100 Boring Things About Me

Well, if it's a good enough topic for Norma & Annie, it's good enough for me. Try to stay awake to the end.

1. I am deathly afraid of spiders.
2. I was the first person in my family (mother’s and father’s sides) to graduate from a 4-year college with a bachelor’s degree.
3. I am still the only person in my family (mother’s and father’s sides) to go to graduate school.
4. When I was 25 years old, I went to England to visit my mother’s brother.
5. Until I took that trip, no one in my family had talked to or seen my uncle since he left the United States for England during World War II.
6. On that same trip, I became the first person in my family to meet my 40-year-old cousin who was born in England.
7. I have visited the church in Italy where my grandmother, grandfather, and mother were baptized.
8. The only Italian I can speak are the swear words.
9. I swear a lot (but not around my kids).
10. I was born on the East Coast and miss the beach.
11. I’ve dipped my feet in the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea.
12. Frolicking on the beach is bad for me; I’ve had to have several “moles” removed.
13. My sister is only 362 days older than me.
14. I love the color red-orange.
15. Ninety percent of the clothes I own are black, grey, white, or tan.
16. My winter coat is fire engine red.
17. I was raised Catholic.
18. I didn’t know a non-Catholic person until I was in high school.
19. I’m married to a Jew.
20. My children have been converted to Judaism.
21. My first child was born 2 weeks early.
22. I gained 45 pounds with my first pregnancy, which was 41% of my pre-pregnancy weight.
23. I weigh the same now as I did before my first pregnancy.
24. I have been to Disneyland/Disney World at least 14 times.
25. My favorite movie is Annie Hall.
26. I’ve seen it in the movie theater 34 times (most times at a theater in Harvard Square).
27. I grew up in a house situated directly across the street from a cemetery.
28. My mother also grew up in that house.
29. My parents still live there.
30. I smoked when I was in high school and college.
31. I live 2,000 miles away from any blood relative.
32. I met one of my best friends when we took a tap dancing class together at age five.
33. My other two best friends are women I met in Junior High School.
34. My junior high school was demolished a couple of months ago.
35. When I was in elementary school, I wanted to be a go-go dancer (or so my parents tell me).
36. My mother took me to the library every week when I was a child.
37. I was allowed to check out 4 books and keep them for 7 days.
38. I read them all the first day, then read them each 6 more times.
39. I worked in the Children’s Room of the same library when I was in High School.
40. I’ve worked in a bank.
41. I’ve also worked in a VA hospital in a non-medical position.
42. Hospitals scare me.
43. I’ve never colored my hair.
44. I did get a perm once.
45. It made me look foolish.
46. I wear contact lenses.
47. I’m blind as a bat.
48. I love dark chocolate; milk chocolate not so much.
49. I much prefer Diet Pepsi to Diet Coke.
50. Within a two-month period in 1988 I: graduated from law school; got married; went on a trip to the Bahamas; moved 2,200 miles; started a new job; took the bar exam; and bought a house.
51. I’ve never gotten a traffic ticket of any kind; not even a parking ticket.
52. I’m always cold.
53. I’m older than my husband.
54. I’m 5’2” tall.
55. I once dated a basketball player from Hamilton College who was 6’5” tall.
56. I have no talent for music.
57. I envy people who have musical talent.
58. I never watch TV.
59. I don't know how to operate our TV since we got a dish system.
60. I don’t eat red meat.
61. The sight of raw meat, chicken, and fish makes me nauseous.
62. I eat a lot of junk food.
63. I voted in my first presidential election when I was 18.
64. I voted for Jimmy Carter.
65. I’ve always been good at math.
66. I’m very bad at arithmetic.
67. When I started college, I was an engineering major.
68. I ended up with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.
69. I got accepted to every law school to which I applied.
70. I went to the worst law school that accepted me because I got a full scholarship and a stipend.
71. I’m a lawyer but I hate conflict.
72. I love shopping at TJ Maxx.
73. I unequivocally refuse to shop at Wal-Mart.
74. I hate Las Vegas.
75. I visit Las Vegas at least 4 times a year.
76. I hate to fly.
77. I hate to stay in hotels.
78. I have germ issues.
79. I love to travel even though that necessarily entails flying, staying in a hotel, and germs.
80. I was at the Denver International Airport on September 11, 2001 and was about to board a plane back to Salt Lake City when they grounded all flights.
81. My friend from law school was on one of the planes that flew into the World Trade Center.
82. I flew again with a month of September 11th.
83. And took my kids with me.
84. We went to Disneyland (see question #24, supra).
85. I cried every day for more than a month after September 11th.
86. I was in Washington, D.C. during the Bicentennial.
87. I watched the fireworks on July 4, 1976, from the Mall.
88. I sat in VIP seats with my friend whose father was a colonel in the Army.
89. I am extremely patriotic.
90. I never fly an American flag in front of my house on holidays.
91. I sat next to Ivan Lendl at a nondescript pizza joint in London in the summer of 1986 and then watched him play at Wimbledon the next day.
92. I can’t spell.
93. I’ve never spanked my kids.
94. My kids are very well-behaved.
95. I learned to knit when I was 10 years old.
96. I keep all my knitting info on my Palm Pilot.
97. I sometimes forget to sync my Palm Pilot before the batteries run out.
98. When I was 6 years old, I went on a family vacation to Montreal, Canada.
99. We never went on another family vacation.
100. I spent far too much time making this list.

