Ponchos and Presents!

My Unikat poncho is finally finished!  Actually, I finished knitting it a couple of weeks ago, but just recently got around to adding the fringe.  I love it!  It is warm and wonderful!  I tried the picture in the bathroom mirror thing, but the lighting was so bad that the poncho looked like a blue and gray blob -- not to mention what I looked like!  I won't go there!  Sooooooo, I had to settle for taking its picture on a hanger in front of the closet door.  At least you can see its color here.  I am still working on multiple Christmas presents, including a last minute addition -- a shawl that is going to be awesome!  I had this idea earlier this week, so I made another trip to Michael's and found the perfect yarn.  It is Lion Brand Yarn's new Trellis in the color "Night Life."  Trellis looks very much like Bernat's Matrix.  I was so excited about the new gift that I had to start knitting it that same night (I know you are surprised about that!)  It is coming along quickly as it is being knit on size 19 knitting needles.  If you want to see the pattern, go to Lion Brand Yarn's website and look for the free pattern for the Trellis knitted triangular shawl.  I will tell the story of how this shawl idea came about later on.  The recipient may be lurking here, and I know she would recognize the story instantly!  Aren't surprises fun??!!!!!  :)

Show and Don't Tell!

Here are the latest 2 finished Christmas presents.  I will show them to you, but will not tell who they are for just in case one of the recipients happens by here!  The poncho is really soft and warm.  I like how the Colorwaves yarn makes a subtle striping pattern.  It photographed just a bit darker than it really is.  I used the same pattern as the Unikat poncho, but it came out a bit longer, so I have decided not to fringe it.  For the scarf, I wanted something a little more substantial than just Fun Fur, so I mixed the Fun Fur with TLC Amore.  The result was a nice blend of furry and warm and snuggly soft!  I like this scarf.  I might have to do one for myself out of this combination after Christmas!  Well, I am off to hopefully finish the other scarf that I mentioned yesterday, and I am also in the process of cutting fringe for my Unikat poncho.  The weather has turned colder again, so I have hopes of wearing it soon!

The Ribbon Scarf is Finished!

Whew!  What a busy week it has been!  We had a really nice Thanksgiving.  It is always nice when the family can all get together.  Bill (my nephew) and Cheryle are making their wedding plans as well as house plans, and Katie (my niece) announced that she and her new husband Jeremy are expecting a child this spring.  Lots of changes in the air for 2005!  In knitting news, I have finished the ribbon scarf as you can see in the picture above.  The picture really does not do this scarf justice.  The yarn has a beautiful sheen and the scarf is really very chic and stylish.  I have also finished the Pollyanna Poncho.  I just have to weave in the ends and it will be picture ready.  I have 2 more scarves halfway finished, so more pictures later on in the week, hopefully.  Well, I am off to put out the Christmas decorations on the balcony, and then I will work some more on that Christmas knitting.  Anything to stay out of those crowds in the malls!!!!

Blogiversary!

I have been a blogger for one year now!  I just realized that one year ago today I started keeping my original knitting blog under my old screenname.  I switched to this screenname and started this blog in March.  Looking back, a lot has happened in this past year, some of it good, and some of it bad.  One year ago, I would never have even thought that my life could have changed so drastically. What a difference a year makes.  But one thing that has not changed is my love of knitting and it's power to help me survive even the most difficult times.  It has never failed me and I will be depending on it for solace during the tough times still to come.  I love the holiday season, but this year there will be a touch of sadness.  But there are many bright spots on the horizon.  It seems appropriate today to express thanks for my many friends and family that have helped me through the dark times this past year.  And thanks too, to the blogpals that have followed me from the "old days" of my original blog -- Bron, Spunknit, and Pam of Knitterbugs.  Thanks also to the new blogpals like Roxi that I have met since then.  Now, lest you think that I am all doom and gloom, (which I am not) then let me leave you with this hilarious picture of my parents' dog, Bubba, all dressed up in his party best!  Happy Thanksgiving!

Knit, Knit, Knit!

