Holiday 2012 in a Hat

For today's post we'll return to the pile of finished objects from the end of last year.  This one was a gift.  One of the few I made during the holidays.



The pattern is Everglade by Woolly Wormhead knit up in Cascade 220. I gave it to my sister but I think my niece may have swiped it.  That's the rumor anyway. 

But the reason I made it for my sister is that she pretty much asked for it.  During our recent Indiana trip I went for a little walk around Bloomington one day with my sister and, happily if not surprisingly, it included a stop at a yarn store.  My sister is not a knitter or a lover of yarn in general but she indulged me.



As I started to feel those familiar "must knit" feelings my sister was admiring the samples. She commented that she'd really love a great, slouchy, hat.  Who wouldn't?  Even if you, like me, don't really look great in hats there is something about pulling one down over your ears on a cold winter day. Right?



The resulting hat is a win.  The pattern is well written and dead-simple.  I probably spent way more time considering the yarn and pattern choice than knitting it up.  After a good soak and a wee bit of blocking to open up the lacy bits this hat was perfect. 

I hope that it keeps my sister (or my niece) nice and warm.

The Coveted Noro Scarf

As promised, after briefly being sidetracked by the election I'm back with some real knitting content and it's good.

I finished the Coveted Noro Scarf last friday and hubbo immediately picked it up and threw it around his neck - just to see how it looked. It's not his and he knows it but that hasn't stopped him from casting longing looks and wistful glances each and every time I pulled it out to work on it. You think I'm joking? Think again.

It's understandable that hubbo would love the scarf. What's not to love? The pattern was easy to remember which made this the perfect pattern to take with me everywhere. I knit on it while watching TV and commuting to work. In a busy schedule like mine you grab a minute or 2 to knit anywhere you can so patterns that are easy to follow and don't require an hour of figuring to pick up where you left off are priceless.

Some people would be put off by entrelac and all of the picking up. Normally I would too but this is just 8 stitches at a time. Easy Peasy! I could totally make another one of these and that brings us back to hubbo because the only way he'll keep his hands off of this one is if I make one for him. Seriously. He has never, ever had this reaction to anything I made before.

So this weekend when I go to Stitches East a few balls of Noro will be on my list. I have never worked with it before this project but now that I have I get it. I'm not usually into such rustic yarn but the colors in the Noro are fabulous. This yarn is art. As I worked on the scarf I kept choosing new squares as favorites. Sometimes it was the rusty one with the green flecks, at others it was the bright pink or maybe the blue. What surprised me most was how much I loved the multicolored squares that should've been muddy with so many colors in them but, instead, were beautiful.

The success of this scarf also owes quite a lot to Ravelry. That's where I found the perfect pattern for the 3 balls of Noro that had been marinating in my stash for at least 3 (4?) years. That's also where I went when I realized that the pattern needed 4 balls. Ooops! After such a long time I had no hope of getting another ball in the right dye lot from my LYS so I trolled through Ravelry and found someone with one perfect ball. Amazingly, SinCitykitty said that she'd got it for free from someone on Ravelry and sent it on to me for the same price. How awesome is that?!

This has been a great project for me and I hope that all the good vibes knit into this scarf will stay with it when I gift it to an unnamed friend/family member at the holidays this year. I also hope they have the good sense to keep it away from my husband because he just can't keep his hands off it.

How to Receive a Hand Knit

The holidays may be over but there is one subject left to be covered. Who stays and who goes? You know what I mean… who received their hand knit holiday gift with an appropriate response and who didn’t. No, I am not going to shame them publicly because that would be mean. I’d rather offer a little bit of constructive criticism in the form of a small list of do’s and don’ts. Besides, there are other knittable occasions coming up so you can consider this a little PSA.

DO – Write us a little note telling us how you loved the hand knit you received. Telling us how you saw us making it, or a picture posted on our blog, and hoped that it was for you – this is like gold.

