Red Light Special Hat

What started out as a hat for CD was quickly adopted by The Teen when CD decided it just wasn't 'his type of hat'~~read, 'Mom, there's no way I'm gonna wear a girly hat like that!' Nevermind that I had previously run the pattern by him. Of course, there was the little color snafu~~I mixed the green and grey up so everywhere you see green on the hat, it should have been grey. That was my intent when I started and would have resulted in a much more sedate man-type hat. Anyhow, The Teen had already declared her love for the hat before CD even had a chance to nix it for himself, and has requested another in colors to match her new sweater. Teengage girl loves hat knit by her mom~~SCORE!!!!

Keep in mind as you look at the photos that this is my first stranded project, and if I'm in your friends on Rav, you know from my activity this morning that it won't be my last :o)

Details:
Pattern: Red Light Special by Jared Flood
Yarn: Knit Picks Telemark in black, grey heather, cilantro heather, garnet heather
Needles: Knit Picks Options in size 4
Start Date: December 27, 2007
Finish Date: December 29, 2007
Mods: None~~my first stranded project
Thoughts: Love colorwork! It's fiddly, but rewarding. It was mesmerizing to watch the color pattern emerge. Before I blocked it was a bit puckery, but seems to have blocked out nicely. I'll be doing more in the future.
I cast on a college man dude approved hat for CD today. Should be finished by midnight so I can pad my 2007 project list.

(Couldn't resist using the Redskins flag as background for the modeled shot of the hat. Apologies to Number Guy and Opal)

A Fresh Start

In honor of the impending New Year I decided to take a good hard look at my WIPs and stash. I feel the need for a fresh start in the knitting realm of my life, so this afternoon I went through my knitting box and pulled out all the projects that have been in hibernation~~my Mom's scarf in DB alpaca/silk dk, Obstacles stole in Brooks Farm Fourplay, various half done swatches that would give meaningless results, and socks for me in Sock Hop yarn~~in the light of a cold and rainy December 30th the projects were less than appealing. I questioned why I had started almost all of them. In one case, I like the pattern, but hate the yarn, in another I love the yarn, but cannot find a pattern that speaks to me, in the case of the socks~~they were just too big. So out came the ball winder and all three projects, as well as the swatches, were rewound and put back into the stash for future use or sale.

I had not planned on starting anything new until January 1st~~Christine, you are just too good! But I couldn't resist casting on the Hemlock Ring Blanket this afternoon after finding a suitable yarn with enough yardage in my stash. It is currently the only project I have on the needles, but it won't be alone for very long come the 1st.

One more FO will be added to my list for the year tomorrow. I knit my first stranded project~~in two days mind you. It was a bit puckery before I washed and blocked it, but it looks much better now. I'll have details and photos up tomorrow provided the weather cooperates.

Oh yeah, a little cause for celebration at Chez Jenny Raye~~The 'Skins beat the Cowpokes and are in the playoffs! Whooo Hooooooo! Mr Fix-it and CD went up to the game today, and despite the torrential rain and cold temps, they are warm to the tips of their toes as they bask in today's victory! Hail to the Redskins!!!!!

Stripey Goodness

Post-Christmas relaxing knitting has already yielded one complete project~~a yummy striped scarf for me!

Details:
Pattern: Noro Striped Scarf popularized by Jared Flood
Yarn:
1.90 balls of Noro Silk Garden 201 as the main color stripes~~the dark ones in the photos
1 ball of Noro Silk Garden 84~~the warm color end of the scarf
1 ball of Noro Kuryeon 92~~the cool color end
The latter two colors actually overlap with a pink near the middle
Needle: Size 6 Inox grey
Start Date: December 25, 2007
Finish Date: December 28, 2007
Mods: Followed the pattern as written except I slipped the first stitch of every row purlwise with the yarn in back on the first row and in front on the second. Lather, rinse, repeat ad infinitum.
Size: 6 feet pre-blocking. I plan on washing and blocking this afternoon, since the weather seems to be under the misconception that it is September today.

Thoughts: Love. It.

Edited to add: While the Kuryeon felt much better while knitting, the all-Silk-Garden end of the scarf turned fabulously soft after a soak in Kookabura. Wow.

Mr Fix-it stood in as model for me today. Thanks, honey!

The Teen's Hoodie

Unlike CD, The Teen prefers her sweaters, at least this one, to be oversized--like a favorite sweatshirt. Her wish was my command. This knit had few, if any, bumps in the road. I'm very pleased with the outcome, as is she.

