Yarn Along--little gifts and even littler gifts

Back with Ginny at Small Things for another Yarn Along...

Well, I am still on a roll knitting hats.  I have finally ceased knitting the Turn a Square hats, after knitting five or six of them, and I knit two The Perfect Beret hats for my God-daughter and my niece (in the photo above).  The tiny hat and sweater set is for Gemma's littlest baby-doll, June.  I have a long list of things to make for her beloved babies, and I really enjoy knitting for them--it's near-instant gratification!

Not sure what's next on the queue.  I have hats to knit for all of my family, more doll clothes and a pair of mitts to make for my sister.  Bret would like a cowl.  I hope I don't run out of time!

As for reading, I have finished Swag and Stein on Writing.  I'm about to pick up Running With Scissors.

Are you trying to tackle a heap of Christmas knitting, too?

Yarn Along--hello old friend

I am back for Ginny's Wednesday Yarn Along for the first time in what seems eons!

I took a long break from knitting as I began to focus more on writing, and my knitting bag in the van was replaced by my notebook.  I still keep the notebook with me, and I am still working on writing, but with Christmas approaching, a tight budget and lots of people on the gift list, I decided it was high time to pick up my needles.

Right now I'm knitting hats, specifically these wonderfully easy stash-busters, perfect for using up the odd ends of Noro I have.  I am perfecting my jogless stripes, too.

As for reading, I've mainly been reading books on writing.  I'm a little ways into this one, and about halfway through a paperback crime novel (Swag, by Elmore Leonard).  Not my usual cup of tea, but he's a favorite author of a good friend, and I thought I'd give it a go.  It's actually fairly entertaining.

Hope to see you back here next week!

Yarn Along--Yellow Mittens

I'm back!  Joining Ginny's Yarn Along over at Small Things for the first time in eons.  Months ago I began putting my limited time into writing rather than knitting, and my knitting bag in the van was replaced by my notebook, and in the evening I generally had the word processor on my laptop open.  So I've not been doing much knitting.

The mittens above are being knit in Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool which I dyed with onion skins
(my first experiment in dying with natural dyes).  A pretty color, but no one likes bright mustard yellow and the wool is on the tough-and-scratchy side, so I think mittens or slippers may be my only options for it.  So I'll do a set of mittens to start...

The only other knitting I've done has been a black watchman's cap for Bret and a Mike Nesmith of the Monkees hat for Sebastian (there's a photo of him wearing it here).  Adrian wants a hat in the same style--with a pom-pom--for his birthday in 3 weeks, and Una wants some elbow-length fingerless mitts, so I guess I'll have get back into it.

As for reading, I just opened and account on Goodreads.com, and have a list of books I want to read.  Currently I'm reading some online articles on writing and have just begun reading O'Henry's works, but I'm finding it tough to find time to read, write and knit...so we'll see what gets dropped!

Yarn Along--babies real and pretend

I'm joining about a hundred or so other knitters and readers this week for the Wednesday Yarn Along hosted by Ginny at Small Things.  It's fun to see what everyone is creating and reading!

 Well, I did finish the above baby doll ensemble in time for Gemma's birthday.  You can see it on her doll (a Bitty Baby purchased on eBay for Christmas) here.  I used this pattern here, but added buttonholes all the way down and did a ribbed waistband to match the neckline.  It turned out really well.  It's amazingly hard to find nice boy-doll clothing.  I just improvised for the hat, and for the baby booties I used this pattern.

I also knit up a quick Aviatrix for the newest baby of a Mennonite farmer we are on friendly terms with (we get our piglets and our honey from him).  The little one was born July 3rd, but I made this in a larger size so that hopefully it will fit when the weather gets chilly here.  I think I may do some matching booties.

As for reading, I finished Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory, and I really enjoyed it and liked the ending.  Hate it when I read a great book and I get to the end and it's like, "Meh."  Just last night I picked up Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.  I don't know if I've ever read it, and with a memory as poor as mine, I probably won't recall if I did even once I'm into the book, if it has been more than a decade.  The upside of a poor memory:  all things are forever new.

