Happiness

Is yarn delivered to my door!

I have heard many a knitter sing the praises of Socks that Rock hand-dyed sock yarn, but it is a hard to find yarn, and I was never able to get my hot little hands on a single skein. Nevermore! As an anniversary/Christmas/early birthday present, Raul gave me a membership to the Rockin' Sock Club. What do I get as a member, you ask? Well, over the course of the next year, I will receive 6 shipments of a skein of hand dyed yarn plus sock pattern (both are available only to sock club members exclusively) and misc. goodies. Here is a pic of my first installment:



The yarn is gorgeous and the pattern is awesome. I will keep you posted!

Entrelac

One half of a pair of socks:


Please note that Raul is posing using the instructions I heard given for foot models in 'America's Top Model'. Doesn't the pose really showcase the sock?

The cuff is entrelac. I have been wanting to try this style of knitting out for a while, and this sock seemed like a good opportunity. It looks complicated, but it's actually pretty easy. I have some plane time coming up (I have one last interview on the west coast this Wednesday), so hopefully its mate will be done by the end of the week.

To maintain consistency, I will now complain about the weather. It is cold! The other day, my pants brushed the door as I was leaving the house, and they froze to the doorknob. That is just not right. Things warmed up a little today - it was a balmy 20 degrees. Thank goodness for the heat wave.

Childs' Placket Neck Pullover and Baby Bonnet

My first two FO's of the new year! Inspired by a friend's pregnancy - my oldest friend, in fact. We have photo documentation of the two of us dressed as elves and singing at the local mall with our kindergarten class. And I have known her husband since the 7th grade. Old friends, I tell you.

Childs' Placket Neck Pullover:




Close-up of placket neck:


Specs:
Pattern: Placket Neck Pullover (link is to pdf of pattern) from Joelle Hoverson's Last Minute Knitted Gifts.
Size: 6-12 monoths
Yarn: Magic Garden Buttons yarn in color melon
Needles: Size 6 (the pattern called for size 7s, but I got gauge with 6s.)
Comments: So, when knitting baby knits, I have started asking myself the question - will I knit this again when I get to have a baby? With this sweater, I initially thought no way. The pattern was a little fussy, and it took me a couple reads to understand some of the instructions. And the pattern called for beads to be sewn onto the placket neck to function as buttons, but there were no buttonholes - you were supposed to smash the small bead/buttons through the spaces in between the stitches. I opted to omit the beads/buttons, and figured the baby could be cool, ala the 1980s and wear the sweater polo style. I wonder if a pullover style sweater is all that practical for a baby in the first place - do pullovers turn dressing your baby into a wrestling match? I will have to ask my friend once she has her baby and it grows into this sweater. So, in summary, this sweater was definitely not as easy as the Elizabeth Zimmerman sweater I knit last year, but well, I am beginning to realize that she is a genius that few can match. Despite my many criticisms, I am really happy with how this sweater turned out, and the yarn is fun and was nice to work with.

Baby Bonnet
Profile (modeled by desk lamp):


Pattern: Baby Bonnet from Joelle Hoverson's Last Minute Knitted Gifts (see link above)
Yarn: Magic Garden Buttons in color melon and Louet Gems light worsted in green (from my stash - remnants of the EZ baby sweater.)
Needles: Size 10.5 for cast on, size 7 circular for body of bonnet, and size 7 double pointed needs for the i-cord trim.
Comments: I chose this pattern because it was in the same book as the sweater, and I had it handy on vacation. Also, I was interested in trying my hand at attaching i-cord trim (much easier but much more tedious than I had expected.) I substituted seed stitch for the garter stitch that the pattern called for along the base of the bonnet to better match the Placket Neck Pullover. All in all, it was a fun pattern (but also a little fussy), and a very quick knit - I was able to finish it in a couple of hours.

Latest news on the knitting front - I am making a hat for my grandpa. He is a smart man with a big head (26" circumference.) I was a little overzealous in my attempt to make a hat large enough, don't you think?



I am hoping to be able to turn this into a baby sweater, and I am going to procure some yarn this weekend so that Grandpa may get something like Raul's alpaca creation.

Happy Wednesday!

The Weather Is Not My Friend

Raul and I just got back from a belated anniversary celebration at the place where we were married in Big Sur. It was WONDERFUL! And it provided me with a much needed attitude adjustment. So, as much fun as it has been to throw myself a never-ending pity party these past several months re: school and the match and traveling and not really remembering why I did this in the first place, I am so over it. And I am super excited to match - I feel like life is finally starting!

But no worries - I have not given up complaining! Are you ready for my latest rant? It's against the weather - over the past several months, we've experienced several ice storms and snow storms and thick fog that grounds airplanes. And yesterday, California reminded us that it's not all sunshine and happiness by allowing us the opportunity to experience the monsoon that was working its way down the CA coast. It made for a very exciting trip back to San Jose. For evidence, see photo below (photo taken from inside car.)



I had forgotten what strong winds such storms can generate. We came upon several closed roads due to fallen trees and downed powerlines. And multiple car accidents - it was actually reminiscent of all the cars that run off the road here in Iowa during a snow storm. Scary.

Unfortunately, our vacation required us to miss out on caucusing. Too bad because I have heard it is a very interesting (though time consuming) experience, and supposedly some of the campaign groups offer really excellent treats. We are happy with the outcome though. Hope rocks.

And a quick note to my brothers and SIL - thank you for the most awesomest present ever (but no disrespect meant to other presents.) They gave me a gift certificate to Knit Picks - so that I may buy yarn and needles and knitting accessories at my leisure. And yes, I have spent more hours than I would like to admit looking through both the paper catalogue and online store revising my shopping list. Very exciting. Thank you!!

And speaking of knitting, I have two FOs to show you - and only 5 days into the new year!