novamade

birthday celebrations

 

A very good friend of mine had a birthday earlier this month, and I wanted to do my part in helping her celebrate her day of good fortune (no one loves a birthday like I love a birthday, it's true), so I made her a pair of mittens.  Because she lives in a chilly and snowy place where winter wear is required to function, I figured she wouldn't mind winter gear that was cute as well as functional.  And since I know she knows how to knit, she would appreciate the knitted goodness that are handknit mittens.

 
I have been wanting to knit Elizabeth Zimmermann's Mitered Mittens pattern for quite some time now, probably ever since I saw Maritza's, and that was well over a year ago.  I am not sure why I waited so long.  They are not difficult or overly time-consuming; and, they are an enjoyable knit (especially if knit with Noro--I bet dyed handspun would be pretty awesome too, actually).  And, as with most EZ patterns, the construction is pure genius.

 
I made two modifications: first, I used Grace's thumb mods that she posted on the Kathryn Ivy blog because most people prefer to have their mitten thumbs where they should logically be; and, secondly, I made the mitten tips less elf-like by stopping the decreases sooner and grafting the tips.  The end result is a nice little birthday treat, if I do say so myself.

 
In addition to helping a friend out west celebrate a birth anniversary, I helped celebrate one on the home front, too.  Special K celebrated another year of aging earlier this week.  He is not that into celebrating, but since his wife and his children are into birthday hootishness, that's moot.  There were many balloons and much cake consumption, as you can imagine.

the coolest thing i've ever made?

You were expecting a white couch in my front yard, perhaps?

There is something so very deeply satisfying about crochet.  You can ask different crafters and get different answers; but, quite frankly, time-wise, you get a lot of bang for your buck.  I made Babette in a month.  That's how long it took me to make Ruby.  It took me longer to weave loose ends and write the pattern.  It also took me a while to decide whether I would release the pattern or not.  After searching the internets and countless on-line library catalogs (or OPACs for you library types) for a traditional granny hexagon pattern and coming up empty-handed, I made one up.  You can reverse engineer it, or, you can just use my pattern and save your time for working up your color combinations.

So, here she is.  This is, yet another, blanket that is not destined to cozy up my home, it was made for a really artistic friend who loves bright colors.  I think she will be pleased. I, too, am pleased, which means I will likely be making another one for my own abode...maybe two.

My friend wanted something that was "granny" but "not granny".  I knew what she meant.  I like hexagons, and I like to think of crocheted blankets as an opportunity to play with color, because these bright colors would never really occur to me on a normal occasion, I don't think.  And I like squares, but they are so...square, and hexagons are... awesome.

I worked on this blanket quite a bit traveling to Kansas City for the funeral of Special K's grandmother, Ruby, who was a pretty amazing crocheter, so the name seemed pretty appropriate.  When I finally finished this blanket, Special K said that it's "the coolest thing [I've] ever made."  Really?  Maybe.  Yes, okay.  I think so, too.

Pattern is up in Ravelry (probably the best place to download it).  Or you can download it here (it make take a while to download, there are a few pages).

This is my first crochet pattern.  In terms of skill, I am a much better knitter than I am a crocheter; but, I had some friends (thank you knitbloggers and flickr friends: Maryse, Bertha, Lauren, Anne and Emily) test the hexagon motif for me to ensure that my directions could, indeed, be duplicated.  The description for the edging is long-winded with (what I think are helpful) photos because, quite frankly, if I was doing it for the first time, I would want to be walked through it.  The edging is actually something I figured out after I finished the blanket.   Oh, decreases in the corner joins, of course!  I have listed the yarn and colors that I used; but, I have provided no color chart, because you should come up with your own combinations (that is really the *best* part of this project).  You are smart fiber folk, I am sure your will come up with all sorts of fabulousness.

There will likely be ways that the pattern could be made better, if you have constructive criticism, please let me know and I will update the pattern to reflect constructive user feedback.  So again, this is my first crochet pattern that I am putting out there for the masses, it is free, Happy January.  Be nice.  Have fun.

finishes and starts

 
Hey there, Happy  New Year!  I hope 2010 is treating you all well, thus far.  My back went out just before Christmas (if you see it, please do send it back my way), so productivity was low; but, thanks to the power of pain management, sedation was high.  I hope the holidays had you merry.

 
I am loathe to throw all of the projects I finished at the end of the year in one post; but, that is exactly what I am going to do, because spreading them out now seems silly.  I did, indeed, finish Special K's vest (I am sure you were all wondering).

 
I am not going to lie, I hated knitting this thing.  I loved the yarn, butt he stitch pattern, I think, is completely lost.  It was not the prescribed yarn, but the one suggested was tweed too.  The pattern came from the Queensland Collection Book 9 pattern book, the designs are by Jane Ellison; and, there are, perhaps, some of the most interesting knit designs for men in this little gem of a book.  The pattern I knit is called Adam.  The book has tons of amazing sweater patterns, and that is why I bought the book...but Special K was all about the vests.  He picked out two other vests from the book.  Why do I even bother?

I also knit some socks.  Just plain and simple stockinette socks.  I made them for charity, which is a first for me.  I am not a selfish knitter by any means, I just usually have a particular recipient in mind. 

 
The Cherry Tree Hill Super Sock yarn was probably the first sock yarn I ever purchased, which means I have had it for years.  Years, people.  So I knit it.

 
And then I made some Christmas stockings. 

I actually started them in 2008 right after Christmas, I sewed the tops  on and stitched names in last year (2009!)... on Christmas Eve...while heavily medicated (the stitching leaves much to be desired, as you can probably imagine; but, I anticipate having to make new stockings for everyone when the boys start to either 1) think the fabric of the current stockings are uncool, or 2) think calling the 'rents "Mommy and Daddy" is totally gauche instead opting for "Mom or Dad" are dropping parental titles entirely and just refer to us by first names, as Little Sir is fond of doing now.  No, really.  He is.  

 

The stockings are the only things I actually made for Christmas this year, and I am okay with that .

So those were my finishes.  I have a lot of starts, but we will save my crafting starts for later.  Here is a teaser though.

 
I am pleased to report that last evening, at approximately 7:15 EST (or 1915, if you prefer), Little Mister took his first independent steps.  Four of them.  In a shocking turn of events his motivation had nothing to do with food; but instead, the boy was trying to get to his brother and a laundry basket.  Whatever works.  Jill guessed the exact day and will get to choose her prize.  Happy kick off to 2010, friends!