New Year's Eve

Happy New Year's Eve everyone, or the few people that come by to visit! I'm back from southern CA. I had a wonderful trip visiting relatives and loved ones, but it went way too fast. It always does though.

My brother purchased a website, http://www.golonka.net/. You can check out the munchkins I went to visit there. I had a blast playing with them.

While in CA, I managed to finish the backpack for my friend's little girl. I put some other items in it, and when she opened the gift, she thought it was another blanket. LOL. We had to stand it up and show her how it works. Take a look at the finished backpack, after felting, and the liner (sorry about the blurred photo).



This is a pattern from "Bags: A Knitter's Dozen", by Elaine Rowley. I like the pattern a lot. I used Knitpicks.com Wool of the Andes yarn for the bag. I used Tulip and Hush, one strand of each, about 400 yards each color. The yarn felted very well, except you really can't see the details in the cables, so I'm not sure I would do the cables the same. The yarn used in the pattern may work better to show off this detail, or maybe I needed to not felt the fabric as much. However, I like the sturdiness of the more felted fabric. The bobbles show up really well. For a child I worry about the weight of a felted bag. The little girl put it on and thought it was heavy, but it did have a book and a doll in it when she put the backpack on. We'll have to see how it works out for her.

What didn't get knit on much while in CA? My mom's socks. Sigh, I got up to the third repeat of the main cable pattern and that was it. So, they will be finished here and mailed to her. She likes the colors of the sock yarn though, and I love how my handspun is working up. I turned the heel and started on the instep decreases, so I will have more pictures soon.

For Christmas, my family gave me lots of books. I love books and these are going to be wonderful reads and are packed full of things to knit (or at least most are).

1. "Sensational Knitted Socks" by Charlene Schurch. This book is chocked full of stitch patterns that can be used for sock designing, and she groups them by stitch number, so you can tailor your sock easier. The socks are really lovely too. I'll enjoy using this as a reference.


2. "Odd Ball Knitting: Creative Ideas for Leftover Yarn" by Barbara Albright. This looks like it will be helpful using up my stash leftovers. My only concern is that the patterns actually require quite a bit of yarn, so the patterns may be more appropriate for large quantities of stash yarn. We'll see though. There are some cute patterns in here, including a rug.


3. "Modular Knits: New Techniques for Today's Knitters" by Iris Schreier. This is probably one of the more interesting technique books I've seen. Lately I seem to be getting more and more into modular knit items and have been looking for a quide on some of the techniques, other than "Domino Knitting" by Vivian Hoxbro, which is great by the way. Many of you may be familiar with the yarn company of Iris Schreier, Artyarns.com. She offers a tutorial for modular knitting that anyone can sign up for. I receive her tutorials and they have been helpful, but I find the book much more helpful.


4. "Handknits For Kids: 25 Original Designs For Girls and Boys" by Lucinda Guy. This book has some really cute knits for kids. I'm looking forward to making some of the items for my niece and nephew, and have already have ideas for them.


5. "Denying Evolution: Creationism, Scientism, and the Nature of Science" by Massimo Pigliucci. Yes, this was one of my non-knitting gifts. DO NOT send me any emails or post comments about creationism or ID, I'll just delete them. This book is in the picture mainly because my brother laughed when he saw my Christmas list. He said it was eclectic, and that it is. I'm looking forward to reading this to help me answer student questions and expand my debate capabilities.

While in CA, I also purchased some fabric for myself. The top fabric in this image is a collection of blocks with sheep on them. I've been looking to buy this in the U.S. for a while. I saw it on a U.K. website a while back and was delighted to find this fabric in Moore's Sewing Center while my mom was ordering a chair for my father. It's such a cute scene. I can't wait to play with the blocks. The green fabric with sheep on it is to be the backing for the sheep block quilt.



I also purchased the yarn ball fabric there. I kind of wish I had this fabric for those pouches I made. Wouldn't that have looked just great in a knitting bag?

The cat fabric that you see in the right corner and the book "Fast, Fun & Easy Fabric Boxes" by Linda Johansen, were purchased at Bunney Hutch. I have plans for the book. Just have to find the right fabric for a friend's gift. Yes, more gifts, but I have a while for that.

Well, only 2 hrs or so and we're into 2006. Can't believe how fast this year went. I'm off to play with my yarn stash and keep my hubby company.

Happy Fibering and Happy New Year!