Thankful and just plain full

I am very full, even the day after we ate all this food plus turkey.

I am thankful for my husband, who is wonderful and kind and helpful. For H, who continues to surprise me, makes me laugh daily, and is generally a great almost 2 year old.   Having him challenged everything that I thought I would do when I was a parent.  It’s both hard and wonderful.  I’m thankful for the chance to stay at home, even if it does drive me batty at times. And for knitting, without which I would have surely gone insane.

New Pattern- Paul and Virginia

Update! You do not need to be a member of Ravelry to purchase this pattern.  Simply click the “Buy Me” link below and you should be directed to paypal directly.  Please let me know if you have any issues purchasing this pattern.

There are few things more intimate than handcrafting something for someone you love.  After my husband took us to see one of our favorite bands, I knew I had to come up with something to show him how much it meant to me.  The lyrics, “Palms full of mystery, fingers of magic,
greetings so glorious, partings so tragic,” spoke to me.   So, I came up with two pairs of matching, but not kitschy, socks.  The name comes from the song that inspired me to create something beautiful.

This swirling slip-stitch pattern, designed to work with hand-painted yarns, creates lots of visual interest all by itself.  Dropped yarn over’s give length to the slipped stitches so the pattern doesn’t pull in.  The chart may seem daunting, but the pattern is easy to knit and memorize.

 

Little Things

I’ve been steadily knitting the past week.  Lots of things are getting started, finished, and worked on.

First up, some very tiny sushi:

Knit on size 2 needles with Knitpicks Palette (and a tiny bit of pink Red Heart split into individual plies).  I think these will end up as Christmas present toppers/ ornaments.

Next up, I am doing some sample knitting for Femme Fatale Fibers:

It is the Lace Ribbon Scarf from Knitty, in Lilith Sock.

I finished up the Polar Bear longies for H, and then cast on for another pair.

Steve and I are taking turns working on a One Row Handspun Scarf (Yarn Harlot).  This is probably going to end up going to my brother as a Christmas gift, but who knows what could happen between now and then.  :-)

(I maybe have a touch of the start-itis.)

I also cast on and off and on again for a pair of socks for my father in law. Pattern coming soon.  I just have to finish the second sock first.  :-)

 

Lace, it’s addictive

So, I wasn’t going to blog about this project because it is a Christmas gift.  I’m not sure if I just don’t care anymore or if I’m just wanting to share the pictures.  Either way, I finished binding off and blocking the Traveling Woman shawl yesterday.  I did a full wet block on this shawl/scarf because I really wanted the Malabrigo to bloom.

I used Malabrigo Lace weight in the Velvet Grapes colorway.

Modifications:
Increased to 187 stitches.
Repeated Chart A 4 times.

Blocked to 56” wingspan and 19” deep.

I’m very happy with the finished product.  Plus, it is one more item crossed off the Christmas knitting list.

nothing exciting

So, I’m in the midst of a lot of Christmas knitting, which doesn’t exactly make for good blog fodder.  I’m never sure who reads this, and I am trying hard not to give anything away.  If you are curious, check out my Ravelry project page.  I don’t know why I bother though, since I’ve already blogged about some of the Christmas presents.  I guess I’m just an enigma.  :-)

In totally blogable projects, I’m making H a new pair of longies.  I miss the days of little H soakers that would only take a night to knit.  Toddler longies just take awhile to knit.

I’d like to try and embroider a train on these, since trains are all the rage here at the moment.  I have never attempted to embroider something so detailed though, and I don’t want to get overly frustrated with the project.  Thoughts?  Suggestions on embroidering knits?

For reference, I mean embroidery like this:

Those are from the amazing Storm in the Attic.

Knitting Questionnaire me-me thing

Bold for stuff you’ve done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you’re not planning on doing.

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with bananafiber yarn
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffitti knitting: knitting items on, or to be left on the street
Continental knitting - I’m very bad at this.
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book – I can dream, right?
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit – Again, I can dream, right?
Knitting to make money – More dreams.
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
knitting socks- or other small tubular items- on two circulars
Dying with plant colours
Knitting items for a wedding
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with selfpatterning/selfstriping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Knitting with cashmere -not pure cashmere, that is not in the budget.
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies -unintentionally
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug -Well, a bath mat that is in progress.
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair (not on purpose!)
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

Nom nom nom

Homemade Play-Doh

Or- Why Didn’t I Do This Before

So, my MIL sent me some really fun cookie cutters from Williams-Sonoma.  In the comments, there were several suggestions to use them with play-doh.  And recently one of my twitter peeps was extolling the virtues of play-doh with toddlers.  This morning I decided I was just going to go for it, and whipped up a batch of homemade play-doh.  I could not be more happy with the results (both for the play-doh and the toddler).

Completed play-doh all vibrant and happy.

Henry had lots of fun stamping with the cookie cutters.

Note the concentration and the play-doh in his hair.

Seriously, why have I never made homemade play-doh before?  It’s cheap, fun, and easy to clean up.  I probably had as much fun as Henry.

Here’s the recipe I used in case anyone is interested.

2 cups flour

1/2 cup salt

1 tablespoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon cooking oil

2 cups water

(opt) food coloring (15-20 drops depending on how vibrant you want the colors)

Directions

1. Place in saucepan.

2. Cook over moderate heat for 5 minutes.

3. Mix in food coloring once play-doh has cooled a bit.  Play.  Store in plastic bag in fridge.

Hello

Hi to anyone who found their way over here from JayKayKnits.  I had a terrific time answering all of Jennifer’s questions.  I find it much easier to talk about myself when I have a set of specific questions to answer.

And, if you aren’t a knitter, or just don’t have the time to knit for yourself/others, be sure to check out Jennifer’s Etsy shop!

The shawl, she is finished

I finished knitting and blocking the Garden of Alla shawl on Wednesday.

I’m very pleased with how it turned out.

Pictures don’t do the yarn justice.  It has flecks of silver that just shine in the light.

The only thing I modified was to knit the center stitch through the back loop.  I also did the alternate edging, because the original didn’t make sense to my brain.

All in all, not bad for a month’s worth of knitting.