Meet Hawkeye

Kevin made one of our nephew's a rocking horse for Christmas. Isn't it cute!

What did you get for Christmas?

This is me warping my Ashford Rigid Heddle loom- given to me by my Mom and Dad. (Who hit a homerun with gifts this year. Kevin got a Kitchen Aid stand mixer).

And it wasn't the only fantastic gift. My in-laws gave me a goodie box from knitpicks. A kit to make a multi-color knitted clock, 2 sets of DPNs (1.5s and 2s) for socks, some tubes to store DPNs in that have been orphaned from their original cases, and the book "Knitted Flowers". They gave Kevin a dremel, and like always we both got calendars for next year.

My drawn name secret Santa was Kelly, who was also who I drew (actually EVERYONE drew the person who drew them, weird) and he got me two pairs of fantastically soft fleece pants. Haven't heard if the hat fits him, but will ask for pictures if it does.

Kevin and I don't officially exchange gifts, so I didn't get anything from him, as requested, however, I like to shop, so I got him a set of Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVDs, now he has all 5, and he got Legend of Zelda for the DS to have me give him - haha; I guess that means the yarn I ordered from Webs the other day is going to be a present from him to me :)

My sister is scheduled for a C-section on the 28th, so the babies will be here very soon, and then on the 31st is Kevin and my 5th Anniversary. (We won't do presents for that either. The 7th - wool anniversary- is the only one I plan to request a gift for!) I'll have to get him something though because this is the "wood" anniversary, and all dirty jokes aside (yeah, there have been plenty) I'll need to get him something for his workshop.

Happy Christmas to all!

Keychain Sock

I've wanted a sock blocker keychain ever since I first heard they existed. I bought one like six months ago, and finally knit a sock for it.

(I tried to take artful pictures in the snow.. I failed- just too much white! The color is like the darker one, you can't see the stripes)

Anyhow, it took just about an hour (2?) to knit, and was super fast. It only takes about 2 grams of yarn. I bought the blocker at Crazy Girl (my LYS) but The Loopy Ewe sells them too. Only complaint- the pattern lists no gauge, and thankfully I went with my normal sized sock needles, because if I had used size 0s as written, it would have never fit on the blocker, as is, I'll make the next one longer in the leg.

Also- did I ever show the washcloth I made to match the swiffer? I LOVE it, it scrubs so well.

Knitty Winter 2009 Review

Knitty Review

Ah- Winter Knitty has come out, meaning another review post. Sadly, there is no mind blowing technique like the bind off from the last issue, but there are some beautiful knits.

Let us begin:

Home use patterns:

Mr. Popper: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/PATTmrpopper.php This pattern makes me want to get a hot water bottle. Actually, a few patterns have. If it was just a penguin, it would be cute, but since it references one of my all time favorite books, I love it!

Tops:

Spoke: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/PATTspoke.php This is my favorite pattern on the issue (and the cover pattern), but on further inspection, I wouldn’t make it. First, the yarn MAKES the pattern. There might be other semi-solids that would work, but it would be a gamble. And the yarn chosen is EXPENSIVE. Second- the sleeves would not work for me. Do people really wear that sort of sleeve? Do they drag it through their food anytime they try to eat? Maybe that’s how they stay skinny, trying to protect the sweater.

Quadrat: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/PATTquadrat.php My second favorite pattern of the issue, but with similar problems to the first. First of all- the model looks gorgeous. I however would laugh myself silly at me wearing a belt like that, and without the belt it’s way too boxy. And the sleeves. Seriously? I do not get them. I just love the cable detail though.

Soria: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/PATTsoria.php Pretty enough, but I don’t wear vests. I also think it needs to be a bit longer to be flattering.

Four corners in Tokyo: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/PATTfourcorners.php An interesting way to highlight the color changes of the yarn, but the rectangular pattern looks much better on the back than the front. I’d like the sleeves to be a bit longer, but points for not being huge bell sleeves.

Zora Cardigan: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/PATTzora.php Nice versatile cardigan, but not something I’d knit. I like that it’s shown with a button or a belt. Not sure it looks good with no form of closure at all. (It’s one thing not to close it, but having no way to close it: odd)

King of Confidence: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/KSPATTconfidence.php Cute, seems nicely fitted.

Mr. Darcy: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/PATTmrdarcy.php I like the sweater fine, but I have never seen anyone wearing that neckline. Kevin never would, that’s for sure. Actually, I take that back- I’ve seen pictures on blogs of kids in handknits in that neckline. But outside of handknits, does it exist?

Vroom Vest: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/PATTvroom.php Is the kid in the picture really 4? At first I thought this was shown on like an 8-10 year old, in which case it was a bit childish, but for a young kid, sure it’s cute.

