21 September

It's still pretty hot here, definite summertime weather still. But the light is golden and autumny, now. 

I have a bad cold, which came on super suddenly Tuesday night. Still, there is lots going on so I'm just trying to plow through, with the help of lots of tea. I hope that I won't crash and then regret pushing through the last few days. This weekend there's not much going on, except a soccer game tomorrow morning.

And of course, some stitching! Those of you who are joining Ginny and me in the Winterwoods stitch-along, don't forget to get started tomorrow! I'm so looking forward to peeking in on everyone's progress. 

Some baby things

My sister's baby boy was born last week. And of course I made him a lot of presents, just like any good crafty auntie should. Of course, the time spent making the gifts was not reflected in the time spent photographing them, which was done on our way out to soccer before gifting them. The color is kind of bad in these, which is unfortunate. Anyway.

I had something very, very specific in in mind, and I'm so excited that it all came together just as I would have hoped! 

The "main" present (in my opinion) was his little sweater. The pattern is Beyond Pueperium by Kelly Brooker, and let me tell you, I absolutely loved knitting it. I want to make another one but don't have anyone else to knit it for. Maybe my baby nephew will get another in the coming months....

The yarn is Malabrigo Rios, which I love to knit with. So soft and lofty, and superwash, too! The buttons are something I picked up last-minute at JoAnn but have some interesting foil backing so the look a little "crackled". Although I wasn't sure what I wanted to use for buttons, and really went back and forth a lot about it (hence the last-minute), I was actually really happy with how these worked out.

To go with the sweater, there were two different initial shirts for him. One in a smaller size to fit him now, with the "little n", and one that should fit him through the fall, with the "big N". I even had a very specific fabric in mind for the appliques, something I'd had in my stash at some point, but for a while thought I'd given it away during the move! Fortunately, I did still have it, which was a huge relief and I think angels even sang when I found it.

The pants are made of some organic cotton jersey, which I love. I actually hoped to find something light blue and maybe pinstriped, but that apparently doesn't exist, so I settled for this lovely ocean blue and I'm so glad I did. What a perfect compliment to the sweater. 

In addition to this outfit, which was the "main" gift, I also found this firefighter knit fabric (in my search for the original idea of light blue pinstriped knit), and I had to pick up a little bit because the baby's father is a firefighter. It quickly became some pants, and I added the dalmation applique to the onesie to tie it together. (An old Heather Ross print that I hoard for only the most special of things.)

We also couldn't leave his big sister out (wasn't I just making baby gifts for her?!), so she got an inital shirt. She told my mom that it's her favorite shirt and that she's going to get some money and put it in the pocket to save for the ice cream man. So sweet. 

Such sweetness in these days with new babies in the family.

Stitch along!

Last month I talked about some projects I was planning. Some of the knitting projects are well underway, or even completed. But the Winterwoods ABCs cross-stitch sampler kit, sitting prominently in the picture? Still sealed up so lonely in the package, the way it has been for months. 

Last night, my friend Ginny called me and suggested a brilliant idea. Why not do a stitch along for it? She thought we could start on the first day of autumn and stitch over the next 13 weeks, finishing by the first day of winter. She didn't have to ask twice. I was all in! A perfect project, and so doable.

{image from aliciapaulson.com}

So we decided to open a Flickr group for anyone else who wants to join us for a stitch along of Alicia's extraordinary kit (it really is extraordinary -- the quality of the materials is amazing, and Alicia doesn't miss any details). It'll be low pressure -- no posting requirements. Just a way to share progress, keep motivated, and keep accountable. So that we can actually have the sampler hanging on the wall in time for winter enjoyment!

If you would like to join us, all you need to do are order the kit (or you can also buy just the pattern and obtain your own materials), and join the Flickr group. 

Though Ginny did contact Alicia last night to make sure this was OK with her (and she gave the project an enthusiastic "yes!"), we are not affilated with her, so we don't get anything if you buy your supplies from Alicia. That said, for the sake of convenience and quality, I don't think you can go wrong getting any other supplies you might need (needles, hoop, even scissors!) from her. Alicia rolled out her new shop in the last week and it is really well organized and lovely!