DON’T – Wait. Ya gotta’ know that we are waiting for some sign that it fits. Don’t make us ask. Countless times we stop to measure and contemplate. Doesn’t it look a little small? Should I add the ruffled cuff or leave it off? This shade of blue isn’t too girly for him – is it? We agonize over these things and wait on pins and needles to hear that it’s just right.

DO – Send pictures of yourself wearing or otherwise enjoying the hand knit. You may be creative just as long as you convey feelings of joy. We knitters like to thing that our gifts spread happiness and evidence on that is always welcome.

DON’T – Say “Oh, how nice” when we tell you we made it ourselves. This is the general equivalent of “that’s interesting” and really, is there any response more deflating than one of obvious disappointment.

DO – Casually wear the hand knits when you see us. This is even better that pictures. Perhaps we’ll spy a glimpse of a brightly colored sock when the cuff of your pants rides up as you sit. Maybe the scarf we made will be thrown jauntily over your shoulder when we pass you in the supermarket. This is all good.

Pro – con – pro… always end on a positive so this list is done. I have made the appropriate edits to the list of those I will knit for and I’m ready to move along. I’m happy to say that those who were redacted from my list don’t know about the blog and will probably never be any the wiser. I hope that all of your giftees responded happily.

By the way, did you see the Golden Globes last night. I was ok with most of them. I love Hugh Laurie in House and Kyra Sedgwick is great on The Closer. Sascha Baron Cohen's acceptance had me rolling. As awards shows go it was fine – not stellar but fine. What gave me a huge kick was watching them with my girls. When Eddie Murphy won, the Drama Queen commented that he’s probably won lots of awards. I told her that I thought it was the first and said that a lot of his earlier work wasn’t really award material. I was thinking of his time on SNL, 48 Hours, Beverly Hills Cop etc. Stinkerbelle and DQ were thinking more of Daddy Day Care and Shrek. I reminded them that he did other things before that. So Stink says “Oh, I know, like Dr. Dolittle.”

Cake and Candles

I awoke this morning about an hour before my usual time feeling a little heartburn and general unease. I popped a Tums and headed to the kitchen because I knew exactly what was wrong. Last night I made a cake for an office party today. I like to bake and, except in very unusual situations, if it comes from my kitchen it was made from scratch. Last night at 10:30 pm as I was fiishing off the cake, I ran out of homemade frosting. Noting my ongoing difficultywith my feet, hubbo convinced me that it was fine as it was so I went to bed.

It was not fine and we both knew it. He was able to move on and go to sleep and put it completely out of his head. I was not. This is why, at o'dark thirty this morning, I was whipping up another batch of frosting. I think that we can both agree that this is much better. Not perfect - but better.

Now that the cake issues are resolved I can return to the regularly scheduled display of the last of the holiday gifts I finished while I was stuck on the couch. These are the second set of votive sleeves that I planned and I'm really happy with the way they turned out.

I used the pattern for Wire Menorah/Votive Sleeves from Melanie Falick’s Handknit Holidays again but this time the 24 gauge wire I used was gold tone. I wanted to use a red and gold theme and I couldn't believe how hard it was to find beads in these colors that pleased me. I wanted glass beads in true reds and most of what I saw was coral or pink - not red. I think that these worked out well. I like the randomness of the placement and, although you can't see in this picture, they catch the light very nicely.

Finished Under the Influence

The parade of finished objects completed while I vegetated on the couch continues with this pair of socks. They're just simple toe-up socks with a little slipped stitch pattern in the leg. The cool thing is that the yarn you see at the top of the picture is leftover from the socks. I used Elann Esprit again but these only took one and half balls. Woot! Since the Drama Queen(who will receive these as a gift) and I wear the same shoe size that means that I can make a matching pair for myself at a later date.

The most notable thing about these socks is that the two socks, from the same ball of variegated yarn, striped very differently. I don't think that DQ will care much - she'll just think they're cool. I find it curious though.

My brother has been known to refer to me as a weird-o and my girls too (they don't really count though). I saw this meme making the rounds and figured it was time to see exactly how weird I really am.

