Last night I had the bug to knit up a little heart. So I took some of the remainder of the red cotton yarn and worked this up, based on a pattern I found online, but changed the shape a little to make it wider than they showed. I added a thin silver cord for a hanging loop and a turquoise shell that came off a necklace (there were shells all across the necklace and when one broke off one side, I removed the one on the opposite side so I could keep wearing it and would still be even. Yes, I'm a little "Monk-like" that way. I like things even.)

I'm fastening it onto a purple index card with a safety pin as a birthday card for my sister Sylvia whose birthday was yesterday and now all I have to do is wrap her gift with this card and get it down to the post office! I did alert her on facebook she'd probably get it next week. 

After that I did cast on for Caitlin's hat, getting the first earflap complete in this yummy purple color. It is worked in garter stitch.

Oh. I just noticed that the camera is not capturing the actual color. Well, this will just have to do until later... :)

Okay, another washcloth.

Okay, another washcloth. This one's for Kathy who is meeting me for lunch tomorrow and I haven't seen her since prior to Christmas so this seemed like a good thing to do. I'm not too worried about her seeing it ahead of time as she's not a reader, therefore she won't read my blog. Even though I've told her how cool it is and for sure I thought I'd hook her when I told her I wrote about her pink tools in an earlier entry (the one about compost). But even that didn't pique her interest. I'm afraid there's not much hope for her.

After listening to Kelley Petkun on the Knit Picks podcasts say that she has very few hand-knit scarves even though she's an avid knitter and lives in Vancouver, WA so clearly she has need of keeping her neck warm this time of year. She says it's sort of embarrasing to have to admit to knitting a scarf  while knitting in public when she does so many more complicated things.

All I can say is, "Kelley, try knitting a washcloth in public and see what kind of reaction you get!"

One day I was sitting in the waiting area of Tehama Tire, waiting for my car tires to be rotated and I cast on for a washcloth. I'm not sure now what made the pattern so tricky exactly, but I found myself pulling it all out and starting again... a couple of times. Eventually the young man behind the counter asked, "What are you making?" The look on his face when I answered, "a washcloth!" was a mixture of horror and looking faintly impressed.  He countered with, "I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone work so hard for a washcloth before..."  Uh, me either.  :)

Anyway, here's a picture from earlier this evening:

Yep, the skein burped out a whole wodge of yarn when I gave it a tug...
I'm using Knit Pics nickle-plated circulars that are interchangable - I love them!

Here's the final product wrapped around a bar of lavendar scented soap:

Hmmm... there's still some evening left. I think I'll cast on for Caitlin's earflapper hat.  Stay tuned.

Washcloths!

As I was preparing to go back to work today after being off work the last two weeks (gotta use up the rest of that vacation time!) I realized I had two more little Christmas gifts to finish up for my co-workers...

Washcloths!

These are fun little fast projects with such a simple pattern, one can keep going and going without continually having to stop to check the pattern.  I folded each one in half, wrapped it around a bar of soap, and tied with a pretty ribbon. Thanks to Yvonne for the idea, and for the pattern!

Dishrag Pattern for Beginners

REQUIREMENTS

   1 ball of knit worsted weight cotton (Sugar N’ Cream) 50 gm size

   Size 9 to 10 1/2 needles

DIRECTIONS

Cast on 4 sts.
Row 1: Knit one row.
Row 2: K2, YO, knit to the end of the row.
Repeat row 2 until there are 40 sts (for dish scrubber) or 50 sts (for face-cloth).
Next row: K1, K2tog, YO, K2tog, knit to the end of the row.
Continue decreasing until 4 sts left.
Cast off.

Then I just crochet around the dish rag with a different color....just to add a little something-something!

Biscuits!

So I made biscuits for dinner tonight to go with our soup.  I hadn't picked up any rolls or flatbread, and rather than run down to the store, I looked for a recipe. Sheesh, less than 5 minutes to get the batter ready and about 11 minutes in the oven: it would have taken longer to get to the market and back!

Okay, so they turned out a bit flat - probably because I don't have double-acting baking powder. Also I used whole wheat pastry flour, which is the only type I tend to keep on hand. But hey, with some butter slathered on, they were a hit! 

So here's the recipe for Quick Drop Biscuits...

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

Sift the following into a bowl:
   2 cups flour
   3 teaspoons double acting baking powder
   1 teaspoon salt

Pour the following over the top:
   1/3 cup vegetable oil
   2/3 cup milk

Stir together until the mixture easily leaves the sides of the bowl. Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10 - 12 minutes.

I may have to try one of the leftovers with apple butter in the morning, mmmm.....

Knitted Earflapper Hat(s) & Bracelet Purse

This story begins in October when I made this little pink purse for my niece Isabel:

Isn't it great? It's felted and uses bracelets for the handles. So I wanted to make something for Zoe as well and with the onset of winter, a hat seemed appropriate. I found a pattern for a child's earflapper hat and made one in black, intending to put cat ears on the top.  About the time I figured out I really don't know how to do cat ears, it occurred to me that the hat would be too small for this three year old. I crocheted a pink edging...

