Teeny-Tiny Feet

I finished the booties tonight (with a little help from my fabulous hubby, who sewed on the flower buttons)!!  I think they turned out to be absolutely adorable, even if I do say so myself.

It's strange, but I'm a bit nervous about the soon-to-be parents' reaction to the gift; these booties aren't perfect as a machine-knitted garment would be, and I'm positive that there are more useful items I could have bought.  However, I enjoyed making them, and I hope the expectant couple will take them for what they were intended -- a gift from the heart.  And maybe one day I'll even get to see those teeny-tiny feet wrapped up in my handiwork; that would be a treat!

The Best Part of Waking Up?

I like to say I caught him in a yawn, but it could be that he was really laughing at me.

This is Hamlet. Since April, when my sweet EmmyLou (his big "sister") passed away due to liver failure, Hamlet has become my four-legged shadow.  He follows me to the kitchen, to the bathroom, and pretty much all over the house.  But, if he had his little feline way, I would never get up from my usual perch on the couch.  When I am not there, with my legs curled under me and my feet sticking out to the left so that he can sleep on them, he yells at me.  Perhaps the better phraseology would be to say that he "meows insistently" until I do what he wants once again.

I suppose the worst part of Hamlet's day comes every morning when I have to get dressed for work.  Then, he pouts.  When I turn off my alarm, he jumps down from sleeping on my outstretched arm and runs to hide under the guest bed, where he remains until the whole family leaves.  However, some mornings, like yesterday, he refuses to give up easily.

Yesterday, when I turned off my alarm, instead of the usual "ka-thump" of a petulant kitty cat, I heard a very sweet meow with a purr in it.  I opened my eyes to see Hamlet's face in mine.  He licked my chin.  I told him, "You're very sweet, but I still have to get up."  He gave me another "kiss," purred more loudly, and stuck his nose on mine; I laughed at this, and said, "Come on..."  Finally, I saw a certain look come over his face.  I know this look, so I told him, "Don't you dare bite me."  He licked my chin one more time, gave it a sharp love bite, and then took off before I could chunk him off the bed.

I suppose it's true - sometimes love hurts.

Hey, I Resemble That!

I was planning on posting something with a little more substance today, but then I saw this, and got such a kick out of it that I had to share...

A special thanks to Knittings My Bag for introducing me to this too-funny video! 

Not Just Another Book About Knitting

I've been quite happy with the trend of knitting-related fiction in the past few years.  It's always nice to find books which cater to one's hobbies and/or other aspects of one's own life.  I've read several of Debbie Macomber's books, The Friday Night Knitting Club, and a few others.

Recently, I found Sweater Quest by Adrienne Martini.  It's not fiction; rather, it's the story of the author's quest to make "the Holy Grail of sweaters—her own Mary Tudor, whose mind-numbingly gorgeous pattern is so complicated to knit that its mere mention can hush a roomful of experienced knitters. Created by reclusive designer Alice Starmore, the Mary Tudor can be found only in a rare, out-of-print book of Fair Isle–style patterns, Tudor Roses, and requires a discontinued, irreplaceable yarn....  And so she took on the challenge: one year, two needles, and countless knits and purls to conquer Mary Tudor while also taking care of her two kids, two cats, two jobs, and (thankfully) one husband—without unraveling in the process. Along the way, Adrienne investigates the tangled origins of the coveted pattern, inquires into the nature of artistic creation, and details her quest to buy supplies on the knitting black market. As she tries not to pull out her hair along with rows gone wrong, Martini gets guidance from some knitterati, who offer invaluable inspiration as she conquers her fear of Fair Isle" (book description).

I hesitate to say that this was an enjoyable read, yet I had no trouble pushing my way through it... I definitely wanted to finish the book.  Martini covers the basic aspects of knitting (perhaps in an attempt to reach out non-knitters), features several mini-interviews with well-known knitters, ponders the history of the sweater's designer and the history of knitting in general, details her visits to some festivals and knitting classes, and once in a while, she actually writes about her attempt to knit a very complicated sweater.  More often, however, she comes across as whiny, wondering, "Am I still knitting an Alice Starmore sweater even if it doesn't exactly follow her specifications?"  She can't seem to keep focused on any one particular issue at any one particular time.  And while that didn't bother me too much because my brain often works in the same way, I kept waiting for her to come back around to the major topic at hand.  Toward the end of the book, I found that I wanted to scream, "Tell me about the sweater!"  She finally did, but in an almost offhand way.  It was a bit of a let-down.

All in all, I would say that most knitters would find at least parts of Sweater Quest enjoyable, but I don't know that I would necessarily recommend it.

Disclaimer: I was in no way remunerated to review this book; I simply read it for pleasure and offered up my opinion on my blog.

More Reasons to Knit

We knitters and crocheters have known this all along...

It's about time the rest of the world catches on.

Booties

The teacher in the classroom next to mine at work is soon to be the proud father of identical twin girls.  There have not been any twins in either his or his wife's families for several generations, so this has been a huge surprise.  How exciting and fun!  Of course, I can say that easily because I'm not the one who will have to take them home. ...Whew!

I couldn't pass up this opportunity to knit something for precious baby girls, yet knowing that I'm usually such a slow knitter, I had to pick something simple and small in order to ensure having the gift ready on time.  (There will be a baby shower for the expectant parents at work in a week-and-a-half.)  I settled on an adorable pattern for garter stitch Mary Jane booties.

I only have to add a button to the top bootie for it to be finished.

I am really pleased with this project and have no doubt that it will be easily ready in time for the baby shower.  I chose a sweet yarn by Bernat called Softee Baby which is really easy to work with, and the pattern couldn't be much simpler.  It does call for knowing how to "make 1," "slip slip knit," and "cable cast on."  However, these techniques can be looked up on YouTube if the knitter is unfamiliar with them or simply rusty in remembering how to do them, as I was.  (One of my favorite knitting demonstrators there is verypinkknits.)  I think it took me a little over an hour to knit up one bootie, and that was while I was distracted by pre-season football and yelled at my TV.

I highly recommend this quick and satisfying project!

Crisis

If you've happened to land here, welcome, and I hope you'll come back soon.  Today is my first post on this new blog (though not my first time to blog); I promise there will be more soon, and that most of them will be related to knitting... In time.

First, I need to say that at age 37, I seem to be having a bit of an identity crisis.

I know who I am (see my "About Me"), and I even have a pretty solid idea about the direction in which I'd like  my life to go in the near future.  I also am certain that I want to write, but I no longer seem to know what to write about or how to do it!  My identity crisis is, in reality, a gigantic case of writer's block, I think.  So, here I am again, starting yet another reincarnation of my blog.  My hope is that by centering on the crafty part of my life, I will give my writing a trajectory.  Though I know not every post I write will be knitting-related, I think I at least have provided myself a focus.