Ginny's post this afternoon has a few more details and links, so be sure to check there, too. I hope you'll join us!

Earl Grey tea slushy

At the end of last summer, I got the idea to make an Earl Grey tea "slushy" and spent a fair amount of time working out a recipe for it. Then the weather got cool and I set the idea aside in favor of hot tea and the coziness of my favorite season. The idea of a tea slushy seems to be seasonal for me, because it was just this past week that the idea came to me to try it again. 

Last year, I was experimenting with making ice cubes out of the tea itself to use, but this year I opted for a much simpler approach, using regular ice cubes and tea rather than milk as the primary liquid. I think this method is much better.

Here's my method:

1. Brew a very strong batch of Earl Grey tea. This is best done by using a greater quantity of tea rather than a longer steep time, which yields bitter tea. I used an organic loose-leaf tea from the health food store, which is more affordable than using tea bags for this purpose. The ratio I've settled on for this is two heaping teaspoons of tea per cup of boiling water. While the tea is steeping, stir in 2 Tablespoons of sugar per cup of water. This is very sweet, too sweet to drink, but just about right for the slushy. What this makes is a tea concentrate. Allow to cool completely.

2. Put 1 cup of ice in a blender, and cover with the cooled tea concentrate. Blend until thick and slushy. With the motor running, add 1/4 cup milk of choice. (Whole milk, half and half, almond milk, etc.) Blend until combined.

3. Pour into cup, and enjoy. 

Let me know if you try it!

Also "brewing" here (hee!), I have some projects planned! My sister is due with her second baby any week now, and I need to knit a little something for him (it's a him!). I also bought yarn for autumn sweaters for my crew. This was all made easier by a gift certificate I'd been saving, as well as a little bit of gift yarn. I'm super excited about all of my planned knits, as well as a few other planned projects, such as a little collection of Alicia's kits that I've never started but am so excited to finally get to, and also some Jesse Tree plans that I've had on my mind for literally years. It is so good to have things in the works. 

14 November

I've had a long day -- Mondays are a very busy day around here -- and writing feels a bit hard. But I want to say, thank you all for your many kindnesses these last weeks!

In the midst of lots of craziness, not knowing which end is up kind of busyness in the last month, I managed to knit this little hat for a friend's son as part of a trade. Excuse the photos ... you can't completely see the hat in them, but these are the best I have from a last-moment photo shoot with a very uninterested toddler. :)

My friend gave me the yarn (it's some Malabrigo worsted that she had leftover from something else she'd had knitted last year -- she doesn't knit but she is a lovely and good friend with many who will knit for her!), and the pattern, which is the Small Things Bonnet by Carina Spencer. 

I had some trouble with sizing and gauge (I do have this problem any time I have to make a gauge other than 18 stitches to 4 inches with Malabrigo. Sarah tells me this is because single-ply yarns are less flexible), but once I figured out which size was most likely to fit my friend's son (with a 19 inch head circumference) given the gauge I was able to make, I think it turned out pretty cute.

I probably wouldn't make this pattern again, despite some very cool design elements, because I don't like the way it goes up in the back. But otherwise, it's very cute. And what a soft, snuggly bonnet for a little one!

13 November

{semi-related photo of yarn}

I learned how to knit when I was about nine, give or take a year. I'm relatively sure it was nine, though. I took an extended break through my teens and most of my twenties. When James was a baby, I realized that I could follow a pattern, and therefore, knit anything. Since then, I've tried to knit whenever possible, although I'll admit that I've had fewer projects over the last several years than I could have or would have if money had been no object. Still, it's probably my favorite crafty endeavor. 

Anyway, in these years since I've been knitting more, I have knitted for my kids, for me, for friends, for relatives, for our priests, even for strangers a couple of times. But I've never knitted for my husband. He has made cracks here and there about how men don't really want handknits, but I can never tell if that's an act or not.

