buffer

Buffer, filter, protection... whatever you call it, I've been applying it in many forms. In my last post I mentioned getting away and lots of tea, additionally there have been pots of soup and baking, game playing, reading, and most recently Olympics watching. Throughout all of those wonderful modes of coping with February, there is the constant presence of my wool & needles. Here is the way I've been buffering my noggin from the cold:
It's a Coline hat from Lucy at {a-black-pepper}. I used Berroco Ultra Alpaca in color 6257 and size 8 needles. In the pattern, Lucy has links to a few versions of a tubular cast-on, and I used Ysolda's from that list. Had I the right (smaller) needles with me on our get away, I think the cast-on edge would not roll at all, but I only had the 8's. So there's a tiny roll and it has grown on me, and I kind of like it now. The pattern is perfect and clear. I had not worked cables in a long time and was a bit tentative, but I really wanted this hat. Can you see that some of the areas within the cables are in stockinette stitch and some are in reverse stockinette stitch? I didn't notice that until I sat with the pattern, but it really makes the pattern special and is probably what subconsciously attracted me to this cable hat over others I have seen. I love the effect! I made the medium size hat, and it fits very well. I love it with my new red down coat! (hey, there's another buffer!) {eta: the designer's name is Lucy, for some reason thru a message on Ravelry, I got the idea her name was Kim... even though I was pretty sure it was Lucy. Strangeness. Anyway, Lucy is the creative brilliance at {a-black-pepper}, you should check her out!}
Also, I have a new top to protect me from our drafty windows! It's very comfortable and colorful. It is a Grown-up Girl Neighborly from Larissa of Stitches in Play. She modified Jennifer's (JCasa*Handmade) original Neighborly (for little girls) which I love too. Hana will get one someday. Jennifer's concept for Neighborly includes knitting an additional top for someone else, a "neighbor" so to speak. So, to honor her intention, there'll be probably at least two more coming off my needles! It was a pleasure to knit in an adult size, so I can only imagine that it will be quick and fun in wee sizes. My top turned out to be a stash-buster as I've had the two skeins of navy Lamb's Pride in the Stash for about ten years! The two skeins of Noro Kureyon are newer, but still had been in the Stash for a good while. Very satisfying to be chipping away at the Stash! Even Hana's color choices are skeins from the Stash. (there are more details & modification notes on my Ravelry page)

So that is how I've been holding winter's cold at bay. Simple, humble knitting. To cheer my soul and warm my bones. Thank goodness for the tools at hand and for having the able hands to apply to comfort. click. click. click...

How have you been comforting yourself through these days?

Ps - Thank you for the pep-talk in the comments on my last post. It has truly put a bounce in my snowboots! :)

eternal optimist

My feelings about the month of February boil down to a feeling that it is to be endured. It has seemed this way since some time in high school, so some 27 (!) years ago. However, I am an eternal optimist; my husband has even called my optimism dangerous, as in it is dangerous for me to be optimistic about everything, it can cause disappointments (he says this out of concern for my well-being). He exaggerates, but in a way, he is right. Each year, as February rolls around, I give myself a pep-talk and make plans to power through. I tell myself, "Really, Annri, this is the shortest month; buck up, power through, it can't be that bad." And then, for the most part, February shows up and messes with me.

Now, I like to tell it like it is, not too much sugar-coating because I don't like to play Fool to Reality. Here we sit at the half-way point, and I'm still fighting back (imagine me in a put-up-your-dukes stance like the NotreDame leprechaun), so that's a good sign, right? And if I look at this February through my usual rose-tinted glasses, by George, I'm still standing! Sure, we were sick, but we're better now. Sure, February is grey, but we've got a bunch of snow now! Sure, the walls start to move in closer by this point in winter, but I got away last weekend! Sure, it's taken boxes of St.John'sWort tea (with orange rinds added!), but there's nothing wrong with that! I'm chipping away at the yarn Stash, that's good! I've enhanced the Stash, and that's always good! I'm finishing some projects that have been hanging around for a long time, that's good!

So to summarize, it seems that this year I am tipping the scales, folks! Call me optimistic, but I think that here at the half-way point, I'm staring February down, and I think I see its knees shaking a bit! Cheer for me, okay?

it's so cold...

