No Humdrum in Sight

Thank you so much Jenn! My package arrived yesterday and the mittens are absolutely beautiful!


The colors are so pretty and great together - I don't think I would have thought to use a variegated yarn with this pattern! The cuffs are a tad tight, but I've worn them a couple of times now and they feel a bit looser already, so I'm hoping with more wear they'll relax. I think the least stretchy part is the cast on, which I'm unfamiliar with. Is it supposed to be so inelastic, or is this a needle issue (I've heard many people have to go up in needle size when using Eunny's patterns)? Either way, I'm in love with them. According to Jenn's Ravelry page, she used Artyarns Ultramerino 4, and though it's a fingering weight, I'm finding them to be very warm.

The rest of the package was filled with goodies too;


Two balls each of Elsebeth Lavold Classic AL in white and teal to make Kate Gilbert's Bird in Hand Mittens, some Eucalan wash, some fancy Italian hand lotion, a knitting key chain(!), and some yummy treats, along with a very nice note. I'm so excited about the Bird in the Hand mittens and can't wait to make them!

Everything is just so great and I'm so glad I took part in the swap. Deb is getting ready to host another round, and while I'm not sure if I'm going to take part (there's too many other things I want to knit before it gets warm again), but I had the best time getting to know Jenn and my other partner and I would recommend the swap to anyone looking for something a little different. We all deserve fancy mittens! Thank you so much!!

FO: Mittens From Lapland

Every year it seems like December goes by even faster. This year I'm scrambling to get everything done, not to mention working and getting enough sleep! I've been behind in the blogging lately, and I've missed it, but the lack of sunlight so far this winter is sure putting a damper on photo ops.

Here are the mittens in action. Pardon my cheesy hand position:


These were probably the most enjoyable thing I've knit in awhile, I think mostly because the color changes were constantly pushing me on; instead of "just one more row," it was "let me get to the next pattern!"



This picture is especially bad, and I apologize. The sun and snow didn't come until after I'd already shipped them off to my secret swap partner for the No More Humdrum Mittens Swap. I don't think she's trolling the blogs for hints on who her partner is, but I'll save her identity for another time. I sent these beauties (I'm pretty sad to let them go!) with some other goodies and hopefully they'll be keeping her hands warm very soon. As for the details:

Pattern: Mittens from Lapland, from Folk Mittens by Marcia Lewandowski.

Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers in colors 2423 (light blue) and 2427 (red), plus some vintage Bernat worsted wool in Winter White.

Needles: Susan Bates metal DPNs in size 2 throughout.

Modifications: None, though I think my gauge might have been slightly smaller than in the pattern. The mittens turned out perfect for my hands, though more snug than other mittens I've had in the past. I hope they turn out as well for the recipient. The gauge issue might have been caused by the stranding (which I now realize I missed taking a picture of - what a bad blogger I am!), but I paid close attention to it while knitting. Like I said, they were perfect for me and hopefully they'll be fine for their new owner as well.

I would definitely make these mittens again. They were quick, interesting, and pretty inexpensive. I have my eyes on a few other patters in the Folk Mittens book, as well as the plethora of other mitten patterns available online (check out out the side bar of the swap page if you're looking for some, both free and non-free).

Now I just have to wait for my mittens!

One Down

If they gave out prizes for the bloggers who completely ignored NaBloPoMo (a No Blog Posting Month, or NoBloPoMo, if you will), I just might win that one. I'm sorry for my unannounced absence that lasted longer than a month (I can hardly believe it!). Things were just piling up, one on top of another, and I could hardly find the time to think much less knit and write about it.

Student teaching is finished now, which is a huge accomplishment for me. The last day of school was a bittersweet one. I'll definitely miss the kids and it's weird not to be in school right now (though I am enjoying getting up a bit later!). Now I'm working my way through the holiday season: if you need a book recommendation, I'm your girl! Anyway, between finishing teaching, finishing all my homework about teaching, Thanksgiving, and starting work, knitting time has been a bit scarce. I'm hoping to do some more in the coming weeks though, especially now that it's getting really cold.