Socks:

Pyroclastic Socks: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/PATTpyroclastic.php Nice pattern, nothing outstanding, but certainly nothing to complain about here.

Saviano Socks: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/PATTsaviano.php Seems to be run of the mill cabled socks.

Diversion socks: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/KSPATTdiversion.php Cute, very bright, I like that. Reminded me of Lizard Ridge socks, but on second look, very different.

Synergy Shield and Socks: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/PATTsynergy.php Sorry to speak ill of a “goddess” but I do not get this at all. Why do you need a shield for your socks? Does anyone wear such a thing? Seriously, what is the point? Knitty has published weird patterns (like the nose warmer) but at least those seem to have some novelty aspect. What is the novelty to a sock shield? Does it warm up the front of your ankles a bit more? Then there is the issue that the sock highlighted in all the pictures IS NOT the sock that there is a pattern for. That sock is available only in Cat’s new book. The sock pattern given is a cuff down, plain sock. (You can fancy it up by tying a shield around it, I guess). BOO KNITTY. Don’t highlight a pattern for the sole purpose of advertising.

Hats and Neckwear (I had to combine these for a reason):

Incognito Cowl: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/PATTincognito.php Clever, funny, not my thing.

Burning Embers: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/KSPATTburningembers.php First, the woman’s shirt makes me think she isn’t wearing anything under the jacket. Second, the pattern is pretty. I like how it unbuttons when you don’t wan the turtleneck feel.

Tentacular scarf: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/PATTtentacular.php AHH! Scary, yuck. This is one of those novelty patterns I was referring to in the synergy shield part. I really don’t like it, but it’s a scarf and it serves a purpose, and it’s novelty is because it’s based on an actual thing. (A sock shield is not a thing).

Knotty but nice hat: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/PATTknotty.php Nice cabled hat pattern

Shroom Slouchy Toque: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/PATTshroom.php it’s like a combination of a beret and a beanie. It looks cute in the photos, but I don’t think it would on my head.

Duet: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/PATTduet.php A hat and a cowl. Hmm, I’m not sure I understand how it works, but it’s really pretty. Maybe I’ll give this one a try. Maybe.

Handwear:

Ailbe: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/PATTailbe.php Very pretty cabled mittens. Looks tough!

Mrs. Roosevelt: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/FEATwin09SIT.php Simple knitting pattern for mittens, interesting bit of history. Very cool- like the Hoover Blanket featured early by knitty.

Queen City: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/PATTqueencity.php The cable doesn’t pop enough. I guess even if it did, it’s not something I personally would wear.

Shawls:

Frost Diamonds: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/PATTfrostdiamonds.php Very pretty, interesting construction. Thumbs up.

Bitterroot: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/KSPATTbitterroot.php Very pretty, I like that there are two sizes, since the mini-shawl seems very popular right now.

Citron Shawl: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/PATTcitron.php It’s cute on the model and would look silly on me.

My new household helper

Only took a few hours to knit, picks up dust as well as a swiffer cloth, and I think it wet mops even better.

Love it, and plan to make quite a few more.

Okay, I lied.

We did get a snow day today (a RARE occurrence for where I work). I started the morning shoveling, mid-day: more shoveling, and soon I'll have to go out and do it again. It just keeps on snowing. You'd think it would make sense to wait for it to stop, but really, it's just harder that way.

I don't have any pictures, so the post isn't going to be interesting.

I've started Noro Kureyon striped socks, and they aren't working as planned. The idea is that the 2 colors stripe and fade into new colors independently creating a really cool effect. Instead my colors have faded from say blue to red, while the other went red to blue, so the stripes don't ever really change. And twice, they've approached the same color, so I get a non-striped blob. The foot of the socks a bit tight (the yarn is so thick/thin it was tough to pick a needle size) but I worried doing it any looser and they wouldn't be tough enough to wear. I think they will loosen up in water. I do think I want to work with this yarn again.

I'm in the border section of the Daffodil Design now. WOW! I cannot wait to finish this thing, but I have like 33,000+ stitches to go still.

Last week I took a crochet class, and it FINALLY makes sense. It is still way harder than knitting though: it's impossible to keep track of stitches, I can't tell what I've already done, and I have no idea how to hold the yarn (since I don't hold my knitting yarn). The class project is Lion Brand's Circles to Squares afghan, but I'm actually not making anything. I just wanted to learn to crochet. (The afghan is actually kind of ugly, maybe in a different yarn it would be better...)

Yeah, I still exist. But the computer is downstairs and it's too cold down there to use it much.

If we get a snow day tomorrow, I promise a knitting progress post.