Ahhh, Saturday.

I feel like I've been running around like a knitter who's lost one of her needles this week- that is to say, this week has been frustrating, stressful, fast-paced, full of misunderstanding, and I'm very glad it's Saturday.

As you may know, I have lately become addicted to Zumba, and while it's doing wonders for my love handles (going! going! still there but almost gone!) it has reeked havoc on my crafting schedule. I did manage to finish a few things this week and I even managed to take a few pictures to prove it:

Let's start with my favorite- Meghann's hat. Meghann was one of my Pay-It-Forward commenters and this puts me (technically) 2/5 done with my promised crafting for this year. Since I have fairly recently discovered my love of fair-isle, and Meghann found herself missing a fair-isle hat earlier this year, I decided she needed another one.

Since she seems to like my blanket, I figured I'd make it in the same colors as my blanket. And I was really lazy and those colors were already sitting on the coffee table when I decided to make the hat. So...tada! *It was my first attempt at corrugated ribbing and while I love the effect, it's really not overly effective as ribbing. Or at least for me it isn't.

And the inside to prove it's actually fair-isle and not duplicate stitch...

I also made an apron last Friday-Sunday to prove to myself that I can sew something without tears. There were quite a few swear words though. I flippin' love this fabric.

I added another strip of squares to my blanket, bringing me up to 120 attached squares. It is now the size of a good baby blanket- which is a little disappointing. It looks like I'm going to be crocheting a lot more circles than originally planned.

I finished one of the Bonfire socks at book club on Thursday. It was quite perfect as we were discussing The Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England. I'm not as in love with it as I thought I'd be, but it's still quite pleasant. Same goes for the book. I really need to start the second sock before it falls in to a dark corner never to be seen again. (See the scratch and missing piece of toenail on the uncovered foot? That means it's officially rugby season. I can smell the grass-stains already.)

And finally, I cut this scarf off the loom about 10 minutes ago. I should probably tie some knots in it so it doesn't unravel- I'll get there eventually. It turned out around 8 feet long without including the fringe, further proving that I have no idea how long to make my warp. So I need to tie up and wash this so it's proper fabric.

Speaking of which, do you have any suggestions on how to wash something with a fringe without ending up with a wad of felt at the end? I'd love to hear your input- drop it in the comments below and I'll try it!

Chugging Along...

Good Morning! A picture is worth a thousand words, which is great because I'm feeling pretty lazy today. And so...pictures.

Knit it Forward: Morgane

At the beginning of the year, a facebook chain began to circulate amongst the group referred to as "the knits". The chain was along the line of pay it forward: the first five people to comment on your post get something handmade by the poster by the end of 2012. In turn, they must make five things for the first five to comment on theirs, and so your five projects grow exponentially until the world is covered with handmade things.

I normally ignore these posts because while I love getting handmade things, I'm not the biggest fan of parting with my handmade things, especially to 5 totally random facebook friends. I mean seriously- I have a few "friends" I've never actually met, a few "friends" who I haven't spoken to since high school, a few "friends" that I really should have unfriended but their drama is just soooo interesting...etc. The point is, I didn't want my hard work and nice yarn to go to those "friends" (I'm very selfish with my knitting- and if you judge, I understand). I especially didn't want to make things for people who would take my gift, abuse it, neglect it, and then not pay it forward. But since you can't choose who happens to see your facebook status as any given time, I held my breath and clicked "share".

My first comment was from Ben, one of my bff's and the guy who got me through college math. He already has a few hats that I made which he loves and washes gently. In short, he's knit-worthy.

My second was from Meghann, another of my bff's, who is a fellow knitter and hat enthusiast. I would knit for Meghann any day!

My third was Bam Bam's Mom, who tried to check in for other people in her family in addition to herself, telling me exactly what she thinks I should make everyone. No, I will not cover your family in knitwear, YOU checked in, YOU may get one thing and then pay it forward. I'll be sure to send a note when I finish reminding her that it's her turn. If she's getting a fair-isle cardigan that her mother didn't finish, then she can certainly pass that on.

My fourth was Jen, a friend from high school and while not someone I regularly hang out with, she and I facebook chat about arts and crafts quite often. She's totally knit-worthy.

And then people stopped commenting. I was a little disappointed- there were really only 4 people who wanted me to make them something? but then- wait- my blackberry just dinged. My fifth commenter was....Morgane, my old babysitter from when I lived in France. And I couldn't think of a person I'd rather knit for.

My earliest memory of knitting was Morgane's mother, a knitter, asking if I could keep a secret. I couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 and I assured her that I could- and she showed me this basket full of thin red yarn and a gorgeous red 1x1 ribbed scarf. I know that's exactly what it was, because it was burned in to my brain as the most awesome thing I had ever seen besides flowers, beads and snails on my Fisher Price wheelbarrow. I probably blew Morgane's birthday surprise because I'm terrible at keeping secrets, and I can't imagine I would have been much better at it nearly 20 years ago. But I remember that red scarf.

And so when Morgane popped up as my number five, I knew exactly what I had to make for her. A red scarf with a Paige twist. I dug out the special hank of Kraemer Sterling and Silk that I'd been saving for the perfect project and began making a favorite pattern of mine- a lace pattern called the Zetor scarf. I made one a couple years ago in orange and wear it as often as I can and I couldn't think of something more appropriate to give to Morgane. I loved it from the first stitch and couldn't put it down. I finished it in a little over a week but didn't want to post pictures until she got it in the mail- I wasn't going to ruin the surprise this time. She wrote to tell me that she got it yesterday so I can finally share it here.

So here is Morgane's scarf, my first installment of Knitting it Forward.

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Hey Meghann- you're up next.