Serial Hat Knitter

It appears as though I might be a Serial Hat Knitter.
It all started with this.......

And this gorgeous pattern from Ravelry (modified just slightly by me).

Yarn - Handspun yarn from the wonderfully talented Ceylan of Plied Together on Etsy. I may have knit two chunky berets as well, for my college-aged cousins. There may have even been some knitting during Christmas gatherings to finish those berets. In fact, one of them was knit entirely during our Christmas family gathering. I finished in the nick of time!


Since I missed Christmas here on the blog, I'll move onward. Here's to a happy and healthy New Year for all!

Blue Christmas.......

A Blue Christmas hat for me!


Stats:
Diamond Beret, Free pattern on Ravelry.
Size US#7 needles
Yarn - Dream in Color, Classy (worsted weight yarn) in the Night Watch Colorway.
The pattern is great, the yarn, well......kinda meh about it. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. It's a superwash yarn, and it feels "treated." It's definitely not as soft as the other yarns I've been knitting with lately (their cashmere content doesn't help with this comparison). If you are looking for a nice, standard yarn for knits that will get a lot of wash and wear, this might be the yarn for you.






The hat enjoyed its inaugural debut on our Christmas tree trek. Please don't comment on the lack of matching accessories. I am going to crank out something more "matchy, matchy" after the Christmas knitting is done.
What's in your queue?

Mumbo Jumbo

My brain feels a bit mushy lately, so hang in there for a thoroughly scattered post.

Another hat for my friend who has breast cancer. She and I graduated from high school together. She makes me smile every time I visit her, and her courage is inspiring. Breast cancer is such a scary disease. I find myself thinking more about my own mortality lately. My friend blesses me each time I visit with her. She sent me a message on facebook this weekend saying that she'd shrunk the first hat (I think she forgot it was wool) I made for her. I'm happy to knit my friend hats, as she has lost her hair at this point. So, I knit her two more.
This is the first one I delivered on Saturday night. It's a Honey Hat, which is really a child's hat by Hannah Fetig (Knitbot). I just made it larger by increasing the pattern by two repeats. Ta Da - adult hat, but modeled here by a willing youngster. I used Inca Alpaca to knit this. I figured it would be soft against her head. I gave her some Soak to use to wash the hat, and told her that I would demo wool care for her next time.

Now, I'm onto knitting with some lovely handspun yarn from Plied Together, a great little Etsy shop that I found from fellow blogger/Raveler, Zonda. I'm officially spoiled rotten, and love knitting with this handspun. I may be ruined for commercial yarn forever (not quite, but it's tempting). The only problem with handspun yarn? Expensive. But a little treat now and then never hurt a girl!

A Little Lost

I'm a little lost lately......a lot of changes are happening quickly in my life. We've moved to a new house this summer, and we've finally got buyers for our old house....now it's just finishing the loose ends before closing (at least we hope). I'm starting a new job in early November. I'm hunkering down and getting a mammogram for the first time in my life. I'm helping my parents celebrate 40 years of marriage! Yeah for Mom and Dad!
Life is full and busy, and I'm blessed. Truly. But I'm feeling a little bit lost right now. It's hard to explain.
Amidst all these confusing emotions, knitting has been my one constant. Thank heavens for the repetition it provides.

Plummy Purl Ridge Scarf
Size US #7 needles
The Plucky Knitter Superwash Merino, in Polly's Plum Passion Colorway

Letter to October

October,
You came too quickly. Yet, you didn’t arrive fast enough. How’s that for a paradox? I love the months of September and October. Your mere arrival is joyous, save the fact that you precede the Winter months.

So, October, I’m looking to you to help me revive my sock knitting mojo. I’ve lost it, you see. Somewhere amidst the shawls, the hats, and Ravelry. I used to be so passionate for sock knitting. I always looked forward to knitting socks. I’ve always been enamored with the frivolity associated with knitting socks. Who needs knitted socks, I mean really? They are a decadence, pure and simple. Knitting them has always been pure joy. But how do I explain the socks on the needles that have been languishing for months now? I can’t. The mojo has just gone.

By now you may be asking yourself what’s so special about sock knitting and October? What about the month of October is going to magically inspire me to knit socks again? Kristen Kapur, the lovely lady of Through The Loops Designs, organizes a mystery sock KAL (knit a-long). It starts on October 1st. Each week she introduces a new clue or part of a pattern for participants to knit. The pattern is free! So, to recap......I’ll start the socks, only be able to knit so far on them each week until the next clue is released, and then hopefully I’ll finish them at the end of the month. I think this KAL has enough pizazz to kick start my sock knitting again.

