Christmas Knitting

I managed to knit two Christmas gifts this year! I have cut back on the number of people I give gifts to and I have only a few recipients who would appreciate a hand-made gift, so two seemed like the right number this year.

Gift #1 is for my friend Ariel. It's a shawl in her favorite color, purple. The pattern is found on the Classic Elite website. I used one of my favorite yarns, Malabrigo Sock. I love that yarn! I must warn that the shawl used quite a bit more yarn than the pattern said I'd need. I wrote about that on my Ravelry project page. I am quite happy with the finished object.

Gift #2 is for my mom. She seems to really like purple these days. I made her a super simple scarf in the mistake rib stitch (cast on a multiple of 4+1 stitches, K2, P2 till last stitch, then K that stitch--repeat every row the same until you get tired of doing it). The scarf is squishy, reversible, and in a happy coincidence, coordinates with the new jacket my brother got her for Christmas.

Happy new year!

DOT -- Puppy at the Beach

I haven't posted anything here in a long time! So to let you know I am still alive, here's a photo of Lucy at the beach. We went to Galveston last weekend for a quick trip. It was cool and gray and not the prettiest weather for a trip to the beach. But because no one was there, Lucy was able to run and play without disturbing anyone. She enjoyed herself!

As for knitting, I am working (still) on a cardigan. I will try to take some in-progress photos and post them here next week.

Tote Bag

Last year at the Houston Marathon my friend Carol won a trip to Greece to compete in the Athens Marathon. How cool is that? I'm totally jealous because I've always wanted to win that drawing. But if I can't go, I can send Carol off in style. So I made her a totebag out of this year's (never worn) T-shirt, some coordinating cotton, and a few notions.

I made a similar bag once before. When I finished, I thought about how I would improve the design if I ever made one again. I decided a small tag in the seam to identify me as the "designer" was needed. (This must come from years of reading Vogue.) So I had some little tags made. I folded one in half and sewed it into the seam. Here's the front.

And here's the back.

And I put a little red heart button inside to continue the theme of the tag.

I'm happy with this. I hope Carol is too.

Cowl

This is the Thermis cowl. (Ravelry link) I used the same kind of yarn as I did for my Hawthorne scarf/shawl, Dream in Color Classy, in the same color, Gold Experience. Yes, it was a leftover skein from that project. The leather buttons are from Joann's. I love the selection there.

I hope the recipient likes this as much as I do!

Movie Star Scarf

I was looking through the book More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts and I saw this cute little scarf. It was inspired by a vision of Grace Kelly wearing a similar one, cruising through Monaco in her convertible. Hmm, I have a convertible. Maybe if I make this scarf, I'll have a life as glamorous as Grace Kelly's.

I made the scarf. My life still isn't glamorous. Maybe that's because this is a gift. I need to make another one, just for me, and maybe the good life will follow.

One end of the scarf goes through the keyhole so there's no bulky knot at the neck. The yarn is Knit Picks Gloss Lace and I used less than 100 yards.

Happy Fall

It's October. That means fall. Even the weather feels fall-like, at least in the mornings. Maybe, hopefully, in a few weeks I will be able to wear my newest creation, the Hawthorne shawl/scarf. This is another great pattern from Twist Collective by Susanna IC. (I've already made her Abrazo and Annis.)

The yarn is Dream in Color Classy. The color, Gold Experience, really says fall to me.


It's really big! It's going to be cozy, wrapped around my neck on chilly days.

Plethora of Peaches, Part 1

For our vacation this year, we drove to Colorado to see my mom and to spend some time in the mountains. It was fantastic. I have been back nearly two weeks and am just now posting some photos.

My mom has a peach tree in the back yard that is prolific. The peaches are sweet, juicy, and delicious. Since they were ripening, she harvested some while we were there. That's her up on the ladder.

Even Lucy thought the peaches were delicious. They tasted so good to her that she even ate the pits! This wasn't authorized eating. She was just scavenging some that had fallen off the tree.

Read the next post to see what I did with some of my peaches.

Plethora of Peaches, Part 2

My mom sent me home with a big box of her delicious peaches. Of course the best way to eat them is just straight. But we couldn't eat that many all at once. So I made several things with the peaches over Labor Day weekend.

Peach pie. It's Betty Crocker's recipe--can't improve on that--and our family's old pie crust recipe.

Freezer jam. The recipe is the one found inside the Sure Jell pectin box.

Peach crumble. Though the Smitten Kitchen lady calls it Peach Shortbread, I don't think the name is accurate. Whatever it is, the people in my office liked it.

Vacation Knitting

I recently went on a roadtrip to Colorado, to visit my mom and to spend some time in the mountains. I knew I'd have a lot of time in the car to knit. Since the vacation would be relaxed, with no place we needed to be at a certain time, I thought I would have plenty of opportunity to knit. I wanted a fun and interesting project, but not something too complicated that might require techniques I wasn't familiar with. So I decided to make an Ishbel shawl (Ravelry link), something I'd made before.

I'm quite happy with the results! The Malabrigo sock yarn is very nice too. This color is Tiziano Red and I love the subtle variations in shade.

I love looking at the pre-blocking pictures and comparing them to the finished object. Sometimes blocking seems like a pain, but it is so worth it. (This obviously is the before.)

The biggest lesson of this Ishbel: I have learned so much about lace knitting in the year since the first time I made this shawl. I found I am now a confident lace knitter. That somewhat surprised me.

