no resolutions for me

I don't do well with New Year's resolutions. I also don't feel like I've done enough this last year to warrant one of those "year-end wrap-up" posts. I changed a lot of diapers, knit a few gifts, failed to potty-train my son, did a lot of breastfeeding (with no end in sight!), and managed to stay just on this side of sane. So I'm not making any knitting resolutions this year. No diets, yarn or otherwise (though I ought to stick to the "no buying" thing in case the economy improves and we can move where we'd like), no crazy ideas of churning out a pair of socks every month or finishing all the lingering WIPs. I'm going to knit what I want, hopefully some more things for me than I managed this last year. Because it's been a hard year, truth be told, and I deserve it.

I finally figured out what it is I love so much about knitting: the yarn. It's not the process or the product so much as the tactile sensation of yarn. I love to feel it, to pet it in the skein, to feel it slipping through my fingers as I make every stitch. That might explain why I am much more attracted to patterns with interesting textures and stitch patterns than colorwork. When I think about projects I've truly enjoyed, it's always the yarn that has made the difference. Maybe I should sell my stash and buy a couple skeins of exquisite lace-weight cashmere to make something totally and completely impractical, because it doesn't matter so much what I'm making or what it will look like when it's finished as long as it feels good in the process!

Really, I'm more practical than that, so I won't be making any cashmere lace tablecloths in the future. After the Christmas knits, though, I started a simple shell for myself (!!!) and even though it's practically brainless, I'm enjoying every stitch. The yarn is Cascade Arcadia, a DK cotton yarn with a bit of angora, and aside from being a tad splitty (as cotton yarns tend to be), it feels wonderfully light and silky and has a lot of drape.



Until it's done, however, this is the best picture you're going to get. At least I'm 60% done, though, so you might get an FO shot within the next week or so.

Happy New Year, everyone!

still here

We just spent a week in Kansas for Christmas, where we managed to infect everyone in my extended family with a rather nasty cold, but it was otherwise a fun and busy week. Our return trip was delayed first by bad weather, and secondly by our exhaust system suddenly nearly falling off the car, but we made it home okay (despite a sudden random bout of carsickness from a certain almost 3yo in the backseat - it was gross, but he's fine. Don't worry.)

I finished the Christmas knits! There weren't many, and some things were sent far away and are thus not easily blogged, but I'll do my best.

First, I made a hat for my dad. I got almost all the knitting done in the car between Kansas City and Newton, KS, and then I gave it to him on Christmas day, so I'm afraid you get no photo. He claims to love it, though.

Second, I made some winter accessories for Daniel. Still no felted mittens, but I whipped up a little scarf and a pair of socks. Pictures later when the light isn't crappy (which won't be until May, probably. Oh, winter.)

Third, I made sweaters for both our toddler nephew and brand-new baby niece in North Carolina. I put them up on Ravelry a couple weeks ago but saved the blogging until they reached their destination last week. The pictures aren't great, but it's the best I've got. Here's Charlie's sweater:



I know this picture doesn't show much, but have I mentioned how hard it is to take good pictures a week before the Solstice? Anyway, this is the top-down hoodie tunic by Knitting Pure and Simple, in size 24 months for our nephew Charlie. He'll turn 2 in May, and his mother tells me that this may yet fit next year. I used Rowan pure wool in aran weight and it was soft and lovely, though it had a few knots in the skein, which was disappointing considering the price. Still, it's so soft I don't think there's a chance it will itch, and it's machine-washable.