Details:
Pattern: Neck down Hooded Tunic for Women from Knitting Pure and Simple
Yarn: Valley Yarns Berkshire in Ming Blue (or Blue Ming) the photo is very accurate--a gorgeous shade of blue; 8.5 balls
Needles: Size 10 Inox Express and size 8 Addis for cuffs and hem
Start Date: October 12, 2007
Finish Date: December 24, 2007

Mods: None, oh no, that's wrong. I did modify a bit. She didn't want a string on the hood, so I eliminated the casing and didn't knit an i-cord. Just continued the garter stitch from the neck opening up around the hood. Finished with a purl row, kitchenered and voila!

Thoughts:
Nice easy relaxing knit. On size 10 needles this project just flew off the needles when I actually sat down to work on it. The floors and knitting on two other sweaters at the same time slowed this project's completion considerably. Ah yes, and I taught myself to read while knitting during this project. The Teen gave me a book weight for Christmas, so I'm all set for post-holiday mindless knitting!

Cobblestone

With days to spare Cobblestone came off the needles as the intended Christmas gift for CD. Anxiety struck when I tried it on, and it fit me perfectly. I thought there would be no way it would fit him. I had done some modifications to the yoke which was way too big the first time I tried, and my fear was that the mods had now resulted in a too small yoke. I threw it in to soak with a lot of prayer, pulled it out several hours and a good spin later, and blocked. To just the right size. CD doesn't like his sweaters too loose, and this one seems to be just right.

Details:
Pattern: Cobblestone by Jared Flood, Interweave Knits Summer 2007
Yarn: Valley Yarns English Tweed in Lichen~~1200-1300 yards (I may have just enough left to make a Terror sized version.)
Needles: Addi Turbo size 7 for the body, size 6 for the hem, cuffs, and yoke
Size: ? Not sure which I finally wound up doing--see below
Start Date: November 1, 2007 (originally intended as my NaKniSweMo, but the floors got in the way. At least I finished!)
Finish Date: December 20, 2007
Mods: I started out knitting the sleeves as my 2nd gauge swatches. The first I did showed me I needed to be using size 7 needles rather than the 8s, but my gauge was too small, so I had to go up to the size 47.5 sweater. The sleeves reconfirmed this decision. I started on the body, but felt like it was too big--ripped back to the hem and started over. Seems to me I then came up too small and did this again knitting the 47.5 size body.

When I got to the yoke, I took it off the needles after two decrease sections and the neck hole was so huge that there was no way that it was going to look decent decreasing so drastically in a couple of inches, so I ripped back again--just to the underarms. I started the yoke again on size 6 needles, but decreased down to the size 44 number of stitches for the yoke. I think going down the needle size would have been enough--didn't need to decrease the number of stitches I started the yoke with. I'll have to keep this in mind when I make mine.

I did more decreases for the neck because I thought the ones I've seen have been too large. I think this neck opening is just about perfect.

Thoughts:
Love the finished product. CD wore it last night to The Girlfriend's house, and there was a couple from church there. They couldn't get over that I had made the sweater. The husband deemed it the perfect man sweater--olive drab--former Air Force officer.

I admit my mods made this one a little more difficult than it should have been--throw in the pressure of Christmas knitting, and you get a recipe for disaster or knitter meltdown. I learned quite a bit about the pattern and should do better with the next version which will be for me in some wonderful Beaverslide yarn.

CD seems to be pleased with the sweater. I told him that if he didn't like it, I'd be happy to take it off his hands, but he seems determined to keep it.

Silent Night and Joy to the World

These are two of my very favorite Christmas hymns because when I listen, really listen to the words, or even read them aloud, there is no way I can miss the reason we celebrate today.

Merry Christmas to all!

Silent Night

Silent night! Holy night!
All is calm, all is bright
'Round yon virgin mother and child,
Holy infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in Heavenly peace!
Sleep in Heavenly peace!

Silent night! Holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight;
Glory streams from Heaven afar,
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia,
Christ, the Saviour, is born!
Christ, the Saviour, is born!

Silent night! Holy night!
Son of God, Love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy Holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord at Thy birth,
Jesus, Lord at Thy birth.

Joy to the World

Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
and heaven and nature sing,
and heaven and nature sing,
and heaven, and heaven and nature sing.

Joy to the earth! the Savior reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
while fields and floods,
rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sin and sorrows grow,
nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessing flow
far as the curse is found,
far as the curse is found,
far as, far as the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
and makes the nations prove
the glories of His righteousness,
and wonders of His love,
and wonders of His love,
and wonders, wonders of His love.


