thirty-four

Five weeks.

It's really been five weeks.

Well, it's not that I've been lazy. As it turns out, selling a house, packing that  house, and getting everything moved 1,000 miles south is kind of a big task. If you were wondering if we have a lot of stuff, it turns out we do. We had to move approximately 5,440 pounds of stuff. I guess "move" is actually kind of a stretch. We had a moving company do it for us. In any event, it was still a big deal.

James and I are still in the process of selling our house; the settlement closes in a little over a week. Once more, selling your house is a big deal. We can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, and we would sprint towards it... if we were the sprinting type.

We have a house in Lake Mary, Florida now... and I really love it. It's a bit bigger than the house we had in Pittsburgh, and there's a great backyard for the dog. He's still getting used to all the different noises we have down here, so he's been barking quite a bit lately. Last night, there was some sort of animal hissing and yowling in the dark, and the dog and I were both afraid. It could have been a raccoon, a possum, or maybe a really sad cat, but we didn't want to find out. There's certainly a lot of wildlife here in the sunshine state.

It's certainly been an exciting couple of weeks for me down here. Dad and I drove down to Florida on Sunday, August 25. On Monday, August 26, before I had even logged 24 hours in my new state, I was in a car accident. Luckily, I'm not really injured. I have a minor neck sprain, and I'll be going for a follow-up appointment at the PT in a couple weeks. How did it happen? Well, I was stopped at traffic signal, and the light was red. Once the light turned green, the driver behind me drove right into my rear bumper. I don't think they were paying attention. To anything. I was warned about the roads down here; I just didn't think someone would be a bad driver around me so quickly. Sheesh.

Now, about the knitting... There was a two-week period where I didn't knit a single stitch, which also contributed to my absence here, and also my general anxiety level. That dark time is behind me now. Thank goodness. I'm almost done with two different projects now!

I've been working on my third pair of socks. It turns out that I really love knitting socks! The pattern is called (Are you even ready for this?!) Hermione's Everyday Socks. HERMIONE! Did I tell you I live right by Hogwarts now?? I'm using Dream in Color Smooshy, one of my favorite sock yarns, in a nice mustard yellow-ish hue. Here's my project page. Don't they look a little vintage? And I really love a contrasting toe, don't you?

Also, I've been working on another shawl by Veera Välimäki (shocking), who I love. It's called Bolt, and it's part of a Brooklyn Tweed collection that was released earlier this year. The pattern was actually a birthday gift, from my great friend Yvonne. I'm knitting this shawl in two different colors of Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light (even more shocking), Ink and Tern. I've reached the last part of the shawl, where I knit garter forever, but it's been total TV knitting the whole way. Veera's pattern's are never that complicated, but the results are always amazing! I think this is the fourth shawl of hers that I've knit. I really love her patterns. Raveled here.

That's all I have for now, but I feel better finally getting back here. I'll be in California next week, so I may not be back before the middle of the month, but you can be sure I'll have a few project finished by then!

Now I have to figure out what to do with all my coats...

twenty-seven

Mississippi.

Oxford, Mississippi.

Population 18,916

This past weekend I was in Mississippi. My little sister graduated from Ole Miss, so we drove (yes, seriously) from Pittsburgh in a big van to see her. We didn't really need a van for the three of us; it's more for all the goodies that have accumulated in my sister's apartment for the last three years. My sister isn't moving home just yet, but a good deal of her crap stuff is. Mississippi was wonderful, and it was the first time I've ever been there. Of course, I had a sweet tea with every meal. Also, with every meal, there was slaw, beans, some kind of sauce. The weekend was wonderful, and the graduation ceremony was lovely. I'm so proud of my littlest sister.

Before I left for Ole Miss, I had just finished test knitting a hat pattern for my friend Megan (aka JustRunKnit on Ravelry) of the Stockinette Zombies, but the pattern hadn't been released. The hat pattern, Weather the Weather, is available now on Ravelry, and it's free! Isn't that fun?! All you need is one hank of worsted and you're good to go. I knit my hat with Stonehedge Fiber Mill Shepherd's Wool, since I had a hank in the stash. I love the hat, but the next time I knit this pattern, I'll be using a variegated yarn, as there's a bunch of garter (which you know I love) in the pattern. There's a few more details on my project page, if you'd like.

