you're living through another year

resolutions of all kinds spark and catch in my mind at this time of year; i suppose it natural to approach blogging with the same sort of goal-setting. but this blog? well, i'm not sure of what to think as i sit here, staring at the blank(ish) dialogue box, knowing that i've only posted 18 times this year. are 18 posts a sign that i'm blog-fail? are 18 posts indicative that life only gets busier and more chaotic each passing year? are the mere 18 posts a testament to my lack of consistency? how do i reconcile my occupation of this space with the obvious lack of voice? do i renew the vow to be more diligent, etching out the time to publish in this little part of the interwebs? rather, do i just cast aside the feelings of disappointment in myself and push onward, not looking back and dwelling on the quiet that was?

in reality, these days have been anything but quiet. the weeks of november, and then especially the first two weeks of december, were filled with the nutcracker commitments. laurel danced again this year, with the regional professional ballet company, so not only was she rehearsing and performing a lot, but as a family, we are required to donate time on tasks that help the production run smoothly. the calendar was peppered with nutcracker responsibilities, and everything else was fit in around them, too.

holidays came and holidays went. many pictures were taken. lots of goodies were baked and cooked. i made lemony snickets and pumpkin cheesecake, spatchcocked a turkey and rocked turkey gravy, decorated sugar cookies, perfected shortbread (finally), and indulged in peanut butter cups. we hosted a traditional scandinavian smörgåsbord for christmas. we will be having a quiet but happy new year's eve celebration.

spatchcocked turkey... it's roasted flat.

and though not as prolific as last winter's knitting session was, i've had the needles going. november saw the finish of the beautiful chevron love mittens, one of my favorite knits to date.



over thanksgiving break, i whipped up a cable comfort throw for annika's teacher (and now need to make another, bigger one!) in bulky yarn. when knitters tell you this is a quick and economical knit, believe it! and, at last, i earned my seaming badge with this project.


an unseasonably cold december made everyone's soft california bones ache, but especially those of our chihuahua-dachshund mix, stitch. i carefully measured her, then knit her a wool sweater, only to find it too tight to be comfortable. i am not going to give up, however; other design options are being explored.

stitch is not so happy.

the only handknit i really wanted complete for a christmas gift was a pair of socks for the dear husband. but what's that about always abusing those we love the most? well, i don't abuse him, but he isn't getting his socks for another few days...

reinforced heel -- the first one i've done...

the pattern is roger sock, the yarn is heritage sock. partly due to a hectic schedule, and partly due to backordered reinforcement thread, i'm only about 75% finished. as always, it took me a few repeats to "get" the pattern; i'm *so* not a one-glance-at-the-chart-and-i-get-it knitter.

as this post and year come to a close, i want to thank those of you who do stop by once your blog readers flash that i've decided to make an appearance. every one of your comments make me feel like there is a reason i eke out the time to write. each of the readers that take the initiative to reply earn a new blog reader themselves. blogging is fun, once i sit down and get to typing. i'll have to remind myself of that more often.

happy holidays, and the best new year's wishes to you and yours.

xoxo,
melana

half WIP (alternatively, half FO)

sort of like "glass half empty, glass half full", right?

i am so the "glass half empty" girl. not as bad as a debbie downer, or cathy, but still pessimistic in my own right.

this mitten, however, might make me a more optimistic knitter. since technically it's one of two mittens, it's not a finished knit, but it's off the needles, with the ends woven*, and free to be put on, admired, taken off, and repeated as necessary.

amidst what is already a crazy busy week, i'll find some time to cast on the mate. (that's optimism for you!)

*i carried the yarn up the inside of the mitten. there were very few ends to be woven.

floating through space and time

floats. my new challenge.

i'm still working on the chevron love mittens. it's a good thing i'm head over heels in love with the pattern and the yarn, or this first mitten would have ended up thrown in a corner and left to become a den for dust bunnies...

i had to frog the first attempt, as i was pulling much too tightly on the floats during that first go round.

natural neutrals chevron love mitten kit

things are going more smoothly now, though i haven't had a whole lot of time to knit lately, much to my chagrin.

i can, however, share a finished knit with you. not surprisingly, it's another mitten set, and again, not a shocker, the pattern is nothing short of perfection.

i've now knit two pair of phenomenon. the first pair was to test knit the pattern for it's designer. i thought it was pretty great at that point, but after additional tweaking, the newest version of phenomenon is absolutely phenomenal.

cascade 220 superwash in grey (816), held double throughout

it's a free pattern, but one you must have a ravelry account to access. a previously released pattern will do the job, but phenomenon mimics the patterned palm featured on the mittens used in the movie.

what challenges you as a knitter? colorwork? cables? finishing work? carving out time to devote to your craft?

round and round we go

circulars. dpn's. when knitting in the round, what is your preferential tool?

i've mentioned the wanted to learn magic loop before. as always, someone in the knitting blogosphere was willing to share. the generous leslie sent me her unused booklet. she bought it thinking she'd teach herself... sometime. well, sometime turned into "not yet, and it's been a while!" so it made its postal journey across the country.

