They Might Be Giants

Recently, a fellow Raveler requested the pattern for I'm a Little Bit Cold; I'm a Little Bit Rock & Roll. I felt quite flattered that she asked for it...and then the panic set in. I've never written a pattern for someone else before. What if she ends up with gloves for the Jolly Green Giant??? I decided to take the plunge though and I'm uploading the pattern to Ravelry as a free download. It's hard to type with my fingers crossed...

Trapped in the Closet

I think Yarn Harlot's daughter has been peeking in my closet (see "Excuse the Seventh").

How did she know that I have multiple hats, many scarves & a few pairs of gloves...but none of them match. There's not even a hat/glove or scarf/hat combo amoung all the hand-knits.

It seems strange considering that I'm a knitter. I'm the knitter. Of all the hand-knits in my closet (except one fabulously warm scarf knit by Moma). If I knit them all & I like them all, then shouldn't something match?! It's a conundrum.

But enough wallowing in my guilt and issues like the cobbler's son not having shoes. One of my goals for the winter was to leave it with a matching, or at the very least coordinating, set. I'd planned to clean out the closet & lay everything out on my bed & make a list of what I had & what I needed. I'd planned to knit only new accessories that matched the older ones.

Then came the order for the Striped Christmas Stockings. I promised my friend I'd make them & she was actually paying me. No one was paying me to make accessories for myself. Besides, how long could a couple of stockings take...a little longer than I thought actually. By the time I was finished I had to start the Twisted Tree Pullover so I'd finish in time for Christmas. It's my Godson's Christmas Sweater! You'll see that later.

So, it was just after Christmas that I arrived back in NYC with a few new skeins of Berroco Ultra Alpaca in a beautiful shade of teal - which matched nothing in my closet. I had a solution, though. I simply ignored the closet & knit myself a pair of I'm a Little Bit Cold, I'm a Little Bit Rock & Roll gloves. Then the knitting gods smiled on me.

I'd finished this random piece of fabric forever-ago & didn’t know what to call it. I LOVED the color so much that I thought I’d make a scarf with it, but I was using a random hank of yarn that was leftover from someone else’s project & it wasn’t enough for a full length scarf. So, it sat on a chair in my apartment for at least a year. As I finished the gloves, I glanced over to the chair…and realized these were EXACTLY the same color as the random piece of fabric I’d made forever-ago. So, I slapped on some coordinating buttons & called it a cowl or sometimes a short scarf & named the pattern “That’s All Right Mama” cuz Moma was gonna knit me a cowl, but now I’ve got one.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

The second day of Christmas was a Norman Rockwell type day at the Loo Family house. We started the morning with fresh baked gingerbread and coffee and I knit.

In the afternoon, Moma and I had tea and biscuits while we watched Christmas In Connecticut. And we knit.

In the evening, Moma and my darling brother (of the [not so] fingerless gloves) started to cook a lovely dinner of pork tenderloin, potatoes with brussel sprouts and mushroom bread pudding. And I knit.

We had cocktails by the tree while we listened to Christmas music. And I needed mine to knit.

I hope your holidays have been as picturesque.

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas

Striped Christmas Stocking

by Sara Lucas and Allison Isaacs

from Holiday Knits

in Berroco Pure Merino (red) &

Loop D Loop by Teva Durham Moss (green & white)

A Perfect World

I see a world where there's a room full of yarn and everyone you meet is interested in whether you knit that sleeve flat or in the round and you have time to sit and knit from breakfast thru dinner. No one bats an eye when you pull out your knitting at the local tavern and they're only staring because they're envious of that hand-dyed merino wool you're petting and want to know where you picked that up. This world is where the greatest fiber arts minds gather and pass on their love and knowledge of all things knit. On the first weekend of November 2008, this world existed in Stitches East.
I was fortunate enough to accompany Moma to Stitches East this year in Baltimore. It was my first knitting convention. I found it comforting, daunting, and exciting all at the same time. It was quite comforting to be amoung "my own kind, " daunting to see a room full of yarn which meant a lot of difficult decisions and exciting to be surrounded by so much...knitting (knitting people, knitted garments, knitting accessories). But, armed with my list of upcoming projects, a map of the convention center and my class list, I was ready.
I had a full class load. Not surprisingly, my 2 favorites were classes where I got to finish projects:

Entrelac Basics with Gwen Bortner where I finished this felted cup holder

and Knitting with Wire with Nancie Wiseman where I finished this bracelet.

An extended weekend with nonstop knitting, finished projects and discounted yarn purchases is my kind of utopia.

Somebody's Baby

I've found yet another benefit of knitting for babies - PICTURES!! When I knit for friends, I ask (beg) for pictures of them wearing the finished product, but I have a difficult time obtaining the picture. However, these same friends LOVE to send me pictures of their precious offspring, so I've had a better rate of return on that front.

[Truthfully, pictures of the babies are more fun to look at anyway.]

Little Sister's Dress in Rowan 4-ply cotton

Cotton Hat in Mission Falls 1824 cotton whirl

Wool Vest & Pants in Knitpicks Swish DK

Quickie Baby Sweater in Dale of Norway Free Style

Cotton Vest in Knitting Fever King Tut

Baby Baseball Tee in Rowan 4-ply Cotton & Wool Cotton

That's What Friends Are For

Like most knitters, I have non-knitter friends who want to experience the delight of handknits (aka asking you continually when you're going to make them a scarf, a hat, gloves, a hammock, etc.) I must admit that I'm lucky because my group of non-knitter friends make fantastic, though sometimes impatient, guinea pigs. They also challenge me in more ways than just knitting.

In September, a friend sent me an email with this link http://thefashionisto.com/blog/index.php?s=headband and an order for 3 headbands. Look at it! People are charging money for this???? It's super simple....or it should have been, but I was trying to use leftover Cascade Fixation which was too elastic-y. Once I switched yarn to Stacy Charles Victoria (which I randomly found on sale) and realized that everyone else’s heads were smaller than mine, BlackLikeOurSouls Headbands were born.

Around the same time, another friend's hands got cold. She begged and begged and even went with me on a trip to Austin, TX, so she got Progressive Gloves in Steinbach Wolle Strapaz. I'd been wanting to knit this pattern for forever. Both the pattern & yarn were delightful. If I make them again, I may change the thumb placement though. It just kind of comes out of nowhere & I think I prefer a gusset-y type thumb.

Luckily, I had a chance to test that thought because the cold was catching & another pair of gloves was needed. I was feeling all inspired by Stitches East so I designed a pair of gloves for yet another friend. I went stash diving & found Grignasco Nature in a goes-with-anything camel color. Then I just decided what I liked in a pair of gloves/handwarmers and made that. I must admit that they almost designed themselves. I'm delighted with them. I call them I'm a Little Bit Cold, I'm a Little Bit Rock & Roll.

Finish Line

Just lately, I've encountered several IRL comments about my lack of blogging. Now, have any of you people considered that the reason that I'm not blogging is that I've been finishing....lots of projects?! Some of you seem to think I just sit around all day being my usual charming self, but doing nothing.

Behold! A parade of finished projects:

so you think you can hat

in Rowan Handknit Cotton

Another Karlchen Hat

in Knitpicks Swish DK

Calorimetry

in Noro Kureyon

Little Bunny Foo Foo

with an improvised sundress

in leftovers

No News

I promise to blog more regularly.
I promise to blog more regularly.
I promise to blog more regularly.
I promise to blog more regularly.
I promise to blog more regularly.
I promise to blog more regularly
I promise to blog more regularly.
I promise to blog more regularly.
I promise to blog more regularly.
I promise to blog more regularly.