Sadie & Oliver

I Just Couldn't Resist

 

the pom-poms.

pattern:  Cabled Chullo (rav link) by Mary Jane Mucklestone

yarn:  Mirasol Sulka

I meant to make this for myself, but my head is longer than my knitting, so it has instead been gifted to Sadie, who's head is just lovely.  And the pom-poms,... I don't have a fancy pom-pom maker, nor the patience to cut a proper one out of cardboard.  I wrapped the yarn around a 2.5" card about 50 times.  Usually this makes sad pom-poms, sparse and skinny and not at all cute.  This yarn though, makes the poofiest, most velvety pom-poms; pom-poms that make you want to stand up and cheer (you know, if you were so inclined to be ridiculously excited about pom-poms).

And now that we've established my geeky love of pom-poms, I'm off to work on my newest love - a hat with a tassle!  (also designed by Mary Jane)

Dear Jackalope Cowl,

This is the story of how you came to be.

Just before Christmas, I was struck with an urge to do a fair-isle something-or-other, and immediately I had an idea for the niftiest pair of mittens my mitten drawer has ever seen.  Yarn was ordered, charts were drawn, and it all went to pot with the yarn being held hostage somewhere between there and here.

That was when I read through the Winter issue of Interweave Knits and fell a little too in love with the Granted Cowichan inspired sweaters.  And *poof* a project appeared in my head offering me exactly what I needed;  colorwork, a small project, an opportunity to flex creative muscles and last, but certainly not least, a healthy dose of jackalopes.

A girl like me couldn't ask for anything better than jackalopes.

Ravel it here or  

The Details

Knit Picks Palette yarn - 1 ball each of Oyster Heather, Tidepool Heather, Camel Heather & Bark

Garnstudio Drops Alpaca - 1 ball in Light Steel Blue, 8105 (for the lining)

2.75mm & 3.0mm, 16" circular needles

Finished Size:  19" at top edge, 23.5" at bottom edge, and 8.5" long

That Merry Season Flew By!

After two days of family and cookies and gift wrap, I was pleasantly surprised when, on Christmas Day, I found Sadie completely distracted by new toys and I was able to cozy up on the couch and watch Alfred Hitchcock Presents to my hearts content.  And how content it was!  My hands had a much needed break from knitting after all of those

(Pile-able Pups)

and

 
(Little Oddment Hedgehogs)

and

 
(Acorns)

and

  and 
(windschief & botanic) 

and this too

The Peaks Island Hood that I made too short, and ended up having to sew the top two buttonholes shut and leave only one buttonhole for closing.  I think the coziness of the Malabrigo worsted and the sweetness of the design really saved me (not to mention the unconditional pride a mother has for her child), because my mom said she loved it.  Phew!

2009 also marks the year I bought my own Christmas Tree, and it was about time.  But the poor dear needs a tree skirt.  We can't have another year of a naked-bottomed tree.  And some stockings would be nice.  I should probably start work on those now so the mad rush next December can be avoided.  But that's not going to happen.  I secretly enjoy the masochistic knitting schedule that comes with leaving everything to the last minute.

If I Only Had a Life

this blog would be updated so much more often!  My days though are filled with two-year old stuff, like potty training, Cinderella, reading the same stories over and over again, short walks to the grocery store, and now cursing the early Winter that has landed smack-dab on Calgary.  It's a lovely life for me, and for Sadie too, but probably not all that interesting for you.

What I do have to share with you is knitting!  I finished the pattern for the Drifted Pearls scarf on Friday night, and wore it on Saturday for brunch and shopping.  The yarn, Rowan Lima, is fantastic.  It's a chainette yarn, so the scarf is light yet lofty and so, SO warm and cozy.  I'm tempted to make everything forever with Lima.

 

Drifted Pearls on Ravelry

 The response to this scarf in the Ravelry community has been lovely ~ so lovely that I'm a little taken aback.  It's incredibly flattering.  I just wanted to say thank you for the kind messages and comments and of course for buying it (if you've bought it).

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians and Happy Sunday to the rest!

A Theory

in Shawlette form.  Why Theory?  I don't know ~ I'm much more in love with the sound of words than with their actual meanings.  All that said, it's a fine shawlette, knit with Malabrigo Silky Merino, on 5mm needles, making it quick and oh so soft.

The ends are blunt, like a  scarf, but the body of it is curved softly.  It's worked from the bottom scallop up to the garter stitch short rows.