While I was in the car (for a while) I was working on my Happy Street shawl, and I managed to get a few stripes done. Since we've been home, I've almost finished the shawl. Well, I knit the last few rows yesterday, and now I have a 546-stitch bind off staring me in the face. Wow. 546 stitches. Eek. Last night, I opted for margaritas instead of the bind off, and I think tonight might be just the same. This feels like a Sunday morning task to me... Perhaps with a movie. Steel Magnolias?? Of course! I should have guessed. Pink is my signature color.

This picture is the best I could do for now, since it's all scrunched up on the needle. Hopefully this will be blocking sometime early next week, but we'll have to wait and see. Oh yeah, after the bind off, there's just about a bazillion ends to weave in. That's okay, though, because I'm really excited about the FO.

In other exciting knitting news, I've cast on a sock! Not just any sock, my first sock with sock yarn and itty-bitty needles! I've made a few socks before, but they were made with big chunky yarn on US 10 needles, and just to learn basic sock construction. This time it's for real! Now, I don't know how successful I'll be, as I've only just finished the ribbing of sock one, but I'm staying optimistic. I feel like the time for socks has finally arrived. I'm not expecting progress to be especially quick on this, and if you're curious about it, you can check my project page. Wish me luck!

Until next time!

twenty-six

I do love garter stitch.

It's reversible. It's easy. It blocks beautifully.

Knitting back and forth in garter stitch is, for me, just like meditation... If I'd ever taken the time to try meditation. Knit, knit, knit... Turn, knit some more. When I'm knitting garter stitch, my mind wanders, and I think that's what I like the most about it. I love those moments when my head is clear, and my thoughts are quiet. It seems that as I get older, my mind has less and less time to wander. I suppose that with age comes wisdom, but I never feel that wise. Just old. It's not that I have a ton of worries, I just have a ton of thoughts. There's work, house, dog, and all the little lists in between. Then there's lists within the lists. There is a chance that I'm being a stitch dramatic, but my brain is the only frame of reference I have on the subject.

So, back to the knitting. I went to Natural Stitches last weekend without a single project on the needles, but I knew I was going to start something while I was there. And not just trouble! I brought some stash yarns and pattern ideas, my notions bag and a couple needles, so I was ready for anything. I decided on a shawl (shocking, I'm sure) in sock yarn, and I only needed to buy one more hank.

I started working on a new pattern by Veera Välimäki called Happy Street. As is usually the case with her shawls, there's lots of garter stitch and some short row shaping. I'm using two colorways (curry & gun metal) of Shalimar Yarns Zoe Sock that I picked up at the Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet Festival this year. The third is Dream in Color Smooshy in the navy zeal colorway, which I picked up at NS last weekend. The pattern is totally intuitive and working on it is a dream. Sadly, I haven't had much time to work on it this week. I do have plans for lots of knitting this weekend, though. There's some progress pictures and all the fun details on my ravelry project page.

Speaking of lots of knitting, James and I are going on a road trip to Mississippi next weekend. My baby sister is graduating, so we're driving down to Oxford for the occasion. My dad rented a house for the weekend and we're going to be there celebrating my sister from dawn 'til dusk. This trip is going to be amazing! Also, the weekend will be sandwiched in between two extra-super-long car trips, on which I plan to knit until I can't see. To make packing easier and more efficient, I need to make some decisions about what I may want to knit. I'm open to suggestion, as I'm having a hard time narrowing it down. As long as I have the yarn in my stash, I'm good to go. As far as packing constraints go, I'm forcing myself to only take what I can fit in my new favorite knitting bag, that you can see below.

Have I mentioned how much I love this place?

Hopefully, by the next time I post, I'll have knit all the things on my trip, and then I'll be able to show them off!

twenty-four

This morning, the house smells like chocolate.

I love it.

