Santa's Workshop

Well, here it is, the middle of NOVEMBER! Can you believe it? I have been steadily knitting to fill some of Santa's orders. As you can see, I've had lots of help from the "elves". I mean, how can you knit when there's a kitten on your knittin'? Christmas will be here soon and although my personal list of gifts to knit is short, several folks will be receiving hand-knit gifts because someone was thinking of them. My goal is to make the world cozy, so I hope that each gift brings a smile and some warmth to the recipient. My gift to myself is some personal knitting time after the holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh What A Day!

Whew...it's late...but I am just back from a quick trip to Atlanta, and Knitch, where I was lucky enough to spend the day with Claudia from Claudia Hand Painted Yarn, and unlocked the mystery of hand dyeing yarn. What a day! Claudia designs yummy colorways (see my previous post on the Chocolate Cherry). I learned so much and had a lot of fun. You get to use your creativity and get your hands dirty swishing color around to create color combinations. It was like a bunch of kids waiting for Christmas, waiting on the yarn to "cook" and then seeing what came out of the pot. I dyed three skeins. One is a 6-color colorway, primarily dark colors, with a pop of violet and turquoise. One is a "semi-solid", which is really a little more varigated than expected, in a plum, and the third is a "Knitch" colorway, which is only three colors, with a lime green and turquoise. I think I am going to make my Chevron Scarf from the plum colors...although there are two skeins of Socks That Rock earmarked for the project...I think it will be special to have yarn dyed by my own little happy hands! The Knitch yarn is destined for socks...A big thank you to Claudia...I think it is very generous of her to share her wisdom and talents with others...judging by my work so far, I don't think she has to worry about me putting her out of business ;-)

Home again, home again...

It's October 17th and it seems like it should be fall - cool air, leaves turning, pumpkins on porches - not so here in the South. Fall is my favorite season. I don't know why, but it reminds me of growing up in the Midwest with piles of leaves and back to school knee highs and trick or treating with a coat over your costume. I guess that's why I have had the urge to knit bags in wonderful fall colors. I love the browns and greens and oranges. Fall also reminds me of football games and homecoming mums...speaking of homecoming, I will be out of pocket for a few days. The husband and I are headed home for my, ahem, 20-year class reunion. There has been a lot of anxiety around here... I mean, what do you wear to face your prom date after 20 years? Anyhoo, I'll let you know how it goes. I have already packed my bag and selected my travel knitting (I love to knit on planes) I promised a friend some toddler socks, so that is the plan...and if I get bored with those, I have a bright red Odessa hat on the needles. So, I'll leave you with some pics of my fall bags (maybe it will actually drop below 80 degrees soon!)

A GOOD CAUSE

Breast cancer is a scary thing. I do not know many people who have not been affected in some manner. A family member, a friend, a neighbor. October is breast cancer awareness month. My hometown has decided to hold it's first annual "Junk in Your Trunk" benefit with proceeds to benefit local folks who may need assistance, whether it be gas money, a hotel room while taking treatments, a wig, those things that might not seem like much, but that can be a strain on many people, especially during trying times. It was mentioned that it was hard to find "chemo caps" locally. So, I thought, how about an Odessa hat. I think it is a beautiful hat on any given day, so why not as a chemo cap??? I hope it brightens someone's day.

PROGRESS?

Well, I'm not sure it counts as progress, but here are the two skeins of Socks That Rock all wound and ready to go...the Chevron Scarf has been on the backburner, although in the forefront of my thoughts, mainly due to a little endeavor my friends like to call a "home show". I have a friend who makes really yummy candles and really pretty jewelry, as well as a friend who makes wonderful natural soaps. We had a lot of people asking to see the goods, so instead of waiting for some sort of festival or bazaar, we decided to take the goods to the people, in their own home. It kind of works like all those kitchen goods, children's clothing parties I am sure everyone has attended. So, there is felting going on at my house....lots and lots of felting...fall bags, holiday bags, bags and bags and bags...and sadly, no Chevron Scarf...soon, though, soon...

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood!

There it was, sitting there all unsuspecting...two skeins of Socks That Rock...my very first skeins. I bought them to make the Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I can hardly wait to cast on! The colors are Terra Firma and Mesa...as you can see, Karma has already approved the yarn.

Oh, I got so excited about my yarn, that I almost forgot about the WIP...the Espresso Scarf. It is going fairly quickly and is a beautiful stitch pattern. The Cashmerino Aran is a lovely yarn to work with and I think it is going to make a very pretty scarf. I do think it would be even prettier in a lighter color so you could really see the stitch pattern.

Lil' Hat

A while back I came to the realization that baby socks were a much better gift idea than say blankets or sweaters. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I won't ever make sweaters or blankets, but given the time and monetary constraints, socks seem like a more practical idea. At first, I thought several pairs of socks would make a good gift...maybe even a pair for each day of the week....I then decided that what I needed was a hat/sock combo pack...thus the lil' hat. It is a pattern from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. Isn't it cute? The pattern calls for Mission Falls 1824 Cotton, but I decided to try some really yummy Manos del Uruguay Stria. Once again, I am not a fan of 100% cotton yarn...don't know what it is, but it is just a little fussy to work with. I did buy some Mission Falls Cotton as well, so maybe it will change my mind...