And if that can’t do it, maybe knitting the socks with this amazing yarn from Madelinetosh will get me into gear! It’s their superwash sock in the fabulously Fall colorway of Copper Penny. It’s really not a Fall colorway, but it reminds me of Fall with its amazing shades of Autumn colors.


In closing, October, I'm enamored. You already knew that. I hope you inspire me to knit something amazing today.
Fondly,
KnittingKris

Almost Autumn

Almost Autumn in Pennsylvania....
Cooler, almost crisp temperatures, clear blue skies, hints of leaves turning vibrant colors here and there. You can almost smell it in the air. It's my favorite time of year.
The road leading to our house......

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. ~Albert Camus

Busy!

Busy, Busy, Busy! We're busy with school, soccer, finishing the move (The realtor for our old home takes the realm tomorrow), and busy with life in general. Knitting time has been scarce and precious.

But I did cast on for this project at a baseball game the other week. Who needed to watch the Yankee's play their minor league game anyway? :) If you recall, we are all about the Phillies around here.
In the knitting realm, I'm all about the Madelinetosh Yarn lately......
Here's a Chickadee Cowl in Mansfield Garden Party colorway, sport weight yarn - destash from Zonda, and paid for with my Yarntini destash. Gosh, I love yarn swaps! :)
Pattern: FREE - Chickadee Cowl by Kirsten Kapur - modified to fit sport weight yarn.
Needles: US#8 Bamboo
Yarn described above.

The only problem with this project is that I'm a yarn "thrower", and there is a lot of wasted hand movement when I'm knitting this project. But the fabulous color and woven effect of the linen stitch make it all worth the while.


I'm really enjoying the cooler, almost fall weather we're having this week in PA. It' s my favorite time of the year. I hope you're enjoying your knitting where you are too!

Instant Gratification

I'm a bit too tired and just "out-of-sorts" to write about anything major here. But a little instant gratification always does wonders for the soul.
Cove Purl Ridge Scarf by Stephen West of Westknits.
Yarn: Madelinetosh Vintage Worsted Weight in the Cove colorway, hence the name of the project.
Needles - US#7 - Signatures circulars. LOVE THEM!
Great pattern, great needles, great yarn. And a gift for a Great (as in wonderful, awesome, rockin') Aunt, who is more like my sister. Happy Birthday, Adrienne!
This knit's for you.

Daft

I have always been a fan of a British accent. I have always found English accents to be charming for the most part, and I find myself gravitating to their vernacular in ways that seem odd for an American citizen. I love it when they say, "Bugger," and "Bloody" with such passion. I realize those statements might be a form of swearing, so I'm not really sure I should be holding them in such a high esteem for the use of those words in particular. Sometimes it's just fun to say that I took a "snap," or I have to go to the "Loo." And I'm totally fascinated with the whole tea thing.
Hmmm....where is all of this leading and how does it relate to knitting? I'm sure you are wondering, as I'm not truly convinced that I know most of the time either. But there is a British word or turn of phrase that describes my current state of affairs in regards to a baby blanket in question.....

DAFT. I must be DAFT to think that I'm going to finish this blanket by 9/11/10. But then again, stranger things have happened. The blanket is not hard knitting - it's only garter stitch. It's finding the time to knit and not feeling guilty about it. That's the key. How do you make time for knitting? Is it ever a guilty pleasure for you?

You Had Me.....

Dear Dream In Color Yarn,
You had me with the Tulip Cardigan. Really, you did. Only then I didn't know what the sex of THEIR baby would be (please note use of possessive). And I had such a passion to order your yarn (please note that I didn't USE it immediately, as I was saving it for the RIGHT baby). Now I know of said baby, so knitting must commence.
I'm really impressed with the feel and "squoosh" factor of your yarn. And really, your colors are fabulously bright for a neat baby project. But not knowing the sex of said baby at the time of purchase of this yarn, I did not choose the Tulip Cardigan pattern. Yes, I know, you do make the cardigan pattern in "masculine" colors and styles now. Your marketers should get a raise. But, I digress yet again. That's not what we're here to talk about. It's your re-skeining that stinks. I'm not sure if you do it manually, or if you have a machine. Either way, you had better take a hard look at this component. Because when a knitter decides on a project, as I have done......., she usually likes to wind up the yarn and cast on for said project immediately. Now we may have a different definition of the word, "immediately," but I'd say in most cases it means in 5 minutes or so (from a knitter's standpoint). You can't work in the fiber industry and not know about the siren call of new projects and the excitement of working with such beautiful yarn.
Anyway, my point is, I uncurled the hanks. I placed them on my swift, and fired up the ball winder. The first two skeins had me loving you even more than I have already professed. They wound up so nicely. But then the trouble started. I fought with the Blue Lagoon as we were winding away, but she was able to stay on the ball winder and swift. But Lipstick Lava made me almost cry. He needed to come off the swift in a hurry. Needless to say, I spent more than 30 minutes with him wrapped around my neck, trying desperately to get him onto the ball winder. Beach Fog threatened his head too, but I gave him "The Look," and he settled down quickly. And finally, at long last, I can show you my stack of cakes. Now the problem is that it's time for bed. Will I have any energy left to start this new project? I better well have, as the finished project needs to be done by 9/11. Irony? I think not!

