Hockey Wife Bleacher Cozy Pattern

Materials:
Worsted weight wool, approximately 220 yards of main color (A) and scraps of coordinating color (B). I used my own hand-dyed yarn (Kool-Aid: Cherry and Orange)

Size 10.5 needles

Gauge:
Approx. 15 st. = 20r = 4” in st. st. (though gauge isn’t critical for felted items)

Finished Size:
17.5” wide by 18” long (pre-felting)
13” wide by 11.5” long (post-felting)

Directions:
With A, CO 65 sts.
Work 4 rows in garter st. (knit all sts.)
Switch to B

Row 1: knit
Row 2: k3, p to last 5 sts, k3
Repeat these two rows two more times (for a total of 6 rows)
Switch to A
Repeat rows 1&2 until piece measures 16”
Switch to B
Repeat rows 1&2 three more times (6 rows total)
Switch to A
Work 4 rows in garter st.
Bind off loosely

Felt to desired size. To dry, pin down on a towel or other blocking surface. This will help to flatten the piece and to straighten out the edges.

Snow + Rain = Bleh.

Last week at this time, we were in the process of becoming totally snowed in. This week, it's 45 and rainy. Yuck. Weather like this makes one want to curl up and take a nap.

Yesterday was another quiet day with the Knitastics. Or, more appropriately, the Knitastic. All the snow days (and too-cold days) and holidays we've been having lately have meant that the girls have been staying home. And I'd like to point out that Miss S has blown me off two weeks in a row now -- which means that she's no longer allowed to point out to me on a weekly basis that they came on the Fourth of July last summer and I wasn't there (despite the fact that I'd given the store -- and those who had been in attendance the week before -- adequate warning). Miss A did show up, though, and we had a fabulous time, just the two of us, talking about movies and pickles and my crazy niece and nephew. That, and knitting. And eating Skittles (which we're allowed to do, since we're not the ones with the hyperactivity problem...). All in all, it was a lovely day.

In other knitting news, the baby sweater is done. Kinda. I just have to do a little bit of finishing. I'll post a picture as soon as I'm *really* finished.

And the blanket is still in the works. It's been a fabulous project to work on -- since it keeps me warm while it keeps my hands busy. Granted, there are a few little goofs in it (goofs that the untrained eye won't care about -- so there's no way I'm ripping out all those rows to fix them). But it's going to be big and warm and cozy, and I love it already.

Happy V-Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! Following yesterday's snow...then ice...then more snow, we're still stuck at home. I've only seen a few people even try to get through the neighborhood today -- and those who did spent more time spinning their tires and/or trying to dig themselves out of sticky situations than actually getting anywhere. Paul's office was closed again today, so the poor guy's been working in the next room for two days. It's been nice for me -- since I don't usually have someone to eat lunch with, but I'm sure he's getting a little cabin-fever-y. The snow has finally stopped, it seems, so I'm sure he'll be back to work tomorrow -- but, since the snow plows show up in our neighborhood a week or so after the snow falls (if even then), he'll probably have to take my car. I'm guessing the Mustang wouldn't make it out of the driveway. He'd be lucky to make it out of the garage with that thing.

I skipped last night's screening, and I ended up spending the whole glorious night sitting around, watching TV, and knitting. It would have been a lot more glorious if I'd been knitting something other than a baby sweater, but I'll take what I can get.

Here's the picture I tried to post yesterday:


Last night, I finished Sleeve #1, so I'm almost there. Just one more sleeve, some ties, and a little sewing left to go. Then I can take another break from baby sweaters -- but not for long, since Paul's sister's due in June.

Snow Bound

It's been snowing ALL DAY! We got up this morning, and Paul went outside to shovel -- not that you can tell anymore. And at some point, it switched from snow to freezing rain. It's nasty out there. Perfect time to knit.

Yesterday, at the store, I was told that women had been coming in all day, buying tons of yarn to prepare for the storm. Some people stock up on milk. Others buy more yarn...

I was afraid that I wouldn't see any of my Knitastics yesterday. In fact, I almost left at 5:30 -- but then Miss A showed up, and she and I got to hang out for a while. She's working on a fabulous pink and black striped scarf, which I totally love. I don't have a pink scarf, but I'm thinking I need one now...

