Back to Work

Tomorrow morning I start my new job.  I have to get up especially early and leave the house by 6 AM in order to get through the Dallas "Mix-Master" by 7 AM.  Seems crazy to have to drive so far to and through so much traffic after this past year of working from home. I am a little nervous. 

Also, the woodworking shop out back is now being furiously renovated by a cornucopia of plumbers, concrete guys, AC/Heating guys, etc.  We also have the guy who sprays (green) chemicals around to kill the 5 million or so crickets that we get every year.  The cat kills 400-500  crickets but the this guy gets the rest.  The shop will become my mother's new residence once finished.  So they are building the bath, kitchen, and a closet for the hot water heater and washer/dryer.  Its amazing how we went from zero to massive change in just a day.  Everything is upside-down.

So this past week has been a little crazy.  Not too crazy to knit though.  I've added many new things to the Christmas pile.  Lets see....

 OK this one is mine.  Its actually a long scarf but I wrapped around the neck twice to get this nice woolly, fuzzy, cowl-like thing.  I call it the Sherpa Scarf and its really cozy! Also, its crocheted.  I chained 67 and then SC into 6th Ch from the end, Chain 6, SC into next st, repeat down the initial chain.  Turn and then going down the other side of the initial chain, repeat the Chain 6, SC into next stitch. With this yarn I could only do the two sides of the chain.  The original pattern required going up and down the initial chain 3 times.  I guess with thinner yarn that's the idea.  I used a "Q" hook.

 These mitts match the hat I made my sister and therefore, these are for her. I still haven't worked out the scarf to go with the hat and mitts.  The yarn is very slick even though it looks pretty fuzzy.  Very bamboo-like.  So hmmmmm.

 This hat is really special.  The picture doesn't do it any justice (probably because my photographer skills are non-existent).  I also found this really cool antique button to put on the side. Looks like old-time costume jewelry. I made this for my step-mom.  She is the nicest person.  I miss her more than my dad.  I need to come up with a matching scarf for this as well. I've interviewed 6 patterns but haven't come up with anything.  Time is running short...

Again, these are mine.  I've made 6 pairs of fingerless mitts and I have really been wanting a pair for myself.  So these match the Sherpa scarf above and I'm working on a matching hat now.  Its the Sherpa yarn and the Patons classic wool together.  I think it will be pretty cute too.

There's No Knitting in NASCAR!...

...at least that's what my husband said to me on Sunday.  The whole family went to Texas Motor Speedway to see the AAA 500.  It was the best fun!  I had such a wonderful time but, of course, I did knit, right there, in the stands. I had planned to have many wonderful pictures but my camera batteries failed at the critical moment.  I was bummed.  This is all I got, the cars lined up in the pit area prior to the race start:

And today is the end of the Mitt Marathon.  I did knit with ferocity but alas, I have only completed four of the five mandatory (with two additions that didn't happen either). So I guess that's not too bad.  Really all I did was bite off more than I could chew and I made a the error of thinking that adding that fur was a good idea.  It wasn't so I had to pull out two mitts that were half done.  I think If I had not done that, I'd have the 5 mitts today.  So here they are, I love them, they are so comfortable and each one is a little different just like my nieces.

The Mitt Marathon

In my Christmas list are five pairs of fingerless mitts.  I had such a success with the gray striped ones for my mom that I've decided that the nieces (4) and my daughter are getting a pair for Christmas.  This number may jump to seven: one for my sister and I wouldn't mind having a pair for myself.  I noticed another Ravelry sister had added an additional little charm to the Montgomery mitt:  She added the beginning section pattern again at the wrist.  I am also thinking that on the mitts for my nieces, I'll even add a little fun fur in the wrist section.

So what I've decided to do is have a mitt marathon:  7 mitts in 7 days.  Can it be done?  Let's face it, if you've known me for more than a day you know my attention span is not substantially greater than a second grader. Frankly, I am betting against me.  It would involve starting Thursday, November 3 (which is today) and completing by Wednesday, November 9. Gee, I also need to hem four pairs of pants in there somewhere...yes, I'm short.

First to collect the items:

Then to make a schedule:

Giftee	Yarn Color	Yarn type	Pattern Variation	Due Date
Lexi	Pink Camo	Bamboo & Infatuation	None	Thursday
Lauren	Deep Blue	Acrylic & Fun Fur (wrist only)	add the eyelet at the wrist	Friday
Megan	Purple Vari	Acrylic & Fun Fur (wrist only)	add the eyelet at the wrist	Saturday
Elle	Hot Pink	Acrylic & Fun Fur (wrist only)	add the eyelet at the wrist	Saturday
Kelly	Red Black	Red Angel with black fur at wrist	add the eyelet at the wrist	Monday
Sissy	Red Black	Red Angel with black fur at wrist	add the eyelet at the wrist	Tuesday
Me	Burgundy	Something with no label	None	Wednesday

Next, to stick to the schedule (eep)!

On Another note, I've added a new blog to follow (see the list to the left).  Its called The Lovely Crow.  If you like crochet (especially for children) then check her out.  She has some really beautiful patterns.  I am so excited about some little baby Christmas Mary Janes. I plan to make a pair for my friend's daughter (the one I made the baby surprise sweater for) but not until the mitt marathon is over.

Wish me luck!

Knit Therapy

I am finding that knitting soothes the soul even more now than when I began almost a year and a half ago.  I had to sit on a plane for two and a half hours to Chicago and two and a half hours back to Dallas yesterday.  I was cramped, my legs ached and by the end of it I was thoroughly exhausted.  But I continued to knit, cast on another, knit, cast on another and knit.  I had a very productive 18 hour day.  I hope in the end that the job I went to Chicago to interview for is going to be offered to me.  I guess we'll see.  I know there was another candidate.

So I began the trip with the crown of the Black Angel hat already cast on and started. When I finished it, I cast on a Mille Colori hat to match the scarf I'd made out of the same yarn. Finally, I cast on another Black Angel which is 75% done. 

Also, this weekend I finished a couple other things:  The Soldier's Watchcap and my mom's Fingerless Mitts.  Ordinarily I would not have gotten these two done but I committed an injury to myself which put me on bedrest for two days.  Yes, I'm an idiot.  If I'd had shoes on like a normal person the injury would have been slight or non-existent.  I was putting some shoes into nice boxes and then stepping up on the step stool to put them on the shelf and I was barefooted at the time.  I didn't "center" my foot on the stool and flipped off of it while attempting to step up.  So I sprained my big toe and cracked a nice bruise to my shin.  We put ice on it but a friend of mine said to just go to the ER and have it looked at.  Not broken (good), severly sprained (not so good). Must keep it elevated above the heart and iced down for 48 hours.  So and hence my good knitting fortune.

So the gray pile now looks like this (with a little Mille Colori added in):












This is a good thing.  Still so much to do.