Mocha Chocolata-yah-yah!

In my last blog, I simply lied about not having projects. Here is some yummy chocolaty yarn I bought to knit my hubby K some wool socks. (Yarn from my big splurge at Knit Wits).

Since he started out life in a small town in Iceland and grew up with hand-knit socks, I'll be put to the test. However, those little old Icelandic ladies didn't have self-striping sock yarn! Mwoohoohoo, HA HA HAhhh!
I've pulled the sock out 3 times already trying to get the gauge correct. Grrrrrr. I've discovered that I knit very tight on #3 needles and very loose on #2 needles. I started an anxiety attack over this little mystery but have since recovered, resigned and I'm just ignoring this little problem. (maybe it's wool vs. cotton . . . hmmmmmm).

Anyway, it's Meilenweit Bosco, color 3514. It looks like a Godiva chocolate-raspberry candy-bar and also like the fur of my big old fat geriatric labrador (who is still sleeping by the way and it's 10:30). It's the perfect yarn for a man who eats my secret, hidden chocolate stash like it's popcorn.

This last picture is purely gratuitous. My 4 year old A got slime in her hair. That chunk I'm holding was cut off. As you can see from the picture. She could have cared less. Turns out she looks kind of cute with half-bangs. Also discovered - slime is not water-soluble.

It's ssssssso cute.

This snake scarf was so fun to knit because it's entirely brainless. . . perfect for us beginner people. And the yarn was so fun and yummy. And my solution to the problem: Will my 6 year old out-grow it by next fall? - is ok because my tomboy girl (4) loves it. Phew. Anyway, there it lies, drying on my ironing board (that's L at the end). I have to crochet a little tongue and attach felt eyes and voila!

Beside this scarf, I am almost out of things to talk about. Knitting projects, that is. Since I overspent the last time I went "knitting" at the local knit shop, now I have to wait until the middle of April to start (buy) anything major . . . which will be a bathrobe for my big kid. I know! A bathrobe! But it's so darn cute and he actually requested it. . . (I've heard this somewhere before). It's from Linda Guy's And So To Bed . . . book.

PROBLEM #1: I've never knit a sweater PROBLEM #2: The size in the book only goes to 4-5 and my 8 year old is in 10-12 (nordic genes) I'm hoping that the lovely lady, from whom I will buy all 100 skeins of wool for this project, will lovingly size my chart for me. (insert smiley face)

Supporting J.K. Rowling . . . oh, and the Troops

I'm not ashamed to admit that beyond all that's going on in the world, what glued me to my chair last night while waiting for the evening news, was the tag for the new Harry Potter book cover, just released. I'm fully aware of how pathetic that is, but there you are.

And since I have no new pictures of my knitting because the only progress made has been more inches on the green snake scarf, I will instead share the new US cover of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

By the way, we are actually at war. Ok, well we're not, but our troops are. And some of our military service men and woman have requested slippers and hats. PERFECT for us knitters (and closet crocheters, achem). The Minnesota Knitters Guild is currently doing this project. But you can by-pass them and go straight to the project website. There are plenty of quick patterns. I've included links to my two favorites. Hat or Lopi Slippers.

The snake scarf is so darn cute and almost done. It's for my 6 year old, L - but here's the clincher. He'll be 7 and in 2nd grade by the time it's cold enough to wear it. I think he may become too cool for it by then. Sniff.

Ugly Afghan

As promised, here is my ugly afghan. The pictures don't really do justice to the neon pink and purple. I find that if I blur my eyes and look at a thumbnail picture, I can almost like it.

I bought it as a kit while learning to crochet. I won't say where I bought it from, but it was clear to me that the "kit" idea is a great way for the company to get rid of their "uglies".

It's not done, yet, but as I mentioned earlier, working on this thing is about as fun as picking ticks off my dog.

When it rains, it pours!

I received two knitting packages in one day! First, came a book from Amazon that I am beginning to understand is a staple for most obsessive knitters. Knitting without Tears. Not ten minutes later, the dog started woofing at a UPS truck that turned down MY driveway and delivered this beautiful golden package full of patterns I've ordered. Oh, lovely lovely day. I won't even begin to dream about these patterns yet. I've only just begun learning to knit socks, but I'll file them away for a rainy day (and a class or two).

