The Mad Hatter

After Christmas we headed up to Oregon to spend some time in the snow. As we were packing to leave sunny California (where it is unseasonably cold at 55 degrees) to head to sub freezing temperatures I realized something that amazed me. Astounded me really. I. Have. No. Hats! Can you believe it? Me of the ever loving, hat knitting craze? Seems I've given them all away!

There was only one solution. Quick - knit a hat! I found some very soft pink angora mix that I had used to make a hat for my niece (the one with the cool picot edging) and some great thick purple yarn and viola! A hat for me. It is a little big but works well without messing up the hair too much. Then I couldn't stop. I cast on another on the drive up. Next I used some Luxor yarn in gold. If you haven't ever tried it you should. Luxor is really cool and has a somewhat metalic look to it. I made a silver one in the summer for the chemo cap donations. I ended up making it a bit too small (I have a big head) so it will ultimately end up as a gift to someone. Then when I finished that I cast on another and another! When will it stop? I hope everyone has a fun filled, knit filled and hat filled New Years!

We Interrupt this Knitting Blog

This one's for Bonnie! Now those of you who know me and have been reading my blog for any period of time will know that I never post sewing projects. There is a very simple explanation for that - I can't sew! But alas on a trip to Joann's with my daughter I saw the cutest pattern for a rooster apron. We were going to a holiday dinner hosted by a friend who collects chickens. I thought it would be the perfect hostess gift. So I asked Miss K if she would sew it. I needed another project like a hole in my head but sure enough, we took it home, cut it out and put it together. The ruffle was a bit troublesome so we had to call in the cavalry. That's right - MOM to the rescue. Turns out the instructions were wrong on that part but she got it together and if I do say so myself it turned out to be adorable. Our friend loved it and wore it all evening.


We also went up to Marin on Saturday for our family holiday dinner. It never ceases to take my breath away when we drive up to San Francisco, turn the corner and there you see the Golden Gate Bridge. Truly one of the most spectacular sights around. It was a beautiful, crystal clear day. I just wish I could have spent the afternoon taking photos.

I hope everyones holiday preparations are going well and that you have a joyous and love filled holiday.

Distractions

I should be doing my Christmas cards, wrapping gifts, decorating the tree, cleaning the house, working on my holiday scarf, finishing my sister's present or so many other responsibilities that are looming as the big day fast approaches. So why do I find myself casting on for a cabled hat? I admired Monica's hat and she was kind enough to share the pattern with me. I found this gorgeous yarn in my stash and decided it was just perfect. She started off with the cables immediately. I decided to do a garter brim. I think if I did it over again I might do a ribbed brim - we'll have to see how it looks. I'm also thinking about casting on a different hat for myself. Why can't I focus and stay with my other responsibilities? I guess that is what knitting is for right? An escape? My wish for you is that you slow down and enjoy the rest of the holiday season and that you take the time to engage in some escapist knitting!

Yes Virginia

Yes Virginia, I really do still exist though my blog might indicate otherwise. I must say I was truly shocked to realize it has been 3 weeks since my last post. I knew I was delinquent. I guessed it had been roughly 10 days since I last posted. But I was blown away when I realized it had been three weeks. Twenty-one days! One week short of a month!!! Where has the time gone? Clearly I have been in a whirlwind that is the holiday/birthday/year-end season.

The weeks have been busy helping Miss K get ready for her Jr. High holiday faire. She and a friend made 40 pairs of flannel PJ's and shorts! They also made 10 tied fleece blankets. It was a huge amount of work but they did quite well and sold all but 3 pairs. They were very excited. A special thanks goes out to my Mom who was really the laboring oar with the help. Miss K did most of the sewing herself but Grani was there for moral support, assistance when needed and the seam ripper. It appears that much as I hate frogging my knitting Miss K hates ripping a seam. Do you think that could be genetic?

