to mention the fact that it’s a super quick knit without being stunningly boring.  I knit this on a size 7 to stay true to the pattern, but I think in the future when I use this yarn I wouldn’t use anything smaller than a size 8 needle.  It felt stiff and was a little hard to knit on needles that size.  Still like the finished product though & expect it will be warm.

Man Thing Hat

• Pattern: Man Thing by Justyna Lorkowska (Ravelry Link)
• Yarn: Valley Yarns Berkshire in Black
• Needle: Size 7 circ for ribbing, Size 8 circ for body, worked with Magic Loop
• Comments: Really liked this pattern and thought it made a very handsome hat.  Nice & stretchy, & perfect for the guys. The halo of the Berkshire didn’t swamp the design as much on this hat as it did on the Berruti, so pretty happy with how it turned out.

Another Stacked Eyelet Cowl

• Pattern: Stacked Eyelet Cowl by Ami Madison (Ravelry Link)
• Yarn: Rowan RYC Cashsoft DK in “Cream”
• Needle: Size 6 circ
• Comments: Second one of these for Christmas 2012.  I love this pattern and simply adore this yarn.  So sad they’ve discontinued it…. sniff sniff.  I was worried about this one because the upper edge was curling inside out before blocking, but luckily that curl blocked right out and it looked great afterwards.  Not as drapey as I would have liked, but still pretty in its own way.

Moko Moko Cowl

• Pattern: Moko-Moko Cowl by Olga Buraya-Kefelian (Ravelry Link)
• Yarn: Valley Yarns Stockbridge in “Deep Red”
• Needle: Size 7 needles
• Comments: I loved this pattern the moment I saw it. And when I realized I had enough stash to knit it, I bought it. Love the pattern & love the result – definitely making one for me eventually. This yarn is pretty nice & works well for this design I think. My only issue was that, despite having 327 yds of worsted yarn (the pattern calls for 330 yds) I was only able to knit 6 full repeats of the pattern. That means I was 2 repeats short! It still works as a cowl, but won’t drape over the shoulders like it shows in the pattern photos. Not sure if the yarn was mismarked, or what happened, but that was kind of a bummer.  I want one of these that’s a bit skinnier (and maybe longer) perhaps with some of the Bugga! I’ve been hoarding over the last couple years.

Deck The Balls

• Pattern: Deck The Balls by Kelly Jensen (Ravelry Link)
• Yarn: Assorted Sock Yarn Partials
• Needle: Size 2 needles, using Magic Loop
• Comments: So thrilled with how these turned out!  They were fairly quick, though owing to the slightly different weights of the fingering yarns I was using, I had to modify things a little to get the decreases at the top to fall in the right place.  But it really didn’t take long to rip back and finish again when I needed to do that.  I see a whole pile of these in my Christmas 2013 knitting future.  Fun!

Wow, that’s a lot of FOs to share!  And guess what’s totally nuts…..  I still have more to photograph and show you!  Not from Christmas, just from this year’s stash knitting so far.  It’s been kinda fun seeing what I can make with what I already have on hand.

What are you knitting this year so far?

 

Merry Chunkmas!

And Happy Winter Solstice too!

Today was always one of my Dad’s favorite days of the year.  Though the first official day of winter, my Dad made a point of focusing on the best part of this day, instead of the fact that there are several long months of cold ahead.  The Winter Solstice falls on the shortest day of the year and that means that from now on the days are getting longer.  Something special to hold onto when it seems like the dreary dark days of winter will never end.  I love that I have another occasion to remember my Dad and how special he was.  We always had Christmas together too, seeing as we were both complete and total Christmas freaks. I’ve been thinking about him now that it’s the holiday season and I miss him more than ever.

There’s been some intrawebs silence from me for a while because I have been on a freakishly frantic Christmas knitting blitz, the likes of which are rarely witnessed here at Chez Knittymuggins.  Many of you long time readers know that I don’t knit for Christmas.  After many failed attempts to engage my family members in the joy I feel gifting them handmade lovelies, I decided it wasn’t worth the trauma I was causing myself when my gifts were rejected.  But this year, with our budget in a state of crisis, I decided it was time to break out the needles.  I may not have cash, but I’ve got stash!