"Each player of this game starts with the ‘6 weird things about you.’ People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says ‘you are tagged’ in their comments and tell them to read your blog.”

1. I love sundried tomatos, tomato sauce, tomato paste (even raw), tomato juice, even sliced tomatos on pizza or the Checca (fresh tomatos and spices in olive oil) that they serve at CPK... but no matter how many times I try, I cannot eat fresh tomatos.
2. The smell of bacon cooking makes me nauseous - but I love the taste of a little hint of it on my cheese fries. Go figure!
3. I bite my cuticles. It's so gross and it makes my fingers sore and ugly but I just can't help it.
4. I love regulatory research. This one won't make sense to most people but anyone in the legal field will understand just how weird it is. Just lets say that diving into boring regulations and trying to figure out why they say what they do fascinates me and absorbs me. Just. Don't. Get. Me. Started.
5. I love people watching. I blame it on all the years I spent in art school 'training my eye'. I especially find it amusing to watch men on the Metro and guess if they're single - blue shirt, yellow tie, tan jacket, grey pants, black shoes and a brown belt - oh yeah, he's single. No woman would let her guy be seen like that!
6. I love to have company and entertain but I hate to be the center of attention and I usually choose to enjoy my parties from the sidelines. I cook up a storm and fill my house with friends and family several times a year but I get more pleasure out of watching my company enjoy themselves than I do from geting in there and mixing it up myself.

I'm not tagging anyone but if you want to share your weirdness I'd love to hear it.

On my Feet Again

Thank you so much for all of your good wishes! I hope to thank all of you personally but it will take a little while - I have a lot of catching up to do!

After posting the other day I retreated to the couch with my feet up and I was a totally uncharachteristically good patient. I kept my feet up and iced for 3 days. It was so hard because I am not a sedentary person. There was so much that needed to be done and that I wanted to do but I really just couldn't walk much at all and the painkillers just wiped me out. Instead I sat and watched my toes turn colors. Today they're a wicked shade of purple but I'm going to work anyway.

I learned that even with the painkillers ( I totally get why Dr. House loves his Vicodin so much) I can still knit. There was surprisingly little frogging involved either. I finished 3 projects over the weekend and I am now nearly finished with my holiday knitting. The last project, a pair of socks, made it's way onto my needles last night. Ahhh... cashmere!

The first of the finished objects that I can share is Sheldon. Yes, this is the project that I hinted at the other day. Here is a picture of our Frankie meeting the newly hatched Sheldon. I'm not sure that Frankie was impressed but I just love Sheldon.

I saw the pattern as soon as the holiday Knitty was posted and knew that I had to make Sheldon for my niece but I'm a little annoyed. I don't understand why they post the holiday Knitty so late. For those of us who celebrate Hanukkah there was barely enough time to complete anything in it for gift giving. For that reason I couldn't use the KP Shine that was specified. I love KP stuff but they are so slow! There was no way it would get here in time. Instead I found some Rowan Cotton Glace. It worked well too.

For the most part this was a great pattern except that I found it a little confusing towards the end. I was off the meds by then so I can't blame it on them. ( I just went back to get the link and noticed that the stuff that confused me while knitting has been updated with corrections - much better now.) After 2 tries I figured out what was wrong and I finished the project off. Sheldon is so cuddly. After a few hugs from my girls, he is on his way to my 3 year old niece in NYC right now with a few Franklin the Turtle books (Frankie insisted). My girls have already told me clearly that we need a Sheldon (or 2) for the house. They were bonding with this little guy and didn't want to let him go.

I followed the pattern pretty faithfully except for the materials. As I mentioned earlier I subbed a different yarn. I also subbed 12 mm saftety eyes instead of 9mm just because that's what I could find in the stores near me. I totally think it works though.

By the way, I never heard of the Subway Knitter but I don't think that's who caught me knitting my sock since I was in DC.

