Two posts in one day!

Behold, my House project:





It's the same pattern, but not. Changes:

- One strand of worsted instead of two
- US 7 needles instead of US 11
- One repeat of cable pattern instead of three
- Subtracted 6 rows from toe section (hence the extremely odd shape...although it fit Hello Kitty pretty well)

I'd say it took, oh, four episodes of House. (That would be commercial-free episodes.)

Sleepy time now...night night!

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

(Tallulah's is absent because a) I haven't made a loop for it and b) we only have two stocking hangers anyway.)

Mr. Nekkid's is two strands of Red Heart Soft Yarn in Grass Green, and mine is two strands of Lion Brand Wool-Ease in White/Multi. I think it looks a little like snow. :) I used Crystal Palace US 11 DPNs.

I'm so proud of these! I did better on the grafting on Mr. Nekkid's stocking, and I think I finally got the hang of it with mine (third time's the charm, after all). I had so much fun with them that I'm thinking about making mini-stockings for my coworkers. Dunno if I'm that ambitious or not...

Tallulah is settling in nicely. She still hides a lot - her favorite spot is still behind the couch - but she seems to be getting accustomed to sleeping in her bed, too. We can only hope that someday she'll be comfortable enough to just lounge around somewhere out in the open.

Short one today, I know, but my friend got me the first season of House on DVD and I can't wait to watch some more of it. I've got to find a project that's mindless enough to let me glue my eyes to the screen. :)

Snow day!

At least, I'm hoping for one tomorrow. Meanwhile, I've been surprisingly busy...



Upper left: swatch of Solid Woven Lattice from p183 of Donna Kooler's encyclopedia of knitting (although it's probably in most stitchionaries). One strand of Caron Wintuk (100% acrylic) in Soft Lilac, Crystal Palace US 9 bamboo needles.

Lower left: swatch of Vertical Weave from p6 of Leisure Arts Little Books Beginner's Guide Knit Stitches & Easy Projects (again, probably in most stitchionaries). Leftover yarn from Cabled Christmas Stocking.

Bottom center: Odessa in progress. Made from Jo-Ann Sensations Bellezza Collection Tesoro (100% wool) in Purple, currently on my cool and totally retro Susan Bates SilvaLume DPNs, US 6. (They're really long, but I love them!) I'm really hoping to finish this this weekend, actually, because it done got COLD here. Current temp is 23 F, and there's at least 6" of snow on the ground. I'm reasonably certain that I'm not going to work tomorrow, even if the office is open.

Upper right: Finished Cabled Christmas Stocking! There will be no close-up of the toe, because I totally hosed the grafting. But at least I know what I did wrong, and it's just a stocking, not a sock. Here's a slightly closer pic, though:



Top center: Package for my cool and totally retro Susan Bates SilvaLume DPNs. I inherited these (as well as another set in US 8) from my grandmother. I wish she'd had more...they're fantastic. They're slick aluminum, but not too slick. The surface is ever so slightly textured so stitches don't just jump off. But here's what's cool about the package:



Hee hee! Apparently they're going for "smooth as a baby's bum" or something. I heart retro graphics! The best part:



These originally cost 90 cents. Oh yes, and the backdrop all these lovely pics? That would be my luscious new chocolate brown microsuede duvet cover. Totally machine washable, and totally cheap. I paid $19.99 for it and the two matching shams from Amazon. I even got free shipping because I was buying something else too and spent over $35 ($25?). The $19.99 price seems to come and go, but at the time I'm posting this - 11:02 central time - it's available. (Note that the color is much better on Amazon's site - mine is affected by the crappy lighting in my bedroom.)

Anyway. Assuming that the roads are at least somewhat passable tomorrow, I'm totally going to go to the LYS and get help with the baby sweater. Pics will follow!

Baby's First Sock

I've never successfully turned a sock heel. Until tonight. (Thanks http://www.knittinghelp.com!)



Yeah, okay, it's a crappy picture. I'll make more of an effort when it's finished and when it's not 10:25 p.m. on a school night. :( Sadly, I think this might turn out to be Tallulah's stocking, because it's much smaller than I intended. Oh well. I did pick up some sz. 15 DPNs tonight (for $23 with tax, ouch!) so hubby and I can have larger stockings. At least it knits up quickly. Mine was originally going to be this red one, but I think I'll go with two strands of Lion Brand Wool-Ease in White Frost instead. Yeah, okay, that's a crappy picture too. It's white and sparkly, though, trust me. Mr. Nekkid's will be Red Heart Soft Yarn in Grass Green (which I already have on hand).

Bonus Wifey pic:



I do indeed have it folded in half and then pulled through. That's why I like my scarves long and skinny. :)

Tomorrow: with any luck I'll have a finished Christmas stocking to show off. Hooray!

Wifey is done!

That didn't take nearly as long as I expected.



Three skeins of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky in red
Crystal Palace bamboo sz. US 10.5
13 stitches cast on, simple moss stitch pattern
Finished size: approximately 3.5" wide by 100" long

Since I have so much time before I need to finish Cozy, naturally I've started something else instead.



Pattern: Cabled Christmas Stocking by YarnThrower
Yarn: Two strands of Red Heart Soft Yarn in Wine (color is not well-represented in this photo...it really is a nice wine/maroon color)
Needles: US 10.5 Crystal Palace DPNs (Yes, this is quite a bit smaller than the pattern calls for. But Wal-Mart didn't have anything even close to US 13 so I had to use what I had on hand. No, I couldn't wait until the LYS opened tomorrow...)
Gauge: Nowhere near what is called for. But it's a Christmas stocking...it doesn't really matter much. A smaller stocking just means that pretty much only cash and gift cards will fit. :P