It actually started with preschool.  My son’s class has nine darling little kids in it (including Knittymunchkin) and I thought it would be sweet to gift them all something for Christmas.  Of course I decided this about 2 weeks before I had to have 9 things knit.  But such is the mania of Christmas knitting.  You figure you can rest on the 26th when all gifts have been delivered safely out of your hands.  I had originally planned to knit something for each of the mamas too, but that didn’t materialize when I realized it was about all I could do to knit for the kids & the teacher, and whatever else I had planned.  I chose the Monster Chunks pattern by Rebecca Danger & with a pile of brightly colored superwash wool gifted to me several years back by my sweet friend Kathy, I set to work.  What fun!  As I knit each little monster I tried to envision which child would like which combination best & each little creature took on its own personality.  I let Knittymunchkin pick out his favorite body (a red one) and then let him choose the color for the feet (purple).  I think he liked being involved in the creation process, though he was quite strenuously against gifting the rest to his preschool friends, saying “I no want to share with preschool friends!”  I used this opportunity to instruct him that Christmas is about giving & not getting, and then sneakily distributed these to his classmates in their cubbies so he wouldn’t have to deal with the sight of his little monsters being given away.  Counter productive?  Maybe.  But a meltdown was avoided and sometimes that matters just a little bit more.

Monster Chunks!

I also knit a little something for his sweet preschool teacher.  The Stacked Eyelet Cowl is probably one of the fastest gifts I’ve ever knit (in fact, I made another for gift giving this year, but more on that later).  I knit it with Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool which I’d bought at my LYS’ annual Stashbusting sale a couple years back.  It was my first time using this yarn and I really liked it, though I encountered at least 2 knots which never fails to disappoint me in a high end yarn.  I liked the yarn even more after blocking it, as it made the cowl drape quite nicely.  Interestingly, the silk in this doesn’t impart a sheen as I expected it would, it’s more tweedy like I imagine raw silk would be.  Also, I found it suprisingly itchy around my neck after a short amount of wear (but then again, my neck is a bit sensitive to wools).

Self Portrait!

Normally I have the unparalleled luxury of a personal photographer for my hand knits (thank you R. Darling!), so I have not perfected the blogger’s unique talent of photographing themselves successfully in a mirror.  As you can see, I need a lot more practice.  This is the result of at least 45 photos with closeups of my hair, my ear, or unrecognizable blue and red blobs.  Thank goodness for digital!

Hope your holiday knitting is going well too & your needles are ablaze with Christmas spirit!

 

The Candyman

Who can take a rainbow, wrap it in a sigh
Soak it in the sun and make a groovy lemon pie
The Candy Man, the Candy Man can
The Candy Man can ’cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good…..

 

The Candyman!

 
I can’t help but think of those lyrics when I look at my little guy in this hat.  He doesn’t typically like hats, but I saw this pattern and knew that the yarn my friend Jess sent me a few years back (which she suggested I use to knit Knittymunchkin a hat!) would be perfect for it.  It’s appropriately titled “Rainbow” and when I showed it to Knittymunchkin after I’d wound it into a cake, and asked him what he thought, he said, “Pretty!”  I knew it would be a winner from that moment on.  The pattern was super easy, though I was a bit intimidated by having to graft the top of it in three separate directions.  I have to toot my horn for a just a second here when I say that I think I did a pretty kick a$$ job grafting the top of this.  Good skillz to have for all those infinity scarves I plan on making come January when my Christmas knitting is all done.  I think it looks a little plain without the pom poms on top, but hubby nixed the pom pom idea, so I left them off.  More scraps for my sock yarn blanket I guess, so I still win ;)  Knittymunchkin wears this sometimes, but I think it’s mainly because he knows his mama knit it especially for him and that makes it special.  He still doesn’t like hats and usually rips it off, saying it’s itchy, after about 5 minutes.  But those 5 minutes sure make this mama happy!
 
Speaking of candy….  We took Knittymunchkin trick-0r-treating for the first time this Halloween.  He’d had a cold and missed preschool that day, but we decided to take him to the 4 or 5 houses in our neighborhood that belonged to people we’re friendly with.  He loved it!  It was really precious to watch him running ahead of us in his Elmo costume, swinging his trick-or-treat pail and telling us how much fun he was having.  Unfortunately, he takes after his mama and we have a bona fide candy freak on our hands now!  I swear he asks me for M&M’s every single day.  I suppose it could be worse.  At least he hasn’t discovered Dad’s vice yet – beer.  Although, since R. Darling started brewing beer himself I find Knittymunchkin in the kitchen sometimes and when I ask him what he’s doing, he says he’s brewing beer (!).  At least he likes (to pretend) to cook :)
 

Halloween 2012

 
So Elmo is probably not very PC these days, after all that has happened with his creator, but still.  We dressed him up like this before all the fallout occurred.  You have to admit, Knittymunchkin makes a pretty cute Elmo! Happy (very) belated Halloween!

