Gremlins?

Like everyone, I've had things disappear in the mysterious black hole that resides somewhere in my home. The first thing that comes to mind is socks, but we all know that in that case the dryer likes to send them to another dimension...

No, what I'm talking about is those things that just disappear in thin air with no rhyme or reason. You know what I mean? Knitting needles, that last ball of yarn you need to finish your sweater... I even lost a big box of knitting books and Rowan magazines like that. Some nights I can be seen wandering aimlessly, looking for it in very strange places. It haunts me to this day...

Well, something even stranger just happened to me.

Something appeared out of nowhere!

I was rummaging through my big yarn basket, the one I keep in the living room for my current projects and for those I might feel like knitting.

While looking for some white Briggs & Little Sport for the SnawPaws I'm currently knitting, I came across a set of pale blue plastic double pointed needles I've never seen before!!!!!!

This is extremely troubling, because I've never bought pale blue plastic double pointed needles, nobody ever gave me pale blue plastic double pointed needles and no other knitters have come over to my house recently!

It gets even weirder! I completely emptied that basket 2 days ago to put away the yarn that was left from my Christmas projects. There were NO knitting needles in there, blue plastic or otherwise!

Mind you, I don't mind getting needles from some knitting ghost, I just wish it would have returned my books and magazines instead...

P.S: Dear ghost or gremlin or whatever you are, if you can only manage knitting needles, I'd rather get metal or wood ones! ;-)

A red, red cowl!

I told you my 91 year old mother asked me to make her a red cowl for her birthday. A bright red cowl in alpaca. Well, being a very good, obedient  daughter, I was happy to oblige!

Here it is:

I photographed it all over the place, trying to find good lighting in this late afternoon sunlight. It wasn't easy...

The stitch is a mixture of double crochet and front post treble crochet. I also made scallops at the top to frame my mother's face. :-)

It's really cold today, - 20 degrees celsius (-4 degrees farenheit) with a wind chill factor of -28 celsius (-18 farenheit), getting even colder tonight, so a warm cowl will be appreciated!

I'm giving it to her this evening when we celebrate both her birthday and my son's birthday with a bunch of friends. I hope she loves it!!! I'll try to get pictures if the restaurant lighting allows it...

The mittens are going well, my daughter should be able to wear them for her birthday next week! She lives 3 hours away and she doesn't know it yet, but I'll be delivering them in person! Yeah!!!

Birthday knitting!

Yesterday was my mother's birthday, today is my son's birthday. Luckily, my daughter's birthday isn't for a couple of weeks, that gives me time to knit her two pairs of mittens!

So, I'm making a crochet cowl for my mother, she admired a few of the cowls I made and requested a cowl in thick alpaca like the cowl I made for my daughter.

The only difference is that my mother wants a  bright red cowl! My mother just turned 91!!! No old lady accessories for her! ;-)

I made a "Frolicking deers" hat (only the funny side) for my son. He's crazy about it. He always loves getting hand knits, but this hat is something else, the vintage look almost hides the pattern for a few seconds. Then, when the pattern becomes apparent, it makes people grin and even laugh out loud!

Isn't cuter with a pompom?

Now, for my daughter, I'm knitting Kate Davies' Snawpaws after which I'll adapt the pattern to match the Inga hat.

When my birthday knitting is all done, I'll be free to knit and crochet whatever I want!!! I'm thinking rugs, sweaters and a "Ron Weasley blanket" adapted for the knitting machine (I'm thinking double jacquard maybe?)

I've also started making some pompoms. I have a couple of ideas I want to try out that are going to take pompoms, a lot of pompoms, a huge whole lot of pompoms!!! By the way, I'm finding pompoms to be great stash busters!

Stay tuned!

Happy New Year!!!

I've been under the weather since the day after Christmas, the flu knocked me to the ground and just kept me there...
But, things are looking up! Between two coughing fits, I've been able to start knitting again!!!

Before that bad bug bit me, Christmas was great! The presents (knitted and not) were a big hit, the menu was a success and a wonderful time was had by all! Yeah!!!

Now, I'm knitting some more things for my son, mother and daughter. They all have their birthdays in january!!! No rest for the knitter...

My mother wants a big huge cowl, my son wants a "Frolicking deers" hat (he was very jealous of those who got one for Christmas but I had already planned on making him one for his birthday) and my daughter wants mittens to match the hats (Inga and Snawheid) she got.

In the meantime, let me wish you a very Happy New Year! I wish all of us health, passion, compassion and enough of a sense of humour to get through 2013! ;-)