I did manage to finish the first of my Mitten Swap mittens:


This is the mitten (soon to be mittens, of course) from Lapland from Folk Mittens, and I absolutely love it. I sure hope my partner does too.



I've already cast on for the second one (not giving myself a chance to forget about it), and hopefully it'll go quickly. The pattern actually moves very fast because all the color changes make you want to keep knitting until the next one.

I'm also working on a super secret project for Christmas. I wonder if I can keep Guy from reading the blog so I can show you what it is. If not, I'll be able to show you the FO, which, I've just noticed, hasn't happened for awhile around here. It's so good to be back with you all, so I'll try my hardest to actually finish something!

DROPs and Mittens

The days are just flying by lately. This fall has been one of the busiest I can remember, so forgive me if posting is a little unpredictable. I'm down to the final few weeks of student teaching, so hopefully I can stay strong and get everything done and then things will calm down a bit.

This fall has also been a strange one weather wise - two weekends so far in October with 80 degree temperatures?! It sure isn't helping me keep on track with the beautiful Drops Jacket. So far I've finished the back and one front and I'm about half way with the second front piece.



This was supposed to be my quick, easy knit to keep me warm. Now, since the air is keeping me warm all by itself, I've gotten a bit lazy.


I will finish this beauty, but it might take a blast of cold air to get me back on track...


In other news, I got my partner for the Mitten Exchange! I'm super excited about this swap and my partner's color preferences and the prospect for a very nice package in the near future. So excited, that I cast on pretty much immediately and quite a bit to show for it.




This is mitten number one (of course), using the Mittens from Lapland pattern from Folk Mittens by Marcia Lewandowski (a beautiful book if you're looking for interesting mittens). I'm using Cascade 220 and size 2 DPNs, but it's turning out to be quick, pretty easy, and so interesting because the color patterns change so frequently. The only thing that is slowing me down a bit are the rounds where all three colors are used. I haven't figured out an efficient way to hold all three yarns yet. Any suggestions?

And to my Mitten Pal - I'm so glad you're as excited about this project as I am and that I could oblige with the color choices! That's so cool that we have things in common - I hope a lot of us in the swap will make some friends! Anyway, I would have to say my favorite artist is Cezanne because of all the advances he made for modern art, but I'm also a pretty big fan of Andy Warhol, Edward Hopper, Neil Jenney, and Dana Schutz. Feel free to email me if you have anymore questions!

A Day Off

Today's Columbus Day for those in the U.S., so I celebrated by having a day off of school, sleeping in, watching some trashy court shows on TV, knitting, eating a warm lunch for once, reading, knitting, and cleaning (not much progress with the cleaning, so I'll spare you the photos from it).



The Easy Flame Lace Scarf is coming along, though to you it doesn't look much different than before. I promise it's longer. I'm loving the pattern and the yarn (Laceweight Malabrigo) since the pattern is ridiculously easy and yarn feels like butter, but the Susan Bates metal needles I'm using are holding me back. After awhile of knitting it all just feels tight and metallic - yuck. I'm not sure why this happens after knitting for some time (maybe I just don't notice it at first?), but I'm taking some breaks and trying to get through it.



And I love this stuff so much that I bought another couple of skeins. I'm not sure yet if I'll make more Easy Flames or not, but they sure are pretty to look at, no?

Too Hot to Knit

While it seems like fall has come to the rest of the country, the Midwest is still definitely in summer. I suppose that gives me some time to finish up the jacket, but the piles of wool are just too much right now.

I found this instead:











Have a great rest of the weekend!

Easy Peasy

Tuesday and Wednesday were busy and hard. A bad day followed by a busy day of picking up the pieces. Nothing too dramatic or interesting, but they didn't leave any room for blogging or even knitting (and I think I'm pretty good at finding the spare moment to knit!).

