Major Knitter

It's a Cat Cozy

My priorty package arrived in the midwest... and Gracie quickly opened her gift and found her Wonderful Wallaby... and the Wee Wonderful Wallaby.  Her two brothers immediately asked "Who's that for?" Gracie knew it was for Kaya, her American Girl Doll, but her brothers had other ideas.  They were certain it was for their cat.

Gracie looks happy - even with her fancy purple cast.

Kitty - I'm not so sure!

OK - maybe Kitty looks adorable, too.  

Now Gracie will have to wait 6 weeks to wear her Wonderful Wallaby... when the cast comes off.  Just in time for summer!

The Wonderful Wallaby Strikes Again

Awww, nothing knits up quite as quickly or as easily as a Wonderful Wallaby.  It's stockinette in the round, but has enough interesting details - the pouch, the raglan sleeve construction, and the hood - knit all together with little to no seaming to do - that you simply don't have time to get bored.

In fact, after you're done knitting the large Wallaby... you might even find yourself improvising and knitting a Wee Wallaby, too.

Judy! Judy! Judy!

Last night BF and I trekked into the city to the Apple Store at Fifth Avenue to see our friend Judy give a presentation on animal photography at the Central Park Zoo.

We haven't seen Judy in several months, so it was the first opportunity I had to present her with her birthday scarf.  It's an orange palindrome scarf to keep her warm this winter (although if our winter thus far is any indication, I should have bought her some sunscreen, instead).  This scarf is a throwback to the first scarf I knit for Judy during the Gates Project in Central Park where she volunteered in February 2005.  Remember the Gates Scarf?

Anyway, Judy gave a fabulous presentation on her animal photography and you can catch her at the Central Park Zoo most days taking pictures of the animals and their myriad antics.  If you don't see her in person, you can catch her animal photos here  Congratulations Judy on a job well-done!.

It's a Cultural Revolution

I'm finally getting on board with an e-reader.  It took me several years, but for the holidays, we received a Kindle from BF's grandmother.

You might be laughing at me for posting a picture of my Kindle with my yarn.  But I'm not.  This Kindle is for the family, and Secundogeniture downloaded a book for school in the audible book department - so we can listen and do other things at the same time.  This could be a fabulous thing for all of us!

So everyone will get their own category to download books.  I foresee the boys using it when they have homework and have forgotten their book at school.  (Does this happen a lot at your home?)  I already downloaded my book club selection for next month (in the text version) and also all my favorite classics by Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and the Bronte sisters.  The classics are free - so it was an easy decision.

How about you?  Are you hooked on your Kindle, too?

The Magic of Mitts

What's so magical about fingerless mitts?

They knit up in a blink of an eye.

Bright and Cheery

Did I mention how much I love these fingerless mitts?  In case I didn't, check these out

These were made with one skein of Malabrigo Merino worsted and US Size 5 needles.

They are so soft and fuzzy.  Mmmmmm.

Just Enough Fiber for More Fingerless Mitts

I decided to test my luck and see if my bits and bobs of remaining Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino would be enough to make another pair of Fingerless Mitts.

Fortunately for me, there was just enough to finish one pair.

These were a little bit more narrow than the first pair.  I think these will be much more elegant.

I think I"ll keep these original mitts for myself and give the second pair to the intended recipient.  

There, that was fun!  One gift to give and one gift for me.  It is better to give AND receive!

A Slight Change in the Action

I wanted a quick gift for someone special so I decided to finally catch a ride on the viral fingerless mitt - Susie's Reading Mitts.  I used some Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino that I had leftover from knitting baby fair isle sweaters for Brandon and Craig a few years ago.  

I made a few changes to the pattern.  I needed to knit on US Size 3 needles to get gauge.  I also erroneously forgot to make the decreases at the beginning after the lace pattern (thus the reason they're a little big).  I'm going to keep these for myself - and I'll try to make another pair - without errors this time.

They're fun to knit.  They're quick to knit.

And they're honestly about the prettiest fingerless mitts I've seen.  I can understand why this pattern went viral!

What I Sent in the Swap

OK - Diana received her package from the Campfire Knitters Group Knit/Camp Swap on Ravelry so I can finally show you what I sent her.

First, you should probably know that Diana is involved in Cub Scouts and has also done Wood Badge training (she's a beaver) so I sent things with a scouting theme.  Her goodie bag included some Scout green Alchemy sock yarn for camping socks to warm her tootsies at night; a beaver totem; a book on geocaching for an activity with the Cub Scouts plus a miniature ammo can geocache - which she says is going to sit on her desk; some ladybug stitch markers; some dark chocolate treats; and my favorite trail food - Trader Joe's dried apple slices. 

This is a very fun group and the swap was such fun.  Who doesn't like surprises afterall.  It helped that it was very focused - e.g. sock yarn; camping item; and other little treats.  So far all the swap boxes have been amazing.  Everyone took great pains to really try to find something that was what the recipient wanted.  It's been a win-win all around.

Tangerine

This was one of the very first songs I learned to play on the piano.  When I see orange colored objects, I still feel an urge to break out in song.  And since I finished the Palindrome Scarf, I felt a song was in order.  

Tangerine, she is all they claim
With her eyes of night and lips as bright as flame

Tangerine, when she dances by,
senoritas stare and caballeros sigh

And I've seen toasts to Tangerine
Raised in every bar across the Argentine

Yes, she has them all on the run, but her heart belongs to just one
Her heart belongs to Tangerine