Earlier today, I was busy making brownies. Now the brownies are on the counter cooling, but they won't be ready to eat until tomorrow at the earliest. Not only is this an exercise in will power, but it's totally part of the brownie ritual in our house. When I make brownies, they need to cool to room temperature after they come out of the oven, then they get refrigerated overnight before I cut them. This makes for a nice clean edge, and a much tidier brownie. Thanks, Ina. You're a diva.

I know it's been a few weeks since my last post, but I didn't have too much knitting to show until today. I was in Arizona (for business) last week, so I didn't get much knitting done (with the exception of my mile-high knitting). This past week at work has been a bit busy, and also, I've been totally exhausted. Not sure why, maybe I'm just a little dramatic. Probably. Maybe...

In any event, I have finished a couple items in the past few days. The Piewhacket Shawl was what I knit during my cross-country flights on my Arizona trip. It's a shawl done entirely in garter (I know, I know, when's the last time I knit a shawl that wasn't completely garter??) with lots of short rows, which I really love. The short rows are used to create three triangles, that are then bordered by a little more garter stitch. I used one of my favorite yarns for this shawl, Sweet Georgia Yarns Tough Love Sock in the Peashoot colorway. Sweet Georgia really has the most amazing colorways. You should go check them out. Sadly, I don't have any left in my stash... at the moment. This shawl won't be blocked for a while, as I'm going out of town (again) next week. Here's a quick (unblocked, unwoven, and quite sassy) photo of the shawl, and the project details are raveled here. I'll post a photo on the project page once it's blocked, because the shape is really going to change once I get it pinned out. My goal is to make the triangles a bit pointier with blocking, so we'll see...

Also, I finished a hat for James. It was a quick knit (as most hats are) that started with ribbing and ended with broken ribbing; the pattern is "Graham." I used Berroco Vintage, which I think is a great, affordable wool/acrylic blend. James may or may not be crocheting an afghan out of Vintage in the near (or not so near) future. The hat is green, as are most items that I knit for James, but it's a really great shade. The colorway is "Fennel," if you're wondering. My husband was gracious enough to model the hat for about 18 seconds while I scrambled to snap a picture last night. If you'd like the details and pattern info, it's over on my public project page.

That's all I have for now, but hopefully it won't be so long before I post again. On Monday, I'm headed to North Carolina (for work again) for a week, which is where the brownies will be as well. I'm planning on bringing brownies into the office, but there's always a chance (slim as it may be) that they'll never leave my hotel room. Here's hoping I have enough will power to share them...

twenty-three

I'm going to wear shorts this week!

Well, at least I'll wear them tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I'm flying to Phoenix for work. Work will be awesome, but also... It's going to be around 90 degrees every day! I'm excited for THAT! Especially since we just got more snow a few days ago (even if it is all gone now). Essentially, I feel like I'm going to visit the summer for a week. No, I won't be wearing shorts to work (I do work in an office, folks), but I'll be wearing them at night! If that isn't good enough, I'm going to In-N-Out Burger! Full disclosure, the Double-Double isn't the healthiest lunch you can have... Even fuller disclosure, I'm eating it anyway! I'll be back in Pittsburgh next weekend, and hopefully super tan.

Also, I know it's been a while since my last post, but I've been knitting and knitting, and now I'm finished. Well, I'm finished with this project. I knit a Stripe Study out of Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light, and this yarn is really becoming one of my faves! Honestly, I'm going have to start calling it my "stosh" if I keep buying TML every time I enter a yarn store. Not that I'm complaining...

 

The pattern was fantastic and totally easy to memorize  I really enjoy that in a pattern. I could pick it up and put it down and pick it back up again without even wondering about the next row. It's that simple. I used Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off at the end, because this baby is going to grow when blocked. Now, I'm not 100% done, because I still have to weave in the ends and block the thing, but I'm getting up in 12 hours for a flight, so I'm calling this one done for now. Below is a quick photo I snapped in between loads of laundry, and the Ravelry project page has all my details right here.

Now, I'm in a pickle... I'm leaving tomorrow and I have no idea what I'm going to knit! I have 9 hours of airplane time, so you better believe I'll get some knitting done. What that will be, I have no idea. So, pleasantries aside, I gotta move it friends. Yarn to wind, needles to pack, etc.