Anyway, today I was commenting on how sweater vests look "sharp" (that is my new word, by the way), and he actually said that if I knitted him one, he would wear it! Gasp! This seemed a momentous occasion in our marriage and in my knitting career.

Now I need to find a pattern. Something professorly, but not grandfatherly. That's kind of a fine line, I think. Stripes are definitely out (he told me so), which means Alberta is out (too bad, it's one of my favorites, by the High Priest of Knitting himself). There's the Basic Pullover and Vest from Knits Men Want, which is a book I really like, but the vest seems kind of dull (but maybe that's the point?). I totally love Dr. G's Memory Vest; those cables are fantastic! And then Delius is a gorgeous pattern (though the v-neck gives me slight pause). (Then again, I love the musical association of the name of the pattern.)

What do you think, friends? And also, should I throw another handknit onto the pile of Christmas gift knits? Am I that crazy?!

7 November

You all might remember my little tradition of knitting a new item of clothing for my children each fall. Two years ago, I got ambitious and knitted three sweaters. Last year I thought I'd do that, but didn't finish them until the spring. Still, this summer I picked out yarn and patterns to try and complete three more sweaters in time for Martinmas (which is this Friday). Currently I have one sweater about half done, and two not yet begun. I'm adjusting my goal to complete them by Christmas, because I have the yarn in hand, and they would be gifts that I wouldn't have to pay for in the coming weeks! Fingers crossed....

But this summer, I did complete a little sweater for Fiona that was NOT intended to be her Martinmas sweater. While researching patterns for baby Sid's sweater, I came across this toddler girls' version on Ravelry, with sort of faux-bobbles. SO cute. I had some white yarn and a perfect button, so I whipped it out at the pool in the first part of the summer. Fiona has been wearing it a lot this fall.

The pattern is the Seven-hour Toddler Girls' Sweater. I love it! I did knit it over the course of a few weeks since I seemed to be only able to knit a row here and there on it, but I'm guessing it really was just about 7 hours of work. I made the sleeves and the body longer since it was supposed to be an 18-month size and my girl is just about a 3T now, although she's very slim. I also altered the number of cast-on stitches to make the neck a little wider, which necessitated reducing the number of increases in the first increase round. Ravelry notes here. (It doesn't really pull apart at the neck as much as it seems to in these photos. I think it just needed blocking when I took these.)

The yarn is my usual Malabrigo worsted, and the button is from Apples and Eggs on Etsy.

The resulting sweater is soft, and sweet, and simple, and she loves it. I love knitting for this little cupcake.

3 November

I'm so very tired tonight. I think it's all that candy. I have got to get the stuff out of here! (It really is almost gone, thankfully.) It's been leaving us all a little strung out, I think. 

Anyway, being very tired, I'm not going to say too much tonight.

My best friend of the last 11 years, Rebecca (of pumpkin carving fame), had her first baby in August. His name is Sid, and I am his number-one fan. Or, his number-something fan, after his mama and daddy and grandparents and whatnot. (That is the remnant of a little face-paint caterpillar on his cheek, in case you are curious.)

Before he was born, I knitted him a little sweater.

It's the Baby Boy 5-hour Sweater, a pattern I love and which went so fast. The yarn is Malabrigo worsted in Stone Blue, with a bit of Sunset around the neck, just for fun. (That particular skein of Sunset, which I bought to edge Fiona's bunting before she was born, is probably my favorite single skein of yarn ever. It is so amazingly soft and fluffy, even more than usual.) The blue was a bit more subtle/grayish than it looks in these photos, but no amount of tweaking I could do in iPhoto was really getting the colors right. The buttons are from Stefanie Style on Etsy, and absolutely perfect for this project. (Also, I didn't sew them on with the yarn all cockeyed like that; I think the top button was just twisted in these.)

Thank you, Rebecca, for having baby Sid so I can knit stuff for him. 

And finally ... Last autumn's knits, part 3

Oops, sorry for the delay in getting this final installment of Last Autumn's Knits up. But I saved the best for last!