Quick update!

I found Heather. Turns out, she's one of the blogs I visit daily for a good giggle! Just didn't put it together! The ultra-cool sock yarn from the picture below is Katia Jamaica (cotton, color 4004 - the watermelony one and color 402). I bought mine at Knit Wits in Chanhassen. Another great pair I want to knit is HERE.

I finished my 6 year old's 2nd sock, but can't post a picture because it was completed last night around 11:30 PM and he wore them to school this morning. I made him wear his croc-knock-offs so people could see the color through the holes. Who am I kidding? No one cares. (Heather, do you have a 6 year old?!)

One Sock, Two Sock . . .

I've almost mastered the basic sock. My toes need work - I got a helpful tip from Heather (can't find her blog!!!) to try a kitchener stitch - so I'll try that next. Also, at the heel/gusset, there are holes where I had to M1. Since I knit backwards (I purl for knit and knit for purl), I must be making the M1 wrong. Ack! I need to find a book on how to make socks that takes me from beginner and keeps adding skill as I go.

But for now, I LOVE this fun cotton yarn - Katia Jamaica. One skein is JUST enough for adult-medium socks. My 6 year old, L is still wearing his single sock around, but doesn't seem to mind. I just turned the heel on his second one, but lost a #3 needle somewhere.

My EZ adventure begins . . .

First, I found these adorable socks and want to learn to knit them. Alas, it's a Finnish website . . . in Finnish. BUT the general idea is there. Especially those purple ones with the white stripe.

Also, ordered my first ever EZ (Zimmerman) book, "Knitting without Tears" (we shall see about that.) There is a - Tomten Coat - I keep hearing about.

My kid, L, went to school yesterday with one finished sock. I started the 2nd today, but the novelty has already worn off. It turns out that first-graders could really care less about a classmate's wierd "homemade" sock.

COMING SOON! World's Ugliest Afghan

I used some left-over Noro Silk Garden yarn from my scarf to knit up a Jólasveinar (nisse or tomten depending on what country you're loyal to). There are 13 little Icelandic Jólasveinar in all, so this will be my first. His name is Kertasníkir, or Candle Beggar, I think. And yes, coming soon is the ugliest afghan that I am crocheting like some sort of self-inflicted punishment. Good thing we have a cabin, cuz that's where it's going when it's done. Hint: it involves neon fuchsia, neon turquoise, neon purple, pea green, gold . . . you get the point).

GAHHH! It's finally done!

Well, it's done. That Noro Scarf I've been working on is DONE! It's for my sister-in-law's birthday - which is tomorrow! Good timing, you may think. But she's in Germany right now, which means her birthday gift will have to be a bit late. Now I have two left-over-not-quite-complete skeins of this beautiful yarn and don't know what to do with it. Perhaps make some little Christmas Jolasveinar men (the pattern calls them Norwegian Nisse, but my peeps come from mostly Iceland). It's also a great way to use up wine corks - of which I have a lot. But what about all my beer bottle caps . . . hmmmm.

Anyway, I'll congratulate myself for finishing this scarf and send myself a comment, since I discovered that writing a knitting blog is really not such a new idea. Apparently there are thousands and thousands of them. And, I might add, much more interesting than mine, from what I've seen so far. sigh.

Size 9 or 10 needles - 4 skeins Noro (I used Noro garden silk), stockinette stitch - two rows each skein alternating. It's about 4.5 inches wide and I only made mine about 3.5 feet long. You can use two skeins but it will be a tad short and none left for tassles. Also, I would recommend double-pointed or circular because I hate having to sew up the side. I found this wonderful scarf idea here, and Saartje has pictures of other Noro scarves that she's completed.

If you like mittens . . .

If you love to knit mittens, especially traditional designs, you'll LOVE this! (Click here). I am trying to find out more about this woman and her mittens. When I do, I'll be sure to post the links here! The link is to a blog that features a woman near Ely, Minnesota - Iron World - who has been knitting mittens from around the world. It's really cool.