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Felting Up A Storm

I felted a couple more oven mitts this morning and set them out to dry.



For this pair, I used a double strand of Brown Sheep Nature Spun worsted yarn. I only had one skein of each color so I made them fraternal instead of identical. The mitt I made a couple of days ago was made from a single strand of a Lopi-type Icelandic yarn. I think I like the look and feel of the Lopi a little better than the Nature Spun. It's the same weight but the Lopi seems slightly more substantial.

The more of these I make, the more people I think of who would probably like a set. Several of these people are men, and I will alter the pattern for them. So far, the three I've made have fit my hand nicely. But I have really small hands. So I think I'll add a few rounds to the arm and a few rounds after the thumb shaping. Come to think of it, I'll probably add a few rounds to the thumb, too. Otherwise, the pattern has good shaping and it's incredibly easy to follow.

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Recipe Time

A couple of people asked, so here's my pumpkin bread recipe. If you make it, let me know how it turned out.



Pumpkin Walnut Cranberry Bread

2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
3/4 c. canned pumpkin
1 egg (slightly beaten)
1/4 c. melted butter (cooled)
2/3 c. milk
1 c. whole cranberries
1 c. chopped walnuts

Mix the first 6 ingredients together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the remaining 6 ingredients being careful not to damage the cranberries. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix only enough to blend the two together. Pour into a greased and floured 9 inch loaf pan. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Caveat: This recipe works for me, but I live at an altitude slightly higher than 3,500 feet. If you live closer to sea level, you may need to lower the oven temperature or cook the bread for slightly less than 1 hour. I’d check it at 50 minutes just to be on the safe side.

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The Day After

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We weren’t able to get together with either of our families this year, so we had dinner with some old friends and their family. They cooked a 34 pound turkey. Really; 34 pounds! Frankly, I didn’t even know you could buy a turkey that big. It was almost comical. The drumstick was so large they actually carved pieces off of it. Since I’m not much of a cook, but more of a baker, I brought some biscotti and some pumpkin/cranberry/walnut bread. The pumpkin bread recipe is one I’ve come up with myself by altering an old recipe over the years and I could post it here if anyone is interested. The biscotti is also a recipe I created myself through trial and error. Aren’t they yummy looking:



As for the Thanksgiving knitting, I made a felted potholder in the morning and felted it that afternoon. Here’s the pre-felting picture (with a can of soda for size persepective):



And here’s the finished potholder:



The pattern is from Bev Galeskas’ book, Felted Knits. I traded some sock yarn with Arow for this book solely for this pattern. I’ll probably make a few more of these for gifts, but this one is destined for a woman who car pools with me. She makes the tastiest pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and my son is so addicted to them it’s become somewhat of a joke in their family. I actually bought the little ceramic “timer” before I made the potholder, but I think they look cute together. Whew, another present down.

