PSA

In the event of an Alpacalypse:
 

⇒ Remain calm.

⇒ Do not try to be a hero. Resistance is futile.

⇒ Give them whatever they demand. Remember that the important thing is to survive to knit another day.



(This Public Service Announcement is brought to you by the Camp Out Mitts and Chunky Cowl patterns. Although both are super easy quick & fun knits, they certainly are not worth risking your life to defend. Just hand them over.)

a knit for every mood

The last few weeks have been pretty difficult schedule-wise and health-wise. The February Blahs get to me every single year. But thankfully things are looking up and will be back to so-called normal soon. I am just grateful that we only had one (!) snow day so far this week. Crazy winter weather! But looking on the bright side, there has been quite an accumulation of new knits that I can show you.

First, we have Siri. The beautiful and unusual yoke design was what initially drew me in. It is all achieved with crossed stitches which is perfect for when I am in need of an intricate and interesting knit. The motif brings to mind bare winter trees, especially when combined with the brown fishermen's wool. A great knit for cold dark rainy days like today.

Next up is a soft and super bulky ribbed cowl. Mindless and fast. This one should be off the needles and gifted soon.

Loving the winter neutrals like brown and grey right now, but sometimes a little color is needed to brighten up the string of dark days. That is when I dig out my on-going Pine Bough. Still mindless but with just the right amount of subtle colorplay.

For something a little bit more cheerful, there's a second pair of camp out mitts on the needles using the rest of the Noro Kureyon yarn from the first pair. Beautiful pinks and blues have me looking forward to sunnier summer weather, although as you can see in the picture, the color forecast ahead looks dark and grim. Oh the infuriating randomness of Noro!

Lastly, I have been experimenting with garter jacquard. Here's a fun heart pattern found in Mary Jane Mucklestone's 200 Fair Isle Motifs directory. Not sure where this one is headed, but the combination of the bright snowy white and robins egg blue always manages to lift up my spirits. 

And so there you have it. A knit for every winter's mood. Good thing there's only ten days left in February because the WIP basket is now filled up :) Hope that you all are well and Happy belated Valentine's Day! Please check back on Friday for a little Valentine's present. It is a free pattern that I was hoping to post on Valentine's Day but couldn't manage to string together in time. As I'm sure husbands the world over were thinking on that day, "Better late than never!"

camp out mitts

Just a quick hello to show off my new Camp Out Mitts. I really had fun knitting these up with Noro Kureyon. They add a bit of much needed color to the seemingly endless grey cold days that we have been experiencing lately. I don't know about you, but I am so ready for this winter to be over with! Today marks the beginning of the Year of the Horse. May the New Year bring you good health and prosperity!

quick recap of vkl

the view of Times Square from my room

Tomorrow reality sets in again with my first day back to work. But today I am still daydreaming about what an amazingly fun vacation it has been. Vogue Knitting Live was so cool on so many levels. The best part was meeting and socializing with a bunch of friendly & fun loving knitters from different parts of the country (one as far away as Alaska!). Knitters are the best people! I also had a chance to meet up and go out to dinner with an internet friend :)

Siljan Mittens by Nancy Bush

My second favorite part of the event were the two day long classes that I took with Nancy Bush (on twined knitting) and Franklin Habit (on different colorwork techniques). Both are awesome teachers who are passionate about passing their knowledge onto new knitters. I am very excited to apply some of these new techniques to my knitting and to share them in more detail with you.

Riverside Studio Yarns from Quebec

Matryoshka doll shawl pin from Michelles Assortment & bird buttons from Incomparable Buttons

As you can see from the above two pictures, the third best part was the Marketplace. So many terrific vendors, so little time to shop. Plus, it was super busy. But I did manage to get my greedy hands on some new-to-me yarns and pretty little notions. Aren't the buttons adorable? They, along with the woven basket below, were handcrafted in Africa.

