Slightly Late Christmas Gifts

We were seriously strapped for cash this Christmas, so we ended up making most of the gifts we gave this year. These were slightly late in being gifted to my younger two, who received them December 26 and 27. The first is a cat I knitted for my youngest from a pattern I got from Bernat:

The second is a bat I knitted for my younger girl from a pattern from Mochimochi Land:

I am pleased to say that despite being a day or two late, they were both well-received :-)

Upon seeing these, my older daughter, third upward in age, asked me if I could make her a Nessie (yes, the Loch Ness Monster). I'm not sure whether she was more pleased or more astounded that I actually have a pattern for that, but it will be rather later than the bat or the cat:

Yes, the scale is correct: I've completed approximately 2 inches of the tail. Here's the pic from the pattern, both from "Amigurumi Knits," by Hansi Singh (a great book with lots of cool stuff):

I obviously have a long way to go, but I do enjoy making things people actually want. Admittedly, I probably enjoy pulling patterns out of my Book Stash for odd stuff that nobody would guess I had a pattern for just as much as actually knitting the thing, but who's counting...

Kitty Hijinx and WIP Progress: Green Blanket

I was walking through the house when I spotted a two-color strand of yarn (I notice these things) strung from the floor up the stairs onto the first landing. It ended near one of the cats, but not until I got closer did I realize someone had tied it to one of the cat toys, which had then gotten dragged up the stairs. Rool, pictured here, tried to convince me he was not at fault if the yarn got damaged:

Meanwhile, our other cat, Franjean (yes, we named them after the brownies in the movie "Willow"), was enjoying my progress on the green blanket:

I only have one more strip to sew to the last piece, then I can sew the three big pieces together and I'll be done. And it's only taken a decade. Such speed.

My hubby was taking the tree down today, so the cats decided they needed one last romp through it before it was boxed up:

Don't worry, guys: it'll be back next year.

Holiday Cookies

I just realized I haven't blogged in over a month: Sorry about that.

Meanwhile, I did make gingerbread cookies for the holidays, but since they weren't anything special I forgot to photograph them until there were only three left:

My Hubby also got me a pre-baked gingerbread tree to build and decorate, which I did:

It survived perhaps a full day before it got eaten. Perhaps the following photo will provide some insight into why:

Sneak attack!

Yarn Zombies vs. Dragons

Here is the Yarn Zombie I knitted for my Hubby, riding on the back of a green dragon, with whom he peacefully co-exists:

The relationship between zombies and red dragons, however, is rather different:

(Zombie pattern from Mochimochi Land's "Tiny Things Collection 4"; green dragon from Safari Ltd.; red dragon from Toy Major Trading Co.)

Feline-Induced Yarnblob

Guess which one the cats got hold of:

You guessed it: all of them.
Note: my cats would like to state for the record that they were innocent bystanders in this matter....

Tiny Brown Bear

Having encountered a bit of a snag in the kimono and socks I've been working on, I decided to knit one of the Mochimochi Land patterns I have; specifically, the panda. Looking around my desk, however, I didn't spot any black and white sock yarn. Instead, I went with the brown-green sock yarn that was in reach:

I had to add the mouth because the panda pattern doesn't need one.

In general, it doesn't go well when I knit animals with brown yarn; initially, this little fellow didn't look much like a bear. In fact, he looked like an acorn or a nutmeg or, as much as I tried to deny it, a tiny turd. Fortunately, now that he's got limbs and features, he looks like a bear. I'd hate to have to blog about the Adventures of CrapCat and TurdBear.

Tiny Insidious Yarnblob and its Mom

The Tiny Insidious Yarnblob is so small and stealthy it can sneak right through the yarn guide on a winder, leaving the unsuspecting knitter flat-footed when finally faced with trying to tame this Yarnblob without dropping stitches:

A sneak attack by this tiny creature is not its only danger, however; like many creatures in the wild, its mother is never far behind:

P.S. Happy Birthday to my younger daughter, who turns 13 today :-)

Where's Yarnblob and Does It Get Its Dex Bonus?

