New Year, New Project!

So, as we were packing to leave Pittsburgh after Christmas, Kris got a call on his cellphone that our friends Ed and Karin had become parents! Their little guy was born on the 26th. We haven't been able to meet him yet, since we had to get back for Kris to be at work on the 27th, but I did start a little project to take up to him: A log cabin baby blanket in Knit Picks Crayon in Lime, Periwinkle, Azure, Green, Blue, and Purple. Why that color combo? Because it is going to go with a trio of dragons! Specifically, Knitty.com's Norberta, one each in the greens, the blues, and the purples. See, Kris and Ed used to play D&D together in college, and even once we moved up here (before Ed and Karin moved to Pittsburgh), we would play. My feeling is that we need to encourage the geekitude in the next generation as soon as possible. So, the little guy is getting an emerald, a sapphire, and an amethyst dragon to snuggle with, and a matching blanket. :D I played a little with the basic log cabin premise from Mason-Dixon Knitting. In that book, they tell you to cast on, knit the center, bind off, and then pick up for the first band, knit it, and bind off.. and so on. Well, I hate picking up stitches with a fiery passion, and they are doubly a PITA with a floofy yarn like Crayon (which is soft and snuggly and will make a great blanket). So, I thought about it, and it ocurred to me that it was a little silly to bind off stitches just to pick them back up again. So, I tried something. When I finished a band, instead of binding off on the right side, I just knit across that row and turned my work to the right. I picked up the stitches in the end of the band I just completed, and then just knit across the live stitches on that next side, which I had held from the previous band on that side. You can sort of see what I mean here: It does require a really long circular needle (possibly two, eventually), but I think it makes the log-cabinning go a bit faster. Plus, there are no lumps on the back from picking up stitches, and you don't need to even attempt to find the stitches in the bindoff to keep your count consistent! I suddenly realize that I'm possibly not explaining this all that well. If anyone is curious and wants a better explanation, let me know, and I'll enlist the photographer (aka Kris) to help me put one together this weekend. I finished my version of the Red Light Special hat that I mentioned in the post about Kris's. I love this pattern - I did almost the entire thing on Jan 1 and 2. (And no griping - I was pretty much on the couch all day after a very long New Year's Eve. And no, I wasn't hung over...) Here it is blocking on my patented upside-down-mixing-bowl-balanced-on-bottle hat blocker. I should really find an easier way... I call it my "Swamp Thing" hat, because although I love the colors and am very happy with how it came out, that is the only thing I can think of when I look at it. Oh, and you know how everyone seems to be posting their New Year's Resolutions? I'm not. Not only am I not posting them, I'm not making them. I've realized something in the last year or so - the best way to guarantee that I will do something is to tell me that I can't, and the best way to guarantee that I won't is to tell me that I have to. (That noise you hear would be my father falling out of his chair laughing. I'm pretty sure he and Mom figured that out YEARS ago) So, I'm not doing it. I'm not telling myself that I can't buy yarn until such-and-such date, and I'm not telling myself that I will lose X pounds by summer. I am considering this 100 miles by April 1st thing, though. Mostly because I have doubts that I can do it, which pushes me to want to prove myself wrong. And yes, I know that I am a sick, twisted woman who clearly needs help. :) The debate is, of course, treadmill or stationary bike. I did 500 miles on the bike in 2005, but I'd like to push myself beyond that. And 100 miles by April 1 is just barely over a mile a day. I should be able to walk that. Hmm... Food for thought, anyway. Note to anyone who reads this via Bloglines - you might want to check to see if you have the "Updated Items" option set to "Ignore", or every time I update the "Finished Objects" or "Planned Projects" posts, they are going to show up as new. And I don't want to annoy anyone.

Because You've All Been Waiting...