It's available for $5 USD on Ravelry here: 

  

or in my Etsy shop.

Thank you for all of your kind comments about the Little Ruffle scarf, and your well wishes for our trip.  All went very well, and we managed to have a lovely time and make it there and home without too much more drama.  If you happen to be traveling in BC next summer, I highly recommend the Revelstoke KOA.  We stayed in the sweetest little log cabin, complete with porch swing, and air conditioner.  The Enchanted Forest is only about half an hour outside of Revelstoke and made the whole trip that much better.

It's All About The Scarf

My husband's family reunion is this weekend in British Columbia ~ a family reunion we promised to attend before the fuel pump in our SUV quit, and before we realized the bumpy backroads of the last camping trip dislodged all the upper cabinets in our Itty-Bitty (aka. the trailer).  So there we are.  No working vehicle to our name and a dishevled Itty-Bitty.  Thank goodness for rental cars, one room left at the 6 room motel, and a sweet mother-in-law who sends gas cards and coffee cards through the mail to make our 10 hour drive a little nicer.

The best part of this trip so far?  It's this scarf, knit through frustration and budgeting and phone calls and re-budgeting, all with the thought of snuggling up near the campfire with my family.

 

 And now it can be yours too, minus the frustration of vacation plans gone to pot (and then saved miraculously).

What you’ll need:

Garnstudio Drops Alpaca, 3 skeins

US 7 (4.5 mm) needles – straights & 40” circ.

Gauge:

5 sts x 6 rows / 1” square

Notes:  The main body of the scarf is worked lengthwise in stockinette st.  The ruffle is then picked up from the curved edge of the scarf and worked in garter st.

Scarf:

Cast on 10 sts.

Purl 1 row.

Inc R1:  sl 1, yo, k to end.

R2:  sl 1, p to end.

Repeat last two rows until you have 65 sts total.

Even R1:  sl 1, yo, ssk, k to end.

R2: sl 1, p to end.

Repeat last two rows until scarf measures 47” from cast on edge.

Dec R1:  sl 1, yo, sssk, k to end.

R2:  sl 1, p to end.

Repeat last two rows until you have 10 sts remaining.

Bind off.

Ruffle:

With 40” circ, pick up and knit 10 sts from cast on edge, at the curved edge of the scarf, pick up one st in each of the slipped sts, and one st in each of the yo spaces, then pick up 10 sts from the bind off edge.  Turn.

Inc Row:  *k2, k1f&b; repeat from * to end of row.

Following Rows:  k1, k1f&b, k to end

Work in garter stitch, increasing 1 stitch at the beginning of each row until ruffle measures 2”.

Bind off loosely.

 

Finishing:

Weave in all loose ends.

Block only the scarf (the stockinette part), but not the ruffle.

And there she is.  One cozy scarf, a pretty little ruffle, and what I can only hope is an easy-peasy weekend trip.

In Every Life A Little Jackalope Must Fall

And fall he does.  He's a little gimpy in the front legs, you see.

But he's a handsome devil all the same!

 

 And the writer of the pattern, Hansi Singh (of Hansigurumi), well, she's my short-row hero ~ a frickin' genius.  The entire time I was knitting Jack, I found it amazing that someone could write a pattern for something so sculptural never mind think in 3D.  Impressive to say the least.

Next on my list is the Loch Ness Monster.

Sometimes When You Open A Door

a whole bunch of crap falls out.

I opened a door, and since then this has become anything but a knitting blog.  It has become,...well, I'm not sure what.  My place to share all the things that have fallen out from behind the door?  You won't be surprised then, to learn that this post is no exception.

Enter a ridiculously fine tipped pen, tiny papers measuring 11mm x 18mm, and some pendant frames.  I can't decide whether to turn them into necklaces, or to string them on ribbons and make them itty-bitty wall art.  What do you think?

One thing's for certain ~ I miss my knitting needles; the clicking, the rhythym, the softness of the yarn.  I think it's about time I got back to it.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

A Small Project

I put together a tutorial that will be up on Crafters Guru sometime today I believe.

Because who doesn't need more ornaments to hang willy-nilly?

Happy Easter!

 from me, and this ridiculously handsome fellow.

P.S.  Needle felting is awesome!  {I don't know what on earth I'll do with a 2 inch rabbit,...I guess keep him out of Sadie's hands and Oliver's mouth!}