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December 29, 2005
Question for You
I "inherited" this sweater last weekend while visiting my husband's grandma. It is 100% wool, with an interesting cable pattern. It fits me, but it is not a style I would wear too often. I think the yarn is DK or worsted weight.
The question is:
Keep as is?
Rip and knit something new?
Rip & dye? (If you recommend this option, give me some dyeing info, because I'm totally clueless)
Posted by zarah at 12:34 PM | Comments (3)
December 28, 2005
Mail call
One little package waiting for me on the doorstep... and I'm ready to start my first KAL of the year. All the gals over at Sexy Knitters Club are gearing up to knit Picovoli starting in January.
This is a free pattern and the yarn can be had for a very reasonable price from KnitPicks.com. Join us, won't you?
Posted by zarah at 7:34 PM | Comments (2)
Christmas Gifts for Me
What a great book -- lots of quick glove and mitten patterns (since I've been such a slacker with the Peaceful Palms KAL)
You gotta put down the needles sometime! One of my New Year's Resolutions is to start reading again (besides for work). And quit rotting my brain with all those reality shows (exception: American Idol. Oh yes, you know you love it too.)
No more excuses for this blogger... she got her very own digital camera! (Thanks Mom and Dad!)
Posted by zarah at 10:00 AM | Comments (2)
December 27, 2005
Christmas socks completed!
Here are my pasty white legs modeling the socks I finished just in time to secretly wrap and take with us for Christmas. My husband was pleasantly surprised! (He didn't know I finished them.) I kind of made up my own pattern for these, and it shows. The ankles are a little saggy and overall they are a little too big. Maybe If I had made them smaller, I wouldn't have needed the extra yarn for the toes! I'm going to see what happens after they get run through the wash (yippee, superwash!) before I rip them out.
Aren't the colors nice? Learn more than you ever wanted to know about these socks by clicking on the "Man Socks" link in my sidebar.
Posted by zarah at 6:29 PM | Comments (2)
December 25, 2005
12 Days of Christmas - Day 12
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Posted by zarah at 10:12 AM | Comments (1)
December 24, 2005
12 Days of Christmas - Day 11
Woo hoo! More travel ornaments! This is from the first road trip my husband and I took together, back when we were dating in college. It was Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, and we had Monday off school. So we bought a dozen Krispy Kremes and hit the road for Memphis. The trip got cut short when my (very protective) father found out where we were... but we did have time to visit Graceland and eat some yummy BBQ before we had to turn around and head back home.
Posted by zarah at 10:00 AM
December 23, 2005
12 Days of Christmas - Day 10
Thing 1 & Thing 2... these are actually Happy Meal prizes from a few years ago. My dad used to call my sister and I "Thing 1 and Thing 2," so my mom was buying Happy Meals left and right trying to get these dolls for my sis and me. Apparently they only shipped Thing 1 dolls to our local McD's, because she ended up with about 10 of them and no Thing 2's. Then a couple months later I was at a friends house and spotted a Thing 2 on her kitchen counter. She happily gave it to me and I finally had a pair!
Posted by zarah at 10:00 AM | Comments (2)
December 22, 2005
12 Days of Christmas - Day 9
Okay, I know you think I am the most sentimental person in the world. This ornament probably represents my long-lost pet pig, Wilbur, who lived in peace and harmony with all the other barnyard animals. But actually, it's just a little tin piggy from Mexico. I thought it looked cool. !Feliz Navidad y Prospero Ano!
Posted by zarah at 10:19 AM | Comments (3)
December 21, 2005
Umm... socks? What socks?
So... I know I said I was going to work on those socks... but I want to wear this sweater!
Posted by zarah at 10:13 AM | Comments (3)
12 Days of Christmas - Day 8
Are you getting lots of Christmas cards in your mailbox this week? Remember to thank your postman! This little mailbox is (sadly) the only ornament on my tree made of yarn. I meant to knit some of those little sweaters out of LMKG, but it just didn't happen.
I got this ornament from my mom, who had it on her tree for many years. She had a mailbox ornament because my grandpa used to be a mailman. I think it's a lot cuter than a lawyer ornament would be. =) (That's my job if you didn't know)
Posted by zarah at 7:18 AM | Comments (1)
December 20, 2005
Top 5 for 2005
Hmm... the year is wrapping up, and everyone seems to be thinking about their knitting resolutions. I'm not quite there yet, but I can steal an idea from Sweet Georgia and give you my Top 5 for 2005:
1. New (to Me) Technique: Hmm... this would basically be everything I know except knit and purl. I learned how to cable, pick up stitches, knit with double-pointed needles, new cast-ons, all kinds of good stuff.
2. Favourite FO: This is easy. My Midwest Moonlight scarf. Love love LOVE it! I wear it all the time.
3. Favorite KAL: Well, I never got around to knitting those gloves I planned to make for Nona's Peaceful Palms KAL, so I'm going to have to go with the Sexy Knitter's Club's Picovoli KAL starting in January.
