Knitters are awesome!

I mean, we already know this, right? This community that we are a part of is made up of generous, caring people. In the relatively short time I've been knitting, I've witness numerous occasions where knitters have stepped up to help with different causes and people in need. Our community is coming together again now to help with relief efforts in Haiti. In addition to individual groups on Ravelry raising donations, many of your favorite designers are committing to donate proceeds from their pattern sales on to Doctors Without Borders.

This is Sunset Glow, my Simple Things shawlette-in-progress, designed by my friend Mary-Heather Cogar. Mary-Heather is donating 75% of the purchase price of her patterns (including Simple Things) sold between January 15-31 to Doctors Without Borders.

I've been so moved by what Mary-Heather, Marnie, and others are doing that not only have I joined the cause, I want to mention it here in hopes that even more people might join in as well. So if you are so inclined, please check out the Help for Haiti patterns on Ravelry. There's a good chance that you'll find some of the patterns you have queued or favorited on these pages. Not to be an enabler, but I'm just saying- if you're thinking about buying a pattern or two in the near future anyway, if you purchase them now, a good percentage of the cost of the pattern will be donated. :)

At a time when finances are tight for so many of us, I realize it's more difficult than ever to make charitable donations. However, I am so grateful more than ever for what I do have, and I would still like to be able to help others, if even in the smallest way. No pressure of course, but if you feel the same and can afford to do so, please consider buying a pattern or two. This is a way that we can each do something small that, when combined with everyone else's help, will make a big difference.

Remembering Grandma

I have to apologize for the unintended blog silence, I had grand plans for ending the year on a crafty note. I was (am) making almost all of my Christmas presents this year and thought I'd be sneaky by sharing them here as regular FOs as I went along. I then planned to have a nice wrap up post explaining where everything went and with new photos with their recipients. One word can explain how that all went: ugh.

I mentioned briefly in my last post that my grandma was ill over Thanksgiving. Things ended up taking a turn for the worse the week or so before Christmas and she passed away on the 28th. I am going to miss her so much, but I am so thankful that she went peacefully and painlessly. I compiled a few more recent pictures of her here.

Yellow roses were her favorite flowers, so it was fitting we left some for her

She was not only a source of creative inspiration for me, but as a 'maker' herself, she was always so tickled by anything I made her. I think that's why it seems appropriate to share her passing here. This will obviously change the dynamic of the quilt project my mom and I are working on for her, but we know she loved that we took on this project and remembering her while we continue to work on it will be such a pleasure for us both.

Needless to say crafting (and reporting on said crafting) had to take the back burner while we grieved and began the hectic planning necessary to get all of us to Salt Lake City last week for her funeral. Despite the circumstances, it was lovely to spend some time again in a city of which I have only a child's memories. And being in some snow was a nice unexpected bonus (we went from 75 to 80 degree weather to snow and temperatures in the 20s and 30s!).

It would have been nice to spend some more time there, especially given that I actually know a fair number of people in Salt Lake City, both in person and virtually (hi all!). But a short time with family was all that was in the cards this time around.

This also marked Elliott's first plane trip, which he handled most excellently

As for what's next, I have many things to show here and plan to do a couple themed posts given 2009's Christmas gifts were either sewn, embroidered or knit. So stay tuned!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and I am slowly but surely making my way through everyone's holiday blog posts. Its been a lot of fun to see what you were all up to and your 2009 retrospectives!

2009: A Knitty Retrospective

It's pretty obvious from looking at last year's FOs that my preoccupation was with babies and baby knits. I had fun knitting for my own Bean, as well as Dis' Elliott, Annie's Macadamia, and my civilian friend Heather's Ryan. And judging from the number of Flickr friends alone who are expecting babies this year, it doesn't seem like the baby trend is going to end anytime in the near future! Fine by me- I love me some baby knits!

Sugary, Peacock, Green River, Ryan tee
Ryan mocs, Pine, Pine socks, Blossom
4 Month Socks, Hershey, Bean Bonnet, Slate
Coal, Mr. T., Cabernet, Bean's First Christmas Hat

2009 also allowed me to participate in a couple of special swaps between good friends. First, a cowl swap with my dear knitty girls, in which I was able to knit a cowl for Kat, and more recently the beret swap I did with my girl Margaux. I thoroughly enjoyed both swaps and look forward to round two of both!

As usual, my knits were predominantly gifts for others. I managed to finish a whopping two knits for myself. What is wrong with this picture? ;) I really hoped that Oscar would make it into the 2009 FO group, but alas, I got sidetracked by the holiday knits. He will be done soon though! Definitely in time for 2010's recap. Swear!

Looking ahead to this year, I'm also planning to learn how to crochet. Finally! I've been wanting to learn for years now, and I decided this was the year I'm going to do it. Or well, I hope. Wish me luck!

FO round-up (a bit of housekeeping)

So here I was, putting my 2009 knitty retrospective together, when I realized that I failed to post not one, not two, not three, but four FOs! What?? Goes to show where my head has been this year (in Beanland)! So for record-keeping's sake, instead of one-offing it, I give you a mass post of the lost FOs of '09.

First there was one of my favorites- a bonnet for Bean.

Bean Bonnet
pattern: Baby Bonnet by Joelle Hoverson from Last Minute Knitted Gifts (Raveled)
yarn: Rowan Kid Classic (70% lambswool, 26% kid mohair and 4% nylon) - less than 1 skein
needles: US7
made for: Bean

Mod: My gauge was off using the called for size 8 needles, so I used size 7 needles instead. Besides, at the time Bean was a little younger than the 6-24 months outlined in the pattern, so it worked out well and fit her perfectly. This is one of my favorite knits-we use this all the time!

