A knitted knitting lady gnome

Two years ago, I instituted a Christmas ornament exchange among the women in my family. I did this because a) I realized that we owned just about 3 and a half ornaments, which looks super goofy on a full size tree, and b) I like to make stuff, but probably most importantly c) I love almost nothing more than getting mail. Four women each make three (or four, if you want to keep one for yourself) ornaments and send them out to each other- easy. I got new ornaments (and mail!) and I was happy. Last year, I don't know what happened, but we failed to get going, and no exchange happened. This year, I decided that dammit, I'm doing Christmas the way I want it done, so on October 1st (the first reasonable-ish day to start planning for holiday stuffs) I informed everyone that we're doing the exchange again. We now have 5 women in the family, so I'll get even more mail. You see where my motivation is coming from.

I do this thing were I get sort of obsessive about finding the perfect blank. Bedding, boots, recipe for appetizers for a party, whatever. It's annoying. I wish I didn't do it. Things take me so much longer. Of course, I am obsessing about what I want to make for our ornament exchange. So much time on Pinterest. UGH. I finally, FINALLY, settled on a knitted gnome pattern. I've had my eye on this Russian designer for a few months now because her designs are so freaking cute. I bought her gnome pattern  thinking I'd make two boy gnomes and two girl gnomes and then send them randomly to the ladies. I started on the lady gnome... and it took ages. I think it's the fiddliest thing I've ever knitted, and I've been around. So many tiny pieces. That nose? It's knitted separately. I think this beast took me 4 hours total, which included getting out my glue gun for the toothpick knitting needles, sewing on lace trim to the little apron, and figuring out how to make the arms go the way I wanted. So much tiny fiddling, but... I really love it. I showed it to my husband and he asked where I got it, which I'm not sure is a compliment or a "what is that weird thing and why is it in the house", but I think it's awesome. That being said: there's no way I am making three more of these for the exchange. So I'm back to square one, but at least I have a knitted knitting gnome. That's something.

I might start putting it around the house where my husband will find it, then pretend I know nothing when he freaks out. Is that childish? I don't care. 

A plain ol' maroon sweater

You may have gathered this, but I really love to read. I read when I'm knitting plain-ish things, I always read when I'm eating lunch, and I like to read before bed... so I end up reading a lot of books. One of my all-time favorites is The Help. Great book. I re-read it a month or two ago, then randomly happened on the movie on tv. Normally I don't watch movies made from books I love (coughHarryPottercough) but my husband was out of town, and I like Emma Stone, so I gave it a go. Um, it's fantastic. It stayed true (enough) to the book, the acting was great, and the outfits- oh my gosh, the outfits. I got weirdly obsessed with this one particular sweater- deep scoop neck, maroon, fitted, shorted sleeves- then bing! Lightbulb went off. I CAN MAKE THAT RIGHT NOW. I had a sweater's worth of DK weight maroon yarn in my stash, I know how to make a top-down sweater, drop everything and start now. Normally I don't do things like that. For one, I have about a bajillion knitting commitments at any given time, and can't really spend my knitting time on not-paid work. For two, I don't really need more sweaters. And for three, there was no three because I started that sweater within 20 minutes of finishing the movie.

Because it was purely for fun knitting, and very simple stockinette, I admit that I didn't pay a ton of attention while I was making it, which sucks, because it doesn't fit the way I had in mind. The bust is ok, but there's a lot of extra fabric in the body (which I sort of gathered into the back and secured with the belt, ahem), and the bottom tends to ride up because there's too much ease. I can't decide if I want to re-knit from the waist down, or if I want to do something quite drastic like use my sewing machine to take it in at the sides, which is total sacrilege, or if I should just leave it as-is and vow to pay more attention in the future.

I knitted the body on my new Knitter's Pride Nova Cubics. The needles are square instead of round, which is supposed to be easier on your hands than traditional needles. I can't put my finger on what exactly, but there definitely was something awesome about knitting with them. I knitted for hours on that sweater and never got sore hands. Want to know the best thing about these needles? The cord didn't need to be soaked in hot water when I took them out of the package. That is literally the best thing I can think of when it comes to circulars. I think I gasped out loud then did a little jig when I realized. That's the way to create a life-long customer, people. No cable soaking.

They seriously came out of the package looking exactly like this! So great.

Full disclosure: I got the needles for free in exchange for a review. No lies though, I freaking love these needles.

Knitting: check.

I finally, FINALLY finished knitting my latest design.

Had I been able to knit each stitch only one time, as is usual with knitting, it would have gone so much faster. However, I re-knitted the yoke about 8 times, then the body like 3 times, the lace piece 4 times, and the left sleeve I think had a black hole somehow attached to it.

