another hat

I love this hat pattern. It is so simple but interesting. This one I made for Joe at his request (picture is of us being fierce at my birthday party). It's the third one I've made and it probably only took a total of 4 hours to knit. Definitely a go to pattern, simple enough for a novice knitter but makes an impressive finished item.

getting ish done

I've gotten a lot of knitting time in the last few days, specifically this weekend. I had a weekend seminar at PSU with a bunch of breaks and lunch periods with time to myself. I always like to have a project going that I can pop in my purse and work on when I have a minute, which is what I think one of the greatest things about having knitting for a hobby is. You don't need a block of time to get something accomplished, two minutes standing in line is enough to get a little done. Generally my purse worthy project is a hat because they are small and on circular needles and therefor easily portable.

Currently, I am working on another hurricane hat. But the project has not been without setbacks. I'm making this one for a male friend with a rather large head, so after starting on size 7 needles I decided that wouldn't be big enough and so I ripped it out and ordered some 16 inch size 8 circs. off the interwebs (maybe I picked up a few more things as well... picture at top left, I got 7 sets for like $25, what a deal!). So the hat was on hold til those came. Then, thinking that the looser gauge would still not compensate for a large size head, I cast on 90 instead of 80, which is what the normal pattern recommends. I got almost to where I'd normally start decreasing before I realized that this hat was basically big enough to cover half a watermelon. So I ripped again, and cast on 80 with the size 8's, and It is looking to be just right, but now I only have about 3 inches done and need another few hours to finish it up.

I've also been working on a scrunchable scarf. I had it in my queue on ravelry, but I didn't feel inspired to start until after seeing this one by the addknitter. I cast on 24 with size 9's, and I slipped the first stitch and knitted the last for a nice pretty edging, because my edges are generally a hot mess. I'm using the Lorna's Laces that Hula tried to ambush on superbowl weekend, and it's turning out great. No major color pooling, and the scarf is already over 3 feet long with a third of the ball left. Very generous yardage. Considering the fact that there was snow and hail last week, I'm guessing I'll be needing scarves until the end of March at least, and I'm excited to finish this one up in the next few days and wear it.

knit night!

Tonight I got to go to my second knitting get together at my favorite yarn store, Close Knit. I can't stress enough how amazing this shop is. The Wednesday knit night is chalk full of talented women. I got to meet quite a few other women who share my hobby, including Chris whose blog I read but I didn't realize it until I got home =) I will definitly be going back again, I love ambiance of this shop, it's wonderful owner, and the patrons. There were probably 15 or so women there at one time, it's exciting to get to see everyone's projects and techniques.

oh no, she did it again

Every time I think that my sweet Hula could never do a naughty thing again, she pulls a move like she did today. I go to pick up Chris from work and figured that since Hula had gotten plenty of exserse that she'd be tuckered out and just nap while I was gone. Boy was I wrong. In past posts I established that she likes yarn. Well, today she didn't just go after a ball of yarn, she went after a work in progress. My almost complete anthropology cardigan. She chewed through the cord of my circular needles. Luckily the yarn is very woolly it stayed in form without unraveling. Now I have to get another pair of size 10.5 29 inch long needles and repair the damage. It's a good thing Hula is so darn cute.

So because this was so depressing I couldn't bring myself to take any picture.

In more positive news, we got extended cable back. I watched my first Daily Show and Colbert Report (not on the computer) in almost a year. That man is genius. And last night's Daily Show was particularly good, with Sandra Day O'Connor as a guest. She is one classy lady, one of my real life heroes. First woman justice, most moderate justice on the court for about 25 years (read 'swing vote'). At a time when women were first leaving the homes and entering the workplace, she was an amazing example of what powerful and professional contributions to the business community women could be. And now, almost eighty and retired, she is still hard at work trying to teach American students about civics and government. An admirable lady.

done and done

Or, done and nearly done. First the done:


Misti Alpaca Chunky in Urban Autumn. So soft, so warm. It's a little on the short side because I only had one ball to work with, but it's so insulating that it's fine. No color pooling, I'm happy to admit.

And, as for my 'nearly done', the cropped cardigan I am working on just needs some ribbing on the bottom and the sleeves, and it'll be in the finished objects category.

Challenge

I did it. I began my first non-accessory knitted item. Thanks to the very helpful sales associate at Stitch Craft, (which is a very nice LYS that's closer than my favorite CloseKnit but without the super impressive selection) I felt prepared to take on a project to challenge my skills. I know more accomplished knitters would sneeze at the antrophologie inspired capelet but for me this is a rather frightening undertaking. Keeping track of the increases, making sure I have a consistent tension, putting the sleeves on hold then going back to them, all of these things are unchartered territory for me. I started today and my goal is to have it done in a week, which seems doable. It is a relatively small project after all, only requiring the three balls of Rowan Little Big Wool that I scored at the sale last weekend. Here's my progress so far:

This looks tiny in the picture but in actuality that hole is a neck hole big enough for my neck to fit in. I've done about 4 inches so far, starting from the top, and to the best of my knowledge no mistakes yet.

Now for Hula show and tell. She is so cute, she still thinks she's a tiny puppy, even though she's almost 2 and weighs over 60 pounds. She loves to cuddle and to be held.

She'll hold still when Chris carries her around, she loves the attention.

Look at those frog legs! She lays like that, or with her legs sticking straight out behind her, all the time.
Disregard dirty clothes, they were wrestling while I separated the laundry.

Loot.

Huge sale at my favorite yarn store this weekend. Selected yarns 40% off, all the rest 20% off. A-mazing. In addition to that, this place is in Portland (Oregon) which means no sales tax! I had a couple of projects I wanted yarn for in mind so I didn't come away with huge amounts of stuff, like the lady in front of me in line who bought over $300 dollars worth of purple Lorna's Laces. But I did get some Rowan Little Big Wool and some Misti Aplaca Chunky. These are destined for an Anthropology-inspired caplet/shrug and a ribs and ruffles scarf.

Lovely.

In other news, I GOT AN iPHONE! My most amazing husband Chris surprised me with one when he came home from work this week. He had said he wanted me to have one when I was eligible for an upgrade, but I didn't realize it would be so soon. He did it all by himself and even got me a pink case for it, which is good because I tend to drop things a lot. I like it best for all of the awesome things it can do, and least for the actual phone part. The touch screen causes me to accidentally call people. (Me in photo enjoying new toy, disregard pajamas.)


Lastly a little recognition for one of the sweetest dogs in the world, Max, who my family got when I was about 8. He was the most loyal and loving boy ever. He even learned to kill snakes for my mom, sister and I when we'd be outside in the pastures and come across one. He'd had arthritis for the last few years and it go to a point where he could no longer walk on his own. He would have been 13 this weekend.

Max (blue merle Australian shepherd) with Hula and Cloe (the other family dog, 6 year old golden retriever). Rest in peace good boy!