On the knitting front I have been working on a holiday scarf for myself. I had not intended to but was in the yarn store and saw the most gorgeous shades of deep red and green in Touch Me yarn. I decided to splurge but then had to find just the right pattern. I recalled seeing a cute scarf made in ribbing with two colors. The "bumps" where one color and the "valleys" were another. I knew that was what I wanted but I could not remember where I had seen the pattern. I looked and looked and looked and finally realized it was 2 color brioche. I cast on, ripped out, cast on ripped out and cast on again. I couldn't get it right. Then I tried stripes - both horizontal and vertical. Then I cast on the brioche again. I was making good progress (about 10 inches) when I made a mistake. I tried to go back but the stitches got messed up. In a fit of frustration I frogged the entire scarf. I knew I only had one more chance. Both my patience and the yarn were worn quite thin. So I went to the good ole Babs Walker treasury and found a two color slip stitch that just might work. It had the look of brioche and also the pattern looked a bit like little Christmas trees to me. It is not reversible but the back side looks nice enough. I'm now just about half way done and glad I finally found the right patern. The photos really don't do the yarn justice but you can see the stitch. I was worried that the scarf would be too short as I didn't buy much of the yarn but I think it will turn out to be about 50+ inches long so that will work just fine.

I also finished the girls holiday hats. Miss K (the wearer of all things green) got the green and red one in 2 color brioche (hey - I had to use it somewhere!) The red was really too thin - if I do it again I need a thicker yarn but it turned out pretty cute. There are some serious flaws in the decreases but luckily they are hidden where the hat folds. I was on a serious deadline to get the hat done before the town light parade and I finished about 5 minutes after we were supposed to be there! For some reason I would knit round and round and round and it didn't seem to grow very quickly.

Horsey Girl's hat is a more typical santa hat but the yarn is stretch and sparkly so it gives it a bit more pizzaz. They both wore them to the light parade and looked adorable but I'm not sure they'll ever wear them again. I hope they will. Next year I'll add one for the Little Man.

I hope everyone is enjoying the season and that your holiday crafts are going well.

There's only HOW many days until Christmas?

I can't believe how fast the holidays are approaching. It is always such a busy time of year. In November first we have Mom's birthday, then mine, then Horsey Girl's followed by Turkey Day. After that it's time for the Little Man's birthday and next it is Christmas and New Years. In between there are soccer tournaments, volleyball playoffs, Thanksgiving lunch at the kindergarten, winter concerts, holiday parties and we can't forget that work thing! It tends to be a crazy time of year. Each year I tell myself that I'm going to slow down and enjoy life, friends and the joy of the holiday season. I've yet to master that goal but every year I try and try again.
So what would the holiday madness be without knitting projects? I swore I wouldn't start anything new for the holidays but we all know how that goes! I recently decided to make these little sachets, they are small, should go quickly so what's the problem right? Yeah right! And wouldn't this sparkly red yarn make the cutest santa hats? I mean really, who would want to just buy one at Walgreens when you could take time you don't have and knit one! And then there is the holiday scarf I'm making - more on that later. So how are your holiday knitting projects coming?
I did take time to enjoy my birthday, my folks came and we all went out to dinner and I had lots of wonderful cards, e-mails and calls from my friends near and far. No matter how busy we all get it's nice to know that my friends are out there thinking of me. I even got presents from my beloved knitting friends. Jennifer sent me this fabulous dragonfly shawl pin. Isn't it gorgeous? I've never seen one like it. I can't wait to try it out. Bonnie sent me the ultimate relaxation package - tea, chocolate and a good book. THANKS GUYS!

Happy Veteran's Day

First a moment to honor our Veteran's. We shouldn't forget the meaning of today so I'd like to take a moment to say thank you to the men and women who have served our country. In discussing Veteran's Day with my 12 year old she asked, "does everyone want world peace?" My first reaction was - clearly not or we wouldn't have war. But then she started asking who doesn't want world peace and why don't they want it? Such difficult questions from a young mind! I'm going to need to work hard to keep up with this one. As to the holiday side of things - I know several people have today off. I unfortunately don't so if you do - do something fun for me too OK?

Today's knitting is brought to you by Mom. It is the Seamingly Simple Vest by Blue Moon Fiber Arts. She got the pattern and yarn at Stitches West this year and it is really quite clever. You knit one really long, wide panel which ends up being the front of the vest. It goes from the bottom of one side, up and around your neck and back down to the bottom of the other side. As it goes behind your neck it folds creating a natural collar. Then you pick up stitches and knit a panel down the back and seam it to the sides. That's it. Just a whole lotta ribbing. She is doing a great job and I can't wait to see it all finished.