That's it for this week!

Yarn Along--for a doll

I'm back again for another Wednesday Yarn Along with Ginny.

Here is a question for some of you more experienced knitters:  how do you handle ripping back rows on a lace pattern?  I'm working on the fairly simple February Lady Sweater for the third time, and I just noticed a goof about 10 rows back.  The last time I tried to rip back the gull lace pattern, I got so lost trying to get the pattern back on the needles that I ended up casting on all over again.  Not fun.  I did that twice.  And I fear that if I can't fix matters this time around, I will be giving up altogether on that beautiful sweater and throwing in the towel with lace henceforth.  And I really want to be able to knit lace!  Help me!

I was happy to put the FLS aside for a bit in order to knit up some doll clothes for Gemma's boy baby doll.  Gem's birthday is coming up, and William, the doll, being a boy, is a bit short in the wardrobe department.  I am knitting a cardigan, booties and hat from some yarn I dyed myself with Kool Aid, and I still need to sew up a couple of pairs of pants and tops.  I really am not good with tops.  He's one of those American Girl Bitty Baby dolls purchased on eBay, so if you have a good pattern for any doll cloths for one, let me know!  Dress patterns abound, but patterns for cute boy outfits like those made for Waldorf dolls are harder to come by.

As for my reading, I haven't been doing much of it, but I am still trying to read a little of The Power and the Glory in bed every night, and I am really enjoying it.  It's so very different a book from the last thing I read (a real page-turner by Michael O'Brien), but I do like it very much.  Not having grown up Catholic, I am trying to catch up a little on Catholic authors.

I am hoping to do a little blog-hopping and see what you all are up to this week...hopefully I can show you the completed doll outfit on the next Yarn Along...

Yarn Along--Take Two

I'm back with Ginny's Yarn Along after a long hiatus.  It is not that I haven't been knitting or reading; only that I had nothing much to show.  Finally, I am into my second attempt at a February Lady Sweater, after having frogged the first due to sloppy button holes and a nasty error on the back.  I say this is my second attempt, but to be truthful I have actually lost track of how many times I began this sweater.  On the first one, I think I may have begun at least 3 times. I really stink at ripping back, and usually get frustrated and start from the cast on. On this one, I think I started from the cast on twice.  But it is possible that there were more start-ups than that.  I just seem to recall rewinding my yarn many, many times.

I am pleased to report that it is going better this time, and I think that I have, after umpteen attempts, finally nailed the one row button hole.  I'm enjoying myself with it, but may have to put it aside to squeeze in a dolly cardigan and hat for Gemma's doll, as her birthday is next month.

As for my reading, in the past few weeks I read Michael O'Brien's Plague Journal, and I found it pretty frightening, playing as it does in a future that is so near it is practically the present.  I don't want to spoil it for anyone who may want to read it, so I will say only that I recommend it.  Of course, now I am forced to read the next one, Eclipse of the Sun, but I have decided to read Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory first.  Hopefully I'll start in on it tonight.

So...are you knitting for a birthday?  Or are you so darned organized that you're already working on Christmas gifts (now's the time to start, you know!)

Yarn Along--little things

I'm back with Ginny's Yarn Along again!

As a consequence of not having any little babies in the family for whom I can knit quaint little sweaters and cunning little hats, I have to find other tiny, satisfying knits in order to get that near-instant gratification.  I'm still procrastinating on the commencement of my February Lady Sweater Attempt Number Two...just not up to something that requires my actually paying attention to what I'm knitting.

So--I just finished sewing the picot hems on the fingerless mitts above, and they are quite lovely, if you ignore  the fact that one is about 4 rows longer than the other [the result of not paying attention to what I'm knitting].  I immediately took up knitting one of Lori's Pockets for Africa.  I finished it before bedtime last night and gave it to Dominic.  Of course, I am now compelled to knit five more, as everyone wants one.  Una wants it a little bigger so as to fit her MP3 player in it.  The yarn is some that I dyed myself using Kool-Aid (the only legit purpose for that stuff!)