You've already seen quite a few peeks of this sweater. It's Ella Funt by Pamela Wynne and is by far my favorite of the three sweaters -- both for the beauty of the finished object and the ease and clarity of the pattern. (Details and Ravelry notes here.)

Anyway, I don't have too much to say, other than "I love it". I officially completed this one first (in early February), and Fiona has worn it a lot since then. It's been washed quite a few times already. It's nice and roomy and will probably fit her all of next winter, too. It is beautiful and I am so pleased with it.

And guess what, I cast off another sweater for Fiona today and have yarn in hand for three more! I'm nothing if not ambitious. :)

Last autumn's knits, part 2

Next up in the series of sweaters that I meant to complete by last fall is James's sweet cardigan.

I began his first of the three and I had actually finished knitting it in plenty of time for my self-imposed November deadline. But it had a lot of seaming (in my lazy opinion) and so many ends to weave in (a minimum of 30-35), so it was wadded up in the bottom of my knitting basket for a full 6 months!

Then one day, a series of (un)fortunate events conspired to get me to finish it:

Fiona took it out of my knitting basket and put it on the couch. And Lucy (our beagle, for those of you who don't know) threw up on it. So, I had to wash it. And block it. And after that, seaming and weaving in ends seemed the next natural step. ;)

James picked out these buttons himself at our local yarn store. Despite their being expensive, and large (pretty difficult to squeeze through the yarn-over buttonholes), and the fact that I had already selected some more modestly sized (and priced) wooden buttons, he was very insistent that these were the buttons for his sweater. 

I sewed them on at the pool on Monday morning, and when I showed it to him after his swimming lesson, all buttoned up and complete, he exclaimed, in the sweetest (breathless, almost reverent) voice, "Oh! Mama! You are the best mama ever!" 

He loves his sweater.

(Pattern: Sirdar Cardigan with Collar or Hood. Yarn: Malabrigo Silky Merino, which we love. Ravelry link to this project.)

Last autumn's knits, part 1

I have the annual goal of giving my children a new handknit sweater each autumn. Last autumn, because of my husband's illness among other things, I got very behind. And then Christmas came, and I had other distractions. In January I decided to pick them back up and get serious with their completion. I looked at the three sweaters in their various states of completion and assessed the situation. James's sweater was completely knitted, but not seamed. There were 30-35 ends that had to be woven-in. Fiona's sweater was complete except for the button bands. Elisabeth's was complete up to the underarms. I decided to begin with hers since it was the farthest from completion. But I realized almost immediately (since it was no longer a surprise, I tried it on her) that it was much too small. 

(The pattern is Drive-Thru, and the yarn is Malabrigo worsted. Ravelry notes here.)

I'd had some gauge problems and then the pattern itself seemed to have sizing problems. I ripped the whole thing out and started over, changing the gauge and the size. The result was a sweater that was much more pleasant to knit and fits her much better, although it's still a little bit small. 

I worked on it sporadically from late January until late May, completing Fiona's in the meantime. (Fiona got a lot of use out of hers from early February on, and you've seen it here and there. A full post devoted to it on Thursday, though!) I finally sewed the buttons on Elisabeth's sweater about 10 days ago and she's worn it a couple times on chilly evenings.

Elisabeth wears a 9-10 in ready-to-wear, although she is very thin and could get away with even smaller sizes around if it weren't for her height. This sweater is the size 10 from the pattern, knit with a larger gauge (4.5 stitches to the inch rather than 5). The sleeves are a bit too tight, and I added almost 4 inches to their length. I think the body fits just right but if she were an average size 10, it would be snug. 

Anyway, I didn't love the sizing in the pattern, but I do love the overall look of the sweater. Complete just in time for temperatures in the 90's! 

Some Christmas knits

I know I promised to be here yesterday, but I had a headache (which I very, very rarely get, so I'm a big baby about them), and the day got away from me. 

On to some knits. I've alluded to the fact that my kids' "fall 2010" sweaters are now finally complete (only 6 months late....). I think I will wait to share those at the beginning of next week since they are my "big" knits and I hate to end a week with my best material. ;)

But I do have some other finished knits to share with you.

