UFOs

That is, UFOs that really should be FOs. I have 3, and all are small, almost finished, and hanging out in my knitting bag.

• Irish hiking wrist warmers. I need to sew up the seams and wear them.
• hot water bottle cover. I need to do a bit more knitting at the end, then sew up the seams
• my sister's headscarf. I need to crochet some ties, block, and give it to her.

I see a theme here. Apparently I hate finishing. Which is too bad, because if I had finished the wrist warmers a few weeks ago, like I could have, I could have been wearing them this entire time while we are experiencing unusually cool weather. And I could have given my sister her headscarf as a get well gift. And used the hot water bottle cover. And so on.

My personal goal is to finish all 3 projects by the end of the month. Doesn't sound like such a big deal, but some of them have been almost finished for several months.

little projects

I knit a super quick project for E recently: fruit cuffs. These are just 2x2 ribbed tubes, about 3" long, knit in kitchen cotton. They are for him to wear when he eats messy fruit, like watermelon. My hope is that all the juice that would normally run down his arms onto his shirt will get on the fruit cuffs, which I can then throw in the wash. So far he likes wearing them, but he's also been extraordinarily careful when it comes to eating fruit lately, too.

I just have one active project on the needles right now, a hat for either E or L. The pattern is Nottingham, by Melissa Mall, and I'm using an old skein of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Superwash Worsted that I got from my grandmother's stash (not am I only busting my own stash, but my grandmother's, too!) I am knitting the smallest size; E's head measured 19", and the pattern says it's a stretchy hat. But if it's too small for him, L can wear it. The pattern is easy but tedious. Lots (and lots and lots) of tiny cables, and I haven't figured out how to do them without a cable needle. Fie on me for sure! I am halfway through the cable pattern, though, so it's doable with a cable needle, just, well, tedious.

L's birthday crown

I finished L's birthday crown last weekend and managed to snap a quick picture. She hates wearing hats, so getting any photo was definitely a challenge!
The crown came out a little bit too short after felting, so I stretched it while it was drying. My original plan was to use velcro to fasten the ends together. I wound up using two pieces of 1/2" elastic instead, although I sewed them on so that the crown is now a bit too big for her! It fits E quite nicely, though, so maybe he can use it for his birthday, too. (Although he says he wants a blue one.)

FO (almost!)

I finished knitting L's birthday crown last night; I am felting it as I type this morning. The pattern is the Felted Halloween Crown from Lion Brand. It was super easy, since it was completely in garter stitch and only required a single increase or decrease per row. I made the smallest size, which I'm hoping will fit L for her first birthday in a couple of weeks. I'm being a bit risky in the felting; I just threw it in with a pair of jeans, and set the washer for a quick, hot wash. I have a front loader, so pulling it out to check in the felting progress isn't an option.

Birthday gift from Avlynn

My best friend Eva (aka Avlynn) made me a circular needle organizer for my birthday! How cool is that! She and her husband and two kids came over for a little party today. I added some of my needles to the organizer after they left. I still have quite a few more needles; these were just the ones that weren't already in a decent package. I'll probably add them in as I use them, or when I get the organizing itch.

Thanks Avlynn!!!

Emergency!

No, not really. But the 72 Hours website is definitely worth taking a look at!

a sweater for L

I finished a sweater for L late last week, just in time for a chilly weekend in Napa. This is the first sweater I've knit for her. I love the yarn, which is a soft superwash merino wool from Tess' Designer Yarns. The pattern that I bought along with the yarn, though, was terrible, and I wound up ripping it out and starting again with a different pattern. The pattern is called Daisy Cardigan, by Marie Grace. It is knit from the top down all in one piece, which meant that when I was finished knitting, I didn't have to sew any seams. Instead of buttons it has a single tie at the top (which meant I didn't have to look for matching buttons, either!) I modified the pattern slightly by knitting a garter stitch border at the bottom and doing a regular cast off, instead of the picot edge (I did the picot cast off for the sleeves. If I knit it again I might do the garter stitch for the sleeves, too, to keep them from rolling.)

The sweater is a bit big for L, but not so big that she can't wear it now. I am hoping it will still fit her in the fall, when I plan to knit a matching hat with the remaining yarn.