Piffles!

I just used that word as my title because it rhymes with sniffles and that's what I have. Yuck! I don't get colds very often but I seem to be working up to one. And it had to start with a nice cold sore. Double yuck!! So far it just seems to be a scratchy throat and a slightly stuffy nose but I have confidence that it will escalate into a full blown head cold in the next day or so. C'est la vie!

I have been working on charity hats for a women's shelter in Michigan. That's the latest charity that Yarn Yoga is donating to. Here are the three I've finished so far.


The red hat is Wool Ease and actually has flecks of colors that aren't showing up in the picture. The blue/green one is Plymouth Encore Colours and the pinky one is James C. Brett Marble.

The red hat and the pinky hat were made from the same pattern which I found in "Last Minute Knitted Gifts" by Joelle Hoverson. It's my new favorite hat pattern. I cast on another one last night in Red Heart Hokey Pokey and took it to my Weight Watchers meeting. They make for nice mindless knitting while I'm listening to the leader. (I've lost 26.8 lbs so far!)

The blue/green hat is from a pattern in "Knitting in the Round" edited by Joan Stouffer. That was an easy pattern, too, but it was boring for some reason. I think it's the rolled brim I don't like to do.

The "Knitting in the Round" book also has the pattern for the side cabled slippers that I'm supposed to be making for Ariane's roommates and friends. I think I'm supposed to be making 5 pairs and I have one slipper done.



We were in Rochester last Saturday to watch Alek run in an indoor track meet at RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) and spent the rest of the day with Ariane. Alek had to stay with the team so he couldn't play with us.

We had a really nice day and a great dinner at a little restaurant called "pomodoro". While we were visiting with her roommates, Kate made a point of telling me how much she liked the slippers I had made for Ariane. Guess that means I have to concentrate on making them up, huh? Especially since the house they rent is large and drafty. I'm not sure if I'm going to make them all the cabled slippers or if I'll finish up a couple of pairs of the Fiber Trend house socks that I was making last winter. I'll probably make some of both. I have one pair of the house socks done and one other sock completed. I also have one Lopi sock done and the second one is on the heel flap so I could finish that up in a hurry. Now I just need to work on them!

The fair isle mitten has not progressed at all. I'm a little intimidated by the pattern so I'm stalling. And now I'm making all these hats, slippers and socks! I'll get back to it - some day.

Oops! Time to get ready for work. Ta ta!

New books means more WIPs

My dear son, Alek, gave me a gift certificate to Amazon.com for Christmas. I told him that I like gift certificates and that his father won't give them. He came through beautifully. Here are the three knitting books that I bought with my certificate.



The full titles are "Homespun - Handknit" edited by Linda Ligon, "Hats On!" by Charlene Schurch, and "Knitting Marvelous Mittens" by Charlene Schurch. I love these books and have already cast on projects from two of them. The first project I cast on is this mitten. I got a new baby blue jacket for Christmas and don't have any mittens or gloves to match. Good thing I have gloves that don't match because these mittens are not going to be done too quickly. Size 2 double points and sport weight yarn mean slow knitting for me. Not to mention the concentration these mittens are going to take.




I know I probably should have made the darker blue the main color but the coat is the color of the lighter blue and the dark blue is the trim color. So that's the way the mittens are going to be.

The second project I cast on is from the Homespun-Handknit book. It's a bulky hat done in garter stitch on circulars. Very easy, very quick. I'm using Solo by Bernat in a pink/white combo. It's acrylic yarn but I'm making it for charity so it's better that way. It's gray, gloomy and raining here today so I can't take a picture. Well, I could, but it wouldn't show up very well.

I finished another hat for charity yesterday morning. It's a simple rolled brim hat made from Plymouth Encore Colours. I should have taken a picture when I finished it since the sun was shining brightly yesterday. I'll take one before I send it out.

I joined the Aran Weight Victorian Lace Shawl KAL last week. I ordered the Peruvian Uros Aran yarn specified in the pattern from elann.com and received it yesterday. It's a soft silver sage which sounds green but looks more blue. I have cast on about 4 times for the shawl but I'm having a couple problems with the instructions. I think I may have it figured out now and will try it once again. I'm glad I joined the KAL because I'd be a little lost otherwise.

And that's my boring bit of knitting news for now. I'm off to try starting the shawl one more time!

Happy 2006!

Okay, so I'm a little late with my New Year greeting. And is anyone really surprised?

These guys came to pay us a visit on New Year's Day. I glanced out the dining room window and wondered why we had a peacock walking up the driveway. Then I realized it was a turkey. I ran for the camera and went out the back door to find 5 turkeys checking out the birdfeeders! (Only 4 made it in this photo). They decided they didn't like having their picture taken and quickly exited the back yard. I wonder where they ended up?



I finished the Wide Rib Shrug from Vogue's Accessorize over the holidays. (See previous post for picture from book). It was the night before Ariane left so I don't know if she's worn it yet or not. The first time I cast off it was too tight so I redid it using a crochet hook. That loosened it up nicely. The only problem is that she's rather nicely endowed and wasn't sure if it was going to work as pictured. She'll play around with it and come up with some way of wearing it.



I made a couple of hats for afghans for Afghans. They want to send 500 wool children's hats out at the end of January. I used a pattern from "Last Minute Knitted Gifts" by Joelle Hoverson. The pattern was by Kim Hamlin. It's very easy and fun. Of course, I forgot to take pictures before I sent them out. I'll have to make another one so I can post a picture.

I would write more but it's almost 12:30 a.m. and I have to work tomorrow. Till next time...