Joy to the World!

I have my laptop back and can post regularly again, instead of shivering in a cold corner of the basement, trying to make do on my husband's desktop. It seems like ages since I've posted, and I've missed it. Every so often, I would think, "I should post that on the blog." But I didn't.

Anyway, I've been knitting Christmas owls like crazy since I was last here. Fourteen total. Fifteen, if you count the one my mom admired so much that I let her take it home with her after Thanksgiving. Six of them have eyes and beaks, which means I have to make 8 more sets in the next few days. This is achievable. At least I think so now. I'm not sure if I'll be singing the same song come Monday evening. Cross your fingers for me.

I also managed to finish my father in-law's socks (just yesterday!) and I'm really pleased at how well they came out. This is the first time I've ever knit socks on size 0 needles, and I think I might want to do more. That size needle is perfect for Cascade Heritage, and my husband is actually kind of coveting those socks, so I think he'll get a pair too. I can't believe I'm committing to making more stuff on tinier needles. I may just start getting manicures so I can get my hands massaged after all that fine-gauge knitting. I wonder if that would qualify for my health savings account. I'll have to check that the next time I'm in the office.

Now that the socks are done, I've cast on a project on big(ger) needles: Cabled Hat by Yuko Nakamura. This will be a belated gift for my trainer at the gym, whose favorite color is purple. The only purple yarn I had in my stash was one lonely skein of Nashua Isabella (now discontinued) in amethyst that I bought before the Knit Nook closed. Since that yarn only has 109 yards to the skein, I had to have a good look through the Ravelry pattern database before I found a hat pattern I could make with so little yarn. I'm really hoping I have enough! This will be a nice project to work on while visiting with all our family at Christmas, especially since it's on size 7 needles. I have one skein of the Isabella in topaz as well, which will come in handy if I finish this hat before the holiday is over.

One other crafty thing I've been working on is getting some art prints I've had for awhile framed and matted. Sometime last year, I bought this set of prints from my friends at Madpixel and have wanted them on the wall ever since. Finally, last weekend, I went to the art supply store, bought some mat board and got busy! I also managed to buy some frames and spent the weekend getting each print in a frame. I hung all the prints this afternoon and was so happy about how good they looked that I staged a little bourbon tableau and took the photo you see below. Of course, now that I've taken another look around their website, there are plenty more prints I need to have.

Well, that's all I have for now. Merry Christmas, Friends.

Cat and Mousies!

The mosaic cat is finished! It looks pretty cool - I can't wait to get it hung up. I think it's going to live on the faux-brick wall in my dining room, along with its peacock friend. I have also been checking out Etsy & Ebay for more of their friends (mainly the pheasant that goes with the peacock & the Siamese cat that goes with my black cat), so that the wall will look a little more filled in. I've found all kinds of neat examples of these kits and I'm having a hard time deciding what to get. Most of the completed mosaics I'm finding are priced at around $40, some as high as $65, and then shipping. What's blowing my mind is that when these kits were originally sold in stores, the peacock kit went for $10 and the cat kit went for $5. But then, according to this inflation calculator page, in current dollars, the peacock kit would now cost $60.24 and the cat would now be $30.12, so I paid just about the right price for the cat when I bought it in an antique shop two years ago. I feel like I should go back and see if there are any more. If any of you happen to see the Siamese cat out there anywhere, please let me know - I am happy to reimburse you for it if you buy it. I'd really like to have the pair.

In knitting news, I've made a couple more stuffed mice, as two of my nieces requested them at Christmas. They didn't get any in their stockings because it was thought they were too old for stuffed animals anymore. They were very sweet about asking for a mouse each and hoped I could make them in pinks and purples for them. I think that of these two, the lavender one with the peachy-colored ears is the more successful - I think the other is a little too dark. I think I'll try to make a pinkish one, this time with a bright contrast for the ears. I'll have to do a little digging through my stash, though, these mice have been great for using up remants of sock yarn!

Well, that's it for this one, y'all! See you next time.

Mosaic-by-Numbers is fun!

I can't believe how much fun I'm having making this black cat mosaic-by-number. It's really incredibly easy; the only difficulty is coming up with the hand strength to squeeze the glue bottle. I made more progress on it, filling in the haunches and tail with the matte black stones. All I have left is that great, long torso. Once that's finished I'll fill in any small places that were missed and hang it on the wall. I have to find a place for it, but I think it will fit right in with our late 1960's/early 1970's basement decor.

I've also started on a pair of socks for my husband. They're very thick - I'm using Jarbo Garn's Raggi sock yarn, which is classified on Ravelry as an aran-weight yarn, and US5 needles. The socks are going really fast, since the leg is just a 2x2 rib and I did a simple slipped-stitch heel flap. I'm nearly finished with the gusset decreases, and since the feet will be stockinette, I feel sure that these socks will be done before the weekend is.