Oh yes, I hope you have a lovely Easter.

Eat some ham for me.

Or not... if you don't like ham.

In that case, eat a peep or two for me.

Or not... if marshmallows ain't yo thang.

So in that case, have some chocolate for me.

Or not... if you don't like chocolate.

Now, if you don't like chocolate, I'm not sure what to say...

Call your physician.

twenty-two

Two months, two yarn festivals.

Yeah, I didn't mind that at all.

Yesterday was the Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet Festival! I went last year, and had a wonderful time. I bought seven hanks of yarn and vowed to use them all before the 2013 festival. I used four of them to make this Noro Scarf. The remaining three lovelies were used for this hat and this hat.

I only took a small bag, since Stitches West was just a month ago. I did some damage there, and I only posted a small portion of the haul from that trip here on the blog. Seriously, you have no idea. I was really excited about seeing all the indie dyers and especially excited for a few vendors in particular, more on that in a moment...

This year, I ended up with six hanks of beautiful yarn. Since I always immediately reach for the blues, I didn't let myself get any blue yarn yesterday. I need to start to knitting outside my color comfort zone a bit more... I've stashed them on Ravelry, and here's a quick shot below. I picked up three hanks of Zoe Sock from Shalimar Yarns, a hank of Superwash Merino Worsted from Unplanned Peacock Studios (the variegated yarn - top right), my very first hank of Fibernymph Dye Works Bona Fide DK in Golden Brown, and a hank of Ball and Skein Providence in Goldenrod.

And speaking of Fibernymph Dye Works, I got to meet Lisa, the owner (and host of the 90% Knitting video podcast)! She was fabulous and just so sweet. Her colors are so beautiful! Lisa lives right here in Pittsburgh, and it was so nice to finally have the opportunity to squish and squeeze her yarns. As if that wasn't exciting enough, when I got to her booth, I ran into Emily, host of the Whatcha Swatchin' video podcast, and we got to chat for a minute or two. Although, I can't imagine how weird it was for her. She was just standing there shopping politely, and I was like, "OH WOW! I feel like I know you, even though we've never met!" Emily was super fun, just like she is on her podcast, and we talked about her upcoming wedding and our dogs, of course. Here's a picture of Lisa and I (and my first hank of FDW) at the festival yesterday.

I finished my hat last night after I got back from the festival, and decided to take 18 hours without having anything on the needles. I really like the hat, and I'm happy it only took one ball of yarn. Now I still have one left for another hat. Here's a quick shot of the new hat, taken by James, photographer extraordinaire. And here's the project page with all the knitty gritty details.

I also stopped at Natural Stitches, since I hadn't been there in months! I know I've mentioned them before, but it really is the best LYS around. Seriously. What a fun place. Seriously. I would live there. Seriously.

Seriously.

So, after yesterday's yarn crawl and finishing the Bartek hat, I needed to cast on a new project. Seriously, I needed to. I've started a new shawl by Veera Välimäki called Stripe Study. It's an asymmetrical triangular shawl in garter stitch. I'm using two different colorways of madelinetosh tosh merino light (because it's fabulous!), French grey and stove pipe. This one may take a little time, but I'm determined to have only one project on the needles at a time... Probably. I mean, I'll try. Here's the project page, and a quick shot below.

That's all for now.

Oh, and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Seriously.

twenty-one

"This guy needs to cool it with the shawls for a moment."

Well, some people might think that, but I don't. I like knitting shawls, and I like wearing them as well. Also, I love scarves. And hats. I guess it's a good thing I love to knit.

Anyways, speaking of shawls, I did finish one a while back, and finally get it on the blocking mats. Now it's all dry and lovely. I knit a Tricot Grande Vitesse and I'm not sure who this will go to just yet. It's not for me, and that's fine. I don't wear too much teal. Or any. This was knit from Knit Picks Stroll Tonal in the Pacific colorway. Here's a blocking pic, so you can see the shape, although the color is a bit dark. It was wet. Raveled here.