4. Favorite Shop: I do love petting the yarns at my LYS, but for a good value you can't beat KnitPicks and Discountyarnsale.com. It took me a while to discover that there was more to online yarn shopping than Elann (good prices, not so great selection).
5. Favorite Tool: Denise circular needle set. So useful! I have barely had to buy any needles since I got it.
Posted by zarah at 6:28 PM | Comments (5)
Christmas Knitting Strikes Back
I finished Winter Vineyard. (Woo hoo!) My only other self-declared Christmas knitting project was the socks for my husband. But you know... there's less than a week until Christmas. Those socks have been on the needles for months. No need to rush, maybe I should start a little something for myself. =) (I never even told anyone that I was trying to finish them by Christmas anyway... except you guys.)
So, I cast on and knit the ribbing for Cutaway. I've been planning to knit this sweatter since about September -- I even bought the yarn -- and it's been patiently waiting in my stash cupboard. But after I started the first row of stockinette, my husband looked over at me and asked: "How are my socks coming?"
So, long story short: Bye bye Cutaway. It's sockmania time!Posted by zarah at 10:00 AM | Comments (2)
12 Days of Christmas - Day 7
Oh look! It's another monkey handing in Zarah's tree! (She must have an infestation.) This is just a really cute ornament I saw hanging in a shop window a few years ago. My mom bought it for me... actually, she bought three. So there really is a monkey revolution taking over my Christmas tree.
Posted by zarah at 10:00 AM
December 19, 2005
Stop the Presses
We have actual KNITTING content here at Christmas ornaments-R-Us. I finally managed to get a non-blurry picture of the cable pattern I'm using for my Grandma's scarf, Winter Vineyard. It is a bit unique because the number of crossed stitches are not equal -- one stitch crosses over 2 stitches each time. I also really like this scarf because it is reversible -- there are cables on both sides. If you want to see a pattern (and keep in mind I've never written one before), click here.
The good news is that I finished the scarf, with plenty of time to spare! (Not really -- I wanted to finish this weekend so my parents could take it with them to my grandma's for Christmas, since I won't be there.)
The bad news is ... I left it at my parents house without taking a finished picture!
As you can see, we got a little snow at my mom and dad's house this weekend. It was great because it wasn't enough to make the roads bad, but just enough to have big fat snowflakes floating around outside while we celebrated Christmas.
Next weekend... Christmas with the in-laws and more knitted gifts! (Don't worry, they're already done.) I'll be sure to take pictures this time!
Posted by zarah at 12:00 PM | Comments (1)
12 Days of Christmas - Day 6
Birdie, birdie! Who can spot the birdie? Growing up, there were a couple of ornaments on my grandma's tree that she always hung in a "hidden" location. My sister and I always had a competition to see who could find them first. One of them looked quite a bit like this little bird.
Posted by zarah at 10:00 AM
December 18, 2005
12 Days of Christmas - Day 5
This is a new ornament this year, purchased by my mother-in-law. (She usually always buys us one around Thanksgiving). It is not too interesting or unique, just a standard Hallmark ornament -- but I like it because it is a "New Home 2005" ornament, and my husband and I bought our first house earlier this year. It will be fun to put it up on future trees and remember our first year in our own home.
Posted by zarah at 10:00 AM | Comments (1)
December 17, 2005
12 Days of Christmas - Day 4
Here's the latest edition to my "travel" ornaments -- it is from the trip my husband and I took to Santa Fe this fall. That is a cool town... lots of yummy food. I bought some yarn there, too, but its kinda weird. I might make a hat out of it.
Posted by zarah at 10:56 AM | Comments (1)
December 16, 2005
12 Days of Christmas - Day 3
Sock monkey! Everyone loves the sock monkey.... right? This is a mini version of the REAL sock monkey my grandma made me when I was younger. It was a real sock money, too, made with one of my grandpa's socks. I's guessing he had worn out the heel or something, because my grandma would never have bought brand new socks and made them into toys... she was way thrifty like that.
Posted by zarah at 10:53 AM | Comments (3)
December 15, 2005
12 Days of Christmas - Day 2
All you pet lovers know... you just HAVE to have a few ornaments that look like your pet! This is the first of several "Lucy" ornaments... my cute red mini dachshund. Lucy is much better behaved in ornament form than in real life!
Posted by zarah at 4:52 PM | Comments (2)
December 14, 2005
Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 1
For those of you who are counting, there are only 12 days left until Christmas (including Christmas Day). So, for the next 12 days, I'll be featuring an ornament from my Christmas tree!
(No, no... this has nothing to do with Christmas knitting procrastination. Nothing!) I will try to do some knitting posts, but "the scarf got longer today" gets kinda old.
