Scribbles & Bits

See Ya On the Flipside (If I Haven't Gone Insane)

First I absolutely have to say a big big thank you to Super Jen!  She sent me a copy of Traditional Scandinavian Knitting which has really kick started me into wanting to try this technique!  I won't be quite crazy enough to try it while I'm on painkillers.  But man, after that?  I think it might just be "Katie, bar the door!"

I guess Mr. is getting used to me.  He just barely batted an eye when I stated that I was planning to knit Christmas presents for the 5 nearest and dearest of my family members.  Ok, maybe he blanched a little bit.  But I'm not knitting sweaters.  Ok, one is a short sleeve pullover (Isabella from Knitty, for my aunt, to be exact), but nothing really REALLY complicated, like intricate cables or lace.  Ok, well, one of the gifts is Shedir for my grandfather, and I'm turning Branching Out into a stole (three pattern repeats!  Woohoo!) for my grandmother, but I've already finished the gift for my uncle (this helmet liner for his hard hat when he's at work) and I'm halfway done with the gift for my cousin (giving Halfdome another try).  And I'm throwing in a little something for me (this short row hat, since I love me some short rows)!  So I'm totally sure I can pull this all off while I'm laid up!  Which dovetails nicely with my next point, which is hopefully tomorrow will be flawless and I'll get this surgery out of the way!  So if you have a chance to think good thoughts for me, I'd appreciate it!  And I swear: pictures when I get back!

Are Those Clickable Pictures on Your Screen? Or Are You Just Happy to See Me?

This is the hat.  This is the too-big hat.  It's supposed to be close-fitting.   I got gauge, but I made the biggest size (for bigger heads or people with a lot of hair).  It has become a cloche.  I should have taken a picture with it pulled all the way down instead of trying to style it somehow because in the real world it's not going to stay like that.  I'd kind of thought it would be a good present for my cousin, but I realized that while he is quite tall and his feet are huge, his head is probably about my size.  Plus I'd forgotten that I'd knit him a scarf in his school colors, so I'm going to try a new one knit to match that.  Oh yeah, because I didn't mention it, this is Halfdome from Knitty. 

Still with me?  I'm impressed!  Then let's move on to work in progress one: the Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.  Perk #1: A very easy project to memorize quickly.  Perk #2: you don't have to work on it very long before you see progress.  Con #1: It is definitely NOT a last minute knitted gift (although, in the book's defense, it's in the More-Than-Eight-Hour category and does indeed say to get a head start on it because it takes a while to make.  But really, as slow as I knit, nothing is particularly last-minute-compatible for me anyway, so I haven't been holding the book to that anyway.  But I digress.).  Con #2: I kind of got bored with it.  So that's me and not the scarf, but that means it's just sort of stalled out.

So the natural progression was to cast on for something else.  This is Branching Out from Knitty and is actually intended as a gift.  I tried to finger block it so the pattern shows up a little better.  Hence the mild wonkiness of it.  Now this pattern I love!  It's challenging, but not too challenging.  The pattern repeat is only 10 rows (even rows are knit borders and purls).  The yarn is awesome!  And I started it on the 5th and I'm over halfway done!  I think I've got about 7 more hours of knitting and it will be done!  So of course I'm a little bummed about that, but I've decided that I'm going to triple the pattern and make a stole for my grandmother for Christmas.  I've got more than enough yarn (might even make one for me!) and more than enough love for this pattern!