But today was better. School is going well and I'm really excited about what is happening and what will happen.

The Easy Flame Scarf is exciting as well:



I'm loving the pattern and just how easy it really is, and the laceweight Malabrigo is amazing, but these tiny needles and yarn sure are making this thing last awhile. I can't wait for it to be done because I know it'll be beautiful, but the Drops jacket is carrying me away with it's quickness.

The days are getting shorter all the time, but this weekend promises to almost set a record for high temperatures, so I'll try to stick with the scarf for now. A nice little scarf is much better quasi summer knitting than a huge pile of chunky yarn anyway. Even if I could finish that sucker in a couple of hours if I tried. I'll try not to think about it as I toil away.

Knit Faster, Fall is Coming

Today was just one of those days. It rained all night, was still dark and cloudy when I left for work, and was cold enough that I felt unprepared in my little fine gauge store bought cardigan (that secretly, or not so secretly is a little too small for me now). Just one of those days.

What's the remedy? The jacket that's sweeping blogland, finally reaching home sweet home right here. That's right, the Drops jacket!


I finished the whole back today, which is awesome and definitely a bit of a boost. Who says knitting has to take forever?



I'm sorry about the horrible pictures. The shorter days and generally rainy-ness along with a camera shy sweater make for frustrating photo shoots. I ordered the "true navy" colorway of Laines du Nord Soft Light, but this is the blackest navy I have ever seen. Definitely much darker than the picture online. Not a huge deal as I think I look okay in black (maybe even better than yellow, wink wink), just not what I was expecting.

The sweater might be done by the end of the week, which would rock my socks and keep me prepared for the next cold front, so hopefully I'll have some better photos soon. Cross your fingers!

Deep Breaths

The past two weeks have just flown by. School is very very busy and taking up a lot of my time. I'm having fun with it, but it's not good for blogging! Thankfully, since I'm teaching art, at least part of my day is making something and helping the kids make things (even if it's not of the yarn variety).

This week was unusually tough because of a bad cold I picked up somewhere, plus it was Homecoming week at school, meaning lots of activities were planned to keep me busy. Anyway, I spent most of this weekend resting, catching up on grading, and knitting a little something:



This is my Easy Flame Lace Scarf from Wendy Bernard, and it looks suspiciously just like hers, but I was gifted the Malabrigo Lace for my birthday and I didn't intend to copy her shamelessly. The pattern is great and easy to memorize, making this a great on the go project. I might be about half way right now and I'm hoping to finish it before it gets much colder. I might save this for a Christmas present too.

I hope you all had a good weekend, it's almost Monday! I'm going to try to post every day this week to get myself out of this posting slump I've found myself in. Some days I look around and wonder, why would anyone care about this? But I've learned that when I look for beauty and interesting things in my life, I usually find them. I'll put that to the test in the next few days. Wish me luck!

Recovering, or, At Least Trying To

I had a beautiful weekend, after a somewhat trying week. I took over teaching some classes and I'm liking the kids and the projects a lot, but they're all taking a lot out of me and it's all I can do not to fall into bed right after getting home (hence the lack of pictures, sorry. I'll try harder tomorrow). But the kids are good and I'm excited about what they're learning and making, so it's all worth it.

Anyway, the weekend. I went out of town to visit some friends after school on Friday, where I had dinner with Guy and saw the apartment I will move into in January. On Saturday we all slept in (and inadvertently missed the Farmer's Market), but then I went to a barbecue, where the weather was perfect, and then went to a party later that night. Sunday I traveled home and took a nap after all the excitement. And now it's back to school again! It's funny how fast time is moving these days.

As for knitting, I have startitis. Ravelry and the new Knitty aren't helping. I absolutely love Henry and Totally Autumn, and Urchin and Mr. Greenjeans have definite possibilities. I love the neck detail on Neiman, but I'd change the fit of the whole thing. I could've passed on the constipated baby with an ill-fitting hat, but the toys are unbelievably cute.

