Thursday, December 31, 2009

2009, The Year in Knits

Overall, my knits this year was quite unimpressive & lackluster. I spent the first two thirds of the year trying to get my knitting mojo back after I misplaced it. Let's see what I did accomplish this year:

First up, is a WIP that is still hanging around. Branching out is my first serious attempt at lace knitting. It's still unfinished because I found that I must have complete quiet & no interruptions to keep track of the pattern... and those conditions are rare in our house.

T2 ~ Early in the year I knitted a baby blanket for some friends. It was the second time I knit the Trinity pattern by Indigo Muse (Hence the name "T2"). I still love this pattern, and may find myself making another one in 2010.

Pretty in Pink ~ If you've read my blog recently, you'll recognize this knit & the last knit of '09 as the most recent FO's. This dress was knit for my darling niece. She's still really small, but she should grow into this dress just in time to wear it this spring.

Black-N-White Blob ~ So named because that's what it seemed to be as I knit this blanket in the round. I loved how it turned out, and so did my niece's parents. It wasn't what I would call a quick knit, but it was super easy.

I think I may have located my knitting mojo, as I am back to knitting every single chance I get. I've also been inspired to make a few New Year's Knitsolutions. Check back tomorrow to find out what these are.

For now, I wish you all a Happy New Year! Please celebrate responsibly and be safe tonight!

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Christmas & a Few FO's!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. We sure did! I'll post some photos another day. Matt took most of the pictures on Christmas morning, so they are all in his camera. I do have one photo, though. Just in case you were wondering where Santa hid the presents for the boys... he hid them in the trunk of Matt's Cobra. Since it is tucked away for the winter, it was the perfect hiding place.
What's that? Oh yes. It's a landmark day. For the first time in about 10 months, I have some finished knits to share.

Ahem.

First up, we have the OpArt blanket (AKA "The Black-N-White Blob). I am so, so, SO happy with the way this turned out.
Here are the specs:
Pattern: OpArt by Melissa Dominguez
Made for: My baby niece, Claire
Yarn: Knit Picks Swish in Coal & White; Cascade 220 in a bright pink
Needles: 2 Size 7 DPN's
Modifications: I knitted this in stockinette stitch, instead of the recommended garter stitch. I
also omitted the last two color bands (partly because I ran out of time, partly because I
wanted it to be a good "Linus" size), and I added three rounds of a pink border in garter
stitch.
Reflections: I loved this project. Although it became a little tedious (I couldn't see it getting
bigger because it was knitted in the round), it was so simple! I hardly had to pay attention, so
it was a good project to knit while watching TV and attending to my children.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next up was the project I named "Pretty in Pink:"
Here are the details:
Project: Dress with Eyelets, by Debbie Bliss
Knitted for: Baby Claire
Yarn: Phildar Plaisance, in Camelia
Needles: Size 3 straights
Modifications: Um, yes. When I was working on the back, I realized that the opening for the baby's head was going to be quite small, so I omitted the single button closure on the back and knitted one shoulder so that it overlapped and could be tied with a bow. This way, my sister in law can open the entire shoulder when dressing the baby. Also, I had a wee bit of trouble getting the eyelet rows to match up on the sides, so I tied one bow under each arm instead of the one bow in front.

Here's a picture of the shoulder:
And here's a picture of the two bows:
I am so relieved to have these two projects done. I loved knitting for my new niece, and both projects were fun, but after a few false starts and a bit of tinking... they sucked up most of this year. I feel really good about them, and have no doubt that Claire's parents will save them for her for many years.

So, what's next for this knitter? Well, it's time to make my New Year Knitsolutions. I didn't really make any last year, but I do have a couple in mind for 2010. I'll be working up a list of knitting goals for next year... and I'll be sharing them later this week!

Friday, December 18, 2009

The Family That Hunts Together...

Despite my best intentions, I am still terribly behind on the blog. These are about a month late, but here they are, nonetheless.

The second weekend of Deer Season was a HUGE first for us. It was the boys' first weekend in the deer woods. Neither has ever gone during deer season. We said they could go when they were (much) older, but finding a babysitter was a problem, and Matt had already bagged his deer, so we thought it would be easiest to just shlep them along.

One of the first things Riley learned was to warm his hands by the fire. You hold them out to the fire, then rub them together....
...then hold them out toward the fire. Repeat until summer weather returns.
Tyson loved hanging out with "The Girls." The twins are my step-sisters, so the boys' aunts. For some reason, Ty just calls them by their names, sans the "Aunt" title. I think this is due to the fact that they were only about 9 years old when he was born.
He just loves hanging out with them.
And of course, there was quite a bit of horseplay in the evenings. Here is my Dad (AKA "Pappy") goofing with Riley.
Despite missing a couple of people, we still had a pretty big group. (My step mom was taking the photo, so you can't see her...)
And here are the hunters. We call the non-hunters "Campfire Girls," though that wasn't quite right with the boys there this year. They tag along, hike, hang out in camp, keep the fire going and often cook meals for us hunters. (Thanks, D!)
I am no longer the only huntress in the family. My step-sister, J joined in the fun this year. (If we look like we're faking smiles for the camera, it's because this picture was taken at about 5:00 am. And it was cold. And dark. And we were at the point where we were sort of wondering why this is fun...)
The boys really enjoyed themselves. The slept in, played in the dirt and ate way too much junk food. Riley averaged about one tantrum per day. You would be surprised how far the sound of his shrieks will carry through the forest.
Overall, it was a super-fun weekend!