Last November, I solicited ideas from you about what to knit for our priests for Christmas. I ended up knitting a scarf for our pastor (who had gotten a hat the previous year), and a hat for the assistant pastor who hadn't been with us before. Some drama ensued (in my mind, no one else really knew about it until now, when I'm putting it out there on the internet....) when I saw the assistant pastor wearing both his hat and the scarf I'd knit for the pastor. My feelings were extremely hurt. However, I moved on. You can't control what happens to the gifts you give people, even if they are handknits, and even if the person to whom you gifted them means a lot to you and is, in your opinion, a sharp dresser (who should like scarves). I never actually found out why the other priest was wearing it -- whether our pastor didn't like it and just gave it to him, or whether the assistant pastor didn't realize whose it was and just picked it up out of the rectory closet, or what. Either way, it was being used and enjoyed and keeping someone's neck warm. Also, both of our priests were reassigned this year, and we are getting two new priests in mid-June, so there will be a new batch of hats, I'm sure. So, enough about my hard feelings, and on to the pictures.

For both projects, I used Malabrigo Rios in black. (By the way, I love the texture and loft of Rios -- I highly recommend it for a superwash!)

The scarf for our pastor was the Professor's Scarf. It was so easy, quite fast for a scarf, and I love the look. I did use an entire skein and didn't feel like it was going to be wide enough, so I dipped into the second skein (which was for the hat), and still didn't get it wide enough. It turned out that the hat used less yarn than I anticipated, so I could have gone farther on the scarf, but I left it. It was fine, but I think a little bit wider would have been nice. (Ravelry link.)

The hat for our assistant pastor was this Irish Hiking Hat (I knitted a different Irish Hiking hat in 2009). I really loved knitting this and it's one I'll definitely make again, especially with new priests to knit for this year. (Ravelry link.)

A recently completed "Christmas" knit (a very belated gift) was for the teacher I had this year in the 4-year Catholic biblical school I'm in. I ended up giving it to her, wrapped in Christmas paper, at our final exam in May!

I loved my teacher, learned so much from her, and felt a real kinship with her: a fellow Type-A, melancholic, lover of pink. So I knitted her a pair of Leslie's Toast (how has it taken me so long to get on the Toast/Toasty wagon? These are fantastic!) in Malabrigo worsted (Cactus Flower colorway).

These were (obviously) very quick to knit, once I actually sat down to finish them. I did most of the work the night before my test, when I should have been cramming. I ended up getting a 100% on the test, though, so I suppose the last-minute cram wasn't all that necessary (despite the very real tension I was feeling at the time!).

They are also super cute and so very pink! Perfect in every way, in my opinion. (Ravelry link.)

OK, those are the knits for today. I'll be here tomorrow again (seriously!), and next week there will be lots of pictures of three very special cardigans. It's so good to be here!

A break sometimes feels so good, and other stuff

Thanks to all of you who have been checking in over the last three weeks in my absence! All is well, we have moved on from the hurt over the job rejection. It's disappointing on many levels, both from a career and personal satisfaction level for my husband, and our family's bottom line (I hate that I always have to be thinking about that, but it's the reality), but we remain hopeful that someday the right opportunity will present itself.

I didn't intend to take a long break, but it was a good thing, too. Sometimes it's easier to "do" stuff without feeling like it needs to be written about. 

But I did "do" some stuff that want to share with you, so here is some of it. (Plus an announcement at the end of the post if you are getting bored wading through all my photos.)

I met someone. We were able to spend one treasured day together while she traveled for work. It's so hard to put into words what it was like to meet Sarah and spend that day with her. We had so much to talk about; a lot of what we talked about was blogging -- our motivations and feelings about the whole thing, the ups and downs, pressures, and genuine pleasures. And not because we had nothing else in common, but because it really is a part of our real lives and it's so good to have someone who "gets" that. I haven't had the opportunity to meet very many bloggers face-to-face. This is due, in part, to the fact that I don't live within close geographic proximity to any of the bloggers in this particular corner of the community (crafty-photo-mama types), and even more, of course, due to the fact that opportunities to travel are very limited given our income. It's just the reality. So, having the opportunity to sit across the table from Sarah, at one of my favorite local restaurants, and take her to my favorite yarn and fabric store, was a real gift ... not one that I'm likely to repeat very often, and I really soaked it up. It was a beautiful day. Thank you, sweet Sarah.