Time to Reevaluate

Tonight, as I sat at my desk catching up with my correspondence, Stinkerbelle came over to show me a little something. She held up a pair of socks I made for her earlier this year and told me that she had worn them to school today. (The pungent aroma confimed this) She said that she had been "showing them off" at school. Awww... I felt so special. Then she left and came back with the book order form that they gave out at school today and started to show me what she had her eye on. Boom! I came back down to earth in a hurry.

I've reached one of the key moments in my holiday knitting marathon. The reality check! Hanukkah is just over a week away so it's time to think about all of this with a clear head and decide what I can really finish for gifting this year.

The first to go is this lovely scarf. I haven't really gotten very far with it but, someday, it will be Forbes Forest in KP Andean Silk and I really love it. I can totally see why so many people adore this pattern and I think that my hairdresser will too - next year. I'll enjoy this much more if I can go at a more leisurely pace without all night knitting marathons. Besides, by pushing it off to next year I am no longer late for this year but early for next.

One of the 4 pairs of socks on my list goes too. I wanted to make socks for both of my girls for the holidays but I'm running out of time fast. One child will get the socks I planned because the pair is nearly half finished. Never fear - the other child will be getting some very cool knits too - just not socks. I'm working on a very cool scarf and fingerless gloves for her. They are totally unmatched but both totally her.

I think that the remainder of my sock time between now and the end of the year will be reserved for some decadent, cashmere, pink ribbon socks for my M-I-L. That and preparations for Sock Madness will keep me knitting sockks for a very long time!

I think that those adjustments should cover it all but I may need to revisit this again.

November Fog

I can not believe that it is the end of November. That’s just one of the many things that seem to have snuck up on me. This weekend is the Drama Queen’s birthday and I’m really not ready – the house is a wreck and I have only a vague idea of how it all will work. I’m also not ready to bake the bajillion cupcakes I need to send to school with her tomorrow. Speaking of baking – I have no “plan” for her birthday cake other than the fact that it will be chocolate. I always try to create something marvelous, or at least really cool, for my girls’ birthdays. This year my mind is a blank. Maybe I’m spent. Maybe the baking mojo is gone or on hiatus.

I’m afraid that the knitting may have something to do with it. In past years I was able to multi-task to a much higher degree. These days I just want to knit. It’s not even any one project that I’m dedicated to. Yesterday I worked on the mittens on my commute in and during lunch but I switched to a sock for the ride home. After dinner I worked the mittens until they were nearly done before starting one of the gift scarves I’m making. All the while, I was pondering the colors of beads I’ll use to make the votive sleeves that will coordinate with the red candles in the picture yesterday. See? It’s all good as long as I’m in knitland.

I took a little time out to speak to a few friends about upcoming plans and my brain froze. I’m pretty sure I was completely incoherent. What must they think of me? Better yet, why do they put up with me? Perhaps I’ll be able to get my shit together better after…

Cupcakes and cakes are made;
Holiday shopping is finished…
And wrapped…
And mailed;
Holiday knitting is finished;
Birthday gifts are purchased…
And mailed;
We are packed up for our trip;
Once all the stuff I can’t speak about is behind us.

Randomness

Thank you for all of the nice things that you said about the mittens. I also appreciate the advice about where to send them. Dulaan it is! I’ll send them, along with the hat and the pair of mittens I started last night, to Dulaan. I’ve wanted to participate in that effort for quite a while. There is something really appealing about being part of the effort to send massive amounts of warm hand knit stuff to Mongolia.

Yesterday was a huge relief for me because Bloglines apparently fixed my feed after 3 requests to do so and suddenly I had comments again. I switched to the new version of Blogger on the 16th and Bloglines lost the feed. It’s funny because my little corner of the Blogisphere isn’t particularly loud and rowdy but the silence was still really noticeable. I missed you all!

I’m so happy that you enjoyed the saga of the book. Hubbo wants it noted that his first trip to O.N. was not only to retrieve the book – he was doing a return and an exchange too. I’m amazed at how many of you commented on that. Clearly you are not skimmers.

