Very Fetching!

The Fetching Handwarmers went to Megan. They will keep her hands warm while she is hitting the law books. She is modeling them with a hat I made last year.

Projects Finished

Just in time for the Winter Gift Giving Holiday! Or a trip to the mountains.
Two hats, a beret, a headband/earwarmer, and a pair of handwarmers.
Which one would you like?
Or maybe you would like to try them on first.
Let me know.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yea!

Kitty Beds Again?

Yes, there are a lot of bedless cats out there. And I do have a lot of yarn. Maybe I should go into business. Except that I give them away.

Donegal Sweater

I've been working on this sweater for some time now. I'm determined to finish it. If I had started it at the beginning of the month, it would have qualified for the NaKniSweMo (National Knit a Sweater Month). It's the sweater of 50,000 stitches. Including the ones I knit, ripped out, knit again, ripped out, knit, etc. It's knit from the top down, so all I have to finish is the ribbing on the bottom and sleeves. I just might finish by the 30th!

Three Monkeys and a Cat

As promised, sister sent a picture of her cat sharing the bed with the sock monkeys.

Scarf

On my recent British Columbia vacation I bought one ball of yarn
Really, only one ball!
What restraint!
I turned it into this lovely lace scarf. From a popular pattern in knitblogdom called "Branching Out" knit in wool/silk. Lace leaves in brown, perfect for fall.

Not a Tire Cover

My Not a Tire Cover is finished. You can see the size difference. It took three cycles in the washer as expected, but I didn't clog the drain.

Fetching Handwarmer

That's the name of this pattern found at knitty.com. Keeps your hands warm while allowing your to use the keyboard. It's modeled here by sister B. Made of machine washable cashmere blend, it will make someone a nice gift.

Kitty Bed #3

As soon as I heard that Jane had adopted two new kittens, I started this, my third kitty bed. It looks a little small, but it is for kittens after all. I was able to use yarn from my stash. I hope she and the kittens will like it.

New Tire Cover ?

We needed a new tire cover, the old one was torn and falling apart, so I knitted one. No, not really. I don't want this to end up on the You Knit What website. It's another kitty bed, pre-felted. This is only to illustrate the size before washing. The last one took three loads to get to the right size and then my machine clogged up. I'll be more careful this time. This is exactly like the last kitty bed I made. I told you I had enough yarn for two. The first one is being used for a Sock Monkey collection. (I requested a picture). I hope this one will be used for cats.

I'm Baaack!

Been gone a while, but maybe you didn't notice. Went on a long road trip to the Canadian Rockies, then came home, caught a cold, went to Morro Bay for the weekend. I did take my knitting on the Canadian trip, but have nothing to show for it. So why the picture of the flower? It seems that everytime I go out of town this plant has just finished flowering. The bloom lasts only a few hours, so I was lucky to get a picture.

Blue Denim Baby Sweater

Just Finished. Ready for giving. With a hat. Isn't there someone that needs a baby boy sweater? It's the same pattern that I used for the pink baby sweater I knit a while back. Knit from the top down without any seams. I had a hard time finding buttons, you would have thought I had something in my button box, but nothing was suitable. I must confess, I bought the yarn for this project. At least, I had none left over.

Another Tote Bag

Finished the striped tote bag. Didn't come out very good. Oh well, it used up yarn that was not good for anything else. Also working on the Sock Monkey kitty bed. Just about done except for felting. I have been fighting the urge to buy yarn. The local yarn store is having a 50% off sale!. That's hard to resist. But, I'm trying.

Stashbusting

Just because it's been really, really hot and I haven't posted in a while, you didn't think I wasn't knitting? Silly. Of course I have been knitting.
A finished object - One brown afghan/lap blanket.
This did not take very long to do. As you can see, it looks the same on both sides. And how did I decide to make this? Well, the box lid holding my acrylic yarn wouldn't close, so out the yarn came. Just enough for a small blanket. The other project in the picture is a striped tote that I started a while back. Like the blue felted one from the Oneskein book that I did in July.. I'm using up odds and ends of wool.

The kitty bed (called sock monkey kitty bed) and catnip toys have been gifted. They were very well received. Sister decided to put in the catnip herself.

Mice Bowl You Have There

Supposed to be a kitty bed. Looks more like a bowl. Maybe I should have made fish catnip toys. A sturdy cat bed was requested, so I turned it inside out and folded over the top. The yarn was a ragg wool with 30% nylon, it took longer to felt, but turned out fine. I have enough yarn left over for another one. Still haven't got the catnip.