Here's a the little shrug I made for our new niece, Claire:



Another Knitting Pure and Simple pattern, this time a little girl's shrug. It's actually sized for toddlers-10yo, but I used a lighter weight yarn to make it smaller. I'm guessing it will fit in the spring or summer. You know, when you knit for a kid in Wisconsin, and you're not sure about size, err on the side of cold weather, because chances are, you'll need to wear a sweater all months of the year except June, July and August (even that's negotiable, depending on the whims of global climate change). But if you're knitting for a child in North Carolina, err on the side of warm weather. Claire was born in November, and she's a'growin' fast (aggressive nurser, I hear! You go, girl!), so this shrug could fit anytime from March on out. And in NC, they might get warm weather in March (imagine!), so hopefully this little sweater will find some use. In any case, it was great fun to knit. It only took a few episodes of 30 Rock to knit up, plus another week of dithering around before I sewed on the button. I used Dale of Norway Lerke, a DK wool/cotton blend that I have grown to LOVE (in fact, I bought up a whole bunch on sale at an LYS over the summer, totally violating my "no buying for 2 years" resolution). I confess I also started sewing a little dress to match but it didn't get done. Yet. It's not supposed to fit until spring, so I have time.

BTW, today is my 30th birthday. Happy birthday to me! I am embarking on a new decade of life and I feel big change coming. Not just the impending Obama presidency, either (though thank the heavens for that!), but big stuff in my life. I'll post on it later.

snowed in

We got a whole bunch of snow last night, enough to close the Madison schools (which almost never happens). This is what the huge maple in the back of the driveway looked like this morning after the plow came by:



The car looks even worse; it's a long story involving a shared driveway, a cranky neighbor, and a plowing service with a sense of entitlement, but I'd rather not go into that. Let's just say it's going to take us the whole evening to dig it out and we're not particularly happy about it.

In the meantime, I've been doing a bit of Christmas knitting. There are a couple things for our nephew and brand-new niece (which I'll wait to post about to save the surprise in case their parents are reading). My dad has requested a hat, for which I have the yarn and his head measurement. And I want to finish up some winter accessories for the Danimal for his Christmas stocking. I've started with a pair of socks:



Plain old wool socks. Couldn't be more thrilling, huh? He complains about being cold when he's playing out in the snow, and I think it's because his extremities aren't properly insulated. Rather than just buy some Smart Wool socks and waterproof mittens from REI or someplace, which would take approximately 5 minutes online, I have chosen to knit these things, which means his hands and feet are still too cold (since I can't ever seem to manage to finish things when I plan to). I bet any socks I buy will hold up better than these, too, but at least that doesn't matter so much since he'll grow out of them before they're too worn out. Next I need to make some felted mittens, because his current pair, while cute and clever and all, are not warm or waterproof enough for the weather we've been having.

recruitment

It seems Jenn wants to learn how to knit. Excellent news! If you read her comment on my last entry, you'll see that she asked for advice on the best way to learn, so I figured I'd just solicit your suggestions and advice here.

Everyone learns to knit a different way. Some people take a class, some people read a book, some people just sort of figure it out. I learned when I was 8, in a 4-H class that my mom taught, but most other knitters I know learned as adults. Also, there is no one right way to knit. Here are a few suggestions I have:

1. The best way to learn to knit is from a real, live person. Take a beginning knitting class in a LYS (local yarn shop). If that's too expensive or time-consuming, find out if the local library has knitting classes. Libraries sometimes offer knitting classes for kids; if Jamie (Jenn's 10yo son) has any interest, you could sign him up and tag along.

2. Videos are a good second. Try this website for good tutorials on various techniques. I've not checked out YouTube, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were a lot of demonstrations there.

3. There have got to be a lot of "Learn to Knit" DVDs out there. Can anybody recommend good ones? Again, if they're expensive, try the library.

4. Check out Elizabeth Zimmerman, the knitting goddess of the 20th century. Her books are timeless (Knitting Without Tears, Knitters' Almanac, Knitting Workshop, The Opinionated Knitter). While she isn't the best way to start, her writing is excellent and entertaining. She had a PBS show (Knitting Workshop) that is available on DVD; I'm still waiting for a copy to come in for me at our library.

