December 28 , 2007
A Quickie

Life is quite full and I'm enjoying time with family and friends, but I decided to sneak in and at least put up a short post. I've finished mittens and started new socks, but have not managed to get photos of either. I DO have one picture of my 2nd Thorpe hat for you to see - I had hoped to get a modeled picture, but it went home with my daughter on Christmas before that happened.

Pattern: Thorpe designed by Kirsten Kapur Yarn: 3.5 ounces of Schaefer Esperanza (70% lambswool /30% alpaca) - the color is "Mary Breckenridge" Size: Medium Needles: US 9 circulars My 2nd Thorpe (and I almost never knit the same thing twice!) Kate gave me this yarn for my birthday last year, so I made the hat for her - wonderfully soft and warm - perfect for taking her doggies (Jasmine and Rocco - I'll get pictures someday) on walks in the cold winter! AND there is 4.5 ounces left over from that giant skein, so I may just make myself one too - or I could make her mittens or a scarf to match??

I'm moving along S-L-O-W-L-Y on Irtfa'a - here she is today in her unstretched state after completion of the shoulder drop section. It will be awhile...... but I sure am enjoying the process on this one!

For a peek at our Christmas morning - Click this photo

Happy New Year!

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December 19, 2007
Thorpe - The Perfect Earflap Hat

On Saturday morning, I was perusing my bloglines feeds and stopped in my tracks when I got to Kirsten's blog - Through the Loops - always a source of inspiration for me! She had JUST generously made her pattern for Thorpe available to all of us as a wonderful holiday gift. I had been looking for the perfect plain basic earflap hat for Dave and this was it! I immediately cast on and finished it that night, adding the edging and braid Sunday morning at breakfast.

Pattern: Thorpe designed by Kirsten Kapur. Yarn: 2 50 gm balls (with 30 gms left over)Knit Picks Panache in "slate" (Baby Alpaca, Cashmere, Silk, Merino blend) sadly discontinued - WHY??? It is heavenly yarn (you can't imagine how soft!) and these are the only 2 balls I had - I want more!! Needles: 18" US 9 Denise circular needle (used magic loop with longer cord for the crown) Size: my gauge was 4 sts/inch - slightly tighter than pattern gauge, so I followed the Large size for circumference numbers (80 stitches around) and the Medium size for length making it a perfect 20" Medium sized hat

I used leftover (from these mittens) Elann Peruvian Baby Cashmere (tripled) for the edging and braid and used every inch of it up - I feel so virtuous - not one tiny bit left over!
Dave loves it - there is ZERO itch factor - so soft, warm, simple and FAST in chunky yarn! The pattern is excellent - clear and concise - I made no changes whatsoever. Thank you, Kirsten!

I've already started 2 more...1 out of a thick/thin multicolored yarn for a charity hat and 1 for me out of this yarn - a gift from my daughter, Kate.

Cam's latest creation!

With family arriving in 2 days and a list of things I need to do that goes on and on (and somehow doesn't include blogging or knitting), I'm guessing I won't be back until after Christmas .....so have a merry one!

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December 9, 2007
Barcelona Socks

AKA November Mystery Socks...

Pattern: Barcelona Socks (all 4 clue links are available on Ravelry) November Mystery Sock for SKA Sockdown designed by Mona Strickt. Yarn: J. Knits Superwash Me Sock (used 3 oz of a 4 oz. skein) in Los Angeles Colorway Size: Medium Needles: 2 socks on 1 2.25 mm 40" circular needle This is the 1st time I've used J. Knits sock yarn - it is soft and has wonderful subtle color variations. There is a little halo of fuzz - almost like it has alpaca in it (it doesn't). I'm sorry my pictures didn't turn out clear enough to see the beautiful color shading. Barcelona has many great design elements - Mona knows how to make sock knitting fun - NOT boring! All the stitch patterns were new to me -even the cuff and heel - a beautiful piece of sock architecture!

and remember that little pile of yarn cakes?

I'll provide the all details next time (because I'm in a huge hurry this morning) ... Oh, I guess I could take a minute to at least find the link to these beautiful Bosnian Mittens.

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December 3 , 2007
Beginning the Long Road (to Irtfa'a)

The yarn flew quickly - ordered 11/27 ....at my door 11/30! It is exactly what I wanted!

I immediately wound my dark, rich Corvid Laci into a giant cake.

I pulled out the directions...all 13 pages....and started reading them. I quickly realized that I might be in over my head AND that this was not going to be a quick project! The more I read, the more confused I got, so I did what I always do...I just STARTED! Usually it all begins to make sense when the yarn is on the needles and it was no different with Irtfa'a! Take it one baby step at a time ....

I must say that this is one of the most well written patterns of any that I have ever used. Anne gives both charts and clearly written step by step directions. At first I needed to refer to BOTH, but now it is all clear and I'm on my way....SLOWLY....This shawl will not be knit quickly. It is a mindful pattern that requires my complete attention and I don't have a lot of that kind of time (but every time I get some - I'll be working on this shawl! )

On another note....Happy 23rd Birthday to my daughter, Kate! (Her birthday is today, but we celebrated last night due to everyone's schedules) She got to pick out anything she wanted from the "gift knitting" bin....as you can see, she chose the Bird Foot Socks. Our feet are the exact same size which makes it easy!