Speaking of finished - I finished the Jamaica pouch awhile ago and wanted to show you how it turned out. I highly recommend this pattern for colorful cotton. It is quick and really cute.

Currently I am struggling with a holiday scarf. I bought some gorgeous Touch Me yarn in both deep red and deep green with an idea of what I wanted to make. However it didn't look right. Since then I have tried a number of patterns and nothing is quite right. It's making me crazy but hopefully I can find something soon before the yarn wears out! If you have any great suggestions for a two color scarf please let me know.

Small Things Amuse Me

I found this really cute hat pattern and I just love the way the edging is done. You may have seen this nifty trick before but it's a first for me. You do a provisional cast on (the green in the photo), knit a few rows and then a row of k2tog and YO to create the holes. Finally knit a few more rows. Then you remove the provisional cast on and place those stitches on DPN's. You bring the bottom up even with the stitches on the main needle and k2tog all the way around. Then VIOLA! you have this great picot edging! Isn't that amazing? And the really great thing about the edging is that it is somewhat thick and will not get all rolly/crinkly like picot edging is want to do. It is perfect for a hat brim or a cuff. I think I'll be using this little trick again. Also the hat pattern is adorable and knits up quickly. I made this in Sublime angora/merino blend. I wanted it bigger than the pattern so I used worsted weight, size 8 needles, went with 77 stitches and 6 repeats. For an adult I'd probaly make it one more repeat if you want it to cover your ears. This yarn really lives up to its name. I just want to fondle it all day! I got it at Little Knits on sale.

I hope that you all had a wonderful Halloween. It was a dark and windy night here. Oddly warm but the wind was blowing through the trees. There was a low cloud cover illuminated by the city lights so the sky sort of glowed. It was a perfect Halloween night and thankfully it didn't rain. Yesterday wa s a down pour with all the soccer games cancelled but today I see the sun breaking through. Happy Fall to all!

Soccer, Horses and Sharks, Oh My

I'm still recovering from our crazy weekend. I think I might need to sleep for a week (like that's going to happen!) There were slumber parties, 3 soccer games, a horse show and we all went to the Shark's Game on Saturday night. What a game it was! The Sharks beat the Flyers 5-4 in over time. It was a very exciting game. All five of us went and my folks came too. We had tickets in three different locations and we'd meet after every period to exchange who was sitting where. I think the folks next to us in all the locations thought we were a little nuts! Horsey Girl looked stylish in her new hat. It is Shark's Teal and turned out quite nicely. She looks adorable in it but then what doesn't she look adorable in? (OK, maybe I'm biased . . . .) This is made out of Nashua Grand Opera. It is sparkly yarn that's still quite soft. I find that to be a rare combination.
Also I received my package from my SP12 Pal. And what a package it was! She had saved it all for the end and the package was jam packed. I just kept unwrapping item after item. There was this adorable sock monkey project bag, a dragonfly wash cloth, a beautiful teal leather notebook, some rust colored Knit Picks sock yarn, fabulous dragonfly stitch markers, an oh-so-cute sock blocker key chain with instructions to make minature socks, purple Malibrigo, Ripped and Frogged glasses from Ravelry, tea and candy! Phew!!! What a haul. THANK YOU Valerie (ptownhokie on Ravelry).

And for those of you who like my photo blog (Hi Mom, Hi Marie!) I know I've taken a bit of a hiatus there but check out my new "Veggies as Art" post.

My So-called Red Scarf

My scarf for the Red Scarf Project is finished! I'm very happy with how it turned out. It is the "My So-Called Scarf" pattern knit in my beloved Berroco Jasper. I was able to make the striping consistent when I changed skeins which is an accomplishment for me. The OFA gathers the scarves to deliver to college students on Valentine's Day. They define "orphan" as anyone who has lost their parents or has been in the foster care system. I'm so excited to think that my scarf will bring joy to a young man or woman working to get an education. I just wish I'd know who ends up with it!

