Christmas Beanies

I finally finished my Christmas beanies for the kids and my brothers. I tried to pick somewhat "manly" colors, so hopefully they will work out.

Christmas 2014

This year's Christmas socks are warm and woolly.  We're putting gifts in the socks.  (As you can see, my nephew with the size 12 feet has a distinct advantage over his mom and dad.)

 

It seems to me that all I've been doing is knitting socks, but they're so portable, and in just a relatively short amount of time I have something warm and bursting with personality to give.  It has been cold lately (well,...for CA), and who couldn't use a nice pair of comfy, cozy socks?

 

My Christmas cactus hasn't bloomed in years.  I repotted it, gave it new soil and more fresh air.  It surprised us!  The profuse flowers here are white, but although not pictured here, they're turning pinkish (originally, the flowers were a vibrant hot pink/red).  Butchley is something of a ham.  He couldn't resist getting in on the photo shoot.

 

Anyway, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year (where did 2014 go?)!!!! 

 

 

Tis the season to knit like CRAZY!!!!

 

I mentioned socks that match but don't quite?  Well, I just recently made a pair from bits and pieces of scrap yarn.  The pattern came from Sock Art by Edelgaard Janssen and Ute Eismann.  They worked it from the leg down, but I worked my own pair 2 at a time from the toes up and I didn't continue the pattern up to the legs.  It was called "Stripes, Lozenges, and Spikes" although my pair is more like "Stripes and Spikes"--no lozenges here.  I really like the spike part.  I even mixed lofts of yarn.  That is, I made sure that I maintained the same gauge/thickness by pairing thicker yarn with thin yarn, etc.  Working with scraps like this also allows me to experiment with colors, and I get a feel for the kinds of colors I gravitate toward.  Sock Art was inspiring:  It seems to me, I need to expand my color choices.

Fiber Festival, etc.

I forgot to post these pictures from the fiber festival in Vista last month. It was pretty cool. They had tons of yarn for sale and demonstrations of people spinning yarn.

Also, I made these hats for a friend who works in a hair salon as a trade for her services.

And, I have joined the gigantic yarn trend and bought some loopy mango big loops yarn and size 50 knitting needles. I have been trying to knit a blanket for a while now and keep starting over. It feels a bit clunky knitting with the giant needles and heavy yarn.

Plumeable

This was a fun, quick hat pattern I downloaded from Ravelry. I used thick and thin yarn, which I would not use again. To me it makes the stitches look uneven. Overall, I like how it turned out.

HEY!!!  I know it has been a long time, but as you can see, I'm still knitting.  I'm actually too addicted to stop.  I made up the pattern and knitted the hooded sweater (above bottom) for a friend's grandson.  It was still warm in Carlsbad when I finished it, and I think I made it large enough.  Hopefully, now that the weather is cool, the baby will (still) fit into it.

It may have seemed like I disappeared, and in a sense I did.  When our beloved cat, Cricket, died in August 2013, I just didn't feel much like communicating.  I know, it might seem odd to some that I mourned so much for our pet, but Jim and I have been married for 25 years, and Cricket lived for 23 years.  We were so used to having her around.

You might be wondering about the picture of the grey kitty (above top).  Well, in May 2014, an abandoned kitten chose us as his new parents.  I guess you could say we needed each other.  Jim named him Butch because he has these "invisible" stripes (most noticeable toward the tip of his tail) that reminded him of a character from "Little Rascals."  He's a sweet adorable boy!!!

I'll try to post more as I knit.  I've been working on some "scrap" socks.  Weird...I've been making scrap "mismatched/matched" pairs for a while now and we saw some for sale in some catalogues.  It's a great way to use up scrap yarn.  If you don't know what I mean, I'll just have to show you in my next post.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Oaklet Shawl

I really liked this Oaklet Shawl pattern from Ravelry. It was easy to memorize without having to keep track and check off rows. It has a nice lace border that adds some interest to the shawl. I am donating this shawl.

Cutting Ferns Shawl - Part 2

Cutting Ferns Shawl

This Cutting Ferns shawl was pretty challenging. I must have taken it out and restarted 10 times. I bought the pattern from Ravelry and used Noro Iro yarn. Since I am a tight knitter I needed to make it longer, so I had to try and do the math in pattern and it didn't really work out very well. I blocked it and noticed quite a few mistakes. I am going to try making another.

Noro Slouchy Hat

Valentine's Knitting Needles

My husband has been working on making me these knitting needles since before Valentine's Day. It was worth the wait, because I love them. He made them out of the same materials he uses to make surfboards (tinted resin).

Yarnover Truck

I have been following this yarn truck on Instagram. It is like a traveling food truck, but stocked with yarn, patterns and accessories. I have been watching and waiting for the truck to come to San Diego. This past weekend the truck was scheduled to be at two wineries in Escondido and Temecula. I managed to talk my husband into going to the Temecula event and it turned into a really nice time. I bought a mug and a couple skeins of Zen yarn and then we relaxed and sipped a few different wines. 

Douglas Fir Hat

Hurricane Hat

Spiral Hat

I really love Noro yarn, especially this colorway. I dug this yarn out of my stash so it is about eight or nine years old. Unfortunately, this particular colorway, Noro Kureyon 164 is discontinued. I have been looking on Ravelry for interesting hat patterns and found this simple spiral pattern.

Second Noro Spiral Hat

Third

Windschief Hat

I have been searching for new and interesting hat patterns for men. I came across this Windschief pattern by Stephen West (on Ravelry). It turned out to be a fun combination of regular knits and purls and knitting through the back loop.

Mismatched Socks

It's hard to believe these two balls of Noro yarn were the same colorway.

Another Owlie

I made another Hootin' Owlie hat for a friend's daughter. She likes turquoise so I hope she likes her hat!

Ombré Scarf

I have been on a scarf kick lately. I will definitely have enough made for Christmas next year. I really love this vibrant ombré yarn. The pattern is just a variation of knit and slipped stitches.

I also finished these Noro and variegated versions.

A Parliament of Owlies

I love this Hootin' Owlie pattern and how lovely the Noro Kureyon yarn knits up.

Hootin' Owlie Hats

I really love this Hootin' Owlie pattern from threeirishgirls.com. The hat can be knitted a variety of ways and has a really cute cable section in the middle. If you look closely, the cables resemble a series of owls all the way around. If you wanted to, you could add sequins or beads to one or all of the owls' eyes. I am planning on making a bunch more. These hats knit up quick and are really fun! I made one for our friend, Jeff too.

 

 

Christmas Knitting

A few knitting projects for Christmas, included SD Chargers hats for my husband and a scarf.