I hereby unveil Dad's Mohawk Hat! He cracked up completely when he saw it, and put it on immediately: Mom's reaction? Dad debated tying the flaps under his chin. I love my Dad. He's insane, but I love him. And for Christmas, I made him the Amhra'n Gra' sweater from KnitPicks. I used KnitPicks Swish Superwash in "Fired Brick". I picked the color because it was a very cranberry red, and, well, they live in Cranberry Township. He works at Cranberry Highlands Golf Course. It just seemed appropriate. And when he opened it, that was the first thing he said: "Hey, it's cranberry!" I have to say, the pattern is a little tricky to get used to, but once I got used to it, I absolutely loved knitting it. And I think it turned out pretty well, if I say so myself! And this is not my FO, but I have to show it off. Kris made Dad a display rack for his collection of poker chips from all different casinos. The back is even lined with actual poker table felt. Isn't it cool? And I did make a pair of Diamante socks in KP Gloss in "Dusk" for my aunt (Not a Christmas gift, but a "just because" gift after she was checking out my Pomatomus socks when we were up over Labor Day) but I completely failed to get a picture. Loved the pattern and the yarn, though. Start to finish - 4 days. Fastest socks I've ever done. And the toe-up heel flap construction? I will SO be using that again!!

Christmas Knitting Update

Christmas knitting is DONE, baby!!! Finished the project for my Dad this morning. (And no, you won't be seeing it here until after the holiday, because he reads the blog) And you might notice that one of the projects has disappeared from the list. I was making a Candleflame Scarf for my Mom, and I just couldn't get into the pattern. No matter how hard I tried, it just wasn't any fun to knit. It's a shame, because it's quite pretty. So, I'll have to come up with another plan for that particular yarn. So, what does this mean? It's time to think about casting on something for ME again! Now to decide what... :) And since Bezzie asked nicely, the scary pressure-inducing ticker is gone. :D

Back!

So, you may not have been aware of this, but I've been in Pittsburgh for the past week. Mom and Dad came down for Thanksgiving (which blossomed from just the four of is to include our friends Hyon and Drew, their 18-month-old Clint, and Drew's parents Mare and Paco for dinner as well as our other friends Scott and Dawn and their 6-year-old Justin and 6-month-old Hannah for dessert). Since Mom is still on crutches, I went back up with them to help her with the Christmas decorating at her house. Kris came up this past Friday and we got back last evening. We also went up on Saturday to see Kris's Mom and deliver her Christmas gift (one of them, anyway - the other one is in the mail to her. :D) - the Cozy I knit for her. It is done in Schaefer Marjaana (50/50 wool-silk blend) in the "Renata Tebaldi" colorway - burgundys and browns and some purples and pinks (pics as soon as Kris gets them off the camera). She definitely seemed to like it, although she did read me the riot act a bit for taking the time to knit her something when I have other stuff to do. I tried to tell her that I wanted to do it, but she still insisted that I didn't need to. Doesn't she know that's the point? While I was going, Kris was keeping me updated on the hats that were arriving in the mail - there have been over 50 in the last week. I'm hoping to get a few more today and get them shipped out by the end of the week. So far, we're at 156 - only 42 more to go! And I need to catch up on a meme - I almost forgot Turtlegirl had tagged me. I considered whipping out Mimi, but decided not to this time. A) Four jobs I have had in my life: 1. Grand Opening Coordinator 2. Retail Asst. Manager 3. Box Office Manager 4. Homemaker (hey, it doesn't pay, but it's work!) B) Four movies I would watch over and over 1. The Wizard of Oz 2. The Princess Bride 3. Serenity 4. The Rocky Horror Picture Show C) Four places I have lived 1. Pittsburgh, PA 2. Meadville, PA 3. Richmond, VA 4. Bowie, MD (Interestingly, that's it, other than college dorm life. 3 locations in Meadville and 2 in Richmond, but that's all the towns) D) Four TV shows I love to watch: 1. Veronica Mars 2. Heroes 3. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip 4. Battlestar Galactica E) I have been on vacation: 1. Florida (Disney World, of course) 2. Wildwood, NJ 3. Myrtle Beach, SC 4. Las Vegas, NV F) Websites visited daily: 1. Bloglines 2. Knitty Coffeeshop 3. My Yahoo 4. IMDB (almost daily, anyway) G) Four of my favorite foods: 1. Spaghetti Carbonara 2. Meatloaf 3. Cheesecake 4. Beer (Hey, I consider it a food...) H) Four places I would rather be right now: 1. In bed, asleep 2. Las Vegas 3. Hanging with my NC peeps - Cristi, Zonda, and Mary 4. Hanging with my MD peeps - Annemarie, Alice, Lila, and the rest of the B&N SnB I) Four people I’m tagging with this questionnaire: In the spirit of the holidays and giving, I'm not tagging anyone specific. If you want to post this one, go right ahead! :D