Take me to Jamaica

I was wasting time on Ravelry the other day and came across this adorable bag called a Jamaica Pouch. It is made out of Katia Jamaica cotton and really takes advantage of its amazing colors. I bought two skeins of this yarn when I was in Boston with Jennifer in March of 2007 because the colors were just so vibrant. Ever since then I have been searching for the perfect use for it. I think I've finally found it! It is a very easy pattern and even the bottom is really cute!
I don't usually discuss financial matters on a knitting blog but after the week we've just had I think it's unavoidable. In the Silicon Valley where we suffer from about 2 degrees of separation rather than six, everyone is talking about a meeting held this week by one of the venture capital firms. They used such quotes as, "it's always darkest before it's pitch black!" Someone else I know said we should all invest in gold because money may some day be worthless. I tried to explain to my husband that I'm doing my best to invest in gold - I just feel you should be able to wear it until you need to spend it! Then it dawned on me. If money ever became worthless I'd still have my stash! I mean think about it. Yarn would definitely be valuable. It can provide clothing and warmth. You could make things and trade them.

Has anyone read the book The City of Ember (soon to be a major motion picture)? It is about a city that is underground because of some catastrophe top side. The grandmother of the main carachter owns a yarn store and given they have been living underground for 200 years, they've run out of the original supply of yarn it was stocked with and now she spends her day unraveling sweaters and the like to create "new" yarn because it is that valuable. So now I know we'll all be fine. We have our yarn - what more do we need?

I Couldn't Help Myself

I couldn't help myself, really. I tried but it was no use. I stopped in to a yarn store JUST to purchase some needles and there it was. Right next to the needle rounder. This adorable ribbed vest from the Tahki Stacy Charles Tweed Collection. I don't usually knit clothes but this vest called to me. It's really fairly simple, largely ribbing until you get near the top. But it was very flattering (at least on the store dummy!) and tailored looking. They had made it in Donegal Tweed which is very attractive but also very scratchy. So I found this great purple Dream in Color Classy and immediately started ribbing. Of course this continues to cut in to my efforts to finish my UFO's. I definitely have "cast-on-itis"! However I did finish a hat that I had started long ago. It is out of the new (or at least new when I started!) Skakel yarn and it is oh so soft. It really didn't take long to finish so it made me wonder why I put it down in the first place. Oh well - at least it's done! Now who to give it to . . . . .

Also when I took the photo of my purple ribbing I asked my daughter to hold the needle for me. She rolled her eyes and said, "why can't you just knit things? Why must you always photograph them?!" Said with all the disgust that only a pre-teen can muster. It reminded me of the other morning when I definitely had a, "you know you're a mother when" moment. For a change everyone had left the house in the morning before me. I decided to treat myself to a cold chai latte before heading off to work. I got a glass, filled it with ice and then poured in the chai mix. Then I reached in the fridge to get the milk to finish it off. You guessed it - NO MILK! I tried to figure out what to do. Could I mix in water? Ick. Pour the mix back in to the container? Not really. What to do, what to do. Then I saw it. A bowl on the table filled with milk and several remaining Cheerios. Should I? Is it too gross? NO! It would avoid waste! So I fished out as many Cheerios as I could, poured in the milk and had a somewhat crunchy chai latte!

Monkey on my Head

When I finished making my Monkey Socks I still had some yarn left. I loved the yarn so much that I had to make something else. There wasn't enough for another pair of socks so guess what I decided to make? Can you guess? Huh?! You guessed it - a hat! I know, it was time to try something different. I thought about trying to come up with a monkey hat pattern but didn't quite feel I could pull that off and thought it might pucker a bit. So I went with the ole stand by - my favorite pattern - the swirl hat. The yarn is Loopy Legends "Janice's Sunshine in Winter." Named after my friend Janice, I just had to give it a try and have not been disappointed. Like her, it is bright and sunny. When I visit her blog I always want to go visit her! She has a wonderful, loving family and everyone always seems to have so much fun. I've never been to Iowa but if I ever do - I'm showing up on her doorstep!

I was also delighted to receive an "I Love Your Blog" award from Marie. THANK YOU Marie not only for the award but for all your nice comments both on this blog and on my photo blog! I've actually taken a bit of a hiatus from the photo blog because I think Marie and my Mom are the only people who ever look at it!

Marie has started writing her blog in French so I'm not entirely sure what she says about this award but I've gotten the basic idea.



