Out With the Old...

The general concensus among my online buds (a.k.a. my invisible internet friends) is that 2009 simply must go and not soon enough. Here's hoping that 2010 is better for us all! To finish of the year I give you one more knitted item. I'll be spending New Years Eve working on sweater #9 and hanging out with the family. Mr. Engineer has a cold and I am fighting off one (probably the same virus) as best I can. Young Man seems fine, but has a bit of the tween cranky. We have the last of the dessert tamales from our wonderful neighbors so who needs a big party?

Project: Sweater Ornament from Patons
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool

Needles: US 5 (I think - whatever the pattern asked for)

Notes: The original pattern is a bit fiddly, so I think I will revise it to make it mostly seamless. It seemed appropriate to make a sweater ornament for the year of the sweater. This particular one went to my sister, but I am making another for our tree.

Holiday Knitting, Part 2

This one was one of those knits that went fairly quickly (if men's socks can ever be described as "quick"), but the timing was a bit off. On Christmas day, on sock was wrapped with an IOU for the second sock. The second sock was more than half finished, but it was not close enough to keep our neighbor's toes warm. I finished up the second sock on Saturday and delivered it that evening. In return I got more cookies! This is not a time for getting on the scale, but my taste buds are very happy.

Project: Gentleman's Half Hose in Ringwood Pattern, by Nancy Bush in Knitting Vintage Socks

Yarn: Berocco Ultra Alpaca in Fine (just over one skein)
Needles: US 1 dpns

Notes: This is a very easy pattern with just enough variety to keep me going. It was a very relaxing pattern and every time I sat down to knit I ended up yawning! The main modification was to only decrease down to 68 stitches. With the chosen yarn and needles, anything less would have been too tight. I also made the cuffs a bit longer than Nancy described and I used a standard heel flap. This yarn seems like it will make very soft, comfy socks. It is a bit splitty so I had to pay attention. That is to say that it wasn't a good project for knitting during movie previews. The dim light wasn't conducive to catching split stitches and resulted in a fair amount of tinking and frogging.

Yes, I knit at the movie theater. I mostly do this when I am on a deadline, but it gives me something to do when we arrive early enough for the entertainment "news" pieces that come on before the previews. I go a lot of knitting finished before Avatar because we arrived very early and there were a LOT of previews.

Holiday Knitting, Part 1

Wow! When I drop off blogging, I do it right. December has been a whirl of activity. I won't say fun, but lots of activity. There was that design review at work and then I did a day of baking. Interspersed was a flurry of gift knitting. Mostly, I went with projects that were already knit. My sister got the Rivendell Socks that I loved enough to give them to her and my next-door neighbor got the Leyburn Socks with sparkles that made her smile. I decided to test out my Brother-In-Law with a knitted item. He almost always wears a hat, but he has a few particular styles that he favors. However, he lives in Minnesota, so I figure that occasionally, he could use a hat that covers his ears.

Project: Knotty But Nice, by Natalie Larson in Knitty

Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease (shut up! sometimes it is just the right thing)

Needles: US 7

Notes: This was a very quick knit and I always love cables. I do worry about the fit. The pattern had me use the same size needles for the initial ribbing and the main hat. I sort of wish that I had started smaller for the first few rows (or went larger after the first few rows). I like my cables nice and crisp, so my tension for the main hat was probably a bit too tight. This left the hat seeming tight around the head and loose around the ears. I like the look, but I am concerned about the wearability.

Since my sister reads this, she can report from BIL whether this project was a success or not. If BIL likes the concept, but not the application, let me know and I'll knit from another pattern or fiddle with this one.

Uh, Oh!

What are three of the favorite words in our house?

Some Assembly Required.

This is the new folding lacrosse goal that is supposed to take whatever power throws Young Man can dish out. Hopefully the assembly will keep him busy when his scrimmage is rained out on Saturday.

Can't Blog; Too Much To Do

Today's big news is that Mr. Engineer took possession of his very own 2010 Subaru Legacy today. This baby has more headroom than even my tall guy knows what to do with! We are having fun and enjoying our present to ourselves, but there are no pictures yet. Soon. I promise.