Always Be Prepared

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I was never a boy scout (because of rather obvious genetic reasons), but I would like to think that I would have been a good one.  After all, I am great with knots, I look damn good in a neckerchief, and I am always prepared.

I’m especially prepared when it comes to my knitting.  I always (always always) have a little stash of emergency knitting.  You never know when it will come in handy,  Maybe you’ve just finished that big sweater you’ve been working on, and you don’t know what to work on next.  Maybe you are halfway through that unending afghan for your cousin Sue’s wedding, and unless you put it down for a little while, you’re going to cut it in half with a pair of kitchen shears out of frustration.  Or maybe you’re stuck inside your parent’s condo, hiding from the stupid cold weather for a week straight after your plane ride home was canceled because of a Polar Vortex freezing the entire contiguous United States (except, for some reason, Seattle).

My emergency knitting project is always socks.  Socks are portable, and require minimal futzing.  No seams to sew, no buttons to mess with, nothing to measure (once you know your sock number).  At home, I have a whole box of sock yarn, ready to be knit up whenever I need a small, useful project.  And, when I travel, I always throw a skein or two of sock yarn into my bag, just in case.

WP_20140108_006(Sorry about the picture quality.  While I was prepared enough to bring extra knitting, I neglected to bring my good camera.  So, you get a photo taken by a potato.)

And lucky I did, too!  I finished the sweater I was working on more than a week before the end of my vacation.  The last few days, I’ve been busy, knitting away on my emergency socks and watching way too much Portlandia with my Mom.   Not a bad way to spend  the Great Snowpocalypse, if I say so myself.

What’s your emergency knitting project?

Inspiration: It’s Colder Than Balls (of Yarn)

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So, you remember when I was complaining about how cold it was?  Turns out I was completely wrong.  20 degrees is lovely, balmy weather.  Practically a tropical paradise. It seems especially lovely when you have Christmas cookies and hot chocolate, and the only time you go outside is when you feel like going skiing.

Real cold has now settled in.  The kind of cold that makes people worry about frostbite when they run to the 7-11 down the block.  The kind of cold that makes the state of Michigan (Michigan!) close down every single public school.  The kind of cold that makes you curse the first Norwegian trappers who found Chicago and said “Hey, I bet this would be a great place to start a city.”

It’s the kind of cold that cancels almost 2000 flights at O’Hare Airport.  That’s right, two thousand.  Including mine.  (I was supposed to fly back to Seattle last night).  I have still not actually managed to reach a real person to help with rebooking, but their computer system automatically gave me a new flight.  Next weekend. That means that I will be spending an unexpected week in Chicago, before getting back home.  Luckily, my folks are letting me stay with them, so I don’t have to stay hotel for a week (yay!),  But, it means I have to stay another week in -13 degree (-40 windchill) weather, before going home (boo!).

At least I have plenty of knitting to keep me busy and a good book on my Kindle, so I’ll be a happy camper inside the apartment.  If I have to go outside, however, I think I’m going to need knitwear a little more extreme than my usual hat and mittens.  Maybe I’ll make myself an emergency balaclava or two.

I could go girly:

From Russia, with Love: Cabled Balaclava by Nikol Lohr

3968160718_7d53180fb6_z[1]I could go classic and functional:

Antifreeze by Jenna Adorno

ravelry2_medium[1]Or, I could go viking:

Dwarven Battle Bonnet by Sally Pointer/ Wicked Woollens

4221424550_1a06de25f2_z[1]

Blocking Blocks

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I love our new house, but it has one deficiency: no carpet.  Which, I suppose, really isn’t a deficiency (I hate hate vacuuming), but as a knitter, it causes me problems.  I have always blocked projects by laying towels out over the carpet, and then pinning my wet project on top.  You can’t really do that with wood floors.

