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.

Birthday for Angel

Today is Angel's 3rd birthday. (Wow! She sure is growing up!)

In honor of our shared love of tu-tus and frou-frous, as well as my known proclivity for book giving, I presented her with a copy of "Tea For Ruby" by Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York.

And, since she is so much fun to knit for...a pink and purple boa scarf as well! Doesn't she make an adorable birthday princess?

Brother Birthday Blarney

An Entry In Three Parts:

I. Today is Brother's birthday. He is THIRTY!!! So, in honor of his aged-ness, I took the day off and drove up to see him, Sis-In-Law, Nephew, and my parents. One interesting thing about Brother's birthday being St. Patrick's Day is that the photos we take always turn out so beautifully...the whole color-coordinated greens thing...

Brother has always been very supportive of, though sometimes bewildered by, my knitting proclivity. He has made some of the more clever comments about the process in general. Also, as an artist, he makes interesting observations about finished projects. He notices things that others don't.

And, no. I did not knit anything for Brother for his birthday. Not that he wouldn't have appreciated something, he will just appreciate what I did get him more.

II. In other birthday news, Gino's birthday was on Monday. Facebook didn't alert me to the fact that his birthday was on Monday until Saturday morning. (Shame on you, Facebook!) This put me in a bit of a bind time-wise. Gino definitely deserved a handknit, yet I had my Master's Portfolio and finals to finish over the weekend. Still...I muscled through...with some frantic morning break knitting, and lunch break ends weaving...and was able to complete an Oakland A's fan color beanie for him. (I was trying to name it, but the only player I know is Jose Canseco...who, as an Angel's fan, I have always referred to as Jose Can-stink-O...) I sent the beanie, his birthday card, and my camera to the other library with Ya-Ya. She delivered the goods and snagged a photo. When I called to sing to him, he seemed very pleased. (...I hope to see him WEARING it at games once the season starts...assuming I get invited after my Can-Stink-O comment!)

III. Also, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, I have decided to only knit in green today! I brought my still unfinished Rivendell sock to Brother's house. I also packed some lovely wool from KnitPicks in a shade called "Pesto" that I plan on using in my next sweater. (I am making "Skinny Empire" out of Custom Knits by the inimitable Wendy Bernard...only my version is called "Tilney." ) And, because you can never have too much knitting, I also packed a green beanie!

Celebrating Sis-In-Law with 80's Dance

Sis-in-Law just had her birthday on Monday...and since I was seeing her last night, I decided that a day-late-gift-delivery was perfectly warranted. (I did call her on the actual day, and left her a message and everything. I even let her know that her present was arriving with me last night. I did my due diligence.)

But back to the subject at hand. She just had her birthday. And I have known for forever what I was going to give her, since she had asked me flat out several months ago if I could make legwarmers for her sometime.

Certainly.

I love knitting for people. And I especially love knitting things I know that they want!

So I made her:

The Misty Dawn Legwarmers!

For inspiration, before and during knitting, I watched:

Dirty Dancing, Flashdance, Footloose, Fame, and Center Stage (which isn't 80's, but is very legwarmer friendly).

Gotta love the library's great DVD collection!

I also did a lot of knitting at the movie theater during Edge of Darkness, the new Mel Gibson movie. Since the Misty Dawns are in-the-round stockinette, they made for perfect knitting in the dark. Also, the action and pacing of the film made me knit faster...heart rate up, needles flashing!

I was thinking about writing up the pattern, but I think I'll wait and see how they work out for Sis-in-Law fit-wise...since I totally knit them on the fly...that way I can make any necessary adjustments before posting it.

Continuing the Birthday Joy...

Happy Birthday Dad!

You might not knit.

You might even be the man who lovingly informed that just because something could be knit, that didn't mean it should be.

Yet, you have always been supportive and appreciative. No one can admire a handknit like you can admire a handknit. You are one man in a million!

Also...you are a great enabler. Like the time you brought me back a skein of 100% alpaca from your trip to Idaho! You went in a YARN SHOP...ALONE...to buy ME something!

Or, the time I left my cabling needle at your house, and you drove it all the way over to me at my condo because I was home sick. That is true love.

I love you! Happy Birthday! See you in a few days!

To Knit or Not to Knit

I am home sick with a fever.

I have decided that being drugged and loopy means that I probably shouldn't mess around with sharp pointed objects...like knitting needles.

So, no knitting today.

On a happier note:



It is Mom's birthday. The woman who not only brought me into this world, but who also taught me how to knit.

I love you Mom!

Miss-A's Birthday

Miss-A is allergic to wool.

Which stinks.

I like wool.

Also, other fibers I enjoy (such as alpaca or cashmere) are still for all intents and purposes...wool.

But, Miss-A had a birthday party on Saturday. And birthdays call for handknits.

Just not wool ones!

She had seen Mama L's birthday sushi roll and thought it was funny. Her bathroom is all pumpkins...she is obsessed with pumpkins...much like I am obsessed with the color orange. Also, having been in her bathroom, I had observed sad little naked toilet paper rolls sitting on the back of her toilet. So I made her a pumpkin toilet paper roll cover!

(It is so handy that pumpkins are orange...I had plenty of yarn available in stash for this one!)

I will write up the pattern and post it at a later date.

Interlude of Supreme Silliness

What do you give the woman who has everything?



A knitted sushi toilet paper roll cozy of course!



Happy Birthday Mama L!

Happy Birthday

I am breaking with my tradition of taking the 31 or the 1 off, and posting two entries back to back because...

TODAY IS SISTER'S BIRTHDAY!!!!

She is 24.

Sister gave me my first "commission"...sort of...she never actually paid me. Rather, she went to the yarn shop with Mom and I, picked up some yarn and said:

"Hey, this is pretty. Can you make me a scarf out of this?"

