Knitting in the New Year

Ha! I have started my Moebius of Peace! And when I think of peace lately, the Natalie Merchant version of Peace Train runs through my head. Oh...and the repetitive mass verbiage: "Go in Peace"... "Peace be with You" (and when Disco has said that, my automatic mental response was, "And also with you."!-lol! Sorry, some things just get pounded into memory and are rote responses that are trained into our brains in Catholic school!)

But here you have it...my first ever moebius...

This is a combination of Cotton Twist in an apple green, combined with some hand-painted nubby stuff of which I forget what it is called and what company dyed it. All I know is that I got it about a year and a half ago in Sacramento while up there for PTA convention at Rumplestelskein.

I think I had also mentioned gift knitting still in progress...

Yet another cowl out of a silk tweed aran, using the same lattice lace pattern as the "Green Cowl Gone Wrong" I had earlier made, based on the Cafe Latte mitts. Still a bit early to see the patterning.

And I told you about the Ravelry Cake and the Bring Back the Cake group? Well, there was a thread suggesting a cake KAL/CAL. I was planning on participating, then we got the cake back. I am still knitting up a cake to send to Casey-this time as a thank you, rather than a boo-hoo...

Yes, it is acrylic yarn! Vanna's Choice and as much as many don't like even Vanna's but for knitting, I am finding it pleasant to knit. Not like wool, but definitely not horrible for knitting.

And a little progress on the Leyburn KAL socks:

BMFA Socks that Rock lightweight in Seal Rock!

I finished this before Christmas, but left it at Lil' Emps' school in a cabinet. (Gads, I hate this ADA Upgrade project! The office and faculty lounge are in two separate bungalows and I forget things when they are spread out in two locations!) This is knit with some of the Malabrigo Privada I had gotten and grown to love! I should make matching booties, but I'm afraid they won't get done if I do!

A gift for a special baby that was born before Christmas.
I need to wrap it and send it out with some other goodies. (ETA: this is the Jester Hat found for free on Ravelry, written for Bulky yarn, but I knit in worsted to make it smaller) I lengthened the ribbing
and stockinette in hopes this will make for a more versatile had that can be worn longer.

And this concludes the current 'focus' projects for the time being! Thanks for stopping by to see what's up!

A new baby hat, a new design element!

I started another baby hat, since the last cabled one looks a bit small for lil' Solly. So I pulled out this yarn from my stash and started another.

Being the inspired person I am, I again resized this pattern up a bit to accomodate a larger baby-head. Now that I started the cable portion I realized I made a grave error in the re-sizing: the cable pattern is done over a 16 stitch repeat, NOT an 8-stitch repeat!-DOH!

So I think I have decided that a design change would be appropriate at this time. Perhaps a larger cable utilizing the extra two 'plain' panels that are now side by side?

And look-I finished the Seaweed Cowl for my friend! I crocheted a loop and will add a button, since I had added a couple of repeats to make this cowl wider and want to give her the option to pull it in a bit at the top.

I LOVE way this colorway knit up! I first found it a bit garish, but found that it really is quite a fun colorway! (And yes, your eyes do not deceive you--my gauge changed 1/2 way through and it started striping!)

Bless Me, Readers, for I have Sinned!

It has been three months since my last yarn purchase confession. Well, except for the one skein of Wollmeise because what Knitter in their right mind passes up on a Wollmeise opportunity? And the other purchases between weren't purchases, since I used gift certificate; therefore, they were gifts.

So I walk into a local crafting store and walk out with this... I mean, the good thing is none of this is yarn, right? The afghan booklet had quick knit afghans that look like they won't bore me--worked doubled and in clever panels! I promised a friend he'd get an afghan by his 50th birthday--I have a bit less than 4 years to go and thought this would be a good start! The hook? Well...some of my lovely 8/0 beads' holes are a tad bit too small for the size 12 crochet hook. Yeah, I paid more for the new hook than if I bought a new bag at less than $1.50 for around 275 beads! I paid for the two items, then the bead spinner caught my eye...it was at the other register and on sale! Grabbed it up, paid for it, done. Yeah, I'm sick that way...Then I thought about Chicken Knit's resolve not to purchase anything she absolutely did not need for a month...I failed that task!

Final confession? One word: Woolgirl! Yeah, I'll dish when it arrives...

And now for the planned Malabrigo Holiday Knits:

I'm hoping these will be converted to gifts this month! Recognize the upper left colorway? I used it for the Quickie Cowl and hope to make a Tudora for my cousin. The right was used for a Tudora and I haven't decided what it may end up being. It's the Colchina colorway. The two colors at the bottom are the Privada collection colorways that ImagiKnit has had sitting forever on their sale shelf. They didn't look nearly as attractive unwound, but I suspected they were more of a 'wow' once wound. I think I may be correct.