 

Blogjam

Merriam-Webster defines  logjam as “a jumble of logs jammed together in a watercourse” and, alternatively, as a “deadlock, impasse”, “blockage”, “jam” or “crowd”.  Maybe I’ve just got logging on the brain since I started reading “Last Night in Twisted River” by John Irving, but logjam seems like an appropriate word to assess the current tide of life out here in the great north woods. The torrent of ideas, events, projects, and thoughts I’ve been wanting to share has been building behind the world’s biggest bottleneck (time) for quite a while now, jostling and bumping around in the flow of my mind and threatening to flood its banks if relief doesn’t come soon.

Like a typical right-brainer, I figure I’d better start at the beginning….

The quality and quantity of time available to me for daily activities has been in a strange state of flux since late September when preschool started.  That’s right.  Preschool.  Knittymunchkin is in PRESCHOOL.  WTF?!  How the hell did that happen?  I was anticipating a month or more of trying to guiltily edge myself out of the class while Knittymunchkin cried bloody murder and clung to my legs.  But it didn’t happen that way.  In fact, it was a little bit anticlimactic.  A hug, a kiss, and an absentminded “I love you” is about all I get.  But it’s good.  It really is.  I go to the nearby coffee shop for about an hour and a half and knit while he’s in school (on the days I’m not a parent helper) and I am actually getting an a$$load of knitting done.  Everyone is happy and I feel like I actually get a moment to breathe once in a while, probably for the first time since he was born.  We miss each other, but he is learning so much and I’m incredibly happy we found this preschool for him.  Hopefully we will both make some new friends that we’ll have for years to come.

First day of preschool!

Strangely, I have what feels like tons more time to knit, yet I have much less time to blog, photograph, or even be online in general.  Case in point: this post has taken me nearly 3 days to write.  Knittymunchkin is going through an incredibly dependent stage (despite doing so well with me leaving him at preschool) and any time I am out of his sight there’s a little mini freakout, after which he is attached to my legs like a limpet for the next half hour.  It’s nice to be needed so much and I try to remind myself he won’t want me around forever so I should enjoy it.  But some days it would be nice to have a little more breathing room.

I did get a little mini-vacation a couple weeks ago when I stayed with my Mom for about 4 days after her surgery.  I got her medication when she needed it, did her dishes and made small meals, and just generally kept her company.  She watched TV and dozed and I did a ton of knitting.  So many things to show you once I get them photographed!  I made myself finish two things for every one I started and it’s such a great feeling to get those ancient WIPs off of my cluttered knitting to-do list.

For my birthday in September I did allow myself one new project.  I made sure it was a small one so I wouldn’t get myself tied to another WIP/UFO that would sit there forever.  And with a pattern name like Ball Sack, I just couldn’t resist.  Yes, I’m a dork.  I’m not afraid to fly my freak flag (sometimes).

Loved this pattern!  It took about 10g of sock yarn (I made it slightly taller than the pattern called for) and is incredibly useful.  Here it’s snuggling my ball of Cephalopod Yarns‘ Skinny Bugga! in “Grey Scalloped Bar Butterfly” that I used to knit Leftie.  Which I still need to photograph.  Someday.

So now that a couple things have been cleared out of the blogjam I think I feel a little better; a little more clear-minded.  Time to get back to the limpet :)

 

Ninjas

I’m sure you’ve heard this quote before:
 

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.

~Doulgas Adams – English humorist & science fiction novelist (1952 – 2001)

 
Oh but I beg to differ Mr. Adams.  The deadlines in my house are more like ninjas.  Insidious, and silent, they lie in wait for you only to pounce when you have blithely forgotten about them and are puttering happily along.  This reminds me of a kids’ song that Knittymunchkin and I love by the Barenaked Ladies called “The Ninjas”:
 

The Ninjas are deadly and silent

They’re also unspeakably violent

They speak Japanese, they do whatever they please

And if you tear off their masks they’ll be smiling.

