A Mitten for the New Year

One down!

Scandinavian Spots Mittens

Pre-blocking: 

It was really hard to get the thumb to look decent. I thought about just making it pink or brown, but I told myself to stop being lazy. 

Taking a nice warm sunbath ... such fuzzy yarn! I didn't notice till it was in the sun. 

So I'm going to cast on the left-handed mitten in a few minutes here, and hopefully knock it out before the mitten version of second-sock-syndrome hits. The pattern isn't tricky, just tedious. I love colorwork, so it's a treat, but I won't show you the reverse side. My reverse sides are always pretty ugly!

I leave you with a picture of Spot and Georgie Girl, lazing in the yard on a nice day. 

The doggy is a cat magnet. Cats love her. 

Happy New Year!!

Unraveled.

Well, I did it.

I unraveled this size 2x Bohus that I finished 4 years ago.

It was very satisfying!

Yes, I have a lot of bits of small yarn now, but I am confident I can use them up somehow. Fair Isle, most likely.

I started these Scandinavian Spots Mittens from the "60 Quick Knits using Cascade Yarn" book.

And I'm still knitting on the tunic thingie:

So I have something mindless to knit, and something tedious. Good way to end the year!

Shhhhh .... don't disturb the wild cave kitty.

Unraveling

Once upon a time, I was a size 2X (18).

Castle in Wales ... Newbury? Newton? 2010

I'd always kind of struggled with my weight, but that was primarily because I didn't really try hard to stay in shape, except for the 10 years I was in the military. 

Like too many servicemembers, I just let it go when I got out. 

Anne Hathaway's Cottage, Stratford, England, 2010

It was so much easier to just make excuses and not take care of myself. Size may not matter, but fitness and health do. And I had neither! 

In front of some rocks in Salisbury, England, 2010

Then in 2011, several different things came together, and I decided enough was enough. I started doing this ... 

Navy 5-miler, D.C., 2014

Didn't let the weather stop me.

Baltimore Celtic Solstice, 2013

Iron Girl Half Marathon, 2014

Navy 5-Miler, 2013

Chesapeake Bay Bridge Run, Last Month

So, to get to the point .... I knit this "Bountiful Bohus" in 2010, from "More Big Girls Knit:"

I was so proud of myself for steeking for the first time! 

But ...

Here is how it looks on me now: 

Hmmm. 

I think the only thing to do here is unravel it, and reclaim 9 skeins of lovely Cascade 220 for some other purpose. I don't think I would get much usable out of the colorwork, but I should get at least all 7 skeins of the brown back. The sleeves alone are enormous. 

I'd like to make a skirt, and I think this sweater has more than enough yarn for that. 

So! What do you all think? Have you ever unraveled a large project before? 

We don't care, lady. Is it time to eat yet? 

Knitting on a Cold Winter's Night

Brrr! So chilly now!

Perfect for snuggling up under a wooly blanket and knitting. It's about 30F here now, so about 0C, windy and cloudy. Not a sign of any snow yet!

I don't know if I ever posted a photo of the 2nd Meghan's Braids hat I made, this one for me.

It isn't terribly flattering on me, but it's warm and cute.

I finished a 2nd Textured Tam.  Oh dear. I just realized I've been knitting so long, I've lapped myself and I'm starting over ...

And, the fledgling #27 Striped Tunic, which I am knitting sans stripes.

Well, that's it for me -- time to crawl back under the blanket and pick up the knitting needles. What's everyone else working on? 

A repeat photo, but so cute! 

Back on Track

Ok, I think I'm all right now. I've cast this on:

#27 Striped Tunic  from an old Vogue Knitting. 

I like that a number precedes the pattern. Kind of arty! I shall forgo the stripes, as I don't have other colors of yarn. 

I'm also making another #35 Textured Tam (These are really quick-to-knit hats and very flattering, I think). 

I don't know what happened to my Knitting Kmojo ... it just went on vacation, I guess. I seem to be back on track. Maybe I just needed a break. I got a lot of reading done, anyway.

My mother was very artistic, and always had projects going. Knitting, crocheting, weaving, ceramics ... you name it, she did it, and did it well. Below are two critters she made years ago. The doggie was painted to look like my (long-deceased) doggie Pancho. Pancho was a sort of rat terrier-blue heeler mix. She painted both dog and bunny with an airbrush or something like that. She was very talented.

I poured, cleaned, and painted my share of ceramics, but never anything this masterful. 

Okay, back to knitting and watching the Navy-Army game. 17-7 Navy (of course). 4th quarter, 11:47 on the clock. I couldn't tell you who any of the players are, because I really don't care. I only care that Navy wins! 

You got up. Deal with it. 

Hope you're keeping warm! 

ARGH! I Give Up!

I started this *&$^ sleeveless dress FOUR times. I finally got the size right (I assume) and I knit this much ... and it curls under. Dreadfully. A lot. And I don't think it will be fixed by blocking, because it's a heavy, ribbed fabric. Stretching it out would ruin the pattern and fit.

So .... off it goes. Back to the pattern books. Argh!!! I have 1,260 yards of this yarn. I will find something to do with it.

Right now, this is my knitting:

Just untidy, unfinished projects. ARGH again!!

So here's what I did the other night. I knit this Textured Tam a while back, and I wear it almost exclusively. I love it. The only thing that would make it better would be if it were a bit bigger, as I have a freakishly large head (I had the 2nd largest hat in my boot camp company, and my company was 70 recruits large). So I found an old project, a nice braided cabled hat that I knit and discovered was too small, pulled it apart, and am starting a 2nd Textured Tam. 

The pattern is from Cascade's "Sixty Quick Knits." Love that book!

Today was a rainy horrible mess. I did my errands, then came home, cleaned up, and sat down to make a tiny cup of coffee ...

Can you tell I like red?

Now I'm sitting her with a cat digging her claws into my leg (with affection, I'm sure), and once this blog is writ, I'm going to go knit.










Merry Christmas.

Starting Over Again

Just a quick update ... I've settled (for now) on this sleeveless dress:

I'm still a little unsure about this pattern. I will keep at it a while longer to see if it looks all right. I think I chose poorly with the yarn, though; I'm not going to get crisp, clearly defined stitches with this Patons.

We'll see.

And for those who saw last week's post ... I started with the Medium pattern, but as it progressed it drew together and started to look alarmingly small. I don't like to draw attention to my bust, so I cast on the Large. Just to be safe.



Going to go rest, now ... Just got back from a 6-mile run in a driving wind. Ate a hearty dinner, now I want to just relax a while.

I looked out the window this morning and saw this:

Spot does love her Georgie Girl.

(Spot is the cat.)











Hopefully when I post again I'll have something more exciting!