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Hot Off the Needles

I had grand plans for today, but woke up with a horrendous head cold. So, I stayed home from work and finished up a pair of socks for DS. Hanukkah is screaming up, so these will be his present from me for one of the nights. Here they are, hot off the needles:



I used Opal yarn and my tried-and-true basic ribbed pattern, but altered the toe slightly because DS has short, fat toes. Typically, I decrease every other row until I have half the number of stitches I started with. Then I decrease every row until 12 stitches remain. For DS’s socks, I started with 72 stitches and decreased every other row until I had 48 stitches. Then I decreased every row until I was down to 12. It makes the toe less pointy. I also used a Sherman short-row heel since that type of heel fits him better. And, he likes the leg of his socks short, so the leg is only 5" long. Hey, less knitting; that works for me. Best of all, I'm not concerned that he'll outgrow them before he wears them out because right now he and I wear the same shoe size. So he can pass them down to moi!

Oh, and I used some new needles that I've never tried before,



They’re 6" Plymouth bamboo needles in size 2.25 mm (U.S. #1). I figured I use them in honor of Thanksgiving (get it??) But now I’m ready to completely abandon Crystal Palace bamboos in favor of these. The points are just awesome and they're nicely polished. I’ll have to shoot by the LYS and pick up a pair in size 2.00 mm and 2.75 mm, although 2.25 is the size I use most often.

Have a Great Thanksgiving. Drive Carefully!

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Shawl Musings

Here are my musings on the Oriel Lace Shawl.

I really liked this lace pattern because it has a minimum of yarn overs. I hate working too many yarn overs in a lace pattern. This pattern has a 12-stitch repeat and only 2 of those stitches are yarn overs. The yarn overs in this pattern are a little tricky if you've not done much lace and this is the only reason I wouldn't recommend this project as a first lace project. That said, it is unnecessary to use markers since there is a line of stitches that runs down the middle of the pattern which makes it very easy to recognize immediately if you've made a mistake. I did use two markers to set off the border stitches.

For the cast on, I used the twisted German method and for the bind off I used Montse Stanley’s "suspended" bind off which is described on page 85 of her book, "Knitter’s Handbook." This book is not really intended for a beginning knitter, but if you have a couple of projects under you belt, I think it's the best comprehensive knitting guide available. Really. I use this book more than any other in my bookcase.

Next time I make this stole, I'll use a provisional cast on and add lace borders at the ends for two reasons:
1. I think the garter edge is a little too plain.
2. I have a very difficult time casting on and binding off loose enough. Lace borders will eliminate that problem because there are actually no stitches to "officially" bind off. The live stitches are simply knitted together with the last stitch on the border so the edge is much more flexible. This is one of the beauties of shetland shawls.

I blocked the shawl with my forked blocking pins and some very fine wire that I bought at Home Depot.



I ran the wire through the purl bumps on the sides of the stole and pulled it tight from end-to-end as I pinned it out. Although it took a long time to thread the wire through the sides, I was pretty pleased with how it turned out. There are no little blips along the sides from the pins. Anne suggested cotton thread as an alternative to wire.

I've tentatively decided to give this shawl to my evil older sister for Christmas. She's the only person I know who will actually take proper care of it. Plus, my father has been very ill this last year and she bore the brunt of shuttling him to and from doctor visits and hospitalizations. So, I think she deserves it.

Cast On

I've cast on an easy project to replace the Oriel Shawl.



This will be a hat for Lisa's "bargain." She's asking knitters to send hats for the homeless in Austin. If this is something you may be interested in participating in, just follow the link to Lisa's blog and sign on.

Aran Sweater

Someone asked me about the pattern for my Aran sweater. Yes, I still have the pattern book. It's followed me from Boston, to New York, to Texas, to New York, to Utah.
Yikes.



It's a Coats & Clark’s booklet printed in 1976. Check out the fabulous sweater that graces the cover.



OMG, I just thumbed through the Aran sweater instructions and realize that I altered this pattern, too. It's a sickness I tell you.

