Cabled Mittens

Day Three? Cable Mittens
Originally uploaded by Emmjae

Oh how I love my cabled mitten(s) and can't wait until they're a wearable pair. It's unbelievably cold right now and I'd wear them around the house if they were done. I'd even take a break from knitting just so I could wear them! Hopefully mitt one will be done tomorrow!

A little winter, a little spring....

I think my holiday knitting took a lot out of me. I haven't bought yarn in months and way more months if you count the fact that my last purchase was for Christmas presents. I think it's bummed me a little bit kind of the same way where everything you want to make for dinner is something you'd have to go buy. While I'm sorting out my feelings, I've started a few new projects to take my mind off things (and using the yarns my mom brought from my aunt's goodwill purchases).

I finished the other Better Bucket Hat that I was making for my mom and ended up giving it to my mother in law. I have another hank of the malabrigo I used and don't mind making the hats at all. Plus, my mom's climate is not as chilly as ours so it should get love much sooner.



My Hey, Teach! really hasn't made much progress but I'm looking at it as a spring knit, so I have some time.



Currently, this is my obsession. I really wanted mittens & they'll kind of match my hat in yarn and color, and by golly it'll probably be the only thing I wear this winter that could kind of look like it's meant to go together. I'm a lot further than this today, but haven't pulled the camera out yet.

One down, so many more to go....

I finished my second Better Bucket Hat and it's soft and gorgeous. As soon as the camera stops being a twit I'll post a picture of that and my Hey, Teach!. It's made with a Rowan tweed that's a little rough on the hands so it's a little slow going. I am through the first bit of the lace chart, so we'll see how it goes. There's a blizzard warning tonight into tomorrow so I'm anticipating a lot of laundry folding and knitting. I'm quite sure I can manage to cast on for the mittens I want in that amount of time. :)

Finished Clap

Finished Clap
Originally uploaded by Emmjae

I am so very happy that my Clapotis is finished! It was fun and easy and completely customizable for the size I wanted with the yarn I was using. I can't wait to make another one with a more delicate, drapey yarn, but for now this will keep me snuggly!

Christmas is over and life is slowly back to normal

Well if normal means that a lot of things seem to be going wrong at once.....

My mom surprised us with a visit on Christmas night. I haven't seen my mom in about 8 months, I think. Our visits average about once a year especially with gas prices as high as they were and us both in tight financial situations. My house was a disaster since we had tore through presents on Christmas morning and then headed to my MILs, back for a shower, and off to my FILs. So we got home and did an emergency super clean up and visited with my mom and her BF for a little while. The next day my mom wanted me to make spaghetti (supposedly I make good spaghetti, but it's not something I like) and after the oven had 'preheated' I found out that my oven was all but cold.

We had to replace our ignitor thingy which wasn't too expensive but was a pain in the rear to shop for. I ended up calling around and Sear's wouldn't give a price unless I gave them my name and all my personal info (which I refused), but a peek on their website got a price without signing over my first born. Their price was almost 20 dollars higher than I paid with a local business (would have been over 20 more with shipping I imagine- local place rocked and they have internet ordering if anyone needs it!). Lowe's was only a wee bit more expensive but shipping was unnecessary if I could get the part locally. So on New Year's Eve we got our part and E changed it out without incident and I once again have a working oven! He got lots of lizards for that one.

My mom brought me a load of thrift store yarn from my aunt which included yummy yarns including some I had never purchased because they're a little too pricey for my usual budget and some I didn't know existed. It's nice to have a surprise of stash enhancement since I haven't had the $ to purchase in awhile. So I started making my mom a better bucket hat (it's almost finshed now)

and will make her a Brighton Bag. I'm planning on making R a scarf, but I'm kind of waiting until he buys the coat he's after. I want to make sure it matches.

But first and foremost I'm working on a clapotis for the Newer Knitters Clapotisphobia KAL. Anyone is free to join us, we just started and it will run through March.

Another present done

I've finished A's set, the knitting aspect anyway. I need to hit up the craft store and get some elastic because the ribbing is too broad for her. I also want to get some ribbon to spiffy it up.

I've started making Mike a cabled hat and made the pattern myself so we'll see how it works out when I'm done. I'd like to be able to put up some patterns, but I'll need to test knit again to make sure what I wrote down works.

