December 2007 Archives

Wow...
6 Pairs of socks
5 Sweaters
4 Hats
1 Scarf
1 Shrug (now frogged - to become first project of 2008)

When did that happen?! I feel like I've really accomplished a couple of things with my knitting this year - learning how to knit sweaters that fit and actually look good (!) and learning to knit with both hands for stranded colorwork. I still have a lot to learn on both fronts, but it's really fun to learn new skills and see them pay off.

Here's to 2008!

I love this pattern!  But I think I need to knit it on slighty smaller needles next time.  We'll see what happens after these come out of the wash.  

Project Details:

Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A.

Yarn: Wooly Boully Meanie, colorway Fishing With My Father, 1 skein

Needle Size: Size 2 Knit Picks 32" circular

Pattern Modifications: None!  Last time I made Monkeys, they were toe-up, so I figured I would try them top-down this time.  I do love a good heel flap!

Time to knit: About one month - started and finished in the month of December.

Final impressions: If they are still a little baggy after running through the washer, my sister may be getting a new pair of socks!

 

I found my camera cable!  Check Ravelry for newly updated projects - full details on the blog next week.

MOON SHOES, Baby!!!!

Oh yeah!  Remember that post a while back, about Christmas traditions and memories?   So, I was complaining about a Christmas many years ago when all my cousins got moon shoes, but I didn't get any because I was too old.  Well, my mom and grandma both read my blog and took pity on me.  Apparently they still make them!  (And just for the record, I WASN'T too big for them when I was 12-ish, because I'm still in the weight range!  (...with a bazillion rubber bands)  Hooray!)

       

ETA:  I guess not everyone has exeperienced the wonder of MOON SHOES!  The simulate the feeling of walking on the moon.  You strap your feet into the plates in the middle, which are supported by thick rubber bands which connect to the outside frame.  When you walk, you bounce inside the frame.  It's silly, but really fun.  I guess you could go crazy like that little girl in the picture above, but I'd rather keep my ankles intact, thank you! 

Oh how I love Christmas presents.... yes, I am a little embarrassed to say it, but my parents (and other family members) still spoil me rotten, and I love it! 

They know how much I love knitting, and my gifts this year definitely reflected it:

Simply fibers gift certificate,

Knitting books, 

    

Fun knitting notions,

AND customized labels for my knitting (and sewing) projects! 

Thanks Mom, Aunt Jeanette, SIL Sarah, MIL Denise, and Uncle Don!

Stay tuned.... I'll reveal my BEST PRESENT EVER tomorrow!

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

One of the mittens is done - yay!

I finished it up by knitting the thumb.  But.... do you notice anything strange?  The proportions are a little bit off, don't you think? 

Yeah.... the hand is a little short.  I guess next time I should go ahead and do the thumb before start the hand decreases.  Off to the frog pond! (Just the bind-off, don't worry)

(I know, it doesn't look too far off.  But once my hand is inside the mitten, it's really bunched up.) 

Well, Matt finally broke down and agreed to a fake tree. But if we're going fake, we're going really fake! So we got a white sparkly Christmas tree from Target.

I don't have too many Christmas decorations, so I really enjoy getting out all my ornaments. We have a set of wooden "12 Days of Christmas" ornaments that Matt's grandma painted, plus all the ornaments that we've bought from our vacations together. This year I added a set of four moose on a skilift, from our ski trip to Copper Mountain last January, and a knitting lobster ornament from Tammy!

Woo hoo! As you can see, the mittens are almost done! (As you can't see, they don't have thumbs yet.) I'm really happy with my second-ever straded knitting project. My big accomplishment was learning to knit with each color in a different hand - that made it go so much faster! I'm not sure if I'm knitting the official Continental way, but it works for me. (I tried to purl with the yarn in my left hand, too, and that was just a disaster. Kate? Help!!!)

Now that I've got this project almost done, I'm having lots of fun looking at all the mitten patterns on Ravelry. Thankfully, Anxiousdog Kate has queued up about a hundred of them, so she saves me the time and I just go straight to her queue and favorites.

In other news, I has finally occred to me that Christmas is really right around the corner - as in, relatives show up in 9 days! - so I should probably do something about getting the house decorated. I have a wreath on the front door, but that's about it. Most of my decorations are ornaments, so with no tree, my house looks a wee bit Grinch-like.

Hopefully by Sunday I'll be able to post a picture of a fully decorated tree. That's doable, right?

Project Details:

Pattern: Banana Republic Knockoff Hat by metaphysical_muse

Yarn: Aurora Karabella Bulky, 2 skeins

Needle Size: Size 8 and 10 DPNs

Pattern Details: I knit this hat in a single evening, then I decided it was too short, ripped it out, and reknit the hat with some additional rows. It's beenr eally cold here lately, so I needed a quick hat. Plus, I think it's really cute and it used up stash yarn.