Three Knit Mice

See how they look.
Meant to be filled with catnip as a toy for a cat.
Unlike most knit bloggers, I do not have a cat. These are a gift for Mountain Sister's cats. She also happens to be growing catnip in her garden.
I never realized how many patterns were out there for catnip mice. These are just two examples. The beige and tan mice are knit from the same pattern. I used another pattern for the navy ( I thought it was black when I knit it) mouse, which was easier to knit. I tried a pattern by a famous knit author that was much too complicated for such a small project and ended up ripping it out. And another pattern by a famous knit blogger, that had a cable stitch down the back, just didn't look right.
I'm sure these mice will be appreciated.
Didn't use up much yarn, though.

Purse & Possum

Yes, I have been compulsively knitting. Just nothing to show for it. I've knit and ripped two projects. I have a mindless afghan I work on when it's not too hot. Here is a felted purse I completed recently from leftover yarn, using the Striped Felted Tote pattern from the Oneskein book. It's about 9"x12", large enough for a notebook. I liked it so much, I started another one. I have the base done already.


Perhaps you were pondering the plight of the possum? Well, we thought he couldn't get out by himself, so we rigged up an exit route with 2x4's. Voila! Possum was gone the next day. That'll teach me to leave the lid off the compost bin.

So you think I should knit a possum with my possum yarn? I'll look for a pattern.

I Didn't Knit This

Possum in the Compost Bin

A real live animal, not knitted and stuffed like my hedgehog. I found this critter in my compost bin yesterday. His mother left him there all day, and judging from all the noise, came back late last night. He's still there today. Looks like it's his new home. Not for long, I hope. We have not had very good luck with possums around here. I won't go into detail, but they are better seen alive than dead.



But if I did want to knit a possum, I would use this yarn (a gift from b & a, when they went to New Zealand). Not sure what I'll knit with it, a scarf, a hat, mittens maybe? Any ideas?

Update

I'm finally rested up after the holiday weekend. Three days activity, Five days recovery. Before house guests arrived last weekend, I had to clear out the yarn, I mean guest room. Rearranging and finding new places to put things was a challenge, but I was up to it. Comments were: Gee! Your house is so clean! A success. Saturday was a birthday celebration spent at Knott's Berry Farm, billed as Orange County's first theme park. There wasn't much left of the original park, Walter would turn over in his grave. Chicken dinner was good. Sunday was shopping for clothes with sister: we worked hard. Monday, visiting and goodbye to guests. Tuesday, walking to the park to view fireworks. Did you notice? No knitting! All was good, though.

Exer-knitter or Knitter-cycle?

Call it either one, but I can knit and exercise at the same time! This is the newest addition to our house in an effort to get me exercising. It just might work. And no, the arms are not far enough apart to wind a skein of yarn.

Look who got into the picture. My hedgehog is so darn cute, I had to show her off one more time

Pink Baby Sweater

O K, I've left the picture of the knitted hedgehog up long enough for friends and relatives to see. Not that any of them did. It's time to show a new project. This is a baby sweater that was finished and all I had to do was put on the buttons. You can't tell very well, but the buttons are kittens. Knit in washable wool from the neck down using a free pattern on the web. Do I have a baby in mind to wear this? No, but I'll save it until I do.

It's a Blond Hedgehog!

It turned out to be a blond instead of an albino hedgehog. And yes, those are eyelashes you see. The leaf is strategically placed, because this hedgehog has boobs!

This was going to be a practice piece, and it turned out rather cute, except for the puckering of the tummy after it was felted. I'll pay more attention to the tummy increases on the next one I knit. At first, I embroidered the eyes and nose, but I didn't like how they turned out. The pattern says they could be needle felted on, something I didn't have any idea how to do. But, after a google search, I figured out what I needed to know. I had to have a special needle. Of course, I went out to buy one right away. All for the eyes and nose. And eyelashes

Rare Hedgehog Sighting

The rare sighting of a knitted hedgehog has been in the road in front of OC knitters house. This unstuffed, unfelted creature could be either a blond or an albino hedgehog. The difference could not be determined as it is missing it's eyes and nose (the only way to tell). It was probably trying to cross the road. Will the stuffing get put in? Will it get eyes and nose? Stay tuned.

