Neither Hip Nor Funky

When I finish my niece’s sweater, this is the next project that I cast on…a lap blanket for my Grandma for Christmas. It needs to be small and light enough that she can move it around, a kind of mini-afghan. There are two main motivating factors for this lap blanket, hence the post title. Guilt because I am living on the opposite side of the country during some of my Grandma’s last years. Comfort because I want to make something for my Grandma that she will really like and will show much love, especially since Christmas is her favorite time and this is her first Christmas without my Grandaddy.

Because that guilt thing can be complicated…this blanket has already started to have complications before I even cast on a stitch. I found a great deal on the Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk with the discount at WEBS. I figured that this would be the perfect yarn: warm, soft, and light. However, my original idea was for this pretty tan and green that I saw on my monitor, with an accent of one ball of the gray that you see above. When my order arrived, it was this:

On the website, I truly thought that the color on the left was a light tan and the color on the right was a very light green, whoops. Now both of these colors are nice by themselves…but horrid together. (Due to the magic that is color disortion on monitors, you may look at the pic and think the colors go together quite well. They don’t.)

I got some more of the gray at a LYS (magically in the same dye lot), and will use the brighter green for another project.

I’m thinking a scarf. I’m totally up for suggestions if anyone knows of a good pattern or stitch ideas to use for a scarf… or a totally different idea of what these 4 balls of yarn would work well for.

Pattern: Embossed Leaves Socks from IK Winter ‘05
Yarn: Socks that Rock lightweight in Autumn colorway
Needles: US2 Addi Turbos

Love this pattern. On the second sock, I no longer needed to look at the chart. Since it is a fairly intuitive design, you can tell what you need to do on the next row by looking at the stitches on your needles. I will actually have to wait to wear them; customers’ finished socks will be on display during November as part of the Socktoberfest celebration at Abundant Yarn. I also get a commemorative stitch marker (made for Abundant Yarn by the Zephyr girls) for finishing my socks during Socktoberfest. I’m pretty excited about it (P-funk doesn’t really get it and is just amused by my excitement).

I’ve had all sorts of knitting updates….but P-funk took the camera cord to San Fran.   And, really, knitting updates without pics can get boring real fast.  So tommorrow, I should have a reall post.

The past couple days have really felt like autumn…which can be rare here. In the Northwest, October brings the gray drizzle that often makes it hard to appreciate the changing color of the leaves. However, the last few days have been beautiful, clear, sunny days with a brisk chill in the air that gives that great crunch to the leaves when you step on them.

Overall, I’ll gladly take the drizzly winters of the Northwest winter in order to avoid the humid, hot Virginia summers. I don’t miss the humidity, but I do occasionally miss the beauty of an autumn with crisp leaves.

A new hat, makes the crisp weather even more enjoyable…

Pattern: Fair Isle Hat
Yarn: Plymouth Tweed

Needles: US6 dpns

I knit this in a class at my LYS. I’m pleased with it overall. Although some of the pattern charts were a bit confusing, Fair Isle was not as difficult as I was expecting. It is officially washed blocked with all the ends woven in and ready to wear.

It’s like the Day of Reckoning but with more yarn ends to weave in.

I have so many partially complete projects that I have had to force myself to finish some. So…here is a poorly lit, cat infested picture of a seamed Pea Pod Sweater.

I have had the pieces finished for a couple weeks, but I hadn’t seemed it yet. Since there is a baby soon to be birthed in Texas that is anxiously awaiting this sweater, I had to finish it. The Yarn Harlot does have a theory that babies aren’t born until their sweaters are finished, and I don’t want to be responsible for any irritated, overdue mothers.

For a small thing, it has a surprising number of ends to weave in. Here is a shot of about half of them:

I will take some daylight photos to more accurately show the color after it is blocked and has buttons.

I will try to update often this weekend, as it will probably be a whole Weekend of Finishing. I have done the finishing and blocking for my Fair Isle Hat, have made two more Brooklyn Caps, need to sew up my bobble bag, have an update to show of the Mock Cable Cardigan, am finishing the second halves of two pairs of socks, and have picked up the Simple Knitted Bodice again. On top of that, I am swatching for my Rogue Sweater. And, yes, I am crazy and my knitting will one day suffocate me.