I've finished half of A's X-mas present

She really wants socks, but her Christmas list asks for legwarmers and armwarmers. Well, actually it asked for leg & arm wormers but I'll go with what she wants rather than what is said. She also needs a warmer hat, so I've made the hat and started on the legwarmers tonight. I don't have the right dpns (well I do but they're metal) and I gave magic loop another try and didn't like that, so I'm making them flat and seaming them. I'm using the 220 in Country Rose, so that gets a yarn I don't like out of my hair and gets me A's presents without spending any extra cash which is uber rare these days. I probably won't be able to get the fingerless gloves done before xmas, but I'll make them for her before she goes back to school so she can have her whole set.

M wants me to make him a "yarn toy", so I've got to figure out what I can make for him. I'd prefer crochet since it goes faster for me, but I've got to find something a- I can do b- can do quickly and c- that he'll like. I'm sure I can find something if I just sit down and look.

All the updates and pictures I promised

Tons of stuff to post this time. I'm finished with my planned holiday gifts. Well, some still need to be washed and blocked, but the knitting is done!

Here's Lori's Shrug:


Here's Dale's hat, I had to dye the orange and I screwed up which blue to use, but it's a fun hat nonetheless.

Yarn:


Hat:


Sarah's Birthday Scarf:


This purple yarn is knitpicks gloss in cosmos, which I used for Mom's Shawl:


Nathan's Cardigan is coming along nicely. It's not finished, but I preemptively decided it wouldn't be done before Christmas, so hopefully it can be snuck in.


I also decided I would throw in some mug cozies for the kids' teachers, mugs still have to be purchased!


And I also made my first handspun!


Made myself a Bucket Hat which is the most fabulous thing ever! I wear it all the time and I've never itched once. I'm completely in love with malabrigio. Must buy more when I can!


I also made my first Thanksgiving meal last week. After 9 years of marriage I finally made a damn turkey.


And I started the shawl for Lori for her wedding gift. I have been busy. Keeps my brain busy so I don't have to think about all the other stressful things. Everyone's brain needs a break sometimes.

I've been a good knitter, but a horrible blogger

In fact, I'm honestly surprised that I've done this well at all. Blogging has never been in my nature and I only have a twitter account to see Casey's updates. I've been chugging along trying to get Christmas knitting done because it's going to be a hell of a tight holiday with things the way they are and the way they seem to be tanking around us. Everyone seems to be getting laid off which certainly isn't helping me find a job considering the last time I had one was four years ago. I don't seem to be too employable at the moment.

That being said, I'm still diligently working on Nathan's Cardigan. I really want to get it done before Christmas, but it's at the end of the list because Nathan's mommy knows my knitting list and will be happy to accept it even if it's not under the tree on the 25th.

I'm also working on a shawl for my mom made from Knitpicks Gloss Sock Yarn in Cosmos. It's just a plain garter stitch triangular shawl, but I do plan on running ribbon through the eyelets along the increases to make it prettier. I'm making her boyfriend a striped hat, like last year, but in the team colors he likes. I had to dye the "pumpkin" color to make it more orange-y (it was a darker paler orange) and it didn't take too well, so I'm going to have to give it another go tomorrow. The original color in the yarn came out some in the water, which I've never had a knitpicks yarn do, but I don't know if that affected anything at all.

I'm making my mother in law a shrug and am really keeping my fingers crossed that I can do both sides the same as I made some changes to the pattern. It is quite beautiful and I really want it to work out.

I also started a scarf for my sister in law, not necessarily a Christmas present, but I thought it would be something she would like and she does have a birthday just 5 days after Christmas.

I will hopefully get some pictures up soon. I've been lazy with the camera since my kitchen is kind of a wreck and that's where I get the best lighting. Once I give the batteries a charge tomorrow and get my counters all back in order, I have a lot of making up to do.

I think I am doing Christmas Knitting this year.

I just can't avoid it. I have more gifts I want to give than my budget really allows for, and there are people that I really do want to make special gifts for. So, since none of them are readers of my blog (and anyone that would read my blog won't find their details here, silly). I really really really really wanted to make stockings for Christmas but I really think it is just going to have to wait. I want to do gifts first and if I can then crank out stockings, I'll be a super hero.

D wants a hat with Denver Broncos colors and I think that is completely doable with Cascade 220. I am a bit nervous ordering since I will only see it how my computer shows it, but I will perhaps get some Ravelry input.

I want to make Mia for M and maybe L, but I'm really not sure what yarn to go with yet. I'd like to use some DIC smooshy, but I worry about how much I'll need because I really can't go over 1 hank each.

For A, I want to make legwarmers and a hat that I have in a magazine (and I just can't remember which one right now!)

And little M loves toys, so he'll probably get some of those.

And I'd really like to make S and super chunky cabled scarf and hat, but we'll have to see, that may be a bday present.

and I do have super pictures to show, including Nathan's Cardigan, but I need to scoot for now!