I just finished making this hat for my sister. I have one in blue; my other sister has one in pink; and we decided that Liz needed one even though she lives in Thailand where its HOT all year long. I started this back in December and finished it up just in time to give her for her birthday.
I absolutely love Gudron’s pattern for the Conway Cloche, and I’m sure I’ll make many more in the years to come.
I just spent the last hour and a half turning this:
into this:
I’m not really sure why I went through the painstaking process to untangle something that had been knit holding two strands at a time, especially because it was only about $5 worth of yarn, but I just couldn’t throw it away.
In all the years I’ve been knitting I’ve never made anything for Matt to wear. In fact, the only thing I’ve made for him is this chess board.
This year Matt and I decided to just do stocking gifts for each other, and I knew making him a hat would be just perfect. I was in DC the other week, and I saw a guy walking on the street with a toboggan that I knew would be perfect for Matt. I finally found some yarn that I wanted to use at a The Yarn Shop by Rainy Day Creations in Pineville, NC and quickly improvised a pattern that would work.
I was so pleased with the way the hat turned out that I couldn’t wait until Christmas to give it to him! I knit it with Katia Fabula which knit up very quickly on size 13 needles. Fabula is a super bulky washable merino. At $11 a skein, with two skeins required, this hat was a bit expensive to make, but the colors were perfect for Matt, and I knew he wouldn’t wear it unless it was really soft.
I love the way the natural colors of the yarn and the way that it created the stripes. The design was improvised, but you can check out my notes on my ravelry page. Be warned, they are really rough notes. I’ll try to tighten them up in the next few days, but I can’t make any promises.
Today was our first official day of snow. I’m guessing we had about 1/2 inch on the ground which surprised me because it has been pretty warm up here, and I would have thought the ground was still too warm for anything to stick. Regardless, it was a beautiful first snow that dusted everything outside. I’m bummed though because I couldn’t get any pictures since it was practically dark when I got home from work.
I did a whole lot of knitting over the Thanksgiving holiday, but unfortunately I feel like I don’t really have anything to show for it. I did finish these baby booties for my sister to give to one of her expecting friends. I’m glad that I don’t sell these booties, because I have to confess that I really don’t like knitting them. There just seems to be way too much finishing work involved for something so small and cute. I think I’m going to find a pattern for baby socks to make for people instead.
I also made this custom baby Christmas pixie hat for a client. I got pretty frustrated making it because I was trying to use yarn I already had, which unfortunately happened to be acrylic, and the green yarn was actually a different weight. I ended up making almost three versions before I got the hat part right, but at least it was good practice creating something myself totally from scratch. I am usually a pattern-following girl, but one day I would like to get into writing and publishing my own knitting patterns, so this was good practice.
On another note, tonight we had what some might call a small accident but I would refer to as a crisis of epic proportions. It involved a very full glass of orange juice accidentally making its way into my knitting bag which contained approximately 8 new skeins of yarn, 1 finished project, and 3 works in progress.
That’s right. Sticky colored liquid in my yarn basket.
But don’t worry. My husband came to the rescue, and I think we got everything cleaned up. A few of the skeins and two of the works in progress were drenched in oj, so I ran then under cool water and am letting them dry. I’m not sure if that will work or not, but I thought I would give it a shot.
So, the moral of the story – its just yarn, and it can be replaced if necessary. Also, orange juice is very sticky.
I know Thanksgiving was yesterday, but I needed to sleep off the effects of the turkey before I posted again. All that food was so delicious and it was such a delight to be with all of my family, except for my sister who lives in Thailand. {We missed you Liz!}
We really have so much to be thankful for, and here are the things at the top of my list.
1. My husband. Even though we’ve only been married 2 1/2 years, I cannot imagine life without him. I am so thankful for how patient, loving, and kind he is toward me. He has a great way of helping me mellow out when I get too high strung. He really is my better half.
2. My family. I am so grateful that my family gets along so well and truly loves each other. I’m thankful that we got to spend almost a month with my sister in October since she couldn’t get back to Thailand because of the flooding. I’m thankful that my brother is home from New Hampshire and we get to spend time with him. I’m thankful that my other sister has found someone to spend the rest of her life with. I’m thankful I have such a good relationship with my husband’s family that they have become my family.
