Another Pair :)

Socks done!

Sorry the picture is so terrible-I'm becoming more and more convinced that I need a new camera for Christmas.

It's just 2x2 rib, eye of partridge heel. Instead of the gusset decreases occurring one stitch into the needle, I put the decreases right on the end of needle one and the very first two stitches of needle three. I also put the toe decreases immediately next to each other instead of having a stitch or two in between, so they wouldn't show up as prominently looking down. (Not quite sure why that was so important, but either way it looks decent so I'm not complaining). Was going to give them as Christmas gifts, but...I really like them :)

Quick Break

Oh my gosh. Portfolio week for IB, and I am BEAT. Since I last posted, I have accomplished the following...

Patrick's birthday hat is finished, with ample time between now and the big day. (Which is one day after mine except, ya know, a year earlier. So we're the same age for one day a year. So my dad can't complain that he's too old for me :D ). I won't post a picture in case my some accident I forget it's on here and he looks, but I'll just have you know. It's pretty sweet. Nuf said.

Secondly, following that hat victory I decided to take a swing at kinda sort half designing my own hat (as modeled by one of my teddy bears :) ).
The shape is an only slightly altered version of another pattern I found (can't remember the source just now...) and the designs are either borrowed from other hat patterns, or taken off of the street or from my own noggin. Overall it's a little big, but that means it won't flatten my hair, so it's all good. I wore it to the sectionals game the other weekend, and though I was freezing, it wasn't because my head was chilly.

I also began a quick pair of ribbed socks, and finished the first one and have started the second.

The ribbing goes from cuff to toes, and I used an Eye of Partridge heel just to see how it would look. Super simple, with a pretty colorway for machine dyed sock yarn. Whether they're for me or for use as a Christmas gift, the ribbing is sure to accommodate at least a few different sizes.

Yeah. That's about it.

Why I Knit

So lately the temperature has plummeted to almost record lows for this time of year, and with all of the homecoming activities and dog walks (and walks with the boyfriend :D lol ) I had skipped up to the attic to locate our bin full of winter gear. Now, as a knitter I of course own a plethora of hand knit hats, and have little if any real "need" for the store-bought variety. However, there has been one exception to this.

Last year for Christmas, one of my sets of grandparents bestowed upon me a hat. It was from my favorite store, made of chunky cables with a hot pink crown and a white bottom. It had huge ear flaps, and braided ties, and the lower half was lined with the softest ever fleece. I loved this hat. I wore it absolutely everywhere I could, and even declined to knit my own ear flap hat, only to have it fall short of this perfection.

Happily searching through the bin, I pulled out scarf after scarf and mittens galore, thinking fondly of their beginnings. The hat, though stayed in the back of my mind. It was only when my fingertips brushed the bottom of the container that I realized, with a gasp of horror...the hat wasn't there! I panicked, and by the time I had thoroughly searched the attic I had strewn bags and coats and pocket linings all about the floor. How could I have lost it?!? The mudroom received the same treatment. The pantry. The basement. In the end, I finally had to resign myself to the fact that my hat was gone. Heartbroken, I attended football games and tailgates, only halfheartedly displaying my homemade cabled cappers perched atop my hair. Then last night, the night of homecoming, this all changed!

Milling through the impossibly thick crowd, my eyes wandered from hat to hat. Funky color work, chunky diamond cables, and peruvian chullos were everywhere. Wait...it was the hat!!! Over in a group of freshman sat the same exact hat, only with a cheeky red crown instead of a pink one. I felt envy at her fuzzy fleeced brand-named warmth. Until I remembered-wearing that hat meant wearing the same exact hat as a girl I had never met, and may have had nothing in common with. My red topper, bobbled and cabled, spoke volumes more because I had made it. Even if Emmydee goes to the store tomorrow and picks up Charmed Knits and some Patons wool, her hat won't be like mine. Even just looking at our Half Blood Prince hats, anyone could tell two different people made them. This is why I knit. To add some personality and spice that can never be replicated, ever!

32 Degrees

Officially freezing as of 8:30 this morning. I now have another excuse to procrastinate on Christmas knitting-someone is gonna need all of those warm WIP's finished, right? That person could be my sister, my cousins...or, ya know, me. It would be irresponsible to knit thin little ankle socks in the face of possible frost, don't'cha think?

I Lied.

I re-watched The Prisoner of Azkaban, and the movie scarves are dark dark dark dark DARK burgundy. Oh well. I still like my colors :) Luna's scarf is still waiting to be started, but I fear she'll have to wait a bit longer...while crochet projects are quick, a one-day-only 20% off all yarns sale at Ben Franklin means an opportunity for more Christmas gift materials!

Ok, SOOOO...

Gwynedd is finished, and she was quite the marathon! (Or, at the very least, a 5K).

Super thick and warm, this scarf will be a gorgeous staple in my wardrobe this winter, I do believe.

Al so finished a while ago was my Fern Glade, the slouchy version, and while it's a bit big (shocking, I know. Usually my cranium is beyond any other sizewise), it's pretty and a nice change for boring outfit days when I want to funk it up a little bit.

Lovely.

When I needed a small, easy project to work on while on the recumbent bike, I cast on some easy handwarmers in Knitpicks Peruvian Highland Wool, color Cherry Blossom. The picture turned out terrible, I'll take another one later, but these have proved super useful. The pattern is called Emerald Green Handwarmers, but obviously these aren't. The wool is inexpensive, and the pair was knit in two or three hours, so these have become my workhorse handwarmers. I can wear them in the frigid school basement when writing essays during study hall, and if they start to pill or lose texture on the right hand from friction it won't be too large a loss. I even have two more skeins of the yarn if I want an exact replacement! (This pair took less than one skein).

Lastly, I finally started my Harry Potter scarf!

I picked up four skeins of Paton Classic Wool Merino in Burgundy and one in Old Gold, and so far the colors are pretty close to that of the movie. Some of the others I've seen looked too cranberry or plain red, and that was something I wanted to avoid. The 1x1 ribbing isn't boring yet, as the stripes keep it interesting at regular intervals and I'm a relatively quick knitter. It's fabulous mindless knitting for just before or after school, right before bed, or while watching tv. (These also happen to be the only times I'm really able to knit these days, so it all works out perfectly).

The merino is so much softer than the new Patons Classic Wool-I so wish they hadn't changed it! But of course they have, and I'll just have to resign myself to the fact that any other house scarves I make may not be quite as comforting on a cold winter day. I can't wait for this to be finished so I can wear it! (And start the Ravenclaw one soon after I finish Luna's)!

Sorry, Sorry...

Camera is acting screwy, too much homework. Just had to share I finally bought the yarn for both the Year 3-4 Gryffindor House Scarf (I plan on making a Ravenclaw one later), and Luna Lovegood's crocheted scarf from the fifth movie. I'm happy as a clam. Gotta run.