Tuesday, December 30, 2008

I don't want to hear it!

Yes; I know. It's been six months since I've posted anything and NO reviews. (Yes; I got your e-mail, Lizzie - my one and only fan.) So to bring you all (or maybe just Lizzie) up to date, I've been pretty busy the past few months. I made several pair of socks, including a pair for my mom and a pair for The Man. Wow, yeppers, I actually knit socks for someone other than myself. Shocking I know, especially since I vowed I would never do that. Aside from knitting I was also extremely involved in Obama's election campaign and so lost an entire two months by being a(n over) full time volunteer. But what a rush!


OK, here are some pics of the socks I've knit and actually taken pictures of the finished products:




These are the Cairi's Sweetheart Socks. It's a free pattern. Search for it at Ravelry. If you aren't part of Ravelry and you knit then you should be. Get an invitation.

I like this picture better though (but only because it shows off the ultra cool shoes that I got for $3 at a thrift store):


These are my celebration socks from the campaign. The yarn is by Blackbunny Fibers (also found through Ravelry although she has her own website that is linked through Ravelry) and is called Audacity (as in Audacity of Hope). I won this (and several other) sock yarn(s) through a Knitters for Obama fundraising raffle. The pattern is called Eleanor and is also a free pattern found through a Ravelry search:



You can catch up on my other knitting projects through Ravelry (I'm not joking about this Ravelry thing. Be there or be square. It is the happening place and if you can't find where you belong there, you haven't looked hard enough!)

OK on with the reviews. I'm going to totally skip the entire Fall/Autumn issues because it would just be way too long of a post.

Beginning with Knitty's Winter Edition:

Bijouterie: These are very pretty and I wish the best to those that are wanting to knit with wire. I'm just not there. But they are lovely and I dont' think too difficult.



A Little Bird Told Me: This is a great little felted "brown bag" purse. I love the construction and the color, but then I have a thing for pink felted purses. I'd probably do needle felting on it rather than embroider or I would do an embroidery design that was more bold and use wool rather than cotton floss.

Tushy Cushy
OK, when I first saw this I thought it was a really cute nursing pillow and it may still be able to be used as such. However, after reading the description it, well, wasn't intended to be one. There are several warnings that it is not a support for babies. OK, whell, it's a pillow shaped like a pair of old fashioned drawers or maybe men's boxers. The baby is cute, though.

Fern Glade This is really a darling little hat. I like the slouchier green one better than the shorter purple one. I also think the stitch definition is better seen in the green color.

Topopgraphie: I much prefer the neckwarmer to the hat. The hat really doesn't do anything for me and looks like it is trying too hard to be shabby chic, but missing the chic part.

Fish Hat (Dead or Alive): This cracks me up. I love the big fish hats with the X's over the eyes. The kids wearing them over their heads is especially cute. I'm betting The Boy would love one of these. (I'll put it on my list!)

Therapi: I like this sweather purely for the textural qualities. I detest knitting in stockinet. Thank you, Stefanie Japel for creating an interesting sweater that is sized large enough for us bustier women!

Amelia: I love this feminine cardie! The long ribbing lines help give it a more curvy look, but wouldn't be too huggy. I especially love the ribbing at the waist helping it to hug and accentuate the waist. Very flattering sweater! (And it is plus sized too!)

Mirror: OK, you may notice now that I'm skipping some things. Some of the patterns just didn't speak to me, but I had to mention these because they are delightful and the designer is a teen! I love the yarn she chose and Olivia (who is on ravelry) designed the thumbs more to the palm for comfort. What a smart girl! I look forward to seeing other designs from her in the future!

Plainted Points: These are a definite must do. May even make these after I finish up the Franklin PanoptiTRON's that I am making from Lorna's Laces. (Like I said if you want info you gotta be on Ravelry!) These socks will fit in nicely with my goal of 12 pair of socks for the year.

Fargyles: are already in my queue at Ravelry. That means I intend to make them soon. Nice chunky and fun. These should be a quick work up on one of those long movie marathon weekends or maybe while driving to Disney in February.

Maja: this was the last thing I saw that I loved. Unfortunately, I don't have enough Peace Yarn to make this, but I'm thinking I might have enough Cotton Twist and that would be lovely. The yarn called for is the Manos del Uruguay, but my LYS doesn't carry this yarn. It calls for a worsted weight. I've decided I am going to really try this year to only purchase yarns from my LYS, Knitpicks, or Etsy shops. I'm trying to wean myself away from random internet shopping and big box stores. We will see how well this goes.

OK, off to Notions. Notions is a fairly new online magazine. Many of the designers who wrote for the now defunct MagKnits are here at Notions now. I'm only going to do the patterns that just wowed me, but please go look at the other patterns!

Take a Bow: This is just the perfect Hello Kitty Hat. I love it! Very vintage looking.

Vortical: Lovely easily memorized sock pattern with a fun twist. It definitely needs fun handpainted yarns. Although the Panda Cotton it recommends is nice too. Maybe these need to be in my queue.

Hanging Vines: Very nice pattern I like the complexity to these socks, but not sure I can knit another pair of green socks for a while. They are a bit challenging for the beginner knitter, but would be a fun mental engagement.

Like I said there are other patterns so check them out. OK, going to try to be better about updating the blog, but really, I mostly write about my knitting adventures these days at Ravelry (yes; I said it again. Ravelry. Ravelry. Ravel-rEEEEEeeee. Go there) Ravelry.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Pics from Yule chat

Here they are:

the whole kit and kaboodle:

The necklace and earrings:





The box from Australia:
Me in the Sarah Palin Apron (I'm winking but it's hard to see in my glasses)