February 2007

What did I do in January? Well, I started a lot of projects and didn't finish them till February. I feel like I'm missing something, like I made something and forgot to take a picture (this happens far too often), but such is life.

Oh, yes! I remember! I completely frogged - tore apart, to those of you not in the know - two different sweaters, because I screwed up the cables on the first one and the second one streeeeeeeetched out to knee-length before I was half-finished (it was knit hem-to-hem, vertically instead of horizontally). Same exact yarn both times. I frogged it, wrapped it up, and sent it to my sister, in hopes that the yarn hates me but is not cursed in general. We also had a second bathroom put in. So I was busy. I feel better now.

Aside from all that, I got creative - tried different styles of knitting and different materials and generally got all brave and stuff.

First came a bathmat - I bought three yards of white flannel, tore it into roughly 1/2" strips, tied it together, and knitted it on big fat needles. And ended up with this:




Then, with great sneakiness and subterfuge, I got my friend Lisa to send me a photo of her dog, and then used this program to create a knitting chart. It's not perfect, but it gets the idea across, and just in time... Lisa is due with her second baby very soon! I lined the back with off-white flannel, all washable... and put buttons for the eyes, and went properly paranoid to attach those suckers babyproofly firm.



Next came Willem's scarf, inspired by the Skinny Scarf on Knitty Gritty (a show I love with a name I hate) a few weeks ago. I used bulkier wool... he asked for black and purple, he got black and purple. It's knit-slipped on the front and slipped-purled on the back, creating a sort of knit/woven effect. I like it, and plan on stealing it soon.




And, last for today... it's not knitting, but it's still all crafty and crunchy (literally, I suppose, though I didn't check) so I'm posting it anyway... the kids made their Valentine's cards over the weekend. I've always used Valentine's cards and Halloween costumes as my benchmark - if I'm too busy to help make them at home, then I'm too busy, period.

So, here's a photo of Emily's cards (Jacob's are similar, but have his last name and I don't feel like Photoshopping) and the heart-stamps - yes, those are potatoes! (With my $35 Kitchenaid mixer in the background... I love that, too.) Martha Stewart's got nothing on me.