Ooh, Shiny!!!

Meet the new baby in our driveway, my husband's brand new 2009 VW Jetta TDI. The TDI officially stands for "Turbo Diesel Injection", but I've decided it actually means "Tremendous Dollar Investment." It was time, though; the car he's been driving (a 1990 Geo Prizm we bought used from a neighbor) has over 200,000 miles on it and has been falling apart, bit by bit. To soften the pain of the price, we will be getting a good-sized tax credit for buying it, and a nice tax deduction for donating the Prizm to charity.

In knitting news, there are now 15 pairs of mittnz completed, and I've started on the 16th pair. I'm thinking I'll go ahead and finish 18 pair before I quit, so that shouldn't take too much longer. Then maybe there will actually be knitting for something for me! Well, probably not; I really need to get started on Christmas presents. There's only a little more than five stitching months left, after all!

MITTNZ 2009...I'm on a roll!

As soon as I heard that Mittnz 2009 had begun, I cast on for my first pair. Naturally, since I'm easily bored, I used a variety of patterns as well as lots of different yarns (all from stash, of course!) to make these nine pair. The two pair at top left are crocheted from this great pattern, and the pair at bottom left are from the adult version of the pattern, in the single crochet style. The teal pair at top right and the teal and variegated pair second from left on the bottom row were knit from the basic mitten pattern in Ann Budd's Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns. The rest were knit using Kate Gilbert's Gifted mitten pattern, which has become my new most favorite mitten pattern. I've done some tweaking of the pattern (the instructions are only guidelines, right?) with just about every pair, until it's just darn near perfect (for me, anyway!). As a matter of fact, I like this pattern so much that I've continued making mittens, even though the official goal for Mittnz 2009 is just the nine pair.

Now, admittedly, the pair on the right in this second picture is NOT from this pattern, but a girl has to try something new now and then, right? That pair is actually an adaptation of a pattern in Knitting New Mittens and Gloves by Robin Melanson. But I'm back to the "Gifted" mittens pattern on the pair I'm knitting now. I wonder how many pair of mittens I can make before I go totally bonkers? Hmmm....

So, it really IS November!

And we were greeted with the proof yesterday morning. Of course, being Colorado, the temperature may be back in the seventies next week.

Let's see, what have I been up to? Well, I'm to the wrist on the first knitted arm warmer/long fingerless glove. It's taking so long because I'm redesigning it as I go, from the original shorter pattern. You know, knit 20 rounds, frog 12 rounds, re-knit those 12 and get another 30 done, just to frog another 5. The second one will be much faster to make, just replicate the first!

The knitting for the troops is going well; I've now completed three hats and am working on the second neck gaitor. The last of the set of squares for Close Knit Hugs is done, and I'm in the process of weaving in all the ends (something I should have done as I finished each one!). Last, but not least, I finally frogged the scarf I had been making for last year's Red Scarf Project (more here) and rewound the yarn into balls. It has now been cast on again for the Red Scarf Project for 2008, as they have extended the deadline to December 15. The pattern I'm using this time is the Palindrome Scarf, so I can just knit from one end to the other - no need to graft two halves together!

Well, I suppose I should get some dinner made, before the natives get too restless.

A Photographic Record of My Day

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Mittnz and Wristrz and Troop Hats, Oh My!

Actual FO's to report, can you believe it?!? Above on the left are the five pair of mittens and three pair of wristers made for the 2008 Mittnz Blitz, now on their way to the Cheyenne River Youth Project in South Dakota. On the right, modeled by LizaBeth Bear, is the hat I finished yesterday for the Knitting for the Boys Project, and at bottom left is the new one I'm working on.


I'm also knitting another pair of wristers for the daughter of a friend, altering the pattern to make them elbow length. And I still haven't gotten back to my second sock, which is waiting for me to pick up the gusset stitches. Oh, yeah, there are those afghan squares I still have to finish, too. Well, it should all keep me busy and out of trouble, anyway!

The Last Sunrise of Summer

...and I'm really NOT going to miss it (summer, that is, not sunrise)! While I realize that we can't enjoy all the wonderful fruits and vegetables that the season brings, I just HATE the heat. I can hardly wait for consistently cool weather (though I'll be more than happy to accept intermittent chilly days in the meantime).

Just thought I would drop in to say that I'm still alive, in case anyone is listening. There may even be more posts in the near future, if you can stand the shock!

Time Bandits

Okay, who made off with May and June? We can't possibly already be halfway to Christmas, can we? Surely I'm not the only one feeling the rush of air as the days, weeks, MONTHS go rushing by (I know, don't call me surely)...

Well, I have been busy. I received my invitation to Ravelry in late April, and have spent more time there than I would like to admit. It's scary to contemplate just how much yarn has already been cataloged from my stash, especially when considering how much more there is to be entered. Just how many socks worth of sock yarn do I own, anyway? I'm not sure I really want to know.

There has been actual knitting occurring, with multiple FO's to report. The red vest for Warm Woolies that I was working on in my last post has been finished, along with another one in the same yarns with the colors reversed (pictures to be posted soon). I've also started making afghan squares again, and am determined to get a boxful mailed to Close Knit Hugs by the end of July. The most exciting 1/2 FO, though, is my very first sock knit using sock-weight yarn and US#0 needles (otherwise known as dental floss and toothpicks).




(Charlie Cat added for scale - LOL)
I can't wait to start on the second sock, which will be intentionally fraternal. No obsessive stripe matching for me!

It's WAY late, or REALLY early, depending on your point of view, so I'm off to bed now.