test strip wound
About 10 seconds worth of work. We are pleased.
We need to shoot a video in the morning - this was too late to get good light with Gunnar's Flip camera. Then you can see how speedy it really is. The best comment in the video we tried to shoot was Annika saying "Mama! This is going to save you so much time!" Smart girl.
I think the reason I've been a reasonably productive knitter lately is that I'm keeping yarn and needles at the ready next to "my" spot on the couch. When I sit down, I can grab whatever project is in progress (tonight it's a toddler size hat out of the red and blue) and knit while I chat with the kids or watch a TV show or have my computer open on the arm of the couch. If I have to search for the yarn or the needles, then my progress slows dramatically. So, I'm trying to stick to one needle size with similar yarns to minimize the digging. A better solution would be to clean out the craft room (ahem) but I need to devote a whole day to that. Maybe after the Malabrigo runs out and I have to look for something new.
The planning has begun for Thanksgiving dinner. I think it's just our family of five this year, so I'm trying to balance having all those traditional dishes that we love with not overdoing the cooking (and tiring of the leftovers). On the menu is a Hassayampa ham, since someone (the boy) has sworn off poultry. Something about those girls of ours in the back yard. We'll also have both sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes (for Lindsay), brussels sprouts, green beans, rolls, and dressing with ham gravy. Dessert is a sweet potato pie. We'll also poach some beautiful pears from the farmer's market. I think that'll be enough to feed us all weekend. I need to get to baking the rolls tomorrow and the pie filling and crust, so Thursday's work is minimal.
Happy Thanksgiving week, friends. We have much to be thankful for.
It was the last soccer game of the season today, and the boy was sad. However, he won't have to cool his heels for long because the spring season starts on January 4. Oy. I'd better find a chair that I won't get stuck in with my great big belly, because it'll be huge by then. I don't want to be stuck in a chair with my feet waving in the air waiting for someone to help me out of it.
There are some good ideas coming in for handmade gifts - be sure to speak up if you have anything else. Today, we went to SAS fabric by the pound and the kids bought dollar bags of beads and 4 yards of red wire for $1. So far they're each made a necklace, G has made several Christmas ornaments, and A made a bracelet and there are a lot of beads left. Hours of fun for $3. Oh, and that doesn't count the fun the cats are having with the beads that get left on the table. Maybe the fat one will lose a couple of pounds with all the chasing.
That's all I have. Jeff is home for the week, so I'm anticipating getting a lot done. Right? Right.
Seeing that Thanksgiving is around the corner, my thoughts have been turning to Christmas and gifting. We started a tradition here that we give handmade gifts or creative supplies to one another, and that Santa brings the purchased bigger gift. It has worked out really well and has minimized the I-want-itis that can so easily take over Christmas. I started the making earlier, so that I won't be as overwhelmed pressed for time as I was last year. We're also giving food gifts to the local friends and neighbors, which means that the kids can help. And of course, there's knitting and sewing.
I ordered some silhouette paper, inkjet fabric sheets, and other crafty supplies to help us in our endeavors, along with the art supplies that show up in the kids' stockings each year. Those kids go through a lot of paper, pencils and paints. Oh, and googly eyes. Where do they all go? By the way, Dick Blick has a coupon for between $15 and $60 off of your order, which was a big help to me. I find that they have great prices anyway, but I'm always looking for ways to keep it less expensive.
I'm loving this idea by Erin, and can see some fun ways to apply it to Christmas gifts for the neighbors. I'll also be using this book and this one quite frequently. I'll be sharing sneak peeks of what we're up to, and am happy to email ideas that I can't show on the blog for spoiler reasons. Oh, and I'd really like to make a Waldorf doll for Annika but I think I should have started it a while ago and I'd be crazy to take it on now.
What are you planning/hoping to make for the holidays?
With all the hat making going on, someone wouldn't be left out of the fun. After all, he is the hat kid. He chose bright bright bright yellow for his hat. Same hat recipe as the last ones.
Luckily for me, Annika wants mittens. So I'm moving on briefly until she asks for the hat to match.
Expect 2 posts today, since I mistakenly saved this to draft last night during Project Runway. With as boring as it was, I'm surprised I was that distracted!
Until this evening, then. Have a great day!
A couple of weeks ago, Ansley emailed me to ask if I could make oven mitts for her, in exchange for some of her beautiful soap. I've been playing around with them, so I was excited to make a pair for her.
I had already traced a mitt pattern, so I added a patchwork strip to the bottom. These ended up being quite long - they go midway up the forearm. I like that for reaching into the oven, but I may shorten them a bit in the next iteration. I chose the patchwork fabrics to coordinate with the mitt print, which is from Alexander Henry's Everything but the Kitchen Sink line. I found it in the clearance section at the fabric store in Cannon Beach, and sadly have had no luck in finding it anywhere else. I think it's perfect for this kind of project, so I'm sure the rest of it will be popping up here and there.
The mitts are reversible - here is a shot of one side.
And the other.
I hope she likes them. If not, she can send them back to me and I'll happily put them to use.
I'm feeling pretty good about myself, people. I've made 2 hats in the last 3 days, and will have a 3rd finished up tomorrow. Granted, hats on size 7 needles are not exactly complex and time consuming knitting, but I'll take what I can get.
Finished hat #1 is Turn a Square by Jared Flood. I was working with what I had, so my hat is more stripey looking than his, but I think it turned out nicely.
Modeled by Jeff, who has an enormous head that is approximately the same size as that of the recipient (last night's birthday boy). I used Karabella Aurora 8 in chocolate brown and grass green, which is soft and squishy and warm. Hopefully it'll keep his head nice and warm while he snowboards this year.
I will also be kind enough to mention that Jeff looks so happy here because his college football team beat spanked my college team today. He is trying very hard to not gloat, but he is a very very happy guy. Happy enough to model a hat.
One more hat to finish, and it's on to the Christmas present making. Much to do!
