A new project...

Do you remember this yarn?



Pretty, isn't it?



Can you guess what it will become?

Happy Easter!

When Easter came around a few months after I moved to Seattle four years ago, I felt really homesick for the first time. I realized no one here would give me chocolate on Easter morning... Eating chocolate for breakfast was (and still is) a tradition in my family. So, I took matters into my own hands and went out to buy myself some chocolate. I ate it on Easter morning, but it wasn't quite the same...



This year, a friend of mine gave me this cute lavender egg with chocolate inside. What a difference... I guess I made a home for myself in Seattle over the years, and good friends along the way! A friend who gives you chocolate is obviously a good friend, don't you think? ;)

It's still winter at Mt Baker

Yesterday, I went skiing at Mt Baker with Emily and Dave. It was a beautiful day...



"Magnificent! Fantastic! The most beautiful day of the year", would say my dad.



The snow was fresh and heavy, which made it a challenge to turn in some places. Can you see Emily and Dave way up the slope?



I had fun, and was happily tired at the end of the day. Thanks to Emily and Dave for taking me with them!



And look who also enjoyed Mt Baker!

Le fabuleux destin d'un nain de jardin

Pattern: Simply a gnome!, by Else Tenessen
Yarn: Cascade 220 Wool and Superwash Wool, leftover from various projects. Eyes and eyebrows sewn on with Tahki Cotton Classic (leftover from this baby blanket)
Hook: size G (4.25mm)
Started and finished on March 18, 2008




He seems to like Seattle.

Spring awakening!

It's the first day of Spring! The cherry trees are blossoming!

I have to enjoy it: next year on the first day of Spring I might be stuck under 10 feet of snow...

Baby alert!

Yes, another baby gift! I know five people who are currently expecting and are due between early April and the end of May. Expect lots of baby knits to pop up here in the next few weeks... One of them had a baby shower on Sunday. Since it was only announced about 10 days earlier, I needed a pattern I could knit quickly.



A friend of mine knit this pattern over a year ago for a different baby shower. The hat was worn as long as it could possibly fit... but that baby is all grown up now... Time flies! Since it came so highly recommended, I figured it was good choice. It's a fairly simple pattern, and Cascade Fixation gives it a nice stretchy quality.

Details:

Pattern: ? (can't remember what it's called), from Acorn Street in Seattle
Yarn: Cascade Fixation Multi, less than 1 skein.
Needle: US 4/3.5mm, in DPN and 16" circular
Started: March 5, 2008
Finished: March 9, 2008



Isn't it cute? And the little slippers are adorable...

Do trees need to keep warm?

Knitters in Ohio are knitting a sweater for a pear tree! It's being described as a new form of graffiti street art. Original, no?

I wonder whether sweaters would affect how much maple sap can be collected from a maple tree... Don't worry, I don't have plans to knit for trees (or any other plants) any time soon. No need to stage an intervention.

p.s. It's apparently a movement, with "knitted graffiti" around the world, from Paris to the Great Wall of China. Who knew?

The End of the Endpaper Mitts

These should have been done a long time ago. They were my first colorwork project since I started knitting again (i.e. not including the green icelandic sweater I knit in my early 20s, which was too small because I forgot to go up a needle size after the ribbing...) They even inspired Emily to give fair-isle a whirle and knit a pair... which she finished months ago. I started them in February or March 2007 (can't even remember now) and knit a whole mitt and even cast on for the second one. And then I was struck with a major case of second mitt syndrome...

The unfortunate sequence of events that led to this regrettable episode of second mitt syndrome:
- The tiny bamboo needles I used for the ribbing hurt my fingers. After doing the ribbing on the fingers and thumb of the first one, my fingers needed a break before going on to the wrist ribbing of the second one.
- In the meantime, I decided to knit a pair of mittens as a birthday gift due in April, so I put them aside "temporarily". After the mittens were done, I moved on to a baby blanket that was long overdue.
- When I was done with that, it was mid-May and I had lost interest in the mitts. I figured it wasn't "mitt weather" anyway and put them at the bottom of the pile, to be picked up again in the Fall when it got cold again.
- When came Fall, I was busy with a million other projects. Let's see, I can remember a baby blanket, a few gifts, and a few things for me...
- It's only when I reviewed my knitting for 2007 that I remembered about them. A sad state of affairs...

Really, I have no excuse. When I did pick them up again, I finished the second one in 6 days...



Details:

Pattern: Endpaper mitts, by Eunny Jang
Yarn: Cascade 220 in red and blue heather
Needles: US 0 (2.0mm)Clover Bamboo DPNs for ribbing, US 2 (2.75mm) Clover Bamboo DPNs for pattern
Started: Winter 2007
Finished: February 26, 2008



Cascade 220 is much thicker than the suggested yarn (worsted vs fingering weight). It makes for a very dense fabric. Although they are a little stiff, they are much warmer this way. I suspect a good blocking will soften them up, and will probably even out some of the stitches. I've already worn them, and they're great for our current late winter weather!