Author: Trish

Well, let’s just say that my 9-year-old is going to have a little extra time on her hands over the next two weeks. So, today she picked up her knitting again, and finally knit past the point where she stopped and we had to rip back last fall. She even snapped this photo herself with her very own digital camera, which she received for Christmas this year. She asked tonight if she could start her own knitting blog, which I think might be an interesting idea, because we’ve been struggling with her writing assignments all school year. But I’ll have to figure out a way to do it that will maintain her safety and security. I’ll think on it… and meanwhile, the pink scarf’s finally gettin’ longer!

Wow, here I thought I’d be close to done on this hat by now, and as you can see, I still have quite a bit to do! A couple more inches in the crown section and then the decreases. I guess the only real amount of knitting I’ve done this week has been during commuting time, so that might explain it. We’ve been in Homework H*ll with our 4th grader who somehow thought she could do a major writing assignment all in one night, only to find out that she couldn’t, so had to redo it all in another night… so it goes. Oh well. The good news is that with each passing day I am getting more into the rhythm of knitting again. It feels good!! I think working on such a familiar project was a good idea for getting started. Now, if I can just get up the nerve to go in the dining room and pick up Alison’s Poncho…

Yet Another Book to Love

I just got the book, Hip Knit Hats by Cathy Carron the other day, and I love it! The hats are stylish, fun and funky…. and should be a joy to knit. Each pattern in the book shows several variations, so you have the opportunity to try the hat in various yarn weights and style variations. How cool is that? There’s an errata page on the author’s website, but she includes a free pattern to help ease the pain. If you love knitting hats, definitely get this book. The hats are definitely worth it!

Hi, Gang! I can’t tell you how happy I am to be this far along on my cousin’s hat. This means it should be ready for felting by the weekend, given that I am to the crown section at last. Yay! I know I’ve mentioned, like, at least a thousand and three times how much I love the Fiber Trends AC-1 hat pattern, and that still holds true! Next time, I think I want to be adventurous and try the version with the flat brim. It looks glamourous and fun. I’m a bit disappointed in the way my camera is photographing the hat, though, because the colors are really lots more vivid than what you see here. When I’m done I’ll have to get a photo of Diane wearing it in natural light. I think it’s going to be pretty!

I’ve done quite a bit too much knit related shopping this week and I can’t wait for the UPS man to start rolling through the neighborhood. Sara, one of my co-monitors on the KnitTalk list, mentioned a sale at Cherry Tree Hill yarns. I’ve always wanted a hank or two of the Oceania yarn in my stash, so I got some while it was on sale. Two hanks, actually, so that’s enough to do a sweater for not-so-tiny me. Not saying that’s what I will do with it, given that I’ve never made a sweater in my LIFE, but I did by a new DVD from KnitPicks on top-down sweaters, and while I was at it, the one on entrelac hats and bags. We’ll see how I like those!

Anyway, so that’s where I am this week in the world of knitting; I’m excited to be getting back into it again. More next time…

Ok, so I’m knitting again, at least taking baby steps in the right direction. I promised my cousin Diane a felted brimmed hat like this one: Genny’s Hat. Diane has requested a teal hat, so I’m combining two strands of KnitPicks Wool of the Andes, combining one strand of the color “Stream” and one strand of “Winter Night”. It’s making a lovely deep teal. At first I was concerned that the color wouldn’t be right at all, but now I’m loving it! Let’s hope that Diane does, too. It feels good to be kniting again.

More later…

Hi all… I’m starting my new year’s entry on a sad note. The reason why I haven’t posted since Thanksgiving is that, less than a week later, I experienced the loss of my father, Bryan Humphrey, after a bout with invasive sqaemous cell carcinoma. To those of us who loved him, the loss occurred very quickly, but for him, each day was painful and torturous, so though I am very sad, I am glad he is relieved of his suffering. Suffer, he did. A lot.

And so my knitting has suffered as well. Not that my father would have wanted me to stop knitting. But during the last weeks and months of his life, I made several long trips in the car to visit with him, and always had my knitting with me. I knitted, too, by his bedside as we talked, or while he slept, or while he listened to me yammer on about my kids, my job, just about anything. But at the moment, since his passing, I am finding it hard to knit. I hope to be back among the bloggers with news of my projects again soon, but until then, thanks, as always, for your love and support.

This photo is of Dad and I dancing at my brother Michael’s wedding in October of 2000. This was a good day. I love you, Dad, and may you be at peace.

Well, here it is… Diana’s felted hat completed. It has a zigzag cabled hat band and a butterfly pin that I found at Gracemate Jewelry. I hope Diana likes it! She’s at my mom’s house, helping with preparations for the Thanksgiving feast, so I’m planning to bring it over and surprise her with it. I may even cast on for my next hat before leaving for my mom’s house, so I’ll have a project to work on while there. Can’t decide whether it’s going to be another felted hat (I have a long list of family and friends who now want one) or the KnitPicks Long Winter’s Nap hat for me. Guess I’d better decide quickly, as we’ll be leaving pretty soon! Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate, and may you have many things to be thankful for.