Knitting Care Package

I had a lot of fun gathering and assembling this care package for my knitting friend. I especially love the knit 1, purl 2 spoon I found on Etsy.

Jeff's Hat

 

Pumpkin Muffin, Coffee and Socks for Breakfast

And... done.

21 Color Slouch

I was really looking forward to making this hat. It actually knitted up pretty quick, considering I used size 7 needles. While I enjoyed it, I did not like how the stripes turned out (not lining up). The stripes were a series of  two's, three's and one's. "Meg's Jogless Jog" technique works pretty good for the three stripe areas. The biggest problem were the one stripes. I searched and searched for a good method for one stripes, but only found a couple ways that made sense to me. The overall look isn't the greatest. I am blocking it right now to try to even things out, so we shall see.

 

Fall Beanies

Cable and Ribbed Hats

Dane's Birthday Hat

Birthday Hat

Two new hats off the needles. The green striped one is for my son's 21st birthday today!

Fresh Beanies

Ruby Cables

Beachy Bonfire

Ribbed Beanie

Shamrock House Socks

Finally finished house slipper/socks for my son. I used thick Madeleine Tosh yarn and it was kind of challenging to work with.

Beach Bonfire Slipper Socks

I tried something new this time with my socks. I used really thick yarn for more of a slipper look and feel. The yarn is madeleinetosh asap in beach bonfire. They feel comfy and knit up quick.

Sock Blockers

I have been looking for some nice sock blockers for a while. I had some plastic ones but I didn't like them very much. I ordered these off Etsy. I ordered a size for men and women. When they arrived, they were nice but so wide they looked like they were made for Christmas stockings. My husband took them and cut, resized, and sanded them down and they look so nice and usable now.

Socks for My Sister

I promised my sister I would knit her some house socks. They are finally done.

Misty Morning Socks

I haven't made socks in a long time. I enjoyed knitting them.  Next, I am going to make socks for my mom, sister, son and husband. I have all these different ideas I want to try. Maybe a cable in the front or zig zag?

Green Machine

Ribbed hat for my son. Always green.

Birthday Hat

New comfy birthday hat for my husband.

November to December Trip & Knitting/February Knit

From 11-27 through 12-12 this past year, I went to Mumbai (Bombay), India, to work at my company's Indian division.  Although my focus was work--2 weeks to complete a lot of work--I had one free weekend where I got in a little shopping and took a tour through the Kanheri Caves, Sanjay National Park.  Over centuries, Buddhist monks traveling through Mumbai (they never stayed in any one place so as not to form any attachments) chiseled out an incredible monastic retreat into natural granite caves that pepper the hill nestled in this preserved spot of natural forest just outside of the busy (an understatement) city.  Pictured behind me is one of the great stupas which houses the ashes of venerated Buddhist monks.  The broad base stands for the earth, the rounded portion stands for water (the globe of the earth which is mostly water), the brazier above that stands for fire, and the connection to the ceiling defines space.  There are no words to describe the wonder and peace of this locality!

Although I had to get used to the traffic and mad rush of the city (not to mention the driving and learning how to cross the street--you  must experience it to believe it!), I was thoroughly fascinated.  It was easy to love the many wonderful people I met.  What an incredible experience!

I did see some knitting and crochet in one of the shops along with the woven Kashmiri shawls.  There was nowhere to buy the wonderful yarn, though.  I did meet someone from Kashmir, and he was very impressed that I would know about their famous fiber (not all cashmere actually comes from Kashmir).  Even so, after the work was done, I still found time to knit in the evenings.  Shown below are Christmas socks for my brother in law.  The pattern is called "Heinrich" and can be found in Op Art Socks, by one of my favorite sock artists, Stephanie Van Der Linden.  Each sock pattern is a tribute to individual optical illusion artists (in the case of the socks below, Heinrich Fuchs). 

 

More recently, I finished a hoodie for a friend's toddler (she turns 3 in April).  It's a "Knitting Pure & Simple" pattern purchased at Common Threads in Encinitas.  I like these patterns very much as they're all done in one piece, and I can embellish with color, etc., as I please.  I really didn't embellish with this piece--it was a nice meditative/relaxing knit in Plymouth Yarn's Encore Colorspun.  I really like the subtle heather striping of this yarn.

New Logos for Hats

I designed these logos with a "P" and a surrounding sun. At first I thought they looked like Indian headdresses, so I tweaked them a bit and I think they came out nice. A shop I found on Etsy turned them into little leather pieces that sew onto the edge of the hat and will show whether the hat is worn down or flipped up. 

Cabled Hat

Super Slouchy Hat

I think this is the longest hat I have ever made. It is a little more than 10 inches long. I like how it turned out. It is called "Elizabeth" and it is on Ravelry.