Flame Thrower Monkeys

Flame Thrower Monkeys
Pattern - Monkey
Size 3 dpn's
Women's size med
Yarn - The Yarn Bearer (Dropkickstitch) Hand painted superwash merino wool yarn; approx. 500yds
Cast on - April 2010; finished May 2010

These were made for my mom-in-law (notice dad-in-law's feet sandwiched inbetween with his own pair of socks).

Pattern was super easy to follow and memorize.

I haven't posted in well over a year. I have completed a gob of other projects with little to no time to post and share. Guess this is a good place to start.

FO: Kennedy's Cabled Rainbow

Project: Woollen Cable Sweater - Natural Knits for Babies and Toddlers
Start date: 3/30/09
End date: 5/15/09
Yarn: 5 Balls SWTC Karaoke; Colorway Playful (Soy Silk / Wool Blend)
Needles: size 7

I absolutely loved this project. The yarn is single ply, so it splits fairly easily. I followed the pattern as is with no modification. The pattern called for 4 balls of yarn for the sweater and one ball for the coordinating hat. I had to use all 5 for the sweater with just enough left to taunt my cats. Kennedy looks adorable in it and wore it when we went camping last weekend. Due to the wool blend, she stayed toasty warm when it got fairly chilly at night. Plus, I made it just a little on the big side for her so it would fit this fall.

I've already moved on to my next projects; more socks (for me) and more baby knitting on the way!

Mine!

I purchased this yarn with the intent of making something for my eldest daughter. The yarn is Karaoke soy silk / wool blend and it's wonderful. I love the color transitions the yarn naturally makes with stripes in varying widths. I plan to use it for the cable sweater / ear flap hat pattern from the book Natural Knits for Babies and Toddlers. What a great little book of patterns. I have knit many things from the original book Natural Knits for Babies and Moms and it's sequel is just as lovely. I plan to cast-on for the sweater this evening and will keep you posted on progress.

FO: Yellow Jacket with Fur

Project: Yellow Jacket with Fur; Sandnes Mandarin Petit (0305 Barn 0-4) Design by Ingjerd Thorkildsen
Start: 2006
Finish: 3/29/2009
Yarn: Mandarin Petit, yellow #2004 3 balls
Unknown yellow/light green fur, 1 ball
Needles: size 2 and 3
Size: To fit tiny babies sized 1-3 months old
Project thoughts: Tedious and engaging. No modifications were made other than a change in the recommended novelty fur yarn. This pattern book was likely written in a different language (I presume French or Danish?) initially and translated for distribution in America. Hence, the pattern was less comprehensive than the ones I usually work from. All the same, it might be the cutest little thing I have ever knit.

I originally started this garment for my daughter Kennedy when i was pregnant with her in 2006. I lost interest, or saw something shiny, who knows. It fell by the wayside in the UFO bin. I knit a bit more when I was pregnant with my daughter Ava in 2008, and again, didn't finish it. Now, 10 months later, the little jacket won't fit her. So, the jacket was finished for my dear friend's daughter, expected to make her grand arrival in June. Miss Chloe will look smashing in this, don't you agree?

Booty. Another Name For Pirate Treasure

As if I needed more incentive to knit, or more yarn to knit with, I am proud to introduce my recent LYS purchase. From left to right: Jitterbug - Popsicle, Schaeffer Elaine (colorway unknown) and Jitterbug Fire. I will now take my pretties and love them and squeeze them and pet them and call them George. No projects are slotted for these skeins yet. Just you wait Henry Higgins... just you wait.

FO: Husbeast Socks

Project: FO Husbeast Socks by Boogie Knits
Start date: 2/09
End date: 3/22/09
Yarn: 3 balls KnitPicks Swish Superwash; Squirrel Heather
Needles: size 5 dpn's
Mods: I skipped the ribbing at the top of the sock and started directly into the pattern. I knit the large size version of the pattern to fit a men's size 12 foot. The instructions were rather flexible to accomodate the wearer's foot length and length of calf on the upper portion of the sock; i knit to 8 inches on both ends before starting either the heel or the toe.
Pattern Thoughts: This pattern was really comprehensive and would normally have been a quick knit for me due to the worsted weight yarn and larger needles. Life became a little hectic, otherwise these would have been done from start to finish within a week max.

These socks are for my father- in-law and I can't wait to give them to him. I had started his original pair (see Thuja sock post) for Christmas, but knit them too small by mistake. I promised to keep his feet toasty warm with woolly socks during the cold winter months... so, even though they are a LOT late, another winter will be around the corner in no time. Besides, it is St Louis; it's inevitable we'll have at least one more snow before the end of April!

Sox and The Knights of the Round Table

And so they are done. The Husbeast socks are officially completed. I will post details and pics later today. I'm just so happy to have them finished and be able to work on something fresh and summery or tiny baby yummies and not a fracking post holiday obligation. I tell myself every year that I shouldn't over-commit, yet my desire to ensconce my family in woolly-goodness supercedes my ability to actually carve out enough time to provide such items. Bah humbug. This year, everyone is getting a piece of cheese and a spit ball for Christmas because no one really needs anything anyway. Then, I'm going to sit in the corner and get hammered on egg nog and pretend I am in the Bahamas and a size 2 with a rack that would make Pamela Anderson jealous. Jesus would want it that way.

On to brighter thoughts.

I received my official invitation to attend a Muny show with my awesome mom-in-law this summer. Every year (when I'm not breeding that is), I get to pick one show to see with her from her season ticket "line up". I look forward to this in a ridiculous, child-like way. We grab a quick bite to eat and then head down to her super secret parking spot in close proximity to the Muny. She has amazing seats and she lets me sing my brains out and still actually likes me afterwards. This season, I chose to attend Camelot. This is one of my favorites and I am so excited! More than anything, I enjoy getting to spend some time together... and if we can listen to show tunes at the same time, then it's even better.

This reminds me of a flashback story for which I shall dust of my brain:
When I was growing up, my parents would often take us to see broadway shows or the summer theater. We loved it. Craved it even. Libs, Paul and I would spend weeks "preparing" ourselves to attend; we'd learn every song to the show we were to see. It was research completed in only a way that a child could do. One time in particular, mom and dad took us to Circa 21 (I believe that's what it was called... if not it might be a real estate agency, but I digress) to see Annie. Annie LIVE!!!! This was our big break! Libs and I had practiced every song, every move, every dance step until our record was practically broken. (and yeah, I said record cause i'm old so shut it.) We went to the dinner performance and noshed on something that was probably meat and drank Shirley Temples filled with 3 or 4 cherries each. The curtains rose as we were eager with anticipation. I remember mom telling me to try to settle down, or maybe she told Libs; who cares??? We were seeing Annie!!! Poor Paul probably didn't even know what was going on. "It's a Hard Knock Life" starts to fill the auditorium and I can still feel my feet moving and tapping to the beat of the song. Libs and I keep looking at each other, smiling and excited. It was at this defining moment when I decided I could be a far better "Annie" than the girl that was on stage. My body started to surge with energy that could barely contain me in my seat. I wanted to run up on stage and sing her verses; I would be the Annie that everyone would applaud. Alas, my childhood dreams fell short and I never made it to broadway. To this day, I still get that surge of energy whenever I see a live musical performance. Perhaps I'll give the mom-in-law a run for her money at the Muny this summer...