An FO of a Different Flavor

As fall continues (or, I guess, as summer comes to a real close), the days seem to be going by faster and faster. Student teaching is taking a lot out of me, and there hasn't been much knitting to speak of in the last few days. I'm at school all day and then my nights are full of writing lessons, doing assignments for my professor, and The Office. Is anyone else super excited to have season 3 on DVD?

Anyway, I finished something else recently:


It's the easy beach quilt from Denyse Schmidt's Quilts and it was so fast that I didn't have time to blog about it! It's pretty much two large rectangles put together with a small strip in the middle, but I absolutely love it. I especially like the wave quilting: if it's a beach quilt might as well go all out right?





Nothing too fancy with the fabric or anything, just some plain Jane solids with a couple of cool prints for the strip. It's definitely coming in handy now that the weather is getting cooler. Happy fall!

Mitten Swap Questionnaire

I've decided to take part in the No More Humdrum Mitten Swap (my first swap ever), and I'm super excited about it! Hopefully I'll get to create something great and make a new friend in the process.

Anyway, here's the questionnaire I have to fill out:

1. How long have you been knitting and how did you learn? I've been knitting for about 10 years, though when I first learned and through middle and high school I would knit only in spurts. Now I knit all the time. I first learned from my mother, a bit from my grandmother, then I took a beginner class, and the rest I've learned from books.
2. Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate, or advanced? I would consider myself pretty advanced because I understand the knitting process, but there are some things I haven't tried yet.
3. What are your favorite colors? Any you dislike? I love pretty much all colors, but I especially like reds, oranges, blues, greens, and purples. Bright and rich colors are best.
4. Do you like Latvian type patterns? If so, what are your favorite patterns? I do like the Latvian mittens I have seen, and I think Lisbeth Upitis' book of Latvian patterns is great, but I can't link to any specific favorites.
5. Do you desire mittens yourself, your "special someone else" or your child? I definitely want mittens for myself.
6. What other things do you enjoy knitting? I'm in a sweater kick right now, but I also like making blankets and smaller accessories.
7. What sort of needles do you enjoy working with? (straights vs. circs, bamboo vs. aluminum) I definitely prefer circs over straights, but it depends on what I'm making if I prefer bamboo or aluminum. Since getting my Denise set though, most of my knitting has been with them, and they are plastic.
8. What's one project you've not yet tried but are dying to make? First, I really want to make a sweater with a short row shawl collar, but I'm also really interested in making more fair isle or equally complex mittens and hats.
9. What's one yarn you've not yet tried but are dying to work with? I've never tried any Rowan or any kind of cashmere and I would really like to.
10. What other hobbies do you have? Do you spin? Sew? Garden? Cook? I also paint and lately I've gotten into a bit of quilting. I also dabble in sewing and would like to learn to cook.
11. Besides yarn, do you collect anything? I have a little collection of postcards, but I'm also a big fan of magnets and maps.
12. What kind of goodies do you enjoy? Sweets? Salty? Anything you ate or are allergic to? I love love love dark chocolate and anything sweet. I'm not a huge fan of almonds or other nuts in cookies or chocolate, but I like them peanuts and cashews by themselves.
13. Do you have any kids? Pets? No kids, but my family has a Golden Retriever.
14. What is your favorite part of Winter? Christmas, especially Christmas lights, sledding, and getting to wear more sweaters.
15. What is your least favorite part of Winter? Driving in the snow and the shorter days.

Rusted Root on a Long Weekend

My first week of school went well, and though I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed, I think it will be a rewarding experience. I will definitely learn a lot in the next few weeks, and lucky you guys will get to hear about it!

On the knitting front though, I finally wore my Rusted Root today.

