Snow Daze

Well, it happened. It snowed in Seattle the Monday before Thanksgiving but I have to say that I'm not nearly as inconvenienced by that as I thought I would be. Little One and I ventured out to run errands during the day before the temperature dropped and it got icy and then came home to start some homemade soup. We stayed in and enjoyed our toasty apartment (the house of mold was forever freezing cold) and I got some Holiday knitting done.

A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving I knit Poppy for my younger niece in some Rustic Wool DK I've had sitting around in my stash. This is a great pattern and free on Ravelry. You can use several different yarn weights and the construction is interesting - you knit back and forth using short rows to create wedges and then pick up and knit the ribbing at the bottom. Fun!

I also knit Habitat by Jared Flood. I've knit this pattern before and enjoyed it the second time around. I always forget how much impact cables have on a knitted item and this one, well, it's really cabley. This version is knit in Rialto Aran so it has great stitch definition and is really super soft and machine washable. Rialto Aran, to me, is definitely on the luxury end of the yarn spectrum. It's only 88 yards and retails for around 9 dollars a ball. For a small project like this it's definitely worth the price since knitting with it is heavenly but I'd have to contemplate long and hard about knitting a sweater with it.

And, finally, some snow. We had a nice relaxing Thanksgiving this year with perfect nap times for the Little One and a later meal start time. Everyone got along in the kitchen and it was far and above one of the better Thanksgivings I've had in Seattle. We have little in the way of leftovers since we don't have a ginormous spread but I'll trade that for sanity during my holiday.

The One Woman Sweatshop

I made a decision at the end of October to knit all of my Christmas gifts. Usually I try to stagger my gift knitting throughout the year so I don't have a huge push in November and December to get everything done. My sofa has become a one woman sweatshop where I spend every possible free moment churning out gifts. Luckily I chose hats for almost everyone on my gift list and I can knit those in a couple of days. The most recent WIP is the Bee Hive Beret knit in Frog Tree Merino Worsted. This yarn is incredibly soft and warm but does not stand up to un-knitting very well. I also ran out of yarn and had to get up to the shop to grab another skein - this is not a pattern error since I went up a needle size I should have accounted for more yardage. If I had stuck with the needle size I could have knit this with ONE SKEIN of yarn which would be a whopping $6.50. Not bad for a handmade gift, huh?

Fish Hat, Dead

A couple of weeks ago I knit this fish hat for a Christmas gift. The recipient is a 4 year old boy and I think he'll like it a lot.

Pattern: Fish Hat (Dead) from Knitty
Yarns: Stash scraps - Classy in Blue Lagoon, Lorna's Worsted, and Silk Garden
Needle: US #7 Addi Turbo
Mods: None. Knit just as written with stripes as the mood struck.

Winter Twist Collective

It's up and it's pretty. Plus, there are capey things.

Today

Today I want to run screaming from my home. Little One refused a nap and is now trying to decimate my last shred of sanity with her random mood swings.

It's probably uncool to dose her with sedatives, right?

Castlegar Cardigan

My Castlegar Cardigan is finally done and I love it! After all of my complaining about how long it was taking to knit I totally love the final sweater. In fact, I put it on and said "I want another one!"

Pattern: Castlegar Cardigan by Laura Chau
Yarn: Miss Babs Baby Bamboo/Merino Sock
Needle: 2.75 mm (!!!)
Mods: Slightly shorter sleeves cause that's how I roll.

November? Already?

I can't believe that it's already November. Time passes so quickly these days - registration for next quarter of my Spanish class is next Monday. Huh? Didn't we just start class? The Little One continues to be crazy/adorable/smart and keeps me on my toes every single dang day. I turned the calendar page over to November today and realized that the Holidays are fast approaching (in knit time) and I need to get some gift knitting done. Last Monday I started the Log Cabin Socks from Handknit Holidays and pushed through the first one in about a day and a half. These will be for my mom's boyfriend who is an enthusiastic knit gift receiver. They are really quick, just knit them on #7 needles and Ecological Wool and you'll have a pair of gift slipper socks in no time. That is, if you don't fall prey to second sock syndrome.