Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Hope you all have had a fabulous weekend with family and/or friends.

Dan and I are on the giant circle (driving) tour of the Midwest. By the end of this week, we'll have had 3 turkey dinners - with all the fixins! Better watch our waistlines ;)

Mom and I did some consumerism this morning on Black Friday - gotta get those Christmas presents at a deal!

I'm also working on several different crafty presents, but they're all secrets, so I can't share anything... what a bummer. However, I do have some pictures of my haul from Stitches East to share - next time. Now, it's time to get some rest before our next Thanksgiving dinner!

Knit Mitt Kit Swap!

I'm a swap sucker, I admit it. And this one is no exception. I signed up for the Knit Mitt Kit Swap!

Are you allergic to any fibers?
Nope!

What are your favorite colors?
Greens and blues, and I'm in a bit of a red/pink/orange/yellow phase right now. Or fall colors. Hmm... I guess I like a lot of things!

Are you a new mitt knitter? How long have you been knitting mittens?
Come to think of it, I guess I am a new mitt knitter! I haven't yet completed a pair of mitts or mittens, although I am working on my first.

Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn?
Ummm... is both an answer? In solids, I love the tonal variated kinds - like the Socks that Rock "solid" colors.

What fibers do you prefer in mitten yarn?
Anything warm and cozy!

Where do you usually knit mittens?
To date, only at Crafty Bastards. Since that's only once a year I'm going to have to branch out, I guess.

How do you usually carry/store small projects?
Either in a ziploc bag or in a small clear zippered bag (like the ones that sheets come in).

What are your favorite mitten patterns?
I love the killer whale mittens (but I already have the pattern). I would like to do some incredibly complex fair isle (think Latvian or Estonian) mittens, but I should probably just finish a pair of soft bulky ones first. Knitty's fetching is one of my favorite fingerless mitts pattern - especially the lovely ones that are popping up all over blogland.

What are your favorite mitten knitting techniques?
Cables, and just boring plain ones.

What new techniques would you like to try?
Maybe fair isle, maybe just actually make a pair! Thrums!!!

What are your favorite needles for knitting mittens?
DPNs, magic loop, anything in the round I guess...

What are some of your favorite yarns?
Reynolds Devotion is soft and cuddy, but the little fibers from the angora go up my nose everytime. Merino in most forms. Socks that Rock. Rowan Calmer! Things with microfiber. Who am I kidding... I love yarn!

What yarn do you totally covet?
Malabrigo - haven't used it but love to pet it! Any merino/silk blend. Handspun!

Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object?
A long cabled coat/cardigan... This is more a function of the time than the money, although it would take tons of yarn.
Ooh, or a sweater out of the Koigu cashmere! This is a function of the money, although at that gauge it would be time, too. (I felt it at Stitches East, and it's scrumptious)

Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)?
Depends on the yarn, but I like Addi turbos, Clover bamboo, or my Denise circulars.

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be?
Rowan calmer probably - much loved the world over!

Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack?
Ferrero Rocher

What’s your favorite animal?
OK, I'm a biologist, so this is super hard for me. I'm fascinated by cats - I love my kitties, and I love seeing them in the wild (the lions, cheetah and leopards were definitely highlights of our Africa trip). My favorite dolphin is the Northern right whale dolphin, and my favorite whale is probably the humpback.

Would you prefer super warm mittens or something more like fingerless mitts?
That's a hard one. I could go either way - super warm thrums or mitts. Honestly, I'd probably get more use out of the mitts because I'd wear them all day at work, so that's the way I'm going.

If you were a color what color would you be?
Orange. or maybe green. Definitely not brown.

What is your most inspiring image, flower, or object in nature?
Geez, these questions just keep getting harder. I'm inspired by giraffe necks, the way plumeria petals overlap, nautilus shells, mother of pearl, pregnant women, cherry blossoms, geysers, and canyons. Recently, Ngorongoro crater really took my breath away.

Do you have a wishlist?
Two, actually - one at Amazon, and a wist.

Anything else you’d like to share with the group today?
I think I'm drained... but looking forward to my mitt kit!

Bed & Breakfast Pullover!

Bed & Breakfast Pullover

Pattern: the Bed & Breakfast Pullover by Kathy Zimmerman, Fall 2003 Interweave Knits
Yarn: Austermann Rubino, 100% superwash merino, body in teal, trim in navy
Needles: Denise interchangeables - I think 7's
Started: sometime between January 18 and March 13, 2004
Finished: October 21, 2006, approximately 3 AM

Notes: Looks pretty good, doesn't it? It's times like these when I wonder why it took me so long to finish... I started it almost 3 years ago and worked on it, then put it on hold, worked on it some more, put it on hold, rinse, repeat. But now it's done and I'm really happy with it. I love the fit - close, but there's ease thanks to the ribbing.
The yarn is fabulous - merino (very soft) but superwash! I first bought Austermann Rubino off of elann.com in 2003, and used it to make my Boatneck Shell. Of course, I didn't buy enough balls of any one color to make more than a sleeveless shell (d'oh!). I went looking for large lots of it on E-Bay and found this beautiful teal color. I really lucked out! The navy came from that original elann purchase.
I wore it to work last week and no one asked me if I'd knit it, which I generally take to be a good sign about the construction. Of course, that means I couldn't brag about it, so I did have to casually drop it into conversation. The number one thing that everyone commented on was the contrast color at the cuffs. That definitely wasn't what drew me to the pattern, so that was pretty interesting.

Look at how happy I am in my new sweater!

Long story short - great sweater, will wear it a ton. Well done, me!