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Sweater Ideas

In response to my confession that I’ve only knit one sweater for myself in 30 years, both Norma and Margene wisely suggested that I should knit a sweater like the ones I typically wear. Anyone know where I can find cobweb-weight cashmere yarn, size 1.5mm needles, and a pattern for a ribbed T-neck knit at a gauge of 18 stitches to the inch???

Lace Stole

My Oriel Lace Shawl is finished and is blocking as I type this. Oh, how I love the stench glorious aroma of wet alpaca in the morning.



If you click on the picture, a larger one will pop up.
The pattern calls for two skeins of K1C2 Douceur et Soie yarn. I dislike mohair, though, so I used one skein of lace-weight Misti Alpaca and had just enough to finish the stole. Here's what was left over:



*Gulp*
Even DH noticed that I'd cut it close. He said, "Do you always plan it that way?"

I got the pattern from the designer, Anne Carroll Gilmore, when I took her lace class at my LYS last Sunday. It's free from my LYS if you purchase the yarn called for in the pattern (i.e., the K1C2 mohair/silk yarn). The name of the shop is Black Sheep Wool Co. in Salt Lake City. Or, if you don't want or need the yarn, I believe you can purchase the pattern separately but I’m not 100% sure about that. You can call the shop at (801) 487-9378 if you're interested. Anne works there on Mondays so if you call then she may be available to answer any questions you have about the pattern.

For needles, I started with an Inox circular and found that it was much too slippery. I switched to some plastic straight needles and hated those, too. They were far too long and cumbersome. Then, I had the amazing good fortune to obtain a set of Susanne’s 8" ebony double-points from Laurie at Stitch 'n Bitch on Tuesday night. I wrapped two of my daughter's hair elastics around the ends and I was in business.



I found the hair elastics (and came up with the idea) by simply looking down on the floor of my living room. Sometimes it pays to have an incorrigible pig for a daughter.

There's one thing I’ll do differently when I knit this scarf/stole again. (If you've been reading my blog for more than a day, you knew I was going to say that, didn't you.) But, you'll have to tune in tomorrow to learn what that is, how I blocked the stole, and who's going to find it under her tree at Christmas.


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New Look

I get lots of email from visitors who say that they cannot leave or read comments on my blog. I suspect it's because their browsers are blocking the comment box (which is a pop-up). Anyway, I changed the Haloscan settings so the comments open up in a window. Like it? Hate it? Don't care a rat's ass?

True Confessions

I was smitten with Cassie's post today because I have a similar confession to make. I've been knitting for almost 30 years and have only made one adult-sized sweater. Unlike Cassie, I have no fear of finishing. I've made dozens of child-sized sweaters and have assembled them without any problems. I'm also not timid about altering patterns. In fact, I don't think I've ever knit anything without altering the pattern at least slightly. My issue is more narcissistic; I'm only 5'2" tall and most hand-knit sweaters make me look utterly ridiculous.

I still have the only sweater I've ever knit and it was kind enough to pose for a picture this morning:



In addition to being the only full-size sweater I've ever knit, it is also the second thing I ever knit. The first was a pair of garter-stitch slippers. I moved on to aran sweaters before abandoning those for argyle socks. Yes, I was an overachiever in high school.

I still have the pattern for this sweater and now must also confess that it is knit from *whisper* 100% acrylic yarn. Before you condemn me let me expain: (1) It was the yarn called for in the pattern; (2) I didn't grow up in the most affluent household and I saved every penny of my $2.00-per-hour salary working in the children's room of the library for a long time to buy the yarn; and (3) Don't forget that acrylic was the rage in the 1970's.

I have started adult-sized sweaters since completing this one, but have always abandoned them for one reason or another. Most notable is the "boyfriend sweater" I began to knit while I was in law school. I'm still married to this man and I attribute that to the fact that I never finished the sweater.


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Goodies From Germany

Although the package I mailed to Michelle couldn't seem to find its way from Salt Lake City to Chicago, a package from Tine in Germany made it to my mailbox in record time. Inside there was a fabulous Anna booklet filled with stitch patterns, many of which I didn't recognize. Knowing that I like knitting small things on tiny needles, Tine also sent a wonderfully kitschy pattern book for the Barbie who has everything.





Check out the detail on this outfit for Ken:


Please, somebody stop me before I cast on for this!