You've seen the puzzle pictures where you try to locate one object in a quagmire of visual chaos. I keep one on my desk. Not on purpose, mind you. I clean it off regularly. It just grows back, as though someone has cast "Entangle" and "Permanency" on my desk, only instead of plant life it's papers and yarn projects. Somewhere in the pic below is an incidental yarnblob, created as a result of having to re-start a project I'm designing for a friend. Can you find it? Make your Perception roll.

No? Here's a hint: It's crawling off the desk, onto the keyboard shelf and under my Blackberry.

I'm sure my Spin-Off magazine gets an attack of opportunity, but will it get a +2 for flanking since the keyboard is on the other side? Maybe I need more coffee.

Yarnless Yarnblob: The Eyes Have It

In case you're wondering, this is museum gel, a blobby substance intended to keep glass valuables from sliding around on shelves. My darling eldest son conspired with my darling Hubby to leave this little surprise for me to find.

It's good to know you're loved.

Happy Halloween/Samhain!

WIP Progress: Kimono

I've finally made some real progress on the kimono. Okay, I'm not halfway done or anything, but I finally got past the color change:

The needle in this next pic is a 7" DPN, size US 15, for scale:

I was beginning to get discouraged and wondering whether to just give up the notion of doing the color change in-pattern instead of straight across, but I stuck it out. Now that it's all pink, it's going much faster, but I am debating whether to put the green stripe across the shoulders as originally planned, or just go with green at the edges. I guess I'll see how my patience holds out when I get that far.

Tadaaa - The Mohawk!

Here it is, in all its glory, modeled by my youngest:

I got the pattern from this really cool book sent to me by Virginia Knits:

Okay, I admit, I'm a child of the 80's and so's my Hubby. As soon as they saw the book, my youngest requested a mohawk hat in camo. He got his first because I already had camo-colored yarn, heheh. It doesn't "felt" like wool, so I just split the plies and it stands up pretty well. He didn't want to wait long enough for me to wash and block the thing, and so far, he hasn't taken it off.

It was an easy knit, which is good because I already have several more requests for these things and some other stuff that's in the book. Thanks, Virginia!

WIP Hint

Here's my youngest, using the partially created WIP as a rifle. I tried to tell him he had it upside-down, until he informed me it was a scope:

Fortunately, I think he still prefers his Nerf weapons. Those have laser sites.

Mystery Yarnblob

This seemingly random assortment of yarnblobs, not counting the one forming the net in which the sheep is caught, is part of a WIP I won't describe just yet, but I'm very close to finishing it. Bet you can't guess what it is!

WIP Progress: Kimono and Why I Get Distracted

First, here's why I get distracted:

That is my older daughter's stuffed bird, named, strangely enough, Gilbird. He was naked, so of course she decided he needed a cape, which I had to stop and knit while working on the kimono:

Yes, that is the kimono under his hiney. Cape completed, I have now gotten this far on the kimono:

It doesn't look like a lot of progress, and really it isn't, but during the color change I am using nearly 40 bobbins, so each row takes an hour. Once I'm past the color change and back to using a single color (which will then be the pink), it will go much faster. That is, provided we don't have too many more naked chickens needing capes.

Yarnblob Fail

Fail part 1: I got up this morning intent on having a yarnblob post complete before noon. It's 1pm now. I got distracted by the gorgeous weather we're having:

Fail part 2:
I rummaged through my newer yarns and picked a beautiful twist of multi-colored shiny stuff with little flower-shaped sequins; something sure to produce a yarnblob. Fortunately for me, but unfortunately for my yarnblob post, it went off without a hitch (or, without a yarnblob, I should say):

Fail part 3:
I took several pictures of this yarn, intending to add it to my Ravelry stash, but got the "crappers" message indicating it just couldn't do it. Maybe later. Meanwhile, here's the yarn up close:

Oh well; time to do the laundry. Or maybe time to get distracted again by the weather....

Progress, But Not a Lot

So after suffering some burn-out, I'm working again on the pink and white baby blanket and have gotten about halfway through the final border, after which I'll make the hat and booties:

I'm also working again on the kimono, and have managed to get the shark eggs (bobbins) under control with the help of a lazy susan:

I've actually gotten a couple of rows into the color change from green to pink, so who knows; I might actually manage to knit the thing.