i tried. i tried really hard. and i discussed it here. not in depth, but discuss it i did. but i failed. in the end, i ripped the sock off the circular, threw it on dpn's and went to work. of course i thought of old dogs and new tricks, and decided that whatever method was successful for me was the method i was going to stick with. (and let's be honest: if a fabulous knitter like leslie doesn't feel the call to learn the magic loop, why should i?)

fast forward 18 months. last week, while on a chartered bus, i learned that there is a serious benefit to knitting socks (or whatever) on circulars: you cannot drop your needle and lose it when it rolls to the very front, very back, or in the crack of a 60-seat bus filled with fourth and fifth grade students who will gawk and point if you crawl around on the floor.

thankfully, i had brought a few extra dpn's, as i planned to knit the cuffs of both Mystery Sock '09 socks, and complete the first clue for the month. Mystery Sock KAL is my favorite. i participated last year and really loved the socks i ended up with at the end of it all. this year, i dug through the stash, hoping that kirsten will again provide a great pattern that looks divine in a semi-solid.

dream in color smooshy, gothic rose

on a whim, i bought a 12" addi turbo in a US 9 to work the sleeves of my february lady sweater. i had size 9 dpn's but i was really loving the ease of a circular throughout the body of the sweater, and although at the time i didn't know i'd use it again so soon, i'm glad to have it. i am using it to knit laurel a pair of phenomenon mittens (ravelry link) for halloween, when she dresses up as bella from twilight.

cascade 220 superwash, gray

so am i a circular convert? i don't know that yet; however, i do know that i'm going to give the magic loop another whirl.

if for nothing else, it will keep me off my hands and knees on the floor of a bus.

the call of fall

so the weather here in sunny california isn't exactly fall-like, but there is nothing but cozy autumnal knits on my mind.

is there anything better than a finished project that you can actually wear and like? the february lady sweater (which i loving call my "finally, a lady sweater") is finished, buttons sewn, and blocked. there is not much that i can say about the sweater that others haven't already. it's a simple knit, which makes it easy to pick up and knit whenever you've a free moment; it's a lovely raglan design so there is no finishing work on the sleeves; and it's been knit so many times, there are a multitude of tips available and tons of inspiration regarding yarn substitutions.

my fls required only 3.5 skeins of dream in color classy "cocoa kiss". knit at gauge on size 9 needles, there are 22 repeats in the body and 17 in the sleeves. now that it's done, i would have knit one more repeat in the sleeves; however, i did wet block the sweater, stretching the sleeves that extra inch. the large, wonky buttons are plastic, and a completely different color than that of the yarn, but complementary. and here it is, modeled:

if i'm not the last person on the planet to knit this, and you, dear reader, are thinking of casting on your own fls, you might find these links helpful: the buttonhole tutorial listed in the pattern is a great one; for the eyelet increase in the yoke, go to this great calculator (though lots of great looking february lady sweaters don't even have the eyelet row); and of course, the ravelry pattern page is a great place to start.

and because the fls is officially finished, chevron love mittens is replacing it on the works-in-progress list. (i have a rule of three. three projects are always on the wip list. one is always a sock, one is a no-brainer project, and one is an involved project.) i can't wait to have the mittens ready for winter wear with my new charcoal pea coat.

chevron love mittens (natural neutrals kit)

non-creative convalescence

thanks to a great live-in nurse (the husband), I have been able to thoroughly rest and begin to recover this week.

as desirable a week off from household duties, kid carting, and general responsibility might seem, I can't say that I made great use of the time. most activity made my already aching head pound that much more. I know I couldn't have done anything more than I was able to accomplish.

yesterday, I finished the first of my "just another sock" pair. this is the project that sits in my purse, ready for action when I'm sitting and waiting for the kids to finish school, sports, or art classes. the sock couldn't be more simple, planned that way so I don't need to have a pattern nearby, and it was that easy, second nature design that made this an appealing project yesterday.

sKNITches syncopation yarn in "Collegiate". 2x2 rib cuff, heel flap and stockinette foot.

I did polish off the remaining books in my Young Adult queue. the five book Jessica Darling series (sloppy firsts, second helpings, etc.) kept me busy for a couple of days. I was impressed with the first and second books: the voice is witty and sardonic, and I befriended the main characters quickly. as with most episodic designs -- movies, television series, books -- I was disappointed as the saga continued. the next book on the nightstand was the curious incident of the dog at night-time. a quick read, I found what I enjoyed most was the perspective that the high-functioning autistic narrator provided. less of a mystery than a coming-of-age story, the curious incident kept me turning the pages.

so this week, I plan to take on the real world slowly. hopefully I don't burn up upon re-entry.

letdown

so of course I said I would update every Monday.
and here I am, sitting in bed, knitting very far from my mind, without energy to pick up the sticks.
I have been diagnosed with the h1n1 virus. I know that it's not terribly serious, that more people are negatively affected by the regular seasonal flu, but I can't help from feeling as though I've invited a predator to dinner.
maybe once these medications kick in, I'll be able to take advantage the quarantine time to knit. until then, friends.