This ornament is, of course, a partridge in a pear tree. It was hand-painted by my husband's grandma. We actually have a full set, but I won't be showing them every day (that would be boring).
See you tomorrow!
Posted by zarah at 4:07 PM | Comments (3)
December 13, 2005
Greetings, Humans
My name is Lucy. I have come VERY close to the camera to whisper in your ear. Zarah is not paying attention to me. She is busy playing with some purple yarn. I keep bringing her my squeaky ball and standing on her knitting and squeaking my toy in my face, but she just pushes me off her lap and mutters something about "only 11 more days of knitting!" Could you please tell her that throwing my ball is much more important than playing with that stupid purple string? I think she listens to you people.
Posted by zarah at 8:12 PM | Comments (2)
December 12, 2005
Grandma's Scarf
This is the scarf that I am knitting for my Grandma for Christmas. It is about halfway done -- because I am halfway through my yarn. I was originally going to knit the Here and There Cables pattern from Scarf Style, but I ran into some problems. First, I tried to make it narrower but miscalculated the size of the pattern repeat. Second, I didn't understand the pattern. If anyone out there has knitted it, what does it mean when you put the stitches on the cable needle adn then put some of them back on the regular needle? I'm just not sure why they go on the cable needle in the first place. Anyway...
That wasn't working out, so I ripped back to the first 6 rows of ribbing and made up my own pattern. My main goal was to make a cabled scarf that is reversible, just like my inspirational scarf, Here and There Cables.
I am calling this scarf "Winter Vineyard." It fits the project because the muted purple color reminds me of the wilted grapes left on the vine when the weather turns cold. My uncle runs a vineyard that is right down the road from my grandparent's house.
I know you're all dying to knit up this scarf for yourself (ha!), so without further ado:
Yarn: Cascade 220, 100% wool, 2 skeins for average length scarf; 3 skeins for long scarf.
Needles: Size 7 straights
Gauge: The ball band said 5 sts / in on size 7s. Honestly I didn't knit a gauge swatch -- it's a scarf!
Pattern:
CO 26 sts (long-tail cast-on works well).
Establish pattern as follows:
P1, *K3, P3,* Repeat from * 7 times, K1. Repeat for 5 more rows.
Begin cable pattern:
Row 1: P1, *Put first Knit stitch on cable needle and leave it hanging in front. K2. Knit st off cable needle. P3. K3, P3.* Repeat from * 3 times.
Rows 2&3: Knit in pattern (P1, *K3, P3,* Repeat from * 7 times, K1)
Row 4: Repeat Row 1.
Rows 5&6: Knit in pattern (P1, *K3, P3,* Repeat from * 3 times, K1)
Row 7: P1, *K3, P3. Put first Knit stitch on cable needle and leave it hanging in front. K2. Knit st off cable needle. P3.* Repeat from * 3 times.
Rows 8&9: Knit in pattern (P1, *K3, P3,* Repeat from * 3 times, K1)
Row 10: Repeat Row 7.
Rows 11&12: Knit in pattern (P1, *K3, P3,* Repeat from * 3 times, K1)
Posted by zarah at 10:00 AM | Comments (1)
December 9, 2005
Knitting spot
This meme has been going around, so I figured I would share my knitting spot with the world: I have this end of the couch reserved for knitting, with my trusty knitting basket that I normally have somewhat hidden under the end table. The coffee table is normally covered in yarn, but I clean it off (mostly) when company is coming.
Posted by zarah at 3:32 PM | Comments (1)
Christmas tree
I finally got my Christmas tree up and put the ornaments on. Isn't it pretty? (Yep, that's a real tree... my house smells very piney.) If you look at the top left side, you will see one of my favorite ornaments, which is really a little stuffed toy of Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Dr. Seuss. (My dad used to call me and my sis that. I was Thing 1!)
(Note to self: oh, there are your black shoes! What are they doing on the couch?) Seriously. Those shoes were lost until I saw this picture.
Posted by zarah at 7:32 AM | Comments (1)
December 8, 2005
We have a KAL
The Sexy Knitters Club has chosen its first Knit Along... The Picovoli tee by the extremely creative Grumperina. I have been wanting to knit this pattern for quite a while, so I'm really glad it's what we picked. The KAL starts in January (thank goodness!)
The original yarn in the pattern is Debbie Bliss Cathay, which is kind of expensive, so I think I'm going to go with the suggested substitute yarn, KnitPicks Shine. Any suggestions on color?
I'm thinking either:
Butter
Green Apple
or Orchid
Posted by zarah at 10:00 AM | Comments (3)
December 6, 2005
November Wrap-Up, December Plans
Let's start with a check-up on those old November goals:
1. Finish the Possum Socks. Not done. I had to put this project on hold because, true to form, I ran short of yarn. Luckily Jeannine came through for me and sent me a spare ball of superwash from her stash to complete the project. I think these are going on the Christmas gift list.