The other thing that a few people commented on was the votives. I have to say that the first pair was a little rough on my hands but, once you get he hang of it they go really quickly and my hands didn’t suffer too horribly. My fingernails were another story. Not good at all. I do think that they were worth it though. I used Grumperina’s suggestions and got the votives and the round white candles from Crate and Barrel which look lovely but I also added these:

Actually, the candles that were wrapped up with the first set of votives aren’t in this picture. They were in shades of blue. Trust me, they were fab and I think that this is one handmade gift that will be sincerely welcomed. I hope!

Thanksgiving

I hadn’t planned to take a vacation from the blog. It just kind of happened. It’s amazing what a four-day vacation will do to you.

My brother and his wife were here to celebrate the holiday and from the moment they arrived my house was caught in a whirlwind of activity. We hosted the Thanksgiving feast so I cooked up a storm that included apple pie, chocolate cake and Kristi’s Holiday Cobbler in addition to the turkey and it’s trimmings. We played games and shopped and loafed around. Of course I was knitting a lot too.

Aside from waking at o'dark thirty on Black Friday to go do my bit for the national economy, I rarely left the house. The most notable exception was a trip into the District on Saturday to see the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, a place that I’ve wanted to visit since it opened in the fall of 2004. It's within view of the Capitol building which was neat because my sister-in-law, who just moved here from South Korea, had never seen it before. The first thing that we all noticed about the museum is that it is a stunning building. The walls of the museum are made of yellow stone that curves along in a warm and inviting way.

Inside, the museum is stunning as well. Many of the walls are of the same stone as the exterior accented with warm, natural colors and beaten metal. There are very few straight lines in the museum which lends it an organic feel that is exactly right.

We just loved this guy but, as I write this I realize that I have no details about him. He’s just one example of the art that is displayed throughout the museum, presented in a way that encourages you to get up close and experience it. While the art was beautiful, it wasn’t the thing that made the strongest impression. The word museum usually makes one think of a window on the past but the NMAI is really a celebration and appreciation of American Indian culture. I noted that many of the objects on display and quotes printed on the walls are quite recent – well within my lifetime. NMAI is as much about the lives of American Indians today as it is about those of the past. It’s about their contributions to and struggles in our changing world.

Predictably, we didn’t have nearly enough time to see the whole museum but the beauty of living where we do is that we can (and will) go back. It’s just a short ride!

Oh! I nearly forgot the knitting. I finished my hat for Knit Unto Others and Stinkerbelle was kind enough to model it for me.

I finished something else for Knit Unto Others too but I’ll save it’s debut for tomorrow.

Knit, Knit, Knit

Why oh why do people insist on crowding around the doors of the Metro trains? Lately I have been taking the train to work (instead of my car) in an effort to maximize my holiday knitting time. I’m lucky and get on at the end of the line so I usually get a seat. The part hat sucks is that every day I have to fight to get off the train because people crowd around the doors, and some really discourteous folks pile into the train before others get off. As hubbo reminded me last night – there is nothing common about common sense. I unfortunately see proof of this every day.

Thanks for all of your, ahem, support of my holiday knitting plans. I am well aware that I’ve got a touch of insanity. My list of holiday knitting is best described as ambitious and may will be revised in the near future but, for now, I continue to give it my best shot. As proof I offer this sock which I finished last night. It’s just a generic toe-up sock in Elann Esprit. 1 down – 8 to go!

I can’t afford to have naked needles so I started another sock this morning but unfortunately it’s not the mate for this blue one. Why? I lost the other ball of blue yarn. Ugh! I think that my holiday knitting plans may be jinxed.

I also started something else last night – another votive sleeve. I’ve been very busy collecting beads lately and I’m pretty sure that I have enough to complete a pair of sleeves this time. Actually, I bought so many beads (a little overkill maybe) that I’m absolutely certain that I have enough. I also got something else that made threading the beads on the wire last night easy peasy. It’s this silly little bead tray thingy. It’s blue and it has 2 holes of different sizes with caps on them in 2 corners so that you can easily pour the extra beads back in the containers. I dumped a bunch of beads into it as I sat on the couch last night and went to town. So much easier! You really don’t want to know how I was doing it before.

