Knittinggarden

I've finished a few things, started a few things, and still have a few things underway.  Here's the knitting that I've finished since the last post.  Maybe I'll get organized and post the spinning that I've done tomorrow. I last reported on the hat and booties made for my banker friend's new baby.  They were finished in time to give to him when he was just a couple of weeks old and I was happy to receive a photo of the baby wearing his new hat.  As the youngest of four boys (!) I thought it would be nice if he had a couple of items made just for him. I made a quick hat for a neighbor in the desert who was going home to the wilds of northern Canada for Christmas.  He saw me knitting one day and asked if I was making him a hat, so I did.  Sorry for the fuzzy photo; it wasn't stored on this computer and it fuzzed up when I imported it from Flickr or Ravelry.  You get the idea. I made some socks for my sister out of Madelinetosh Sock in t...

I've had a request for Thanksgiving photos, so here they are.  We had a lovely holiday with 19 family members and friends joining us for dinner.  We strung together three long tables so everyone would feel included. DH advises future SIL on proper method of setting up tables.   Big Bro and Little Sis enjoyThanksgiving eve. AR needs to learn how to smile better. Buddy's already looking for crumbs. Cool turkey centerpiece made from bread that AR found at a local bakery. Gram always closes her eyes. Apparently purple was the color of the day. Gram looks happy now. Good looking kids, huh? There's DH waaaay down there at the end. A fun bunch, great food, a wonderful gathering.  I'm thankful for family. The fun and games continue into the next day and a good time is had by all.

What is the world coming to?  I've actually used dpns for another project. Baby items just seem to be more manageable on short double points than on circulars for me, so hence the break in tradition.  Besides, it's good to be flexible, I think. I learned of a new baby the other day, and since we'll be meeting with his dad on Tuesday, I decided to whip up a hat and pair of socks.  I had some leftover Hazelknits Aritisan Sock in the Hometown Football colorway (Seattle Seahawks) and I thought this would be a good use for it.  It's fun to be able to do a quick project now and then and hopefully the set will be a welcome addition to the little one's wardrobe. I'll let a teddy bear try on the items when they're done, so you can see the result.

Congratulations, you two.  We look forward to welcoming the Prince into the family.

One thing I miss when I'm in the desert is the variation in colors and textures that we have in the Northwest.  I returned to Seattle early enough in November to see the end of the fall colors.  These last few days have been windy and rainy, so now the leaves are pretty much gone.  I enjoyed them immensely while they lasted. One thing I don't enjoy is the aftermath of the leaves from the large wisteria, which continue to fall for seemingly forever and insist on blowing into my kitchen. Oh well, it could be worse.

I have to soak up as much of these colors and the amazing sunshine, for soon I will be back in the land of drizzle.

A month or so ago, I read about a new pattern book that was available for pre-order.  It was called Coastal Knits and is a collaboration between Hannah Fettig and Alana Dakos .  I listen to Alana's podcast, Never Not Knitting, and have planned to make Hannah's Featherweight Cardigan for some time.  Somewhat unusually for me, I went to the website, looked at the information on this new book, and immediately ordered it.  The pre-order came with advance copies of two patterns, and discount codes for each of the designer's websites.  The pattern I liked immediately was the Rocky Coast Cardigan . A KAL started on Ravelry in the Coastal Knits group almost immediately.  This was in the first part of September, and the book wasn't scheduled to ship until October 15th.  I joined up, searched the stash for some appropriate yarn, and plunged ahead.  I have a bunch of red Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran yarn that I've been waiting to use.  It tried to b...

I flew into Palm Desert on Sunday to join DH for a few weeks.  We had had a couple of really nice days at home (60 F!) but I was looking forward to a little bit more sunshine.  Well, I got my wish and it looks like this is the warmest part of the country at the moment.  Yesterday was 103, today will be the same, then we'll start to cool off into the upper 90s.  Not exactly what I was expecting, but who am I to complain?  At this time of year the sun goes down early and the nights cool off so it's much nicer than it was here in August or early September.  Knitting on small projects by the pool was never better! I had to fly in via San Francisco, which is always dicey due to possible weather issues.  True enough, our flight was scheduled to be delayed due to cloud cover, then suddenly put back on track when the weather cleared.  I saw a cool shadow of the plane in the bay as we approached. I didn't have to change planes as we were scheduled ...

In looking back at my last few posts, I noticed that I hadn't documented finished objects since May or something like that.  Yes, I showed my fair items, but some of those had been finished for awhile, and some of them hadn't appeared here.  Since the reason I started a blog was to document my knitting, here goes. Artichoke Socks:  This was a mystery sock from back in May.  I finished them, love the yarn, but wasn't too happy with the way mine came out...yarn over issue that made the holes differing sizes.  I have since figured out how to fix this, but wasn't successful when making the socks. Boneyard Shawl:  Finished this with the Knitgirllls spinalong/knitalong. Wendyknits Summer Mystery Shawl:  I made this out of The Sanguine Gryphon Eidos, which is wonderful yarn. My first crocheted potholder! I took a crochet class and made this and sent it to the Princess.  I know she was impressed. My handspun Pogona.  Thi...