Canadian Silliness

When I was home for Christmas, Mom and Dad took Sister and I up to Victoria for a brief jaunt. Funny how one forgets that Canada is a foreign country. It was so much like Washington, and yet so completely different. (Funny how you can travel a couple of hours and all of a sudden everyone pronounces their vowels in a quaint and exciting way.)

While there I walked past this amusing hat on sign post. It led me to wonder, was this an act of purposeful urban kniting grafitti...or did someone lose their actual hat and it was placed there for safekeeping?

I'll never know for sure.

And it'll probably bother me.

Forever.

Just Playing Around!

I love my nephew. He is the best baby ever. Babies need toys.

My mom came across a pattern to knit covers for super balls, and then felt them. The balls still bounce really well, but not as erratically, and are easier for little fingers to grasp.

I had some Noro Kureyon in the stash that was perfect. What I didn't have was a super ball. It turns out that in this modern digital age, super balls are not only incredibly difficult to find...they are also insanely expensive. Still, nothing but the best for Nephew. I finally tracked on down and got to knitting.

The knitting itself was very fast and easy. It only took a couple hours. What was not fast and easy was the felting. I had to run the ball through the wash/dry cycle 10 times before it was properly tight/fuzzy/felty. I sure liked it though.

And I think that Nephew did as well!

He Likes It! from Megan May on Vimeo.

When Birthdays and Christmas Converge

For my birthday, back in August, Mom gave me The Knitter's Book of Wool. It is a very neat book. It talks about how different sheep create different types of wool, and how various wools are more suited to certain types of projects. (Wonder why Aran sweaters developed where they did? Cause the sheep's wool was perfect for Aran sweaters, thats why!)

The book also had some really nice patterns. Mom particularly liked a certain farrow rib knit in the round cardigan. It was called the Allegin. It was a very pretty sweater, and looked like it was well within my skill set.

Mom's birthday is in December. Christmas is in December. It is always a bit of challenge figuring out what to get her for both, and to properly budget them. Occasionally though I have moments of brilliance. I decided it would be a GREAT idea to knit said sweater for mom for a combination birthday and Christmas present. Mom is a great knitter, but rarely takes the time to knit anything for herself...and I don't know when she last knit a sweater.

With a little help from my dad (who selected the color of the yarn...Knitpicks Shamrock in Kavanagh), I buckled down to knit the sweater. The pattern was extremely well written and easy to follow. I knit the sleeves first, and placed them on waste yarn. Then I knit the body from the bottom up, joined the sleeves, and knit the yoke in one piece. I LOVED that there was no seaming up to do. I hate seaming up.

I actually got the sweater completed and the ends woven in before I got home for Christmas break. I had planned on giving mom as much as was finished for her birthday, since I did not think it at all possible that I would finish it by her birthday. And then I was going to finish the rest before Christmas. Instead, when I gave it to her, all it was missing was the buttons. (I have always found buttons to be a very personal choice. The wrong buttons can completely change the personality and appeal of a sweater.)

Mom was delighted and surprised to get the sweater. Together we went shopping for the pewter buttons. She wore it to the family Christmas gathering at my grandparents, as well as to work.

I think it turned out extremely flattering, and love the way it looks on her. I may just make a version for myself as well.

Falling Off and Getting Back On

Stopped blogging again.

Rats.

Starting up again.

In order to play catch up, I have done the following: pre-written blog posts covering the knitting I have been doing, uploaded the pictures appropriately, and scheduled them to post DAILY until I am back on track.

Please note...these entries are not necessarily in the correct order of occurrence.

Apologies to my readers.