(Text of the hymns was taken from Trek's blog. Thanks, Trek!!!)

Merry Christmas!!!!

One sweater down, one with 2 inches of hood left and approximately 18 hours left until Christmas Day~~I think I may be good. (Edited to add: The hoodie is finished, ends woven in, washed, and blocking. Boy, I hope it dries! Have a fan running full bore right over it.) We're in the midst of the holiday insanity here: baking, shopping, visiting friends, and being visited. Such fun, but it really cramps the ol' knitting style.

We have our Christmas Eve open house this evening (it's 6 am Christmas Eve~~taking a break from finishing the hood of The Teen's hoodie). Then tomorrow we have Christmas breakfast and the usual Christmas morning festivities here with my parents, then it's off to the in-laws for Christmas dinner. Usually we visit Mr Fix-it's aunt and uncle before we head back to this side of the water, but I don't know that we'll do that this year. Tomorrow evening we will likely visit The Girlfriend's family.

The 26th brings a huge sigh of relief and a drastic increase in my knitting time. I've already cast on the Noro Striped scarf, but I think my needles are too large, so I'm going to rip out what I have and start again smaller.

Also on the knitting front, I taught The Girlfriend how to knit on Friday (at her request--I'm not pushy about the craft, but once I know someone wants to learn, I am more than willing to teach!), and she seems to be a natural. She spent last evening here.......knitting. So cool! I need some suggestions for good books for beginning knitters. No fluff--something she will use over and over. I learned to knit from EZ, so that is always a possiblity. I'll teach her to purl, get her to practice that a bit, and then maybe get her started on a ribbed scarf or something. Suggestions for good first projects? My first was a sweater, but I don't want to do that to her.

Well, the battery power is about to go on CD's laptop. So I want to take the time I have left to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I will update the blog on the 26th with photos of the two sweaters and notes on what is on.........and off my needles. Yep, there's been more frogging, but more on that on Wednesday!

Merry Christmas!

Catch-up with Jenny Raye!

Last time I had a real post I said I would let you know what we did in November that kept me from completing my sweater for NaKniSweMo. Well, here it is, finally. We spent three weekends and almost all of my November knitting time installing hardwood floors in our downstairs. 29 boxes of hardwood floors. 638 sq ft of hardwood floors. The living room alone took 24 hours. I will readily admit that I have never been as sore in my life as I was that first weekend. But it is finished now and all dressed up for the holidays. Unbelievable how much difference shiny hardwood floors make after 17 years of wall-to-wall carpeting. We had new carpeting put in before The Terror was born (over 5 years ago now--yikes.), and it looked horrible, even after steam cleaning. I couldn't face throwing more money down the drain by buying more carpeting, so wood floors it was. We're very pleased. Now to get that nasty no-wax floor pulled up and some tile put in. Yeah, I'm dreaming.

On the knitting front in November I did finish my Dad's Cambridge Jacket, which he apparently loves, although I have yet to see him in it. Work continues on The Teen's hoodie--body is complete, as well as one sleeve (at least it will be by the end of the day)--just have the second sleeve and hood left. The Cobblestone is crawling along. This is how it stood at the end of November--since then I have completed the second sleeve and 1/2 of the body. But it is slow moving. See those pretty floors in the background--natural ash purchased from Lumber Liquidators--on sale! Love. Them. I know, I've gushed about them enough.

In the contemplation stage of knitting is the Red Light Special Hat for CD (who will be home on Saturday with one semester of college behind him. Yippeeeeeee!!!! Let the holidays begin!) As soon as The Teen's sweater is finished I will cast on the hat. CD has already had snow at school with temperatures much colder for more extended periods of time than he is used to in VA, so I need to get the hat (and sweater) finished before he heads back to school.

Also in the contemplation stage is a Noro Striped Scarf--another Jared Flood pattern. I wish he'd write a book, I'd be first in line for it. I already have a line on the colorway I want to use for the main color--trade on Ravelry. I have messages out to two other Ravelers to see if they would be willing to work a trade of Silk Garden or Kureyon. In a holding pattern for now. This scarf will be for me. I just love having a nice wool scarf around the neck of my pea coat.

And now, let us bid a fond farewell to my bike.

I have had virtually no time to ride anymore now that The Terror is 'doing school' everyday. In fact I haven't ridden since the spring. I finally decided that it would be best to sell her. So, she got spruced up and was listed on Craigslist.com on a Sunday and was sold the following Saturday. She and I covered over 2000 miles together and I miss her already. One day I'll have the time to enjoy riding again. For now, I have my elliptical for exercise. I'm okay.......sort of.