Tah-dah!

Here it is [drumrolls, audience murmur quiets down]--

Alex's hat. He is the "spice"* of DD2, and already has my vote (I've never met him--yet) because he is so good to my daughter. The stripes are the colors of their school, Tufts University. Aren't those mighty snazzy colors for a school? (I once went to a school with orange and black--yich!)

(Technical info: 1x1 ribbing, size 6 circular, Bouton d'Or Ksar for the beige, scrap brown and light blue).

It's already off in a 2-day shipping box so that he will actually receive it before he leaves college for his winter break plans. Talk about cutting things close!

OK, I'm really proud of myself because yesterday I found I had messed it up (1x1 ribbing, circular, how could I mess up? but I do'ed--sigh) . When I got home, I got to the row with the mistakes (above and below each other, thankfully) and unraveled it. I had inserted a stitch holder below that I think would keep it from getting out of hand on the unraveling thing, right? Then, with my crochet hook I re-did it, telling myself all the time, "If it doesn't fix it, you can take it to the LYS and get help. Don't worry." But when I was all done, I smoothed it out and--voila! it was indeed fixed. Can't even find the place where it was. [Smiles bashfully but clearly pleased with self.]

Now I'm off to knit the last rows of DS's Christmas request--the charcoal gray scarf in two stitches, which I think I did pretty cleverly. This will require blocking though so I gotta finish it today and get it in the mail Monday.

Cheers, all, and happy (holiday) knitting!

*"Spice" comes from a boss long ago who always invited us to holiday parties by saying "Spouses and spices are welcome too." I think that's perfect.

Quickie

Just to say that this last week before the "winter holidays" (Christmas vacation) will be jam-packed, and this weekend has been no different. I got two rows done on a hat I'm finishing up for DD2's beloved, Alex. And I have so much knitting I want to get to!

But there are cookies to bake for the exchange (some of us teacher/parents figured out how to get a variety of cookies that we can then divvy up for gifts to give teachers of our offspring). There is the tree to decorate (OK, that can wait, at least a few days), gifts to mail to out of state family (can't wait), gifts to wrap for family here (wait till later), tests to grade (no way! do it now!), and some other school related work that needs to get wrapped up. So . . . my Sunday (as was my Saturday) is going to be taken up. At least I can have the Christmas music going in the background.

Knitting Knotes:
My stepsister says that my little niece LOVES her new watermelon poncho (she's turned two and wants to do everything by herself--a poncho makes this possible!) and hat, and that the pink booties are almost too small already (waaaaah! I was so proud of those!). I had sewn jingle bells and little flower appliques on them, and Leonie loves wearing them and jingling around the room. But since I still know how to knit ;^) I guess I'll just have to put another pair on my to-do list.

Talked to DD2 this morning and she has been knitting at college!! Of course she is knitting a scarf for the aforementioned beloved, for his Christmas present. And she is looking forward to coming home for vacation and doing what has become a lovely tradition--knitting in front of the fireplace with her sister, DD1, friend Emily, and me. DD3 joins us too, and sometimes even DH sits with us and chats. Ahhhh! Only five days before that is all a possibility.

Stash Enhancement Continues: I'll take photos when I can--some loverly stuff! What IS it about Tencel? It's a great "development" in fiber.

More soon. Cheers everyone!

Little Hats for Little Fellas/Yarn Porn

I don't have much time for knitting these days but make good use of what I do have. This tiny cap is for my friend Leah's first grandchild born last week, a boy named Charles. I used the softest camel/wool yarn (bouton d'or Ksar) and a tiny bit of acrylic for the blue stripe. What looks like an orange stripe is straight-up camel beige! I'm pretty proud of it, and it just might be a hat to get him through this whole first winter!

Then there is the hat I knitted for a little guy named Chance, who is about to become a big brother. It's black and cream, a great stripe combo for a blondie such as this fella. The day after I gave the little packet to his father (I work with Steven) , I found in my mailbox at school a small envelope with very capital letters in that most confident yet newbie way that kids have, but even then I did not know who had given it to me. Opened it up to find . . . a thank-you card from Chance, written in that same block capital printing, saying he liked his new hat. Awwwwww! (His parents are raising a rare boy! Come to think of it, the baby about to debut is also a boy! Two of them! Imagine.)

I happened to see him and his daddy today at the Div. IV girls' volleyball state championship games (we lost :^( bummer! bum ref, more like) , and Chance smiled a huge smile and hugged me, thanking me for the hat. Awwwwww! There's a kid who knows how to ensure he gets future knitted hats! And I will always be trying most sensitively to knit something stylish, no matter the age.

On another topic . . .
I am really looking forward to the Christmas holidays when I will be able to spend long stretches talking with my girls (two of them home after a long absence!) and having a knitting fest. Two of the three girls knit but (both in college) they say they don't get any time for that when school is in session. Like mother, like daughter!

(Don't) Hide Your Eyes! YARN PORN ALERT!

First up, some Ella Rae silk I bought on the internet. Don't have a plan for it but there is probably enough for a summer shell. MMMMm!




Next is some lovely textured yarn I bought from granolayarns in beautiful Miamisburg Ohio, just over the (Heinecke) hill from my childhood home in West Carrollton. Here is some soft blue O-wool that I hope to make into a felted chapeau for someone special.













Then I fell for this Earl Grey and green tea-dyed yarn carried in the same shop, which is a lovelier light beige than this photo rendering. Granolayarns said she gets it from Spun Monkey, who also dyes wool with coffee--darker and also lovely!) but that it's not easy to get shipments because the fiber artist wants to avoid burning fossil fuels to get her products to market. Laudable. She is probably selling just fine at the local markets and craft fairs. But it's our loss! I did just check out Spun Monkey's own webpage and she'll be in San Francisco at the Bazaar Bizarre on 12/15! Enticing!