Blue and yellow hat

Another hat for another cousin for Christmas. She's five.



The blue is Knit Picks Swish and the Yellow is Artyarns Supermerino... all machine washable. I knit it on size 7 needles. Cast on 72 stitches, purled three rows, stockinette stitch until the whole thing was just over 4 inches, k2tog, k4 to start the decreases, knit one row, and then gradually decreased from there to create the point.

Brown hat

Another hat for the gift box. I used the Flat-Top Hat pattern again, and Lion Brand Woolease (leftover from my Dad's sweater from last Christmas).




Only four more to go, and a MP3 player holder. Until I add something else to the list at the last minute. (Like I do every year).

Worst day

Allow me to not expand on that but trust me, the only good thing I can say is that at least it is not a Monday.

Yellow hat

Another hat for the Christmas box!

From the top:


From the side:


And the back:


The pattern is called Flat Top Hat (which it might have been if I had knit the sides longer) and the yarn is Art Yarns Supermerino. I picked up both the yarn and the hat in California at ImagiKnits.

p.s. Today is my father's birthday. Happy Birthday Dad!

The Yarn Harlot in Virginia

Yesterday I went to work, then yoga from 5:15-6:15pm, then straight to the Borders in Falls Church. I arrived around 7pm and my place in line was number 125. Luckily I was able to get a seat, two knitters from Maryland on my right, a daughter and mother on my left. 4 out of 5 of us were knitting. I brought the hat I started on Tuesday or Wednesday, using the Art Yarns pattern and yarn that I had bought in California in May. This is intended as a hat for a family member for Christmas but as I knit it up, well, the colours are beautiful. As I sat and knit, the seating area filled up a bit more until I think there must have been 300 people there to hear the Yarn Harlot speak.



She was funny!

No, really funny. So funny! I mean, you can tell that she is from her blog and her books but in person, even more funny. Her delivery of stories and jokes, knitting related or not, are often deadpan and hysterical. There was alot of clapping, loud laughter, hooting and hollering. It was great! She spoke from 7:30 until almost 9pm, taking a few questions from the audience before she was whisked away by Daniel who works at Borders. Here's the hats that were collected:



The first section was called, 1-25, and so I went to pay for my book, look around the store a bit more, was complimented on my bamboo poncho and then found a group of women with whom to knit and chat and pass the time. I met Lee of Knitterlee, who was knitting a scarf and then started on something else, Terri of Knitting Libran, who was knitting her Clapotis, and two other women whose names I never got. One worked at IBM and the other was wearing a very colourful jacket. Here's the hat I was working on:



Max came to pick me up around 10:45pm and they were still on section 75-100. On Thursdays I am usually wiped out after yoga and getting ready to hit the pillow by 11pm. I was exhausted and decided that, as much as I would have loved to meet the Yarn Harlot and have her sign my book and ask her what the Canadian test is... I was done.

Still, what a great evening. If I'm this tired today, I can only imagine how tired Stephanie must be. Maybe that's why she's so funny. :)

Ahoy, me hearties!

Yarr, today be International Talk Like a Pirate Day!



I made this iPod nano cover fer one o' me mateys. It be so tiny that I took more time pickin' out t' stitch pattern than actually knittin' it. T' pattern I used be called Seed Rib Stitch II and after stitchin' it closed and addin' a crochet edgin' t' t' top, it be completely reversible. T' yarn t'was from me stash, nothin' fancy, but machine washable acrylic.

She really liked it!

Arrr!

Kitty Hat

With all the knitting that I do, more often than not, I'm usually knitting something for someone else. Not this time!



I started this hat sometime last week and finished it over the weekend. It is of course too cute to wear just anywhere but when I do, I'll have fun just wearing it.

Matching chairs

If you remember, last month Max refinished our kitchen table. Shortly after he decide to do the chairs as well. And look! Now everything matches and looks beautiful.

Twisted red pumpkin

I started this hat a few days ago for one of my cousins. It's small and the stitch pattern is VERY easy to memorize (only two rows!). I used Red Heart Soft and the only change I made was a shorter "stem." The pattern is from Charmed Knits. I love that book! Everything is so cute.

