Oh, hey guys!

With all of this luxurious time on my hands, I managed to finish a whole hat in only a couple of evenings, instead of a month! Huzzah! I haven't blocked it yet, but I just know that as soon as I do, it's going to get wrapped and then I'd never get a picture. And we all know that what the Internet really needs is a picture of a plain black knitted hat!

It's Turn a Square by the incomparable Jared Flood. I used Mission Falls 1824 Wool in Black. I'm hoping it'll become my brother's favorite hat and I can prove to him that wool is not the devil.

I've been a baking fool this weekend! I went to a party last night, which in itself doesn't sound like much, but guys... I didn't know anyone there! I'd never even met the hosts before! If you know me in real life, you probably understand how incongruous this is with my personality. But when you're in a city where you don't know anyone, you have to start somewhere. I'm learning that I'm not as socially awkward as I've always thought I was. I've been holding actual conversations where the person I'm talking to appears to be engaged and interested in what I'm saying! I'm not mumbling or staring at my feet or looking desperately for a book or a magazine to read! It's pretty incredible. I also met a fellow knitter at this same party. His LYS is the same as mine! Such a small, wonderful, knitterly world.

Anyway, I obviously couldn't show up at this party empty-handed, so I decided to make a gingerbread. I've made a couple of gingerbread loaves in the past and wasn't happy with them. They were both dry and not nearly flavorful enough. I was set on gingerbread though. It's my favorite, and I figured no one else would bring it. Then I remembered that Deb at Smitten Kitchen had posted a gingerbread I wanted to try. Of course it was decadently delicious.



It's the Gramercy Tavern Gingerbread and it's everything she promises: spicy, rich, sticky, and extremely dangerous to get out of the pan! I was pretty sure I had oversprayed my pan and still lost a chunk. Not so bad though. I cut it up for transport anyway, and then I had a built in piece to guiltlessly devour. I mean, I couldn't very well bring an untested recipe to a party without quality control, right?! If you make one thing this Christmas, make this. You won't regret it.

Today I did some serious shopping (just searching for one elusive gift right now), and made some cookies to bring into work and bring home with me on Thursday. I made two kinds. Both unspeakably delicious.
Chewy Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cherry Cookies by Isa Chandra Moskowitz




and Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies by the one, the only, Martha Stewart




Now, I don't like to pick favorites, so let me just say that I wasn't planning to give these away, I'd have the whole tray of the molasses cookies in my lap right now. The chocolate cookies are delicious, but they're very rich. They're a lot like a brownie in cookie form, so one or two will do ya. The molasses ones though are very light, chewy, with a crisp edge, and a buttery, spicy flavor. Must... resist....

I'm deciding right now between casting on for some mittens, or getting some wrapping done. Sigh. I'll be kicking myself Wednesday night if I don't get the wrapping done. Heading home Thursday! I can't wait!

Wow... Really?

Has it really been nearly a month since my last update?! Time sure has flown by, and here I am at the very end of my first semester of graduate school. Tomorrow is my last class, and I have a couple of things to finish for that, but I thought I'd come over and give a shout. And show off my latest FO! But first, some quick catch-up.
Thanksgiving happened, and so did an 11th birthday.

That cake is 100% vegan, and the most delicious chocolate cake I have ever made or eaten. The frosting was amazing too, but the cake! It's accidentally vegan, no egg replacers, no soy. It's a recipe called Wacky Cake, and there are versions all over the Internet. The recipe was created during WWII rationing, when home cooks had to get creative. Try it!

Speaking of food, we had a pretty delicious Thanksgiving breakfast of Vegan Pumpkin French Toast. The kids ate every bite with singular focus, something that never happens.




I squeezed in a visit to Purl Diva for a chat and some stash enhancement.




And Christmas draws nearer and nearer.




I'm making a hat for my brother. Partly because he's always complaining that I've never knit anything for him, and partly to see just how serious is his wool sensitivity. He wants a Cobblestone Pullover, but no way am I embarking on that project without testing out possibilities first. I think Mission Falls 1824 might be the way to go. We shall see.




