January Knitting Tally!

Just wanted to recap my finished projects for this month.  They include 6 hats, 1 pair of worsted socks, and 1 pair of mittens.  On the needles are a wrap and a blanket.  And I've got a To Do list a mile long!

And out of curiosity today, I counted my finished projects from 2010 - 46! I knew I did a lot of knitting last year but didn't think it was 46!

And now for my favorite picture from January:

My great-grandparent's mailbox.  My grandparents and then my parents used this mailbox until about 10 or so years ago.  Now this one sits on my parent's front porch. 

Playing Catch-Up

Christmas was exciting this year! We had a white Christmas for the first time that I can remember. I was reminded of song from Alabama "Christmas in Dixie. It's snowin' in the pines"

On January 10, I awoke to this! Almost 3 inches of snow! Well, actually a snow sandwich. There was a layer of ice, snow, and then more ice. Work was closed that day so a lot of knitting got done!

Knitting Content

Everyone who received a hand-knit Christmas gift really seemed to like their special handknit.

So far, this month,

- I've started a Linny Wrap, a house pattern from my LYS (In The Making), and ripped it out and restarted it several times. Hopefully, there will be no more ripping out. It's from a gorgeous crimson cashmere/silk lace weight that I bought on sale at In the Making and a cranberry mohair. Wonderfully soft!

-Made 3 overdue Christmas Hats for a friends children from Berroco Comfort. I'm using the wonderful House Hat Worksheet from my LYS.

-A pair of worsted weight socks using scrap wool and a pattern from Ann Budd's Getting Started Knitting Socks.

-Started another Joseph's Blankie of Many Colors from Mason-Dixon Knitting using Peaches & Creme. This will be my take along project until it gets too big to take along.

-Made 2 baby hats this weekend from Berroco Comfort and about to start on a third for a baby shower next Sunday. I would have liked to have made a blanket for her but I didn't receive the invitation until last Thursday.

Looking at my list of knitting, I see that I've done more than I think!

Christmas Knitting

Christmas Knitting is completed. I've knit two Just Enough Ruffles scarves, 1 pair of mittens, 1 Family Ribbed Hat, 1 Ballband Dishcloth, 1 Ballband Washcloth, and 1 pair of fingerless mitts. And just in time too since Christmas is less than a week away! (The washcloth and fingerless mitts aren't shown in the picture.)

Next year, I vow to get an earlier start on my Christmas knitting!

Oh my!

I can't believe I've let a month slip by without posting! I've been writing posts in my head but I guess it doesn't count if I don't actually post them! :) At any rate, Christmas knitting is in full swing at my house. And I've also been knitting some mittens for Afghans for Afghans. Here's one pair of the mittens:

For an excellent tutorial on knitting mittens, check out the blog Two Left Feet. I used it to make the mittens above. I didn't realize though that knitting mittens is addictive!

Hats, hats, hats

In the past week, I have knit 5 hats and one pair of mittens. The beanies are for Jordan, a friend's teenage son who loves colorful beanies. The blue hat and mittens are for Pam's new grandson, Truett. Truett's hat still needs a pom-pom. The large pink hat is for Truett's big sister, Arianna. And the small pink hat is for Hudson, my friend Vicki's granddaughter. Both of the pink hat still need their flowers.

All of this hat making has made me want to knit a scarf or a wrap.

In other news, I am anxiously awaiting my copy of More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. I ordered it from Books-a-Million.com on Thursday.

The second annual Yarn Crawl is being held NYC this weekend. More details are over on Mason-Dixon Knitting. I was thinking this morning that I would really, really like to try to go next year. We'll see.

Now, off to finish the laundry!

Comfort Knitting

I've been doing comfort knitting lately. I've been sick with a cold which has made for a foggy brain. So....I've gotten a lot done on the Joseph's Blankie of Many Colors (the second) from the first Mason-Dixon Knitting book . All those rows of garter stitch - the ultimate in comfort knitting! Last Saturday, I felt so bad that I just sat on the couch in my jammies, watched a The Nanny marathon and garter-stitched away! I'm on the 7th row of strips now so the rows have gotten really long. Here's a look:

And, I've been doing some comfort knitting my friend, Bonnie. Her mother died on Sunday so I am knitting a scarf for her. While knitting, I am thinking about Mrs. Evelyn so in a way, it is a comfort for me too. I'm using just a simple feather and fan stitch and am using Misti Alpaca Hand Paint Baby Suri Silk. I've never used this before and it is so soft and absolutely GLORIOUS to the touch and to the eye. You really can't tell in the picture but it is a beautiful mix of reds, corals, golds, teals, and browns. It is colorway 06 and is called "Red Rover". I've only just started and I'm looking forward to the seeing what it looks like completed.

Happy Knitting!