What cold is.

Hi all!

Sorry for the long-time-no-see.

I am back up North again and will probably need to knit some things to keep me warm.

kelly coast to coast

In non-knitting news, last Friday I accepted a job in Tampa, FL, and need to start on April 11. Therefore, I may be incommunicado the next few weeks. I still need to figure out which corporate housing unit I'll be living in while my car and things are moved across country. Yes, it's making me very anxious that I need to book a one-way ticket for a flight next week and I don't even know where I'll be living yet.

pink flowers with earflaps

FO this: Maggie's cap with earflaps.


Maggie's cap detail: five-scallop garter-stitch flower.

Maggie's cap with earflaps:
Yarn -- Knit Picks merino style in "Petal"
Gauge -- 5.5 stitches
Size -- about 19.5" circumference
Pattern --
hat: CO 108 stitches and knit in the round about 1.25", purl a round for visual interest, then continue knitting for about 3" more before beginning the decreases in multiples of 9. (I think I should have knitted a few more rounds before decreasing. We'll see if it fits my niece.) Decrease every other row until 9 stitches remain. Knit 3 stitches together 3 times until 3 stitches remain. Pull yarn through these stitches tightly and weave ends.
earflaps: CO 16 stitches, work 1" in garter stitch, before decreasing one stitch on each end every other row. Decrease to 4 stitches, knit 2 rows, then begin I-cord to desired length.
flower: from Nicky Epstein's Knitted Embellishments.

mystery knit

Can you guess what this is?
No, it's not the makings of a Knitty womb!

knitters, cats & monkeys

I've seen several knitting blogs by people who have cats. I'm not a cat person. So, I've got my monkey friend. So far, I've come across a few other monkey blogs, two of which are knitting-related.

Check out the links below. Have you seen others? How about traveling gnome blogs?
Let me know.

Zira
Monkey
Cheekee Monkee

van gogh a go-go

Jumping on the Knit Picks bandwagon...


Bought these skeins of Knit Picks merino style. Beautiful, soft and knits up quickly -- qualities I look for in a yarn. The swatch, so far, is true to gauge at 5.5 stitches to an inch on U.S. #6. Not sure yet what the rows/inch will be.


Thinking about making "Peppermint Twist" from Stitch 'n Bitch. The gauge is off and will require a little math. With the colors I want to use, I guess I'll have to call it something like "Irises a la Peppermint Twist," don't you think?

in the bag

Look what my Secret Pal sent me! Isn't it great? The knitting bag has several handy pockets and a nifty shoulder strap. Thanks, Secret Pal!

Not much news on the knitting front. The seed stitch scarf is still in progress. It's going painfully slowly, though. It's 15" so far and I'm still knitting with the first ball! I really must stick to larger needles and thicker yarn.

PS: Frogged the guacamole project... you don't want to know.