This pattern was designed by Susan Ashcroft and it was great for knit night and traveling. It's not too complicated, and I didn't have to worry about wasting any yarn. I weighed the yarn ball a few times before I boarded the plane to California, so I'd know how many rows I had until the bind off. I love a pattern that doesn't have much waste. It's so satisfying. Geez, I'm getting old. Just listen to me...

I also finished another shawl, since my last post. I've knit this shawl before (and I wrote about it, too) and it's a great pattern called 22.5 Degrees by Martina Behm. Martina is one of my favorite designers, as many of her designs feature garter stitch. I love garter because it's great for those amazing variegated yarns that I always love. Here's the Ravelry project page. For this shawl, I used madelinetosh tosh merino light, one of my very favorite yarns. It's a lovely single-ply superwash merino fingering weight yarn, with a generous 420 for under $20. This colorway was called "volga" and it's a great blue, with some light spots and some turquoise spots here and there. It almost looks purple-ish in the right light. Modeled below, by my handsome husband, and raveled here.

The last project I finished (just yesterday) was another Purl Ridge Scarf, this time for James (last time it was for me). This is a Stephen West pattern, and it's free. I used Knit Picks Shine Worsted in the Wallaby colorway. I love the drape of this yarn so much, I didn't even bother to block it. The scarf is gray (like most items I knit for us) and he'll be able to wear it for the cool mornings on his way into work. Since Shine is a cotton/modal blend, he won't get overheated, like he would with a wool scarf. And speaking of overheated, here he is turning it up and serving y'all some serious model realness in his new scarf...

America's Next Top Knitwear Model

That's all my knitting for now, and the next post will probably come some time after the Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet Festival, which is only SIX DAYS AWAY!! I'm still deciding on my budget, but you can bet it will be significantly less than the Stitches West budget. Yowza.

nineteen

I'll be on a plane to California in exactly seven days.

And I will get to see my mother for the first time in five months.

This is some serious excitement, friends.

Among all this anticipation, I still managed to finish the Antelope Hat... and start and finish another hat as well. We'll get there, though. So, the Antelope Hat was really fun, and the pattern was well-written and straight forward. The only slightly fiddly part was the crown decreases at the end. I learned something new with this pattern... I learned that I'm not a fan of working yarn overs on double pointed needles. At least I know now. In any event, it's done and I blocked it over a balloon to let the eyelet pattern open up and guarantee sufficient slouchy-ness. I also used waste yarn (basted in a running stitch, and then cinched) along the ribbing to keep it nice and stretchy. I found this little tip in the finishing notes of the Brambles pattern I knit a while back. It really helped! Details are here on Ravelry.

Since I decided it'd be nice to finish more than one item this week, I knit another hat. This hat, named for a fabulous Broadway tune, is called For Good. If you haven't heard the song, go here immediately before reading the rest of this post. The pattern was designed by Megan Williams, one half of the hosts of a super fun knitting videocast, the Stockinette Zombies. Megan and Amy are a straight out of an owl's beak (A HOOT), check it out! Back to the hat... the pattern was designed in remembrance of Megan's sister Melissa, who passed away in 2007. All proceeds from the sale of this pattern are donated to the National Women's Health Network, in Melissa's name. It's great cause to support, and you get a fabulous pattern to knit as well.

I used Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Tweed in Prussian Heather, and it's definitely one of my favorite (super-affordable) yarns. PS - Does "Prussian Heather" remind you of "Prussian Blue" and then remind you of Bob Ross? That's what my little brain did just now. It's a nice, rich blue with some lovely flecks of black and white. Sadly (kinda), I don't have anymore of this yarn in my stash. Looks like some more tweed might be in my future...

I really loved knitting this pattern. It's not complicated, but the finished product is quite impressive. The fit is great, probably since I knit the large, and I will be wearing this tonight. Even if I'm just on my couch. Now, I didn't really care for the crown decreases of the Antelope Hat, but this hat was the exact opposite. The crown decreases (pictured below) were my favorite part of this hat. Kudos to Megan, because this pattern stays interesting until the end, and (in my humble-ish... okay, maybe not that humble... opinion, ahem) looks great! This will definitely be knit again, because it'll make a great gift. And I'm keeping this one. And I'm telling you... It's not going... anywhere. Raveled here.