...but the sun was out to play!::: eating cinnamon roll bread ::: thanks to Beth
::: knitting on a neighborly ::: thanks to Jennifer and Larissa
::: reading & cuddling ::: I can't wait until she's old enough for Pippi
::: drinking hot tea ::: St.John's Good Mood Tea, Traditional Medicinal
::: listening to some good stories ::: thanks to NPR
::: hoping that you are cozy & warm wherever you are ::: really!

eta: thanks to Heather too!

love-dipped

More hearts! I heart Elizabeth Zimmermann! Her patterns with their indirect directions (if you've ever knit from her writing, you know it's not really an oxymoron) empower a knitter to think through a construction and adapt it as desired.

I give you, for instance, the Heart Hat from her book Knitting Workshop (scroll down to find it). In the book, she refers to the hat for an example on applications for i-cord (the cord formed from knitting a small number of stitches circularly). I-cord encircles the neck opening and face opening of the Heart Hat. In the photo-caption in the book, it refers to the pattern in the index. If you go to the pattern, you will find the instructions for an adult-sized hat or a heart-shaped elbow patch. Great! But what if you want to make a baby-sized hat??? Elizabeth would probably tell you to pick yourself up by your bootstraps and figure it out. That might seem a bit harsh at first, but really, if you've read through her books (which often read like prose) then you have the tools you need to figure it out: that garter stitch maintains proportion when scaled down or up; that a simple percentage system (which she outlines for you) can yield a custom-fit sweater; that algebra and geometry have true application in the real world (of knitting).

So, channeling my inner-Elizabeth and with my fingers crossed, I forged ahead to make a Heart Hat in a baby size using dk-weight yarn and size US size 4 needles. Guess what? It worked!
This sweet little hat fits loosely on a newborn baby! Sweet M will be able to wear this hat all winter (we still have a lot to go, I'm afraid). I tipped the i-cord ties with the rose wool, and I think it makes them look dipped... love-dipped!

crabby

Not me, him! This little guy has found his way home to the Pacific Northwest to live with my oldest sister's family. One of my nephews has a crabbing licence, how cool is that?! The whole family goes camping & crabbing whenever they get the chance. So when I saw the pattern for this fellow on Knitty, I knew that one day this would make a good gift for the family who crabs together!

The pattern is excellent and it was very fun to knit this crustacean. I didn't even mind all those legs! I think the top shell is my favorite part with its curved rim above the mouth (formed with shortrows) and the bobbles that make him lumpy. Although, the pincher claws are pretty awesome too. I'm so glad I had someone to make this for! He's going to have a good life.

And about me being crabby, actually I think it's just me being tired. After the holidays, the new year brings a bunch of birthdays, resuming the family schedule, and gray days one after another. And once all that busy-ness subsides but the gray remains, I have a tendency to fall into a lull and at the same time keep looking out for a flash of brightness. If there happens to be such a flash, I'll lunge for it (thus the heartfelt tutorial) and then return to that more watchful state. That's where I am now, looking around and seeing some really beautiful light and wondering which direction to go next.

What direction are you headed in right now?

ps - Thank you for all the kind words about the heartfelt tutorial! I had fun putting together my first tutorial. I've put a link to it in the side-bar so it'll be easy to find later.

