Thankgiving & Knitting Go Hand In Hand

Warning: Seriously Picture-Heavy Post. Sorry!

I've been offline for the last week and loved every minute of it. My trip home for Thanksgiving was all that I could have wanted and more. I realize how much I miss my family when I go back home. I cried all the way until Indiana on the drive back today. *sniff*

Anyway! There's been knitting. Whole days of movie marathons with the fam allow for plenty of knitting time. There are now officially enough baby hats for all the babies that are expected to be born (in my hometown) in the month of December.



For all these hats, I used variations of this pattern and then just kinda made changes as I felt like it when knitting. For the most part, these hats are all made out of stash Caron Simply Soft (my favorite-est acrylic yarn). However, there's a little Knit Pick Shine Worsted and Classic Elite Premiere thrown in for good measure.

Also, I know that the black and yellow "bee look" might be a little disturbing to some people out there. However, black & gold are the high school colors, so they make a little more sense when put into that light. My little sister has already requested one the grandson of one of her teachers.

I also finished up two more scarves that have been my bedside knitting for awhile.


Yarn: Wal-Mart No Boundaries Yarn, 2 skeins
Pattern: Plain old garter stitch - cast on about 20 and go!
Needles: Size 13
Time: About two months of just looking at it resting in the knitting basket, about 6 hours of actual knitting time
Cost: Gift yarn - Free!

Before we all snicker & laugh at the Wal-Mart yarn, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I don't shop there, but my mom sent this to me in a care package last spring. It's really soft & has a very pretty sheen. If I didn't live in the middle of Siberia, I'd actually keep this one for myself. It's just too thin to be useful here in Michigan.



Pattern: One-Row Handspun Scarf, by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Free
Yarn: Adrienne Vittadini Nadia, 4 skeins - $11 (on sale!!)
Needles: Size 10.5
Time: About 1 month of travel knitting

This is another scarf that's going to the shawl ministry. It's very pretty, but just not quite the right color for my winter coat.

On a funny note, I posted this up on Ravelry earlier tonight and I went back to check something about 5 minutes later, and someone had already "favorited" it. Aww.. I feel special.

Believe it or not, there's actually more pictures to show, but they are just going to have to be brought out at a later date. I'm pooped from all the traveling. I hope that everyone else's Thanksgivings were as wonderful as mine.

(My family! Aren't they cute?)

Small little projects..

I spent today going through my yarn and organizing it. It's nice to re-remember what all I have. Even though I'm on Ravelry, I don't have all my stash uploaded because I'm just plain lazy.

One of the things that I did was to put all my remnant yarns in one central location. That's what I use when I'm making baby hats, so having the colors all together can let me see exactly what it is that I have to work with. After doing that, I made a hat:


Pattern: My favorite trusty Basic Knit Hat, Free
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy, Leftover from another project
Needles: Size 7 DPNs
Time: 2 hours

I'm in the Monthly Dishcloth KAL group, although I can't remember the last time that I actually did the KAL. One of the members just lost her husband so the group has banded together to make her an afghan. Every one is supposed to make the same heart cloth in whatever cotton they have laying around.. so I did.

Pattern: Victoria's Heart Pattern, Free
Yarn: SnC, Robin's Egg Blue; less than $1
Needles: Size 6 straights
Time: About 1.5 hours

I'm going home for Thanksgiving next Friday (YAAAAY!!!), and I'm hoping to have a few more hats done to deliver before then. Right now I've only made 3 newborn caps since my last delivery in August, and three just doesn't seem like too much.

I've been knitting for me a little too much and not knitting for others as much as I should. On that note, I'm hoping to debut my first completed handmade sweater this week!! I just have one more section of ribbing to go. The best part about it?? It fits.

Me v. the Postman, Round 1

The post office refuses to leave things at my door, so if I miss the mailman then I have to go to the main post office to pick it up. Of course, that does not work at all with my school schedule, so if I'm expecting a package, I try my best to be home so that I can avoid that hassle.

I had a knit picks order that was supposed to arrive on Saturday (according to USPS tracking). It didn't. I watched the mailman drive away and I was left with no yarn. I was a little sad to say the least. I'm planning to make the Tomato sweater by Wendy Bernard and I really just wanted to play with the yarn. (Don't lie - you all know that feeling!)

This morning, I rushed home after my morning at school for the sole purpose of getting that dang package. I had my windows open so that I could see then the mail truck drove up. He arrived. He left. No package!! I went out to check my mailbox & there was a card telling me that I could pick up my precious yarn at 7:30 the next morning.

The guy never even bothered to knock on my door! Angry and desperately jonesing for a yarn fix, I ran back to my apartment to grab my car keys and I chased him down the road. That's right - it was me versus the mail truck, and I was determined to win. He finally stopped about a half mile down the road and I zipped my little Civic in behind him and whipped out the little orange "you have a package" card. He looked at me like I was a crazy woman, but he handed the yarny goodness over to me. He mumbled something to me about "just missing me" and I politely said, "I guess so."

So, needless to say, I'm now the neighborhood freak who stalks the postal workers. I am not sure that I'm ever going to be able to get deliveries again. I'm definitely on the blacklist. However, the yarn was all worth it.

I wound up with some Shine Worsted on sale, so the sweater is costing me less than $25 to complete. Plus, there was a miscount & they sent me one more skein than was ordered. Yay for free yarn!!

Have a great week everyone!