Oh yes, if you're keeping track, my yarn stash is down to 14 yarns. OKAY?! I'm pretty excited about that.

Also, I started a shawl yesterday, but we'll talk more about that next time.

eighteen

I've been working hard lately.

On and off the needles.

I'm still going strong with my stash-busting... This week, I finished a Boneyard Shawl, which is yet another (FREE!) pattern by Stephen West. It's a triangular shawl, full of meditative knitting and a few purl ridges thrown in for good measure. I knit this out of Knit Picks Stroll Tonal in the Kindling colorway. It's a few different browns, really. Stroll is a good yarn at a great price, in my opinion. I've been working quite a few mindless patterns lately and I don't mind one bit. It's been a welcome contrast to the craziness at the office. Shudder. Here's a different angle on the shawl (since it's still drying) as well as the Ravelry project page.

Just the other day, I started a hat (and PS... I have no idea who this hat is for) using two different sock weight yarns. I think they just about equal a worsted weight when I'm holding them together. I'm not worried if the gauge isn't exact since (a) it's a hat and (b) I don't know who it's for just yet. The two yarns I'm using are Shibui Sock (superwash merino) in white and Knit Picks Gloss (merino/silk blend) in Bordeaux. It's not a total equal pairing, but this is what comes of aggressive stash-busting. This project was a two-for-one! The pattern is Antelope (why, I have no clue) by Kelly McClure of bohoknits. It's a slouchy hat with some eyelet detailing and a few purl ridges. Apparently, I can't get enough of purl ridges these days... Oh yeah, this is a free pattern as well! Anyhow, the progress (although there hasn't been that much) is shown below, but I suspect this hat won't really come to life until it's been blocked over a balloon. Raveled here.

That's all that's on my needles at the moment.

One more thing... The third season of Downton Abbey was just released on DVD last week, so of course I bought it and James and I devoured the remaining four-ish episodes that have yet to air in the US.

Let.
Me.
Tell.
You.
What.

I love this show, even if it makes me emotional. The third season was such a whirlwind and I can't even talk about yet, because I don't want to give anything away to those that haven't seen it. I guess this is another talk for another time. Well, to sum it up... It's fabulous. Watch it. You might as well go out and buy seasons one and two and start from the beginning, while you're at it. Trust me, you'll love it. Two words. Maggie Smith.

PS. I get to buy yarn in 17 days!

fifteen

I do love a good road trip.

Especially when it means I get to knit... a bunch.

We went to the other side of the state this past weekend to visit my husband's family. James is from a teeny little hamlet of a town called Tower City, PA. The population (I'm pretty sure) is still less than 2000 folks, and there isn't a traffic signal in sight. He grew up with his entire family within walking distance of his house, and most of them have remained there. I've been to Tower City many times before, and we've always had a great time.

The drive is about 5 hours each way and I checked out the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows audio book to keep things magical. I love Harry Potter. Probably too much. I wish I was a wizard. At the very least, I'd like to be able to knit like Molly Weasley. She's fierce.

The jewel of Tower City, the gem of Tower City, the apple of Tower City's eye is a little restaurant that we always visit... Nino's. Now, I've had my share of pizza growing up. To be quite plain, I've probably had your share of pizza as well. Ahem. Like Joey Tribbiani, I LOVE pizza and sandwiches. My appetite is probably my most masculine feature (he sheepishly admits with a mouthful of cheese). Well, Nino's has the best pizza I've ever had outside of New York. It's not fancy, it's not expensive, and it's the best pizza (and sandwich) I've ever had. James introduced me to the Chicken Finger Sub many years ago, and I'm certain I haven't thanked him enough. Such a simple concept (chicken, lettuce, tomato), but at Nino's it's all in the execution. The bread and pizza dough are made fresh in-house daily, as is the sauce and everything else there. If you ever find yourself in Schuylkill County, PA you would do well to remember Nino's New York Style Pizza.

