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.