I do not have any new pictures of knitting progress to post, so instead I have posted a picture of my second oil painting -- it is called "Hatteras Fantasy."  I just painted it yesterday.  Also, there is a picture of one of my cats doing what both cats do best -- lounging!  I thought that might amuse you until I get some knitting pictures!  The lack of photos does not mean that there has been a lack of knitting progress!  I am in full swing in the Christmas Knitting Season!  I have so many projects and knitting bags all over the place that it is a miracle that I can keep it all straight!  Besides my own knitting, I have taken on knitting some presents for people who have "hired" me to knit for them.  But only small things.  I have too much of my own knitting to get done to take on big projects.  The siren call of the gorgeous yarns has caused a bunch of coworkers to become interested in knitting for themselves.  The group of lunchtime Stitch and Bitchers at work has increased to 8 knitters, and there are at least 2 or 3 more that have expressed an interest.  They have even suggested a weekly knitting class/group to be held outside of work.  Sounds like a great idea to me!  The more the merrier!  The Unikat poncho is still patiently awaiting its fringe.  The delay has been due to the flurry of Christmas knitting and the return of the unseasonably warm weather!  I guess I spoke too soon in my last entry -- fall knitting weather has taken a hiatus!  But the knitting goes on!  Happy Thanksgiving!

Poncho Pizzazz!

The Unikat poncho is finished -- well, sort of!  All it needs now is its fringe. I appologize for the hurried picture -- the "Diva" cat was closing in quickly -- everything is a potential cat bed around here!  It was a race to take the picture and rescue the poncho before she made her move and claimed it as "hers".  I had to use the 3rd ball that I recently ordered from Roxi to finish up the last 4 rows.  I actually finished knitting it on Monday night, but I decided to wait until this weekend to fringe it.  In the meantime, I have been planning my Christmas knitting projects.  I started one of those Wednesday night.  I love this pattern so much that I am using it for a poncho for my Christmas Pollyanna at work.  She loves red, so I decided to use the Lion Brand Color Waves yarn in Sunset Red for her poncho.  I will be posting pictures of it as it progresses.  Right now it is nothing more than a little red blob on the needles!  It is finally getting cold here now, and the leaves are losing their beautiful colors and falling off the trees.  Knitting weather has arrived! 

Stash Enhancement

What began as a day trip to Richmond to a craft show turned into a stash enhancement trip.  That is not all that surprising considering that the driver was a new knitter who has been badly bitten by the knitting bug!  It all started out innocently enough.  A group of us girls from work decided to check out the annual Virginia Christmas Show.  On the way to Richmond, Ronda casually mentioned that she had the address for the Ben Franklin Craft Store in Richmond, and maybe we could stop on the way home as it was on the way back (sort of).  Well, after spending 7 hours walking all over that craft show, we wearily piled back into Ronda's van and headed back out.  We figured that we could easily find the way to the Ben Franklin store.  Wrong.  Before long, we realized that we were lost in downtown Richmond.  No problem.  Being women, we were not afraid to stop and ask directions.  At least not until we noticed that all of the businesses had bars on their windows!  Well, maybe stopping and asking directions was not the best idea after all at that particular place and time.  So onward we plunged.  Several wrong turns later and many dollars poorer from all of the toll booths, we found ourselves in the parking lot of the Ben Franklin Craft Store.  Finally.  Once inside, we had a quick conference and decided to meet back at the front of the store in an hour.  What??? An hour????  We had just spent 7 hours stomping all over that craft show, (and who knows how long roaming all over Richmond touring all of the toll booths)  and now we were going to spend another hour stomping all over this Ben Franklin store???  And with an Olive Garden beckoning from across the parking lot???  Oh well.  Off to the yarn section I went, figuring that I would find the same things that our local Michael's has.  Wrong.  Needless to say, I never even made it out of the few isles that make up the yarn section of that store!  Besides the usual Michael's fare, there were lots of new and different yarns that I had heard of but never seen in person.  There was so much to see and to fondle and covet, that I thought I would faint from sheer happiness! So what did I end up with?  Some yarn called Pom Pom from NY yarns in 2 different shades (I just couldn't decide between the blue and the pink!)  The fun fur was on sale also, so I bought some in matching colors to the Pom Pom to make scarves for Christmas presents.  I also bought a color of Patons Divine that I had not seen before -- Regal Red.  I bought enough to make a scarf and a hat.  And I bought a pattern for a lovely cardigan coat.  The pattern calls for Divine in Night Sky -- I thought that the Regal Red scarf and hat would look really nice with the night sky coat.  There was so much gorgeous yarn there that I had a really hard time deciding what to buy -- especially since I was exhausted and starving by that point!  We will definitely have to make a return trip to that Ben Franklin Store -- only the next time we will have to go there first!  In knitting news, I am almost finished the second ball of Unikat on my poncho.  I have started the ribbing, and it does not look like that second ball will finish it up.  Luckily, the extra ball I ordered from Roxy came earlier this week, so there will not be a break in the knitting!  Hopefully, I will have a picture of the finished poncho to share soon!