So, I took a trip to Target the other day and I found a substitute in the baby section:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThese foam puzzle pieces are meant to protect babies from dangerous floor bacteria (or something, I don’t really know).  They’re about about 16 inches square and about a half inch thick, and they interlock.  They are perfect for blocking.  I lay them out on the floor, throw a towel on top and block away to my heart’s content.  They run about 20 bucks for a set of 6, which gives you plenty of real estate for smaller projects like scarves, shawls, and probably even most sweaters.  You can also find similar foam blocks in sporting goods stores (for doing yoga or weight lifting on), but I am a sucker for bright colors (like babies, apparently), so I went with these.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThese work super well, so if you don’t have a floor you can pin into, I highly recommend you invest in a set or two.

A Little Bit of Sparkle

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I thought for quite a while about whether or not to do a “New Year’s Resolution” Post.  I almost did it, too.  But, then I thought, “Why on earth would I want to do that?”  New Year’s Resolution lists are preachy and sanctimonious, and frankly boring.

So, what else can I write about for New Year’s?  What’s more fun than New Year’s Resolutions?  I know!

GLITTER!

It’s the one day of the year you can wear as much glitter and as many sparkles as you want (outside of roller derby) without people giving you the stink eye.   So, let’s get to it and take a look at the glitteriest and sparkliest knitting patterns I could find.

Knitted Sequined Collar by Qiwen HengIMG_1565_medium[1]Mudra Cuff by Laura Nelkin

7138804017_cc2ef38fc5_z[1]Abstract Leaves Cowl by Deb Mulder

3626248965_96c65e9a32_z_medium[2]

Be Nice to Your Hands

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It’s winter, which means that every ounce of fluid has been sucked out of my body and my skin is actively turning into beef jerky.  Every year, it’s the same, but every year it still surprises me.  My knuckles crack, my skin is itchy and tight and I cultivate hangnails the way farmers grow corn.  It’s pretty much the worst.  It’s uncomfortable and painful and it’s making knitting no fun at all!

I don’t know if you have any tips and tricks for fixing my hands, but I’d love to hear them.  I know I’m not the only one with this problem.

So far, the best thing I’ve found is Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream.

300It’s about three bucks, and you can find it in almost all drug stores.  It’s unscented and super heavy-duty, but it really works, at least more than other lotion I’ve used.  And, it doesn’t irritate my cracked and dry skin.  (Neutrogena didn’t ask me to shill for them, but if they wanted to send me some money, or maybe a crate of hand cream, I wouldn’t stop them.)

Basically, these are my hands without the hand cream*:

themeparty-halloween-pair-hands-witch[1]And these are my hands with the hand cream**:

20101116-hand-perfection[1]*Not my actual hands.

**Also not my actual hands.

It’s Cold As Balls (of Yarn)

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I’m spending my Christmas break with family in the Great White North (of northern Illinois/southern Wisconsin).  It’s cold, it’s snowy, it’s windy. I’m spending the week curled up with my leftover Christmas knitting and a cup of hot cocoa.

But, when I leave the house, there’s nothing I want more than to wrap myself up head-to-toe in three sheep’s worth of woolens.

I’m going to go fill up the kettle again and daydream about these super chunky patterns.

150-4 Little Red Riding Slippers – Slippers with cables in Eskimo by DROPS design

4-2_medium2[1]Twiggy Cardigan by Jane Richmond

Twiggy_Cardigan_070_medium2[1]wham bam thank you lamb! neckwarmer by Susan Chang

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Merry Christmas!

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI hope you’re having a fantastic Christmas, and I hope that Santa brought you everything that was on your Christmas list.

I’ve got one more extra-special present just for you, dear readers! A little bitty knit doll of your very own.  And, she comes with a little bitty storybook of her very own.   She has long flowing hair and a removable dress, and she is just as ready to play house as she is to go adventuring with her friends.

The Little Knit Doll’s construction is very simple.  She is knit in the round with minimal sewing.  All shaping is done with simple increases and decreases, except for the feet, which are worked like tiny socks.  Her luxurious long hair is applied with a crochet hook, just like adding fringe to a scarf.  She is totally safe for children of all ages, with her embroidered face.  And, her adorable green dress is knit in the round with virtually no finishing.

