Mojo-a-gogo

Tidbit

Leafy Newborn Beanie

Seventh

From Left to Right: Tidbit, Leafy Newborn Beanie & Seventh

 

I’ve been busy. There’s some serious knitting mojo goin’ on up in here. Plus, I’ve been bustin’ me some stash! It’s all good at Chez Funkytown.

These little hats are for my friend at Knitting Up North.  Every spring she knits baby hats for a contest her local Optimist Club holds. I always like to donate a few.  It’s for a worthy cause, I get to help out a knitting pal, and it’s pretty much instant gratification. I’ve actually made 6 already, but have only photographed the 3 above. I mean, these fingers are too busy knittin’ to stop and take photos people! The deadline is April 15th – hint hint. Not only should you check out her blog for some awesome inspiration, I’m sure she’d love to receive a few extra hats to add to her total ;) Just sayin’. Oh and she’s also hosting a knit along beginning March 20th for the Jujika Cowl. I’m in!  If you’re on Ravelry (and you totally should be!) come join us at her group here.

I decided early on this year that I was going to try to keep myself to a strict set of rules for my knitting in 2016. Well, it’s really not a set of rules, more like one big rule.  I have a penchant for getting totally obsessed with any new pattern that comes across my radar, to the complete detriment of whatever else I may be working on.  I have sweaters that have taken me years to complete (if they’ve been completed at all) not because they were difficult, but because I lost momentum and then lost interest in going back to figure out where I’d left off.  I gots me some serious start-itis folks.

This year I plan to end my wayward habits by instituting “The Rule of Two.” The Rule of Two states that I may only have 2 significant projects on the needles at one time: a UFO/WIP that needs finishing and one new project. This rule will remain in place until I have finished all said UFOs/WIPs in which case I will cast on with complete abandon. Or something like that.  Anyway, The Rule of Two has served me well so far this year.  I finished an afghan I’ve had in the works for a year, finished Los Monos Locos socks (picture to come later), am nearly finished with a sweater for Uptown, and finished the Frisson I mentioned last time (pictures later of course). Now if only I could be this successful in reducing my winter’s worth of insulation that has been accumulating underneath all those warm bulky sweaters I’m not knitting/finishing!

Ribbon Afghan

 

PATTERN:  Ribbon Afghan by Olivia Rainsford

YARN:  Acrylic in Black (Caron One Pound), White (Lion Brand Pound of Love) & Olive (Vintage Bernat)

YARDAGE:  1004 yds

CROCHETING DURATION:  May 16, 2015 – February 15, 2016

PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED:  Briefly, here.

RECIPIENT:  Donation to Warmth for Warriors (Ravelry group here)

DODGY BITS:  None

BLISS FACTOR:  8

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This pattern was well written and fun to knit. Definitely pretty mindless & a great stashbuster.  Love that it’s only meant to be lap sized for veterans in wheelchairs to use.  I could see myself making another for sure! Bliss factor of 8 because, well, it’s acrylic (not that I’m a snob or anything, I just don’t love the stuff).

 

Begin Again

2014 began with a bang. 

Well, a shriek really.  Knittymunchkin climbed in bed with us around 5:15 AM this morning & proceeded to squirm around for a good half hour before telling me that he was thirsty & demanding I go get his water bottle from his room upstairs.  When I said, “Go get it yourself”, or perhaps something a little less polite or intelligible, he proceeded to shout at the top of his lungs thereby effectively ushering in 2014 just a little too early for all of us.

But I did allow myself the pleasure of casting on my first project of the year while indulging in some bad parenting & letting Knittymunchkin watch a movie as we waited for the sun to rise.  This will be a pair of Rye socks by tincanknits for Knittymunchkin made from stash yarn. For the offspring of a knitter, he is woefully light in the hand knit department.  And, it’s kinda cold here.

