Shut Down!

I'm on a forced knitting hiatus right now, and I'm not happy about it one bit!

Ok, so that's a little dramatic, but I've been having a major flare up of my tendinitis and going to physical therapy, where they are telling me that if I want it to heal, I need to relax it as much as possible. Since I can't avoid signing or typing at work and something's gotta give, the answer to that is "no knitting." Which naturally I take as, "Do some knitting, but be sure to take an anti-inflammatory before, only knit for a measly 1/2 hour per day, and then afterward ice it and put on the splint."

Sigh. I try to be a good patient.

Ugly Hats for a Good Cause

Every year my work is a partial sponsor/coordinator for an all day holiday celebration, called Silent Sleigh, for the local Deaf kids. A lot of hands go into the preparation for this day in which countless kids get to socialize with their Deaf peers from all of the local school districts, watch performances all in sign, and best of all, tell a signing Santa in their own langauge what they want for Christmas without the use of an interpreter (and actually have him understand!).

Last week at my works community center there was a group of 5 Deaf/hard of hearing women hard at work at their sewing machines. When I inquired further, I discovered that they were making a slew of hats, so that every kid in attendance at the Silent Sleigh would be able to wear and take home their own holiday hat.

Since one of the virtues that I want to instill in my daughter is that of volunteerism and the best way to teach this is by example, when I saw this group of ladies sewing away at 100 plus hats, I knew that I had to lend a hand. I mentioned that I had a sewing machine at home and the ability to sew a (sorta straight) seam and they were more than happy to have my assistance.

I was sent home with a stack of neon green felt, thread, and some quick instructions how to sew it up. I was surprised that even with my novice abilities I was about to whip out 10 hats in only about 2 weekend nap times (so like a total of 2.5 hours).

Here's the final product:



Sure, they're an ugly color, but I'm certain that in the spirit of the holidays these kids will wear their hats with Joy as they carol in sign language and anxiously tell St. Nick their christmas wishes.

It Is What It Is, Flaws and All

As I had previously mentioned, I finished up the lovely Summit Shawl, only to discover a major flaw about halfway back. I contemplated for mere seconds whether I should rip it all the way back to the error, but seeing as that would have meant undoing nearly 500 yards of work I just couldn’t make myself do it.

Here’s the blocked picture of it... can you find the error?

How about now?

At some point in the middle of knitting I accidentally switched the direction I was going, creating a larger hole and two branches out of one. You’ll also note the circle on the bottom left – that’s where for some reason I decided to simply go back the other direction, rather than making the outer loop.

The thing of the matter is, I can’t help but still love the final product. Sure, I can see (and unabashedly point out) its flaws, but its overall beauty shines through regardless. I know that the recipient of this shawl won’t be sitting down to analyze my work and will admire it for what it is, not for what it isn’t.

Civetta Legwarmers - FREE PATTERN

I’m not the kind of girl who wears legwarmers, so it had never occurred to me to make some, until a friend asked specifically for a pair. As often happens, I couldn’t find a pattern that I particularly liked for this recipient, so I went to the drawing board. I hope you have as much fun knitting these little owls as I did! These were originally designed as legwarmers, however they can also be worn as gauntlets.

Click here for Free Ravelry Download: Civetta Pattern

Knit Know How = Fast Gifts

One of the good things about being a knitter (with a sizable stash) is that when you look at the calendar and see that you have a baby shower to go to and no moolah to spare for a gift, it's not to hard to whip up something quick and cute.

Skylar graciously modeled this boy version of the Cadence Baby Hat which took me only two lazy nights of knitting to bang out.



And by graciously, I mean she let me snap photos for all of 30 seconds before deciding that it was way to hot to keep wearing this beanie.

Knitters Pop Up in the Funniest Places

One of the little joys of knitting in public is that every now and then other knitters and crocheters will approach and break the monotony of the "wow, I've always wanted to learn to knit but..." conversations, and actually engage you in a real knitting conversation.

I was at an interpreting workshop yesterday (which was phenomenal - if you're a sign language interpreter and ever have an opportunity to go to an Austin Andrews workshop, DO NOT pass on it!). While I love the learning I get while I go to these professional trainings, I also can't bear the idea of sitting for 6 hours without a pair of needles clicking away in my hands so, as always, I was knitting to my hearts content. During a break, one of the other attendees approached me and not only was she a knitter, she was also on Ravelry, had the exact pattern I was working on in her queue, and her current WIP hidden away in her bag. The cherry on top? We also had the exact same glasses. Neat!

In the too-short break we got to admire each other WIPs and engage in a discussion of how I could have improved upon the decrease of the Coffee Tunic that I had started back in January (and have just now picked up again after I don't know how many months). And then of course that evening I logged into Ravelry to get a glimpse of her other works. Gotta love that!

Oh blog, how I have mistreated you...

...but I swear the neglect has its reasons! I've been working on two original patterns, the first drafts of which are knitted up and awaiting revisions. I also manage to finish up the awesome (and sometimes tedious) Summit Shawl. Unfortunately, as I was binding off I discovered a major mistake at about the mid section of the shawl. Did I frog it back? You better believe your britches I didn't! Ha, if you think I'm going to watch as I unravel countless hours of knitting, you gotta be out of your freakin' mind!

Coming soon...

• pictures and discussion of the summit shawl
• patterns for leg warmers and (yes, my new favorite) mitts
• a quick peak at the adorable LYS I visited while in Vermont last week

happy knitting!