I've got tooo much time on my hands...

Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm pretty busy. Work, political & feminist activism & family, and not necessarily in that order. It's a wonder how I manage to have any time for knitting. I think this is one reason why I enjoy winter so much. Activist activities slow down dramatically. Who really wants to attend a protest when it is 20 degrees F outside? I've done it. I'm sure I'll do it again, but I'd prefer to sit fireside with a glass of wine, Mr. CrazyCat and my knitting.

I promised Mr. CrazyCat that I'd make him a hat. Since I've made hats for just about everyone else, he had a point that he deserved one too. He picked out his colors and left the design up to me. Using my knitting board, I weaved using a rib stitch for the entire hat. Here is his hat modeled my by fabulous step-daughter. The hat is a little big on her, but just right on her dad.

For a couple of months, I had been eyeing a yarn at a local big-box craft store. It was a bit on the pricey side, so I decided to wait until it either went on sale or I broke down and bought it at full price. After receiving a new winter coat from my parents, I decided that I must have a new hat/scarf/mitten set. The stars must have been aligned as the matching yarn of my desire went on sale the following week. Yippee!

I decided to try something a little different. I wanted to make a beanie, using my knitting board, rather than my typical fold over brim hat. I wanted to have a k2 p2 band at the bottom, and use the stockinette stitch for the body of the hat. When it came time to create the band, my execution did not work as expected. Instead I decreased by one stitch on each side and used a rib stitch. Viola! My hat. The yarn is a bit fuzzy, so you really cannot see the detail of the stitches. I am really please that it turned out this well. Next time I think I'll make the band a bit shorter.

Well, that's a huge noggin. That's a virtual planetoid.

I've finally finished my last "holiday" gift. I wanted to use my knitting board again, but was lacking in creativity so I decided to purchase a pattern. I thought, "This is gonna be so easy, just follow the pattern and I'll be done." The end result? A hat which doesn't even fit the largest headed man I know. This hat is HUGE! I cannot tell you how many times I check the pattern to make sure I was reading it correctly. I was so disappointed. So disappointed that I couldn't even frog it to start over. I left it as is and started with a new skein of yarn.

I mustered the last bit of creativity I had and redesigned my hat. The result? A hat for normal sized heads. Yahoo!!

Now it is time to wrap up the hats and ship them off!

The pressure of the holidays is finally over.

What? I'm a knitter?

I picked up a pack of Knifty Knitter round knitting looms back in September or October, 2006. I have since developed a passion - perhaps obsession - for loom knitting. My hubby purchased knitting boards (from Knifty Knitter as well as Knitting Board) for my birthday & for Christmas.

Needless to say, I've been making crafts for everyone. Mostly hats. One scarf. One half knitted shawl/wrap (work in progress.) Here are a couple of hats I finished during my last trip up nort' at the farm...

The red and black hat was made on my green KK round loom. The crazy hat with earflaps was made on my knitting board. I'm pretty pleased with the crazy hat as it was my first attempt using the knitting board. I used a pattern and was a little disappointed with how big around the hat turned out, so I decided to cinch up the top and magikly it fits!

Post #1

In creating my new blog I've come to realize that I will actually have to post messages. This is obviously the point of having a blog, but not easy for one who has a fear of sounding like an idiot.

Those who know me, know that I haven't any problems vocalizing what I think...but to sit and actually type out those thoughts...good grief...my mind becomes an empty slate. I like to push my various boundaries and comfort zone on occasion. Looks like I'm off to a good start.