::peek::

Test knitting has commenced!

The blahs

It's so hard to post during these gray, cold wintery months. In addition to the general malaise that affects nearly everyone and makes me personally want to hibernate until May, the lighting is lousy, so I can't take decent photos of anything I'm knitting.

And I have been knitting. In fact, I've finished a whole sweater (albeit, short-sleeved). (Which was saved by the previously blogged-about Stephanie--but more on that next post.) And my First Design is nearly complete, I'll be looking for test knitters soon. I'm even plugging away at more socks. But alas, no photos.

The weather actually tricked me a smidge. Last Friday it was 70 degrees. SEVENTY DEGREES! We ate lunch in the park, enjoy a few beers out on the balcony, it was almost like summer. But then, it was cruelly yanked away, and on Tuesday, we got sleet and freezing rain, followed by 3 inches of snow. It's almost worse that way--you get the tiniest glimmer of hope, and then it's immediately buried under sleet and slush. I know you're on your way, Spring, please hurry up.

So, since I have no knitting photos, here are photos of stray cats and dogs I came across in Santiago. No, I didn't bring any home with me. But almost.

To E or Not to E

Yet another day has passed with no one commenting on my stunning plethora of headgear. I'm starting to think people here just don't pay attention.

(Or maybe they're part of some kind of revolting underground anti-hat organization.)


But I will soldier on to fulfill my mission to display an absurd and somewhat inappropriate number of handknit hats to the masses this winter!


::Uplifting music::


Here's the latest member of my hat parade:




Pattern: Autumn Vines Beret from NeverNotKnitting, Alana Dakos
Yarn: Madelinetosh Pashmina (squeee!) in Saffron, about half the skein
Mods: None, though I left off the little bobblette at the top, and just used a regular cast-on because I'm an incredibly lazy knitter.
Verdict: Love! Gorgeous pattern, fast knit, warm hat. What's to complain about?

Oh, you know what? Now that I think of it, I had to knit row 13 like 3 times. There's nothing wrong with the chart, I'm just astoundingly dense. I know my right from my left, I swear, but when I see references to "right" and "left" in knitting patterns, I go into panic mode and all spatial concepts immediately fly out my ear. True story.

And in case anyone was wondering what steps I've taken to address the previously blogged about (over)abundance of Palette yarn, Stephanie, who shares her awesomeness over at They Call Me Yarn, has talked me into tackling these Camilla mittens. Pretty, huh? So far I've done just the first cuff and 5 rounds of the pattern, but they're looking quite gorgeous, if I do say so myself. I bought this Amazing Doohickey over at Knitpicks, and I can't say enough good things about it. My tension is even, and no puckering--a miracle for only $1.19. I'm giddy thinking about how it will speed up my abyssmal progress on the Deep V Argyle Vest.

(p.s. I spent several minutes pondering whether or not doohickey has an E in it. Then I looked it up. I really go the extra mile for my blogging, don't I?)

This little piggy . . .

Lately, I've been having dreams about babies. First, I had a dream that I needed to have a tonsilectomy and birth a baby the same day. So they knocked me out for the first procedure, and left me unconscious for the birth, so I woke up not knowing what kind of baby I had. It ended up being a girl, but it didn't much matter, because shortly thereafter, it turned into a cat.


Last night, my baby was growing at a ridiculous rate. Only a few days old and she was talking, and then after a year, she was around 6-years-old. Then she had to be studied for being an obvious freak of nature, and she wasn't too happy about it, so she organized a riot at the freak-of-nature camp.


Thoughts? Yeah, I don't know either.


I don't really have a segway from that rambling into my knitting, so let's just jump in. First, I'd like to introduce a new member of the menagerie, Percival:

Percival was super quick to knit, just using some scrap yarn. I used worsted because that's what I had on hand, but any weight will do, it just depends on how big or small you want your piggy to be. I think this one took all of 45 minutes.

As far as useful knitting, I've finished yet another hat (I wonder if people are secretly amazed at my extensive hat wardrobe. Probably not.) Here's a little preview, until I can get some good photos of me actually wearing the hat:

And I'm really working hard on a design! My scarf design is on the backburner, but this new one is moving along quickly, and I have high hopes. Stay tuned!