As I write it all down I realize that my recent knitting efforts sound like those of a slacker. Not so! See this! It’s a bag that I started last weekend. I probably shouldn’t admit to any of this because it makes me sound more crazy rather than less. I started this last Saturday because it’s for a crafter who I hope to see at a craft show this weekend. I’m starting to realize that it probably won’t be ready in time because, as you see it in these pictures, it’s about 8 inches tall and I hope that it will be 18 before felting. Yep, I still have to knit 10 more inches... and the strap... and felt it. Also, I’m doing intarsia and I HATE intarsia. It slows me down. Don’t look inside the bag either. Ewww … nasty ends everywhere. I plan to felt it as is and clip the ends afterward. Thank goodness for the forgiving nature of felting - it hides a multitude of sins.

The thing that makes this really nuts is that I promised this bag to one of my favorite crafters back in February. Ack! February! I bought the yarn (her color choices) in March and it sat since then. Procrastination will get you every time! She is planning to embellish it with the cool glass beads that she makes. That’s why I went with the circle motif. Perhaps, if I pull and all nighter Friday and work on it all day Saturday, I’ll get it done in time. Did I mention that she’s gonna be in town this weekend?

Ruffles and Reality

When I wrote about my purchases at Stitches last week, I mentioned that two things I bought found their way onto my needles immediately. One was the pair of Fetching that I made from the Brooks farm yarn. The other was this cool ruffled scarf. Walking through the hall, Felicia and I stopped at a booth where someone was knitting this up and we had to have it.

The yarn is Linie 194 Solo and 2 balls of it made up a 4 foot scarf. It's a nifty 2 color woven band that get's "knit" by poking the needle through it rather than wrapping the yarn around the needle. It was really good for TV and Merto knitting. I think this will be a perfect holiday gift for a certain green-loving 8 year old I know. I think I detect a hint of jealousy around my house. As I finished this last night my girls wanted to know why I’ve made 3 things for their cousin in the past month or so. I dunno. Just lucky I guess.

I was feeling good as I finished this scarf yesterday because it’s one more gift that I can consider done. I felt so good that I went back and reviewed my list of holiday knitting and created a nifty little chart for it in my sidebar. I thought that having it there would make me feel accomplished and successful. Um – not so much! Here’s what my holiday knitting chart looks like now.

	Planned	Completed
Scarves	3	2
Socks	4 pairs	0
Votive Holders	2 pairs	1 single
Fingerless Gloves	1 pair	2 pairs

Do you see the problem? It’s kind of glaring. Of the 4 pairs of planned socks, I’ve completed none. The horror! I’ve got to get to work fast.

Chin Shots

Have you ever tried to take pictures of your own hands with your chin? It’s not easy. Of course such things wouldn’t be necessary if I weren’t so stubborn. I finished another pair of Fetching late last night and I couldn’t wait to share so I took the pictures myself in the wee hours of the morning. Just remember this as you look at the lovely shots that I offer today and be kind.

One week ago I posted a pair of Fetching and told you that I wasn’t crazy about the pairing of yarn with pattern. They were a little more rustic than I’d like. Last Saturday at the Brooks farm booth I saw some sale yarn, random matchless skeins, and immediately knew what I’d do with it.

You are looking at a pair of Fetching gloves in Brooks Farm Four Play wool/silk yarn. This is one of the 2 projects that I cast on immediately after returning home from Stitches. Aren’t they great? I really wish that you could feel them. They are super soft and cozy.

The color is not super accurate in these pictures but it’s not too far off. The gloves are very rosey looking with touches of coral and lavender. As with so many things this time of year, these aren’t for me but I really wish they were. I have plenty of yarn left over from the skein too. I’m thinking of a matching headband perhaps.

Ick alert. Read no further if it’s lunch time where you are.