There was also a skein of Opal sock yarn in the new Elemente colorway. Tine, of course, sent me the one with my favorite colors:


This is just calling out to me from the shelf ("knit me, knit me") but I'm resisting the temptation to abandon my Oriel Lace shawl. I worked on it a bit last night after Stitch 'N Bitch and have completed about 3.5 pattern repeats. Only 6.5 to go. However, I have clearly chosen the wrong needles for this project. I'm using a pair of very slippery Inox circular needles. The yarn is also very slippery so combining the two was sheer folly on my part. I managed to wrest a set of Susanne's ebony double-points from Laurie last night and I may transfer the stitches to two of those. Speaking of which, does anyone know where I can get my hands on some Holtz & Stein circular needles???? Danke.

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Sad But True

Thanks to everyone for the positive comments on my knitting skills. I'm typically not a self-deprecating person, and my, "Oh, I'm not such a good knitter," comment wasn't intended as such. But, I confess that my memory isn't what it used to be, so the essential skill I lack as a lace knitter is the ability to look at a row in a chart and remember it beyond the first 3-4 stitches. Sad, but true. That said, I took a lace class at my LYS on Sunday. Margene, Laurie, Emily, Cathy were there, too, so it was like Grrl's Day Out. The class was taught by Anne Carroll Gilmore, the author of the now infamous Dancing Stars Hat Pattern that Tine and my friend have both adapted to the French Market Bag. We worked on Anne's pattern called the Oriel Lace Shawl/Stole. Here's my progress as of Monday night:



I think the pattern is lovely and, best of all, it's easy to memorize!! I'm using a single strand of lace-weight Misti Alpaca and the fabric is incredibly soft. I may actually keep this for myself.

My second "sad, but true" story for today is that my Secret Pal never received the last package I sent her. Yup, how about shedding a collective tear for both me and Michelle. Just think, those fabulous alpaca/wool socks are probably sitting in the bowels of some nondescript post office as I type this. The green felted bag from yesterday's post is on its way to Michelle as a consolation prize. Think good thoughts with me and maybe it will reach its final destination.

On a happier note, I got a fabulous package from Germany on Monday and I'll take some pictures of the contents tonight. I also decided to post a picture of the next Six Sox Knitalong sock.



Sorry, that's all I'm showing for now!

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Pipe Dreams

Kim asked on Friday, "If you had unlimited time, money, and boundless skills as a knitter, what would your dream project be." Here's my dream project: Sivia Harding's Shetland Garden Farose Shawl. Alas, I still haven't bought the pattern because not only do I lack the time, but sadly I also the knitting skills.

Today's FO

The green felted bag I blogged about last week is finally dry.



I used every last bit of the Candide yarn and so I had to knit the tab with some black Cascade 220. The tab closes with a magnet that I picked up at my LYS. It’s made by Clover and comes in silver-tone or gold-tone.

The pattern is loosely based on the Felted Pocketbook pattern I used to make the maroon felted bag a couple of weeks ago. The pattern was in last winter’s Knitter’s Magazine. If you don’t have that issue, I was thumbing through the new book, Bags: A Knitter's Dozen, at my LYS on Saturday and noticed that the pattern is included in the book. If you haven’t seen the book yet, it also has the pattern for the Entrelac Market Squares Bag that was in the Summer 2001 issue of Knitters. I know some knitters have been searching for that pattern. Karen from our Stitch and Bitch group knit a gorgeous one that she brought to our meeting last Tuesday.

For the strap, I used a variation of the strap on my One World One Purse pattern. Basically, the center stitches are worked in garter stitch and there is an attached I-cord on each side. Every so many rows, you decrease one of the center stitches which makes the strap get thinner and thinner until you’re left with 7 stitches: 3 for the I-cord on one side, one in the middle, and 3 for the I-cord on the other side. It makes a nice, sturdy strap.

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This And That

I don't have much to say today (isn't that a surprise). Today's online free pattern link is to a hat pattern called, "Chinchilla Chemo Hat." I haven't made this one, but I have made chemo caps from Chinchilla and they turn out very nice. Soft, but not itchy. If you're feeling more ambitious, go to Cassie's blog and browse through the free shawl patterns she linked to in today's post.

