friend of ours in the church is expecting. twins! no less. so i just had to make something for these two little girls that will be coming into our world soon. i haven’t had as much knitting time as i would like lately, but i managed to knit a pair of booties for one of the babies. just one more set to go.
{ itty bitty baby booties in madelinetosh dk colorway: candlewick }
Last night Shawn and I were having a discussion about how Christmas really isn’t as much fun as it used to be. The holidays are much different for me as an adult as compared to being a child. And hugely different from being an adult as compared to being a child who still believed in old Saint Nick. The most stress I experienced, as a child, was figuring out what to tell Santa I wanted. My list changed daily weekly. The proverbial pony was always at the top of my list. So was a piano and a turtle. Santa must have put me on his naughty list because I never did get a pony, piano or turtle.
But things have changed. Commercialism is alive and kicking. Jem and Scout both find themselves glued to the bright colors on TV. A commercial describing the newest and best toys. Forget that they will play with them for five minutes and then all is lost. Or better yet, the boxes and wrapping paper will bring much more joy to Scout than what was in the box.
So this year we are doing a small Christmas. A Christmas about being with family and friends. A Christmas about baking, (and even eating), cookies, peanut brittle and Chex Mix. A Christmas about making gifts that will last longer than any other store bought toy. A Christmas where hot chocolate is dessert nearly every night. A Christmas where we sit together, crowded on the couch under blankets, watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas” or “A Scooby Doo Christmas”, (more of the latter than the former as it happens). A Christmas about turning on the little colored lights and watching people’s faces aglow. A Christmas where our cards are already sent. A Christmas where the tree is trimmed and stockings have already been hung.
A Christmas where I can look at my window and appreciate every second, minute, hour, day, week, month and stitch that I put into it.
A chaotic mess:
A chronological materpiece, in my humble opinion of course.
I am . that close to being done with the knit presents. In fact, I’m so close that I decided to add a couple smaller things for the kids. But you’ll just have to wait, just like them.
Done.
Wrapping things up feels so good. I feel so accomplished. I should be received a Gold Medal any day now.
I’ve made some adjustments in my life.
Yes. Almost.
Project #1: Slow going. (No pun intended.)
Yarn: KnitPicks Green Apple and Grass
Needles: US 3′s and 4′s, Crochet Hook US C
Notions: 8mm black safety eyes
Project #2: The stashbuster.
Yarn: Karabella Margrite, I only had one skein of this but wanted to use it for something. I ended up doing 6 repeats of the pattern instead of 8 repeats.
Project #3: A gift.
Pattern: Baby Chalice Blanket
Yarn: Red Heart Eco Ways in Aquarium, took about three skeins to get a blanket that measures approximately 34 x 38.
Now I can get back to my regularly sheduled program. Cause I am done.
Last week, while perusing yarn stashes on Ravelry, I found two skeins of Noro for a new hat, Phoncible to be exact. I’m not really a hat wearing type of gal. I don’t look too great in hats except maybe a cowboy hat. No, really. I look great wearing cowboy hats. But there was something about the playful colors and striping that snared me. And having a wool hat for the cold weather wasn’t a bad reason to start this either, know what I mean? (Anything to justify casting on something new.)
So without further ado,
Phoncible by Presentsknits
Yarn: Noro Kureyon, 2 skeins (dye lot numbers 152 and 184)
Needles: US 7 (16″ circulars and DPN’s)
Mods: I cast on 112 instead of 100 (to fit a 23″ circumference). I also started decreasing over 110 sts instead of starting at 100. This makes for a roomier hat, especially if you have a big head or lots of hair.
Personally, I think Scout looks much cuter trying it on.
Then again I think she’s cute no matter what she does. Don’t you?
I learned a long time ago that the color yellow represents hope. Hope and Friendship. I think those are admirable qualities to have. And I think they are the perfect qualities to have for a pair of socks that are going to a friend.
Sundara Sock Yarn in Daffodil
US 2 Needles
Stats: Knit 7 leg repeats before knitting heel flap, continued with another 8 repeats for a size 9 foot.