As for reading--it's oh-so-slow!  I fall asleep after a couple of pages, as I read in bed.  I'm still reading G.K. Chesterton's The Man Who Knew Too Much, and am thoroughly enjoying it.  Una, in the meantime, has read three Michael O'Brien novels, an autobiography of Robert Clary and several freebies on my Kindle, not to mention various articles and blogs.  All this while keeping up with her school work and writing a novel herself.  Oh, would that I could speed-read!

I'm looking forward to seeing what you have on your needles and nightstands!

Yarn Along--a sweepstakes for knitters!

Love of Knitting magazine is sponsoring a Yarn for Life Sweepstakes!  Now if that doesn't get you excited as a knitter or crocheter, nothing can!  Enter the sweepstakes here.

I'm joining in Ginny's Yarn Along again this week.  I put aside the cowl I was knitting just to have something to knit and now am happily working on a gift project for someone who may read this but who does not, I am quite certain, have a Ravelry account.

As for my reading, I stopped in the middle of Bilbo's Journey: Discovering the Hidden Meaning of The Hobbit, and picked up one of Una's books on my Kindle, Waking Rose by Regina Doman.  I've read two of her other fairy tale novels, and they are really quite good.  This one is is really in the "Young Adult" category, as it contains some adult themes.  I really enjoyed it, and it was enough of a page-turner that I stayed up past my bedtime several nights in a row!

Hopefully I'll see you back here next week!

Yarn Along--good books and bad knits

I'm back with Ginny's Yarn Along this week...

Last week I finished both Manalive and a pair of socks on the same day.  The socks turned out alright, and I think I will put them away for next autumn, as it appears that spring is finally here.  Maybe I will squeeze in pairs of socks between other things all spring and summer and that way have new socks for everyone come the colder weather again.  Manalive was wonderful fun and I know I will be reading it again someday.

Right now I am reading a very slender volume by Prof. Joseph Pearce, whom Una and I were lucky enough to meet and hear speak at an IHM Conference last month.  It's an easy read, and I could get through it in a few hours if I had a few consecutive hours in which to read.  We've not yet seen The Hobbit movie yet, and when we do we will take the advice of many and not draw comparisons between the movie and the book, but try to enjoy each for what it is.

My knitting...well, I have a long list of things I want to make and with finances being what they are, I have to work from my stash, so I am undecided as to what to do next.  As I can't stand to be in the van without some knitting project, I grabbed some novelty yarn I picked up for 80 cents a skein and began a plain, garter stitch cowl on big needles.  I can't decide what I think about it, whether I like it or find it incomparably ugly. Like the fleece of a sheep that went tripping through dye vats.  I may have to wait and try it on to figure it out...if it is truly awful when completed, it will find its way to the children's dress-up bin.

So--what are you knitting right now?  Knitting for spring?  For next winter?

Yarn Along--back in the groove

It has been many weeks since I've joined in Ginny's Yarn Along...for a bit more than a month I was in something of a knitting slump.  If the socks at the top look familiar, they certainly ought to be.  This is my second pair of socks in the Too Cool colorway from Knitpicks Felici, and I was knitting one sock for about three weeks, knitting and unknitting it, and sometimes ignoring knitting for days. Maybe it was a deep-seated sign of depression after frogging my February Lady Sweater.  It looked to me too small to even be made to fit me with blocking, and there was a glaring boo-boo on the back.  Anyway, I think I'm back in the groove again, as I have several patterns lined up for future projects.

Bret made me a swift, and I finally took the time to play with some yarn and dye.  I just used what I had on hand--Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool in natural and some packets of Kool Aid.  I used Blue Raspberry and Lemon Lime at first, and the result was gorgeous, but so bright I knew I would never knit anything with it, so I added a bit of Cherry to tone it down, and the result is really very lovely.

The second hank experiment was with onion skins and an alum mordant.  Really bright yellow!  But I think there's enough to do a little spring/summer vest for Gemma.  I love dying yarn...it's like playing with blank sheets of paper and watercolors.