Bean wasn't the only one who got a new hat from me, B got two! This one:

Slate
pattern: Turn a Square by Jared Flood (Raveled)
yarn: Cascade Yarns 220 Heathers (100% Peruvian Highland Merino Wool) in 8013 and Noro Silk Garden (45% Silk, 45% Kid Mohair, 10% Lambswool) in 227 - less than 1 skein each
needles: US6 and US7
made for: B

And this one:

Coal
pattern: A Hat Fit for a Boyfriend by Stephanie Nicole (Raveled)
yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Wool in 004 (Charcoal) - less than 2 skeins
needles: US8
made for: B

And I finished a simple red scarf for myself:

Mr. T.
pattern: my own, using mistake rib and knitting for a long time
yarn: Rowan Kid Classic in 847 and Lana Grossa Baby Kid - 2 balls each
needles: US11
inspired by: Mr. Tumnus

Okay. Whew! Now that that's done, retrospective to follow shortly. :)

FO: Cabernet

Recently, Margaux and I decided to do a little beret swap. This is the one I knit for her:

Cabernet
pattern: Meret (Mystery Beret) by Wooly Wormhead (Raveled)
yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Merino Worsted (100% Merino Wool) in 501 (Cabernet) - less than 1 skein
needles: US8
made for: Margaux

As much as we both love cables, I wanted to knit her something that was a little different from other berets she already has, so I chose this pattern. We've often discussed a shared love of Malabrigo...and wine...so this yarn choice was a no-brainer. I knit the medium size, with one inch of ribbing, and one extra repeat for extra slouch, figuring that would look good with her gorgeous curls, and look- I was right!

Neither of us know why it's taken us so long to do a swap, but we both now know this won't be our last - and that's fine with me. I have mad love for this girl and I had an absolute blast knitting for her! Look at how freaking cute she is! (Hey, M- can you model all of my finished knits?) :)

Now I know you want to see the one she knit for me. Here it is:

Am I lucky or what? It's seriously gorgeous! And it's Koigu! 'Nuff said. :)

Oh no wait, I have something else to say: I LOVE IT!

FO: Bean's First Christmas Santa Hat

Hey, you gotta love last-minute holiday knitting, right? Who's with me? Ha! Yeah, not so much. Unless it's a baby noggin-sized Santa Hat of cuteness. In which case it's perfectly alright!

Bean's First Christmas Hat
pattern: Wee Santa Hat by Debbi Young McNeer (Ravlink)
yarn: The red one is a mystery, found in stash, the white fluffy yarn is Jo-Ann Sensations Beautiful in 01 (off white) - just a smidge of each
needles: US8

I whipped up this baby in a day- talk about instant gratification! Bonus: pompom action!

With most of my holiday knitting behind me (I'll be posting pictures of those later, once I get modeled shots), it suddenly dawned on me that Bean *needed* a Santa Hat. I mean, right? I found some red yarn in the stash which would most certainly do, but I didn't have any white yarn in sight. So off to Jo-Ann's we went, in search of "fun" yarn. I mean, if I'm gonna do this, I need to do it right, right? I must say that the yarn I found is perfect! So people, there is a time and a place for "fun", fluffy yarn. :)

Happy Holidays from me and Bean to you and yours!

One-Out/One-In Damson

First up - I hope you all had a very wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a few ups and downs relating to my grandma, but she is now doing well and we are again so thankful for the time we are able to share with her. However, the surprise quilt project my mom and I have been working on, is no longer a surprise. It would have made me so sad if she would never have seen what we'd been up to, so we decided to share our plans with her. We've been making good progress and I plan on sharing an update soon.

Anyway, I'm here to share a little FO with you! I'm calling this my One-Out/One-In Damson because while it was originally going to be a stash project, I ended up having to acquire another ball of sock yarn to finish it.

I knit this on the recommended needles and used an entire hank of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino in Moody Blues. I thought I would probably have enough yardage since the pattern calls for 440 yards and I had 420 in my Cherry Tree Hill. It seemed like Ysolda had made notes in the past if something was going to run close to the recommended yardage, but it was a risk I knew I was taking when I started the project. It just didn't work out in my favor this time around. I made it to the end of row 103 when I officially ran out.

I went stash diving again in hopes of finding something that would be a nice complement, but I didn't want to just make due. I'm not big on stash projects like that. I also consulted with my knitting group and it might have turned out that I could have traded something that would have worked, but we don't meet all that frequently and I really didn't want to stall out so close to the end.

After lots of internet searching and thorough perusal of The Loopy Ewe site, I decided on a solid navy to bring out the navy in the Cherry Tree Hill and the Cascade Heritage seemed to fit the bill. I had a few moments of second thoughts, mostly related to how the spin of the yarn would match, but when it arrived...it was perfect, so soft and smooshy. Not shiny like the Cherry Tree Hill, but since I was matching the darkest blue, I don't really think it matters. Plus there is a ton of yardage (437) for $12! I even have plenty left for another project.

I love the darker accent in the cute little edge loops, so in retrospect, I'm super happy that I ran out of yarn. Other than the yardage issue, this was a great project. Ysolda laid out the pattern beautifully with a chart and written instructions (although, the lace is completely memorizable, so you really don't need either once you know where the pattern is taking you) and as you can see by all the different versions on Ravelry, the pattern lends itself to different interpretations well. I think this would also be a great first lace project for someone. It is very simple lace, but very lovely. And I have to agree with the pattern summary, that the edging is deceptively simple.

Anyway, I am super pleased with how it came out and I'm looking forward to knitting another project from the Whimsical Little Knits 2 collection...most likely the scroll lace scarf (which doesn't seem to be listed on her website, but you can see it here (on Ravelry).