Wow

It's been a week since I received my box for the knitty holiday swap, and I'm just getting around to posting the pictures... I've been crazy busy at work. But that doesn't mean I'm not excited.

Look -- the first thing I found when I opened the box! It's a bat! A Big Brown, to be exact, and his wings open up. Isn't he the cutest? The wings open up for some fun flapping action!


But wait, there was more. Tea, chocolate, all sorts of of fiber I've never spun before, yarn, handmade cards and a knitting notebook... I'm simply floored by so much generosity.


So a big THANK YOU! Goes out to Spinning my wheels from the knitty board... I love my SP goodies, and the bat makes me smile every time I look at it.

The Hat Formerly Known As Penis Hat

I finished the infamous penis hat last week, but didn't get around to posting it here. Thanks to input from the designer, it now no longer looks penile -- more brainy. Don't let the pictures fool you, it's black, not blue.


And here it is from the back. Slightly different, you'll notice. This was a fun knit, I really enjoyed it.


Alas, my head is unusually small. Didn't know that about myself until I knit this hat... gauge was spot on, measurements are spot on, but no dice. It now happily lives with my friend Kate.

Details:
Pattern: One Skein Braided Cable Hat
Yarn: Malabrigo Chunky, about one skein -- maybe a bit more
Needles: US #9
Comments: Fun knit, but it's really, really important to read the note about how to knit the cables off the cable needles... and do it as written. If you deviate even one little bit, you end up with a Freudian hat!

Another Storm... and a Bit of Madhouse: Secrets

But we just had a snow storm!

True, we did. Every Wednesday since the new year, in fact. I took this picture on my way to coffee this morning. Snow, snow everywhere. It would have been nice to sit inside and knit, but one of the disadvantages to being able to work from home is having to work from home even when you're snowed in.


Hot chocolate made it OK. This mug-and-cozy is not a handknit, but my sister assured me she picked it out with love. It came with the hot chocolate. Looking at the picture above, it showed up just in time!


I'm supposed to talk about secrets for the Wednesday madhouse post, but honestly, I can't think of much to say. I'm not a secretive person. What you see is what you get. I can keep other people's secrets, and I won't reveal birthday or Christmas gifts before the big day. But other than that... well, I'm sort of transparent. Secrecy is just too much work. It's not how I roll.

Special Socks

The stash is huge. Cookie A.'s sock club starts up in a couple of weeks. I'm knitting faster. How fast, you ask? 3 FO's in 2 days, baby! Yeah!

First up, the Speshul Snoflake Socks. What makes them special, uh, speshul? They are my first-ever two-at-a-time socks. I started toe-up with 12 stitches, then winged it. Didn't want gusset increases because I wasn't sure my yarn would last. So I did an afterthought heel and kept knitting.


The yarn is leftovers from my SIL's Christmas socks and some other socks I knit a year or two ago. You see, I have very small feet. Every time I knit socks, I end up with lots of leftovers. And the leftover bag is swelling. Hence: leftover socks.


These still aren't that speshul, though, are they? Well, here's the extra speshul element. You see, I'd finished the sock and was about to start the afterthought heel. I started unraveling my waste yarn and picking up stitches... Aaaaah! I'd knit together the top and the bottom of the hole! Panic! The yarn had to be cut, but there was no way I'd be able to weave in those ends. Not enough yarn. What's a knitter to do?

Answer: Use Crazy Glue!


By the time I knit the second sock, it occurred to me that I didn't need the glue. All you have to do is unravel the half-row that's knit together in the middle, pick up the stitches a row below it for your heal, and sew in the ends. Live and learn.

Very exciting, no? In that case, I don't want to leave you hanging with socks only. Here's a preview of some done-and-blocking FO's. Hint: one of them is the hat formerly known as Penis Hat. Except, now it's no longer reminiscent of said appendage. I fixed it.


Got to do work and wait for the snow. We're getting yet another Snowpocalypse. I may be the only person who isn't sick of it yet. I love snow.