As if by divine intervention, we arrived home today right after I knit the last stitch of the last row of my 22.5 Degrees shawl. All that was left was the bind-off. After a wishy-washy exchange with myself (inside my head, for the most part) I decided to bind-off tonight and be done with it. This was the first time that I've ever use Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off and it was fantastic. Usually on a shawl bind off, I go up a needle size or two, but I didn't have to with this technique. That was convenient, as I didn't really feel like digging through my needles. I washed and blocked it, and now all I have to do is wait for it to dry. Ungh. I love the shape of this piece, and I can't wait to wear it. Hurry up and dry already!

In other news, I have a little stash enhancement to share... I know I've been making proclamations about not buying any yarn until a certain west coast fiber extravaganza, and you'll be happy to know that I'm still a man of my word. Leslie and Laura, the hosts of a fabulous knitting video cast, The Knit Girllls, were having a contest in December 2012 (Deep Stash Dive December) and my entry was the Fitful Head hat. When the prizes were drawn, my name came up!! Hooray!! I won a skein of Friday Studios Self Striping Sock Yarn (all the way from Sweden, y'all!) in the Monday Base (75% Wool/25% Nylon) in the colorway "Under the Sea." Have I mentioned that my favorite Disney movie of all time is The Little Mermaid?? It was fate. Kismet, really. Here's a quick pic so you can see the blues, teals, purples and pinks of this amazing yarn.

That's really all I have for now. Well, I did watch the Golden Globes (LOVED IT!) and was not surprised at all when Anne Hathaway took home the award for Actress in a Supporting Role for Les Miserables. Not. Surprised. At. All.

twelve

Joyeux Noël!

French felt appropriate today, and I'll tell you why. Eventually...

I have quite a large family (and an even larger extended family) and we're all peppered about the globe. From California to New York, Florida to Australia (at the moment), and all across Pennsylvania. Between geography and vacation time, I've always been with a group of family members for Christmas. Whether it was my relatives or my husband's, we've never celebrated Christmas without some branch of our ever-expanding family tree.

This Christmas was just the two of us, though. It really brought new meaning my very favorite Christmas song of all time ever ever ever, "All I Want for Christmas is You." James and I had decided (weeks and weeks ago) that we would be spending Christmas together at home this year, and neither of us was really that concerned. Our work schedules also helped us into that decision, but that's another story... and probably boring. No work talk on Christmas. There. Anyhow, it was a wonderful holiday, spent with the only guest on my must list of life, my husband.

Oh yes, back to the French up top. Today we went to see Les Misérables and it was très étonnant. I won't give anything away here, but I can say that if Anne Hathaway is cast in any movie, I'm already loving it. I'll say it here first, she'll be winning an Academy Award for this role. Mark my words! Also, Wolverine Hugh Jackman was sensational, of course. A small (but incredibly important) role was also played by Bellatrix Lestrange Helena Bonham Carter, who I love! Really, she's just wonderful. I'd be hard pressed to name a better character actress. She is the cat's pajamas. Or the cat's meow. Pick your pleasure. So run, don't walk, to the nearest movie theater and go see this wonderful movie. Unless, of course, you don't want your mind blown.

In knitting news, I did start a new project the other day. And no, it's not a hat. And no, it's not fair isle. I'm knitting 22.5 Degrees by German designer Martina Behm. I will be eliminating the scalloped border on the finished edge for a simpler look. Here's Martina's ravelry designer page and website. I'm knitting this shawl in madelinetosh tosh sock in the lichen colorway. The garter stitch is really appropriate for this colorway, in my opinion. It's a beautiful sage green with little hints of a grayish almost sky blue thrown in. Below is a stitch-level photo that I took to show the patterning and color of the shawl, in the almost hopeless natural light of winter in Pittsburgh. A for effort, guys.

Whether you're with family and friends, or celebrating with the one you love, I hope your Christmas has been as wonderful as mine!