The Little Knit Doll is now available through Ravelry for $5.00.

Get the pattern here

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI’m posting The Little Knit Doll here exclusively for about a week.  But starting next week, the pattern will be available through Ravelry for $5, so download it now, if you want it for free.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAHo Ho Ho! Merry Christmas!

It’s Just Christmas, Don’t Kill Yourself

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Christmas is in two days.  If you’re like me, then you probably have about 72 hours worth of knitting left to cram into the next 48 hours.  I’m here to tell you that it’s going to be OK.  I promise.  Do what you can, but don’t kill yourself over it.  Don’t stay up until three in the morning trying to finish that sweater.  Don’t forgo eating to work on those socks.  Don’t skip your friend’s Christmas party to stay home and felt that pair of slippers.

And if (or when) Christmas comes around and you’re still not done knitting your gifts, you’ve got two options:

1.  Write them a really nice note about the project you’re working on.  Maybe include a sketch of the finished project, or a photo from the pattern.  Here’s a vintage card you can print out:

antique xmas cards12.  Wrap up that sucker anyway.  There’s no shame in gifting someone a sweater still on the needles, or one and a half socks.  They’ll be able to ooh and ahh at the softness of  the yarn, the beautiful colors and the pretty pattern, but then you get to take the project back home with you at the end of the party to finish up later.

And Tied Up With a Bow

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You’ve spent way too much time, effort and money on your Christmas gifts this year (isn’t that always the way?), so, let’s do something quick, easy and super cheap for the wrapping.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI’m using brown wrapping paper, the kind you get in a roll to use for shipping packages.  It’s super cheap and sturdy, so if you’re traveling with your gifts they won’t end up all scuffed and torn by the time you make it over the river and through the woods.  But, if you wanted to go even cheaper, you could use old (clean) paper bags from the grocery store for a similar look.  (I suppose if you don’t like the recipient of the gift, they don’t have to be clean, but that’s a little passive-aggressive, even for me.)

And, instead of going to the store and buying fancy-pants ribbons, I’m using leftover yarn that I have in my stash.  I picked out five shades of blue, but you can do whatever you like.  Bright rainbow colors might be fun for a kid, or maybe a birthday present.  Red and green are always classic Christmas colors.  White and silver would make a really classy winter-y present.

Idea one:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAJust wrap a few colors of yarn around your gift.  You can make the yarn neat and tidy or you could go all willy-nilly, just keep going until you like how it looks.  Tie off in a square knot at the back of the package and trim the ends short.

Idea two:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAMake a pompom.  Because Pompoms make everything more fun.  Tie it to the top of the package instead of one of those stick-on bows.

Idea three:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAHold a bunch of yarn in a bundle (I’m using five different shades of blue) and wrap the yarn around the package the same way you would if you were using ribbon.  Finish off with a pretty bow.

The possibilities are pretty much endless.  What new ways of wrapping can you come up with?

Knifty Kits for Knew Knitters

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“Allison, help me!  My niece has been bugging me to teach her how to knit.  What should I get her?  Also, I hate teaching, and don’t know what to do?”

Remember The nOOb Hat?  Print that puppy out and give it to your niece along with:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA-1 skein of worsted weight yarn in her favorite color (I like wool, but acrylic will do.  Plant fibers like cotton and linen aren’t recommended, since they’ll sag and make the hat a little sad after a while)

-1 pair of size 8 needles

-1 tapestry needle (or 1 pack, if you can’t find them sold singly)

-1 pair of tiny scissors (you can skip this if you think your niece already has scissors)

-1 project bag (if you sew, might I recommend the Fat Quarter Project Bag?)

In theory, that’s enough to get her going on a knitting adventure of her own, but be ready to answer questions.  Sometimes photos and written instructions aren’t enough to learn something.  Anyway, knitting the n00b hat together will give you a chance to hang out with your super-cool niece.  Win-win.