I finished a lot of knitting projects. (And started a few new ones.) More on those to come, very soon! I think I overcame a huge knitting funk that I had been in! 

We played, and played. Indoors and out, with kites, and kitchens, and more.

We had the first (and hopefully only) summer injury, hereafter known as the Red Rover Incident of 2011. 

Swim team season is officially underway and I couldn't be happier! It's my favorite time of year, I think. (I know, I know ... in October, I'll be rambling on about my love for autumn. Let's just go with it.)

The sun, the sun! I'm so happy, here on the cusp of summer.  

I will be back TOMORROW with another post! Yee-haw!

This week....

Whew! This Easter week has just flown by for me! What about you?

I've had something going every evening (when I would normally formulate some thoughts into a blog post....)

Here are some snippets of my week, which I'd love to add began very cold and gray and is ending warm and sunny.

This week ...

... a friend and I enjoyed a much-needed moms' night out. So good for the soul.

... I noticed my baby getting cuter, and cuter, and bigger, and bigger.

... I hung out on the couch with this old girl, under quilts, and still shivered.

... I knitted,

... and knitted, 

... and knitted,

... wound some yarn,

... and knitted some more, on a sweater that I am determined to finish before May first. And some very late Christmas gifts. (All after completing [most of] my daily chores.)

... Elisabeth "graduated" from her CGS program, after 6 years. 

... my husband was offered his first job interview in several years. The interview is a day-long process tomorrow (Friday), and if you would be willing to send some prayers and good thoughts our way, we would be appreciative!

... I think we kept ourselves out of trouble for the most part. 

Tomorrow I think I'll head over to my sister's house to watch the Royal Wedding (on DVR), and anxiously await any word from my husband about his Big Interview. See you later!

A little cap

I have a huge backlog of projects to share with you -- some even from last year! Today I wanted to start off with this sweet little cap that I knitted for Fiona at the end of January.

Fiona was really in need of a new hat this winter (she actually didn't have one that fit, or that she would leave on). I didn't find a pattern I liked until a friend told me about this one, which was designed by a friend of hers. I was excited to knit it up because it was just what I was looking for: in a DK weight yarn, with earflaps, and under-chin ties.

It's the Junie Cap (that's a ravelry link). It is such a cute little design. It's knit from the top down, which I love (as you know), and the short-row earflaps are a brilliant design detail. The little pointy top (achieved by knitting a few rows of i-cord from the cast-on, rather than starting in on crown shaping right away) is a cute, playful addition.

It knitted up quickly, which was a good thing since I ended up ripping it out after completing it the first time. The first time I knitted it, in the 18-month size, it turned out huge. It actually fit me! This was partly because of my gauge (it was a bit loose, although I had swatched, so that was too bad), and partly because our family have tiny heads, and partly, I think, because the pattern runs a bit big. The pattern doesn't give finished measurements, only age ranges, so that is just a guess; but I think it must run at least somewhat big since my gauge and our tiny heads can only account for part of the reason it came out so big. Anyway, you might start with a size smaller than you think you need unless you know your children have good-sized heads. 

The second time around, I knit the 3-6-month size (without changing needle size or yarn, so I was still on the slightly big gauge), and it fits Fiona perfectly. 

The yarn I used was Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock heavyweight; this was the first time I'd used this yarn and I have to say that I really love it. The texture is beautiful. It's wonderfully soft without being fuzzy or cloying, and the colors are complex and beautiful.

Overall, a very satisfying knit: fantastic yarn, a quick pattern, cute results. We'll still get quite a bit of use out of the cap this spring, and during camping trips in the summer. I love when projects are so satisfying!