Final impressions: I'll have to test it out tomorrow morning to decide how the hat protects against the wind. I might try to sew in some fleece or something as a lining.

A fun Christmas meme.... (thanks to Anne for the idea)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?  Usually wrapping paper.  I can never get the tissue paper in gift bags to look right.

2. Real or fake tree?  I’d like to get a fake tree, but my husband insists on a real one.  (They do smell nice!)

3. When do you put up the tree?  Usually the first weekend in December, but I haven’t done it yet this year.

4. When do you take the tree down? A couple of days after Christmas.

5. Do you like eggnog?  Yummm…. Definitely.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?  It’s funny, I mostly remember presents I didn’t like or presents my sister or cousins got that I wished were mine.  (I’m the oldest grandchild on my dad’s side, and most of my younger cousins got “moon shoes” one Christmas.  They were these plastic things with rubber bands that you strapped your feet onto.  Apparently I was either too old or too big for them, but I was really jealous!)

7. Do you have a nativity scene?  Yes, I usually put it up on the mantel over the fireplace.
   
8. Hardest person to buy for?  My dad.

9. Easiest person to buy for?  My mom. 

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever got?  Karaoke machine!  

11. Mail or email Christmas cards?  Neither.  Just say no!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?  National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?  Late summer - early fall
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?  Yes. 

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?  My grandma’s Christmas tree cookies. 

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?  Clear.  I have very strong opinions on that!

17. Favorite Christmas song?  Hark the Herald Angels Sing

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?  I like to do either, as long as I’m with my family.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeers? No.

20. Angel or a star on the tree top?  Star.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?  Christmas morning – no matter how much my sister pleads to open a present on Christmas Eve.

22. Where are your favorite places to shop?  Amazon.com, local gift shops, friends who are artists

23. Most annoying thing about this time of year?  Traffic around the mall and shopping centers.

24. What I love most about Christmas?  Reading the Polar Express and the Christmas story on Christmas Eve. 

The cold weather was officially hit the Ozarks. I'm hoping that we'll miss the ice storm that's predicted to hit later today, but either way - brrrr!
For my new job, I have to park in an employee parking lot that is a little ways away from the building, so I really need to bundle up. Since I know I can knit those warm winter accessories, I refuse to buy them. This provided quite a bit of motivation to knit FAST!

I've had some sportweight yarn in my stash for quite a while, waiting to become either stranded mittens or a stranded hat. Here's the details:

Generic Mitten Pattern, by Adrian Bizilia
Charted leaf/vine pattern, one of many, many charts available on this site

Remember that pretty blue and green yarn I got from the Loopy Ewe?  I just couldn't resist casting on...

After about 4 false starts, I finally decided to knit another pair of Monkeys.  I am really picky when it comes to variegated yarns.  If there is ANY flashing or pooling, I have to start over with another stitch count or pattern.  I really wanted to knit this yarn on Size 1 needles, to make the sock more durable, but I just wasn't working out.  All the blue ended up on one side, all the green on another.  That's just not good eats.* 

So, Monkeys it is.  Normally I don't knit the same pattern twice, but since my last pair was toe-up with a short row heel, I still feel like there's a little something different about this pair.  Plus, its nice to already know the stitch pattern and not have to pay attention to the pattern all the time. 

*What's that you say?  I've been watching too much Alton Brown?  Is that even possible?

Enjoy! (Red night in morning, sailor take warning!) This was taken on Wednesday - by Thursday at noon we had icy roads and more on the way.

Project Details:

Pattern: Basic Garter Rib Socks, loosely based on Universal Sock Pattern

Yarn: Mountain Colors Bearfoot in the Olive colorway, a little over half a skein

Needle Size: Size 2 KnitPicks circular

Pattern Details: CO 60 sts; knit in K2 x 1 stitch garter rib

Time to knit: Two months... I guess I originally planned to knit these during Socktober fest. Oh well!

Final impressions: Just some basic "guy" socks for my husband.  I'm trying to knit for other people more....  although I'm not sure he's all that appreciative of the knited socks.  I think I'll stick to hats and sweaters for him. 

 

Enjoy! 

 

Hey there - I've been a major slacker on posting lately.  "Major Slacker!" [salute]

I've actually been doing quite a bit of knitting on the Lady Eleanor scarf, plus I started a new pair of socks.  I hadn't really been feeling the sock-knitting mojo, but that was before I got a package in the mail containing these beauties:

The Loopy Ewe:  How Zarah Got Her Groove Back.     

Some pretty purple Trekking XXL....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A gorgeous skein of Wooly Boully Meanie (colorway "Fishing with my Father")....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And last but not least, my treat for becoming a "Loopy Groupie" at the Loopy Ewe - a skein of Seacoast Handpainted Supermerino. This is going to be a Christmas gift to Kate, since it's totally her colors.