The Bangles Greatest Hits

Christmas is over. The tree is down. Presents are all unwrapped. So before the excitement of New Year's Eve sets in, I thought I'd go through a rundown of all the Christmas crafts I couldn't blog about earlier for obvious reasons.

First up are the bangles. I made two each for my sister and two friends. I got the idea from Mimsie's Ravelry page and blog. And I had previously made two for myself.

Sippi's bangles are made out of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK (light) and Aran (dark)—her favorite color is periwinkle. The lighter one is a bobble stitch from Vogue Knitting, and the darker one is a lace hearts stitch from VK:

Richele also has a lace heart stitch bangle. Her's is made from Paton's Classic Wool Merino. The blue bangle is a thatched cable stitch from—you guessed it—Vogue Knitting. The yarn is Lion Brand Wool-Ease:

Kate's bangles are also from Vogue Knitting stitch patterns. The purple is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK and a double seed stitch. The tan is a lace pattern and Lion Brand Wool-Ease:

Mmmm, don't they look tasty!

I'll blog more on the rest of the crafty Christmas presents later.

Off to the races

• Christmas crafts finished...........check
• Christmas shopping finished.......check
• presents wrapped....................check

Now, I'm just one Christmas party (at the horse races), a few hours of work, one evening of packing and laundry, and one six-hour drive away from vacation!

No peeking!

'Jingle bells, electric lights'

Things are winding down finally. I've been listening to my favorite "Christmas" song, "Christmas Katie," on repeat—I like the name! It's been cooler than 80 degrees in New Orleans this week. So it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!


I'm 99% done with my Christmas crafts, shopping, and wrapping. And I'm 85% done with my deadline work that needs to be done before this weekend. After that, it's ten glorious days of watching "Lost" DVDs, playing with new Christmas toys, eating yummy things, and knitting! I can't wait. And I'm planning ahead.

I chopped nine inches of hair off earlier this month, which means getting used to short hair again and contemplating all the fun things I can do with it. Like wearing hats. I have a large head, so I always think hats look wonky on me. But I may be able to pull one off with my spunky new coif. I'm leaning towards a beret because I'm going to Paris this spring, and "when in Rome..."

I've been trolling Ravelry. I briefly considered Grumperina's Art Deco Beret from Knitscene, but I don't think I'm ready to commit to sparkly beads all over my head just yet. So I moved on to Wendy Bernard's Last-Minute Purled Beret and Le Slouch. But neither really jumped out and grabbed me. I was just about ready to give up and focus on finishing WIPs during my vacation. Until this morning. When by complete accident, I rediscovered this gem:


And all at once, it all came back. I remembered how much I loved this pattern when I first saw it last year (Vogue Knitting Holiday 2006). I imagined myself sitting in a lovely little Parisian sidewalk cafe, sipping café au lait and eating a crêpe—or maybe a baguette, no let's stick with the crêpe. I saw my sassy new haircut peeking out from under the hat. And I was sold. I went to the yarn store during my lunch break. Now I'm $40 poorer (size 13 circular needles don't come cheap), optimistic, and not destined to focus on boring, old WIPs over break! J'adore le chapeau!


Photos: apta.com, Vogue Knitting, and Rowan

Almost famous

I wrote an article for the winter issue of Knitty, and it just came out! Check it out. And if you're linking here from the article, welcome.

Long overdue

I know, I know. I've been a horribly neglectful blogger recently. But not for lack of things to blog about. The past month has been a flurry of finishing old projects and starting new ones—and getting a leg up on those daunting Christmas crafts. So without further ado, here's a rundown of finished objects and a preview of things to come.

Bryant's Slipover

My very first sweater-type garment is finished! I wore it to work yesterday, and it was so warm and soft (I used Garnstudio Drops alpaca). Even though it's knitted to gauge and blocked to measurements, it's still a little "gapey" at the top, but I guess that just allows for bulkier undergarments.

Here's another view, and there are even more pictures on Ravelry (subtropicalkatie), if you're so inclined.




Swatch Bangle

I saw these on Mimsie's Ravelry page, and loved the idea, so I went a little Fetching with them. I'm up to three so far—with more to come before Christmas. (Close your eyes for the next few pictures if you think you might be on my Christmas list.)

I used my favorite cable stitch of all time (Hollow Oak from "Vogue Knitting") and some stash Debbie Bliss cashmerino aran in a dark blue for the first one:


The next is just a regular thick cable and some stash Lions Brand Wool Ease in a tan-brown:

I'll keep the remaining ones a mystery for now—at least until Christmas.

I'm a checklist kind of girl, so signing off on all these objects brings me lots of satisfaction. But I'm also an only-happy-when-I'm-busy girl, so I've obviously got a few new projects in the works.

Little Gems Mitts

My first foray into non-Fetching fingerless mitts is turning out well so far. I haven't had any nervous breakdowns or Debbie Bliss withdrawals—yet. Here's a progress shot of the Little Gems Mitts from Interweave Knit's Holiday Gifts. I'm using the yarn used in the pattern, Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift but in a different color scheme. My "gems" will be various shades of green.


And in other crafty news...

The sewing machine has been lugged downstairs and is hard at work again on several new projects. The only one that's finished so far is a modified version of the clutch from the cover of Amy Karol's book. I stumbled on some great Free Spirit gnome fabric while online shopping at Purl and knowing that I was soon to be the houseguest of a gnome-loving friend, I decided to put it to good use. As for the modifications, it's reversible. I added a ribbon along the edge of the solid side for a little more pizazz and voila! I think it was a hit!