The Land of Pea Coats

I've been putting this off for so long. Why? Not sure really. Perhaps I'm a little worried about my calculations being off and I'll run out of yarn. Maybe I feel like this has become a chore more so then a desire.

The yarn isn't the softest on the market...and I'm okay with that. I guess I figured it would go a lot quicker. I mean come on... chunky yarn and big needles is suppose to equal fast knit. I cast-on over the weekend and 230 stitches in this woven stitch is nothing to sneeze at. Keeping the tension is also killing my hands, so I can't work on it for any long periods of time.

Here is what I have so far:



Nice right? Yeah, we'll see. I can only hope that I'll have this done at least by Spring.

::Spoiler Alert::

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The Rockin Sock Club package arrived and the new colorway is called Muddy Autumn Rainbow. This is the last package for this year. I certainly have loved every shipment and every colorway in its own ways. The club has truly opened my eyes to other colors and pushed my comfort zone.

The pattern in this shipment is Holidazed and I'm not sure how I feel about that one yet. The repeat creates a sideways zig-zag down the leg, which could be cool, but might loose the pattern in the great colorway.

That first photo isn't enough... this is better:



or how about this...

Oh Cheese and Crackers!

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. Mine was full of sleep, cleaning and knitting. Thanksgiving is practically on top of me... last minute runs to the store and I should have everything I need.

Does anyone have a clue how much it takes to put on a dinner like this, besides the ones hosting the event? My son asked me Sunday morning what was for breakfast. I gave him "the look" and said I was resting for my day of food slavery. I could tell he was puzzled, so I told him I would be cooking ALL DAY on Thursday and if I wanted to skip a couple of meals in the mean time then so be it. He is such a sweet boy... he then got up and made eggs and bacon for the whole family without burning down the house. I think I've done good.

In the knitting department, the Noro Scarf is coming along fantastically.

Such a Follower...

Hello, I'm Knifty Red and I'm a follower, a sheep that is following the rest of the knitting herd down the Noro Scarf path.



I don't quite mind, as the journey is fun;)

FO: Cloning Rib Socks

Pattern: Cloning Anemone Rib (only available for Rockin Sock Club members)

Yarn: 1 skein of Socks That Rock - Tide Pooling Colorway - Light Weight (not available to the general public until 2009)

Needles: US 1.5 circ's

Start Date: October 24, 2008

End Date: November 16, 2008

Comments: The pattern is pretty interesting, but once I got a couple of inches down I noticed that the pattern gets a little lost in comparison to the colors. I kept to the rib portion of the pattern but started extending the sections where it twisted to longer and longer stretches between.

I'm really happy with the way it turned out and now have more scarps for my blanket;)

Psychotic Santa Strikes

No one can ever say that Nana’s Knitting Shop can't throw one hell of a party. Thanks ladies, what a blast!

I had intended to do perhaps 2 or 3 different ornament designs... yeah, well we all can't be like Georgian right? So I set my sights on a little Santa. The pattern is not difficult and in a matter of hours I had him stuffed and hanging on the tree.



The pattern had brought back memories of my childhood during the holidays. Each year that we pulled out the decorations, my sister and I would play with Mr. & Mrs. Clause. They were handcrafted ornaments that eventually showed the true well loved nature of small children.

So, do you think that Mr. Clause will be lonely on the tree? I might have to modify the pattern in order to get Mrs. Clause.

In other knitting news, I helped Tangled with a photo shoot of her Avalon



I'm so thrilled to have helped out. I truly believe such a lovely item should be showcased to the best of our abilities. It was fun.... cold, but fun.

My Latest Experiment

Since the weather has been turning towards tundra temperatures I've been itching for a little lovely for my neck.



With the hopes of being able to do this once in awhile as well:



There is no pattern just me trying to make it work. It works fairly nice, as it's warm and soft, but it's also bunchy and tight on the throat. Hummmm...back to the drawing board. Don't mind ripping it out, as it's quick to knit up. My only drawback is there isn't much left over, so what you see is 2 skeins of baby alpaca.

What did you say?

Kids say the darnest things.

While cooking dinner Miss Mac comes running into the kitchen to proclaim "I turned Family Guy off. I'm a hero Mom!" and it shocked me just a little. I paused, then answered "Why yes, yes you are."

Then during dinner she announced to the table "I passed gas!" ... as my husband is trying to stop her from saying FART all the time. I just couldn't help myself and had to ask her "Where did you pass it to?". She thought about the question and bust up in a half laugh with "my daddy!.