Last week, I did very little knitting. Paul had a last-minute trip to Malaysia, so I was on my own. I had a million screenings (which helped to keep me out of trouble...kinda), so I ended up spending next to no time at home. Thus, very little knitting time. I did, however, manage to finish my Hockey Wife's Bleacher Pad:


It's a quick and easy pattern -- and I'll post it as soon as I get it typed up.

I've also been somewhat obsessed with The Blanket I Don't Need. I decided to run with Paul's chosen basketweave pattern -- not that you can tell by the crappy picture I took, so I just won't post it. But, just in case you want to try to picture it, I'm almost a third of the way through. It's about four feet wide by around 20 inches right now. And it's navy and comfy. I know I don't need it, but I want it, and I've been having fun working on it. It's so easy -- and it's on 17s, so it's super quick. And it keeps me warm while I'm knitting.

And, finally, there's the latest project -- the sweater for little Frodo Skywalker. The baby shower is just weeks away, so I forced myself to sit down this weekend and start Another Dreaded Baby Sweater. It took serious willpower to keep working on the thing. I'm SO SICK of baby sweaters (note to my friends and family: No more babies! I'm not even kidding! Enough already!). But it's actually turning out to be quite cute. I hope little Frodo will like it.

(Darnit, Blogger! The picture belongs here -- I'll try to post it later.)

I'm using a new pattern -- to try to shake things up a bit. It's the free pattern from Knitting Pure & Simple, worked from the top of the little hood down. I'm doing the newborn size, and it's so cute and tiny that I almost love it. What I do love is that I'll be done in no time. Woohoo!

As Requested...

Crappy pictures! For some reason I couldn't get the color quite right on these babies, but, well, you get the idea.

First, the gratuitous stash shot:


Yes, there's even more there than I previously reported. I've been busy. I blame it on Chandra. Really. It's all her fault.

At the top left, we have the purpley-blue oh-so-soft yarn for an upcoming sweater. Below, a couple of skeins of really cute purple, green, and white stuff, to be used to make a sweater for our friends' baby, due in April (Orange Banana if it's a girl, Frodo Skywalker if it's a boy). I bought the yarn when Chandra FORCED ME to go back to Hobby Lobby. Really. I had no choice (Sure, I drove, but I swear she was holding a gun to my head). In the middle, there's also a skein of black and white sparkly stuff that I thought would make a fun belt. And why the heck not? It was 50% off! Also Chandra's fault. Really. On the top right, two of the six skeins I bought last night because our recent freezing-cold spell has made me determined to knit a blanket (one that Paul still insists we don't need -- but I really don't care). And, finally, the awesome hank of hand-dyed stuff.

And now, for the close-up:


Isn't it gorgeous? Chandra and I decided to experiment with acid dyes on Saturday, and this is what I ended up with. She ended up with this beautiful green. Talk about incredible results! Yea for acid dyes!

So...in other knitting news, it's been another crazy week here in the Land of Knitting ADD.

Monday was another insanity-filled adventure with the girls. We discussed Global Warming. Key points of the discussion included: (A) Miss S doesn't believe in it, and (B) it doesn't matter if the polar icecaps melt -- because humans will just grow gills.

Nope. I'm not kidding.

We also discussed Miss S's reputation as being a "hateful person" -- seriously...her words, not mine -- and how letting people know that she has a crush on a boy would totally ruin her reputation.

I'm glad I'm no longer in sixth grade.

There were lots of other things discussed, though I couldn't distinguish them because they were all discussed on top of each other. I was supposed to be paying attention to all of them, of course, but here's a little secret I'm going to share: I can only really pay attention to one thing at a time. Crazy, huh? So the girls kept talking over top of each other, louder and louder and louder, until I had to yell, "VOLUME! TURN IT DOWN!!"

My other favorite point in the day was when Miss M decided to sing that one song about the 50 states. No matter how hard the girls tried, no one could get her to stop. The only way to make her stop was to yell, "That's it! Stop making everyone crazy!"

So yeah. It was a good day.

I did, however, find a great idea while I was flipping through a book and trying to maintain some level of sanity -- there was a pattern for a seat pad. I figured it would be perfect to make on that's bleacher size -- so I won't freeze my butt off when I go to watch Paul's hockey games. (Who on Earth thought it would be a good idea to put metal bleachers inside a hockey arena anyway?) So I went running home, pulled out some yarn, and started up right away. I finished last night -- and I'm felting it right this very minute. Cross your fingers...