Cozy Knitting

I've never really seen much point in putting any sort of knitted cozy on anything until lately - probably because my knitting obsession just keeps increasing and I just want to knit anything and everything. Anywoo, I saw a cozy for a French Press and got sucked in. I followed this pattern, the 'oo-la-la French Press Cozy,' but decided I didn't want to knit up the little top to make it still pourable with the cozy on. Instead of sewing the seams I made four chain stitched thingies to tie. I used exactly one skein of Sugar'n Cream Yarn Stripes. Let me tell you - Boyfriend has been rolling his eyes non-stop through the knitting of this one. Sometimes a little bit of ridiculous-ness is just what's needed to get through a difficult week (that, and knowing that Anne of Green Gables has been recorded tonight and is on the DVR!).



We watched the movie Man on Wire tonight. I am always a sucker for documentaries, and this one was pretty great. It's about Philippe Petit, who walked across the World Trade Center's twin towers on a tightrope. While its totally crazy, he really drags you in and tells his story in a colorful, exhilarating way. He reminded me of an animated character straight out of a Pixar movie or something, and I think I would like him to tell me a bed time story every night.

Now I see a teapot that looks a little un-cozied...

Big and Little

Here's what happened this weekend:


Not the best lighting, but I wanted to put everything together tonight: sweaters of all shapes and sizes!

On the left is the February Lady sweater - it got its buttons this weekend, but still needs to blocked. The purple is the Anthro-Inspired Shrug; also needs to be blocked, and I need to get a better pin to hold it together. It's made of Manos del Uruguay. I might rip out the ribbing at the bottom and make it a little bit longer...still deciding. The little turtleneck is another beer sweater, made for a Canadian hockey fan friend, who let us stay with him over New Years.

Looks like the knitting needles weren't taking a rest this weekend, but all were quick projects!

Spotted

A post on the M&J Trimmings blog today reminded me to post a headband I knit awhile back. During the days of oodles of free time, I wanted a unique and fabulous headband ala Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl. I set about searching Ravelry, trying to find a pattern to match what I was picturing, and while I probably added a bunch of other things to my queue that day, I didn’t find exactly what I was looking for. I realized I could just do it myself. I dug up some leftover purple yarn from an afghan I made. I knit some petals, an i-cord long enough to wrap around my head, and sewed beads in the center of my flower. My petals were too pointy, so I tacked them down with the beads, which made for a very three dimensional effect. The yarn is sometimes a little itchy around my neck, but all-in-all I was quite pleased with my creation and have worn it quite a few times. I might even knit a few more variations soon!

ACHOO!

I’ve been quite a bit sick in the past week and haven’t felt like doing much bloggin’, and one night I even said “I feel so sick I don’t even want to knit.” Shocking, I know.

I had a full weekend of rest, and am finally feeling better. Through my weekend of rest I was able to catch up on a lot of my DVR-ed TV shows, finally finish the last book in the Twilight series, and make a lot of progress on my February Lady Sweater. Besides finding buttons, she should be finished up later this week.

Last weekend I missed saying a big happy birthday to Leon! His brother was around to celebrate, and we all went to go see Puppet Up!, an uncensored, improv comedy show with puppets, put on by the Jim Henson production company. It was a unique show, and a lot of fun.

I think a quiet week is ahead, with some good knitting time mixed in, as always. And there is rain in the forecast!

Useful Tinkerin'

Before heading home for the holidays, I was inspired by this link. I knew my mom had old sets of Tinkertoys around the house, so we we dug them out and created this:



It was a little late at night, hence the dark picture. This yarn swift came together in about 2 minutes, and didn't cost $80! It does slide around quite a bit, but it got the job done. When boyfriend saw it sitting out later he impressed me by saying "hey, it's one of those yarn things!" Without yarn sitting on it, I was surprised he knew exactly what it was.

After a one week knitting hiatus due to traveling, starting the new job, etc., I was finally able to start back up on the February lady sweater again tonight (knit in the yarn shown above). My wrist probably appreciated the week long break!

Playing Catch-Up

Being back in the Midwest was such a nice holiday break. Many places in Wisconsin experienced the snowiest December on record, which I enjoyed watching from a cozy blanket on the couch. Two weeks at home was a great amount of time to see the people and places I wanted to see.


The snow on Christmas Eve

We got in late late late on Sunday evening, and I started my job yesterday. After a few months of unemployment, getting back into the swing of things will take some getting used too! I have a lot of great knitting lined up once I'm all caught up, and may even start to learn how to spin. My Grandma let me have one of her drop spindles and sent me off with some wool and a few feet of my first hand spun! Lots of things to come in 2009!