Pattern: Rusted Root
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, 3 skeins, Butter Cream colorway
Needles: Denise size 5 circs
Modifications: I just love how the top down construction of this sweater allowed for some very easy mods, like adding some increases under the arms after the sleeve stitches were set aside, creating some bust darts to accommodate, well, the bust, and then increasing at the waist so the cop would sit nicely around my hips.



Adding these increases put me very close to running out of yarn as I explained here, but I think it was worth it to have a better fitting top. My only real complaint is in my worrying about actually finishing with the yarn I had, I bound off a little too tightly on the sleeves. I'm not sure if that comes through on the picture or not.


And to be honest, the lace panel gave me a little problem at the beginning, but it was my fault for not following the directions closely enough. I think this was mostly due to not having a chart to follow, but as I went along I became more comfortable with it, and I really like how the leaves came out.

I need an honest opinion though: is this color just not for me? My mom insists it's fine, but I just don't know. And looking at the picture, I'm not sure the fit is even the best. What do you guys think?

Have a great rest of the long weekend! I know I'll definitely be making the most of my day off.

Powering Up

Power came back on late yesterday. I am so so happy. I can finally shower in the light (my house's only full shower is in the basement), I can do laundry, and I can keep things cold in the fridge again. Losing power for so long makes you grateful, both for when it comes back, and that you didn't lose things like water or phone service. Thanks so much for all your concern. Even though living without electricity for so long was tough, others had it much much worse. I saw a story on the news the other day about a couple in Ohio trying to pull off their wedding in the midst of massive flooding, while I was here trying to keep the freezer from melting all over the floor. I do think it's pretty funny though, that TV news reporters give advice for those still without power, like how to protect your food or how to contact the utility. C'mon now. The power is out and much as we'd like it otherwise, that includes the TV.

Anyway, I finished the yolk part of the Somewhat Cowl, meaning (I think I've got the terminology right) I've put the sleeve stitches on stitch holders, which is making the rows shorter. Not that I'm complaining of course, I'm loving this project with miles and miles of stockinette. I need a project like that every once in awhile.


I spent a lot of time on Ravelry this weekend, and goodness, is it a gem. I can't wait to keep exploring this site because I keep finding things that just make me excited about knitting again. Like the designer profiles. Click through them and I promise you'll find some awesome patterns you didn't even know were out there.

Bonus surprise: I found out my own pattern, Heartwarmers, is already on there. Crazy!

A Bit of Change

Change seems to be my operative word for this week. I began student teaching on Wednesday (institute days at least, which are so far filled with meetings, speeches, and organizing the classroom), which is a HUGE change for me, but the school is also experiencing some changes like a new principal and bell schedule.

The biggest change though, looks like this:


As most of you have probably heard by now, most of the Midwest as been having some strange weather in the past couple of weeks, but a string of massive storms ripped through all of Northern Illinois on Thursday, leaving very large trees and power lines laying on the ground like twigs. There's no real damage to my house, but we're on day 3 so far without any power. I'm hoping it will be back tomorrow, but no real promises. Whole neighborhoods and towns around here are dark. A weird sight, to be sure.

Right now though, I'm hanging out in a cafe with free WiFi, trying to catch up on everything. The Somewhat Cowl is coming along nicely, and is a little greener than the picture shows. Every time I start a new top-down raglan I'm impressed all over with how simple and beautiful this technique is. So easy to execute but also such a great way to ensure a great fit.

Yikes, I better get back to it while daylight allows!

Perseverance

You wouldn't think that a few little washcloths would take this long, but like it or not, I still have three more to go. How is it that with all the time I've spent making the rounds in the doctor's, dentist's, and optometrist's offices that I'm not done with these yet? The stitch patterns are interesting, and I'm looking forward to having the complete set, but the 100% cotton yarn is a bit hard on the hands. Actually, a lot hard on the hands after half an hour or so. It always seems to go like that, the little things take forever (the Roomie's mittens, for example) while the big things, like a full size sweater in fingering weight yarn, just breeze by. A knitting mystery, perhaps?


