Monday, March 10, 2014

Quick kick in the knitting mojo

I have been in a knitting slump for quite a while now. It is not that I don't want to knit or don't enjoy it anymore, it just seems that I don't make time to knit or when I do make time to knit, it does not hold my interest. There is a pair of fingerless mitts that have been on the needles for months that I have no idea why I am ignoring, and I started a scarf back in January that is very pretty but is lace so my eyes get tired very quickly.

But the straw that broke this knitter's back was a hat that I had to frog two weeks ago. It is a beautiful slouchy hat with an outrageous single cable and I chose to knit it from a deep purple yarn that has been in my stash for years. Gorgeous pattern, gorgeous yarn. I was almost done with the hat - on the decrease rounds for the crown - when I noticed a glaringly obvious error that I had made about an inch prior. (Well, not glaringly obvious when I made it but certainly many rows later.) This was in addition to two other obvious errors that I had made in other places on the hat but had decided I could accept. I could not, however, accept three obvious errors; I knew that I would always see those mistakes and never wear the hat. And so I frogged it, and put the yarn and pattern into timeout.

I decided that I needed a quick and easy project to be a knitting success. I had a skein of Malabrigo Merino Worsted on hand and found a free pattern for a very easy hat. Cast on, start knitting round and round and round, increase a little, knit some more, decrease and done. Yay!

 
Neither the style of the hat nor the colorway of the yarn suit me, so I will give the hat to charity. Whether I like it or not is really irrelevant; the important point is that I completed a project and I did a good job of knitting it.

Sunday, February 23, 2014

A happy surprise

The only thing better than getting packages in the mail is getting an unexpected package in the mail, and yesterday I came home to find a surprise treat in the mail:


My lovely friend Kelli and her mother sewed this gorgeous project bag for me! Kelli knows that I adore lime green and turquoise, and the fabric is a beautiful paisley print that incorporate those colors. My photographs do not due this beautiful fabirc justice at all.

The bag measures approximately 7" high X 9" wide X 7" deep, with a strap drop of 10 inches. The pointed flap is held in place by a lime green magnet closure, and there is a pocket behind the magnet:

And there is a pocket on the back:


Both pockets and the inside of the bag are lined with a deep turquoise fabirc


As you can see, I quickly put the bag to use!

This is not the first time that Kelli has surprised me with a package of goodies. Although I don't get to see her very often in real life (she lives in South Carolina, I "visit" with her often on Facebook and Ravelry, and treasure her friendship. That she and her mother took time and effort to create this bag makes me feel treasured.