Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Tidings and joy and all that junk

Hi there!
The Tall Guy, Annie and I have been in NH since last Wednesday and will be heading back to DC after a New Years eve in Boston with friends. I just realized that I knit a good amount of gifts this year and managed to take NO photos of the projects! Alas, two pairs of socks, a few pairs of mitts, a hat (I'll get a photo of that soon!) and nothing to show for it. Oh well.
In the meantime, I have plenty of vacation time knitting happening right now, so hopefully there will be something to talk about soon!
I hope everyone is having a happy, fun and safe holiday season!

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Do you remember this sweater?

In February, 2008 I was packing boxes, dealing with a very neurotic dog (no, really, trust me), newly engaged and was a wee bit stressed out. So, as any good knitter would do, I cast on a sweater.
And for the last 22 months or so, I would pick it up, knit a bit and forget about it. I've knit a lot since then, but haven't seemed to be able to finish this sweater until now.
Just a few days ago, I needed a mindless hanging out with friends straight knit no counting sort of project and I dug up the second sleeve and knit a bit. I then looked at what I had and realized I was about 30 rounds of a sleeve and a bit of seaming away from a sweater! How sad that I had let this languish for so long, but so exciting to see that with little effort I'll have another garment to bring to NH for what I expect to be a chilly Christmas!
Details:
Pattern: Gathered Pullover, Interweave Winter 2007
Yarn: As in the published pattern, Brown Sheep Top of the Lamb Sport (100% wool; 154 yd [141 m]/50 g): in the Peacock colorway... I'm not sure how much I used I need go back and see if I have any stray balls lying around!
Needles: I think size 7's.
Modifications: I made everything longer by at least two inches. If you look at the photos in the pattern, it's a bit cropped looking, which isn't what I was looking for. I wanted something I could pull over my hands and be cozy in. This is perfect!
In general this was not a difficult knit at all. I got bored in a few places and was freaked out at prospect of seaming a sweater... I now know that was a silly thing, as the seaming was really not that bad at all!
Ps... for those of you not in the DC area... yes, this is a TON of snow for here! We got at least 18 inches this weekend, which I've only seen one other time in my 7+ years here. A great way to put us into the holiday spirit!

Monday, December 14, 2009

My little monster

It's hard to believe we've had Annie for two years now! So much has happened in such a short amount of time...
This photo is from Saturday. The Tall Guy took her on a (chilly!) birthday mountain bike adventure.

Happy "Birthday" Annabelle!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Fall Shawl

My Mother-in-law is one of the nicest, sweetest people I know (no, really, I'm super lucky to have married into a great family). While in Detroit this past weekend, we exchanged Christmas gifts with the Tall Guy's parents. So, what does a girl give her mother-in-law? A shawl, of course!


Details: Pattern is the Forest Canopy
Yarn is Misti Alpaca's sport weight silk/baby alpaca I used about a skein and a half and I have no memory of the number of repeats I did... I think about 11.
It's a pretty fast knit that's easily memorized (this is the second time I've knit it) and I didn't do any modifications on it.
These pictures are leaving me thinking I should have kept it! (I kid I kid...)