It's a short, sweet post tonight, Friends. I have about 10 minutes until Top Chef comes on, so I have to run. Until next time.

It's almost like I'm getting somewhere.

I finished my Vilai socks yesterday, even weaving in the ends and getting them washed and blocked! They've turned out to be lovely socks; the colors are beautiful and the yarn softened up nicely after washing. I made them in US size 6, since my mom convinced me that her friend would really like to have a pair of handknit socks. It worked out alright for me, as I was getting a little bored with the pattern and was glad to be able to finish up with such a tiny, little foot.

I've also made some progress on the mosaic cat, getting the face filled in. It's a curious process, this mosaic-by-numbers. Applying the braid and the sequins was pretty easy, but filling in the large spaces with little bits of broken glass has been a little tricky. Part of it might be because the bottle of glue I'm using has a little bitty hole for the glue to come out that gets clogged up fairly easily. For a while there, I had to squeeze really hard with both hands just to get a pea-sized bit of glue. Once I went after the nozzle with a t-pin, I was able to clear out the clogs and get nice smooth lines of glue. The other reason it's tricky is that I have to spread the glue evenly, then hope that I get the glass spread evenly, so that it all adheres. If you look at the close-up, you can see a few bare spots that I'll have to fill piece by piece. I think once I clean up the places where the glass is covering the braid, the cat will look pretty cool.

Well, that's all for now - I'm headed out to meet some friends for knitting at a local coffeeshop. Until next time, Friends!

Making Lemonade.

You know that tired old saying, "When life hands you lemons..." Well, since it's the New Year, I thought it would be good if I finished some things and so last night I decided that I'd continue with my Hydrangea bag. I'd made a supply run to Joann's a few days before Christmas, so I had all the bits and pieces that I needed to complete the bag. I got my sewing machine threaded and bobbined so I could put on the zipper, and whaddya know? No freaking zipper foot. I looked all over the place and couldn't find it. I looked for it again this afternoon. No dice.

So I did what any crafter in my position would do: I started a new project.

This new project is not knitting; it's a sort of glue-by-numbers thing I found a couple years ago at an antique mall. It's a General Crafts Picturesque. "The elegant mosaic to make by number," as the brochure that came with it says. I looked all over the place, trying to find a date to clue me in about when this kit might have been produced, and finally found it in the corner: 1969. The mosaic I'm working on is a black cat, long and stylized. The eyes have a big gold paiette and a turquoise teardrop-shaped jewel. The cat's collar is 4 pieces of turquoise glass tiles. Then there's pink glass and black glass for the mosaic bits and gold braid and black braid to establish the lines. It screams retro. I made pretty good progress on it tonight, and though I probably get back to it until the weekend, I think I can have it finished within a week.

The funny thing about this mosaic is that I actually already have a finished one that I found at a shop in Red Key, Indiana. It's a really small town: I think there was maybe a flashing red light at the four-way stop, but it might have actually been before you got into town. Anyway, the finished one is a golden peacock, also long and stylized. The nice thing about having the catalog of all the different kits is that I can see that each of the two projects I have has a mate, which I kind of feel like I want to look for. I have no idea if I'll find them, but I may just start keeping an eye out for them.

That's all I have for tonight. Until next time.

2011 Was Alright.

It was a pretty good year, for the most part. I got to go to Sock Summit. I won two blue ribbons at the State Fair. I passed my NCIDQ exam. Those are the highlights, I think. I started this blog, too. I think I did alright with the posting, even if I didn't quite get here twice a week.

Looking over last year's projects, it looks like I completed 32 projects. It seems like a huge amount of knitting and, quite frankly, I'm not sure how I did it. I appear to have knit 11 pairs of socks, 5 baby sweaters, two pairs of booties, 3 sweaters, one vest, two shawlettes and 8 mice. There were a few hats & scarves in there too.

Amongst all those projects, I think that my Vesper sweater is my favorite. It's easily the best fitting garment I made for myself, I love the color and I love the softness of the yarn. It was certainly a challenge as well, with its seemingly endless rounds of stockinette in DK-weight yarn and my early mistake of putting a full twist in the round. The effort was worth it though: it's the garment I wear most.

My least favorite project of the year was probably the Kusha Kusha scarf, just because it was miles and miles of stockinette. The yarn was interesting, but the knitting was boring. Boring, boring, boring. I still haven't gotten around to felting the crazy thing. I still have a cone of the silk/stainless steel yarn, but I think it will wait in my stash until I feel some inspiration to use it. Maybe in some kind of accessory or gift for someone.

In the coming year, I expect to do plenty of knitting, but I might also be augmenting it with some sewing and needlepoint, too. I've got a few ideas for some home decorating projects, so it will be fun to flex my creative muscles on some other crafts as well.

Anyway, I have plenty of things to look forward to this year, and I hope you'll stick with me. Until next time, Friends.