Knitting Update

Yes, it's the hottest time of year. The past four days have topped out at 98 degrees. But when I saw the new issue of Twist Collective, I knew I had to cast on for some fall knitting.

My first item from this issue is another fantastic scarf/shawl by Susanna IC. This one is called Hawthorne. Yes, it will be a while before I can wear it, but when that day comes I want to be ready!

The yarn is Dream in Color Classy. The fall color I've chosen is Gold Experience.

DOT -- Daily Smiler

Lucy had her 15 minutes (er, 24 hours) of fame this past Saturday. She was a Daily Smiler on the home page of The Bark.She was honored to share her fame with Brody.
I submitted this photo in March 2009! There must be a backlog of dogs vying for Daily Smiler.

Wordless Wednesday 8-4-2010

(fungus on the tree stump)

Jammin'

I tried something new on Sunday. I made freezer jelly using the recipe found on the Sure Jell website. This was the easiest thing to do! I just needed some strawberries, sugar, pectin, and jars. Here's my before photo. I really misestimated. I used less than one container of strawberries and w-a-y more than four jars.

This is what the chopped and mashed berries looked like. After I added the pectin it looked exactly the same but a bit more stiff.

And here's my finished product: 11 jars of strawberry jam! Yummy.

Straggler

I thought the bluebirds had completed their migration in early May. Imagine my surprise to find this one resting in the tree when I went out to run Sunday morning. He's a little straggler. After a short stay in Houston, he's on his way to Norway. (Ravelry link)
Such a cute little thing!

DOT -- Muddy Buddy

This dog is supposed to be 100% Labrador Retriever. I have my doubts. She seems to be part piggy. This spot at the dog park is always full of mud if it has recently rained. Lucy knows that. She finds it and wallows in it. Can you see her tennis ball in the lower right of the photo? Can you see the mud on her tongue?

This is what she looked like when she got out. Notice, she also took the tennis ball out. A friend who saw this photo said, "She looks like a Suburban that went off-roading."

Yes, she got a shower before she was allowed back in the Jeep.

Wordless Wednesday 7-14-2010

Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado

DOT -- She's Not Dead

She just looks like it.

Apparently this is a very comfortable way to sleep in the crate.

Wordless Wednesday 7-7-2010

I see that a lot of people do Wordless Wednesday posts, so I thought I'd occasionally try it. That's already more words than I should post so I'll shut up.

Annis

Since I learned how to do short rows making my Abrazo shawl, I decided to continue the theme and knit another shawl by the same designer. It's called Annis. The construction is the same as for the Abrazo. You cast on lots and lots of stitches...maybe I should say hundreds and hundreds...363 to be exact, knit 18 rows of lace, and then knit the stockinette/short row portion. Block and you've got a very pretty shawl.

I am loving the Knit Picks lace yarn. This one is Gloss Lace. It's so reasonably priced and very nice.
Look at these nupps! This is a new skill I learned making this shawl. They are not hard to do, but require some patience, especially on the purl row when you have to purl 7 stitches together.
Despite that, this was a very quick project for me--10 days from cast-on until I took it off the blocking board. I think I'll be making more of these for Christmas presents.

Abrazo

Lately I've made a lot of shawls. I've liked them all, but wow--this is my favorite! It's called Abrazo and I bought the pattern from Twist Collective. You start out by casting on 367 stitches, then move into the lace. After that, you do short rows to give the shawl its shape. (Here I am, talking like I know all about short rows. Before this project I had no idea what a short row was.)

I think it's beautiful.
Wearing it is like getting a hug!
Here's my Ravelry page with specifics.

Emily, Take 3

Yes, this is the third time I've made this shawl. I can't help myself. It's so easy and so pretty. This particular one is a birthday gift for a purple-loving friend whose birthday is in July. I think this may be my favorite of them all.

I used Stroll Tonal Sock Yarn from Knit Picks. This yarn is great. It was nice to work with, no splitting or other issues. The color variation is subtle but interesting. After soaking it's even softer than before.
I promise not to make another one of these, at least until fall.

Texas Dishcloth

I should have duplicate stitched over the purl bump that represents Houston.

Who knew there was a pattern available for a Texas dishcloth?

Maybe I should design a cloth for my native state of Colorado. Since it's a rectangle that shouldn't be too hard.

Emily, Take 2

I like this shawl pattern a lot. So I made it again. Clearly it's for summer, given the sunny yellow yarn I used. The pattern is easy to follow and easy to memorize.Blocking is magic!

DOT -- Deserted Dog Park

Yes, it rained the night before. Yes, the dog park was a muddy mess. Yes, it was threatening to rain again. But I didn't expect the dog park to be totally deserted on Saturday morning. For the first half hour we were there Lucy had the whole thing to herself!

This sign always makes me laugh. Lucy demonstrates proper "dog use" of the pond.

She's a natural-born swimmer.

Sitting pretty, waiting for me to throw the ball.

What a retriever!

Mud between her toes makes this girl smile.

A note on the fire hydrant: There are several scattered throughout the park. I was beginning to think that was just a myth, the story about dogs and fire hydrants. I'd never seen a dog "use" a fire hydrant in the park...until a few weeks ago. Hershey (yes, I know several of the dogs' names but not the parents' names) used the fire hydrant. So I guess it isn't a myth after all.

Another note: iPhone photos aren't bad at all!