Also, I wanted to let everyone know that you can send well-wishes to Elizabeth Edwards at this email address.

Have a good weekend.

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New Pattern Link

I'm going to try and add at least a couple of free, online patterns to my list of quick holiday patterns every week. Today I'm adding a link to this pattern called "Eyelash Scarf With A Twist". Basically, it's a scarf made from novelty yarn, but it's knit in the round so it can be worn as a cowl. OK, it's not quite equivalent to the amazing smoke ring cowls that Cassie and Lisa have been churning out, but it looks really cute and it can be knit from only one skein of eyelash yarn.

Current Projects

I haven't posted much about my current WIPs this week. One is the next sock for the Six Sox Knitalong so that explains why I've not posted a picture. I also knit a scarf for a neighbor's teenage daughter but gave it away before taking a picture. I did, however, take a picture of a felted bag I made on Monday.



Obviously, this is the pre-felted picture. I used some old Candide yarn and it took forever to felt. I think I ran it no fewer than 8-9 times through the wash cycle and the color bled like crazy. Now, it refuses to dry. Really. I've had it in front of the heat vent in my bedroom since Monday and it's still wet. Hmmm . . . I already have two teenagers; I don't need a felted bag that won't listen to me either.

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Wow (Toll!)

Run, don’t walk, over to Tine’s blog and check out the French
Market Bag she made from the Dancing Stars pattern. (She has a link on the left that will translate the entire blog into English using Google.) Tine is one of the best knitters around and the bag is nothing short of amazing. Toll! Klasse!!

More Holiday Ideas

I added another holiday pattern to the list on my sidebar. It’s a pattern to make a felted case for a laptop computer. Isn’t that a great idea! And it’s knit from just 2 skeins of Lamb’s Pride yarn. The pattern was written by Rebekah and it’s posted on her blog. Go check it out.

Is It Just Me?

DD created this map for a Spanish class assignment on Puerto
Rico:



Hmmm . . . Is it just me, or does that look like. . .
Oh, forget it.

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Kitchener Stitch According To Me

Margene posted yesterday that she had a brain cramp when she tried to close the toe of her sock with the Kitchener Stitch. Call me crazy, but I've never had any trouble working the Kitchener Stitch (you can stop laughing now, Laurie). In fact, on Saturday I spent a good half hour showing one of the employees of my LYS how to Kitchener the toe of her first sock. Here are my instructions on how to make it easy by thinking in terms of "knit stitches" on the "knit needle" and "purl stitches" on the "purl needle":

First, look at your sock after you divide the stitches equally onto the two needles. The yarn should be coming from the first stitch on the back needle.
The front needle (i.e., the needle closest to you) I'll call the "knit needle" because the knit stitches are facing you.
The back needle I'll call the "purl needle" because the purl stitches are facing you.

Basic rule #1 (with one exception): The yarn will be threaded through each stitch twice; once as if to knit and once as if to purl. When working the stitches on the "knit needle" you always thread the yarn as if to knit through the first stitch you work then as if to purl through the second stitch you work. When working the stitches on the "purl needle" you always thread the yarn as if to purl through the first stitch you work then as if to knit through the second stitch you work.
Exception: The yarn is threaded through the first stitch on each needle only once.
Basic rule #2 (no exceptions): When you thread the yarn through the stitch on the "knit needle" as if to knit, the stitch is slipped off the needle. When you thread the yarn through the stitch on the "knit needle" as if to purl, the stitch stays on the needle.
Basic rule #3 (no exceptions): When you thread the yarn through the stitch on the "purl needle" as if to purl, the stitch is slipped off the needle. When you thread the yarn through the stitch on the "purl needle" as if to knit, the stitch stays on the needle.

Got it?

OK, lets go . . .

1. Thread the yarn through the first stitch on the "knit needle" as if to knit. Slip the stitch off the needle. Thread the yarn through the next stitch on the "knit needle" as if to purl and leave the stitch on the needle.


2. Thread the yarn through the first stitch on the "purl needle" as if to purl. Slip the stitch off the needle. Thread the yarn through the next stitch on the "purl needle" as if to knit and leave the stitch on the needle.

