Catching Up

Oh, the knitterly things I have to show from last year!

Here's my friend opening the dishcloth set at her wedding shower:


Here's a Christmas present for me from a fellow knitter:


That's a Lantern Moon basket and needle case. For a year, I've been talking about buying a lined basket to hold my works in progress, so my friend stepped in and bought one for me.

And here's my final finished objects from 2006...


...which are two dishcloths I knit for the Winter Wonderland Swap. Both dishcloths are slip-stitch patterns. The dishcloth on the left is the Mason-Dixon Knitting "warshrag," and the cloth in the right was inspired by this site:

My dishcloth slip-stitch pattern:
Cast on an odd number of stitches.
Rows 1 and 2 (1st color): Knit all stitches
Rows 3 (2nd color): *K1, slip 1 purlwise; repeat from * across the row
Row 4 (2nd color): *K1, yarn forward, slip 1 purlwise, yarn back; repeat from * across the row
Repeat these four rows for as long as you want.


With the unseasonably warm weather earlier this winter, I fretted that my winter accessories would remain in the closet for another year.


I'm wearing short sleeves! In New England! In January! Hello, global warming! This picture was shot at Moore State Park, a lovely park in Paxton, MA, with a lake and small water falls, an old mill, fields, short hiking trails in the woods, and plenty of knitting spots.

When I took a trip up north to New Hampshire, I finally needed a winter hat, so I knit myself a new one in just a few hours while vacationing next to a snow-covered mountain and watching reruns of Top Chef:


Pattern: My own. A stockinette-stitch hat with 2x2 ribbing at the base.
Needles: US size 6 (4mm) and 8 (5mm) sixteen-inch circulars and 5mm dpns
Yarn: Lion Brand (Felting) Wool
Knit time: Roughly 3 hours per hat

I think Lion Brand Wool is just fine - slightly scratchy, slightly fuzzy, and not too splitty - good enough for a wool hat. However, the Knitpicks Wool of the Andes is very similar, wears better, and costs less - though Lion Brand does offer different colors like a blue-purple, teal, and dark pink.


The teal blue hat is for a friend. I knit her a scarf for Christmas, but I haven't given it to her yet, so I'm going to include the hat with her belated Christmas gift:


You might have noticed that hardwood floors are no longer the backdrop in my knitting pictures. I've moved, and my new place has carpeting. I will miss those hardwood floors, especially for their photogenic appeal. I also will miss the beautiful sun and sky pictures from my old apartment.

January 11, 2007: Sky at 2pm

February 2007

I will not miss my former upstairs neighbors.