heartfelt tutorial

So today I am going to take you step-by-step through making a felt heart pouch. Brace yourself, there are many photos and directions. I hope you like it!You will need some wool felt and embroidery floss in any colors that please you or your Valentine(s), scissors, a hand-sewing needle, and a heart-shaped pattern.The pattern I use is 2" wide and just shy of 2" tall. I cut it in the good ol' fold-a-piece-of-paper-in-half-and-cut-half-a-heart-shape way. Once I came up with a heart that was just right, I transferred it onto a piece of cardstock (aka magazine subsciption insert), cut it out, and use it repeatedly.Using a ball-point pen, trace around the pattern onto the felt twice. Cut out the two felt hearts.I'm going to show you how my mother taught me to thread a needle a looooong time ago. (If you click on that crazy collage, it will get bigger and be easier to see). Separate out three strands of embroidery floss. Fold the floss over the needle and pinch the floss and needle so you can barely see the folded floss. Slide out the needle. Now slip the eye of the needle over the barely visible fold of floss, and the fold should slide through the eye! Maybe you knew how to do that. That's a bit of Mom Magic that I have never forgotten. A while back, I came across Heather Bailey's brilliant knot technique (scroll down through her sidebar for a tutorial). I had a way I made knots forever before, but now I can't remember it because Heather's way is so great!Now you can stitch a design on one of the felt hearts, or both if your heart desires. ;) I've done monograms in back-stitch or split-stitch, French-knot sprinkles, sashiko type stitches, chain-stitch flowers.... It is really up to you!Here's how I make a French knot. Send the threaded needle through the felt where you want a little 3-D dot. Lay the needle flat against the felt and wrap the floss around the needle. In this case, I went around three times, but two or four could also work. Then carefully point the needle back into the felt very close to where the needle came out in the first place. Tug the floss to snug the wraps around the needle close to the felt. Draw your thread through, keeping an eye on the wraps, maybe use your thumbnail to keep them from going astray. Ta-da!!! A sweet little French knot! Sprinkle them around as you like.

Once you've got the embellishments in a way that makes your heart sing (!), it's time to sew the front and back together. I use blanket-stitch because I like the way it looks and how it finishes the opening.

Let me qualify this back-stitch lesson with "this is how I rigged up starting a back-stitch" because there is probably a slicker way that doesn't leave a double thickness of floss on the first stitch. If you know another way, do tell!

Start stitching at the top of the left "hump" (as you look at it). To hide the knot, start on the inside and draw the needle through the back piece, around to the front, and through both.

So send the needle backwards under the floss of the first stitch.Then come to the front and stitch from front to back.

Before you pull the stitch snug, send the needle through the loop the forms. Pull until the loop lays down over the gap between the front and back. Continue in this manner around the heart until you get to the top of the other "hump".

At this point, blanket-stitch only the edge of the front piece.When you get to the other "hump", send the needle under the very first stich to create the horizontal "laying down" part of the stitch. Now continue with the blanket-stitching on the back piece.When you come to the other "hump" again, send the needle under the last stitch that joined the front and back.To secure the end, send the needle under that same stitch once more, but before pulling it snug, put the needle through the loop twice, then tug slowly. A knot will form; again, you may need to guide the knot with your fingernail to keep it from travelling up your thread away from the stitch. Now, slide the needle through a nearby edge of the felt, keeping the needle within the thickness of the felt (not sandwiched between the two pieces), poke the needle out again, and snip the floss close to the felt. This will bury the floss within the felt. Finally, tuck a token of your affection inside, and you are done! I find these wee dark chocolates at our local food co-op. I vaguely recall finding some milk chocolate pieces too. An old key would be sweet. Or those pewter tokens. A little love note...

If you have any questions, please ask in the comments, and I'll answer there, it'll serve as a reference spot. If you make some pouches, I hope you have fun. Maybe send me a picture. I'd love that!

heart felt

Oh, I know, silly pun, heart felt... heart-felt, but I couldn't resist!I was trying to ease into the Valentine's Day mood, not wanting to rush anyone (including myself) or cause any panic, so I made a few quick heart-type items and sprinkled pictures of them around my spaces here on the internet. Subtle, suggestive, and satisfying! And now that Alison has got me all revved up about hearts and flowers and all things Valentine-y, there's no stopping me! ;) So, about the felt hearts... I found this Little Hearts pattern on Ravelry last spring, queued it up, and actually remembered it was there last week! With my Stash-0-Plenty of Cascade 220, I knit up a few; they knit up quickly. Once I stuffed them, Hana and I felted them. They felt so great while we mushed them around, sort of bread dough-like or baby thigh-like, you know? Anyway, I've got the pattern memorized now, and four more are waiting for their turn in the sink. I'm planning to embroider on some of them, but they are so cute plain, that I will try to keep from decorating all of them. I think you should make some too!

But wait! There's more! A few years ago, I made these valentines for my family and for a craft/bake sale at school.I'm going to make some more today, and I'll document the process for a tutorial. The project involves felt, scissors, embroidery floss, a needle, and chocolate! I'm guessing if you're reading here, you love all those things and might want to check it out! I hope you will! See you tomorrow...

xoxo