{While we're talking about knitting, there will be more about her sweater in a post very soon. And I have been asked by a couple of Ravelry friends if I have some "news" to share based upon the fact that I've faved and queued a lot of baby patterns lately. The only news of that variety I have to share is that my best friend is expecting her first baby at the end of this summer and I went through a big faving spree on Ravelry, thinking of some simple things I might be able to make for her. So, no "news" with me!}

Modern Top-Down Knitting

I'm so excited to get to be on the blog tour for Modern Top-Down Knitting! (If a little less excited about pictures of me all over the blog. Ahem.)

It is a gorgeous, gorgeous book, full of stylish, refined projects. I am already a huge fan of top-down construction, but Kristina McGowan adds so many ideas beyond the typical raglan-sleeved sweater in this book. There are exquisite tops, dresses, skirts, sweaters, hats, and even two dressed-up versions of arm warmers, which I love.

I had a hard time deciding what to knit from this book (I knew right away that I wanted to share a project from the book with you), but I finally decided on the Subway Hat, because I've been looking for a new hat for myself for a while. I have a small-ish head and have had trouble with some styles of hat looking good on me, so it's been tricky to come up with something I really liked.

However, when I saw the bonnet-y look of this hat, I knew I'd found what I was looking for. Polished, refined, and just a bit different -- I was smitten. (Ravelry details here.)

(I know you are all going to say this is a lovely picture of me, but I think my eyes look weird. I decided to share it, anyway, because it shows the way the hat flips up on the bottom edges so well.)

I immediately knew I wanted to go with an aqua and red combination (I need a new coat this winter and have all but settled on a red wool one, so I thought this would be a good choice). I had some trouble finding a yarn in the color I wanted in a weight suitable for the gauge in this project (at least not at my LYS), so the tension is a bit looser than I would have liked, but once I lined it, it worked out fine. (Lining it was a brilliant design detail -- it gives the hat so much structure!)

I did make one mistake, which was making the crown section too long before splitting it for the neck. I wasn't paying attention carefully enough, and once I realized it, I figured it would probably be OK. It is just fine, but it makes the back of the hat less neat and trim on the back of my head, which is all right, if not perfect.

I loved making this, and I am really looking forward to making some more of the designs from this book. The attention to detail in each pattern -- from crochet edging and details, to the use of different trims -- is really lovely.

Please be sure to visit the final two stops on the blog tour (tomorrow, December 8, at Knit and Stitch, and on Thursday, December 9 at Craftsanity).

And ... I have a copy of Modern Top-Down Knitting for one of you! Please leave a comment on this post by Monday, December 13, and I'll draw a name and announce the winner that afternoon. Good luck!

For our "Fathers"

Last year I knitted these two hats for the priests at our church. Our church has been served for the last five years by young priests (in their early 30's), which makes it easier (in my mind, at least) to come up with gifts for them. (I don't know why that even matters.)

I had uploaded the photos to Ravelry before I lost all my photos (October 2009-April 2010 are gone), so I swiped the pictures from there -- they were taken right before gifting on Christmas eve, I believe.

This one, for the pastor of our church, Father Kevin, is the Classic Ribbed Hat, knitted up in Malabrigo Twist ("Paris Night" colorway -- which I love.) It's classic and understated, just like this man who is so very important to our family. (It's also a little darker than it looks in the picture).

I was totally inspired by this hat and neckwarmer set by Shelley. I really liked the elegance of the navy blue, so that's what I went for for Father Kevin. (Our priests wear their black clerical clothing most of the time, but they also wear ordinary street clothes, too, so I didn't feel limited to black for them.) I did most of the knitting on this hat the weekend that my husband graduated from his doctorate -- even during a movie we went to -- and I loved its ease and simplicity. Perfect, I think.

The second one was for the parochial vicar that we had at that time, Father Peter. He is actually no longer at our church, as his term ended in June. Our family was very close to him; he baptized Fiona and celebrated Elisabeth's First Holy Communion, and was very important to our family's faith life in general, so we were sad when he moved on to a different church this summer.