This year I’m participating in a “14 in 2014” challenge with the Ewe La La Swap Group on Ravelry. I’ll be attempting to complete 14 projects from stash and/or my Ravelry queue before the end of 2014.  As a side deal I’ll be attempting to complete 14 UFO’s alongside my 14 projects from stash/queue.  Because, yes Virginia, there IS a languishing UFO stash of at least 14 items (gasp!) lingering in my household at this very moment, thumbing their fibery unfinished noses at me.  Does that really surprise any of you who have been reading my nonsense for any length of time?

Anyway, there’s a lot I want to accomplish this year.  It’s too much to explain here (and probably too boring) but I will hopefully be checking in here a little more frequently with progress on whatever challenge I’m wrestling with at the moment.  I didn’t make any resolutions (I usually don’t). But, after all, it’s only the first day of the new year.  I’ve got to pace myself if I want to make it to the home stretch.

Here’s to a Happy New Year for each & every one of you!  I wish you nothing but the best!!

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P.S.  It’s been a while since I’ve posted here & I’ve noticed some good & bad WordPress changes.  The bad being that there are now occasional ads here after my posts.  Sorry about that.  I can’t do anything about it except cough up $30 to get the ad free upgrade. Which, when your salary is zero, just isn’t going to happen.  But just so you know, it wasn’t my idea to slap those ads up there. Thanks for your patience!

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 :)

The Best Day Evah And Ravelry Is Amazing (But You Already Knew That)

Back at the end of January I wrote a post titled “The Bumper Sticker And The Curious”.  I don’t know how many of you read it, but basically it’s a story about the place I work and an interesting bumper sticker I saw on the way home one night.  Well imagine my surprise one day several weeks ago when I got a message in my Ravelry box telling me that the mysterious UPS driver that I’d seen that night and speculated about, was a real live knitting & spinning fellow from my very own town!  Turns out he is the nicest guy ever and we’ve been chatting back and forth for the last couple weeks.  I feel like the star in my own Craigslist Missed Connections story!  It’s awesome.  Isn’t Ravelry the most amazing thing ever?  Seriously.  What did I ever do before Ravelry?

So Troy and I had plans to meet last Saturday and Mother Nature decided that just wasn’t happenin’ as I woke up to what seemed near blizzard conditions.  We chatted on the phone and made plans for another weekend to meet for coffee.  He mysteriously mentioned that he’d picked something up for me on his weekend trip to San Francisco recently and as well had pulled a few things out of his stash for me.  Secrety surprises!  Who doesn’t love those?

Yesterday morning arrived, a normal run-of-the-mill Thursday.  I’d just arrived at work, hung up my coat and put my lunch in the fridge, when in walked one of the UPS guys (our neighboring business) with several packages.  I signed and picked up one packaged in a Sephora box, thinking, Hmmmm we usually don’t get samples in boxes like this.

 

 

Wha?  Wait, this package has my name on it!  Maryanne/Knittymuggins.  Hey, I didn’t order anything!  Who knows that I work here?  Then I read the return address.  Gears still trying to turn over (haven’t had enough coffee yet at this point).  Wait!  I know who this is from!!  Squeeeeee!!!  You should have seen me tearing into this box.  I’m sure Miami (my co-worker) was laughing his ass off over me getting so excited over my surprise package.

Inside I found a very sweet note and these lovely goodies:

 

 

An Offhand Designs Needle Clutch – I have so been needing one of these and it’s simply gorgeous!

 

5 skeins of Spincycle-y bluefaced leicester goodness!

 

Several skeins of more Spincycle-y goodness in Kimono

 

What a truly lovely way to start one’s day!  Thank you so much Troy, for everything, I’m so sincerely touched by your generosity and I hope to be able to make it up to you someday soon :)  Can’t wait to meet you in person and may all the good karma you sow come back to you ten thousand fold!  I am once again, speechless with undeservingness.  Thanks so much for making my day!

Hope everyone had a great week and that you all have an even better weekend ahead of you!  Happy knitting!