kitty: happy holidays@

kitty: quick last minute holiday gift

item: Mia's Market Bag pattern: My own design, based on an interpretation of a pattern that I saw in Nordic Knitting 2 content: 3 hanks of 2nd Chance Yarn time: 4 hours
If you need a last minute gift and have a couple of hours today, this bag is totally doable in about 4 hours. The bag is so easy, here are just some basic instructions to get you on the right track. 1) Knit 4 rectangles that are 6 inches wide by 20 inches long. (I knitted one of the rectangles with several rows of purls and bobbles to create random stripes.) 2) The base of the bag is constructed as the diagram below.
3) Then sew the following sides together, making sure to sew from the base of the bag to the top since the edges will not be the same length. Side 2 to 3, 4 to 5, 6 to 7, 8 to 1 4) Knit two i-cord straps around 10 inches long and attach them to the points opposite each other.

kitty:If you ever need a good excuses when your SO/Husband harasses you about your stash.....

May I present to you instant toilet repair kit available by the bedside at 11:00pm at night! There is something odd about our house, before any major holiday something in our house decides to break. It started the very first thanksgiving, when the knob for our brand new Viking stove fell off in our hands with the heating rod attached when we were ready to cook the turkey. The people who sold us the stove broke it and glued it back on before installation. Then one year the steel cover of our dish washer fell off in our hands. I can not begin to tell you how many times the drain clogged requiring the u - pipe to be cleaned or the disposal jamming. To this year the toilet breaking tonight, but thanks to some linen thread and a crochet hook I was able to rig it back together. I must admit I did feel like my grandfather fixing things with odd materials. In a funny way it really made me feel like the holidays and reminded me of years past. Funny the things that bring back memories.

MG: 5-leaf zeebee

five-corner star atop one's head

zeebee
pattern: schmeebot Thuy's zeebee yarn: Araucania Ranco, 75% wool/25% nylon, 376yds/100gr, about 18wpi needle: 3.0mm (US2) addi natura circular dimensions: 18cm long, 55cm circumference for 62cm head (7cm negative ease) mods: five shortrow sections instead of four.

love this pattern; want to knit some more. nifty construction--made for customization. a bit shy in length but should still work well as intended under a bicycling helmet. had some trouble figuring out garter graft, but this woolly wormhead tutorial taught me the what-is-what, how, and wherefores of grafting in pattern.

a smidgen short?

MG: cast-on tourism

new sock on my needles

Twisted Flower. the motif tessellations and transitions are fancy and smart and perfect; i love it so much i can't stop looking at it. its intricacies elicit thoughts of ooo, i made this?

i swatched with different needle sizes for fit and tweaked the ribbing and tried out new cast-ons. i want all the details to be just right, nothing to detract from the motifs. first, i learned the Italian, no-waste, tubular cast-on from Francesca's excellent tutorial. i've only ever done the provisional, pick-up tubular, which is easily amenable to some non-1x1 ribbings but less stretchy and a bit more fussy. i loved the no-waste technique--simpler to execute and stretchier, but my finagling of it for non-1x1 ribbing wasn't attractive. it'll be my go-to stretchy cast-on for 1x1 ribbing though.

after some googling about, i tried the German twisted cast-on. (photo and video tutorials. note the the photo version results in eastern seated stitches. i ended up with that version and knitted the first row twisted. works just as well but wanted to call attention to it.) there is a definite ridge to this cast-on edge, but it's tidy and very very stretchy. perfectly stretchy. equally tidy stretched or relaxed. yay, two more lovely cast-ons for me to use.

enjoyable edge & ribbing feeds into motif

kitty: overwhelmed * updated*

Happy Holiday's! I have been feeling bad that I haven't been posting and sharing about all the knitting that has been going on here in Columbus. My fingers have actually been either spinning or knitting themselves to the bone in hopes of meeting my holiday goals. Though I really feel like I have bitten off way to much this year. So we will see what doesn't get done. Though the hole concept of knitting for others just feels good this year, so I have been really happy. Sleep is becoming really an option item with work and crafting.

So I can not keep a secrete any longer......... at least you don't know who they are for or what they are going to be.... First one completed 50% mohair 50% cashmere from a small mill in Italy - item type unknown 15 hrs Third one completed, Same 50% mohair 50% cashmere - item type unknown 8hrs Second one completed, Same 50% mohair 50% cashmere - item type unknown 14hr Fourth one completed, Same 50% mohair 50% cashmere - item type unknown 14hrs 50% cotton, 20% cashmere, 30% wool - 98% completed - item type unknown 60hr (not all holiday)   50% cashmere 50% silk, Colourmart UK - item type unknown - 75% completed but on size 000 it is taking a long time - item type unknown 35hr   fifth one, Same 50% mohair 50% cashmere - 40% completed - item type unknown 18hr   50% recycled yarn 50% cotton - item type unknown - 50% completed 7.5hr   50% recycled yarn 50% cotton - item type unknown 7.5hr Hand spun - completed - Malabrigo type in lime green 200yds 8hr Hand spun - 50% completed - Sock yarn goal 300 - 500yds 30hr est.   Hand spun - mystery - 15% completed 30hr est.   Hand made holiday soap - completed 6 hrs     253 total   90 hr to completion   385 hr to Christmas - ekk

kitty: calling all knitters, hats for soldiers

Knitting for others.... really does feel good.

item: Nina's Hat pattern: Started out with several patterns, but after talking to friends who had gone through Chemo and Radiation came up with my own pattern based on there concerns content: Hand dyed 100% Alpaca price: $24 time: 2 nights casually knitting Sometimes, knitting something for a friend, stranger, or loved one is all you can really do to help. Recently I found out that a dear friends Mom had tested positive for lesions on her brain. I knew there wasn't much that I could do to help Mia or her mother, but I knew that I could send off a hat to keep her head warm right away. I know that we are all busy with the holidays, but if you have some time to knit a hat for the Neurological ward at National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda please let Mia know. Her mom would love to be able to drop off some hats while she is going through Radiation and Chemo to soldiers who are going through a lot during the holidays. A lot of them are alone and without there families. Mia and I got to talking though about the wounded solders at Walter Reed or Bethesda Medical Hospital that were in the ward with her mom when she had surgery. The soldiers that have neurological problems usually end up having there heads shaved so having a small item placed in there hands can make a lot of difference. Just knowing that someone cares and they are not alone. So if you want to help, please contact mia

Update: Sneak Peak of other Secrete Holiday Knitting!

MG: backlog

socks to blog & ends to weave