And I finished something! I somehow managed to pull off a sock in between trips home, fifteen page papers, reading two short story collections, and critiques. No wonder they took a month to finish!




I used J. Knits Superwash Me in Florida. I really like this yarn! It's comfortable to knit, doesn't get too twisty. It's also very comfortable to wear. I haven't taken the socks off since I took these pictures this morning. I used the Hourglass Eyelet Socks pattern by Cindy Putnam. This pattern was formerly available on the defunct MagKnits site, and is now available for download on Ravelry. It was a nice, fun, easy pattern. The stitch pattern is easily memorized, and they go quickly (when you're not a first year grad student). I chose to use this pattern with this yarn because I was concerned about pooling, but I didn't need to be! Check out the soles, no pooling here! I don't regret my choice, but it would be sorta nice to have a pair of plain jane socks in this bright, cheery color, don't you think?




Whew! So that's what happens when you have to play catch up! After tomorrow, I'll have a blissful month reprieve from homework before the Spring semester starts. Let's see how many projects I can churn out during that time!

Movin' Right Along

I must admit that work stalled for a day or two on the Slimline Jacket last week. I am one of those knitters who, in the face of a potential yarn shortage, works very slowly on her project (as opposed to those who speed up... I am the same way when low on gasoline). Fortunately, I found another ball of yarn buried in my basket, and work continued anew! I am about halfway through the sleeves, and at the rather boring "knit straight for x inches" portion of the program. Boring means that it's a good project for multitasking, though! Silver linings, you know.

I finished Pirate Mitten #1, but neglected to take a picture. I'll try to do better next time. Blocking evened everything out beautifully. Last night I cast on for the second mitten and worked a couple of rows. It's so nice to have a smooth yarn project to work on as a break from the boucle!

Speaking of smooth yarn projects, I made a hat this week, too. A friend wanted to give a Kitty62 hat to a friend for his birthday, so I promised to deliver. I found suitable yarn in my stash (Cascade 220), and finished the hat in about four hours. I guess when you make something four times, your fingers just know what to do! This time, I decided to do the ears differently. I've always knitted the ears separately and sewn them on after, and I did that this time, but instead of knitting the ear pieces separately, I knit them at once with a purl column for folding the halves into one ear. Brilliant, if I do say so myself. I never liked those little fiddley pieces, or sewing them together. This new way left me with one small seam, and then I just had to sew them to the hat. I had to give her the hat after I got out of work, so here I am in my work clothes, wearing a kitty hat.





I still have to make one of these for myself!

Like Buttuh.

I made myself a hat. I started the hat last week, on a knit date with my best knitting bud. I used Malabrigo angora for the brim, which was so heavenly soft to knit, I didn't even mind when I had to rip out all of my work halfway through and start again. See, I was going for a slouchy, slightly oversized thing with this hat. I hate when hats flatten my hair and stick to my face. What I got the first time was just too freaking big. This one is just right.

I wanted the angora to be the only thing touching my forehead, since pretty much everything makes my forehead itch, including the buttery soft Malabrigo merino I used for the top. Both yarns are in the Pollen colorway. I have more than enough of the merino left over for some mittens, which have to be next on my list. My poor hands were freezing this morning, wrapped around the icy steering wheel. Don't get me wrong, I love winter! I love snow and cold weather! As long as I am prepared for both. Once I have my fancy new mittens, I'll be into winter again. (And maybe also a nose warmer.)

Thoughts are turning to sweaters, and I am definitely feeling pulled by the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Astrakhan that has been in my knitting basket for over a year. Before I dive into the cardigan I planned to make with it, though, Amy suggested I check out some of DB's new patterns for this yarn. I do love the cardigan, but maybe she's come up with something I like even more. It's so important to keep your options open, don't you think?

A surprise entry!