Feliz Navidad
Gelukkig kerstfeest
Frohe Weihnachten
С Рождеством
God jul
Buon Natale
Καλά Χριστούγεννα

Okay, I'm done.

Feliz Natal

Okay, now I'm done... For now.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Done. Seriously. Done.

four

Today I finished a project.

Well, I bound off, at least.

And I wove in the ends.

And washed the project in soak.

And pinned it out on my blocking mats.

So, I guess I'm done.

The Geysir Stretch shawl is the first pattern that was released in the ChoreoKAL eBook by Stephen West. I thoroughly enjoyed knitting this project. The pattern, once you got going, was fairly instinctual, as Stephen's shawls usually are. This made it great TV/movie/podcast-watching knitting. I probably would've finished earlier, but Thanksgiving (and the preparations for it) cut down on my usual knitting time. In any event, the shawl is done. Wet, but done.

Now I just need to wait for the temperature to drop a few more degrees so I can wear it. Not that I'm wishing for snow, but if the temperature drops below freezing and it doesn't snow, I always feel a little slighted. Like I should get a few snowflakes as a reward for surviving in this climate. Or something.

I believe I'll be casting on a Christmas gift next, so I can't really talk about it too much here. I can tell you, though, that I've knit this item before. Is anyone else knitting any Christmas gifts at the moment? I think most of us (knitters) probably are.

three

Egg Nog.

Can we all pause for just a moment and celebrate the absolute bliss that is Pennsylvania Dutch Egg Nog? Trust me on this one. You WILL NOT be sorry. Well, you might be sorry, but that's only if you don't really care for egg nog. If that's the case, I would recommend that you steer clear of this and any other nogs you may come across. While this particular egg nog is absolutely fabulous, it is still egg nog. It tastes like a glass (or mug, ahem) of holiday cheer. Egg Nog Season is one of my very favorite seasons, along with Sangria Season and Shamrock Shake Season. Oooh Shamrock Shakes...

Whilst sipping on my egg nog, just one mug of course, I have also been knitting on my Geysir Stretch shawl. I'm very happy to be working on the border of this awesome shawl, but these rows are getting quite loooong. I'm hoping to be finished with this project by the end of this month, which I think is a reasonable goal. I have 10 border repeats left, and those repeats are taking me about 40 minutes to complete at this point. As long as I put in roughly an hour of knitting each day (not hard for me to do), I should be finished by next weekend. Well, end of November, beginning of December... tomato, tomato... I guess you have to hear this for it to make sense... potato, potato.

Here's a picture of the progress so far... kind of. I guess it's really to see the colors together rather than the shape of the shawl at this point.

I really love how the colors look together, and I'm still excited that I knit this entirely from my stash. My yarn stash, as I write this post, is now at 47. My personal goal is to get my stash below 30 by February (which is when I'm flying out to California for STITCHES WEST!!!) so that I don't feel bad about all the yarn I'm sure to purchase there.

one

This is my very first blog post.

I've decided to start a blog about my knitting adventures, yarn exploits, and whatever else happens to stitch it's way into my life. I wouldn't say that my world is consumed by knitting and yarn or whatnot, but I definitely find time to knit every single day. I guess it's my own form of meditation; the repetition really seems to even me out. That's not to say there haven't been times [clears throat audibly...] where my screams of frustration could be heard from outside the house. At the end of the day, I really do love to knit. Don't you?

Over the weekend, I started a new scarf. I guess I should really call it a shawl, but I feel like scarf sounds more masculine. Maybe it's because the word "scarf" contains the word "arf" and if any dog's bark sounds like that, it must be a manly dog. In other news, I have a Chihuahua. Totally butch, I know.

Back to the scarf shawl... The pattern was just released today by one of my very favorite knitwear designers Stephen West and it's called Geysir Stretch. The shawl calls for three different colors of DK weight yarn, and he suggests alpaca because of the drape. However, worsted could also be substituted. Since I'm trying to knit completely from my stash these days, I've chosen three different colors of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Worsted. If you'd like, you can check out my project page for this shawl right over here, folks.

Here's my progress so far...

Is anyone else knitting this pattern? Are you enjoying it so far?