Archive | January 2015

Two Knitted Hats and a Cute Puppy

Jan7

Okay, shhhh, do you hear that? Yes, that! That, my friend, is silence. Something that has been hard to find in the last three weeks. The husband went back to to work on Monday and today the children went back to school. I have enjoyed having them all home with me (for the most part) but we had enough togetherness. Now it is time for the alone-ness. Okay, sure, the puppy is home and soon enough will be pestering me because I don’t want to take him for a walk in 5 degree weather with wind chills of 15 below. But right now he is sleeping and I am listening to just the wind blow outside and it’s delightful.

Right, so, knitting! Yesterday at this time I had two half-finished hats. This morning, I have two completed hats! Once we did our running around, I had nothing to do but knit. Of course, first I had to survive errands with two kids who were tired of each other and me. But we managed to get shoes at Target without ANY unplanned purchases. We went to Joann and left empty-handed because the yarn was all 25% off so I couldn’t use my coupons. I’m telling you, I was strong yesterday! It must have been because I was wearing my new “I Am Strong” necklace. I must wear that every time I go to Target.

Okay, seriously, hats. I am pleased as punch with them. First up, we have a Spring Beret knit in Misti Alpaca Pima Cotton & Silk.IMG_3606 IMG_3607This yarn was heavenly to knit with: soft but strong. It didn’t slip around while I was doing the lace bits, which was nice. And it’s the prettiest baby blue color, my photos don’t do it justice. I think it will be perfect for those April days when we’re all tired of the brisk wind and eager for the return of warmer temperatures. I used this Spring Beret pattern and followed it exactly (except for when I made mistakes and had to maybe k2tog or m1 to get my stitch counts right) for the less slouchy version.

Secondly, I finished the swirly beanie for the boy.IMG_3610 IMG_3612This was the easiest swirl pattern ever, and yet I made so many mistakes. I had to frog back several rows once, and then frog the whole thing and start over. But once I realized I had to work on it alone, it was fine. It’s called Odessa and written to include beads, but of course I left those off. My 11yo son might not appreciate beads. So he got some fantastic Nerd Girl Yarn in the Foxy line. The colorway is called #nofilter and the colors are so bright and vivid. I truly love this yarn and can’t wait to start knitting up more.

It felt good to get those done. I’m down to only 4 WIPs, which of course means I will be starting something new today. Our snow and cold, plus the peace and quiet, means I will be snuggling in with a blanket, yarn, tea, and some Grey’s Anatomy. I expect great progress today. For now, I will leave you with a photo of puppy, Captain Jack. He loves the cold and snow. He wants to smell all the smells and eat all the crunchy things.IMG_1097

Knitted Boot Cuffs

Jan6

How is it already the 6th and I haven’t blogged once yet this year? I don’t know. I just don’t know. All I can say is that the kids have kept me busy. I took the girl out yesterday to spend her gift cards and get some jeans long enough for her long legs, and made her happy by also buying her a black pair of Converse. It’s the little things, you know. While we were out, I spotted this little necklace, and it was well worth the $2 for those days when I need a reminder.IMG_1099Today it’s the boy’s turn for new shoes, so I get to go to Target. I do love Target. Here’s hoping I can restrain myself from buying all the things. Plus I’m going to Joann!

I have been knitting, too, but not nearly as much as I was before Christmas. I had a request for some boot cuffs from a sweet friend, so those went to the top of my list. She’s seen two of them, so I can share those, but the other she hasn’t seen yet so I’ll wait a bit longer.IMG_1074These, I’m proud to say, are my own design. I started with a honeycomb pattern and didn’t like how it was knitting up. I needed to use this gray yarn (Knit Picks Brava Bulky in Silver. Love it.) but didn’t find many good bulky boot cuff patterns. So I just kind of winged it to make this nifty spiral with just knits and purls. You can see the details on Ravelry here. IMG_1087These are a basic boot cuff done in basic cream acrylic. I’d love to link to the pattern but Ravelry’s having issues with it right now. So just search for “Basic Boot Cuff” and you’ll see it. It’s nothing splashy but still cute. Might be cuter with a little button or pin at the top…hmm…I might have to play with that idea in the future.

Now that those are done, I’ve got two hats on my needles that I’m eager to get back to. One’s for the boy and one’s for inventory. I really need to get my butt in gear and start listing more things on Etsy. I got a review for my first sale and it was a fantastic, 5-star review! So exciting! I just need to get the kids back to school so I can focus again. Fingers crossed it happens tomorrow, but with wind chills at 20 below zero, I’m not holding my breath. Maybe Thursday will be my day.