Kat with a K

Kiri!

I made Kiri (PDF) for my mom for Christmas, and actually finished it on time for once. But of course that meant I forgot to take pictures. I finally remedied that this weekend.

Front:

Back:

Close-up on the pattern:

Ravelry here. I used worsted weight wool, so it's more substantial but still pretty. I didn't get too sick of the pattern, which is saying something for something that large and repetitive. And Mom says she's actually wearing it, which is always the goal with knitted gifts. So. Success!

I promised you knitting...

Honestly? I'm still trying to finish Christmas presents. And baby presents for a bunch of upcoming babies. And then I have to do something for that church auction. And one of the Christmas presents I finished on time? Still haven't managed to get a picture. Sorry. But! I knit this up for a friend's baby for Christmas - Candy Cane Hat!

The yarn is Plymouth Dreambaby DK. I made the pattern up as I went along, and it's more colorwork than I'd really done before, but I'm happy with how it came out.

Mittens!

I bought this kit at last year's Wool Arts Tour, and realized this year when I saw the booth that I hadn't even started the mittens. So. Here they are!

They weren't the most fun thing to knit, honestly, but I really like the end result. (This is odd for me, as I'm normally much more of a process knitter than a product knitter.) I just - I don't know. Mittens are finicky. Thumbs annoy me. But at the same time I love them, and especially these. There's something delightfully basic and elemental about them. The kit is from Cheshire Sheep Yarns; I can't find a site for them but you can get the kit here. Ravelry page here.

Human Prozac

I had a rough week. Nothing big, really, just a bunch of little things that added up to a lot of generalized stress and anxiety. But then I spent my Friday evening like this, and immediately felt a million times better:

I basically walked into my friends' apartment, said "Here's a baked ziti," and then made them let me hold the baby for four hours. (Not that they seemed to mind. I think they were ready for a break.) He's about six weeks old and all snuggly and warm and has that wonderful baby smell. Definitely the best way to end the week.

I also brought him this:

That's an awful, awful picture but I couldn't get it to come out any better. I promise it's cuter in person. It's Debbie Bliss's Ribbed Baby Jacket, and I think it's in one of her books but I got the pattern for free from a British magazine's Web site. Ravelry page here.

Magical Socks!

Harry Potter socks:

I got the yarn at the Wool Arts Tour last year, and I was determined to finish the socks to wear to the tour this year. And I did! Ravelry page.

Clapotis!

Pattern: Clapotis
Yarn: Noro Matsuri, colorway 6, purchased at Webs. It took about 5.5 balls.
Needle size: 7
Ravelry project page

Yes, I know, I'm more or less the last knitter on the planet to knit this. Ah well. Better late than never, and now that it's done, I completely adore it. I found the yarn in the discount section at Webs at the end of February, started knitting immediately, and was fairly monogamous for a few months. Then I took a break to knit that scarf I posted a few days ago, and when that was done I got a burst of energy to just finish this. Now I'm trying to plan out outfits for the next few days that will look good with it so I can wear it as much as possible.

Hey, look, a scarf!

Apparently I still knit!

Clapotis and I had been very monogamous for quite a while, but then I got to the point at which I felt like it would just NEVER END and I needed to do something else or I'd lose my mind. So I figured I'd do a nice quick scarf for charity for some immediate gratification and warm fuzzy feelings, and here it is. It's Lion Brand Vanna's Choice, which I've found to be a surprisingly decent basic acrylic, in broken garter stitch on size ten needles. Two balls; I just knit until the yarn ran out. Nice and simple and satisfying. Oh, and I think the color is "dusty blue." I know the color in the picture isn't great, but a glance at the ten-day forecast tells me that the color in the picture won't be great for at least a week or so, so I decided to just go for it. Ravelry page here.

So I finished the scarf on Monday, took out Clapotis, turned to Caitlin, and asked permission to start the decreases. We agreed that it was long enough, so now I am decreasing, and therefore seeing actual progress, and therefore enthusiastic about it again. Wheee.

Something I Forgot to Show You

I finished these fingerless mitts for my dad back in January:

Yarn is Patons Classic Wool. Pattern is just made up as I went along. Ravelry page here.

First Sock Madness Socks!

I'm participating in the Dye-namics Sock Madness contest, and I've finished my socks for the first round:

Yarn is Dye-namics fingering weight in Daisy and pattern is the one provided for the contest (Beaded Rib Socks by Allison Sarnoff). You can see them on Ravelry here.