Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Mitered Squares

I started a blanket made out of mitered squares. I have always admired the one on Mason Dixon Knitting and the blankets in their book. I was flipping through a magazine and they had a tutorial on how to make a mitered square, so I decided to try it. It innocently started off as one square and then it became two. The magazine also had a pattern for a mitered square baby blanket, so I started to follow the pattern, but using different yarn and colors and making it larger.
Since my squares are made up of two colors, I noticed they formed a pattern depending on how I arranged them. I quickly sketched some variations and decided I like the Zig Zag pattern the best. I have to determine the pattern from the beginning because each square is added on as you knit. No seaming little squares afterwards! (A major reason why I used this pattern. I hate seaming.)You just have to pick up the stitches as you make the next square.I am using a teal and off white (cream) yarn, Berella Whistler. It's a soft and silky 100% Merino Wool (machine washable). I want to do some stash busting, so I thought a blanket would help. I have two bags of each color. I am going to use up all of it for the blanket. That will determine the length of my blanket. The width is 33 inches (9 squares) and I plan on adding a border.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Last Minute Holiday Knitting

I whipped up this Mason Dixon Washcloth in 2 days, though it should have taken only one day. I was tired when I started it so I misread the directions and started over about 4 times. Ugh! For some reason, I casted on 105 stitches when the book says 150. And I did not catch that until my fourth try. I am not going to even bother to mention the other mistakes. So embarrassing!

I used Knitpicks Crayon in Pink and size US 8 needles.

I put a bar of soap in the middle.

Then ran a pink ribbon through the eyelets, cinched it and tied a bow. And printed up some cute tags that Amy graciously shared with everyone. Thanks, Amy!

I hope everyone has a great holiday! Napoleon & Caesar wishes you all the very best!

Monday, December 18, 2006

Trial 1: Scarf Pattern for Olive Malabrigo

This is Grumperina's Shifting Sands pattern. I think that the color is too dark to show off the cable work. The original pattern is for Sport Weight yarn. Malabrigo is Worsted Weight, so I cast on 32 stitches on US 7 (4.5mm) needles and it's about 5 1/2 inches wide. If you want to knit this pattern, you definitely need to learn to cable without a cable needle. After that, it's a breeze. The pattern is easy to memorize even for a scatter brain like me.

Friday, December 15, 2006

Olive Malabrigo

I finally got myself some Malabrigo after seeing it all over other people's blogs. Wow, it is so soft! I am currently trying different patterns for a scarf and haven't fell in love with one yet. Stay tuned.

Monday, December 11, 2006

Surprise Guest!

At 7:00am, I heard a funny noise coming from the kitchen. The boys and I walked downstairs to investigate. What did we find in the kitchen?

This little Monkey trying to steal our bananas! He was obviously hungry and was probably wandering outside all night. At least he was dressed warmly with a nice scarf. I could never say no to someone who was hungry, so I told him that he was welcome to have both bananas.
Caesar was not shy about saying hi to the little Monkey.
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Orchid 9717
Pattern: Oct/Nov '06 Crochet Today
Crochet Hook: US F5/3.75mm

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Guy Gifts

My DH has set up a Etsy Shop to sell his Comix. Comix would be a great Holiday gift for your brother, son, boyfriend, dad or husband. All the women who bought Comix at Crafty Bastards in October were buying for guys on their holiday list. These are all One-Of-A-Kind art pieces and are truly a labor of love. If you can't find your favorite comic book hero, you can always commission him to make one for you. I had him make me a special one for a friend's brother and he loved it!

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Coexisting Peacefully

Thank you to all of you that asked about Napoleon. He has recovered 100%. The sad thing is that he will be allergic to his shots forever. We just have to figure out which ones he was allergic to and then try spacing those farther apart. The Vet says that it would only get worse, so maybe spacing it every 3 years may be necessary. I will bring him in next year and have them space the shots a few days apart to see which ones he reacts to. He was basically bombarded with all the vaccines and rabies shots in one day, so they have no clue what he is allergic to.