Monkey Mittens 2013

I try to knit a pair of mittens for my niece (aka: "Monkey" ) every Christmas. This is a picture I took of this years mittens before I sent them off.

Yarn: 87.9 yards of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick Stripes in the colorway "Tigers"
Needles: US 10 - 6.0 mm
Pattern: Wool-Ease Mittens by Stephanie Taylor

This is the 5th time I have made this pattern and I just love it. It's really easy and the results are wonderful.

You notice I used 87.9 yards of yarn? The Wool-Ease Thick & Quick Stripes comes in a skein with 87 yards. So yeah - I had to use less than a yard of the second skein. Add to this that I wanted to start the second mitten on the opposite color of the first - and my left overs turned into three balls of just under one skein's worth of yarn. Sort of a bummer, but what are you going to do? If I had made the cuffs a little shorter and hadn't cared about how the yarn lay - I would have been able to do this in one skein. But I was picky about how the thumbs were and I wanted the mittens to be kind of opposite.

Love how they turned out and my niece was happy to get them as always. WIN!

Tree Planting Hat

And I finished a hat! I actually started this back in May when I went up to do some tree planting at my Brothers house. I wanted a simple project to work on in the car and while we sat around after the planting was done and just chatted.

The pattern: Countrywool Rolled Brim Hat on Ravely - or if you are not on Ravelry you can find it HERE.

The yarn: Adriafil Knitcol I used 44 grams which is about 121 yards (111 m) on size 7 (4.5mm) needles. I love this yarn as it does all the color-work for you! So you get to look fancy with no effort. Awesome.

This is the fifth time (at least!) that I have made this hat. Love the pattern. It's just so simple and perfect. My Ravelry page can be found HERE for anyone interested in the notes I have there. The pattern is really easy though and written well. Highly recommend!

A gift for a Neighbor

Here we are at December 22nd and I have done pretty close to nothing for Christmas this year. I have not a single decoration up. I have baked nothing. I have purchased nothing. BUT I have knit/crocheted a couple of things. 

One of those things is a scarf for the daughter of a neighbor. I actually worked on this at school while waiting for class to start for the most part. Crochet goes really fast so I had it done in no time. Since it was for a toddler, I made it with one skein of yarn - Bernat Pipsqueak in the color Neapolitan on a size K (6.5mm) hook.  I don't have many notes on this, but my Ravelry page for this project can be found here. I think this was double crochet? Uffda. Can't remember!

Then when I was at the store I found the perfect gift box to tuck it in. It's all set to take over to them as soon as I buy something for the adults to go with it. I suspect I will be out shopping with everyone else today!

Jaded Dreams but Warm Hands

Another pair of mittens finished! I once again used the Wool-Ease Mittens pattern by Stephanie Taylor. This was knit with 100 yards of Brown Sheep Lambs Pride Bulky yarn with size 10 double point needles. These are really warm and the fit is perfect. If anyone wants the details on my project pop on over to my Ravelry page. (I did very minor mods on the pattern - the pattern is pretty much perfect just as it was written!)

I keep making mittens in an effort to stop my hands from cracking and bleeding so much. Sadly - it's not helping too much. I am still struggling with chapped and bloody hands. BUT I will keep trying to wear mittens and moisturize in an effort to stop this.

 

Temperatures are well below normal here in the Twin Cities. It's been cold and the roads have been awful to drive on. Every year I wonder why we live here. It's just bitter cold and miserable. Maybe I will have to look at pictures of my garden from this summer. Summer in Minnesota is awesome. 

December, Finals, and a little Snow

 

Nothing too thrilling to report from the Land of 10,000 Lakes. 

I have a final exam and a quiz tomorrow at school for my Excel II class. So in just 28 hours I will be down to having just one class to focus on, and that is nearing it's end as well! Pretty exciting. I still wonder how I managed working full time and being enrolled in 6 classes this semester. Kind of neat when you impress yourself!

We are getting some winter weather here this week. I was happily distracted by the above view out my window while studying today. Huge white fluffy flakes fell from the sky - so pretty when you aren't trying to drive in rush hour. ☺

No holiday decorations have been placed in our home - and I sort of doubt it will happen this year. Just not feeling that Christmas spirit this year. I haven't purchased a single gift yet, and I am thinking gift certificates and Amazon Prime will be my saving grace this year. 

I have not knit a stitch in days. Really hoping to get my knit back on here really soon. A girl gets crabby when she doesn't get her fiber fill.

Malabrigo Mittens

I finally have a finished project to share! I haven't had a ton of knitting time lately, but Winter is here (it's snowing out RIGHT now) and my hands have already started to crack and bleed, so mittens seem like a good thing to make. Here are the details:

 

Project name: Malabrigo Mittens
Pattern Name: Wool-Ease Mittens by Stephanie Taylor (A free pattern on Ravelry)
Yarn: 85.3 yards (82 grams) of Malabrigo Chunky Yarn
Needles: US 10 (6.0 mm)
Size made: Large

I have made mittens from this pattern several times now. It's a great stash buster and the mittens work up pretty darn quick. It's just hard to go wrong with a chunky mitten! I know knitting a heavy wear item like a mitten from Malabrigo is just asking for it. I suspect these guys will look like pilled up messes before the winter is over, but for the time being I am enjoying these soft and warm mits!. Some times you just have to go for it!

Is there anybody out there?

I am still here! I know I have been quiet the last two months, but I am still here! I am currently working full time and I headed back to school this fall. The schedule has been hard to handle and I pretty much just work, study and attend class. So even when I think I have a little time to do an update here, I tend to stutter to a stop as I don't have a clue what I would talk about. I think everyone hits that point with a blog from time time. It seems like the only way to get your mojo back is to jump in and start babbling!

So I am actually making pretty good progress on my class-load for this semester. I finished my Excel 1 class, my Access class, and my Computer Careers course. I am hoping to be done with my Introduction to computers class tomorrow, and that will just leave me with my online Word class, and my Excel 2 class. So far I am doing really well, but boy am I missing just hanging out and knitting while watching some crappy tv! I know it will all be worth it in the long run. I really need to get out of my job, and this is a great direction to head if I want a new career. Maybe one day I won't dread going into work everyday.

I have been picking up a little knitting the last week or so. I knit up a pair of mittens for my niece and I kind of wanted to keep them, so I immediately cast on a pair for myself! I am making mine out of a ball of chunky Malabrigo that came from deep in my stash. I will have to take pics and post details this week. I know I will regret knitting mittens in Malabrigo as they will be a pilled nightmare in no time, but boy are they soft and warm. Sometimes you just have to do it even though you know better.

I have also whipped out a couple of crochet items. They go so fast! I have a scarf I made for my neighbor's child, and a cowl I knit from stash. So hopefully I will get some pictures taken this week and will be able to give a proper show and tell.

So that is pretty much what my world has been revolving on lately. I am looking forward to getting back into the blogging groove!