FO: Done With Thrums

This will complete the third pair of thrummed mittens. I'm done. The fiber prep is killer. I don't plan to make another pair... like ever. Well, I guess I shouldn't say ever, but as least not for another year.

I had to get these done for Miss Mac. This winter has been mild, but has decided to show up...so just in time to keep her fingers warm.



The one great thing about this kind of project is it only takes one skein of Cascaded 220 and 2 oz of fiber. It all comes together quite nicely, but be aware that if your thrums are thick you could run out of fiber.

Below 0 = Thrummed Mittens

This will be my third pair of Thrummed Mittens. With the drop in temperature comes the want for mittens. It got up to 16 degrees today, but this morning was a negative number with the windchill. The mittens alone go super quick. Making of the fiber thrums themselves is a tedious journey that I'm ready to be done with.

Parade of Finished Objects...

Over the holidays it was seriously intense around here. Not only was I working on launching the new blanket pattern but I had plans to Knit. All. The. Things. The original plan was to knit something small for most of the little people in my life. And to be honest, I had done a fair job. More things got added to the list, while others fell away.

Monsters for each of my SIL boys. They are at that perfect age (4 and 2), where a stuffie is still kinda cool and then add the "monster" bit in and we are talking winner-winner-chicken-dinner!




My son then saw these little guys and... well, lets say things got weird. My 6 foot 4 inch, 17-year old son... reverted back to his 3-year-old self. He said in the most sweetest voice, "I want one." Which just took me by surprise. I was planning on knitting him a hat, but since he was requesting, I just couldn't say no.

Thus, there was the red and black monster



New slippers for Mac because she grew out of her last pair.



Then there was this moment in late November that my husband wore out his slipper, so that got added to the list and now he has warm toes.



I purchased a thrummed kit from a vendor at Vogue Live Chicago and finished them pretty quickly:



I was then hooked. A quick jaunt to The Fold and was now making more mittens... a pair for Grandma in blue.



Then there was the Lined Beanie for Grandpa Larry made out of some left over gray Berroco Vintage yarn and some green/black Noro yarn for the stripes.



There is more to talk about, but *sigh*, I'm done for now. Perhaps I will pick up blogging more often. I miss it.

Callahan Cabled Blanket

I'm sure you're wondering what I've been up to?

Well, let me just share with you a little something...



The Callahan Cable Blanket was inspired by my cousin's first born son, Finnegan David Callahan. I've always wanted to do a big cable design and when I heard she was with child I knew it was time.



There are so many kinds of cables to choose from, but there were certain ones that I knew had to be in the blanket. These cables had meaning and in a way had a story to tell. You have hugging ropes guarding each side that lead to textured honeycomb panels. There are twists and turns going in and out leading to the X and O cables that represent hugs and kisses. The hillsides mirror each other with intertwining trees that show two families coming together. Then in the center you have an infinity knot that means eternal love.



The lovely little model is Martha, my niece. She was only 4 weeks old the day of the shoot. Born just days after little Finnegan and was a trooper through our all day photo shoot.

FO: SSMS

I had just realized that I never showed my finished project for the Summer Solstice Mystery Shawl Knit-along!

I finished so quickly that I almost forgot I actually knit the thing.

Here are the spec's from the project:

Pattern: Summer Solstice Mystery Shawl Knit-along! by Wendy Johnson

Yarn: Ella Rae Lace Merino in Lime Green or other wise known as Color 3

Needles: US 7 circular needle

Started: June 20, 2012

Finished: July 22, 2012

The pattern had called for a US 5 needle, but since I've had experience with Wendy's shawl patterns before I knew I'd have to increase that size. It turned out perfectly. The piece definitely needs a closure as it seems like it wanted to fly away, so that was easily fixed by attaching a button to one end. I use a yarn-over hole as a way to secure it.



I did do some modifications...added all the extra repeats suggested except for the last set in part E of the pattern. I was running out of yarn fast and knew I had to make a choice. The skein has 460 yards and the pattern calls for 420-450 in order to make the smallest size. I knew I wanted length, so I went for it. I ended up with only 5g of yarn left. Enough to add another mitered square to my Left Over Sock Yarn Blanket. Talk about using every inch!!