Pumpkin Sunrise

My mitts, oh my - I do love them so.  That pop of hot pink brings me endless joy every single time I look at them.  I'm telling you, my knitting productivity is going at great speed making up for lost time in December. In December, I rescued a kitten and had family staying off and on for three weeks.  So all that knitting time lost in December was regained in January. One of the best reasons January exists, besides for welcoming in more daylight and sunshine, is to knit all the knits. The snowfling mitts are from a kit by Tanis Fiber Arts  that my husband ordered (well I ordered from him..) for Christmas.  The wools were delightful to knit with and the pattern was easy to follow for an intermediate knitter. Ravelry notes are here . PS:  See my cowl that I am wearing in the photos?  I wear this all the time, I can double or triple the wrap around my neck and I love it.  I am going to knit another one for me in the same fibe...

I am making great progress on the mitts !  I am confident that the first mitt will be finished today.  I have thoroughly enjoyed knitting this mitten kit up by Tanis Fiber Arts .  The perfect present for a knitter during these January days.  Guess what?  I'm on the second sleeve of my son in law's  sweater .  The second sleeve will go quicker because I've done it already.  Easy peasy.  Once this sleeve is done, I have the neckband to knit.  I'm confident that this will be done by mid February, if not sooner.  My knitting time has been reduced this week due to extra babysitting hours.  I find myself having difficulty transitioning from work to relaxation.  I'm wasting precious knitting time during the transition hours.  Also my reading time has been squashed as well.  This morning, I'm writing everything down on paper so I streamline my brain and focus on what I really want to do!  What are you wo...

My weekend was THE best weekend ever.  I sat and knitted away on all of my projects on the needles.  Honestly, it was soothing and calming, doctors should write prescriptions for this kind of wonderful mental medicine. Do you see that above photo?  That is Little Miss Holly seeking out Frodo under his ottoman.  Usually she is afraid of him and hissing at him (he is just existing...).  Last night, she crept up to the ottoman and ever so gently put her paw under the skirt.  In and then out, repeatedly.  Frodo was a saint but could only take so much out of the usually mean kitten, so he scurried away afraid!   Holly then crawled under the ottoman to check out his 'thoughtful spot'.  He does all of his great thinking under there. nearing the end of the first sleeve ! So I know you're thinking that all is well and Holly and Frodo are besties.  Nope.  Today, she was upstairs on the landing and I frightened her ...

This week the weather finally gave me some serious snow fall.  Around six inches fell over Tuesday and Wednesday and disrupted many of my plans.  All the disruptions were welcomed because I was knitting instead.  See?  There's a benefit to snow, besides the beauty of white scenery and chilly wool wearing weather. The days are getting longer and January continues to be a quiet serene month for me, I am happy.  Yesterday, my babysitting time was cancelled and the gym was cancelled.  I sat and knit for a few hours on my second mitt.  My mantra was  'just one more row'.  One of the benefits of knitting for me is that while I am concentrating on the chart and all the knitting, my mind is empty of potential worries.  I never get tired of being grateful for the calming craft.  The rhythm of knitting empties my wrinkled thoughts and allows my mental vision to positive feelings. This week, I've been analyzing the grocery budget...

I'm happy to report that I'm blissfully knitting the first sleeve of my son in law's sweater .  I'm in heaven!  Wouldn't it be incredible if I finished a sleeve in one week?  I know it's doable but will I do it?  Stay tuned.  My mitts haven't seen much action but I did manage to work a few hours on the second mitt patterning.  So lovely to knit and yet I'm torn between knitting and finishing the sweater or knitting and finishing the mitts.  What a lovely knitting problem to have, right? In reading, I continue to spend some time with Inspector Gamache in the fourth book of the series by Louise Penny.  Also I started Gilead by Marilynne Robinson.  What beautiful poetic writing!  I feel like highlighting paragraphs.  I should get a notebook out and take some notes... What are you crafting these days?