The picture above is from a book you can get on Amazon - Latvian Mittens. Check your library - Hennepin County has this book.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I'm not Irish, but here's some green anyway. I ordered a snake scarf kit from Morehouse Farm. They have a bunch of really cute patterns and kits for kid knits. The yarn they sent me did not look like what was on their web site, but I actually like this better. It looks hand-dyed and is striping nicely. I also like a hat I found on their site for E. Or for myself, I guess. I must stay away from new projects until I finish all my socks! I must stay away! I'm almost done with L's first sock and my second 'watermelon' sock is also on it's way.

Also, I'm in the process of shaping the Noro scarf before I sew up the edge and add fringe. I took a picture of it while it was still wet because the colors were even better. The site where I got this pattern is still 'down', but I'll add the link as soon as it comes back. For now, use two skeins of same dye lot - in stockinette stitch - 2 rows skein #1, 2 rows skein #2

I Can't Stop.

I finished the length of the Noro Scarf. I got the pattern here. It needed 4 skeins (Noro Silk Garden Color No. 84, Lot No. D - I bought it from Knit Wits.) The yarn was a bit too expensive for me, so I don't know if I'll do another one. It is beautiful - and if I did it again, I'd use double pointed or circular. I knit this flat which means I'll have to shape and stitch it up the side. I'll also attach fringe and then send it off to a friend who I know will appreciate it.

Couldn't stop myself from starting another sock - this one for Little L. We'll be the family with one sock only. I just can't seem to finish the second socks. Socks for little feet are much faster and I can be confident that I'll only need one skein. This sock yarn is Katia Jamacia. Very fun. This brilliant knitter does two socks at a time on her circular needles! It's too advanced for me at this point. I also bought this yarn at Knit Wits. I'll check back with the name of the yarn.

Harry Potter Mits

These aren't really Harry Potter Mittens. The pattern was not seen in the film. E wanted mittens to match the scarf, so this is my second pair of mittens and I winged the color pattern. (It's not too difficult). I found the pattern here.

HP Scarf

Here is the Harry Potter scarf for E's Halloween costume . . . finishing it about 6 months too late. The good news: The Minnesota Golden Gopher's team colors are the same, so we're able to wear the scarf to the U of M games. I used Nature Spun in Sunburst and Bordeaux which I bought from Patternworks. It's knit on circular needles. The extra time it took was worth it.

Thanks to Lauren Kent for this awesome pattern. She put a lot of time and thought into this and shares it, too. Click here for the pattern. There is a cable/bobble hat and mittens at this site that I may try.

One Sock . . .

I did it! My first sock. I saw this sock at Knit Wits and bought the yarn/pattern and there you go! Not perfect, but it fits and it's comfortable . . . and cute. The heel stitches are goofy because I was still using my old way of knitting (the wrong way). And I bound off on the outside of the sock because I couldn't figure out how to turn the sock inside out with the needles still attached (and I was too lazy to take the needles off). I'm already onto my second sock. I know what my poor family and friends will be getting for Christmas 2007!

The Noro scarf length was finished, but I'm not happy with it. So I went and bought two more skeins and I'm going to knit another foot. If I make this again, I'll do this on double pointed or round needles. Size 9 or 10 and about 35-40 stitches. I already bound it off, so I'll have to unravel it a bit and hopefully not goof it up too much. We'll see. It's really pretty, but the yarn is expensive . . . and 4 skeins? I don't know if I'd do this one again unless someone buys the yarn for me. It's fun to knit because the colors are so awesome and you never know what combination you'll get.

Solvik

While knitting the last of the Noro Scarf, I dropped a stitch! Ugh! I ran to the library and checked out Debbie Bliss' How to Knit and FINALLY figured out how to fix a dropped stitch. It wasn't as awful as I thought, but the stitch had not fallen through very far. I would still have no idea how to fix the stitch if it unraveled any more than it had.

A picture of Little A on a trail into the BWCA. We heard wolves howling on Sunday morning and later, found a whole deer leg with some meat still on it. If there were wolf tracks, they were covered by fresh snow.

I did it!

I'm moving on with my sock, thanks to a great "starter pattern" I found on knitty.com. We're off to Ely this weekend and I really want to bring a knitting project. I'm almost done with the Noro scarf and then I want to finish the sock and start the second. Thanks to Kate Atherly for the Training Sock pattern.