 
I imagine my deadlines smiling madly at me from behind the potted plants while plotting feverishly to attack me with five-finger death punches and assorted hand-held artillery.  I’m pretty sure a throwing star whizzed past my head this morning.  The deadline of which I am specifically referring to would be this one.  A writing contest I posted about wanting to enter…oh…back in April.  I guess I was feeling optimistic in that warm spring air, which has since fizzled into cold drizzly summer air (I am not actually complaining about that – I hate the heat).  Instead, one thing after another has popped up, and I can literally watch my free time sublimate in a puff of glittery smoke.  So once again, I will be putting a goal aside for less lofty accomplishments like keeping Knittymunchkin fed and clean clothes on all our backs.  But this is o.k.  I’m learning that this is what life with a toddler means.  It also means kisses, snuggles, giggles and more love than I ever thought possible.  So it’s worth it :)  This is a season in my life and rather than dwell on the aspects I don’t appreciate, I need to spend more time being present in the moments that really matter because once they’re gone, they’re gone forever.
 
Taking care of myself and letting go of all the crap that stresses me isn’t something I do easily.  But knitting helps.  I’ve been a monogamous kind of gal lately and when all else seems chaos, I have the simplicity of a beautiful pattern and stunning yarn to ground me.  I just finished Spectra and it was the perfect balm for my anxiety.  Stunning in its simplicity, yet sophisticated in manifestation, I was obsessed from the moment I began.  No modeled pics as of now, but I did snap a few “artsy” shots for my project page which I’ll share with you here.
 

"Spectra" by Westknits

 

• Pattern: Spectra by Stephen West  (Ravelry link here; My Ravelry project link here)
• Yarn:  Main Color (Blue): Malabrigo Sock in “Impressionist Sky”; Contrasting Color (Multi): Noro Silk Garden Sock in #211
• Needles:  Size 5 bamboo straights
• Mods:  None
• Completed:  July 7, 2011

 

"Spectra" by Westknits

 
Love love love this pattern!  Love the Malabrigo Sock!  Hate the Noro Silk Garden.  Sorry Noro.  Usually I love you, but this time you freakin’ shanked me.  Three knots (three! knots!), bad transitions and too much red-orange (which I only mildly like at best).  What do you have to say for yourself?  If I wasn’t so stubborn, I would have done this differently and just cut out the colors I didn’t like as I came to them, instead of just suffering for my craft.  But what can I say.  I hate to weave in ends.  I imagine making another one of these someday and making it a sock yarn scrap project.  It’s really well suited for that if you resign yourself ahead of time to having a billion and two ends to knit in.  I called this project “The Cool Kids” on my Ravelry project page because I am never knitting what the “cool kids” are knitting.  That one hot pattern that everyone has to make the second it comes out almost never appears on my radar until years later.  I’ve never made a Clapotis, or a pair of Monkey socks and it took me years to make a pair of Jaywalkers.  But for once, I was riding the crest of the cool wave.  I was down with what the kids were doing, and it felt good.  I’m pretty sure that’s the very last time I’ll be “cool” again, especially once Knittymunchkin hits school age. Then my chances are shot.
 
So, next week is Sock Summit!  Woot!  Looking forward to a few days off of “mom” duties, hanging with my super knitty pal Troy, and getting to meet Jess in real life.  I’m pretty sure there will be a little drinking, a lot of shopping and a bunch of knitting too.  Can’t wait!

 

Someone Has Been Knitting?

Wow, it’s been a while.  I suppose an explanation is in order.  You see, I’ve rather sadly become one of those bloggers that doesn’t blog regularly anymore :(  I see my stats dropping like the dirty bastard moths I am still swiping at now and again and though I feel deep sadness over that, I have come to the conclusion that there isn’t much I can do about it right now.  Time for blogging will come more regularly again (I hope!), but my focus is elsewhere for the time being.  Mostly on that little cherub napping in his room upstairs ;)
 
The silver lining to this is that I actually have knitting to show you!  Yes, I have actually been finishing things.  I’ve been subscribing to a new philosophy on knitting (and life in general) i.e., completing what I start and eliminating the baggage of everything else.  This is sort of new to me, and it’s actually been easier and more satisfying than I expected.  I think the first time I started and finished something this year and didn’t allow myself to start something else in the meantime, was just the boost I needed to break my habit.  Experiencing how good it feels to get that last stitch finished and take those photos so I can mark it “completed” in Ravelry has become downright addicting.
 
