Christmas wishes

The other day we gathered up the kids' Christmas lists and I was surprised (and excited) to see one of Ben's requests.  Along with Star Wars Legos and a pillow pet:

a light blue knit hat with matching mittens

That's my boy.

I had a skein of Shalimar Honey Worsted hidden in my stash that would be perfect.  His coat is brown, so I added a few brown stripes to tie it together. The mittens will be the brown with stripes of blue...that way they won't show dirt as easily.

The pattern is Cashmere Ribbed Hat from Fig and Plum.  I've knit this hat more than a few times and the reason I love it so much is the decreases.  So pretty!

Now, who has Legos on sale?  

pink sweater #2

This is the second I've made in this pattern (SweaterBabe's Beautiful Cabled Baby Jacket). The first was for Lydia and I used the Cashmerino Aran that the pattern stated. For this one I am using Rowan Calmer and I have to say I am loving it more. I am also using kfb instead of yo's for the raglan shaping. After finishing Lydia's I find that I am not crazy about eyelets in a gauge this large.

That said, this sweater knits up really fast and I expect to be finished in plenty of time for my sister's shower next Saturday. I am fairly certain she doesn't read this, but if you do, Meghan, you never saw this.

Katja, started and finished

I started this Friday night, finished the knitting yesterday and took care of the yarn ends today. I love it. I got the yarn for a song on de-stash from someone who had it left over from their own katja and I think I just might have enough to make one in the 3 month size for my niece, due in April.

Katja, from Knitty. Used recommended yarn (2nd Time Cotton by Knit One Crochet Two). Love it.

And, did I mention Jake got into college choice #1?

five more minutes and she could have worn it to school.

Winter weather has arrived late this year, cutting me some slack on finishing a few things for the kids. Christmas knits? Did I ever say they were supposed to be for Christmas? Don't believe me when I say that. Just give me a patient smile and wink at the others.

This morning I was finishing up a hat for Emma that I started last night (a quick one until I knit the other one. Don't ask). Uber bulky Uruguayan kettle dyed yarn on size eleven dps. A simple 2x2 rib with my new favorite decrease from Fig and Plum's cashmere ribbed hat pattern. I made two of those in gauge, already. One for my dad (navy) and one for my beloved (chocolate brown with three rows of apple green around the bottom). Love, love, love that decrease.

Back to Emma's hat. I was weaving in ends as the bus pulled up. Five more minutes and it would have gone to school with her. Ah, well. Tomorrow is another (cold) day. Here is is, happily modeled by Ben.

must. knit.

no. time. to. post.

Hope your days before Christmas are more leisurely.

after all that,

Emma woke up in tears with a sore throat. One baby hat, wrapped and tagged, handed off to her little brother to give to her beloved teacher. This is her teacher's last day of school before her maternity leave so Emma won't get to see her again until she brings the baby in to meet the kids. At least she won't be giving Mrs. G. a hat and a virus for Christmas.

Hope and Clara were busy cooking and baking last night for their teachers. After a burned first batch, Clara made perfect little chocolate chip cookies and lined them all up in a roll like this:

Hope went for homemade marshmallows, from Martha's recipe. They were surprisingly easy and pretty darn tasty.

They each chose their favorite teachers (and the bus driver) to give gifts (they have seven teachers, each). I don't think Jake ever did teacher gifts once he got to middle school.

Abie's teacher got truffles from these nice folks, as did the bus driver. They were simply but beautifully packaged and I will be checking back next year to buy more.

How about you? Do your kids give gifts to their teacher(s) at the holidays? What kinds of things do they give?

I will feel like hell tomorrow.

But Emma's bestest most favorite 4th grade teacher, Mrs. G, will be getting a hat for her baby boy tomorrow, the last day of school before the break.

Could there be anything more exciting for a baby-crazy nine year old than a sweeter than honey teacher who is going to have a baby? Oh, the joy. Emma is beside herself and requested a knitted hat for Seth, due on Abie's birthday (January 5th, which only adds to Emma's bliss).

Photo tomorrow because I am far too tired to walk to the other end of the house for the camera at this point.

This pattern, slightly altered.

Cashmerino Aran, size 6 needles. A wee knot on top, as per Emma's request. Snowflake white with a pale blue edge.

Photo tomorrow (oops. today. later.) because I am far too tired to walk to the other end of the house for the camera at this point.

aargh! (in a good way)

Just a peek. This will be relegated to drafts later today to keep someone from seeing it.

I was able to block it out enough that I think it will be fine. I'm fairly certain that his noggin isn't bigger than mine and I can get it on. Honestly, I would prefer that it be a bit bigger, but it works. Now I just need to do the lining and it's all set.

I'm right on track with that other hat, too.

Today I will start (and maybe finish) the fingerless mitts for a shorter person. Those are going to be quick and fun. You'll see why when I take a pic.

Meanwhile, Clara came home from school yesterday and burst into tears. She (and I) had completely forgotten about her school's audition for Stomp the day before. Her theater teacher spotted her in the hall in the morning and asked her why she hadn't shown up. Poor thing. I felt like the World's Worst Mom for not remembering but I made it clear to the kids this year that if they are responsible for writing their own commitments on the calendar. Even so...