As for reading, I am starting the Little House books all over again, as when I read them the first time, Adrian was still a baby, I think, and I don't know that anyone but Una got much out of them.  So it is time to go through them again, starting with the one I think may be my favorite, Little House in the Big Woods.  The adorable paper dolls were the gift of a sweet lady who sent them a day after I had mentioned how I needed to get some for Gemma when I saw them on her blog (if you see this, thank you, dear!).  I, myself, am reading Manalive by G.K. Chesterton.  I love it...it is quintessential Chesterton.

Oh yes--I'm aware of the random photo of Gemma crashed out on the recliner...

A blessed and joyful Easter to all you knitters!

Yarn Along--sock it to me

Joining Ginny for the Yarn Along this week.  Books and yarn...is there anything more sublime?

Does the above sock look familiar?  That is because I am knitting another pair of socks from what is left of the two balls of Knit Picks Felici in the Too Cool colorway.  My third pair of socks.  My hope is to get so familiar with sock knitting that I no longer need to look at instructions and can whip up a pair in no time.

I'm still reading How the Irish Saved Civilization, as I have been too brain-dead lately to do much reading before bed--which is when I generally do my reading.  Una, my super-speed reading daughter, just read Dune.  Yesterday.  In 3 hours.  It makes me giddy and envious all at once to count off how many books she goes through in a week.  To the boys, I am reading The House of Sixty Fathers.  They all agree that it is very good and quite moving.

And that you can see that not all my knitting has been socks, here is a shot of a slouchy hat I finished for my hat-loving, knit-loving, book-loving, speed-reading daughter:

The wool is the very economically-priced Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Onyx Heather.  And my Ravelry note are here for those who want them.

Yarn Along: two-year socks

Well, they didn't really take two years, but I resolved to learn how to knit socks two years ago, tried to get going with fingering yarn and size 1 needles, got frustrated and gave up.  So this time I tried it with sport weight yarn and size 2 needles, and I nailed it!  I'm so glad.  I got the Knit Picks Felici wool on sale, and I can actually get a pair out of 50 grams.  $2.35 for a pair of wool socks!

Now, I haven't a speck of Irish blood in my veins, but I spent two months in Ireland back in 1990, and it is one of the most magical places on earth.  I fell in love with Ireland even before I ever visited, just from looking at photographs and listening to the music of Ireland.  It's a love I've not lost, so when I saw this book  at Goodwill, I snatched it up.  It is really a light, amusing reading.  I've also been glancing through the most recent issue of Dappled Things, a Catholic literary magazine with short stories, art and poetry.  It's lovely.

I have started another pair of socks, and I would like to keep knitting socks--alongside other projects--until the process is second nature and I can whip up a pair in no time.  That's the vision, anyway...

I am hoping to cast on a new hat for Una, hats and fingerless mitts being her favorite accessories of late.  She loves knits, and I am happy to oblige.

Do you want to hear something infuriating? Of the 5 hats I knit my guys for Christmas, 4 of them have gone missing already!  We've searched almost everywhere for them.  I feel as though I never want to knit another hat for any of them ever again.  Gemma lost a hat I knit her last year, too.  So that's 5 hand-knit hats all gone, representing a lot of time and wool.  Discouraging, to say the least.

Also discouraging (and a little embarrassing):  I took out my February Lady Sweater last week to pick up the stitches for the sleeves onto dpns, and I couldn't do it.  Trying to get those open stitches done in gull lace onto needles and pick up stitches under the arms was too much for a Knitter of Very Little Brain.  So I shall have to wait with it until I can take it to an experienced knitter (I think I might know a couple in the general area) and whimper for assistance.

*sigh*

Well, it is a nasty day today...there was a beastly storm last night that woke me and which blew numerous shingles off our old, old roof.  The temperature is to be 64 and rainy today, and tomorrow night they are expecting snow.  That's just nuts.  Good day to just knit, don't you think?

I'm linking up to Ginny's weekly Yarn Along on Small Things...

Yarn Along--hands and feet

I am joining Ginny's Yarn Along on Small Things today.  Last week I finished Una's fingerless mitts.  Teen girl writers whose mothers keep the house at a chill 66 degrees in the winter really need them.