Here are the instructions:


1. Please put the award on your blog.


2. Add a link to the person who awarded you


3. You must nominate at least 4 fellow bloggers for this award.


4. Add links to the recipients.


5. Leave a comment so the recipients know they have received an award.

So here are my nominees:

Jennifer - is my good buddy from one of the International Totel Exchanges. I was so lucky to get to meet her when I went to Boston and we have become very close over e-mail. I love all her knitting and her fearless nature to take on something new. Check out her latest beach photos and all the adorable little hats she has been making for the Innocent Big Knit.

Janice - as I mentioned above it is just a delight to visit her blog, see her "old" dog Sumo and her young puppy Sophie. She is always making something interesting, cooking something yummy and entertaining family and friends.

Marie - is just amazing. Check out all of her fabulous cable scarf patterns and dish rag patterns. I can't even finish my Irish Hiking Scarf and she's off designing these scarfs where each one is more amazing than the last!

Deb - I have never met Deb but her comments are always so nice and I can just tell that she is an incredibly warm person. She is often one of the first to leave me a comment and when you visit her blog she had dozens of them!

Lisa - is always making some intricate project like a sweater and gives us all a glimpse in to what's going on in Alaska. I love all her nature photos. Go on over to her blog and take an exhausting "hike" in her latest post!

Bonnie - is one of my first buddies from the knitting blogoshpere and my co-host when we did the International Tote Exchange. Bonnie has been in a bit of a knitting rut lately but she is always sewing something amazing. She does it so quickly too! And check out her yummy recipies even with their own blog!

Kristen - is a relatively new knitting friend from exchanging as well! She has three kids and always something exciting going on. She's been going through a tough time lately and I'm thinking of her. Please send good thoughts her way.

Wendy - is my downstream pal in SP12. I just revealed myself to her so now I can talk about it. I've been enjoying getting to know her anonomously and it will be even more fun now that she knows who I am! She's sick right now so go on over and leave her a comment to feel better.

I can't wait to see who everyone else picks!

I'm Innocent

You've probably seen it. It's sweeping the blogisphere. The knitting of tiny hats. What for you ask? Well check out the Big Knit over on the Innocent site. They are a UK beverage company and apparently they have an event every year where folks knit tiny little hats for their beverage bottles. For each bottle sold they will donate money to heat the elderly this winter. As first when I saw it I thought it was fairly nuts. But then I kept seeing these adorable little hats and finally this little buttercup hat of Jennifer's put me over the edge. I HAD to make some. What to start with? How can you ask that! I made this tiny Black Jack hat out of the left over Jasper yarn. Next came a minature Amanda hat, followed by a mock cable hat and then I made this rather odd party hat that looks more like an elf hat . . . . So if you care to join us break out the needles and make some hats. They take no time at all and are a great way to use up that spare yarn!

Also as a wonderful surprise this week the same Jennifer sent me a care package. Isn't she sweet? It had this gorgeous wash rag, cotton, patterns for dish rags, chocolate and these really cute dragonfly buttons. Thanks Jennifer - you're the best!

Funny thing, Color

I have been struggling with my Chevron Scarf. Not the knitting of it but the color. In my previous post I expressed my concern that my color choices would clash. In fact, they blend so well that I became worried they were too similar. So I picked two different colors that were more dramatic. With the help of Holis at my LYS, we checked out the Ravelry photos of the Chevron scarves (there are A LOT of them!) and realized that the ones I was most attracted to were a blend of a multi-colored yarn and a more solid yarn. So I tried the pink and blue combination. I keep changing my mind as to whether or not I like it. I want to rip it out, then I like it, then I want to rip it out again. What do you think? The one thing it did help me decide is that I actually really like the first color combo!

In the good news category - I FINALLY finished my monkey socks! Yeah - my first pair of socks. They are now proudly owned by my Mom. I made them for her to wear to the CAL games. For those of you who don't know, CAL is UC Berkeley and their colors are blue and gold. My folks have season tickets to the CAL football games and now Mom can arrive in style. GO BEARS!

How about another KAL?

Awhile back I mentioned to you the Fashionably Late in 2008 KAL. They were making a Clapotis and I was wanting to make another. It's a nice group of folks and I really enjoyed it. Their next project was the Swallowtail Shawl and even though that's on my list for some day I wasn't in the mood to do it now. After that was smoke rings which I was happy to join as I am making my first ever for my sister - photos of that one soon.