Sincerely,
Knitting Kris



Project:
Rocketry Baby Blanket
Needles: Size US #7
Dream in Color Yarn in the following colorways, from top to bottom: Strange Harvest, Beach Fog, Blue Lagoon, Visual Purple, Happy Forest, and Lipstick Lava.
Cast on date: Tonight, if I have any energy left.
Happy Monday!

Just Another Manic Monday

Here at Mountain Woman Central, it's life as usual - maniacal and crazy. I'm playing the Bangles as I write this post.....are you all old enough to remember the Bangles? They were/are a typical 80's group. I find it amusing that I can listen to all these great old songs on the Internet. Can I just say that we love our DSL? We had just advanced to DSL about 3 months before we bought out new-to-us house, and then the panic set in about whether it would be available where we were moving to, with the location being somewhat more remote. So, I called the company, and they of course threatened, "No service available Ma'am." I almost cried. Wait, I did cry. It's so easy to use the computer with it, and the thought of satellite or worse yet, dial-up, was too much to bear.....But alas, some strange man named Jonathon (no last name) from the West Coast, called one Saturday before we moved, and lo and behold, there is service available. After a lot of whooping, general jumping around, and acting maniacal again, I calmly thanked him, and kissed the phone when he hung up......long story short. Here at the base of the mountain, we have DSL. Yes, yes, we do!
But I digress......you're here for knitting content. So here's the latest shawl....

Hamamelis shawl by Kirsten Kapur of Through The Loops.
Yarn - The Plucky Knitter, 50% silk, 50% Merino Wool in Fingering Weight.
Needles - Size US #6
I wore this shawl with my little black dress to my nephew's wedding in June. Wow, that makes me sound ancient doesn't it? I have a nephew that's married! However, I counter with my best defense, a nephew that is a mere 6 years old. Ha!
Seriously, I hope that this week gets better as it progresses. I have only 6 more working days (and two on-call nights) until a little break. I have decided that if you can't fight it (the whole control issue that alludes me these days), just turn up the Bangles and sing like a mad woman, or man if that be your gender......
Have a great week. Knit on!

Just a quick post, for I'm tired and recovering from bronchitis and sinusitis (in August, no less). Tomorrow I head back to work, with a pager attached to my hip, no less.

Pattern: Ripple Hat by Wendy Bernard
Yarn: Merino/Alpaca/Silk blend in worsted weight from The Plucky Knitter
Needles: US size 7
Finished in March, after only a couple of days of very intermittent knitting, but only photographed now. Have a great week!

Back in the Saddle Again

A flying trip to Boston Children's Hospital for a yearly visit left me with some knitting time in the car. I have not been able to summon the energy to knit with the house move, and the lack of knitting has taken its toll on my sanity. I have since decided that my sanity is important enough to regain, so knitting has commenced again this week.

Even though we still have moving to do, and boxes to unpack (that's really making light of everything), I'm taking the time to knit now. I think everyone in my family will agree that I'll be better spirited. And you know that saying......"When Mama's happy, then everyone's happy!" I find it to be pretty true.
Here's some photos of my latest WIP.

Pattern: Boneyard Shawl by Stephen West
Yarn: The Plucky Knitter MCN Fingering in "Stargazer"
Needles: US#6 Signature circular needles
Knitter: Extremely happy, to say the least. More relaxed to everyone's enjoyment.
Have a great weekend!