I had such high hopes for this Irish Hiking Hat, but I was down to the wire on it (I knit it the week before Christmas, and really needed to finish it in about a day because of James's vest). The instructions said to pick up one stitch for every row around the brim, and although my instincts were telling me not to do it, I said, "The pattern must be right." Unfortunately, that was a terrible mistake. The hat turned out to be poochy and ugly. I felt bad even giving to him, but I just didn't have time to re-work it. (It does look a little bit better on an adult's head than on Elisabeth's small head, but not a lot.) So, that was a disappointment, although he was grateful and gracious, of course.

(I did like the way the shaping on the crown looked -- and overall, I think this pattern has great potential, but you definitely must not pick up stitches at the rate indicated. 3 stitches for every 4 rows, or 2 for every 3, would be better.)

This year, I have gifts to make for Father Kevin, and Father Peter's successor (and Father Peter, too, if I have time). I was thinking of doing scarves, but they are slower to knit than hats and take more yarn. And I'm realizing that I have less time to knit than I thought I would, because I got about 3 weeks behind on the Martinmas knits. Still, I have some scarves in mind, as well as a hat possibility -- a different "Irish Hiking Hat" -- for Father David (who we didn't know last year, so he didn't get a hat).

What are your thoughts?

Professor's Scarf (on Ravelry, with some better pictures, here)

Moss Rib Scarf (Ravelry link here)

Hubby-approved Neckwarmer (Ravelry link here -- my mom thinks short scarves that require button closures are too effeminate, and not desirable to guys. Thoughts? I have to say that the short length -- and therefore, knitting time -- is appealing to me.)

I was also thinking of one of the scarves in the book One Skein, the longer but narrower one of the "Rib and Cable Quartet".

So, what do you think?

Getting so close....

I'm getting so much closer to finishing those sweaters! What a long odyssey it has been this year! By the end of November, by the end of November....

Last Christmas, This Autumn

Our normal "uniform" for James on holidays has been a sweater vest and corduroy pants. Last Christmas, we were having a hard time finding him a sweater vest that coordinated with the girls' Christmas outfits (unfortunately, all those photos were lost in the computer crash we had this year), so I just decided to knit his vest instead. It was a fairly last-minute project (I seamed the sides just as we walked out the door for Christmas Eve services), but so quick and cute.

I had a silly idea in my mind that it was "too Christmasy" to be worn ever again, so it's been set aside in a basket of woolens ever since Christmas. As I've been planning for these knitting update posts (and there are more coming!), I pulled it out to re-photograph it, and James has worn it almost every day since then. There is something so perfect about a vest. It's warm, but doesn't hinder the activity of a little one. And he really loves it. He tells me often how happy he is to have it. So, I'm really happy that I pulled it out for him this autumn!

Here are the details:

It's the Cable Vest pattern, found here on Ravelry, and here is the link to the actual pattern (you have to sign up for an account with the Lion Brand website to get to it)

The yarn is Malabrigo worsted in Ravelry Red, with Cascade 220 for the brown. (Originally I thought I wouldn't do the contrasting trim, which is why I didn't do it on the bottom of the sweater, and why I didn't use Malabrigo for it. But at the last minute, I decided it would really look nice with the brown trim.)

This was a great little knit, and looks so cute on him!

This Christmas, I'm thinking of going for this one, or maybe this one. Oh, the planning is half the fun, isn't it?

In progress

As you all probably remember, we have a tradition for Martinmas of gifting our children with a new warm item of clothing. I like them to be handknit, of course, and I set the bar pretty high for myself last year by knitting three sweaters.

This year I also decided to knit sweaters, as they each really need one. But I'm so behind! I'm crossing my fingers that I can finish in time, but we'll see!

With that said, we are sick at our house. A stomach bug has been going through, as well as head colds, and I have mastitis for the very first time, ever, in 8 1/2 years of nursing. So I'm going to spend this week trying to recover and do some knitting. I will still be posting each day, but I will probably wait until the end of the week to reply to comments. I really love the conversation we have in the comments, and I try hard to respond to as many as I can. I will get back to that just as soon as I can. Please know that I will be reading them and really appreciate each and every one.