Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Some Christmas Knitting

Just because I haven't blogged in a couple months doesn't mean I haven't knit all during that time. Oh, no. I have been a knitting fiend. And I can prove it. Here are a few of the Christmas gifts I've knit so far:

The first is the Polarknits Skull Beanie. Am I allowed to say that I really liked the pattern, but the yarn, well, not so much? My fingers ached all through knitting this. What appealed to me about the pattern and the yarn was that it was bulky, therefore a fast knit, no? Well, it did go fast, along with my desire to knit for a few days. Still, Girlie looks fabulous in it, so all is not lost:
Dare I say that I'd love to knit this pattern again, just with another bulky weight yarn?

Now, if you've read my blog for any length of time, you know how my ZimDee loves fish. Little Sproutie has also developed a love for sea creatures from hanging out with his brother, yo. So out come the knitting needles, and pretty soon this takes shape:
What a silly looking little fish. My greatest accomplishment so far where this fish is concerned has been to keep it successfully hidden, hopefully until Christmas morning.
The pattern is Kureyon Carp. Sadly, I found no link to it out on the web, though you can find it on Ravelry. The pattern calls for the fish to be felted, but that's not really my cup of tea, so I kept it as is. I used Malabrigo Seleccion Privada yarn with some Fun Fur thrown in. Doesn't it seem almost like sacrilege to use Malabrigo and Fun Fur on the same project? But I think the boys will love it, and that's what counts.

By the way, the eyes are some buttons left over from my scrapbooking days. Guess when I gave up scrapbooking? Yep, when I started blogging. I realize now that this blog has become my scrapbook, and I get just as much pleasure (if not more) from looking at all the pictures and reading my old postings. Sometimes I surprise myself with what I wrote--I don't remember being so cheeky. Sometimes I laugh, sometimes I cry, but always I smile.

It's great to be back!

Monday, December 01, 2008

Some Catching Up Before Moving Forward

I know it's time to start thinking about Christmas, and I am feeling the excitement of the season this year like I haven't for a while. But if you'll indulge me for a moment, I'd really like to show you how adorable my babies were this last Halloween. (yes, yes, I know it's December 1st, but sometimes you have to go backwards to move forward, know what I mean?)

Here they are in all their glory. My vampire Girlie, my penguin ZimDee, and my pirate Sprout:Next came time for the Annual Walk or Bike to School Day, and this year ZimDee was old enough to participate. He got to ride in tandem with Dad while Girlie rode on her own. The funny thing is, if you look closely you can see that ZimDee's little feet aren't even on the bike pedals. Apparently he just held on tight to the handlebars with his feet spread out on either side of the bike and kept instructing his dad to "Slow down!" Of course, when he returned home he proclaimed it the Funnest. Bike. Ride. Evar.
And more knitting to show. These are the Sweet Dreams socks from Dream in Color, knit in their Smooshy sock yarn in the Wisterious colorway. This sock now lives on the shelf at Twisted, the best little yarn shop in Portland.
I may have to knit a pair for myself one day.

Now, did I hear you say you wanted to see a close-up of that scurvy pirate? But of course:Aye, Avast! Um, I mean 24 days til Christmas!