And with such a tough assignment, I needed something to balance it out. Here's the beginning of my Somewhat Cowl: another beautiful sweater in another beautiful color I'm not sure will work on me. The yarn is delicious though, so it's definitely a nice break from the cotton. I'm a little nervous about some of the reports from Ravelry, though. Most people ended up ripping theirs at some point, and more than half of those who finished aren't happy with how it turned out. I'm wondering what the problem is, as the reasons vary among knitters. We'll have to see I suppose.

Sorry about the picture quality; it's been raining for days with no real hope of sun anytime soon. This is about as good as it'll get. Though bad for pictures, the rain is bringing some great cooler weather. Can't wait for fall!

Hello Again

Sorry for the long absence, the time sure is flying around here this summer. Plus, as many of you are experiencing also, it's been uncomfortably hot. My house doesn't have air conditioning, so that combined with just finishing the Rusted Root (I promise there's a proper post coming about it with pretty pictures and everything, but I need to find a place where it can dry after a good blocking; something that will take at least a couple of days given the humidity) led me to a quite a few days in a row without any knitting at all!

It's cooled off a bit around here and I'm working on a couple of smaller things, namely Back to School for my sister, who, incidentally, is going off to college for the first time.



I made a whole bunch of washcloths last summer (the perfect summer knitting project, I think), spurred on by Ann and Kay and their love of the ballband warshcloth. While they advocate using them for dishes and in place of paper towels, I found I used them more as facial clothes, which I think is what these are meant for. Anyway, I really liked using mine while at school, so hopefully my sister will enjoy these while she's so far away from home.

I've also been inspired by both some birthday yarn and the new Interweave Knits magazine, which I picked up yesterday. There are some beautiful projects in that one! I'm so excited to see the direction that Eunny is going to take the magazine. Below is the birthday stash (clockwise from top): some Trekking XXL, Malabrigo laceweight (which I think might be the exact same color Wendy has just whipped a pattern together for - score!), some Cascade Ecological Wool, and then some Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca and Silk for Wendy's Somewhat Cowl. Just looking at it all makes me excited for all the fall knitting in my future.


And speaking of Wendy (twice now), I loved her post today about the use of the term "muggle" to speak of a non-knitter or someone who doesn't "believe" in knitting the way some knitters do. I think this is mostly being made popular by the Yarn Harlot, but I think it's a bit disturbing. Creating a name for a group of people seems to also create a us versus them mentality, that I don't think is helpful to bringing more people to the craft or bringing acceptance to people that knit (especially in public). While I know it started out of good fun, I find it very judgmental and condescending, implying that knitting is the best hobby for everyone, regardless of personal preference. I've also seen this happen with vegetarians judging the food choices of those around them, and since I'm a vegetarian a lot of people have expected me to yell at them for eating meat. They seem surprised when I say that I've made their choice and they've made theirs, so why get all upset about it? In a way, I think this whole muggle thing is sort of the same way. There is so much pulling people apart these days that this needless labeling doesn't do any good, and I believe actually does some harm. I sure wouldn't want to be treated like a "muggle" by someone, no matter what the activity was. I don't really understand extreme fandom, or people who love manga comics, or people who love cats more than anything, and that's cool. We don't all have to be the same. We just have to respect each other.

Birthday Flowers

Aren't they wonderful?


And what's that on the table?


Yep, that's all that was left once I finished the Rusted Root. Let's take another look at those flowers shall we, as we contemplate the nervousness of working with such a small bit of excess?



That's a little better.

All in all, the sweater's done. Tomorrow I'm going to block it, as it has a few ladders in it and the sleeves are a bit tight, but for now I'm just enjoying it.


P.S. Still hot as blazes around here. I could barely stand to put the silly thing on for a few minutes. Initial impression: the yellow might just work after all.