I made it!

I didn't accomplish everything that I had hoped, but everyone still got the basics of what I intended. I even managed to get the items that needed to be shipped to Seattle, Sparks and San Mateo off in time to arrive before the great day. A couple of days to spare even. So success!

I shipped off three pairs of Amy March Slippers by Tiny Owls in three sizes to fit 8, 9 and 10 inch feet:

I also finished Brandon's Dragon Pouch. It's for him to wear with his SCA garb. It's loosely based off of the idea of a sporran:

There's enough room in the pouch to hold his cell phone, wallet and keys. I'll have to knit him up one of the Monk's Travel Satchel for extra carry ability at events.

Nephew Cole's birthday is the beginning of the month so knit him some socks and a Gnomey hat. The socks were just a basic k2p2 rib in the Stitchjones Liger colorway.

Cole being held by Grandma Jeanne, sitting next to dad Scott

I had showed the Baby Surprise Jacket that I had made for baby Alyssa. Then I saw all the red hair she was born with and worried that it might clash a bit. Plus we didn't get to see them at Thanksgiving, so she's now nine weeks old and I was crazy enough to decide to do a new one for her. I was going to start with a baby weight fingering yarn, then decided that wasn't going to help me get it done. So went back to Ravelry to look through my stash and found a pretty combination, though it turns out I had enough of the pink to do it all just in that, of purple and pink in the Vanna's Choice yarns. I found three purple buttons in the stash and had it all knit by the time it was time to go over Christmas Eve. Shannon thinks it looks about six month size and Alyssa is currently wearing three so she'll have some growing room in it. I didn't get a picture of her in it, hopefully mom will do that for me.

 Alyssa and daddy Kyle napping Christmas day

Before the buttons were put on. I add to sneak the sewing in while getting dressed. We were running later than Brandon wanted to be there. (We were actually fine on time.) Pattern is Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Sweater on Two Needles (February).

I've received three skeins of pretty yarn as gifts, so it will be nice using those in the future. Two are sock yarns and one is a skein of hand dyed mohair. 

Took the opportunity last night to start a project for me from, the Diamonds and Pearls Shawl that friend Shelia designed. I'm using a pretty red mohair and silk yarn and its knitting up quickly. I was through row 44 out of 79 before bed. I haven't knit any today, yet, but if it gets done today, okay. ;-)  

I've been planning out the knitting for the next year. I hope to be more successful with the Monthly Make Ahead group than I was this year. I still have things in the box (yarns and patterns together), but I did dip in and steal some yarns, so I'll have to check that to see if I still have a workable plan. Also joined the Socks from Stash group. I have more than twelve sock yarns and patterns, so printing out the patterns and putting them in ziplock bags with the yarns is the next step. Then the goal is to do a pair each month for my own sock club. I also realized that I have more than twelve shawls and yarns so joined the 11 Shawls in 2011 group (name changes in January if you check out the link). They're more flexible in their time line. You have all year to get them done. I think they also have some KALs and group contests, so that will be fun to possibly participate in. I'm also going to tackle at least one sweater for myself. I have one planned for mom but I have yet to knit a full sized cardigan for myself. I'm also setting up a goal of spinning a skein a month. This will help decrease the fiber stash and increase the yarn. ;-) Cause I also want to knit more from the handspun stash. The shawl knitting will help with that goal.

I hope you were able to make your holiday knitting goals too! Have you set any for the new year? Trying out a new stitch pattern? Knitting a pair of socks or shawl for the first time? Doing a sock or shawl club?  Or am I the only crazy knitter out here? ;-)

Freakishly Fast Knit

I started the Amy March Slippers (Ravelry link only available one) yesterday afternoon, I was 'done' with them within a few hours (watched two movies while working them). I used Judy's Magic Cast On ala Cat Bordhi's video guide to get going. This is a super easy cast on, once you get the flow going and do it a few times. I even did it with dpns! ;-)  I found for me since I don't have two sets of US 10 circs that using dpns was the way to go. I also found it easier to be successful if I did the first nine rounds on the cast on dpns.

The pattern just flowed from the beginning. I made two modifications from the original pattern. ;-) My Mods - 1) I followed a standard short row heel instead of trying to do the clusters. I’ve done them before so it was just easier for my brain to wrap itself around a known concept than her clusters.
2) Instead of letting the ribbon hold all those live stitches and be how the slipper is kept on the foot. I followed another knitters idea of picking up the side stitches then put the instep stitches on and picking up the opposite sides stitches and then knitting one round. The next round was a yo, k2tog around and then a knitted bind off. I think with the ribbon and cinching to fit the foot, it gives a little ruffley edge.

Do you always knit a pattern as it was intended the first time or go ahead and make changes as you deem appropriate?

The slippers still need to have their two ends woven in. Yes, just two ends each! Nothing like the French Press Slippers (FPS) that you have to seam together, then all those many ends to weave in. I have some t-shirt paint that I used on the FPS to put on the bottoms so that there's no danger of the giftee sliding and falling while wearing these on hardwood floors.

 Showing I still need to weave ends in.

 What they look like on and without ribbons to make them 'fit'.

 I wove in the ribbon on the side, obviously I need to do it from the front to get the bow there.

 I think the front definitely needs the bow over the instep. Not sure if they'll need something else.

These are some of my ribbon options. The really loose one is the one I used to take pics with (left). I also have some to the right that have wire in the ribbon, not sure how well that would work but an option. and then I have the two different satin ribbons that could be done singly, but I think would be better together. I don't have 'lacy' ribbon in the house, but could buy some. 

Which ribbon(s) would you pick?

An overall satisfying knit. I plan to do one more pair for someone. I think I can do the second pair from the same skein of Lamb's Pride Bulky. How awesome is that? The FPS needed two skeins to get one pair as a comparison point. Since I have two skeins of bulky and I like purple, I can make a pair for myself and maybe for the person I got the yarn from. (Are you peaking Tammy? - If you are, how long is your foot?) ;-)