That's it! Just keep following steps 1 & 2 until you run out of stitches.

Now go knit a sock and try it!

Bet Paid!

Before the World Series started, Bliss and I made a friendly "knitterly" bet on the outcome. Contrary to 86 years of history, I won! Last week she sent me the prize I requested; a copy of her Flair For Marie sock pattern.

I immediately put it on my "to-knit" list. Bliss has been having some problems with her computer, so if you want to order the pattern but don't hear back from her, try again in a couple of days.

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Holiday Pattern List

I've had so many positive comments about my list of holiday projects to knit from 1-3 skeins of yarn that I’ve decided to leave the list on my sidebar until the end of the year. If you scroll down a bit, you'll see it on the right. Although the contest is over, if you have any patterns that you think would be appropriate for the list, please email me or leave a comment and I’ll add the link when I have a chance. In fact, Kim Salazar left a long comment with lots of great links so I’ll be adding those soon.

I knit up a quick project while I was at Disneyland but didn’t have a chance to post about it until now.



DD wanted a pair of wristwarmers to wear to the impending Avril Levine concert and I had a skein of worsted weight yarn in a wool/acrylic blend that would be perfect. But, I only had the one skein and wanted to make sure that I had enough yarn to finish them. I figured the best way to accomplish that was to knit them from the fingers down (instead of knitting the part that covers the arm and wrist first). So, I split the skein into two equal balls and cast on 36 stitches. I knit in a k2 p2 rib until the piece measured 2 inches. Then I worked a buttonhole over 4 stitches (DD has very small hands; if I was making these for an adult, I'd probably cast on 40-44 stitches and work the buttonhole over 6-8 stitches). Then I just knit until I ran out of yarn and bound off all the stitches. Actually, I stopped before I ran out since they were long enough. I repeated the process for the second wristwarmer. It's a quick knit and good practice knitting in the round on double-pointed needles. Plus, you can use up some single skeins or leftovers and not worry about running out because you can always add a contrasting color or some fluffy novelty yarn at the end if they’re not long enough. It wouldn't be possible to do that if you knit them from the arm to the fingers.

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A RAOK To Share

The lovely and talented Shannon sent me an incredibly thoughtful RAOK yesterday. She compiled a list of all the wonderful patterns that you left in connection with my contest and provided links to all of them. Isn't that great! I decided to share them with everyone. When I get the chance this weekend, I'll create a separate page and add a link on my sidebar. But for now, just click on anything below that looks interesting. Oh, and don't forget to visit Shannon and tell her thank you since this RAOK is for everyone.

Have a great weekend.

Twisted Rib Watch Cap
Splash + Squiggle Scarf
Edith's Hat on Circular Needles
Booga Bag (felted)
Mini-sweater (The Boob-holder!)
Tuck-in or Bow-knot Scarf
Spiral Bookmark
Lion Brand's Cottage Socks
Psychedelic Squares Afghan
Harlequin Cap
Kittybeds for Catlovers
Cabled Tea Cosy
Besotted Scarf
Canning Jars topped with a Knitted Hat
Thrummed Mittens
Cleopatra Poncho
Simple Knitted Lace Scarf
Several patterns
fuzzy flip flops
Kittyville Hat
H20 Hat from ChicKnits
Happy Socks
Eyelet Skirt
Eros Scarf
Voodoo wrist warmers
knitted bunny
Silk Garden Spiral
Monmouth Cap
Cell Phone Cozies
Little Deco-Ribbon Bags
Breast Cancer Socks
Felted Eyelash Bag
Quaker Ribbed Bottom Hat
Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf pattern
Little Leaf Scarf
Heart Sachet
Fingerless Gloves
Hooray For Me Fingerless Gloves
Reversible Coasters
Scalloped Coasters
Alpaca Earflaps
Poppy Pins
Baby’s First Christmas Stocking
Knit Kippah
Lenore's Slippers
Marsan Watchcaps
Fuzzy Feet
Marnie MacLean's Nearly Gloves
Reversible Lace Ladders Scarf
Broadripple Socks
Big Funky Hat
Sophie Purse
Morning Surf Scarf
Two-Hour Knit Scarf
Joan's Simple Hat
Match My Coat cap
My So Called Scarf
Sideways Short-Row Seaman's Scarf
Purse
Felted Trapezoid Clutch
Deco-Ribbon Bag
Reversible Mohair Scarf
Neck Warmer
Flappers (Felted Mittens and Hat)
Scrappy Hat
Opal Baby Cap
Felted Hat Pattern
"Velvet Oblivion" sleep mask
Rolled-Brim Hat
Basic Straight Skirt
Zig Zag Scarf Pattern
Garter Cuff Hat
Striped Hat and Scarf
Silk Garden Hat or Cowl
Clapotis Scarf
Feather and Fan Scarf
Wendy’s "ToeUpSockPattern" in German
Lacy Opal Shawl-Poncho using 2 skeins of Opal Sock Yarn
Pocketbook Slippers
Squares Slippers
Alpaca Leaf Hood link
Small Lace Patterns
Chic Beanie
Christmas Stocking
Seamless Argyle Sock
Heart from the newest Knitty.com special print issue, page 7