This weekend was the epitome of rest and relaxation.
I needed this time to lay my head on the soft feather pillows. To curl up into fetal position and wrap myself in the warmth of a down comforter. I took my time washing dishes, letting the hot soapy bubbles comfort my hands. I made banana bread that vanished within hours. A thick warm slab with margarine and sweet orange honey bought from the local beekeepers. I washed laundry and inhaled the sweet scent of detergent. I folded each piece so caringly for each person that would later wear the item. I bleached the floors and rid the many steps we had taken over the past few weeks, a new floor. Maybe a new beginning. And we all took the time to look for Marilyn who has been missing from both our hearts and our home the past four days. Dalton seems content though. He curls into a ball in the middle of our bed. Sometimes you can see the slight twitch of his ear or the whip of his tail. He sleeps hard through this new silence.
I even took time to browse through a couple of knit magazines, thanks to Shawn’s generosity. One left me utterly disappointed. The other left me completely inspired. I had the opportunity to browse through endless patterns in pattern books at the local fabric shop. I was searching for the absolutely perfect Spring dress for Scout. I think I found it. I also browsed the internet looking for the perfect shade of yarn for a sweater that I hope will wrap me in warmth and reverie.
I’m finding that I am enjoying the weekends more as compared to before when they were draining and filled with all these things that needed to be done. I no longer write a list of twenty or thirty things to do. I follow a routine. My bed is always made, the corners aligned perfectly. The pillows fluffed and placed with precision. I no longer dread washing dishes but enjoy the moments where I can look out the kitchen window and see sparrows chasing each other in the cold winter breeze. I enjoy taking out the trash for the moment I hit the crisp air I can breathe in something new, something different, something clean.
I’m not a new person by all means. I just see things in a different light. Or maybe I had seen them all along but forgot how to project them. But I never forget how to share my knitting. My knitting is a reflection of me, of what I do with my spare time. I wrap and turn and pick up and put down so often and yet I can only share the finished project. I can only show you the beauty of what I do and not how I do it. Every day is both the same and yet, somehow, different.
Nutkin Socks Ravelry’d here
Sundara Sock Next Kiss on US 3 needles
Thursday.
Dense fog and a light drizzle.
Banana bread baking.
Runny noses.
A milestone for Dalton.
Beef stew warming in the crock pot.
Scout playing in a diaper box.
The slight clink of something metal turning in the dryer.
Waiting.
An ice cold root beer.
Sweats and thermals.
And some knitting.
Sweet Baby Cap in Ella Rae Lace Merino for Scout
As I’m sure you know I have an unhealthy a slight addiction to pets. Ever since I was little.
The story of my first cat is a sweet one. I was about two years old at the time and it was the day before Easter. My mom rode the el train to someone’s home who was fostering a gray tabby cat. It was pouring rain and she had a fairly long ride ahead of her. When she arrived she was greeted by this cat. As she sat down on the couch he jumped in her lap and she knew right then that she had to bring him to me. The foster parents were nice enough to give my mom a ride back into the city. The minute my mom stepped in the door, as my mom tells it, I saw the cat and immediately said, “Buster! Buster!”. Thus, Buster became a huge part of our family for 12 years. He was a bird catcher, he loved macaroni and cheese and he was partial to black and white cats. When I was 14 he went missing. At the time we lived in the mountains and while he was a big tough guy and I’d like to believe he just went away to die, (as he was 16 years old and began to have cataracts)… well, you get the idea.
After that there were a series of cats: River, he was a Flame Point Siamese that my mom’s friend found. At the time he had a pit bull that didn’t take too kindly to cats so he offered me that cat. I promptly said “YES!” as I’d never had a Siamese and I’d wanted one for so long. My mom let him out one night while I was in the hospital and he was hit by a car.
And Dalton. Dalton I rescued from the Veterinary office I’d been working at. He had an upper respiratory infection and had been abandoned. The moment I saw him I fell in love. I had been extremely lucky that the cat rescue who did business with the Vet offered employees first dibs on adoptions.