2. Finish Midwest Moonlight scarf for myself. Done! I really love this scarf. I wear it around town and I think to myself, "why isn't everyone swooning over this scarf?" But I guess it takes a knitter to appreciate such an awesome design.
3. Start gloves for Nona's Peaceful Palms Knit-Along. Not done... not even started. Although I noticed that there is a glove pattern on the new Knitty (urban rustic gloves) that looks interesting. (Actually, that whole issue looks great!)
DECEMBER GOALS
1. Christmas Knitting. I said I wouldn't do it this year, but I made a hat and it was so fun and easy... Now I am about 12 inches into a self-designed scarf for my grandma and I am forcing myself to finish those friggin Possum Socks in time to put under the tree.
2. Do I really need any other projects? I would like to start Cutaway, but the small needles are scaring me! Also, I have some really big projects at work that are going to be taking up lots of time over the next week.
If I can get that Christmas knitting done, it will be enough. That's the gift of peace, people.
Posted by zarah at 10:00 AM | Comments (1)
December 5, 2005
Random Meme
I've been working really hard on this... it's harder than you think!
TEN random things you might not know about me
1. I lost my sense of smell for about 5 years, but it came back about a month ago.
2. I have run 4 half-marathons, but no marathons.
3. I’ve only had a real job for a little over a year… and I’m still adjusting.
4. I think I’m a good singer, but I’m really not.
5. Peppermint is my favorite flavor.
6. I have one sister and no brothers.
7. I have a dachshund named Lucy. I’ve never had a pet before except a hermit crab named Superman.
8. My feet grew a whole size my freshman year of college.
9. I'm a United Methodist.
10. I've been married 4 1/2 years.
NINE places I've visited
1. Mexico
2. Canada
3. England
4. France
5. Switzerland
6. Austria
7. Spain
8. Italy
9. Germany
EIGHT ways to win my heart
1. Surprise me. (Good surprises, please!)
2. Don't bother me until I've had my coffee in the morning. =)
3. Clean the shower.
4. Take me to a play or concert.
5. Buy me yarn.
6. Notice when I get my hair cut.
7. Go running with me. (At 6am... hee hee)
8. Buy me yarn. =)
SEVEN things I want to do before I die
1. Run the Boston Marathon.
2. Be a teacher.
3. Live in a foreign country again.
4. Live on a farm.
5. Drive across the U.S.
6. Go skydiving.
7. Knit a sweater that fits someone. (Okay, someone I know.)
SIX things I'm afraid of
1. Scary movies
2. Bugs bigger than my thumb
3. Strange noises in dark rooms
4. Being in a fire
5. Dead animals
6. Being impaled on one of those hay bale spikes on the back of pick-up trucks
FIVE things I don't like
1. Beets
2. Indecisiveness
3. Crooked teeth
4. Anything to do with eyeballs – putting in contacts, little kids turning their eyelids inside out, etc.
5. Having to act friendly when I am in a bad mood
FOUR ways to turn me off
1. Don’t take responsibility for your actions
2. Complain instead of doing something about your problems
3. Be lazy
4. Be fake
THREE things I do every day
1. Pray
2. Knit
3. Eat chocolate (just a little!)
TWO things that make me happy
1. My husband
2. My doggie.
ONE thing on my mind right now
1. Work... argh.
As requested, I tag Bethany!
Posted by zarah at 10:00 PM | Comments (2)
December 1, 2005
It's a bird, it's a plane!
It's Super-Swatch!
Confession time: I have never actually knitted a swatch, cast off, washed and blocked before. Is it any wonder I've had the problems I've had? That would be a no. But this is a fully processed swatch. And I don't think the size changed one centimeter. But hey, it could have!
I'm trying to change my bad habits, because I am jumping (timidly) back into sweater-land. Someday, this tiny swatch will grow up to be a mighty Cutaway cardigan.
The yarn is quite pretty too, isn't it? I'm on a tweed kick lately. I found this Queensland Kathmandu DK at discountyarnsale.com (color 417 -- also my area code, how random).
Posted by zarah at 10:28 PM | Comments (3)
Blanket needs a name!
This is one of my on-going projects. It is a log-cabin quilt pattern that I add to whenever I finish a project a have a little yarn left. Right now it is about 18 inches by 18 inches, so I've got quite a way to go. I was thinking I should post a progress pic every so often, so to keep track of how it's going. Just for reference, I started this a little less than a year ago.
I really like it because it reminds me of the crazy quilts my grandma used to make -- absolutely no regard for matching, and they turned out looking great.
Anyway, I need a name for this little project -- any suggestions?
You can find directions for how to make your very own log-cabin knitted blanket from Mason-Dixon Knitting -- here.
Posted by zarah at 11:06 AM | Comments (2)