3. A new job. I’m incredibly thankful to be in a new position at work. After 6 years working in a position that wasn’t a great fit, I’m now thankful to have a job that I enjoy. A job that I am good at that makes me feel fulfilled at work.
4. Health. I’m thankful that we have a healthy family. 2 years ago my mom was going through chemo and radiation, and I am thankful that is behind us. We aren’t guaranteed life, and we aren’t guaranteed that our family members will always be healthy, so this year I am trying not to take that for granted.
5. Knitting. I am so thankful to have found a hobby that I enjoy so much. I’m also thankful that knitting is a little more popular now than it used to be, so that I don’t always look like a grandma. I still can’t believe that people want to buy things that I knit. It is such an honor.
If there is one thing about the cold weather that I don’t mind, it’s the increased focus on knitting. Something about cold weather makes me just want to sit on the sofa, watch a movie, and knit. Now that daylight savings time has ended, it seems like there is even more time than usual.
I have been selling quite a few of the Mike Nesmith Inspired Knit Wool Hats in my Etsy shop so I have been busy fulfilling those orders.
I still can’t believe that people want to purchase things that I make. I cannot even begin to tell you what that does for my moral.
I just finished knitting a custom scarf for a client, and I am so pleased with how it turned out.
This was knit with Malabrigio worsted in the Rattan color way. So far I have made two of these scarves for other people, and I have decided that I have to make one for myself! Ravelry notes on the scarf here.
“What? You can’t knit in the dark? Stuff and nonsense; anybody can. Shut your eyes. Knit one stitch. Open your eyes and look at the stitch; it’s all right. Shut your eyes and knit two stitches. Open them. Shut them. Knit three stitches. Falling off a log is no comparison.” – Elizabeth Zimmerman
So I am not completely knitting in the dark, but I did discover the benefits of using a red headlamp while Matt drives!
I have been knitting up a storm this week – I haven’t been able to put my needles down! Even though I love to knit year round, I think the fall weather intensifies my need to knit.
I just finished this scarf, and it is now for sale in my Etsy shop! It is seriously the most cozy and plush scarf I have ever worn. Check it out.
I am totally in love with this new knitting project. I have 6 different projects on the needles right now, but I feel a pressing need to knit this.
I started this scarf yesterday and hope to be finished with it tonight. 4 rows on the way to work. 20 rows at lunch. 4 rows on the way home. I’ve been knitting it every free moment I have. I hope the receipt of this gift loves it as much as I have loved knitting it!
Normally I would do a {this moment} post today, but I haven’t taken many pictures this week, and I am quite anxious to share some of my latest knitting projects with you.
I fell in love with the look of the Annabel Cardigan the moment I saw it, and I immediately started knitting one up in osprey in the chanterelle color. I actually finished the sweater in February, but I have hardly taken it off long enough to photograph it.
I seriously love this sweater more than any other sweater I’ve knit.
The three quarter length sleeves are perfect because I hate feeling like my sleeves are in the way or dragging in things.
I wore this sweater in winter, spring, summer, and fall. I’m actually thankful that we have cool weather sometimes during our summer nights so that I can wear it!
The leather buttons are from my collection. I bought them several years ago with the intent of using them to close a duvet cover, but they never made it there. To me, these buttons make the sweater. They give it a classy yet cozy look.
The only modifications I made on this sweater had to do with sizing, and you can see them in my ravelry notes.
As soon as I got the first sweater off my needles I decided that I needed one in another color. Since it was march, I was craving a nice spring color and decided on osprey in the pomegranate color. I think the initial excitement of the sweater wore off because it took me almost 6 months to finish this one. Because this project was so easy, I was able to knit other projects in between working on it.
This color isn’t quite as universal as the brown one, so I find that I don’t wear it as often, but it adds a nice pop of color to a bland outfit.
The buttons are from retronana on etsy.
I made this one a tiny bit larger so that it didn’t pull in the front, and you can see my mods here .