Camp Out Mitts

Lastly, it was simply wonderful to knit knit knit without interruption. I love my two guys, but sometimes a girl just wants to knit have fun! Lots of things came off the needles this week and I am excited to show them off on Friday. Until then, I have a lot of blog reading to catch up on!

mitten emergency

All knitting on my WIP's came to a screeching halt due to having a sudden mitten emergency on my hands. (oops *sorry* couldn't resist!) As is often the case with things that come in pairs, Thing One became separated from Thing Two on several occasions. Which translated into mitten language meant that the little guy had 3 lefties but no righties to be found. Personally, I blame this sad state of affairs on mischievous household sprites ;) Luckily for the little guy, my knitting skills are better than my organizational ones.

I am calling these his Arctic Blast mittens because they are super toasty warm. Love the waffle stitch and the unexpected pop of red. I modified this pattern to fit his hands with a little room to grow into. Hopefully, those darn sprites will resist stealing these for a few years yet. We had chilly cold temps in the single digits here and no power for several hours yesterday, so it was a great day to hide out in bed and knit mittens!



p.s. Mittens are very hard to photograph. I almost caused myself an injury while taking the picture for my new header :)

Dipped! Armwarmers

It's so true that inspiration can come from anywhere and everywhere. Case in point:

Dipped dyed milking stools ⇒ cows ⇒ chocolate dipped waffle cones filled with double scoops of chocolate fudge brownie ice cream ⇒ goose pimples ⇒ thermal long johns ⇒ waffle stitch pattern ⇒ arm socks ⇒ Dipped! Armwarmers

I love having options in my accessories. These armwarmers can be worn fully stretched for optimal warmth.

Or slightly slouchy 

Or totally scrunched up

This is my favorite way to wear them...as an extra layer over a long-sleeved shirt...preferably while eating ice cream!

(linking up with FO Friday)

under the weather

Both the little guy and myself are feeling a bit under the weather this week. Dratted winter bugs. So we have been eating lots of soup and occupying ourselves with our individual piles of toys.

his pile

my pile

1) Just a few more repeats to go on my Margaret Dashwood Shawl. Hoping that it will be long
enough to wrap around. I also have to come up with some type of closure to keep the wrap in place in the back.
2) Trying to get back to knitting these colourwork mitts. The first mitt was easy and fast, but kind of lost momentum on the second. I am determined to finish these though. If only I hadn't started on...
3) A pair of dipped thermal armwarmers, inspired by, you guessed it, chocolate dipped waffle cones. Yum! Taking notes along the way so I can maybe write up the (free) pattern.
4) Kate Davies' new book. I absolutely ♥ it. Beautiful writing and photography. Gorgeous patterns. I ♥ how she pairs the knitting designs with interesting information on the landscape, culture and history of Shetland. The 10 projects that are derived from the 5 colour stories in the book range in difficulty from intermediate to advance. At the top of my must knit list are the Puffin sweater and mantle. Also thinking of making the jauntily nautical Stevenson sweater and gauntlets, too. Absolutely love how she styled this combination (and the whole book, truth be told. Modern + Vintage + Wool = be still my beating heart)

So many projects to be inspired by and it's just the start of the year! For more inspiration, check out WIP Wednesday over at Tami's. I am also excited to be participating in Yarn Along for the first time. Hoping to jump start my reading this year. Wish me luck!

November ♥

♥ The changing moods of a typical November day here in Maryland. One minute grey and stormy, the next sunny and clear blue.
♥ Wearing boots and taking a long walk in the rain. Had the trails all to myself yesterday. Thinking about knitting warm wooly socks to wear with my rain boots.
♥ Speaking of woolen footwear, I dug out a pair of slipper socks that my little sister had gifted me with last Christmas. I had forgotten about these. So warm and cozy, even if the label says that they are mainly acrylic with a touch of wool. Makes me want to knit a pair out of 100 percent wool. Maybe this pattern or this.
♥ Rereading the book that motivated me to relearn to knit all those years ago. The images and words really speak to me on so many levels. My favorite is this one with all its everyday knitterly details: the tied shawl, the wooden buckets with their knitted straps, the girl's work in progress in her hands. I love the shawl that she is wearing and spent quite a bit of time last night looking on ravelry for something similar. I am leaning towards this one or this. Or designing my own? There are some wonderful examples in the book.
♥ Simple and fun colorwork. Almost done with the first mitt. I have plans to make a few more pairs as Christmas gifts, but we'll see. Trying to take it easy this holiday and not get stressed out. Gift cards for everyone? We'll see ;)



(linking up to WIP Wednesday over at Tami's)

Varsity Mitts

It took awhile, but I finally finished the fingerless mitts for my nieces. Since Christmas and Valentines Day have come and gone, these are going in the gift box for next Christmas. Yay! In this case, procrastination ended up giving me a head start.

