It Helps to Read Carefully

Woodworkers and quilters have an adage:  Measure twice, cut once.  I need a similar adage for my knitting:  Read twice, knit once.  If I did that I might not have to restart so many projects.

Drachenfels has been calling to me for some time.  Last year while in Cincinnati to visit my mom, I stopped by a LYS.  I had recently purchased the pattern and wanted to get yarn for it.  The wonderful staff at the shop helped me pick out three lovely skeins of sock yarn.  My intention was for this to be my knit while visiting Mom project after the Bat****Crazy socks were complete because it involves mostly garter stitch with increases/decreases at the ends of the rows.  But that wasn't to be since Mom passed away last May.   This shawl continued to call to me so I finally gave in and cast on.  In a moment of experienced knitter arrogance, I quickly glanced at the instructions and knit.  I did an kfb at the start of the row and a k2tog at the end.  After a couple rows, I started to wonder how could this possibly become a triangle since the rows weren't adding stitches.  Convinced that there must be a problem with the pattern, I jumped on Ravelry to look for errata.  Frustrated at not finding any, I sat down with the pattern again to see if there was a side note I missed.  Then I saw my mistake.  I was supposed to knit a kfbf at the beginning of the rows.  The project was pulled off the needles, ripped out and restarted.  Things are progressing nicely now that I am reading the instructions.

Since my last post I finished Trisha's hat.  I gave her the hat on the same weekend a few weeks back that Kristin got her 21 Color Slouch.  Kristin commented that she liked Trisha's hat and wanted me to knit her one just like it.  Trisha said she liked Kristin's so I suggested that they trade.  Both said "No!" They liked the hats I made them but wanted ones like the other had.  I guess that means I will be making two more hats.   I may make slight variations in the colors so that they can tell them apart.

Not to leave Blake out, I asked him if he would like a hat.  He said he'd rather have gloves.  I took him down to my stash and he picked out a skein of Tosh Sock in Charcoal.  I grabbed my copy of Homespun Handknit and showed him the Good Basic Glove pattern.  He liked the version with the slipped rib up the back of the hand.  Before he left that weekend to head back to college, I traced his hand on a sheet of paper to have something to use as a gauge for finger length.

There are now 3 active projects on the needles.  This should keep me occupied for a while.

Angels Are Near

  One of my friends included in my Christmas gift a little something for the birds that visit my yard.  It is bird seed disk.  Even though I spend the majority of my time at the back of the house, I decided to hang the disk on the front tree.  I added a suit rack.  The next day I noticed a visitor, a female cardinal. People say that cardinals mean angels are nearby.   It was a nice thought, especially since this Christmas was a bit difficult since it was the first Christmas without my mom.

A couple days ago, the weather turned bitterly cold and we got a little a bit of snow.  This morning while retrieving the paper I noticed that our front porch had a feathered visitor.  I don't know if it was a cardinal.  Whatever type of bird it was hopped up to the sidelight window.

Over the New Year weekend, my brother Joe visited.  I took him downtown to the main library to see the train display.  He loves trains and enjoyed watching the display while I browsed for a book.

The 21 Color Slouch is done.  It took a bath and got blocked.  Now it needs shipped to Kristin.

Trisha's hat is next on the list to finish.  It hibernated a few weeks while I worked on the hats for Kristin and her boyfriend.  It took a little while this morning to get my stranded knitting groove back.  The biggest issue I have is getting the tension correct.  I hold both colors on my left hand and knit continental.  It is especially troubling with the finer yarns, like the fingering that I'm using for Trisha's hat.

Before getting back to Trisha's hat, I made a little something out of a mini skein I was given.  Last month Destination Yarn had a trunk show at 614 Knit Studio.  The owner gave a little gift to everyone who made a purchase during the trunk show.  I got a mini skein of Dragonfly Fibers in a lovely pink with black spots.

