Wednesday, December 2, 2009

FO's, WIP's and holiday knitting

I promised her it would be done by Thanksgiving. And by golly it was washed, folded and waiting at her chair on Thanksgiving morning. (Never mind that I put in a few late nights the week leading up to that morning...) I couldn't get her sister to wear her wallaby for the photo, but maybe I will snap one of the two of them wearing their sweaters in the future. At this point I'm just glad they wear them at all.

I'm not sure how, but the purple one turned out about a full size larger than the first one I made. I think that once I followed the directions on the first one, and had a sense of how it all went together, I got liberal (lazy?) with measuring on this one. I know at one point the booklet was open to the adult directions, so I'm certain that's an adult-sized hood, but those sleeves and hem are too long for her this year. Room to grow is my motto for this one.


















I also couldn't wait to dig into that new yarn from my mom. I've been itching for a new hat that would match both my winter coats - one is red and is used for outdoor activities: shoveling, ice skating, snow angels, etc. and the other is black and is for going to the coffee shop, meetings on campus and other activities that don't require me getting down on the ground. I've got a few hats that look nice with one or the other coat, but this is the first that I think will look great with either. The pattern is felicity - instant gratification hat with a bit of hip tossed in. [I only know that its hip because: 1) the pattern says so, and 2) when I picked up the twins at the daycare coop last week wearing it our 20-something childcare student swooned over it.]













In other news I broke two of the dpn's that I'm using for my striped socks, so those are on hold until I can wrangle the rest of the sock onto three needles, or I purchase another set. This is frustrating because this set purposefully comes with a spare needle (6 needles total), but after the first one broke, the spare did too. And both needles broke within 24 hours of each other?! They are made of birch, and I'm wondering if it has anything to do with the fluctuations in the humidity in the house now that the heat is kicking in?

When you are knitter a temporary stop in one project means more time to devote to another neglected project and I've really made some progress on a project I started last winter. I'm planning to felt tonight. With any luck it will be done and on the wall before my in-laws arrive for the holiday visit.

I've also decided to pare down my holiday knitting this year. I'm only going to knit one item, a zip-front vest for my brother-in-law. This year it's quality, not quantity, that's dominating my personal handmade holiday quest. I haven't started the project, but in preparation I plan to do the swatch and practice the Italian cast-on today. Here's the yarn I'll be using - a lovely worsted gray, direct from the Blackberry Ridge Woolen Mill.

1 comment:

Rebekah said...

the Wallaby sweater is adorable. It looks great with your daughter's skirt and congrats on finishing it just under the wire!