There was Squirt who somehow ran away, (we never figured out how she got out). She was a little orange and white cat who constantly attacked Dalton. I got suckered into taking her at the shelter.
Then there a set of kittens, DiMaggio and Jeter, that I fostered for two months. A girl that worked next door to us had a bunch of kittens that they couldn’t keep. They were cute little tabbies that were polydacytl, (had that extra digit on their paws). I told her I’d have to find homes for them but I would keep them for a while. They are living with a nice old lady in Glendale.
There was Penny and Zeus, both Siamese who I had to find homes for due to the change in our management companies at my old apartment building, (I could only keep one cat and of course, it was Dalton since I’d had him for so long). Zeus is living with a girl and her iguana in Long Beach. I don’t know about Penny though. I miss her terribly though. She has the same markings as Marilyn did that’s why I had to tget Marilyn. Redepmtion in a way.
Shawn brought me Pepper two Mothers Day’s ago and Jem let her out. She was a cute black and white but very sassy. She put a hole in the screendoor and we never saw her again.
And then there was Oliver, you know what happened to him.
And now? We have Dalton and Marilyn. *sigh* I’m sensing a pattern in runaways.
But now, well…I’ve gone and done it again!
I found her hanging around the back yard area.
Her pretty blue eyes and dress are what drew attention to her as she was slinking near the flower beds.
Pattern is from Etsy. A lady on their added an Alchemy request that she wanted a handmade Meezer. How could I resist when I have such love for the breed? (And I admit that getting the pattern was an extra bonus!) She was made with Red Heart Super Saver, (ewwww…but they make great toys), and some leftover Vanna’s Choice for the dress. Her eyes are felt and the ribbon and button on the dress are from my scrapbook stash.
And while I’d love to keep her we are done with pets. Even if they take care of themselves. She will be in the post this afternoon where her new mom will love her and take care of her.
I took part in a Hat Swap/KAL on Ravelry and just finished, albeit a few days late, the hat that I’ll be sending to my swapee for her little niece. Scout seems to like the hat so much that I’m going to make one for her as well. It’s the first time that she hasn’t thrown the hat off when I got her to sit and model. I’m going to take that as a sign.
This is a Knitty pattern, which if you didn’t know there is a new one up filled with a number of gorgeous patterns ready to be knit on my your whim!
Scout really likes that it ties under her chin too, she keeps fiddling with them.
I’m glad I could finally share a FO with you. It’s been such a long time. In all honesty I’ve been restraining myself from starting anything new. The truth is a few days ago I was reading all those wonderful blogs you creatives have and I became insanely jealous overly concerned that I wasn’t living up to my potential when comparing my UFO’s with some of your FO’s. I know now that I have taken on too much. With that, I’ve attempted to work on giving myself a bit of a balance. There certainly not enough hours in the day to give each project the deserved energy and focus each needs. I am trying hard to keep focus on current projects so that, when the time comes, I will be able to work on one project for myself. Guilt free. (What a concept!)
My one page list has slowly, but surely, begun to dwindle. I’m happy that I’m making leeway, though I’m unhappy that I don’t have much to share. My contribution to the craft blog world is nil. My promise to you is that this will change. And soon.
I don’t wear hats. Ever. I don’t look very good in them. But I do love them. And knitting them is fun as well. They are fairly easy and quick to knit. I’ve made a few hats for Etsy custom orders and I just finished up the most recent one. Jem did some modeling for me and now he wants a hat of his own so I’ll have to delve into the depths of my stash and see what I can come up with.
Jayne Cobb Firefly Hat
Yarn: Vanna’s Choice, (Lion Brand), in Red, Rust, and Mustard; used about 1/8 of each skein
Needles: double pointed US 9′s
Modifications: I did the Adult Large size but knit less rows, (otherwise it would have been massive); I picked up 20 stitches for the earflaps and knit about 15 rows of i-cord.
Cute little thing. Might have to make up a few, in different colors, for the family.