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Coming Up For Air

Yes, that's a picture of "The" baby sweater taken 10 seconds before I wrapped it up and stuffed it in a gift bag and 20 seconds before I threw on my coat and swept out the door. I'm actually pretty pleased at how it turned out. Since I didn't have any cute buttons, I decided to knit the two front bands in garter stitch without buttonholes. Then DD came up with the (truly) brilliant idea of closing the opening at the neck with a bar pin. I dug a vintage costume pin out of my collection and, Voilá, c'est fini.

Several people have asked, so here's the info on the pattern. It's called Blossoms & Bowties Baby Cardigans and it was written by Lorna Miser and Michele Wyman. I bought my copy several years ago so I don't know if it's still available. The stitch pattern I used is the Blossoms pattern. The body is knit in one piece until it divides into the fronts and back at the bottom of the armhole. The shoulders are joined with a three-needle bind off. Then the sleeves are knit and set into the armhole openings. There is an error in the sleeve instructions, but I discovered it quickly so I didn't have to frog too many rows.
It's a cute pattern and I'll most likely make another one this weekend.

Stay Tuned

I got a great RAOK today from Shannon that I'll share with all of you tomorrow. But I've got to run right now and go to my "real" job doing the Lord's government's work.



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Houston, We Have A Sweater

See, I wasn't kidding when I said that I'd finished the body of the baby sweater in one night:



And, notwithstanding the fact that I bitched more than I stitched last night at SnB, here's how it looked last night before I went to bed:



Nothing was sewn at that point, but I did get up early this morning and finish the two sleeve seams. Damn there are a lot of ends to weave in.
The sweater is actually sitting right next to me on my desk as I type this. And, since it's lunchtime, I'm going to try and set the sleeves in. That leaves only the collar and front bands.

Holy crap, I just realized that I never bought buttons.
*sigh*

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I'm Really Knitting As Fast As I Can

When I returned from Disneyland, this was in my mailbox:



Ok, no problem, I can make a baby gift within a reasonable amount of time.

Wait, what's this?



Wednesday! Yikes! And here's the catch; this woman lives on my street and she's an absolute doll. So, some last-minute baby hat is not an option. I headed to my LYS after work yesterday and bought some cotton yarn to make this. It's heavy worsted cotton so it's a bit of a cheat, but the color is beautiful. A pinky salmon with a beautiful sheen. I cast on, neglected my children all night, and went to bed having finished the body. Now just the sleeves and blocking/finishing to go.

I confess, it's not Rhinebeck, but can I finish it in time??

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We Have A Winner

The winner of my contest is . . . .
Johanna from Jofrog. Congrats, Johanna. Have fun knitting the scarf.

Where You Lead

I just joined into what looks like a really fun scarf swap. It's organized by Suzanne and you can find the details here. Basically, you send some yarn to Suzanne. She forwards the yarn to another knitter who knits a scarf from it and then sends the finished scarf back to you. Sounds like fun. Anyone else want to play? Just send an email to Suzanne.

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