But now, it's done. I think. I feel like it could use more length in the body, which involves either ripping out half of it and re-knitting (NO, I WILL NOT), or doing some scary magic with snipping a stitch and using the sorcery that is the Kitchener stitch. Or I might leave it as is. We'll see. Haven't decided yet. Pretty, though, right? It's Cascade Ultra Pima and Ultra Pima Fine. Thank you, Cascade, for providing me with the lovely yarn. It's so soft! Like, so so soft! Great to work with.

Sweater Quantites

Something terrible has happened. My favorite hand knit sweater was attacked by vicious, sadistic moths. They ate an irreparable hole in the MIDDLE of the FRONT of my lovely wool/silk/alpaca sweater. It was (properly stored!) in an air-tight bin with three lavender sachets with a bunch of other wool sweaters, hats, and cowls. Did the moths eat anything else? No. Didn't even look twice at another sweater. They found my favorite one and chowed down.

Sigh. Trying to move on.

So I'm making a new sweater. It's the Agnes Pullover from the Fall 2012 issue of Knitscene. Normally I'm not a cable person, especially not an all-over cable person, but I loved this sweater instantly. I actually didn't ever plan to make it, but one evening a couple of weeks ago I was looking through past knitting magazines, and saw this pullover again, and thought... "Hmm. Isn't there a sweater's worth of Berroco Vintage upstairs in the craft room? In a color that would be perfect for this fall? What did I buy that yarn for, again?" Ten minutes later... we have started a sweater. This is why I don't normally keep sweater quantities around. I am rash when it comes to knitting choices. I think this is a better use for this yarn than the original intent, which was an all-over lace pullover that I somehow thought I would start AND finish on the drive out here from California. I am clearly a crazypants, because I didn't even wind any of the yarn into balls, much less knit an entire sweater.

Love these squishy cables. The yarn is perfect for it- so soft, and a real joy to knit. However... it looks a little bit fuzzy already (especially in the places I had to rip and re-knit... don't drink and knit, kids), but I think that it will be fine. 

And yes... that's a Harry Potter book in the background. It was time for the yearly re-reading.

The last stop on the Holla Knits! blog tour train.

Two Mondays ago (I don't know how many days that is... I am not even totally sure what day of the week today is. The down side of moving and not having a job lined up for when you get there.), we got into a moving van in Davis, California with everything we owned, including our cat. We drove, and drove, and drove, and then just to mix things up, we drove some more. We drove through mountains, through endless cornfields, the bleak desert of Nevada, the lush forest of Pennsylvania, a driving rain storm, intense heat, and far too many rush hours- including Chicago. Edge of my seat. The van overheated. The cat lost her cat cool and nearly had a heart attack. I became all too familiar with truck stops, and quickly learned just how much space one needs to turn around a moving van with a car carrier on the back of it. Towards the end I felt like my whole life had been spent in that van. There was nothing before the van, and there would be nothing else but the van. Luckily, thankfully, FINALLY, there was no more van. And now? Now we live in Delaware, land of strip malls, no sales tax, and cheap lobster. Yum.

Everett Henley, shown in Knit Picks Swish in Copper. Size 32"

Why am I telling you all of this? Because the day we got into that hated van is the day that my first ever sweater pattern, the Everett Henley, was published in Holla Knits. I went through like all of my data checking Ravelry every 2 seconds on release day, just to see how many queues my pattern was in. What I saw made me happy. The Everett Henley did smashingly well. Hooray! I cannot wait to see other knitters' versions of it... which will be easier for one of you if you win my pattern giveaway. Just leave a comment to enter, and I'll pick a winner next Tuesday... provided I can figure out what day of the week it is.

Shown in Knits in Class Merino Mohair Worsted in Mr. Darcy. Size 40"

If you'd rather not wait to see if you won, head here to purchase the pattern through Holla Knits! 

The Everett Henley is a fairly advanced pattern, but the end result is so worth it. All-over lace; raglan, 3/4 sleeves; a curved hem with applied i-cord; killer style. You know you want to make one. I kind of want to make another one.

Curved hem with applied i-cord. 

Leave a comment and win a copy!

Detail of the raglan increases and that lovely lace.

And this concludes the Fall/Winter 2013 Holla Knits blog tour. The end.

Fox!

My fox stole. Made from this pattern a few months ago- maybe October? September? I have forgotten. Right now he lives on the bottom shelf of my credenza, but some day I will have the courage to wear him in public. After I move his eyes back, because they're kind of awkwardly close together now. I made him in a couple of evenings from stash yarn- I think it was super cheapo Vanna's Choice, left over from my early knitting days. I had a tough Monday, and nothing makes a bad day better like allowing yourself to knit whatever the heck you want. Hence, a fox stole.

Speaking of stash yarn, I find myself with a large amount of acrylic that I don't think I will do much, if anything, with. What do you do with it? Donate it? Go on a toy-knitting spree? It's taking up a large amount of storage space in my craft room.