And now I am fulfilling my 2011 New Year's resolution (I tend to get a wee bit behind on things) and learning to knit socks.  This first will be no thing of beauty, but it is teaching me the mechanics of sock-knitting.  Sort of fun, but I think I'm using it as an excuse to avoid my February Lady Sweater--picking up the lace pattern to continue the sleeve frightens me!

Not reading much, although I have a lot of reading material sitting around waiting for me to pick it up...

So, now that Christmas is over, what are you working on?

Yarn Along--and Christmas knits revealed

Current project: fingerless mitts for my young novelist

Gabe's Watchman's Cap

Adrian's slouchy hat

Una's beret and cowl

Gemma's Sunday Sweater

Salutations, and happy New Year to all!  I am back for Ginny's Wednesday Yarn Along, finally able to show you some of the things I knit for Christmas.  Missing from this post are one more Watchman's Cap and another slouchy hat of the same patterns as those above, and the baby hat from my last Yarn Along post.  Everything is up on my Ravelry Projects page.    

As for reading, I haven't picked up anything to read for myself in a while, but I have been reading books from our seasonal book basket to the little ones, as well as some we picked up from the library.  

If I get the mitts done, I will see you next week on the Yarn Along!

Yarn Along--last of the Christmas knits...I think...

 

I'm back with Ginny for another Wednesday Yarn Along.  It's been a while since I knit one of these, my favorite baby hat pattern.  My dear friend Cindy became a grandmother for the first time, and this hat is for Aiden Christopher, her grandson.  Isn't the button adorable?  I say that I am done with the Christmas knits, but I can't bear to ride in the van or watch a movie without my knitting, so I might manage one more hat...

As for reading, I've had no time for any reading of my own, but I am reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.  I had never read it or seen the movie, so I am as entertained by it as are the children.

So...it's down to the wire.  Are you still knitting for Christmas?

Yarn Along--the Mad Hatter

I'm back for my first Yarn Along in many weeks.  I really didn't feel that posting half-finished hats makes for a very interesting post, but I can't show you pictures of them on heads until after Christmas. In the above basket, I have two gray slouchy hats for two of my boys and a black Watchman's cap for another.  I'll be knitting one more hat after I finish this one, and then, if I have time, I will squeeze in a couple of pairs of fingerless mitts.  And the bag above?  A birthday gift from a friend and kindred spirit.  Just the right size for a small knitting project.

As for reading, I have put aside The Unvanquished and am currently just reading to the kids.  I have a number of things in the seasonal book basket to read, and I have Farmer Boy on the shelf, waiting for me to finish the post-Civil War era kids' book, Shades of Gray.

How's your holiday knitting coming along?

Yarn Along--from Ginny to Gemma

Back again this week for Ginny's weekly Yarn Along, and I am so happy to have her Sunday Sweater pattern completed!  It was one of the most pleasant projects I have done in a while, and I just know I will be knitting another one as soon as I am able. The yarn is Cestari Traditional in Burgundy Heather, and has a lovely cotton-like feel to it, so soft and squishy!  I would have loved to put it on Gemma for a photo shoot, but I am hoping she will have time to forget all about it before Christmas.  I did knit it a bit shorter than I ought to have, but I was afraid of going to long with another button, since I put buttons all down the front (I don't like an exposed tummy in winter!).  Turns out it would have been fine, but hindsight it 20/20 and plus, it gives me one more excuse to knit another!  My Ravelry notes are here.

On my needles right now is this cowl for Una (the pattern is free!).  The girl really needs to learn how to knit herself, as she has requested this cowl, a slouchy hat and some fingerless mitts.  Turns out she really loves knits, but not knitting (lack of patience--she is a speed reader and a speed typist, and learning to knit means starting out slowly).  Anyway, the yarn is Knit Picks Chroma in "fossil".  I am enjoying knitting with big needles--her mitts are going to be in sport weight yarn on size 2 needles...ick.  Means I need to use my reading glasses to knit, and they bug me...

