Stash busting

I’m now working at Hilltop Yarn in Queen Anne in Seattle.  It’s a great place to work and to covet yarn… of course, I’m surrounded by yarn, and my yarn cupboard at home (no small thing) is ready to burst.  So… Mom if you’re reading this… you’re getting fingerless gloves for Christmas, you and everyone else I know.  I’m using up all those one skeins I’ve bought because I fell in love with the yarn- but never used because I never had enough.  So all those Noro skeins… mittens, fingerless gloves and hats,  and that lovely wool/silk, already on the needles…

I finally finished the Shetland Triangle, and right away gave it to Carol since she was leaving the next day.  I hardly had time to block it, let alone photograph it properly which is a shame.  It came out very nice though smaller than I intended.  I used Handpainted Misti Alpaca Lace yarn, and have about 1/2 a skein left of it.   I loved knitting with it, and after blocking I could feel it getting soft and fluffy- and warm.  Maybe I’ll do a small lace scarf for my little one- it would look adorable on her.

December is the time to think about 2009 project- and get rid of the old projects.  I seem to be in a finishing mood.  I’m picking up all those projects still on the needles and finishing them or frogging them… sort of project spring clean.  Though I think I’m more motivated by all that gorgeous yarn in Hilltop that I see and pet everytime I go in- and all those patterns everywhere.  I think I have my projects picked out for 2009 and 2010.

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What I knit this weekend

In the packing up for the trip I realised that my better half’s wooly hat was in San Diego. Since we didn’t know what to expect when we got to Guerrero Negro, I thought it better I knit him a new one before we went. I cast on the night before we went and was finished in a day almost- I knit it in the car on the way to Guerrero Negro, Baja California. I used Peace Fleece since I’m pretty sure I won’t use up all of the yarn I bought for the Central Park Hoodie. The Pattern was Kim Hamlin’s Kim’s Hat from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I’ve used this pattern before to make several hats, and all of them for gifts. Nick (my better half) also has another hat pretty much the same but different wool and a bit shorter. This time I wanted to make sure that it fit him snuggly and also that it was long enough to cover his ears (he gets colder there than anywhere else apparently).

**Changes to the pattern**- I knit it for the 22 1/2″ size but on size 6 needles (for the brim) and size 8 for the main part of the hat. It’s a bit tight but it stayed on through a high speed boat ride and lots of messing around with whales! Also I only knit it to about 6 inches from the brim and began to decrease so it wouldn’t fit too long like the first time I tried this pattern. It fit perfect- pics to come soon!

I also finished the back of the Blanket Cardi and started on the front left side.

A few notes on Guerrero Negro:

It is about 550 KM from Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico- about an 8-10 hr drive on a two lane road. It sounds grim, but it’s not. It’s a well maintained road, and the only one connecting North and South Baja. It’s got gorgeous scenery particularly of late since we’ve had some rain here and the desert is green, yellow, and lavender with wild flowers and grasses. It’s beautiful. I’ll post some pictures when we have them!

We stayed in the Desert Inn in Guerrero Negro- a bit out of the town but nice in general, and took the tour of Los Caracoles, which had been recommended to us as the best tour for the whales. We were not dissapointed! There are plenty of other tours done by various hotels and co-operatives in the town as well. Apparently March to mid-April are the best times to see the whales since the newborn whales are more mature and more playful. After mid-April the grey whales begin their long treck to Alaska.

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Frock Cami front and plans for the weekend

I am nearly done with the front- all I have left to do is 11″ of strips.

My concern is that the front part is looking quite small. I hope it stretches! I’ve got more pictures of the Frock Camisole in the Knit Gallery

Unfortunately for this project (but fortunately for me) - we’re going away this weekend to Guerrero Negro in Baja California to look at the whales and baby whales in a lagoon the grey whales use for birthing. It’s a 10 hr car trip, and since I get car sick if I read even for a short while, I’m going to leave this one here and take with me either the Central Park Hoodie, or maybe even better - the Blanket Cardigan. At the moment though, I just realised my better half’s wooly hat is nowhere to be found- seeing as how we have a lagoon tour for 8 am- I’m making another one out of the beloved Peace Fleece using the pattern from Last Minute Knitted Gifts (very useful book!). I’m pretty sure I have more than enough for the CHP and the wooly hat (and hopefully some left over for some colour work in another project I’ve got in mind!).

Filed under 2008, Blanket Cardigan, Central Park Hoodie, Frock Camisole, Gifts, Knitting, Projects, Still working on it | Comment (0)

Mystery Yarn

My first real project as a new knitter was a little blanket for my baby- started when I found out I was pregnant and finished about a month before she was born! Yes- it took that long… don’t ask….

My lovely girl loved the blanky that was with her in the incubator to home to everywhere else, and as these things happen, it became the blanket - the one to sleep, to play with, to comfort.

And as these things happen… it got lost. How was that allowed to happen, we don’t know. It was in the car in San Diego and when we arrived in Ensenada 1 1/2 hours later it wasn’t there or anywhere.

So far she’s ok with the blanket, a few sleepless nights but she’s ok. Still, I hate loosing that little blanket, my first knitted work in many many years, and of course the first gift to my daughter. So now I’d like to recreate, though smaller, and I didn’t keep the name of the yarn. All I have is a small ball… I’ve been combing the internet to see if I can find it but so far no joy… I’ll keep looking. This weekend I’ll visit the shop where I bought it originally and see if they have it. Wish me luck!

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