on blogging ... and knitting

Welcome, 2009! How ya doin'? Me, I'm good. I've been enjoying a nice few days off this week, and not looking forward to restarting life-as-usual soon.

In the meantime, I noticed that this here blog has been rather neglected (only 5 posts since October!). I've instead been spending most of my internets time reading your blogs, and playing on flickr and ravelry and twitter.

I mentioned a while ago that I've been doing a project 365 over on Flickr. I'm having a good time with it, and have finished the first 3 months or so. I've also started to write a whole lot more on my pics over there. Mini-blogging, I guess.

And then, despite my best attempts to avoid it, I got sucked into twitter too. Micro-blogging.

I really don't have enough time to be quite so socially-networked, or enough discipline to walk away when I shouldn't be playing around online.

Anyways, back to this blog, which is ostensibly a knitting blog. So, what have I knit recently? Lots of good stuff! (FYI, I'll spare you the details, and just post pretty pics. But if you want more info, it's all on my Ravelry projects page.)

I've been test-knitting Elinor's Grow Like a Weed Jacket, and it's almost done!

At my mom's request, I made her an eggplant hat. Of course, now she wants mittens to match!

Dad got a pair of socks for Christmas:


My FIL got a single mitten. I still need to knit the other one!


My MIL got some socks ... well, a promise to knit socks. She picked the Conwy pattern from Knitting on the Road, and I think it will work well with this yarn, although I'm already afraid of running out when I get to the toes.


I'm swatching for a sweater for my dad. I'm designing it myself, so it's not going anywhere fast.


I also started a pair of socks for my sister-in-law, with some yarn that MiniKate gave me for my 30th birthday last year.

Whew! I guess I have actually been knitting! I have lots of other projects calling out for attention, but I want to finish these ones first. Then, in 2009, a stranded yoke sweater for me, and some more socks. That's as close to a knitting resolution as you're going to get.

can't talk, busy knitting

Silly me decided to knit Christmas gifts for all 4 parents this year. I'm not sure how that's going to work out, but here are some sneak previews:

Socks for my dad:

A lined hat for my mom (click through to Flickr for details):

Socks for my MIL:
I think I need to buy yarn for these. See, she's a sock knitter too, so I want to make sure to use something really nice. And then I need to choose a pattern! Hmmm...

Mittens for my FIL:
These ones were a well-received gift 3 years ago, but apparently he doesn't wear them much because he's afraid of ruining them! I'm thinking of a pair of simple stranded mittens. Maybe these, no pompoms? Any other suggestions?

Christmas recap

Whew. It's been a while. Let me try to get through the last several days in one post, not too many words (yeah, right!).

I was paired with Yaga for the knitting wars. (Thanks, Yaga, for adding some posts in English!). Which means, I was busy knitting! Here's the final tally of 2007 Christmas gifts:

My in-laws get something knitted every year. This year, my FIL got some socks, and my MIL got felted slippers, both of which were requested, or at least strongly hinted at.

(Da's socks -- Spey Valley, from Knitting on the Road, in Regia 6 ply)

(Mim's slippers -- Fiber Trends' Felted Clogs, in 2 colors of Araucania Nature Wool)

Both were well received, although I need to felt Mim's slippers a little more -- I left them big on purpose, rather than felt them too much. So, back in the washing machine they shall go.

My boss, a.k.a. Boss Lady, requested some mittens this year. I opened up Ravelry at work (umm, because it wasn't open already, of course!) and we started looking for patterns. She saw a few convertible mitten patterns, and said "oooh, I want something like that -- I didn't know you could knit those!".

She traced her hand for me (teeny tiny little hands!) and I made these:

(My own pattern, Elsebeth Lavold Classic AL in black)
(Boss Lady would like you to know that she did not plan for a photo shoot and had not had her nails done recently. She apologizes for the chipped polish!)

I also knit some ornaments as gifts. I'd like to start a tradition of making an ornament for each parent, sibling, and grandparent every year. I forgot to label these with the date, but here are my 2007 ornaments:

For the following people, from the top left: Thom's sister and family, my brother and wife, my mom and dad, Thom's brother and family, my Grandma and Sam, and Thom's parents.)
(More details on Ravelry.)

The Mafia, in another command performance, decided that the leftover yarn from her fingerless mitts should not go to waste, and managed to convince me to knit this for her:

I'm calling it the "My So Called Scholar Collar", since the stitch pattern is from the My So Called Scarf but the button idea and approximate size are inspired by the Scholar Collar. I finished it before Christmas, but not in time to connect with her before she went away to visit her family, so she'll get it on New Year's.

So, 10 knit gifts -- not bad! Oh, and I made my mom her earrings, too. She and I picked the beads together, and I made them. I've been making her jewelry since I was in high school, or maybe even earlier. She loves the brightly colored earrings that I will never wear myself. So, it's a win-win. I get to play with beads, and she gets earrings (and necklaces, and bracelets) that she likes!

(Click to Flickr-ize for more detail.)

I also got some lovely crafty presents. My mom made a donation towards the "my crazy daughter decided to take up spinning" fund. My MIL gave me a copy of Knitting America, a history of knitting in the US, with loads of photos and 20 period patterns. I've only read the first few chapters, but it's fascinating.

My sister in law (my brother's wife) made us the cutest possible Christmas ornaments with polymer clay:

These guys are tiny -- only an inch and a half tall. Both the penguin (right) and Santa angel (left) are dusted with fine glitter powder, so they look like they've been out frolicking in the snow. So cute!! She also made my mom a little sculpture of a polar bear, seal, and penguin all pig-piled upon each other. She's quite talented!!

So, this post has now exhausted me. I'm off to go watch some DVDs and knit some more. I started a pair of mittens for me on Christmas Eve, and I'm cranking through them (one done, except for the thumb, and I've started the cuff of the second one). Any guesses as to the pattern?

FO, FO, FO, Merry Christmas!

Yesterday, I promised to give an update on my Christmas knitting. I don't have the name of my knitting war competitor yet, so I don't want to give away too much information. I will, however, tell you that I finished three projects since Wednesday. One is a Christmas gift, and 2 are not.

Not a gift #1: Socks for me! Insane and striped. Perfect antidote for the winter blues. (Regia self striping yarn, size 1 needles.)

Gift: Ornament, to be sent to my inlaws in Wisconsin. Looks much nicer in natural light, but we won't see that at home until next weekend.

Not a gift #2: Mittens for Soaring Eagles. (Debbie Bliss Chunky Donegal Tweed, size 7 and 9 needles.)

Back to the holiday knitting. I'm off for now. Ciao.

yarn/design suggestions needed

So, Boss Lady has declined all of my Christmas gift suggestions. Instead, she's requested a pair of convertible or "flip-top" mittens, like these or these or these. And, like last year, she was specific in her yarn request -- soft, black, and not too bulky.

So, two questions:

1) Any suggestions for a good soft black yarn, probably DK or worsted, maybe aran? Yeah, I know there are tons out there, but I'm feeling lazy and I want to know what YOU think would be good. It would be even better if it is available widely, or at Webs (I'll be there soon.)

2) Again, being lazy, I'm thinking of making the "inside" part, underneath the mitten flip top, like mittens (i.e. all 4 fingers come through one opening) instead of the more popular "glitten" style of 4 separate finger tubes. Is there any reason NOT to do this? Do the individual glove fingers keep you warmer or function any better?

Inquiring minds want to know.