What Have I Done Lately

OK OK, so I'm not blogging very often. I never said I was going to be very good at this. I've been resting. It's been too hot. etc., etc. I did finish one project, though. It was about 98% completed, so I got it out & finished it. A felted purse called Blue Hawaii from the Pursenalities book, made with stash yarn. Felting is a great way to reduce the size of your stash. Before felting this was 26" wide by 15" high. Now it's about 14" wide by 10" high. It came out quite nicely, if I do say so.

Busy Weekend

raccoon on the porch

The OC Knitter has been very busy. What, you say? Doing something other than knitting? Well, the weekend started out with a lecture at the meeting of the Society of Hispanic Historical and Ancectral Research (SHHAR). The subject was early California. I have an interest in genealogy and spend a lot of time looking up family and friends. After the meeting, a drive up to the mountains for a family get together, (with a visit from the above raccoon) a Pancake Breakfast put on by the Rotary Club & shopping at yard sales. And no knitting. All this with sciatica pain. I'm resting now.

Another Hedgehog?

Can you guess what my next project is going to be? I had to have this pattern as soon as I saw it. I have had a thing about hedgehogs for several years. And a large collection. This shows only a very, very small section. I'll be looking through my stash for some appropriate yarn. This is bound to be a project that I'll actually finish.

Knitting Weather

A rare late spring storm is bringing rain over the OC tonight. Just the sort of weather for curling up on the couch and knitting. But wait - any weather is knitting weather to an obsessive knitter!

Mason-Dixon Washcloth

I checked out the new Mason-Dixon Knitting book from the library. It's written by two knitting bloggers in a folksy, chatty way. It was entertaining to read, but, I wasn't interested in many of the projects. I knit this up fast, it's a
chenille washcloth - looks more like a gift bag. I made it without the bobbles. More decorative than useful. (The bar of soap is from the Marukai 98 cents plus store).

Flowers for my Anniversary

Alstroemeria

Epiphyllum

In honor of my one month blog anniversary, I present you with flowers from my garden.
And you thought all I ever did was knit! Well, almost. I do enjoy a bit of gardening, too.

More Spirals

This is the finished spiral bag from Oneskein. It was knit without the tabs in the pattern. It just didn't look right with the tabs, maybe because of the chunky yarn. Not the yarn called for, but something from my stash. I tried to set the picture like the one in the book. Don't you think it looks good? Of course, I'm not sure what use I would have for this bag. An idea will come to me if I wait long enough.

Big Mama's Hat

Hat knit for Eunice's grandmother, affectionately called Big Mama by her family. Knit from Patons Devine. One skein made two hats. The first hat given to Big Mama was made BB (before blog) in a feather and fan pattern. This one is a favorite pattern in a simple yarn over stitch. Big Mama sent a bottle of wine as a thank you. Not necessary, but very much appreciated!

Oneskein Crazy

I went a little crazy with the Oneskein book. This book by Leigh Radford has only been out for a couple of months and is very popular. There is even a blog where you can post pictures of your finished project. It was written for someone like me who has lots of lonely skeins looking for patterns.
The felted clutch is knitted out of Lopi. The top curled up, unlike the picture in the book, but maybe I'll run it through the washer another time. The cupcake base was made from a scrap of baby wool doubled and the top made from doubled mohair & a speckled novelty yarn. The top has yet to be sewn on to the base. The triple cable scarf is in progress and is from a wool, silk and alpaca blend by aarlan. I have two balls of this, so I might make it a little longer. The spiral Rib bag is made from Sirdar Super Chunky. All yarn from stash.

Spiral Sock

I have been obsessively knitting, but, every once in a while, I actually complete a project

I had a request for a heel-less sock with a round toe to wear around the house. This pattern with variations has been around for a long time. It has been reproduced many times in various magazines and books, and the pattern is easily found on the web. This sock is a simple 2X2 rib offset by one stitch every 4th row. Knit on #7 11" circulars (changed to DP for the toe) with Wool-Ease.
Minus one skein from stash.




The oldest pattern I found was in this Patons Beehive sock book from 1940. They called it a called it "the new swivel sock".

Flash of a stash

Yarn arranged solely for purposes of photograph. Not intended to represent current organization of yarn or complete stash. Not intended to scare any family members. Not intended to make other knitters feel inferior/superior for having less/more.

Obsessive Compulsive Knitter in Orange County

I'm an obsessive knitter. I knit every day. I have lots of yarn, lots of needles, lots of knitting patterns & knitting books. But, I always want to buy more. I am trying to control my urge to buy, and to use up or give away my stash.
But I don't have a problem. Or do I?