Ravelry is a great source for basic (and free!) patterns like this one which can be easily customized.

I added contrasting stripes to the ribbing and slip stitch crochet borders to the thumbs to give the mitts a sporty look. Plus little duplicate stitch hearts...just because.


(For all things awesome in knitting and crochet, go to FO Friday with Tami's Amis)

Something New

In my New Year's wishes post, I deliberately kept "learn something new" open ended and vague. Why? Because in the past, when I resolved to learn how to play the guitar, learn how to quilt, learn how to bake a pie, etc, etc...my procrastination tendencies kicked in and by the end of the year, I was left with a failed resolution and disappointment in myself for not taking even the smallest steps towards completing my goal. So this year, the pressure is off and I have given myself complete freedom to learn SOMETHING! ANYTHING! How can I possibly fail, right?

Yesterday, I taught myself something that has made me ridiculously happy: how to cross stitch on knitted stockinette fabric! Dramatic and life changing it's not, but my hexipuffs will never be the same for it.

redwork heart hexipuff

The hardest part will be choosing from among the motifs in this book. Lots of wonderful embroidery and cross stitch ideas with charts for all of the motifs can be found within its pages.

In other WIP news, I am almost finished with my youngest niece's fingerless mitts. These were meant to be one of her Christmas presents, but now will make a nice little handmade Valentine's Day gift. Can't wait to get this final holiday gift project off the needles!

As always, check out all the great knitting and crochet on display at WIP Wednesday with TAMI'S AMIS.

My List for Holiday Knitting

The holiday gift knitting is in full swing! And just like every December past, I feel slightly behind in everything. But the key theme for this season is to Keep It Simple. So with that in mind, I have come up with a list of criteria for my 2011 gift knitting. Each gift must be:

1) Fast. Because there is a deadline.

2) Simple. Because I do not have time to get into a fight with a project when said deadline is looming over my head.

3) Fun (or at least as fun as an item knitted for someone other than myself can be). Because I tend to knit multiples of a project and have no wish to poke my eyes out with boredom after the third ______.
(fill in the blank)

4) Useful. Because no knitted gift of mine should end up buried in a recipient's dirty sock drawer. And if it does, I don't want to know.

Given all of the above, my choices for this holiday season are:

Windschief Hat by Stephen West. I loved knitting my hubby's Windschief neck warmer and it was very well received (see #4 above). Plus after making four Botanic Hats last Christmas, I felt a little nostalgic and decided to go with another westknits hat pattern. The Turn a Square Hat was also in the running.

Double Bump Dishcloths. These are for Grandma L. (my MIL). Definitely fast and simple, although a little boring. Perfect holiday movie knitting. And wait till you see what I am pairing these up with. One down, several more to go.

Fingerless Mitts. I am using this great basic pattern as a starting point. These will be for my two nieces. Hopefully these mitts will be cool and stylish enough to be worn at least once. One pair down, one more to go.

And if I have time, I might whip up some of these for my sister and SIL's. Quick but gorgeous, right?

For more holiday knitting and crochet ideas, go to WIP Wednesday with TAMI'S AMIS. Happy gift knitting everyone!

Ring in the New

You didn't think I would go a whole week without showing off another Botanic Hat, now did you? This is the fourth and probably the last one for a while. It will be donated to the local shelter. I took the pictures of the hat at night using my Ott-lite (without flash) just to see how they would turn out. I think that it's a good option for when natural sunlight is not possible. Also shown are the Give a Hoot mittens that I made for my two nieces, which went over really well. And that's the last of this year's FO's. Here's to a New Year of bright possibilities and more crafty adventures! Help us to ring it in properly by visiting Tami's blog for FO Friday.