I know, I know.  Get to the pretty pictures already!  No one wants to hear you tooting your own horn.  So, I’ll dispense with the pleasantries and get down to it.  Just the nitty gritty deets for now and I’ll chit chat more next time.
 

Twisted

 

• Pattern: Twisted by Galia Lael  (Ravelry link here; My Ravelry project link here)
• Yarn:  Approximately 156 yds of Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Bulky in “Wild Violet”
• Needles:  16 inch Size 9 & 10.5 bamboo circs
• Mods:  None
• Completed:  January 27, 2011

 
I made this for Amy as her Pay It Forward 2011 gifty.  This was such a quick and addicting knit!  Amy loves purple and she really likes hats, so this was a fun (and hopefully useful) thing to make for her.  I don’t have a lot of purple in my stash, but I did have this pretty yarn and it was just the right amount for this beret.  I was sweating having enough until the very last stitch, but squeaked by with just the right amount.  My first time blocking a hat on a dinner plate!
 

Multnomah

 

• Pattern: Multnomah by Kate Elsa  (Ravelry link here; My Ravelry project link here)
• Yarn:  Approximately 484 yds of Hill Country Yarns Superfine Supersock in “Blueberry Wine”
• Needles:  24 inch size 3 addi lace turbos
• Mods:  Knit extra lace repeats (19 total) to increase size of shawl
• Completed:  March 23, 2011

 
A gift for Lisa, this was my second completed Pay It Forward gifty for the year.  Lisa is also a purple fan!  I thought the colors would be perfect for her and I really wanted to knit a shawl. I love knitting shawls, even if I don’t wear them :) It turned out as more of a shawlette, even though I did many more repeats of the feather and fan pattern than were called for in the original pattern. I think the yarn was closer to laceweight than fingering; more than I’d realized initially. But I’m still happy with how it turned out and Lisa tells me she really likes it too. Hooray! Blocked this with blocking wires. My very first time! They are amazing, let me tell ya…..
 

Undergrowth

 

• Pattern: Undergrowth by Mandy Powers (Ravelry link here; My Ravelry project link here)
• Yarn:  Approximately 101 yds of Frog Tree Alpaca Sport in “#23″ (Red; MC) + 79 yds Knit Picks Andean Treasure in “Meringue Heather” (Cream; CC)
• Needles:  16 inch size 4 bamboo circs & dpns
• Mods:  None!
• Completed:  April 29, 2011

 
This hat was for Jess (my 3rd Pay It Forward gifty for 2011).  Jess mentioned one of her favorite colors was red and that she really liked hats (but never seemed to get to make one for herself).  I saw this pattern and had to make one.  It worked out perfectly because I had just the right red in my stash already!  A while back Jess wrote a post about “Potato Chip Knitting”.  You know, the kind you can’t put down?  I’d never heard that before and thought it was super clever :)  My potato chip knitting just happens to be colorwork, so how fitting that she should be the recipient of this hat!  This pattern was fantastic.  The instructions were clear & concise, and the design was amazing.  I would make about a zillion more of these if I had that many heads to put them on :)  I seriously couldn’t put this down.  So, I’ll just put this out there: if you want one and don’t have the skillz, time, or desire to knit one, let me know!  If you got the yarn, I got the time ;)
 

The Kumfy Schluttli

 

• Pattern: The Kumfy Schluttli by Meg Layaw (Ravelry link here; My Ravelry project link here)
• Yarn:  Approximately 232.5 yds of Dream In Color Classy in “Beach Fog”
• Needles:  24 inch size 8 bamboo circs & dpns
• Size:  3-9 months
• Completed:  May 19, 2011

 
I made this little sweater for a Ravelry penpal who just had a little boy in March.  I was kind of pushing it size-wise perhaps, but was hoping it would still fit him for a little.  Jess will recognize this yarn since I received it in trade from her sometime last year :)  What a truly adorable sweater!  And what a truly sketchy pattern.  I was surprised at that, but was ultimately able to figure things out, having knit a fair number of raglans by now in my knitting “career”.  Personally, I prefer patterns that lay it all out for you, and don’t appreciate it when things seem vague or too “casual” in the instructions.  But that’s just me.  Anyway, I can see myself making a few more of these.  It was super quick and satisfying to knit, and only took 1 hank of yarn!
 