Moving

We are embarking on what we hope will be an exciting year for our family. We are moving to a new (to us) house, and packing up 12 years of memories (and junk, who am I kidding) in our old home, and moving a whole 1.1 miles to our new house. The new house is tucked away and more private than where we currently reside. Everything seems to be moving so quickly now, it's scary. I'm trying to cope with not only packing and cleaning, but keeping my family in some sense of order as we progress through softball games, days of laundry, work, and completing summer employment applications for my eldest daughter. Today, we celebrated the last day of school for the 2009-2010 school year. Next year, my eldest daughter will be a senior in high school. Where did the time go? We have an appointment with the photographer next week for senior portraits. Such an exciting time, and yet, kinda scary too!
During this time, I've been knitting simple projects. It's all I can do to knit some stockinette stitch at the end of the day. I've also taken a hard look at my yarn stashing habits with packing "stuff" for the move. I'm embarrassed to say that I've got yarn hoarding tendencies.....but you all knew that, didn't you? :)
We are all busy, tired, and yet happy. Many days I rely on grace to get us through this. Change.....it has a funny way of stretching us to our utmost limits, even if the change is for the better. Speaking of change.....I'm off to pack another box or two.

Maryland

Just back from Maryland Sheep and Wool this weekend. It was fun, but completely TOO warm. I had an excellent time with my mother, who was my companion for the weekend. We arrived home early this afternoon. I'll try to post later about the things I brought home with me.
Of course, I couldn't leave you without some picture in this post, could I?


Our Chase, as a young puppy. He's 5 months old now. He has an appointment with the groomer this weekend for his spring haircut. Thanks heavens!

Perspective

I've never been a huge lover of gifts of flowers. It's probably because I consider flowers to be a bit extravagant. Don't misunderstand me. I love it when someone gives me flowers. It's just that my brain processes things a bit differently. I tend to think......"Hmm.....instead of those flowers, we could have done..........x, y, or z."
Yesterday however, my daughter came running full tilt across our yard with a fistful of flowers from our neighbor's yard. These weren't just any flowers. They were a massive amount of dandelions. Now, most of us look at these flowers as pesty nuisances in our yards. We do our best to inhibit their growth. But yesterday, I wouldn't have traded them for anything in the world. They were stunning, as my daughter gave them to me with a giant smile on her face. "Look Mommy! I picked all of these for you!"
When I saw those flowers, I didn't once consider what we could have done without them. I happily placed them in water and proudly displayed them on my counter.
Sometimes, it's a matter of perspective. Why do I consider purchased flowers an extravagance, when my daughter clearly spent quite a bit of time picking these flowers with her own hands? That's more extravagant that the most expensive roses. I think from now on, I'll quiet my little brain when someone gives me flowers, and just enjoy the moment. I'm missing too much joy........are you?

Random Shots

Knitting has been slow these days, so how about some pictures of Christmas knits that I never posted....
Sounds good to me. And well, if you're here and you're reading, guess you'll play along with me.


An Ishbel shawl for my SIL, Kate. Yarn - Blue Water Times MCN Fingering by The Plucky Knitter



A Simple Yet Effective Shawl for my SIL, Jess (this is the fingering wt yarn version). Yarn - Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn


One of the cutest female hat models I've ever seen....my niece, Charity. Yarn - Yarn Pirate, DK in Zinnia. Those gorgeous eyes, a product of Jeremy and Kate Inc. (not to be confused with John and Kate, dear my).


And my brother, Greg (middle) with his sons (and my nephews), Bailey (left) and Brody (right). Yarn - A bunch of different colors of malabrigo, including Lime/Blue and Ravelry Red.


All knitwear made my yours truly. I've seen them wear these items after the obligatory day or two, so I know that they are well loved.

Up next, after I finish the never-ending Citron........another shawl. I seem to have lost my sock knitting mojo. If you see it, could you send it my way?

We Interrupt This Knitting Blog....

I haven't been able to blog (or knit) for the past week.
As you can see, we've been a little bit busy.

Sleep deprived and tired doesn't even come close to how I feel tonight. I've been vertical since 3:30am this morning, and it's starting to catch up with me. We took a really early flight home from Orlando to BWI this morning. We spent the past week at Disney, Discovery Cove (Awesome), and Sea World.
We met lots of new (and famous people)....at the Phillies game in Clearwater, FL.

We loved Discovery Cove, where we snorkeled with Sting Rays and tropical fish, ate ourselves silly, and generally had a fabulous time! We even wore wetsuits all day, although only some of us are posing for your viewing pleasure.

All in all, it was a very busy, but good trip. All I have to say is that I'm very happy that we are home safe and sound. I've been blessed with a great family and wonderful friends!

My Next Knitting Project

With the advent of DSL, I've been able to see all kinds of knitterly things. I've decided this should be my next project!
AMAZING!