...and found another taker.

 

In the meantime, Aidan saw me knitting this. "Hey! Can you make me one of those??"

What!? My really picky teenage son wants me to make him something to wear? Alrighty then, moms can't let such an opportunity go by...

I found another pattern for adults. There was no gauge shown, so as he has a smallish head, I chose the "woman's" size and went for it. This one was in black with a silver fair isle pattern. Before I was done, it was clear this would in no way fit Aidan's head. But hey, it would probably fit Zoe! I added tassels to the cords and Marji assured me she could sew some embellishments so it would look a bit more feminine.  Still waiting for a photo of the finished product... but here it is the way I sent it:

Shucks, the tassels aren't showing in the picture. Go ahead and take a look at the pink ones above and imagine them in silver here... 

Well then, on with the "man's" size. This one was black with grey and fit much better, however still a bit snug on me. I tried again with the next size larger needles and swapped the colors. By now I pretty much know this pattern fairly well.

For Christmas, wrapped the black one for Aidan which was the color he'd requested, and the grey one for Rich (not that I expect him to wear it!) As soon as they were unwrapped and Aidan discovered the grey one is not as tight, he promptly commandeered the one he wanted.

It gives me a warm fuzzy to see him wearing it. He hasn't worn anything I've made since the button-down shirt in jungle print when he was six. He loved that one and wore it for a long time.


January 6 update: I got a picture!!

A Very Funny Knitting Writer

So my friend Yvonne loaned me a book called, "Knit Lit (too)" and I read the first essay last night, "Our Knitting Heroine" by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. It was so stinking funny I laughed out loud, and happily managed not to fall out of bed.

I myself have been playing around with Knitting In Public as promoted by Kelley Petkun who does the Knit Picks podcasts (available through iTunes or from their website http://www.knitpicks.com/). Rich does appear a tiny bit askanced at times, like in restaraunts or at a ball game, but I say the idea just needs to settle in a little more although it is clear I must work on my ability to complete knit stitches without looking, important for maintaining eye contact during a conversation. And, as it turns out, a useful skill for being able to read while knitting! 

After reading Stephanie's story, I realize as a fledgling writer, I have no choice but to do crazy things at times... like knitting in public... in order to have things to write about. But, knitting while skating... I'm going to have to build up courage for that!

Here is a link to the essay: Our Knitting Heroine by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, also known as the Yarn Harlot. I hope you enjoy her story as much as I did...

:)

Sometimes Things Do Happen for a Reason!

It's not always apparent though. And some series of events can seem quite bizarre. For example:

Thursday night, I fell out of bed.

Let me explain... I had gotten into bed and noticed a set of circular knitting needles that had fallen on the floor between the bed and the door, and I didn't want Rich to step on them when he came in so I leaned over to retrieve them. I reached them okay but then there I was, hovering over the edge of the bed and I found myself wondering if I was going to be able to heave myself back up because the bed is kind of high off the floor. Sure enough, when I went to pull myself up, the momentum dumped the rest of me over the side. This wouldn't have been so bad except for the nightstand with the brass latch on the door and I knocked my head right into that latch, hitting myself behind the right ear. Mercy that hurt! I called for Rich to help me get some ice and I went to sleep with an icebag on my head. (Turns out this is a good way to cool off for anyone who tends to overheat. Not me yet, but I intend to remember this for later on.)

Since then, it hurts only when I touch it, but the next day, I was on the phone with a co-worker and kept referring to the wrong regulation than what we were trying to discuss which sounded like this:

Me: Are you familiar with the SAFE Act?
She: Yeah, kind of. Isn't that about registering mortgage loan originators?
Me:  Oops, that's not what I wanted to talk about... Umm, how about risk based pricing notices required by the FACT Act?
She: Oh right. Doesn't that apply to the Finance Company?
Me: Yep, that's right. So... we're working on the privacy policy for this.
She: What!?
Me: Oh dear. Risk based pricing, that's right! Here's the thing...

So I told her I probably got brain damage from the night before and explained what happened. After laughing her head off, she suggested maybe I need to eat lunch first since it was 11:30 already, then we could talk about it afterwards, so we ended up meeting at Kaleidoscope Pizza.

And look who we ran into!

Cool, huh? If I hadn't fallen out of bed I would not have gotten to meet Chris Dudley!!!

So I suppose we can say everything happens for a reason...

Chris Dudley is the Republican candidate for Oregon governor and a former NBA player (go Trailblazers!).

I also want to clear up that I don't normally wear "prison stripes" but we had dressed for Halloween that day at work (Friday Oct 29th) and I went as French Painter. I did have the presence of mind to pull the black beret off prior to the picture being taken and I'd left the paintbrush and pallete at work.

Post election day update: It took two days to call the winner for governor; Dudley was ahead by 2% until all votes were completely counted and by Wednesday evening it was clear Kitzhaber won by 2%. Makes me realize how apathy in the elections ends up with effects we may not be happy with and how important it can be to pay attention early and TALK about our views - help other apathetic people to care about the issues!