So why am I telling you all of this? Well the new project is the Chevron Scarf. This is also one I've been wanting to try so I'm jumping in. Janice has made some of these so check 'em out. I've got my yarn and I'm good to go. Now I just have to finish my Monkey Sock before I can start the Chevron Scarf - that's what I promised myself anyway . . . . When I first read about the Chevron Scarf I was disuaded because you use 2 skeins at once and that seemed cumbersome. I thought about making it with a single striping yarn but after looking at all the photos out in the blogisphere I decided that I really liked the versions that use two different colored yarns so I decided to give it a whirl. I hope it won't be too much of a hassle. I also read that it is good to use contrasting yarns so that is the look I'm going for but I am a bit worried that these are actually "clashing yarns". Let's hope they look good together! I already had the greenish skein of Koigu so I went out to search for something else to go with it. I'm proud of myself for at least making half the project from the stash! Also the pattern calls for 4 skeins of Koigu but that sounds ridiculous to me. Each skein is 175 yards and in my book 350 yards is plenty for a long scarf. Hopefully I won't run out.

My Love Grows

When we last left our Heroine she was ever so deeply in love with Jasper. She dreamt of him, she spoke of him. She swooned when she saw him. She didn't think she could live without him. Her friends were sick of hearing her talk about Jasper. She knit him hats night and day in red, blue, black and brown. But would she grow tired of hats? Would she grow tired of Jasper? Her friends secretly hoped so but then their relationship changed - she decided it was time to try something different. Give their relationship a twist. Yes, she decided to make - a scarf! She decided she needed to share Jasper with others. It was wrong to keep him all to herself. So she decided to make a scarf for the Red Scarf Project. She would share Jasper with an orphan. Much to her delight she found Jasper to be as agile at scarfs as he was at hats. Is there nothing this yarn can't do?

I'm making My So Called Scarf and am just thrilled with how it is turning out. I've wanted to make this scarf for a long time and it is a really fun knit. And just in case you're worried that you won't get to hear more about that wonderful, soft, sexy Jasper - I've got several more skeins for the sequel!

It's in the Bag

I finished my Everlasting Bagstopper and I think it turned out pretty well. I had several skeins of Mission Cotton each in a different color. Maroon, blue, white and green. I bought them in March of 2007 when I was in Boston. That's when I was lucky enough to meet Jen and she and I went yarn hopping. I had no idea what I would make with the yarn but I fell in love with the colors so just had to get it. This is one of the few times that I have ultimately found a great project for impulse yarn. I like the combo and it made knitting the bag more interesting. Plus every time I look at it I think of my fun visit with Jen! I used every last bit of those 4 skeins on the bag. I'm not sure I'm that fond of knitting with the Mission Cotton because it is a bit nubby but I like the end product. Now the question is will I really use it for groceries or perhaps something a little more upscale?

Also since Miss K loved the colorway I used for the Dish Rag Tag, I used the balance to make a wash cloth for her. There wasn't quite enough so the proportions are a bit off but I think she likes it. Next time I want to try making a dish towel out of some Sugar and Cream.

Don't Rag on Me!

OK first things first. Berroco Jasper yarn is on sale here! Check it out. I was asked if it is really as soft as it looks and the answer is yes. It's not quite Alpaca soft but it is very soft and snuggly and nice to wear as a hat, scarf, gloves, anything. Really - you need to make a hat!

Now - to the purpose of THIS post. Anyone out there playing Dish Rag Tag The Sequel? If you are - beware Magic 8. We are going to win this time! Well I received the box yesterday with a lovely purple dishrag from Jaynee along with chocolates and some cherry Carmex. How did she know I love cherry! As soon as I got a free moment I took the brightly colored ball of cotton out of the box and knit my fingers to the bone to finish my dishrag. I stayed up late and got up early but I wanted to do my team proud. I packed it back in the box this morning with a new skein of cotton and some goodies for Jill and off it went. I never knew one could feel so much pressure to knit a dishcloth! It never ceases to amaze me how many fun folks there are out in the knitting world. There are almost 300 knitters competing in this game of Tag!