Little Updates

I'm trudging through these socks. Actually, it's a fun pattern, but it's really taking me forever. They're really pretty, though, so I'm determined to knit the second sock (if I ever finish the first one). Truthfully, I've been so preoccupied with other things lately, I haven't made much time for knitting.

As far as what the 'other things' are, I wish I could say, but it's just too early. It's killing me to not blog about it!

My cousin--whose baby shower was supposed to be yesterday--had her baby in the wee hours of Saturday morning. So the baby shower has been postponed, which means little Boo Boo is still sitting in a pretty gift bag, waiting to be delivered.

I'm trying really hard not to spend any money (despite just ordering 3 paperbacks from Amazon), which means I'm not buying yarn. I'm trying to knit from my stash, but my stash isn't very big (compared to other knitters!) and is mostly limited to sock yarn. I do have yarn to knit a couple lovely Ishbels, and some purple DK that was for a design project but will probably be used to knit some snuggly baby sweater.

After a couple of really beautiful days, the weather has turned bitterly cold (again). I can't wait until my trip...I leave 4 weeks from tomorrow!

Nothing Important Happening Here

I sincerely apologize for having absolutely nothing worthwhile to post for the past week and a half. I've been really lazy! That burst of knitting fever seems to have tapered off a good bit. Since finishing Ollie, I've knitted one little bootee, which turned out too small to fit anything but a doll. Then I started a baby cardigan with some old stash yarn, but it's turning out too big and too scratchy, and the color looks more stodgy old lady than charming heirloom. Also I've got some big plans in the works which are actually consuming my every thought (and even invading my dreams), but I'm not quite ready to blog about them yet.

Tonight I bought my plane ticket for next month's trip to Italy. I still don't think it's really sunk in that I'm going. It's sort of like...didn't I just get back? I'm excited, though. Big, big things are happening!

P.S. My newest obsession? Schnoodles.

Ollie

[ raveled. ]

I finished him around 6 o'clock this morning. I absolutely should not have stayed up so late, but around 5 (when I should have gone to bed, at the latest), all he needed was a face. Which I messed up the first time and had to do again. But now he's done, and I'm so happy with the way he turned out!

Winter Blues

Do you know what I hate most about winter? It's not the freezing cold days, or the ice or the snow. It's not the lack of daylight. It's not the nights when I'm so cold I can't sleep, when I can't get warm unless I run my hands under steaming hot water for a full minute. No, it's days like today. Mild, sunny days that mimic early spring. We get a few--sometimes one a week--quickly followed by another cold snap. It's cruel! It's like showing a child a puppy and then taking it away.

Fortunately, January is passing quickly for me this year. I'm completely preoccupied with thoughts of my upcoming trip and all of the things I need to do to get ready for it. I'm crossing my fingers that the weather will be sunny and warm while I'm in Italy this time.

Knitting-wise, I'm speeding through another bear. This one's for me. I'm using O-Wool Balance, a 50/50 blend of organic cotton and wool, in a nice brown tweed. It's a worsted weight, so he's bigger than the last one, and I'm overstuffing him so that the body is firm, not squishy. I'm almost done with the second leg. Next up, I'll be knitting a pair of Saartje's Bootees. Not for anyone in particular; I just want to use up all of the extra Malabrigo I've got leftover from the socks I just finished. Today I bought some purple wooden buttons, which I think will look really nice next to the purple wool:

Last week I put in for a schedule change at work. Tomorrow I'll find out if I got it, and if I did, it'll start on Saturday. It's the kind of radical change I need to snap me out of the winter blues. Also I'm thinking about getting my hair cut like this again. Thoughts?

Baby Things

[ raveled: boo boo. ]
[ raveled: a pea in the pod. ]

My cousin Brittany is having a baby. Not that I need an excuse to knit baby things, but it's nice to be knitting them for an actual baby, rather than the dream of the one I hope to have someday. After knitting three elephants and three & three-quarter rabbits (the last one is patiently waiting for some ears), I really wanted to knit something else. Enter Otto, an Ysolda pattern that's been in my queue forever. I wasn't that crazy about any of the colors of Cashsoft DK, which I normally use for stuffed animals, but I found a really beautiful icy blue shade of Babyboo. Although I got a bit frustrated with the way the Otto pattern was designed (the crotch gusset, especially), I'm pretty happy with the way he turned out.

I also knitted a baby-sized Koolhaas with Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in a cool pea green. I love, love, love this little hat. It only took about a day to knit, and I'm really happy with the way it turned out.

In other news, I'm going back to Italy at the end of February. Originally, Flavio was going to come here for Valentine's day, but we both decided it would be better for me to go there. We won't be able to spend Valentine's day together, unfortunately, but we will be spending our 1-year anniversy (Feb. 28th) together, and that means a lot more to me. I'm hoping to stay a little bit longer than I did during my last trip, and I think we'll be having a few little adventures while I'm there. Possibilities include Annecy, Turin, Lake Como, and the roof of the Duomo.

Gotham City Socks

[ raveled. ]

This was a really fun pattern to knit. Simple, but never boring. And considering I did these on a pair of size 1 needles that I hate, this went very quickly. I think it's the fastest pair of socks I've ever done. And I love, love, love this Malabrigo sock yarn!

These socks fit really, really well. Most socks I've knitted tend to be too loose in the heel. I think the tighter gauge really helped with that here. And my favorite part? The cable on the side of the foot:

Great job on the pattern, Andrea! I hope it's not your last design! I'd love to see what other beautiful things you come up with.