A Snowy Day
2008 @ 9:31 am
There was finally a play-worthy snowfall last week! Jason and MJ went out in the backyard while I stayed in and prepared hot chocolate. Complete with homemade whipped cream 
MJ packed the snow down for snowmen, but decided that eating it was the best way to enjoy the snow. I remember liking that too! I also remember my grandmother (raised in VT) telling us about pouring maple syrup over a tray of new snow. I’ve always wondered how that worked, wouldn’t hot syrup just melt the snow? Well, a quick search of The Daring Book for Girls reveals that the syrup must be heated to 230 degrees so that it pours out in ribbons over the snow. We may have to try this in lieu of hot chocolate next time!
In progress… or a very grey post
2008 @ 10:16 am
A bit of news: there is a HUGE sale on knitting supplies and yarn going on over at Brooklyn General through March 2nd. Needles are 10% off and some yarns are up to 40% off! The good ones too…
I’ve rounded up my WIPs for a photo shoot. To see anything on Ravelry, click here.
First, I’ve finished the body of Mr. Sassy’s Cobblestone Pullover:
and the detail:
I’m using Rowan Scottish Tweed Aran and size 9 needles. I’m pretty happy that I didn’t stall out on this section–it gives me hope of getting through a sleeve by the end of winter!
Next, I’ve joined the sleeve onto my Twisted Tree Pullover for MJ:
The joining was not that easy… I think I confused a couple of yarn ends and I definitely have one huge mistake to fix after the fact. Somehow, there is a large strand of yarn across one armpit. I’m planning something totally sacrelig to fix it… cutting and tying it off on the inside. Shh, don’t tell on me. The pattern is written just fine, I just spazzed. Perhaps I had left it sitting for too long and was out of touch with the knitting of it. I also forgot how tough the first few rounds of knitting can be when joining for a raglan from the bottom up. Is that just me?
I thought I had a couple more (in color!), but it turns out there’s been no progress since the last time I updated the Herringbone Mitts! Sweaters are distracting… and there was that sock thing. I’ve got a cuff on my second Twisted Flower sock from Sandra, but have been too tired to think about the chart. That must be contributing to my plugging away at the Cobblestone!
surprise FO!
2008 @ 8:13 am
Somehow, I managed to finish this fab little project in two days. Oh wait, MJ had a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpas… that’s how.
Yarn: Manor Silk Blends (3106)
Needles: sz 4 dpns and circ
This is a little hood with collar for unborn daughter #2. All it needs is a toggle button by October or November of this year
The pattern can be found at Brooklyn General (store only for now, sorry) and is intended to be knit with the store’s brand name 2-ply cashmere. But I just couldn’t resist this Manos Silk Blend. For some reason, whenever I buy Manos, it’s this same colorway.
Single Sock Spider Swap
2008 @ 8:05 am
WOOOOOOOOOOOW! This was hands down the best swap I have ever participated in. From soup to nuts, this one went according to plan for everyone involved. This was the very first Spider swap and it was an extreme success. Not only did everyone’s sock fit, they were all so beautiful! Everyone stepped up and knit gorgeous, fancy footwear. Perhaps there is something about wanting to impress your knitting comrade that pushed this one to the next level? Surprising a stranger is nice, surprising your friend is ever better…
I knit up a single Eleanora sock for Jess–it was completely addicting, but i am really happy not to knit another one. If for the size zero provisional cast-on and hem alone Pic to come when she posts–I didn’t want to stretch out the sock with my large and in charge feet!
And what did I receive? From Sandra, a gorgeous Twisted Flower Sock (Cookie A). The blue of this sock is beautiful and the pattern is enticing–I can’t wait to make the other. Check out that heel–super fancy! And not to get too sappy, but Sandra was one of my very first knitting friends–like pre-Spiders and everything–so it was pretty cool to reconnect this way
More details once I cast on!
Mr. Pitt’s Socks
2008 @ 9:14 pm
After a few people approached me on Ravelry, I decided to write up a pattern for the socks I knit my dad for Christmas. They are just so darned straight forward! The pattern is now available here in pdf version and html (click the PATTERNS link above).
On an episode of my father’s favorite show, Seinfeld, Elaine spends an exorbitant amount of time searching for the perfect socks for her picky boss, Mr. Pitt. My father has deemed these simple socks the solution to “Mr. Pitt’s paradox”. They are sized to fit a typical adult man.
completely over my stash
2008 @ 9:24 pm
I’m so over my stash… and it’s pretty big. The fact of the matter is that I don’t really have yarn suited to what I’m interested in knitting. What I want to be knitting, for the most part, is kid stuff. Little girl stuff, to be more specific. Sure, I’ve got a couple of sweaters in the queue, but I want to get going on new baby stuff, knitting those toddler knee socks I keep dreaming about, and little itty bitty hats. Instant grat and all that, right?