5. Knit with wool. Jenn lives in San Antonio, where there isn't much call to wear wool anything, but trust me here. Acrylic is basically spun plastic. Cotton and other plant fibers aren't elastic or forgiving at all, hard on the hands, and not good for someone learning for the first time. Wool is forgiving and elastic and easy to work with. Good, basic wool is also fairly inexpensive. You could get a couple skeins of, say, Patons Classic Merino - enough for a scarf - and a pair of needles for under $20.

Any other suggestions?

am TOO in the holiday spirit!

We made cookies this morning. Holiday shapes and everything!



We have a standing playdate on Friday mornings with the boy across the street. He and Daniel are best buddies, and it so happens that we parents (all 4 of us) get along famously as well. Daniel spent the night there last year when I had to go the hospital to have Anya (OMG that was almost exactly a year ago!), and that's when the friendship(s) started. Friday mornings are sacrosanct for us. In the summer, we often go to various parks or the zoo. When it's not nice for playing outside we'll go to the Madison Children's Museum or the library, or just play at one of our houses. Today I decided we should bake cookies and it was a great success. After the requisite zooming around with trucks and toys and making snowmen out of play dough, we got down to business, rolling the dough (I made it ahead of time so it could be refrigerated), cutting out shapes, and baking them until they were just golden around the edges. This afternoon I drizzled on the pink frosting, and now they're all ready to be refreshments at my piano students' recital tomorrow. What's left of them, anyway; fresh sugar cookies are hard to resist. Even Anya ate one of the tiny ones.

I look forward to a time when my kids can remember and appreciate at least some of the activities associated with the holidays. I haven't put up a single piece of holiday decor, for three good reasons: our house is too small to shove more stuff into, we're traveling the week of Christmas anyway, and the kids would probably destroy anything I put up. So one might be led to believe that we're a family of scrooges who really don't care much for Christmas and the holiday season. Not so! It's just that I only have so much energy to get through each day, and that does not include hanging garlands or lights that will inevitably get torn down by little hands. And until this year I've always had school stuff keeping me occupied until right before Christmas, and by then it was usually too late to worry about decorating anyway. Maybe next year Daniel will have enough awareness to enjoy trimming a tree (though God only knows where we can fit a Christmas tree) and Anya will be less likely to pull it down.

For now, though, I'm happy to bake some cookies, listen to festive music, watch the snow come down, and imagine I have the time to do all the Christmas knitting I'd like!

jacket

I don't get credit for this one. Daniel's Oma (my mom) made him a jacket out of leftover yarn from a sweater she made.



She used a pattern from a Debbie Bliss book of mine, though the stripes were an added feature. In part, this was because there wasn't enough teal yarn for the whole sweater, but mostly, the stripes are cute. Wouldn't you agree?



("Daniel, smile so I can see your teeth!")


You can't really see it in these pictures, but the jacket is lined. The yarn is hard-wearing wool, which means it's good and warm for a jacket, but certainly not next-to-the-skin soft. So we picked out some jersey knit fabric and my mom cut out pieces to match the pieces of the sweater and sewed it on the inside. Thus, the jacket is a little more wind-proof. My sole contribution to the project, besides finding (and lending) the pattern, was to install the zipper. I didn't do a stellar sewing job, but it zips and hasn't ripped (yet) so I guess it'll do.

Of course, we're well past those autumn days that are pleasantly chilly and well into winter. Now that I have small children to bundle up every time we need a dozen eggs at the store, I find that I hate this weather. I found all the snow rather charming my first winter in Wisconsin, but dudes, the romance is over. It's cold, it's snowy and it's going to be this way forever. Well, for several months anyway. At least it's inspired me to make some wooly things to keep us warm. I've made Daniel two hats, and I've got mittens and socks in the queue (when his cousin's Christmas sweater is done). I desperately need a hat. I want to make a lined coat for Anya, even though I already broke down and bought her a head-to-toe snowsuit from Land's End last week. Stubert is long overdue for a sweater he'll actually wear, and I'm a sleeve and a collar short of finishing a sweater for myself...all these things I shall show you if I EVER get the chance to take some decent pictures (grumble grumble stupid short days with no sunshine grumble grumble).