Oh, and my worrying about the Jake's teacher recommendation letter(s) arriving on time was for naught. Jake told me yesterday that one of the teachers told him on Monday that she had mailed the letter. Thanks for sharing, Jake. So as long as the counselor got his stuff in, it's taken care of. Now, if the college would only use the weighted gpa for honors and ap courses. Bah.

can you see me in this house?

Because I can. Painted up right pretty and chickens milling about the yard, of course, but I can see it. Just a thought.

I've been working on Christmas knits. I have a sick feeling in my stomach that a certain fair isle hat is going to be too small. If I were the type of knitter who works on one project until it's finished I would have known (one way or the other) sooner, but I'm one to do a little on this one and a little on that one (and so on), so I'm just now realizing. I even checked the gauge, but apparently I tightened up my gauge once I got going. Think good thoughts for me. The worst that could happen is it gets gifted to a smaller-headed child (goodness knows I've got plenty of sizes to choose from), but I am really hoping I can block it out.

Tomorrow is the early action deadline for Jake's first choice college. We've turned in everything we can and now are relying on others for their submissions. As of last week the college had still not received his hs transcript, counselor letter and teacher recommendations. As of yesterday the counselor said he will have the transcript and letter to them in time. I'm not sure about the teachers' letters. Technically he needs just one, so even in one falls through it will be fine.

Breathe. Let it go. Let it go. Breathe.

moving on

Ok--the mittens were supposed to be one of the quickie Christmas knits. I've just frogged the first mitten in the second pattern. It was the Target Wave mittens from the Fall 2006 Interweave Knits. When I saw the pattern I loved it and hated it. Maybe hate is too strong a word. I love that it's a novel approach to an old standby. This definitely isn't your father's Oldsmobile. But I just couldn't decide whether I liked it. I'm not crazy about the stripes. Yeah, I know. They are a huge part of the pattern, but thought I might like them better in variegated. You know, like that would play down the part I didn't like while maintaining the newness of the pattern.

I plowed ahead, using the ever so lovely pink/purple variegated. Mitten completed. I hate it. Whatever charm the pattern had in its original form was lost in the yarn change. Crap.

Well, I can't go to sleep now, anyway, because Billiam and Clara aren't home, yet. They went with her Theater Arts class today up to NYC to see a show and eat yummy things. There was Much Drama. More on that another time.

The rest of us (minus the sleeping Jake) spent a good part of the day at the younger kids' fall festival. Two of the four (Hope and Abie) won at the cake walk. Two homemade cheesecakes were chosen and all four were much pleased. I say that as if I'm not pleased, too. Mmmm. Cheesecake. They were very sweet to decide to save them until tomorrow when everyone will be home.

Oh, I also won four hours of a carnival concession for a song. Whee! Cotton candy machine! The kids don't know about that just yet because they were supposed to call by 4:30 if we were the high bidders but didn't end up calling until close to seven. Too bad we didn't win the four hours of moon bounce to go with it. I wonder how much cotton candy you can make in four hours....

I think I just heard a car door. They must be home!

frogged.

One pink and purple mitten. I was adapting a pattern that wasn't quite big enough for the intended's hands. I did so poorly. I'm now three quarters finished with a new pattern that seems pretty cool. More details and a pic later.

cables and bobbles and seed stitch, oh, my!

Here is a photo of the hat that I am so in love with. The pattern is the Braid & Bobble Hat by Fiber Trends that Lindy sent me as part of my fabulous Chocolate Swap package. It's a sixteen row repeat and after the first two repeats the pattern suddenly imprinted on my brain and knitting this pattern is a Beautiful Thing. I wish I had a block of time big enough to just sit and knit it until it's finished.

The yarn is the hand dyed skein of deliciousness by Khris, of ChewySpaghetti. I loved that I gave her an idea of the colors I was thinking of (dd #'s faves) and now I hold her interpretation in my hands. So. Much. Fun. Go check out her etsy shop. She has marked down some of her yarn to make way for new. I just popped over there again thinking I would mention a specific one to check out but couldn't choose just one. Tumultuous. Evocative. Capricious. Meandering. I have Evocative in a worsted alpaca/merino blend (oh, so soft!) that is quickly becoming mittens and a hat for a certain person at my house who loves pink and purple.

Oh, and I'm through next week's rows in my How Many Rows To Knit Each Day To Finish By December 10. AKA, My Plan of Madness. I'm just saying.

Christmas is coming at me, full throttle.

Ok, I've finally made a list of all the knitting I intend to finish for Christmas and I am happy to say that I have almost all of the yarn needed to complete it. The next step, which I've started, is to calculate how many rows of each project I need to finish per day in order to stay on schedule and complete them two weeks before Christmas.

Hey! I can hear those of you who know me in real life snickering. Be nice. Keep it to yourselves. Let me have my fantasies.

Tomorrow: a photo of one of the hats I am working on that I am absolutely loving.

Wheeeee!

I asked Khris over at Chewy Spaghetti if she could do a custom dye for a project for a certain person's Christmas present. The results are exactly what I was hoping for. A perfect representation of a certain person's bestest most favorite colors.Take a peek! Someone is going to be very pleased. (-: