The Eve of the Eve of Christmas Eve

Since I have a sneaking suspicion that this might be the last time I have to just screw around on the computer for awhile before Christmas, I thought I should spend a little time updating. We are really getting winter this year. Unlike more recent Christmases, this one feels like an old-fashioned Christmas with the cold and snow. No question at all about a white Christmas. At -11 degrees, this snow isn't going anywhere for awhile. The cold is fine for now, but I hope it warms up after the hubbub of the holidays so that we can get out and enjoy some of this snow. It's tough to ski when it's below zero.

Despite the frigid temps, we did venture out last night for a nice dinner at the M&S Grill and the George Winston concert at Orchestra Hall. It was a last minute decision, but the restaurant was quiet and there we tickets available for the concert. Winston is an unbelievable musical talent. Not much for showmanship until he starts to play.

Suppose I should quit stalling and get to work. The house needs a good once-over before we get to any serious celebrations, and there are a few food dishes that I can get prepped in advance so that I can avoid spending too much time in the kitchen later in the week. Calorie counting be damned for a few days!

Merry Christmas!

Norwegian Knitting

Last night I put the finishing touches on the matching sweaters that I have been making for my little niece and nephew for one of their Christmas presents. (I still had to get them a toy. What kid wants a sweater for Christmas?) I really needed to finish them up so that I could get all my family's gifts wrapped.

This was a fun project. I haven't had the time to do much machine knitting in the last few months, and so it was good to get in the workroom and get back into it.

Now I know a lot of handknitters think that this is cheating, but it's just another way of creating something out of fiber. While the actual knitting process is much faster with machine knitting, there is lots of planning that takes place long before you ever start making the sweater pieces. This is a Dale of Norway pattern called Sirdal. The Dale patterns are great for converting to machine knitting because they have very good graphs, and they also provide the schematics for their patterns. Just like in handknitting, the whole process starts with a swatch. Once I've entered the graphed patterns into the machine and selected my yarn, I knit a rather large swatch. I include every pattern--to test if they are correct--and I also make sure that I knit quite a bit of the main pattern. The main pattern in this case is the flecked design that is between the hem and the yoke patterns. Once I have the swatch knitted and blocked, I need to decide which gauge to enter into the machine, since the gauge in the main pattern is going to be slightly different than the gauge of the more dense patterns such as the one at the yoke of this sweater. The way I figure this out is to enter the dimensions for the shape of each piece into the machine and then adjust the gauge numbers to get the correct number of stitches and rows for that size. So unlike handknitting where it's important to adjust your knitting to the gauge of the pattern, with machine knitting it's important to adjust your pattern to the gauge of the knitting.

The next step is to measure out the length of each of the different patterns in the sweater. Then I add in the measurement for the hem--either a ribbed hem or in this case, just a folded hem. Once I have that measurement, I calculate how many rows of the main pattern that I will have to knit to get the length I need for each finished piece. Throughout this process, I keep detailed notes for every project so that when I get to the actual knitting, I am able to relax and just follow my own instructions--sometimes having to tweak a few things that sounded great in theory, but didn't work out so well in practice. The notes have also come in handy later on if I ever want to make the item again. Why reinvent the wheel every time?

Once the pieces are knit, most of the assembly can also be done on the machine. The only hand work on these two sweaters, after blocking, was to take care of several yarn ends, sew up the underarm and side seams, and apply the trim and buttons on the cardigan.

I'm really pleased with the way they both turned out, and am already thinking about something I'd like to make myself as a mid-winter project. Hope the kids like them.

Those Bleepin' Lights

When I noticed that two weeks had passed since I last posted, I wondered what I had accomplished in those two weeks. Actually, plenty--just like any other mother and wife has accomplished in these harried weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I won't bore you with all the details. Except, I must share my shock and delight about a project I tackled yesterday afternoon--the dreaded outside decorations for Christmas.

Why so dreaded? First off, I'm in MN. It's cold, and there's no way to put up wreaths, garlands, and lights with mittens on, so usually by the time I'm finished, I can no longer feel my fingers, and my toes aren't in much better shape. Secondly, it's those #@)%#$%^#! lights. I test them inside and they work fine, but spend ten or fifteen minutes wrapping them around some garland on the door frame, plug them in, and nothing! Arrrgghhh! But this year, I must admit, it really was smooth sailing. Cold? Yes, but no deep snow to trudge through with a ladder. Light bulbs out? A few, but I found the spent ones right away and had replacements. And just as I was finishing up, snow started to fall. I swear I heard Charlie Brown music in the background--oh, maybe that was my iPod. The good news is that it still appears to be in working order this morning. Keeping my fingers crossed!

I've also been finishing up a few knitting projects. The Cable Guy boopies are felted, dried, and waiting for their suede soles to be delivered by the UPS guy. (Man, those things are expensive!) The matching Norwegian sweaters for my niece and nephew are just about finished--lots of ends to be finished off and some sewing that won't take long. I got the crocheted fringe on a Prayer Shawl finished just in time for the blessing Mass last Friday. Finally, I cast off and blocked the Braids and Bobbles hat, and I love it. Hats and curly hair just don't go together, but as I said before, it gets cold here, so I'm always in search of a hat that works. This might be the best candidate yet. It's warm, but doesn't fit too tightly on my head. I'll give it a test drive this week. Maybe if I have to go outside and fix some of my lights.

Boopies!

Those are slippers to the uninitiated. I'm not sure why or how we started, but everyone in my family has grown up calling slippers "boopies." It can probably be attributed to toddler-ese--that secret language of little kids that only Mommies and Daddies really understand.

I think that slippers must have been one of the first things I ever knit as a kid--no doubt out of Red Heart yarn, and I can't imagine how many pairs I have knit since. They are a prime example of the total practicality of the skill of knitting--along with hats, mittens, socks, and basic sweaters. Sure, it's fun to do frivolous knitting, but what's better than finishing a project that you know will keep someone warm during our long winters?

Most recently, I finished a super simple pair of troll-like boopies from a free pattern that I found online. It's a pattern from a Finnish blogger, Minna, and you can find it here. The yarn is Cascade 220 Paints, and I chose colorway #9922. One skein was just enough to make a pair that would fit me--about a size 6 1/2-7. It would be an easy pattern to make larger or smaller--you'll need two skeins if you plan to go any larger. Once they were stitched up, I dug through my button jar to doll them up a little.

Last night I cast-on another pair that are also from a free online pattern. Cable Guy Slippers are knit and then felted. There's a little more to this pattern--a real heel and instep, some very basic cable stitches, and a kitchner stitched toe. I've had the pattern for quite awhile, but this is the first pair I've made. For this project, I bought Brown Sheep's Lamb's Pride Bulky in the colorway Kiwi. I whipped through the first skein last night and made this gigantic cuff and heel. I've had mixed results with felting slippers in the past using the House Slippers pattern from Knit 2 Together and Fiber Trends popular Felted Clogs pattern. Front load washers are not the best for felting, and I always seem to end up with a pair of slightly different sized slippers, especially with the Felted Clogs. Since these are sock-like slippers, I'm hoping for a more forgiving result.

Waiting in the wings I have some yarn for the Ribby Slipper Socks from the new Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts issue. These too, look like a quick knit--just the thing for a last minute Christmas gift. I did not splurge on the suggested Blue Sky yarns, but went for a more practical washable option instead to test the pattern.

I'm not quite sure who's going to end up with my boopie projects this Christmas, but that's the beauty of knitting boopies. No matter the results, they are bound to fit someone who will be grateful to have cozy slippers to pull on their feet when they settle down on a cold winter night.

So, What's With The Squirrels?

It's been an interesting week for squirrel sightings. Thankfully, mine was outside. (See Deb's Visitor.)

This afternoon this unusual little creature was dining on the birdseed that has landed on the ground underneath our feeders. I quickly grabbed my camera and took a few shots. They aren't the best--I didn't want to get to close and scare it away from coming back, but at least I've got proof. I don't think I've ever seen an albino squirrel before. As you can see, its coat is pure white. It came back several times before evening, so I'm hoping it will become a regular.

Apparently, they are fairly rare and don't survive too long because they have poor eyesight and tend to fall from trees. (I'm sorry, but that's kind of funny.) Maybe I'll have to do the unthinkable and actually set out some food for a squirrel.

Gnomes!

My mystery knitting is complete. I don't think most people would understand how I choose to use my free time, but I've had fun knitting up a few gnomes over the last few weeks. Except for purchasing the "beard yarn", I was able to use all leftovers from former projects, which appeals to my waste-not nature.

The knitting is a piece of cake. I knew that the real test of patience would be in the assembly, so I made myself stop at four before I started bringing them to life. The whole process was great fun.

Mystery Knitting

After finishing St. Brigid, I dug out a few quick little projects that have been in the queue. The problem with quick little projects is that they're quick. I guess I do prefer a more long term relationship with my knitting.
"Mom, can you make me a hat?"
Two days later.
"Better than that, I had enough yarn to make you two. Hat insurance."

Now what? I can't face those double-knit mittens yet. I'll take those on a car trip when I'll be happy to knit on anything. Instead I dug out a project that I thought might be fun. Can you guess what it is? It's a good project for using up all the extra skeins and bits of yarn that I don't have the heart to pitch after I've finished a project. It's super easy knitting with more effort put in the post-knitting phase.

I'll keep posting pictures as I get farther along in the process.