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December 28, 2005
Whew!
The Christmas whirlwind is finally coming to an end. I hope that everyone had a fabulous holiday! We had a wonderful (and busy) Christmas! The last time I posted I had mentioned the two ponchos I was to knit for my niece and her kitty, Lila. They were a hit!
My sister also commissioned me to knit a scarf for her mother-in-law. I bought some Rowan Soft Baby from my not-so-local yarn shop and just did a broken rib pattern with some fringes. There wasn't much time for anything else. It's over 60 inches long and so warm! My sister says she loved it.
And I also knit my sister a scarf that is similar to one I knit my mother several months ago with garnet yarn and black eyelash yarn for South Carolina football games (or I should say game since there is usually just one game at the end where it's cold enough to warrant a scarf). But I forgot to get a picture of that. It was just a garter stitch scarf.
Of course all four of those projects were started and finished the week before Christmas. I'm surprised my hands didn't fall off. Needless to say, I haven't picked up my knitting needles since Christmas Eve.
Geoff and I don't have to be back at work until Jan. 3 so we are using our time off to clean and organize the house. A big task indeed. But we're getting there!
Oh, I got the book Alterknits : Imaginative Projects and Creativity Exercises
I'm sitting here on the couch listening to the rain outside. We have had some wacky weather lately! There were some horrible thunderstorms that came through on Christmas Eve night and we have have very mild temperatures since then. And just this afternoon another round of thunderstorms came in and they are still going strong. It's odd to hear thunder in the winter. But I love it!
I just glanced up at our Christmas tree and realized I have to take it all down in the next couple of days. That's the thing I hate the most. It's a tedious job and it just serves to remind you that the holidays are officially over. Yuck.
Posted by allison at 10:14 PM | Comments (2)
December 15, 2005
It's that time of year again...
...you know, the time when you start to really panic about the FAST approaching holiday called Christmas? Christmas shopping?! Who has time for that?!
And I thought that I was in the clear with Trellis for my nephew but it looks like it may get to him a wee bit after Christmas. Why? Well, I took a look at my niece's Christmas list and guess what Aunt Allison missed when she glanced at it in November? A knitted poncho! So I call my mom to see if she has any idea of the style or look of the poncho that Maddie wants. Just as I mention that Maddie has "sweater poncho" on her list my mom cuts in and says that they have looked everywhere and cannot find those in the stores. I'm like "Hello! I knit! Remember?" Problem solved. Sorta...
So I call my sister and email her a pic of an easy poncho pattern (Christmas is next week and all...) and we get to talking and she was like "OOOOOH! Can you make one for her build-a-bear rabbit, too?!" OK! So if you're keeping track I went from zero to two projects in less than 30 seconds. Did I mention Christmas is next week?
Actually, I don't anticipate it being a problem. I'm working a half day on Monday and won't be back at work until Jan. 3 (one of the only perks of working in academia). So I'll have plenty of pre-Christmas knitting time. Hell, I may even finish Trellis on time. Well, maybe. I just want to get Maddie's stuff done because she is older and will remember this. Carter's just a baby. You can give him a roll of toilet paper and he'd be happy as a lark. Posting may be sparse for a while as I become a knitting machine...
Oh! And if any of you visited my blog over the weekend you may have seen a few extra links thrown about. It seems that while I was in Kiawah someone hacked my blog. Bastards. I think I've gotten everything fixed but if you see something out of the ordinary let me know.
And speaking of Kiawah, the race was great! The weekend was great! The house was REALLY great! It was ocean front and between us and the beach was the 17th green of the Turtle Point golf course. We are already making plans to go back next year and get the same house.
Well, better get back to the knitting. It's been in the 30s and 40s today and raining. Good curl-up-on-the-couch-and-knit weather. I think I'll do just that.
Posted by allison at 07:20 PM | Comments (2)
December 08, 2005
She's Home!
My digital camera came back safely! And to celebrate her return, I give you... PICTURES!
Well, not any pics of progress on Trellis or Geoff's Brioche Scarf because well, I've been knitting socks. Socks people. Ok, maybe not socks plural. More like sock. Sock on two circs, that is. Here it is so far...
The yarn is Vesper Sock Yarn in Ultramarine. I love the two circs thing!
And I seem to have been innundated with knitting mags lately. Both print and online. This is not good because it makes me want to knit new things and I have Christmas knitting to finish! Oh the humanity!
There are LOTS of patterns in the new Interweave Knits that I want to knit including the sweater on the front. And that other magazine was quite unexpected! It seems that Vogue Knitting has come out with a new mag called KnitSimple and they must have sent it out to their subscribers to preview it. It had some cute patterns in it. Lots of easy chunky knits.
And have you seen the new knitty? It rocks! Two must-knits for me are Tubey (in a solid color) and Tempting II (maybe without the buckle). There are also two great sock patterns (Pomatomus and Thuja) and well, you know my new love affair with socks. Decisions decisions...
Well, Geoff and I are heading down to Kiawah tomorrow where he will run in a half marathon Saturday morning. It should be a great weekend! I know I should take Trellis with me but I may just bring the socks. They're just so portable!
Is there hope for me? Will I ever knit anything besides socks again?
Posted by allison at 11:35 PM | Comments (2)
December 03, 2005
My socks are soaring!
Soaring on two circs that is. Well, after a few crash landings. I thought that while learning a new sock technique I would also learn a new cast-on technique! So I gave the tubular cast-on a try. I did it ok but my stitches at the joins were a little loose. So I decided to give the twisted German cast-on a try. We have a winner! LOVELY!
I wish I could show you pics but my camera is still in the shop (they say she is doing just fine and will be back with me soon).
As for other knitting, well there hasn't been any! Eeeek! Like I mentioned, I put down the needles to finish The Good Earth
As for the blog name change and possible URL change, I've decided to take the easy way out. I just parked the new URL (frecklesandpurls.com) on top of allisonknits.com. What does this mean for you? Nothing, really. You will be able to get to my blog using frecklesandpurls.com OR allisonknits.com. Of course, when I reference my blog from now on I will use frecklesandpurls.com. Ok? Just trying to keep you on your toes!
Well, Geoff and I got our Christmas tree today! I had these visions of us going out to a tree farm, finding the perfect tree, cutting it down ourselves (just like my family did when I was growing up). Well, our lives are a little hectic so where did we get our tree? Piggly Wiggly. So much for my visions. Oh well. It's a nice Frasier Fur and smells YUMMY! And props to our Piggly Wiggly manager! He saw that we only had a little Honda Civic and offered to bring the tree to us in his pickup truck. He also trimmed the lower branches for us and cut off the trunk so that it could drink water better. I thought he'd drop off the tree after work but he arrived at our house 15 minutes later! Geoff and I do all of our grocery shopping there and that's why. Great people that know their customers and go the extra mile! Gotta love the Pig.
Right now I am enjoying one of my favorite beers (Sam Adams Cherry Wheat) and watching some football with Geoff. Oh, and knitting my socks. They're addictive. Trellis? What Trellis? Geoff's scarf? Huh? What?
Oh, and I'll be updating my "what I'm reading" selection soon. I have requested the new book club book from the library and I hope to get it soon. I'm 3rd on the list. (Michelle, can't you pull some strings over there?) ;) Ha ha! The book is The Other Boleyn Girl
Posted by allison at 07:51 PM | Comments (2)
