Fingerless Mitts

I finished these a couple of weeks ago. LA had a cold snap over Thanksgiving and they definitely kept me warm while walking the dogs.

The pattern is available from Dancing with Ewe yarns.
I knit them with Jupiter Moon Spring 2009 cormo, which is also what I used to make my Cedar Leaf Shawlette.

I have about 2 ounces left, so I'm on the hunt for a way to make a hat with what is left! It's going to be close...Any ideas?

Hippy Ring

I haven't posted in forever, but I have done a little knitting in the interim.

The guard broke on Rob's wedding ring, so I knit him a temporary one until we can get to a jewelry store. It felted when he washed his hands.

He calls it his "hippy ring" and he likes it better than his regular gold ring. Hm. Maybe I'll knit myself one that matches.

My First Socks

I started these socks for me late last summer, so I'd have practice before I attempted Rob's Christmas (okay, birthday) socks. I got one done and then stopped. Rob didn't love the yarn -- I'd originally bought it for a sweater, but he'd strongly discouraged that. I wasn't in love with the pattern and I thought the finished sock was too long in the toe and too tight in the calf. Rob and I joke that I have 50 pound ankles, but it's kind of true. I was thinking about frogging it, but then I tried it on again and decided it wasn't bad. Maybe I'll get around to knitting the other one...

How Do I Spin This?

This is how much Idget sheds in just a couple of days. He's not a very large dog, about 15 pounds, but I'm convinced that it would only take a month to get enough yarn for a scarf if I only knew how to spin it!

Just in Time for Summer

When I showed Rob the pattern for MK Carroll's Matilda hat, he said, "That looks like a hat you would lose."

He had a point. When we drove across country to see my family for Christmas two years ago, I left a very similar brown cloche in a pool hall in Memphis. In a strange twist, I found the exact same hat two days later at the French Market in New Orleans, only to leave it in a restaurant when we got back to Los Angeles.

Undeterred, I ordered enough black yarn last summer to make one for my business partner and one for me. I finished hers in a week, but as of March, I hadn't even cast on the one for me. I just couldn't bring myself to knit it in black. Brown is my color of choice for a cloche and I'd knit mine in brown no matter how much it tempted fate.

I had some chunky alpaca laying around that I'd been meaning to find a use for. I knit it on larger needles and used black to attach the brim to the top, for a slightly different aesthetic. I felted it slightly and will post pix of the final product once I get Rob to snap one of me wearing it.

I have a pretty tight tension, so the edge of the brim rolled a bit, but it worked itself out in the felting process! One bummer is that I ran out of brown a few rows before the brim was done. I used black for those last rows instead and wear the black patch over one ear. Surprisingly, it doesn't look like a mistake!

Practical Applications

Rob wore holes in the toes and heels of his favorite socks, but I was able to knit back the worn parts even though the socks themselves weren't hand-knit. I am woman, hear me roar!

My Knitting Bag

In the 70's, my sister made a purse of an old pair of jeans. I decided to make a similar bag for my knitting. You know, the whole reduce, reuse, recycle thing.

I chopped off the legs and sewed them shut. The handle is braided strips of fabric cut from the legs. It's a great bag with lots of pockets for scissors, tapestry needles, etc.

I did make one HUGE mistake: I used velcro to keep it closed and my yarn catches on it all the time. Eventually I'll have to rip it out and put in snaps.