The blue/grey/pink will be a Calorimetry for a cousin and the orange/green/pink will maybe be a cowl for a friend's December b-day.

But wait-that's not all! I started the soles pre-October 1 start date, but the tops I started after the 1st. These are two not-Malabrigo Loafers to be. I'm using whatever worsted wool I have for the soles. The top of the first pair is Weavers Wool Quarters from Mountain Colors. Clever Me to discover I had this in my stash to use!
No completed stole clues yet, but the baby hat has been long-finished. A new Baby Solly hat, though I understand that Little 6 mo. Solly is wearing 12 mos. old clothes! This hat may be too small...

Th-th-th-that's all, Folks!

And sometimes a break from lace...

is just what we need!

Funny, because I had just read a message from my camp pal, Happy Stasher, telling me that she was taking a break from her Mystery Stole 4 and working on some double-stranded, size 13 needle slippers! And wouldn't you know...I had just cast on a baby hat for one of the new (well, maybe not-so-new since they have already outgrown their baby hats I made them!) babies. Then I see Nartian, who admits to me that she had cast on a cabled baby hat last night, too!

Though not at the same parts in our stoles, I think we are all at the point in the KALs where we are needing a bit of a breather-and a tad faster pace!

So here is the cabled baby hat I'm working on...
I think with all this talk of holiday knitting, I was starting to feel antsy and wanted to get a jump-start.

Knitting and a bit o' retro!

Well, I'm going to have to call this finished!

I finished the little Shakti baby hat to match the Shakti baby sweater. I loved that neckline finish so much that I wanted to use it for the hat. I used the same lace leaf motif, only I added a half repeat of the lace to add a bit of symetry to it. I thought it would be fun to do more of a 'beret-style' and for the top, ended with an I-cord, shaping it into what I thought was a bit of an enlongated leaf, which I tacked down.




After consulting with Nartian as to whether I should pull it out and wrap the I-cord end inward to make the leaf center a bit 'chubbier' (and perhaps more leaf-shaped), I proceeded to attempt this. Unfortunately, I did such a good job sewing and shaping the leaf, that I couldn't undo it! DRAT! So instead, I tried to pull it tighter, forming a pudgier middle, and left it sticking out (sort of...)


And the latest Rockin' Sock Club kit came today!

The pattern, Cleopatra, by Yarnissima, a designer I learned of through (who else?) Nartian and whose patterns I admire...

The color is Incredible Shrinking Violet! When I think of "Shrinking Violet", it brings back memories of an old 70's doll with a pull string talking device. "I'm called Shrinking Violet..."

Ok, my memories are from the 70's, but apparently Shrinking Violet was a 60's doll by Mattel:
"RARE 1963 MATTEL WORKING
SHRINKIN VIOLETTE TALKING DOLL
She is one sought after by many RARE TO FIND MATTEL DOLL FROM THE 60'S
She is adorable and in working condition. Shrinkin Violette does talk ! She says things like "I have butterflies in my tummy", "I wish people wouldn't look at me", "I'm called Shrinking Violet", "I'm just afraid of everything", "People are all so big". Her mouth and right eye do move when she talks. She does have stitching around her neck, and at the crotch area. She is in played with loved condition . Shrinkin Violet is one tough doll to find in working condition or at all, only made for one year by Mattel in 1963."

The only pic I could find of her on the internet is at the same site where I got the above:
http://www.a2zdolls.com/mattel.html

You have to scroll past the cluster of witches and past the ballerina babies-two past Tippee Toes (which, btw, I happen to have had one of those-horse and all!)

I found this background on the doll to be interesting, too...What I never knew about this strange, pull string doll we had for ages. I'm sure my mom must have gotten her second-hand at a White Elephant sale, but as I see the picture of Shrinking Violet again and read over all her phrases, I realize that I had forgotten the many phrases she would repeat-and that I had memorized back then! I can recall her purple cotton dress with the lace on the sleeves...memories! Am I really that old?! (And, BTW, the Shrinking Violette doll is older than me, just for the record!)

I was unaware of DC comic's superhero that Tina refers to in her Dyer's notes, but upon Googling Shrinking Violet, I was interested to learn: "She decided to put aside her plans to become a psychotherapist or a detective to become a member of the Legion." Interesting...was our Depraved Dyer aware of Shrinking Violets prior plans of becoming a psychotherapist? Could this be the draw to the superhero by our former-therapist Depraved Dyer?...?

Nothing like seeing your gift knitting on the recipient!

I just viewed pics of my "baby" cousin's baby...among them was a recent one of him wearing the hat I knit for him!

OK, now I'm feeling motivation to work on that Baby Surprise Sweater I started for him a while back...