Whew!  I suppose if I didn’t store stuff up to post it would go a lot faster (it’s already taken me 2 days to finish this post).  Anyhoo, I’ve got 2 more FO’s waiting to be blocked and a half-finished Spectra (OMG. LOVE.) to show soon too.  Guess I’d better get a move on!
 
Knit happy, blogg peeps :)

 

Cursed Be Those Who Jaywalk In Stinky Love Socks

Arrrrrrrrrrrrr!  I feel like I should write the rest of this post in Pirate Speak.
 
The Jaywalker curse is over!  Man, it feels like I’ve been working on these stupid socks for forevah.  These have traveled with me to Vegas (twice, I think) and to my babymoon on Maui.  And they just never seemed to get finished no matter how hard I tried.  After their first visit to Vegas, I finished 3/4 of the first sock, only to find that it wouldn’t fit over my giant-ass foot.  It took a while (over a year) for me to suck it up and rip out round after round of those teeny tiny stitches that I had slaved over toothpick-sized needles to produce.  And after that, it took me even longer (another year) to work up the courage to cast on again.  My gauge was off the first time, and many more times, before I figured out the ideal combination of sizing and attractiveness.  I noticed that the yarn I used (Knitterly Things Vesper Sock) looks more pleasing when knit on a smaller needle, so I had to knit a larger size than I normally would to get it to fit right.  On this second go-round I also decided to knit my socks using Magic Loop and it definitely went faster once I got all the gauge bugs ironed out.  Now that I’ve learned Magic Loop, I’m a bit of a Magic Loop snob and fairly grit my teeth if I actually have to bust out dpn’s for anything.
 

 
This is my very first finished pair of socks made from Knitterly Things Vesper Sock Yarn.  See, up there I let you in on a little secret with that link.  Shhhhh….. don’t tell everyone!  Her stuff has already gotten harder to get now that she’s been featured in some of the big knitting magazines.  She does really small updates maybe once a week, just a couple hanks of a couple of her signature colors, and a sock club.  Lucky for me, I managed to collect most of the colors I wanted before I quit my paying job to become Chief Procurer/Entertainer/Cook/Laundress for the Overlord Of Cute (Knittymunchkin).  I did keep up with the yarn club though, so my collection is still growing.
 
Glamour Magazine has been telling me for over a year now that it’s cool to wear socks with your heels.  Since my fancy shoes never see the light of day anymore (not that they had much of a snowball’s chance in hell of seeing it before Knittymunchkin either) I busted them out for my photo shoot.  I couldn’t rock the socks and heels look in real life, but I rocked it even less when taking these photos.  You should have seen me stumping around the house with my sweatpants rolled up and my fancy shoes and socks on, trying to balance the mirror just so, in order to get that one decent shot.  I know, I should probably try to maintain my aura of mystery and tell you I photographed this in some glitzy cafe whilst twirling my glossy hair around my finger, sipping coffee and looking glamorous, but hey, I haz to keep it real, yo.
 
So, ta da!  Finally we bid adieu to another achingly ancient UFO….
 

 

• Pattern: Jaywalker by Grumperina  (Ravelry link here; My Ravelry project link here)
• Yarn:  Approximately 442 yds of Knitterly Things Vesper Sock Yarn in “Love Stinks (Yeah, Yeah)”
• Needles:  40 inch Size 1 Knit Picks Harmony circulars
• Mods:  None, except to work pattern using Magic Loop instead of dpn’s

 
OMG.  SO loving these socks!  I got all OCD and made sure the striping matched up when starting the second sock.  This required me to rip out my knitting several times and actually rewind the ball of yarn in the opposite direction.  But it was worth it because they are a perfect match.  The fit of these socks is amazing.  It really is a “snug droop-less” fit like she says.  The only thing I wasn’t super happy about was the toe.  I mean it looks fine and everything, but it feels a little uncomfortable.  Kind of binding for me.  Maybe something a little more rounded would feel better?  Something to consider for next time.  I think I might actually make another pair someday.  Be sure to look for that post sometime in 2015 ;)

 

Whales Before My Window

As much as I deride myself for my self-proclaimed reigning status as Queen of Unfinished Objects, when I pick up an old project that has lingered too long in limbo, there is so much more to that act for me than simply returning to a forgotten piece of knitting.  Though I may initially feel the burden of finishing what I have pushed aside, in time I feel myself returning to the scent and sensation of memories buried deep within the fibers of my work.  My fingers gently tease out the strands of time and weaves them into a subtle mantle of remembrance, transporting me to another time and place.  What begins as work becomes a reminder of a sliver of time I have forgotten.  Cherry Fizz has been such a project.
 

