Don't look in the mirror...it's furious

I think that was one of my favorite lines from last nights Doctor Who episode......along with the "Have you seen this face before?", which certainly was a nod to the fact that Peter Capaldi, the new face of The Doctor, has appeared in both Dr Who and Torchwood.  So yes, we have seen the face before, just never in this context.

Reminds me of my knitting.  Sometimes the yarns are familiar and the pattern different, or the pattern is familiar and the yarns are different, and sometimes the entire thing is the same!

Take TFB's hooded cardigan he wants for Christmas.  I started in on it a while ago, got to just past where I was separating the body from the arms and I had him try it on.  That is the beauty of a top down raglan sweater, try as you go and make sure you don't end up with something too big, or too small, but something with a fit that is just right.

Now I am suffering from a large case of Deja Vu, because back to the beginning I went to make the whole thing just a touch wider and the arm holes a significant amount longer.

I had a lovely surprise in my mailbox this week!  One of the stealth projects that I have been working on was knit out of some ever-so-soft, truly wonderful in the hands alpaca yarn, and I mentioned to Andrea that I wished I had more of it so that I could make a neck warmer for myself!

Not only did she send me some ever-so-soft, truly stunning in color, alpaca, there was even a skein of ever so soft, truly stunning in colors merino to go with it!  Not to leave out our favorite model there was even a mason jar filled to the brim with beads for TDQ!


In random lunchtime knitting I got a couple more chapstick holders knit, ringed and ready to go.

And while watching Dr Who I managed to knit a pair of fingerless mitts.

As many do, I follow the Yarn Harlot's blog pretty closely, she has some hysterical stories that she tells and there is more than just knitting there, her entire life it seems like is on display...but I digress, the other day when I looked at it she mentioned a blog I had never heard of, so I clicked the link and scrolled through the entries, and stopped when I came to some fingerless mitts and mittens that caught my eye.  A quick look at Ravelry and it doesn't look like the designer has published a pattern, so I examined her pictures as closely as I could and made one up myself.

 I think I came pretty close, even without having knit the button band.

That is all I have time to share today, maybe next week I will have some more knitting to share! (But don't hold your breath, the kids get YoYo for dinner 3 out of 5 nights this week so we know I am running all week long!)

Saying Goodby to Summer

As hard as it is to believe, I swear school just finished for last year, school goes back next week for TFB and the week after for TDQ and TOB.

Where did the summer go?

What did we do with it?

Well to be honest, not much!

There were the obligatory trips to the Zoo (because I love it, they tolerate it, because there is ice cream there!) and we went to the Air Force Museum.  We did yard work, and attended evening Jazz Concerts, saw a few movies we wanted to see.....TOB went to school (his school has switched to year round which is good and bad at the same time) and signed TDQ up for her college classes and paid for them.

There were no bigger trips, no big household improvements over the summer....in short we blinked and we missed it!

With school heading back in just a couple of days it must be time to get serious about some holiday knitting, right?

Well maybe.

I did start on TFB's sweater, then it got thrown on the WIP stack and hasn't been looked at in weeks!  No baby blankets on the needles, and Andrea even has some patterns that were released last week that I don't have any finished objects of to show you!

What do I have?

Well I have these....

What are they , you might ask and maybe this picture will help out a little...

Chapstick holders so that I won't constantly hear "Have you seen my chapstick?"  The rings make them suitable for attaching to keys or backpacks or even belt loops if you don't want to carry the other things around with you....but the first person who leaves their chapstick on their jeans and throws them in the washer will be in charge of cleaning out the washer and dryer!

Remembering how cold last winter was, and how hot this summer hasn't been, got me in the mood to try out the Yarn Harlot's Oatmeal Stout.

Still needs blocking but TDQ who initially said the colors didn't go together now wants a hat to match!

Having knit the scarf I wanted to try the cowl...and did......


along with some fingerless mitts (no she doesn't have those in her pattern, but mittens are easy to adjust, trust me!) which  I called Oatmeal Squares the entire time I was knitting them.

And finally the color scheme that TDQ didn't like in a different form - a moebious lacey thing. Which also needs blocking.

From the looks of the number of  "pre-blocking" pictures I need to put some water in the sink and spend a quiet evening blocking my knitting!

~M