It was just enough to make a cup cozie.  It will go to work with me to keep my tea warm.  I love how it knit up.  It looks like strawberry ice cream with chocolate chunks.  Very yummy!!

Post Christmas Post

The basic routine for Christmas was the same this year as in past years, but there were a few differences.  The most notable for me was that it was the first year without my mom.  I've been missing her a lot lately.  I'm sure it is because of the holidays.  I catch myself having little conversations in my head like we used to do over the phone.  Her voice isn't really there.  I just imagine what she would say or ask.  She always wanted to know how the kids were doing and she always told me about the birds or deer she'd see in her yard.  

Other differences this Christmas are harbingers of things to come.  Kristin has a boyfriend and she divided her break between home and his place.  Trisha's job at a hospital means that she will have to work holidays occasionally.  Blake is more social now that he is in college and didn't spend as much time at home with us, and when he did he was usually asleep on the couch.  Ed and I are going to have to get used to the quiet of just the two of us.

Last year I was able to get everything on my Christmas To Do list checked off.  This year not so much.  The reason is that I am back to working full time.  I didn't bake all the cookies I had planned, which is alright though because we have way too many leftover.  I didn't send out cards but I'm contemplating sending out New Year's greetings.  I didn't knit anything for my family.  Kristin's boyfriend got a hat but that was as much as I got done.

The boyfriend's hat was Bankhead using a skein of yarn that a friend gave me.  I didn't realize that I had this was the second time I make this pattern until I created the Ravelry project.  It works up very nicely.  It will be my Go To hat pattern.

I have hats in the works for the girls.

Kristin is getting the 21 Color Slouch.  I am going to have a hard time parting with this but she needs something for on her head while walking to class.  The only downside of this pattern is all the ends to weave in.

I am thinking about making another hat like this but pre-joining the yarn using Russian joins.  I have a lot of worsted weight in the basement that I can use.

I am haven't touched the hat for Trisha in a while.  I'll post pictures once there is progress.

Finally, I cast on something for myself.  It is a lightweight scarf knit with Habu.  A sample which caught my eye was hanging at my LYS.  Once I saw the name of the pattern I knew I had to make it:  Charlotte.  Charlotte was my mom's name.

First Snowfall for the Season

The first snowfall of the season arrived overnight.  There isn't a lot of accumulation.  It is enough, though, to make it feel a bit like Christmas.

Feeling the Christmas spirit has been a bit tough for me this year.  I've always heard that after losing someone you love, the first year is always the hardest.  It is very true.  I am missing my mom terribly and can't get motivated to prepare for Christmas.  I know I have to get moving because Christmas is two weeks from today.  Fortunately my children are old enough to help with decorations and baking.

I am trying to knit something for each of them for Christmas.  I may end up wrapping the yarn with an IOU for their hats.  This is the start of a hat for Trisha.  Thinking about it now, I should have started with Kristin's, then did Blake's and finished with Trisha's.  Kristin will be leaving first after Christmas followed by Blake.  

Now that I got a few other projects done, I can focus on these hats.

Here are the (almost) finished projects.  All that is left is a bit of sewing and blocking.

This cowl was the class project for the Craftsy stranded knitting class I took.  I really love the way it turned out.  I used Jeny's super stretchy bind off for the top.  It looks a bit puckered but hopefully will block out nicely.  It will take a soak later today after I weave in the ends of yarn on the inside.  This may become a Christmas gift for a friend.  I'm still trying to decide between this and the next project.

The Tunisian cowl is still waiting to have the buttons sewn on, ends woven in and to be blocked.  This is the other candidate for my friend's Christmas gift.

I also finished the Fall Run cowl.  It has a few ends to weave in and also needs to take a soak.  This will go to my niece/Goddaughter.  Since the variegated colorway is called Shark Infested Waters, and my niece loves Shark Week, I thought it would be an appropriate gift for her.

Now I'm off to get my day started.  Enjoy your day!