One Row and Only One Row

I am exhausted.  Completely exhausted.  I barely have the energy to knit (or crochet).  Our Thanksgiving holiday was jam-packed with lots of family activities, plus food galore.  My hands always seemed to be holding some tasty treat, a child, or a dish towel.

My sister-in-law and I did manage to find a few minutes to knit (though not uninterrupted) and go to Kaleidoscope Yarns (completely childless and quite).  During our brief knitting session, my row counter only moved once.  Just one row!  Luckily our LYS field trip provided me just enough of a knitting-high to last the rest of the weekend.  Come Sunday night that high had worn off, my hands were shaking, and I just had to knit AND crochet.  I worked a few rounds on the second Incognito Cowl, and many rounds of a Scrappy Crochet Stocking.

My husband's family is coming to stay with us for Christmas and 3 adults don't have stockings.  That's just down right sacrilegious.  So I dug deep into the bellows of my stash and found some variegated yarn that I purchased back in 2004 at a tent sale.  (Who can pass up discounted yarn?)  I've crocheted a stocking before using the Scrappy Crochet Stocking pattern and it's super fast, and super cute.  This one won't be made with yarn scraps tied together, so it should be even quicker.  They have to be - I need to make 2 more stockings, plus finish 3 cowls, knit 2 more pair of Bella's mittens, and 2 dishcloths all before Christmas.

This means less typing and more knitting (or crocheting).

Done

Done!  I'm going to take my chances that the recipient of these warm mittens will not be reading my blog until next week.

Now I've got to get some work done before returning to the Incognito Cowls.

Mitts for Me

Yesterday was family portrait day.  We spent an hour and a half walking and posing all around the Hard'Ack Recreation Area.  Hay bales, corners of buildings,  a foot bridge in the woods, a soccer wall, and large rusted construction pipes made for some very interesting backdrops.  Even though the sun was out, the wind was out twice as much.  We froze our butts off (faces, ears, and hands as well)!  I was wishing I had knit us all hats, scarves and mittens for both cuteness reasons and warmth.  Regardless, our photographers were amazing and I can't wait to see the proofs of the shoot.

Once back home, I made a b-line for the fire place, being sure to grab my knitting on the way over.  But I couldn't knit quite yet.  My hands were frozen and refused to work the needles.  Several minutes and many, many cubic feet of natural gas later, I could knit.  The dog joined me for a few rows of the second Bella's Mitten.

These mittens would have been perfect on the photo shoot - they are super warm and the maroon color would have been a gorgeous contrast to our black coats.

One Bella Down

Today's knitting was uneventful.  No screaming kids, no talkers, just knitting.  I was able to complete one mitten (although this picture doesn't show it).

Having finished one, there are a few things that I will do differently with the next pair.  The opening bells out considerably. I understand that this is to accommodate the forearm, but I'm worried it will stretch out.  To fix this, I might cast on with US size 8's instead of 9's.

As other knitters mentioned in their reviews, the hand and thumbs are short.  I did add 2 rows in each of these.  The last 2 finishing rows of the thumb make it pointy.  If you're a nose picker, this point might be handy, but it's useless to me and I think it looks stupid.

The fabric created using a bulky yarn and a worsted-weight needle is tight and should be nice and warm this winter.

A Place For Everything

I brought my mom to the dentist this morning and started knitting the minute she went in for her root canal.  The dead silence of the waiting room was such a welcome change from yesterday's school girl screaming match.  But this was too good to be true.  Four rounds of knitting later, a man sits next to me decides that now is a good time for a marathon conversation.  (I now understand that he was probably nervous for whatever procedure he was about to endure and talking was his outlet.)  

He starts out the conversation by asking me if I am missing a knitting needle.  I wasn't and couldn't think why he would ask this question - maybe he found a needle somewhere and was holding on to it until he came across a knitter?  He pointed up to his own head and said that I had one stuck in my hair.  I laughed and explained to him that my hair was the perfect storage place to hold a cable needle while I was knitting because even if I forgot it up there, it would remain with me instead of on the coffee table in the dentist's waiting room.  Well that little verbal exchange opened up his flood gates and for the next 15 minutes, he read me tidbits from Car & Driver magazine.  Had I know he was going to read to me, I should have handed him my latest Interweave Knits.

Between the dentist and school pick-up, I was able to knit most of the cuff/arm piece of Bella's mittens.  So far so good.  I should have at least the thumb gusset and 1/2 of the hand done by tomorrow.  I'd like to knit tonight, but I can't seem to find my cable needle!

Mitten specs:  Bella's Mittens, Malabrigo Chunky in Pagoda

I Should Have Stayed In Bed

Bella's Mittens

I will warn you that this post is more bitch than it is stitch. My day has been plagued with issues. To start, my regular treadmill at the gym was taken so I used the one next to it. After a brief warmup I broke out into a run only to literally break the treadmill. 4 strides, 1 loud bang and 12 eyes staring at me. That ended that run. 

The next issue I will kindly abridge for reasons of tact. (After all, we don't know each other that well.). I urge you to listen to your body, or wear Depends. Otherwise, things can get messy, stinky and possibly embarrassing very quickly. I'll let you fill in the blanks.    

Lastly, my 15 minutes of me-knitting time was spent listening to preschool girls scream and squeal. I wanted to knit muzzles for them. The kicker was watching their parents stand there and do nothing. Despite the irritation, I was able to cast-on and knit 6 rows of a lovely, cabled pair of mittens. Tomorrow I am taking my mom to the dentist for a root canal.  If the dentist gives her enough novacaine, I should have plenty of scream-free knitting time.

Mitten Specs:  Bella's Mittens, Malabrigo Chunky in Pagoda

I Picked-up at Pick-Up

We recently switched our son from one school to another. At his old school, I used to convene with the other moms at pick-up - chatting about playdates, homework and husbands. At his new school however, I've decided to declare those 15 minutes as all mine! So instead of standing outside waiting for junior, I sit comfortably in my truck, sipping coffee, listening to NPR and knitting.

Today I was able to knit 11 rounds of an Incognito Cowl (1 of 4 for nephew Christmas gifts). I would have knit more rounds but I am using Denise needles (an upsell I got talked into) instead of my much preferred Addi's. If I am to get these cowls finished by Christmas, I'm either going to have to switch to Addi's or not leave the schoolyard at drop-off and knit all day. That's homework I'd be glad to do.

Knit Not Lost

Despite the long vacations between posts, I have not forgotten how to knit.  It seems rather, that I've forgotten how to blog.  Like exercise, vitamins, and sleep, I should be knitting and blogging daily in order to remain "healthy" (or at the very least sane).  Going forward, I will try to do just that - exercise, take my vitamins, knit, blog, and sleep.  Nothing else!

Going backward, here is the sweater I knit for nephew O for his 4th birthday.  This picture makes the sweater look huge, but fortunate for tiny little nephew O, the sweater is between a 4 and 6T.  At his current growth rate, he should get a year or 2 of wear out of this one.

Duplicate stitching on the B was interesting.  It wasn't difficult, it was just time consuming.  If you've never done this technique before, I highly recommend watching a video tutorial. Stitching side to side (top and bottom of "B") produced a much nicer, flatter fabric than did the verticals.  The verticals puff out a bit due to the yarn crossing back and forth on the inside of the sweater.

The pattern overall is wonder, easy, and quick.  No seaming what-so-ever.  I will actually be using this pattern again to make a sweater for niece A (nephew O's little sister).

Sweater Specs:  Children's Neck Down Pullover, Dream In Color Classy in Happy Forest, Berroco Vintage in Wild Blueberry.