I really didn't anticipate being able to update this week, but I had to share this tiny slice of cute I started and finished during a movie last night. I got caught up in my own blog post, and decided it was time to contribute to the Caps to the Capital project. Ellen at Purl Diva is collecting the hats and sending them off. I'll be dropping this one off with the Opal Tiger baby hat I made awhile ago. For this little darling, I followed the pattern provided by the Caps to the Capital people, and used one ball of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky. I had so much yarn left at the finish of the hat, I decided to put on a big old pom-pom. My pom-poms need a little work.

I am such a good knitter, I casted on for the second gift sock tonight, and now have a toe. I think this one will go faster. I have experience with the pattern behind me, as well as a perfect model to follow. Taking measurments is as easy as counting repeats!

(I also snuck in a few rows of the mystery project!)

Wee Hats

I only have this one mediocre photo to share. Curse this rotten weather! The mom loved this hat, so now I can pick up a second skein of SWS for some tiny mittens. I wanted to make sure she liked the colors in this yarn and how it felt before I went for a second ball. This is just your basic hat, but it's my first one finished off with icord. I really like this look. It's devastatingly adorable, and I will henceforth use icord (or a pompom!) on all wee hats. You have my promise.

I'm almost through with fingerless glove #1. I anticipate finishing it tonight, and starting on the second tomorrow. I'm feeling a little pressure. I want to take the finished gloves on a trip we're taking on Halloween, and give them to him there. It seems like plenty of time, but I hate to get cocky. Oh! And let me tell you, I think these puppies will wear like iron! The small gauge is stiff, but not rigid, and makes a pleasing fabric.

Malaise

My knitting lately has been bor-ing. To me, anyway. Dude, I have second sock syndrome... and I've yet to finish the first sock. It's not the pattern, the pattern is fun! It's not the yarn, the yarn is delicious and soft. I think it's just the fact that I've been looking at this sock for way. too. long. I'm about one repeat away from doing the toe on this one, and I'm struggling to even get myself interested in that. I will endeavor to do so, though, and then immediately cast on for a new pair of socks. I think after a break, I'll be ready for Hedera again.

In other news, a friend asked me to recreate a hat given to her last winter for her baby. Naturally, he needs a bigger hat this winter. The hardest part was finding appropriate yarn (she wanted something that matched as closely as possible to the last hat). I suspected that the old hat was made with craft store yarn (I detected acrylic content... cheap acrylic), so after hitting a couple of local shops, I hit up Michael's and found Patons SWS, which is a wool/soy blend. It's an interesting yarn to knit, it reminds me of mohair fleece that I've seen. It has a nice shine, and is reasonably soft. I like the drape, too! She wanted a kind of slouchy hat, and I think that yarn will deliver. Also, please note the needles. I have a small weakness for Inox needles, and will always buy a set on sale, even though I have pretty much every size I need. I broke these open because my other US8 double points were being used on the Christmas Stocking (more on that later, over half finished!), and was horrified to discover that they're plastic. I've never used plastic needles before, and was sure I'd hate them (I'm a metalhead). Surprise! I like them! I don't love them, by any means, but I won't give them away.

I picked up my yarn today for a bitchin' bag, along with a skein of this really terrific orange/yellow sock yarn. It'll be the perfect antidote to cold, dreary days.

Missing!

Have you seen this hat?
I went to see the Rolling Stones on Wednesday, and, knowing it would be chilly, brought my beloved Malabrigo hat with me for some added warmth. In the car on the way home, I was horrified to discover that the hat was no longer with me. In a panic, I scrambled all over the moving vehicle, checking under the seat, by the door, even the back seat. No dice. All I can think is that the hat, feeling unloved by the way it was stuffed into my pocket and went unworn, leapt to the beer soaked floor in the hopes it would be found by someone who loved it more. The other option is that the hat, realizing we were leaving early, even before they (surely) played Sympathy for the Devil (the hat's favorite song), jumped to the seat as I turned to leave. Either way, I will never see this hat again. I only hope that some gentle Rolling Stones fan found it, touched it, and put it immediately on their head (which I admit I wouldn't do). I hope a knitter found it. A knitter who knows that Malabrigo must be hand washed, or you risk having a baby helmet. My fear is that my hat, my precious soft little hat, is sitting in a trash can right now, lost and lonely. I'm sorry little hat. I will keep a better eye on your sister (thankfully, I still have plenty of that green Malabrigo to make another.