These gloves should have been finished much earlier and they would have if Stinkerbelle hadn’t been having issues. She’s been congested lately so we took her to the doctor yesterday and they prescribed a nasal spray. Big mistake! It aggravated her nose and produced a wicked bloody nose all over the place. It also irritated her stomach which… well, I’ll spare you the details. It’s enough to say that my washer is working overtime. It was a pretty rough time at my house and we seriously don’t need any extra problems right now.

By the way, Bloglands own Melissa won her election on Tuesday. Go over and congratulate her. You know you wanna.

Sock Madness - Call for designers!

I love blogland. It has so much to offer to us. In the year since I first started reading the blogs I’ve met fabulous knitters who’ve offered help, encouragement and camaraderie. I’ve found some creative patterns that have provided challenges and enjoyment. I’ve also taken part in a few swaps, KALs and other knitty events. One of these events, Sock Wars, inspired me and now, after months of planning I’m ready to invite you all to take part in Sock Madness. Please go over and check it out.

I hope that Sock Madness will be the kind of event that offers something for everyone – competition, inspiration, excitement and community. It is a tournament style competitive knitting event. Think of March Madness, the college basketball championship or Wimbledon. In February of next year, 128 knitters will sign up to compete against one another in a series of rounds that will culminate in one ultimate winner.

There is a blog with a lot more information and, if I can figure out Photoshop then there will be buttons posted there soon. Of course there will be prizes – at the very least for the ultimate winner and with luck, for many more. I have other cool stuff in mind too. I hope that there will be excitement and people to cheer on the competitors. There will also be original designs.

Original patterns are one of the key elements of this event so I need designers. I would like to use a different original design for each round in this competition. The patterns will increase in complexity and difficulty with each successive round. A new design will be distributed at the start of each round to all competitors – even those eliminated in an earlier round. Access to the great new designs should be reason enough to want to play!

Design for us!

Why?

If you’ve ever wanted to get a design before a large audience – this is your opportunity.

If you are one of the many knitters who enjoys sharing your craft with the community – this is for you too.

Do you still need convincing? Well, the only people who will get copies of the design during Sock Madness will be the competitors. Just think of all the spectators who will watch the matches and crave your pattern. At the close of competition anyone interested in obtaining copies of the patterns will be directed to the designers who may distribute it in any way they see fit. At the very least you’ll get a bit of traffic.

If you’re still not sure then what about yarn? Yes, for one lucky designer there will be a yarn reward.

There are design guidelines listed here. We ask anyone interested in designing to send us a statement of intent to design by November 22. Just send an email to us at at sockmadness at gmail dot com, telling us the type of pattern you want to submit, according to the design guide. Please put the word design in the subject. The patterns will be due January 15, 2007.

Since my co-host (my blogless buddy Felicia) and I will need to test knit the patterns in order to make our selections we’d like to offer an incentive for submitting them early. Here is where the yarn comes in. There will be an early submission date of December 15th. We will choose from among the patterns received by that date and someone will be getting the colorway of their choice from Scout. The final pattern lineup will be set by March 1.

Please go check out the site. There is a lot more information there. Most importantly – please help us make this great and spread the word.

Gratitude and the St T Scarf

Thank you!!!

Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes and the kind things that you said about the bag. Felted bags are incredibly forgiving so I tend to wing it and design on the fly. It’s the one time when I really feel safe following the yarn and letting it dictate the design. Based on the response from all of you (and requests from small people at home) I’m going to try to replicate it and I’ll take notes this time. With any luck I’ll be able to write it up and post it for anyone who’s interested.

As I said the other day, this month is going to be the only one without a completed pair of socks to show for it. I think that I have a good excuse though because while I have not finished any socks, my holiday knitting is well under way. I have 2 more FO’s and another is pretty close.

Here is the Drama Queen wearing the red scarf I finished the other day. In a nod to Halloween, she is posing in front of our blue spruce that’s decorated with pumpkins for the holiday. Don’t you love the smirk? Apparently showing teeth is not cool. Who knew?