Let me know what you think!

Green with Envy

My eldest nephew is getting married in June. I have a nice little black dress that needs a little something in the pizazz department. Queue Citron!

I've wondered how I was going to knit with this yarn, it being so vibrantly green and whatnot.

It's so green, it makes my teeth hurt. But hey, I figured everyone needs a little green to celebrate St. Patrick's Day tomorrow, right?


Pattern: Citron (small shawl - my newest knitting addiction). Free pattern on Ravelry!
Yarn: Wollmeise Sockenwolle - 80/20 Twin, colorway - Wasabi
Needles - US size #6
Start date - 3/13/10
Finish date - to be determined, but definitely before June 26th!

A True Olympic Finish

I finished my projects for the Olympics right on time, I just didn't get a chance to post them. Sometimes life gets in the way!
Here's my finished shawlette (small shawl). It's knit from The Plucky Knitter's 50% silk, 50% merino, in a worsted weight yarn. It's lovely! I love the drape of the knitted fabric.


And lastly, my Pretty Thing cowl. It's also knit in The Plucky Knitter's yarn. It's her 4-ply cashmere yarn in the colorway, Wild Violets. I basically knit this object in 2 days, and it was a stretch to get it done, but I love it! The yarn is so soft.

For those on Ravelry, you can view my project information there. I'm trying to be better about posting it to that site, if for no other reason than to keep a journal of sorts for myself.
I'm off to give the dog some much needed loving. He's sitting on my lap as I post this entry. He got his first hair cut this week. We can finally see his eyes! I hope that you're all having a good week! I'm SO looking forward to this weekend, when I'm SO not working!

Oh, and we've got DSL now, and wait for it................an iMac!

In True Olympic Fasion......

I'm sprinting to the finish line with my last project for Ravelympics. This last project gave me quite a fit. I ripped back to the starting line over six times. I stopped counting how many times I frogged the project after that. It isn't a difficult project for me, but I think my attention was zapped this week at work.

Until I get new photos of my Olympic projects, please enjoy another WIP of mine - Cotty socks. I love Carrie's pattern, and how it works with both colorful yarns and solid yarns! If you're a sock knitter, consider this pattern for a future project.

I'll see you at the finish line with my Ravelympic projects. GO TEAM USA! I hope that we win the medal count!

Falling....

Falling behind on knitting, cleaning, and life in general. I'm even falling behind on viewing the Olympics. For shame. I've got to get cracking. Today marks the first day of three days at home, no work. This comes after seven consecutive work days in a row, so I don't mind. But I do think I need to put a little spring into my step, and color into my gray days.

How about this sock to take away the winter doldrums?
Pop sock (please notice the lack of plural status). This is the first one. I have yet to knit the second one. After the Olympics, I say!

These crazy self-striping yarns make me smile all day long. And my navy uniform may have to make way for some crazy socks in the next couple of weeks. I think it may be necessary for my very survival during these long winter months!

Fighting.....

I'm fighting with Blogger. It takes forever to upload photos on my dial-up connection. I spend more time in front of the computer just waiting than ever before. BUT - there is light at the end of the tunnel. We now have DSL available in our area! It's coming to us very soon!
So, hopefully the photo will work this time. This is the picture that belonged in yesterday's post.
Enjoy!

What are you "fighting" this week?

Tired on Tuesday

Enjoy the photograpy courtesy of my hubby.......I'm too tired to compose anything about knitting today. But I will say this, apparently we need to send the ice and snow North to Canada, as they are experiencing technical difficulties on most of the venues.....

I'm beginning to realize how little I have to say, with posting every day, instead of every month! So..........how about I just let the pictures do the talking?

A Brooks Farm Yarn Scarf - Colorways from Brooks Farms are never marked with names, but they are gorgeous all the same.
The yarn is 50% Merino wool, 50% silk, worsted weight. This project was actually my first finished object (FO) of 2010. I just need to block it to increase its length.

One of the interesting things about this scarf is that it employs what I believe to be the "knit-one-below" stitch in the pattern. It makes quite a lovely change to the knitted fabric. This pattern is a repeat of two simple rows. But if you are a knitting thrower like I am (the technical term is English style), those two rows can go on indefinitely, until you feel that you want to pull your hair out.......and then the scarf's complete. And suddenly you think you might want to knit another one. Knitting is a disease, I tell you!

Now off to get supper started and actually knit something today! I'll soon run out of things to post if I don't keep knitting!
PS - Great Olympic moment for Canada in men's moguls yesterday!