In other random thoughts... a Sonic opened in our neighborhood yesterday and Eric just wont let up. He claims that the anticipation is killing him. He'll live.

Anyone watch Ghost Whisperer? I'm really kinda pissed off right now and not sure if I can watch the show anymore.

Knitting has been happening, just can't muster enough energy for posting right now. Soon. Real soon.

Kisses and Cookies!

Random Leftovers...

My heart just pounds seeing my son. MY SON. On the court and having no clue as to what he's doing along with every other kid on the court;) He gets better and better each day, but seriously... it's hard to watch sometimes.

You see I'm that obnoxious parent in the stands who yells and screams at their kid. I'm so going to get kicked out one day, perhaps even banned.

What else have I been up to... well knitting of course.



The Cloned Rib socks are coming along perfectly. Wish I could put more up but work is killer.

Yes We Can

Yesterday morning I could see Grant Park from the conference window in my office building. We're some 20 stories up and it's quite a view. My heart was full of hope, excitement, and perhaps an over looming feeling of want. Want for change.

During lunch I took a quick walk outside to discover city workers collecting all of the garbage cans along the streets. Has anything changed? The city is preparing its self for the worst and hoping for the best.

I had a want for my city, my Chicago to show it's true colors to the whole world. I love this city, but we're really only known for Gangsters and Michael Jordan. There is so much more to this great city then that. I wanted the whole world to see what I see.

Extra trains were added to all Metra lines and I jumped on the 3:10 heading home to cast my ballot. The train was jam packed and I was lucky enough to have grabbed a seat. With my ballot counted I headed home for a quick nap as I knew I'd be up until it was announced who had won.

As I watched the news and viewed the Grant Park crowd getting larger, all I wanted was for a safe evening, no matter what the outcome. I'm just so proud that our Chicago hosted one the most historical events of it's time. There were no fires, pushed over cars or riots in the streets. Celebration yes, but peacefully and with hope. Hope that things will change.

I never thought that in my lifetime I would see something like this, but it's happened. As his speech was heard across the world, I got chills. His powerful words brought tears to my eyes and as I kissed my babies goodnight, I thought Yes We Can.

Pea Coat Update

This project has been on my mind for awhile now. Mostly having the wind blown out of my sales because of how horrible the Ogee was taking my knitting mojo out. I haven't really wanted to jump into that project with full force until that catastrophe was completely behind me. I mean seriously? can you blame me?

My issue with the Pea Coat is I think I'd rather have this piece knit up on size US 10.5 instead of US 11's. For the full test I've knit up different sections of the coat to see how they'll be effected. Yeah, the swatch was cool, but after having been bitten in the ass by Ogee, I'm not so confident on the 4 inch swatch theory.

The coat needs 2 cuffs and 2 belt sections to complete the project and since these are small and quick I figured I'd get the most out of testing with these.



Before washing, the pieces measure as follows: cuff is 3.75 inches wide by 14.5 inch long, belt is 3.5 inches wide by 20 inch long. The difference between the two is that the belts were knit on size 10.5 and the cuffs are size 11. I like the look of the belts verse the cuffs on these unblocked pieces.

The effects of blocking are not significant in the changes of scale. They didn't grow or stretch, but yet bloomed and became softer.



After seeing the effects on blocking (and consulting with some of the ladies at Nana's on Saturday), I've decided that I'll go with the 10.5 US needle. I'll be happier in the end, even if this means adjusting my pattern again.

I'm even considering lining the jacket. Would that just be to-die-for??

Halloween 2008

We set off for Grandma's on Friday afternoon because she has the best spot for trick-or-treating. Large established community with tons of young families where everyone sits outside on the decorated porch passing out fits full of candy.

Enough to make your head swim and pass-out from sugar rushes. Mr. E is of the age were he wants to full enjoy the experience, yet feels a little too old to be going around the neighborhood. It doesn't help that he's 6 foot 1 and a half.... a full 12 inches taller then most boys his age. Yet with little Mac fully understanding what, when and how this all works... it's an excuse to tag-along.



Mac was suppose to be Tigger, but Grandma had the Barbie Princes dress. Miss Mac could not resist. Plus with temps up in the 70's it made for perfect dress weather.

All week she's been practicing the routine. Walk up to the door. Ring the bell. Say real loud Trick-or-Treat. Once candy is put in bucket then say Thank you.



At her first door, she did exactly that. Walked away, let out a huge sigh and said "Yes! I did it!" - yes my little princes, you sure did. You did it over and over again for the next 2 hours.