This is a close up of the same scarf. I soaked it for a really long time and you can’t imagine the amount of red dye that came out of it. After that I sat and fiddled with it for an eternity. I had to pull out all of the dropped stitches and they were very stubborn.

This was a real learning experience. I’d never knit a scarf lengthwise before and while it was on the needles I could not imagine that it would really be long enough but it is. The 240 stitches that I cast on turned into a 6 foot long scarf. Can you imagine how long it would be if I’d stayed with the original 300 stitches? Yikes!

I’m a little nervous today because I plan to post information about the knitting event that I’m planning tomorrow. I have a nagging fear that some day I’ll throw a party and nobody will show up. It’s never happened but that doesn’t lessen the fear at all. Of course if I could figure out how to get Photoshop to do what I want it to I’d feel a lot better.

St Tropez Scarf

What do you think of this?

I really am looking for input because I’m torn. This actually represents my second attempt at making a scarf with this yarn, which you may recognize as the wool/tencel I bought last weekend. The first one got frogged last night because, I cast on without fully engaging the brain and wound up with… are you ready… 302 stitches! It seemed like a good idea at the time and it was actually ok until I thought it through and realized that I would not be able to fit all of the double yarn-overs needed for the dropped stitch part of this design on the needle. Oooops!

Off the needles it came and I redid it with 240 stitches. Much better! Now I’m making progress and I’ve added a few rows of the Filatura Di Crosa Saint Tropez. Is it working for you? I think it is but I’m just not sure. The color may be slightly off but that could be a good thing. The w/t is a blend of soft red and coral and there are similar colors in the St T. But the St T also has bright red and a deep brownish shade and those are the ones that concern me. Maybe I’m over-thinking it. Since I’m just going for a simple, lengthwise, garter scarf, perhaps the stronger colors give it the punch it needs.

I’m not really this obsessive over most things. I think that it’s just the knitting that brings it out in me. I always want to get it right – at least the stitches and colors. The finishing is another story. I think this drive for excellence in all things knit is a good thing. I hope you all agree because I’ve spent the past month pondering something and lining things up just right to make it great.

Think socks.
Think original design.
Think competition.
Think fabulous!
Intrigued?
Think November 1.

On Holiday Knitting

Scarves – 3
Socks – 4 pairs
Votive holders – 2 pair
Fingerless gloves – 1 pair

Recognize this? This is the list of holiday knitting that I started last weekend. It doesn’t sound bad since 2 of the scarves and one pair of socks are already well under way. The problem lies in the projects that I’m forgetting. I’m sure that I’m forgetting a lot. There are birthdays coming up too. I’d love to knit for everyone but there are just not enough hours in a day. I’ll just do the best I can and prepare to send a lot of IOU’s.

Of course, the list above doesn’t include the stuff I’d like to make for me, like Tilia, the Forest Canopy Shawl, the Dragon Wing Shawl and the Lotus Blossom Tank. Tilia is stalled but only because other things are more pressing. The Forest Canopy Shawl is moving along. I’ve almost finished as many repeats as the pattern calls for and, in a shocking twist, I have tons of yarn still in the ball. Someone noted that the ball looked big when I first posted it. I knew that it was more than the pattern required. And I thought that was a good thing. Working with it has taught me something important though – I’m not fond of knitting with 100% silk. The weight may have something to do with it but I think that I’d prefer to have my silk in a blend.

Like this…

Or this…

This is the stuff that I picked up at Knit Happens on Saturday. I’ve admired the Alchemy yarn for a while but it’s wicked expensive so I restrained myself. At KH it was 50% off. I couldn’t resist an opportunity like that. I’m thinking hats. Really, luxurious hats. What do you think?

By the way, what do you know about tencel? I started knitting with the wool/tencel blend last night and I’m fascinated with it. It’s got a feel that I can’t quite describe and a crazy luster that seems unnatural. I’m wondering what it will be like after washing. Does it get softer? Will it loose the shine?