Phew!

Krish's present got finished yesterday morning WHILE opening prezzies from my family... that was a little too close for comfort for me!

In all the madness, I didn't take a photo... so it'll come soon.

Happy Holidays!

So, this is how we do Christmas in Canada:



Happy Holidays to all, and to all a good night!

Matt's Scarf

Finally, I can do a post-mortem on this scarf!

Here's a lovely photo, from the giftee himself:


Project Details

Yarn: Knitpicks's Panache in Slate. This yarn is oh-so-soft. I bought some for my SP5, and couldn't bear to send it to her. (I did, but then needed to get some more to work with. Matt's scarf gave me the excuse!) It's a really yummy blend of cashmere, extra-fine merino, baby alpaca and silk. How could it not be delicious? It knits up nicely on biggish needles (US 9-11) for quick knitting. I never went through a single ply instead of the whole yarn while knitting, and it was very easy to use while knitting by feel. This was definitely a scarf to knit while watching movies... but the Panache did a good job of alleviating ribbing boredom.

Pattern: Cable cast on, then K2,P2 rib until you run out of yarn. Bind off loosely.

I ended up using 4 balls of Panache for a really lusciously long scarf. I could have managed with 3, but I'm glad I splurged on the extra ball. It's perfect this way.

Sarah's duck

Oh, you know you love him...

I call this photo: "pensive duck":


Project details
Yarn: Knitpicks WOTA in carrot for the feet and beak, big ball o' Red Heart yellow for the body

Needles: 5mm

Pattern: "Duckling" from Jean Greenhowe's Knitted Animals . . . I love these patterns! They always turn out great!

And for some gratuitous photos . . .

Chillin' duck:


And you know I have to say it: "what's up, duck?"

One more done!

Well, I've got another one done, but I can't post it until Wednesday.
Hold your breaths... he's darn cute!

Matt's Scarf done!!!

We had a 2.5 hour drive on Friday night, so of course, I was pumped for some prime knitting time.
I KNEW I was going to get Matt's scarf done, and I did.

But I forgot something... photos.

Grr.

So they'll have to come later.

Ah well, on to the rest of my Christmas knitting!

My hand is not made of pita...

So, you know what the best thing is for keeping on schedule with holiday knitting? Slicing your hand when you're cutting a pita. I know, I know... away from the body. But I'm silly.

And now I'm losing valuable knitting time!
grrr.

It's growing...

Check it out, we have half of Matt's scarf:

Look who's done!

Admit it. You love him.

Project details:
Pattern: Baby Bobbi Bear from Blue Sky Alpacas

Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas 100% Alpaca in Natural Light Tan - the yarn is a sportweight, so the pattern calls for baby bobbi to be knit with two strands held together. The yarn is to die for! I think I could exclusively use it for the rest of my life, and be very content. The stitch definition is great, and it is so very soft! I had to buy one skein more than the pattern recommended, and I used about a quarter of it. I thought the three skeins was a bit more money than I wanted to spend on a bear, so when it got to four I almost choked. I'd be interested in making a smaller bear by using the yarn single-stranded. (This little guy is 14" tall).

Modifications: I embroidered the face my own way, and didn't do the duplicate stitching around the neck. I haven't decided if I will do it later or not. I think I will try tying a ribbon around his neck first. He definitely needs something there. As a temporary measure, I have tied some of the yarn around his neck.

If I had to do it again: I don't know if I'd use this pattern. He's so darn cute, but I'm not happy with all the places where you pick up stitches -- mine look so messy. This may be a fault of my knitting (especially as they got better as I continued), but there are other toy patterns that avoid this. But the good thing? Virtually NO seaming!

Secret Pal Revealed!!!

Well, I got the most lovely final package from my SP5, Nicole, who goes by "Qeltic" on the Knittyboard.

YAY! What a great SP!
Look what I got:

A bag from Jamaica:


A flamingo pen!


A Christmas ornament, which has taken up residence on my door, and makes me smile every time I see him:


A gorgeous candle that looks like a Ukranian Easter egg, which now lives with my Santa hat on top of my TV:




Mmmmmm, laceweight. Purple. Yummm. It's enough for a shawl, and SOOO soft. Merino is lovely. I am a happy girl.