Tiny Purls

Not so Santastic...

Last year, Little A thought that Santa was kinda fun.  A bit odd, but not so bad.  He was more interested in chewing on his hand.

This year, he was NOT a fan.

We'll see what happens in 2011!

In Our House, We Heart Goldfish

I like goldfish.  Alex likes goldfish.  Ben likes goldfish.  Camden likes goldfish.

We all like goldfish.  

Not the real, slimy, live-in-water type, but rather the Pepperidge Farms variety.  So when I saw this pattern I knew that I had to make a pair for Little A to wear this winter. 

Pattern:  Goldfish Mittens by Amy Christoffers (Rav link)
Yarn:  Dale of Norway/Dalegarn Falk (%100 Wool)
Colorways:  2427 Gold/Goldenrod and 3418 Burnt Orange
Needles:  US# 3 dpns

Modifications:
I used Mabelknit's (a fellow Raveler) mods for the tail/cuff:

Cast on 40. 
Purl 1 round. 
Chevron round: 
(SSK, K6, Kf+b, K1, Kf+b, K7, K2tog) x2. 
Repeat the chevron round a total of 8 times.

This was a quick and easy project.  The pattern and chart were written in a slightly weird way, but nothing too hard to figure out.  I added a long braided cord that can be run through his jacket so that Little A won't lose them during his adventures.

I think I need to sign off now and have a snack. 

 

'Tis the Season

I'm always amazing at how quickly the holidays come each year.  But I'm not complaining.

I'm a BIG fan of December.

This year I did some holiday knitting to get me into the Christmas spirit.  Good friends of our requested a set of traditional, old-fashioned, Christmas stockings (including one for their beloved dog).  I was happy to oblige them and found a great, classic pattern.

My goal was for them to have the stockings in hand by Thanksgiving and after a few furious nights and nap times of knitting, I got them in the mail a week prior to the holiday.

These stockings are generous in size.  Which is necessary so Santa can fill them with goodies on Christmas Eve.

Pattern:  Christmas Snowflakes Stocking by Laura Gebhardt
Yarn:  Cascade Yarns 220 Wool (100% Peruvian Highland Wool)
Colorways:  9404 Ruby, 8893 Hunter Green, and 8505 White
Needles:  US# 7 (16" circulars and dpns)
Lining:  Miscellaneous cotton holiday prints from JoAnn Fabrics

Modifications:
I added the name section at the top of each stocking.  My friend couldn't decided if she wanted Mom and Dad at or their first names.  So my solution was to put Mom and Dad on one side and then their first names on the reverse side.  For their son and dog's stockings, the same name is on both side.  That was they can hang them one way or the other depending on their mood.

For their dog's stocking, I reversed the color pattern and instead of the pattern at the top of the stocking, I substituted white dog bones.  I also shortened the stocking by a few inches.

Merry December!