In progress:



Here's the inside:



And done:


It's a little tight on my head so it should be perfect for her.

Food addiction

On our way back from Pennsylvania on Saturday, Max and I stopped at a country store after driving by a sign that said "HOMEMADE PIE." We bought some apples, two bell peppers, a small jar of black raspberry jam, and a medium jar of strawberry rhubarb jam. But did we buy any pie? No. Did I regret it right away? No, not right away... but pie is one of those foods that I get cravings for (like pizza and chocolate) that when it hits me, I can't get enough of it and until I have had enough (sometimes it lasts for weeks), it doesn't go away and only gets worse. Talk about food addiction. I'm sure that must be a real thing.

There's nowhere near me that makes really good homemade pies, not the kind with the commercial crust and the commercial pie filling. And the only place I can really think of is... well, me. So out comes the Pies and Tarts cookbook by Edna Staebler (that I stole from my Mom when I moved out of the house). Max is picky about his pies. He doesn't like custard pies or meringue pies, nothing with prunes or alot of ginger. So we decided on the "Luscious Apple Pie," which I've made before and carries the notation Really Good. One of the ingredients is almond extract. I think this time I'm going to try maple extract instead. If it turns out, I'll post the recipe. If not, just the picture!

Hats

My knitting mojo is definitely coming back. I have some finished objects to share with you.

The Greenery Hat:


A striped hat that will be going into the Christmas box:


And the two together for comparison:


Considering that the striped hat is only a little loose on me, surely you can see that the other one is truly fit for a giant.

Mushrom Festival

Max and I drove to Kennett Square, Pennsylvania today for the 22nd Annual Mushroom Festival. The festival parking was at the highschool and we rode a school bus (first time in many years!) into town. We ate deep fried mushrooms, sauteed mushrooms, and brought home Herr's mushroom flavored chips (made specially for the festival).

I went to the local yarn store, Wool Gathering and bought some knitting needles, two sets made by Peace Fleece.



For lunch, we ate on the rooftop terrace at the Half Moon Restaurant & Saloon. We also browsed through a used bookstore and were able to find hard cover copies of two of our favorite books, Valley of the Horses and The Seeress of Kell, for only $3 each. And we saw these great mushroom stools at one of the booths. How cool are they?!?!



The weather was great but after four hours of walking around in the sun and through the crowds, we were both hot and tired.

Driving update
On the way home, while we were still in Pennsylvania, I switched with Max and drove 10 miles on Route 1. It was a little scary and I was very nervous but there were very few other cars on the road and I did pretty good until my 10 miles were up and I pulled over by an off ramp to switch back with Max... and the guy behind me stuck his arm out the window and gave me the finger. I have no idea why! Max says I did a really good job driving and I was going at 60-65mph and I didn't get in his way of going on the off ramp. Who knows! Some people are just jerks. But I'm really excited that I did it.

Fit for a giant

I finished the black Greenery Hat last night and it's too big. Like, too big for Max's head and maybe even for a watermelon. My own fault of course since I didn't measure the gauge. But instead of undoing it, I'm going to take it with me to see the Yarn Harlot on September 20 and I'll add it to the collection.

Greenery in black

It's like I can feel the cooler weather just on the horizon. Not actually, not even in the early morning really (it was 68 when I left my house for work this morning) but my fingers - they know.

Over the weekend, I started the Greenery hat.* Knitting the rounds and the cables were just heavenly.



I'm waiting to see what size it is before I decide who it's for. Probably one of my cousins.

*Opens as a PDF

Wizard Robe

I finished the wizard robe for Mateo, my friend's son who is turning 2 years old. It's going to be a little big for him right now but he can grow into it as the weather gets colder. Here's the hood and buttons:



Here's the front and back:



Here's the crest:



Last but not least, the inside label and crocheted button holes:



Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of him wearing it. He was too busy running around at his birthday party to open his presents. If my friend sends some pictures, I'll ask if I can post them here.

Theodore Roosevelt Island

It was such a nice day out today that Max and I decided to do something out of the ordinary - go outside! We drove to Theodore Roosevelt Island and walked around for awhile.