Wendy Knits

Cute stuff! That’s what my Gift Faerie left for me yesterday morning! A lovely bag of fun things from Suzanne B.!

Isn’t that a great little bag? I think it’s perfect for schlepping around my sock-in-progress. And inside:

A cute little decorative kitty that says “Blessed are the purr in heart . . . ” I know Izzy will approve.

A kit to knit a little sheep ornament. This is great! I’ve never seen this little kit before and it’s adorable. The white yarn to knit the little sheep appears to be mohair, so the sheep will be fuzzy.

And a tube of wonderful hand cream! Odie and I both tried it and it’s very nice — vanishes completely, the way hand cream should. This will be very handy (pardon my pun) in combating the cold and the industrial strength soap they have in the restrooms at work.

Thank you Suzanne!

More Cute Stuff!

My Gift Faerie visited me again in the afternoon, with a gift for today, as she;s out of the office on Thursdays. How cute are these?

Tell me these aren’t the cutest little buttons! A gift from Lola L.! My coworkers and I spent a few minutes playing with them and someone suggested that I should use both the cats and the mice on the same sweater. I think that’s a very cute idea! Izzy seemed quite taken with them when I bought them home. She seemed to be unduly interested in the mice so I kept a sharp eye on her, lest she think they were snacks. But I’m pleased to report, all the little mice are still intact! Lola, thank you so much.

WendyKnits presents:

My Sweater Oscars!

Yesterday Purl asked me which of my sweaters are my favorites to wear. What a great question! I had to stop and think about it a little.

The ugly truth is that none of them get a lot of wear. The climate is just not quite cold enough here for a lot of heavy sweater wearing.

Until this winter. Yipes! It’s been chilly! When hauling out sweaters to wear, I realized that I do have some favorites to wear — which were not necessarily my favorites to knit. So without further ado, the Sweater Oscars!

Category: Best Performance by a Dale of Norway Pullover

And the winner is: Jubileum!

Category: Best Performance by a Dale of Norway Cardigan

And the winner is: Kongsberg!

Category: Best Performance by an Alice Starmore Aran

And the winner is: Bodega Bay!

Category: Best Performance by an Alice Starmore Fair Isle

And the winner is: Luskentyre!

Category: Best Performance by a Lace Shawl

And the winner is: Summer in Kansas!

Category: Best Performance by a Pair of Socks

And the winner is: Purple Iris Socks

Okay, I’m cheating on the socks category, as the winner is a pair of socks I made for my mom. But I think they are the prettiest socks I’ve made.

And speaking of socks . . .

Here’s a photo of my sock in progress, knitted from Lang Jawoll (thanks again, Sabine!)

Don’t you love how nicely it patterns? It looks like little waves in the Mediterranean Sea.

I wish I were near the Mediterranean Sea right now. It’s way cold! But today I’m wearing Luskentyre.

Virgin Sweater Update

I’m still plugging away on the sleeve cap on the first sleeve, and I’m almost done. I think the blamed sleeve cap is taking as long to knit as the sleeve itself. Possibly because it’s not fun to knit so I have a tendency to toss it aside.

But I shall persevere.

Well it was fun while it lasted. The day off, I mean. Did a little housework, did a lot of knitting. See what an exciting, on-the-edge existence I have?

Izzy had a mellow day.

Speaking of fun, look at this!

This adorable needlecase was my gift yesterday, from the extremely talented Tracy, of Fiberfever. Tell me this isn’t the cutest needlecase you’ve ever seen. Tracy made it herself (!!) from a fabric that has little cowgirls all over it, lined with a lovely green plaid. Note the little strap across the top to hold the needles in place. And also note that the needle pockets go up in size to accomodate fatter needles.

When I roll it up thusly:

There’s a sassy little cowgirl dead center in the middle of it!

Thank you so much, Tracy!

Virgin Sweater

I machine stitched up all my steeks yesterday. In answer to a question in my comments, I do always alternate the colors in the steek — makes it easier to carry the colors along. I did 8-stitch steeks for the front and back neck.

Here’s the body of the sweater with the neck steeks cut:

And here’s the first sleeve:

Boring, but made bearable by the central motif that travels down the back of the sleeve.

Sock Yarn

Thanks for all the suggestions for sportwight sock yarn for my Dad’s socks. I made the first pair out of Regia 6, but wanted to try something else because the colors I’ve found in Regia 6 are sort of limited. So I appreciate all the advice!

Ha! Fat chance.

Izzy and I spent yesterday evening doing a snow dance. Well, in Izzy’s case it looked suspiciously like she may have been doing her ham dance — which is a sight to see, let me tell you. But maybe not, as she usually only performs her ham dance for her daddy when he’s in the kitchen slicing . . . uh . . . ham.

Then she appointed herself snow lookout.

So . . . it snowed. But not so much. It looks like there’s an inch out there, and although the government is on unscheduled leave, it’s off to work I go.

(Amy, it’s way cold, so your cute little hat will be put to goood use!)

Virgin Sweater

Here are a couple of close-up photos of virgin faces.

Now, who do you think is wise and who do you think is foolish?

Does it make me a bad person that instead of “foolish virgin” and “wise virgin” I think “silly bitch” and “smart grrl?”

Tuesday’s contest results: and the winner is . . .

Patricia N. of Toronto, Canada! She correctly guessed the Oregon Cardigan, designed by Alice Starmore — pattern in the long out-of-print The Scottish Collection. I had eighteen entries with correct answers. Not bad at all. I even had some of you search doggedly through all my old blog archives to find the entry where I mentioned buying this wool. (Don’t worry Kate, I won’t tell them you did that. And besides, I admire your resourcefulness.)

So Patricia is the lucky recipient of the Knitter’s Stash book. And remember, this contest was made possible through the generosity of Catherine S., who sent me the book.

Happy Friday, all! Stay warm!