Berry Hill Fingerless Mitts

So, my classroom is really, really cold. The heat comes on in the morning, and then for the remainder of the day, the fan blows cold air through the room. It actually creates a breeze in the room. Needless to say, I am always bundled up in extra clothes. I wear sweaters, scarves, gloves and sometimes even my coat. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to hand out papers when wearing gloves, so I decided to knit some fingerless mittens to keep my poor little hands warm at school. I found the pattern on Ravelry, and I love the pattern stitch in these mitts. It was very easy and it looks really cool. I used Red Heart acrylic yarn. My aunt gave me a bunch of it that she couldn't fit in her suitcase last time she visited. I guess even yarn is cheaper in the States :) The yarn is a dark green color. I knit in the round with size 3 dpns. And here are the pictures.......the right hand mitt......

And the left hand mitt.......

When I started the increases for the thumb, I followed the pattern exactly, but discovered that the method for increasing used in the pattern created little holes in the fabric (as seen below). After two increases like that, I changed the way I increased. In order to create a more solid fabric, I increased by putting the needle between the two stitches and making a stitch. This worked much better than the way outlined in the pattern.
This was my first time using a sewn bind off technique. I really like it and think I will use it more often. It allows the bind off edge more give. I usually bind off much tighter than my cast on edge, but this bind off edge is really comfortable. All in all, I love my new fingerless mitts. They allow me to do everything I need to do while keeping my little hands nice and warm :)

Gift for Sarah's Baby Aaron

My cousin Sarah gave birth to her first baby just a few days ago. I really can't believe it, because I remember babysitting for Sarah when I was younger. Time flies. When I first found out she was pregnant, I immediately started knitting a blanket. I didn't know Aaron was going to be a boy, so I chose a nice shade of green to knit. After the blanket was finished, I crocheted a hat to match. Then I knit some booties. It was harder than I thought to knit two matching booties, so I now have an extra bootie. Finally, I bought some blue yarn, after Aaron was born, and I knit a little teddy bear. He has a grommet in his ear, with a ribbon passed through it. The ribbon has a snap closure, so the bear can be secured to a stroller or a car seat and not get lost. Cute, huh?

All of the items were knit in Cottontots, 100% cotton. It is so soft :). I found the patterns for the blanket and the bear on knittingpatterncentral.com. The hat is from 24 Hour Crochet, and the booties are from an issue of a knitting magazine I randomly bought myself. I can't wait to mail it to her.

What a cute face!

My frog finally has a face. The features are all made from i-cord knit in acrylic. I think he looks great :)

A Relaxing Day

I had the day off work today, and I had a wonderful day. I picked up the house in the morning, then spent the remainder of the day reading, crocheting and watching decorating shows. I finished my book The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coehlo. Awesome book, it sucked me in. Overall a perfect day :)

My New Goals...

My new goal is to finish some of the many projects I have started. I also decided to do some charity knitting.

Here is my first chemo cap. It is knit from a really soft and fuzzy green acrylic yarn, with black eyelash yarn accent. I used a diamond lace pattern that you can't see very clearly.


Here is a close-up of the lace pattern. Not a great picture.


I have decided that the first project I want to complete is my granny square purse. I completed the body of the purse tonight. Here is one side of purse.

Here is the other side. Note the opposite colors in the squares.



Now I just have to make a strap, make a lining, and weave in all the thread ends!!


Whew!! There are a lot of ends to weave in.

Ayer, vi a un gato morir :(

Warning: this story is a little graphic, but I have to get it out.

Yesterday, as I was driving to the store, I saw a cat get hit by the car in front of me. The driver did not stop, and the cat flopped and twitched around the road in front of me. I had to stop to see if I could do something, at least check for a tag and call the pet owner. Well, the kitten had no tags. He lay on the road twitching silently, one eyeball hanging out, his mouth filled with blood. I sat with him 'til he died, and then I cried. I got back in my car and left the little kitten, not knowing what else I could do. His image now haunts my thoughts.

Congratulations!

Congratulations, President Elect Barack Obama. Keep on inspiring this nation.