My stash currently consists of several skeins of laceweight, a crapload of cotton ease, and plenty of alpaca that I just can’t bear to knit with, although I do love the way it feels. Yes, there’s lots more, but not a lot of fingering and sport weights. Enter Wool Works. Sorry i didn’t tell you sooner, but I’m sure you understand. My sister, MJ, Jennifer and her daughter trekked up to Pelham (we are here in Brooklyn), NY to get to this shop’s going out of biz sale on the very first day. Hard. Core. Everything 25% off or more YAY!
Here’s the haul for you viewing pleasure…
Yes, that IS a lot of Koigu. Single skeins will be used for the aforementioned kid socks, while the others will be used for socks for Mr. S and myself. Someday. The rest will go to new baby knits, yay!
My Le Slouch… or MJ’s Mushmouth hat
2008 @ 8:59 am
Not the best photo, I admit, but you get the idea, right?
Maia loves to put on hats and scarves… and shoes and pants. She tells us that she is going out, but never where. I smell trouble in the teenage years…
I finished this hat at least a month ago and haven’t posted it due to lack of photo evidence. Le Slouch (pdf) bit a few Spiders and I joined right in… I had been searching for a hat pattern to go with my super long Malabrigo farrow rib scarf (note: I did not use this scarf pattern, just the stitch pattern). It was a perfect choice! I love that and it keeps me warm without screwing with my hair too much. I altered it to fit my rib and gauge, but I can’t remember how now. Oops. Oh wait... apparently, I wrote a note about this in Ravelry, “I got a gauge of 5 st/in on sz 7 needles and cast on enough to get the 17” brim the hat calls for. After that, I followed the pattern as written and switched to a sz 8 needle.” Nice move, past self. There were no major hiccups when decreasing, as I recall.
on felting…
2008 @ 10:54 am
So, we’ve never discussed felting over here, have we? That’s really because i hven’t been that intrigued by it. I concede that i am a knitter, not a fiber artist. I did dabble into some machine wash felting last week though… terrible results. If you are down with the Street of Sesame, you know something is up with Bert and Ernie’s hairdos…
They needed to be washed in the machine–trust me. Unfortunately, MJ is now old enough to notice something has changed… she’s isn’t really upset, but every time we see them we have to discuss what happened. It hurts me more than her I think. “Mommy broke Ernie hair” 5 times a day is not music to my ears. She came up with the idea that I broke it all on her own–I just told her i did it by accident when they had a bath. This is just one of the ways MJ keeps me straight–the other morning she opened our pantry cabinet and turned to me and said, “ohhhhh messy!”. Hurray, a neat freak.
Yes, I’m still knitting over here~ Secret Sock is almost complete and i really want to keep it. I’ve also come over 12 inches on the Cobblestone Pullover–hopefully I can crank out the rest of the body and start a sleeve before winter’s over… I am definitely not touching this one over the summer!
Playdough!
2008 @ 8:05 pm
Good question, Virginia…
Homemade Playdough:
1 c flour
1/2 c salt
1 T oil
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 c water
food coloring of choice
Cook all together for 5 minutes and keep in fridge locked airtight. Be sure to let playdough cool before storing so it doesn’t grow any funky bacteria!
Thanks, Mom!
I’ve been busy…
2008 @ 8:45 pm
I just don’t seem to have anything to blog about lately… although when I loaded in some photos today it seems I have some things to share that aren’t yarn related. Oh, and a friend kindly pointed out that I may have forgotten to share the results of my 20 week sonogram–its another girl!
Swedish Lemon Cake… yum. This recipe has only 3T of sugar for the entire cake (a loaf). The fat definitely comes in the form of sour cream and cream cheese, but I don’t care about fat, personally. Just sugar. It was a lovely cake that a friend and I baked and then enjoyed with fresh whipped cream. We whipped some fresh raspberries and vanilla extract (homemade by a cousin) in and it was unbelievable.
Recipe from Swedish Cooking by NGV. Good luck finding it, I got it at IKEA! Go Swedes.
Things have also been getting more fun around here for MJ and I. I’m sorta between work gigs right now so we get to spend a lot more time together doing stuff like painting, singalong, pretending to feed our stuffed animals, having tea parties, and playing with playdough. I had planned to make my own, but picked up some real stuff impulsively the other day. She loves making worms–I think every kid must!
When I broke out the camera she said, “SMILE!” Someone’s been working on her… hopefully she’ll figure out what that word means soon. This pic is better than most though!
