Category: Accessories

  • first FO of 2010

    And it’s a good one!

    finally off the needles

    I finally picked up a project I started back in 2008 (yikes, thanks to my Rav page I actually know when I started it) with yarn that I’d received for Christmas 2007. It’s gorgeous yarn, Handmaiden Swiss Mountain Cashmere and Silk. And since I have people who know what I like, I received 2 skeins from one person and a third in the same colour from someone else!

    I decided on a simple tube scarf and to just knit until I was done the yarn. Turns out that wasn’t quite enough to capture my attention, I suppose, because I put it down for a loooong awhile and just recently unearthed it from the (okay, a) bin of unfinished projects. I had less than half a skein to go!

    YIP 005/365

    Okay, I know I don’t look that pleased, but I am! I finished it right up, wove in the ends and now I have a new scarf. It isn’t actually warm enough for right now, but hey, whatever. It’s still awfully pretty. I knit it as a stockinette tube with a purl stitch at the beginning and midpoint of the round, but after I’d finished I decided I like the purl side out better!

    And I finished with just a teeny amount left over. Satisfying, eh?

    YIP 002/365

  • good-bye 2009, hello 2010!

    almost a hat

    Well, I’m not going to start 2010 with a clean knitting slate, that’s for sure, although the hat above is off the needles! It’s just a simple chunky beret out of yarn that I bought at Maryland this year – Solitude heavy worsted. It’s gorgeous (and a lot heavier than what I’d consider a heavy worsted!).

    2009 had its ups and downs for me, of course, but all the travel I did this year was definitely new and exciting! Back on my big trip in January, February and March, I went to Tokyo, Kyoto, Shanghai, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Chennai, Delhi, Agra, a few other towns in India, and Scotland as well. If I had to pick, I think I enjoyed Japan the most. I’d love to go back.

    teacup/pot/etc shop

    ikebukuro

    In May I went to the Maryland Sheep and Wool for the first time, and in June I attended TNNA in Ohio as a designer! In July I went to Hawaii for vacation with my family (and came back with lots of coffee).

    funky landscapes

    In October I went to Boston, and Rhinebeck – always one of my favourite events of the year. I already can’t wait for the next one. And in the midst of all this, I moved to my own apartment and managed to knit just a bit too!

    Many thanks to all of you who’ve bought my patterns or book (hopefully both!), chatted with me at events or on twitter, and everyone who reads this blog! I couldn’t have had such a nice year without you.

    Happy New Year – let’s make 2010 a good one.

  • the post-christmas feeling

    ultimate caramel corn

    Ultimate Caramel Cornwas made and eaten. I used peanuts and a few hazelnuts, and white and semisweet chocolate. This was the first time I popped corn on the stove in oil and I’ll definitely do it again! Satisfying and crazy. And yummy.

    finished HP scarf

    My sister’s Harry Potter scarf (Prisoner of Azkaban style) was finished on time, which was Wednesday night – I washed it around midnight that night, and it was dry the morning of Christmas Eve. I put the fringe on then packed it right up to take to my parents’ house!

    I used Cascade Venezia Worsted, a great blend of merino and silk, 3 skeins plus the fringe’s worth from a fourth skein. The gold stripes are Misti Alpaca Worsted. It isn’t accurate or anything, but I think it went over well.

    I hope your holidays were wonderful!

    presents