As for reading, I am currently reading a novel by one of Una's writing friends, and although it is not my usual cup of tea, I am enjoying it.  They young lady has actually found a publisher for it and is in the editing process, so I am hoping that I will be able to recommend it to you when it is out.  It has a great theme:  the sanctity of human life, and what can happen when a society loses sight of that.  I am also still reading my issue of Dappled Things piecemeal  Must read it slowly, as it is a quarterly, and I want to make it last!

So--how are you progressing on you holiday knitting?

Yarn Along--pleasant pusuits

I'm back for Ginny's Wednesday Yarn Along again this week, having just completed the first sleeve of her Sunday Sweater pattern last night at around 9:30.  I had to take the photo beneath the fluorescent light in my workroom this morning, so the color is a bit off.  This pattern has been lovely, and I think I'll have to keep making these as Gemma gets older.  The yarn has been delightful to knit with, too; it is Cestari Traditional in Burgundy Heather, and it is as soft as cotton.  The leaves in the photo are some I pressed with the kids in hopes of dipping them in beeswax soon.

As for my reading, I am on the last chapter or two of Cold Mountain.  I must say, I have warmed up to the characters a bit at this point.  It took a very long time for them to develop, and most of the supporting characters were pretty unlikable   Made the book rather tedious at times.  As for the "beautiful writing" many of the reviews on Amazon noted, I found the artistry of language to be of a far greater caliber in The Red Badge of Courage.  I love the English language used beautifully, and although it wasn't bad in Cold Mountain, it didn't stand out in my mind, either.

Back to knitting:  I have a long queue of projects lined up, mainly mitts, hats and cowls for Christmas, although I love doing sweaters and pullovers and will be tempted to cast on another.  I have a box of new yarn from Knit Picks, and am rubbing my hands together in delight and anticipation.

Christmas!  what are you knitting for Christmas?  What are your favorite "quick project" patterns?

Yarn Along--if at first you don't succeed

I'm back with Ginny and her Wednesday Yarn Along again this week, a bit frustrated because I figured I would be a lot further along with this Sunday Sweater I cast on, but because I apparently am numerically challenged cannot seem to knit a sweater or cardigan without beginning it at least three times, here I am only 10 or 12 rows into it this week.  I have a long queue of things to knit and a few skeins in the shopping cart over at Knit Picks.  I have a hard time buying yarn when things are tight, even though all the yarn is designated for Christmas gifts.  It still feels too much like I am buying something for me!

As for the reading, I am still reading Cold Mountain, and am about halfway through.  Can't say I like it much better now, as I still have no affection for any of the characters, and honestly, although it has been touted as being a beautiful work of writing, I am, shall we say, underwhelmed and I am a bit nonplussed by the accolades the novel has received.  I'm not saying it is bad...just that I feel personally that it doesn't seem to live up to its reputation.

In the mail today I received my first quarterly issue of Dappled Things (a gift subscription from a generous person whom I greatly admire), and it has been a pleasure to peruse.  So nice to see that with all the "dumbing down" one sees in our culture, there is still good poetry and literature being produced.

So, what are you knitting and reading?  What things are you creating for Christmas?

Yarn Along-- Noro Milo complete

I'm with Ginny again this week, showing off the completed size 6 Milo for Dominic.  Seeing as it is to be a gift, I tried it on his diminutive 7 year old brother, who is only a shade bigger than he is, and it is a good fit.  I have my scant notes on Ravelry, and last night was looking for what to cast on next.  I need to order some yarn for the striped mitts Una wants as well as some black and gray merino for the boys' hats.  I am trying to decide between Ginny's Sunday Sweater and a few baby sweaters for babies I know...decisions, decisions!

As for my reading, I finished the youth fiction I was reading last week, Black as Night, and now Sebastian is reading it.  It's really good, and I think Regina Doman is fantastic with plot and character development.  Currently, I am three chapters into Cold Mountain.  We have been on a long Civil War kick, starting with just general Civil War history, moving to the south, and soon to be concentrating just on Tennessee and Kentucky.  I am not yet blown away by this novel--I have not yet been able to develop much feeling for any of the characters--but I will give it a chance.

Hoping to stop by and see what's on your needles and nightstand, too!