FO's fo sho'

palette scarf and banana
Originally uploaded by mmm gin

Here I am tossin' around my little knitted banana with my new favourite scarf before I got all my hair chopped off.

It isn't that I didn't like my long hair, I actually did (more than I ever thought I would like having long hair). But I was sick of it, sick of having to dry (at least part of) it every morning. Sick of having to tie it back all the time and then having that annoying ponytail bump when it got so painful I had to take it out. Sick of catching myself unknowingly playing with it while I worked at my computer. I didn't (and don't) want to be one of those girls that plays with their hair all the time. So for all of those reasons, it got the chopped. Plus everyone in my family and my husband have said that when they picture me in their heads, I have short hair (I may as well have short hair then!).

Moving on to more important things, knitting. The palette scarf that I finished a week or more ago was knit with some local (New Zealand anyway) merino wool. It is worsted (or 8 ply as they call it here) weight. The pattern called for fingering (or 4 ply), but I couldn't find any that I liked so I adapted the pattern. Instead of casting on 31 stitches, I think worked 27 instead. Then I just worked the lace pattern as normal for the length that of 2 hanks (that I hand rolled into balls - liz).

(old) gossip in the knitting community (gasp!)

As I have mentioned, I have been on a knitting streak lately. Thus I have been collecting patterns and adding them to my 'to knit' queue. Tonight I decided to stop by magknits. To my great surprise, it was not working and there was a cryptic little email address instead of knitting patterns. You see magknits was always there for a wwwandering knitter. Every month there were new patterns. The quality and layout wasn't as good as those found on knitty (which is only updated 4 times/year), but there were a few gems, like the jaywalker socks. Anywho I guess some unhappy knitters were trash talking the woman that ran the page on a forum called ravelry (which coincidentally I recently joined), so much that the woman up and closed the thing! She had hinted in the past that magknits wasn't going to be around for the long haul, but apparently too much trash talk on an open forum was the straw that broke the camels back. Gossip on the subject can be found here. Oh and this happened over a month ago so needless to say I'm not really on top of knitting gossip. I'm not even good at being a knitting nerd...

And because I am currently rocking out to the ramones, I have added their pic. Oh and I am enjoying a delicious G&T in celebration of finishing my scarf! 

license to mac (probably lost on those not haling from lincoln high)

I've been trying to upload this photo for 3 days now! My little macbook is a bit cranky these days. I tried to 'repair the disk' but apparently need my 'startup disk' to do so... I don't think I have seen my startup disk since I pulled this puppy out of the box. Mom, I'm guessing it is in your basement somewhere. If you come across it, please send it in the next load ;) There aren't a whole lot of maccers around here and 2/3 of the ones I know are on 'baby leave' at the moment (and the other one does not have the disk). So it may be a while before my mac is running a full speed again. 

On the other hand, my knitting is revving back up to full speed again and I am nearly finished with the palette scarf. In fact after I finish this post I am going to knit the last few rows and bind off so I can wear it tomorrow.

... and knit.

garden... finished?

garden... finished?
Originally uploaded by mmm gin

The weekend hail storm didn't finish the garden, but the frost over the last two nights certainly has! Yesterday we scavenged the garden and harvested what we could. However other things didn't make it. Good-bye lettuce, good-bye spinach, good-bye basil (I think he took it the hardest), good-bye brussel sprouts (that never produced). The cilantro and green onions are still hanging in there, but I doubt that will last much longer if these cold temps keep up. Last night it got down to -3 C, 26 F (that is cold for people in a country without double glazed windows or insulation or central heating...)

On a positive note, all this cold weather has got me a knitten with some New Zealand merino wool - oooohhh so soft. I need many more hats and scarves!

Baby Legwarmers

This pattern was inspired by some baby legwarmers my cousin's little boy had. She said they were the best thing to add an extra layer and keep her little one warm.

Materials

Yarn: Karabella aurora 4, colour 06, 100% extra fine merino wool

1 ball is enough to make a few pairs

Needles: US 3 circular (a longer length circular works best)

Size: Designed to fit a 2-3 month old baby. Pattern has ribbing on both ends so it can be easily cuffed if they are too big.

Pattern notes: I prefer to work the magic loop method when knitting in the round (on small items like this), but if you would rather work with double points or the 2 circular needle method, it is easily transferable.

I learned how to use the magic loop method from here, but knitting help has a video too.

Pattern

Cuff: CO 32 stitches

Divide sts evenly between the 2 needles.

Join to begin working in the round, careful not to twist.

k2, p2 rib, repeat for 2.5 inches

work stockinette for 2 inches

next round, increase 4 stitches evenly across (k8, inc 1, repeat 4 times)

work stockinette for 0.5 inch

next round, increase 4 stitches evenly across

work stockinette for 0.5 inch (there should be a total of 3 inches stockinette now)

work k2, p2 rib for 2 inches

bind off (loosely)

Make second legwarmer exactly the same.

photo cred goes to sweatergirl, props for making the model too :D

*this pattern has now been added as a free pdf download on ravelry

3 months later...

It's been 3 months and neither blue or I have seen  hide nor hair of little arm man... until today.

Apparently he was on sabbatical or something. He was back at the gym tonight and up to his old antics and hogging the same bench that I wanted to use! All I could do was giggle.