How was your weekend?  Many of you might have tomorrow off as well for Martin Luther King's day.  I think I'm babysitting, but have to text her to confirm.  Today was a chilly day and I was wearing all the knits to combat the weather.  I wore a hand knit sweater, socks, shawl and mitts. That is why I love winter!  I'm carving out more and more time to knit as I juggle the pets.  Yesterday I spent over two hours organizing 2017 photos on my flickr account.  Why do I wait until the whole year is over?  A smart person would do this task monthly.  Let's see if I'm a smart person in 2018, although in my own defense, two hours wasn't that long.  After the photo organizing, I finished all the knitting of the body of the sweater.  Today I cast on a sleeve.  Getting closer and closer to a finished knit. Today was left over pizza from yesterday's dinner.  Holly is free somewhere on the main level and Frodo is on his l...

olive heather henley  :  I have been knitting the sweater almost daily and for a few hours at a time.  As you can guess, I am seeing progress!  I love tiny needles and fingering weight wool but worsted weight does have a place in my heart.  Today after the gym and lunch I hope to add more inches on the upper back patterning. snowfling mitts  :  Over the weekend I finished the one mitt and casted on the next mitt.  Both mitts are lined with a cashmere blend so I'm only 25% of the way finished with this decadent project.  I love knitting these mitts and maybe, just maybe I'll be wearing them at the beginning of spring?  Dare I say end of winter?  A knitter can hope!! What are you working on this week?

Good morning and it's the new year as well!  I'm sitting at my kitchen table wearing gym clothes and writing up this knitting post.  My knitting has picked up a bit, finally.  I find pockets of time each day to do many rows on the mittens .  Such fun to see the pattern emerge, and I hope that a gentle blocking will ease those bumpy knit stitches here and there (I think it will).  My son in law's sweater is getting to the secret sauce of pattern knitting - JOY!  After all that stockinette, I'm thrilled to be patterning and following directions.  Let's hope I continue to have smooth sailing with this knit.  I've been reading Everything I Never Told You  by Celeste Ng.  This has been on my to read list forever and I finally bought a copy.  So far it's a great read and I'm captivated by the various points of view by family members reflecting on a relative's unexpected suicide.  It's not as depressing as it sounds. ...

Another holiday knit finished!  I just love these mitts and it'll be hard to part with them.  But knitters who give gifts have to part ways with some of their creations.  I know that the person who receives these mitts will love them! These mitts make me wish for snow :) Ravelry notes are here .

Nicole of  Singing of Hope  blog asked for some test knitters for some patterns she wrote up a while ago, so I thought I'd give her a knitting helping hand.  That's what knitters do!! I dug deep into my stash and unearthed some wool and cast on.  I'm having fun knitting with two colors and with some wooden needles.  I find when I'm dpn-ing (shall we coin a knitting verb?  double pointed needling....)  they are kind to my hands. Ravelry notes are here . As you may have guessed these mitts are for a holiday gift.  Ho ho ho!!

As you read this post, hum the song "Sleigh Ride" by Johnny Mathis, because that is the song that is repeating in my head since I woke up.  I have no snow (sniff) but the spirit of gift giving is alive in my heart. The  cowl , is the last of it's series...I think. I might make one more but it will be for me and not someone else. I fancy casting on a pair of fingerless mitts for me before a cowl. I finish my gift knitting and then start another gift, just because I can and I'm having fun with my quick pick me up knitting projects.  These mitts .....Oh they were such a fast knit!  Now I'll be upstairs wrapping and humming.

As you can see, I finished a few projects and I am thrilled to have them completed and out of my knitting bag.  The gloves  are tucked away for when the fall cool weather arrives-just think I have something new to wear! This scarf was truly a labor of love.  The knitting was a bit fiddly because of the sleek yarn.  The entire time I was knitting, I was thinking and worrying about whether I would have enough yarn.  Oh my, what a waste of time.  Once again, the magic of blocking cured all of the worries!!  This knit blocked out beautifully and you know, I have one other skein in a light gray and might subject myself to more knitting torture to have another scarf :)

I finished knitting these mitts for my daughter a few days ago.  Do you remember this sweater ?  Well I had one very lonely orphaned skein left over from that project.  When my daughter put in the request for mitts, I was already tripping up the stairs to my studio to dig down in my worsted weight basket, snapping a photo, texting her and asking "is this color okay?" Thankfully she said "yes" and the cast on begun.  The pattern is susie's reading mitts  and the ravelry project page is here .  As you know I love to knit with lace weight or fingering weight yarns, but I enjoyed immensely how quickly these mitts knit up because they are worsted weight.  Instant knitting gratification!!

I finished these mitts over the weekend and well, I'm quite happy with them.  The strap and the button detail are my favorite part of the mitt design.  There is a quiet joy rummaging through my button collection deciding on flashy or romantic or unassuming.  I went for unassuming this time around. This project used one skein of cascade 220 , a fantastic basic yarn.  I believe these would make a lovely holiday gift (I know, I know I shouldn't speak of holiday knitting) OR a lovely gift for me.  I have options. Ravelry notes are here .