Well, I could. So, I did. I think it was officially her birthday or Christmas present.

Though I have made her a purse, a couple of scarves, and a beanie or two, I haven't knit as much for her as I probably should/could. The problem is that she lives in KY, and I live in CA. (Also, I know for a fact that she can knit her own stuff if she really wanted to, she just chooses not to...I mean, why should she when Mom and I will just knit things for her?)

Still...I love her, and am sad that I can't be with her on her birthday.

Looking forward to seeing you soon, Sister! Christmas is only 55 days away!

Little McBeanie

Little Mc, BigOne's younger brother, had a birthday.

He had a birthday a while ago.

I promised him a handknit, and gave him an IOU for a blue beanie.

The poor kid.

Birthdays of departing folk, impending births, graduations, and going-aways all kept cropping up...and I kept putting off his beanie. I felt bad, I really did. But, as I am sure you all know, I am the Queen of Justification.

Justification #1: Little Mc was not leaving the state anytime soon.
Justification #2: A beanie is winter-wear (regardless of JoNo's constant wearing of his) and this is summer.
Justification #3: He isn't pestering me like everyone else.

It was that last one that killed me. Little Mc was not making a stinker of himself like EVERYONE else always does. He just waited patiently, knowing I would get around to it. Why, I asked myself, should he be punished for good behavior when everyone else clearly is benefiting from bad? So, with much love, I set aside the nostepinde the last 2 nights and knit. I ignored all other projects and chores that called to me...I just knit.

And I finished it. It is ready and waiting to grace his head on Sunday. YAY!

(I actually feel even worse because I finished it so quickly...was I really incapable of finding a measly 2 nights of knitting time all summer?)

A Very Personal Thing

For my birthday, my mom and dad decided (after many not-at-all subtly dropped hints) to give me a nostepinde. A nostepinde is, for those of you who don't know, a Norwegian knitting tool that is used to wind yarn that is in a skein into a center pull ball. It looks sort of like a shorter, squatter wizarding wand. And like the Harry Potter version of wands, they come in a variety of woods, finishes, and carving intricacies.

My parents looked at many many nostepindes, and decided that the choice was WAY too personal. They priced them, determined how much a nice one would cost (including postage), and just gave me the money to buy my own.

After a lot of thought, and a false start when the first one I ordered was out of stock, I finally selected this one (#12):



It is made out of Jarrah wood, which is a type of Eucalyptus, and is coming from a yarn shop in Australia!

In fact, not only is it coming...it is here! I got the postal pick-up order in my mailbox this afternoon. Now I just need to go to the post office to sign for it tomorrow! WOOHOO!!!

Knitted Jewelry

Blondie's birthday present included (in addition to breakfast and a sisters only slumber party) one handknit of her choice.

Since I was already making her a satchel for graduation/going away, and since she is going to college in Florida where it isn't super cold, she decided to go with knitted earrings.

I used the Bijouterie pattern from Knitty. They were surprisingly simple to make. (Although, at first, the wire kept breaking, and it came off the spool in a horrible twisty slinky-like mess.)

I gave them to her at her going away party on Sunday. Here they are in her ears!



(By the way...she made that face on purpose)

Celebrating 26

I spent my birthday with Brother and Sis-In-Law yesterday. It was grand.

I extended the celebration by one day when I went to the store to take advantage of the 20% birthday discount.

I had to go on my lunch break, since they are only open 10-6 on Mondays, and I work 9-6.

I went in with a plan...a great plan...a plan that I had every intention of sticking to:

1. I was only going to spend babysitting money, all other funds have to go toward living expenses. (check)

2. I would only buy yarn for specific projects, none of this buy-now-figure-out-what-to-do-with-it-later business. (check)

3. I would be very selfish and only buy yarn for projects for me. After all, it was my birthday!(check)

4. I would NOT buy sock yarn since I have scads of it. And had received a lovely skein of Alpaca Sox as part of my birthday present from the parents.(ummmm....)

5. I would NOT buy anything Noro. I don't need Noro. I need to branch out. (double ummmm....)

Well...3 out of 5 isn't bad!

Here's the swag:


The noro will go toward a coffee cup cozy for me...since I currently use one that I just never got around to gifting.
The sock yarn will be used in a sock pattern from Knitty.

Close Call

I look forward to my birthday every year for many reasons.

Not the least of which is the discounts I usually get at yarn shops/quilt stores/restaurants, etc.

My FAVORITE LYS offers a 20% discount on your birthday! Woo-Hoo!

...except, my birthday is tomorrow...which is Sunday...when the shop is closed...

Sorrow. Disappointment. Frustration.

So I called them up and asked how to proceed. I was told, and I quote:

"We realize that people are born on days we aren't open!"

This astute observation means that I can come in the day after my birthday (when they ARE open), show my driver's license, and still get my discount!

Joy! Excitement! Anticipation!

Angel's Birthday

Angel turned 2 today. I generally give kids books rather than hand knits on their birthdays. (Partially because I want to encourage literacy, and partially because, when you are small, hand knits are not exactly exciting to get.)

I made an exception for Angel.



I made her a felted bracelet purse in hot pink. The pattern is from the book Drunk, Divorced, and Covered In Cat Hair. It was very cute (the purse, not the book, although the book is funny...but I digress.). I put in pink kleenex, a mirror, and sparkly lip gloss.

However...even cuter than the purse was the bodysuit I ordered for her:



I LOVE IT!

(Confession: I also got her a book...she loves Fancy Nancy, and they just released a book called Fancy Nancy and the Dazzling Book Report in which Fancy Nancy goes to THE LIBRARY!!!! Honestly, how could I pass it up?I mean, it WAS on sale...)