Baby Things

Oh, how I love baby things! They're so small, quick, and adorable!

Somebunny is being awfully bratty.

And it's not me! Today is Mrs. Cooper's birthday (of course, we don't know for sure the DATE of her birthday, but we do know she was born on Easter), and she has been making her queen status clear all day. Hay has been flung, ankles have been nipped, extra-special salad (with grapes AND cranberries) has been eaten. She is done being the birthday girl:

You might think that my bunny talk is a clever ruse to distract you from lack of knitting content. You would be mistaken! While I actually knit this item some time ago, last weekend (was it that long ago already) this object went from this:




To this:




I felted the hat by hand, which actually wasn't bad. The only felting experience I had prior was with Kureyon and believe you me, that yarn does not want to felt. This hat was made using Cascade 220 which felted like a dream. There is zero stitch definition in this hat. I did notice that the light blue portion took longer to felt than the charcoal gray, but I've heard that lighter colors are like that. I plan to make one of these for myself, too. Would you like to make one? I am also officially amped to do a felted Bottoms Up Bucket Hat (though the "Bottoms Up" seems to be unnecessary now, as there appears to be only one bucket hat pattern available).

Work on the sock continues. I just have about half the foot left! I'm pretty excited about wearing them; the one that's finished is very comfortable. In other news, I had a pleasant surprise on Friday when the yarn for the wedding blanket arrived! I'm using Plymouth Encore (which I've heard referred to as "the cream of the crap"), which I've never used before. It's okay, but I can really feel the acrylic. I don't think a non-knitter would even notice it, though, as the yarn is fairly soft. I only have one repeat of one square completed (out of twenty squares!), so I'll spare you the photos. Hopefully next time I post I'll have another finished sock, a Ribby Cardi, and a completed square. The race is on! Want to bet on whether I'll have the blanket done by the June 15th wedding in Vegas?

Wee Projects

I finished up the hat and bootie set last night. As it is 5:36am as I type this, in the middle of winter, I have no natural sunlight to photograph them in. I used Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, single strand for the booties and double stranded for the hat. I knew as soon as I casted on for the hat that I wouldn't have enough of the blue for the whole thing, so I decided on the fly to make the brim blue and the rest white. There's another baby due in the same family in April, so I'll use up the rest of the white on that one, and get some lavendar to compliment it (next up is a girl).

The colors in this picture are pretty true.


I also just found out that my childhood friend is expecting! She's due in August, so I have plenty of time to make a baby sweater or two.

But right now I will turn my attention to the Round Trip sweater. I will try my hardest not to start another project until I finish a sleeve. Oh, screw it. I know I'll break that one! It's time to start some fingerless gloves!

WIPS... Now with Pictures!

I've been busy with other things, not much time for knitting, but I've still managed to get more work done on the Round Trip sweater (almost done with the border, about ten rows to go).

Doesn't look like much right now, eh? Just wait'll she gets some sleeves!



A couple of weeks ago when the weatherman first started in with negative degree forecasts, I decided I needed a thick hat, pronto. I bought some Adrienne Vittadini Dani on the way home from work and made this hat that night. Dani is very interesting. It's about twenty or so very thin single plies of yarn all plied together, which makes a very thick, yet light, yarn. It's 100% wool and very soft.




And the bootie. Just the one so far, and this one has been done for quite a while. It cries out to me, forlornly, from the knitting basket, "Please don't leave me all alone in the world! I'm so small, and the world is so, so big!" These only take a few hours to make, I'll set aside a night this week to make the match. I'll be making a hat to go with them.




I'm thinking about going to the yarn sore today to pick up some sock weight wool, but I'm trying to talk myself out of it. I already have so much sock yarn, and I have three projects to get through before I even have to decide what I'm making next. I have no willpower. If any stash enhancement occurs, I'll be sure to keep everyone updated.