Sunset on Bullman Bay - October 2009

 
It is October 2009 and I am about 4 months pregnant as we make our way to the coast.  We ride a ferry I’ve never been on, something not difficult to do here in the Pacific Northwest, where water travel is the norm.  We pass miles of lonely coastline, all jagged boulders and slate-grey froth beneath a sky that perpetually hints of rain.  Scattered clusters of dilapidated homes sprout from the earth like mushrooms, moldering under lush carpets of poison green moss, a gift of the damp twilight that is their birthright.  As always, I wonder what people so far from urban life do for a living.  Are they lonesome in this isolation or have they desperately sought it?  I watch them pass and I mourn for those who don’t belong here but must stay, with a sadness that overwhelms me, despite not being mine to claim.  We are driving to Bullman Bay, where my husband will be taking a three day intensive kayaking class and I will relax, walk the beach, and generally rest myself and incubate our baby.
 
When we arrive at the Bullman Beach Inn I am amused.  I don’t know what I thought I was expecting, but this isn’t quite it.  Our room will be at the far end of what looks like an outbuilding.  We have paid for the “Waterfront Full View” room, which is a song in October – only $75 per night – and we find that the view is fantastic.  Stepping through the sliding glass door into our room, we find what is really more like a furnished apartment.  There is a living room with a recliner and small love seat, which leads straight into a small kitchen with a dining table and two chairs, both rooms flanked on one side by that stunning ocean view.  Down the short hall to the left is our bedroom, complete with two twin beds, and a bathroom to our right across from the bedroom.  All this is furnished in an eclectic mix of 60′s surfer chic and 70′s basement, complete with dark wood paneling.  I’m instantly charmed and imagine the distant day when we might bring our child here and tell him or her about the time we visited before their arrival.  The only hitch is the twin beds.  We are snugglers. Yes, I’ll admit it.  But my belly has started to swell a bit and my back, hips and knees often hurt even though I’m early in my pregnancy.  So it’s really not so bad if we have our own space at night, and it’s just for a couple days anyway.
 
I get up early with R. Darling in the mornings before his class.  We have coffee or cocoa or tea and a little something to eat.  Then he prepares to battle wind, surf, frustration and exhaustion, from his kayak on the turbulent waves off the coast of Cape Flattery.  Sometimes I go back to bed after he leaves, but mostly I curl up in the recliner and read, looking up periodically to savor the panoramic view of sky and sea through my front window.  I have brought 4 books and Cherry Fizz.  I end up reading all 4 books in the 3 days of our visit and I work on Cherry Fizz half-heartedly in between.  Yet, it is this trip that I associate Cherry Fizz with the most.  For the first trimester of my pregnancy I was so exhausted and so ill all the time that I had to quit knitting.  For some reason the activity made my nausea unbearable and I resorted to spending most of my time that I wasn’t asleep, reading books.  But by October, I was feeling better and I had missed my knitting.
 
Each day I would walk the beach once or twice, buffeted by cold winds that whipped my hair into a dark froth.  I had to remind myself to look up at the sea and savor its swirling kinetic force, because my eyes were continually searching the sand.  Sea glass, pitted stones in gloriously misshapen forms, and the rare agate, made their way into my pockets, reminders that I was indeed here and it wasn’t just a dream.
 
What I remember most is the morning R. Darling and I saw a whale from the kitchen window.  The sky had pinkened from pre-dawn grey to early morning lavender.  We were eating breakfast and chatting before R.Darling had to leave for the day, watching the light change across the open ocean before our window.  R. Darling saw it first; a plume of water bursting free in the cold morning air.  He pointed when it happened again, and I squinted but couldn’t see.  The whale moved back into deeper water and I was disheartened I did not get to see it.  Later, after R. Darling had left, I scanned the sea again, hoping I might catch a glimpse of something, anything, and I was rewarded with a momentary eruption of air and water to the left of my field of vision.  I watched the whale spouting for a while and felt a connection to this gentle creature and the rhythms of nature.  I touched my stomach and thought of my baby and wondered about our future.
 
Now, Cherry Fizz is finished and whenever I look at it, I’m transported back to that long weekend at the beach.  What a wonderful gift I have given myself.  This scarf will always evoke happy memories for me and I will remember forever the whales before my window.
 

 

• Pattern: Cherry Fizz by Kate Gilbert  (Ravelry link here; Twist Collective Spring 2009 link here; My Ravelry project link here)
• Yarn:  Approximately 1.39 hanks of Dream In Color Classy in “Absolute Magenta”
• Needles:  Size 8 bamboo straights
• Mods:  None

 

 
I love this scarf!  It was worth the nearly 2 year wait (I started it in June of 2009, let it idle until October 2009, and then dropped it again until January 2011).  The charts were complicated and I actually really enjoyed that aspect of it.  Watching the medallion shapes grow and change was really thrilling, especially when I picked it up again after my long hiatus and really dedicated myself to finishing it.  I had a little trouble with the double increase (dinc) in the pattern and realized I was most probably doing it wrong until January when I started it again.  I think there is a video now that explains how to do it, but I figured no one will probably notice except for me and I wasn’t about to rip out all of a 2/3 completed scarf just to suit my OCD tendencies.  Blocking was a pain because I didn’t have enough pins and nowhere to lay it out (Knittymunchkin’s room used to be the blocking zone) but I made do and it doesn’t look too bad.  I think I’ll get lots of use out of this and even if I don’t, it will always remind me of a special trip and a wonderful time in my life, waiting for the arrival of Little Mister.

 

Completionitis

Guess what?  I got a fever and the only prescription is…. more FO’s!
 
O.K.  Totally not as funny as this, but it’s what I was thinking.  I had a pretty great, semi-clever original title for this post.  I thought of it the other day as I was emptying the dryer of its fifth load of laundry for the day, and re-loading it from the washer with its sixth load.  I giggled to myself.  And then I didn’t write it down and it dribbled away through the sieve of mommyhood.  The one that filters out anything that doesn’t require immediate damage control and leaves me with such fruits as: Where is the baby?,  What was that noise?,  Gah!  Get that out of your mouth right now!,  How did he destroy that magazine/entire room/entire outfit/entire train of thought in 1.2 seconds flat?  What can I say?  Life is awesome.
 
So that’s it.  You get a one word title today.  And I’ve got me a notebook in reaching distance.  At least until Knittymunchkin finds it….
 
Lately I am all about finishing stuff.  This is so totally freaking me out because I’m not usually like this.  I’m the one with the UFO “problem” who can’t stop starting new stuff and abandoning it for the next knit that comes along.  Ooooh, shiny!  Sorry, I got distracted there for a minute.  See?  But I am on a total freakin’ ROLL and it feels good.  Within the last few weeks I’ve finished Knittymunckin’s Roar, the first of 7 (yeah, 7!, how did that happen?) Pay It Forward gifts, Cherry Fizz (I think Hell might have just frozen over), the first mitten of my Smitten project for Knittymunchkin, and I’m hard core rockin’ the Jaywalkers.  Man this is great!  I hope it will last, but you know me…..
 

A Rawr For Keeping Warm

 

• Pattern: Roar, A Dinosaur Hat by Kate Oates  (Ravelry link here; My Ravelry project link here)
• Yarn:  Approximately 62 yds of Stitch Nation by Debbie Stoller Alpaca Love in “Fern” & approximately 48.8 yds in “Espresso Bean”
• Needles:  Size 7 dpns & 16 inch circular
• Mods:  None

 

 
This hat was super quick to knit and turned out pretty cute, though I wasn’t 100% satisfied with my skillz at stitching on the spikes.  I used a whipstitch for lack of a better idea and though I tried to make it as unobtrusive as possible, you can still see a little bit of it here and there where the dark yarn contrasts with the green background.  Oh well.  I figured he will probably destroy it anyway at some point.  That’s if I can ever get him to wear it!  He absolutely abhors having stuff on his head, as you can see in the outtake :)
 

No Mommy! Don't make me wear this!

 
Now maybe there’s just enough of naptime left to get a little knitting in! I gots me a fever!