I had to take a break from the Crappy Stash Yarn Elimination Blanket for baby knitting and Christmas knitting. On Thanksgiving, I found out my cousin's baby shower was a week later. I knit her some cute little booties and a hat. Both were pretty easy, although it was strange using the teeny tiny needles. I used an i-cord instead of a piece of yarn for the laces on the sneaker booties because I thought it would be more sturdy. I was a little nervous about them, but I think my cousin really liked both gifts.
Then, I needed a white elephant gift for the holiday party at work. First, I knit a hat out of some silly yarn that turned out, well, silly--the yarn stretched out way too much. My mom loved it so I gave it to her.
Then, I decided to knit some Christmas ornaments. I had to learn a new cast-on, the Emily Ocker Circular Cast-on. The written instruction and the pattern were not at all useful, so I went to You Tube. I watched a few videos before finding one that was useful. After watched this video about a hundred times, I was finally about to get the hang of it. I thought the ornaments turned out well, but nobody really seemed all that excited about them at the party. I kind of wish I had kept them for myself.
Then I was finally about to start my Christmas knitting for my family. I made a regular guy beanie for my dad--just a simple hat; I didn't think my dad would like anything fancy.
Then, I knit a hat for my sister, the Peek-a-Boo Cloche from Interweave Knits Accessories 2009. It's a really neat hat; it has two layers, the lining on the inside and the lace on the outside. You start off at the top of the lining, work downward, join the new yarn yarn the knit the rest from the bottom up. The most difficult parts were the very beginning because of the small amount of stitches on tiny needles; I had to restart about 10 times. Then there were a few times when I needed to knit 3 together towards the end, and that was a pain. This was my first project that was labeled "intermediate." I'm pretty happy with the hat, except it took forever to dry after blocking because of the layers, so now it's a little stinky.
After that, I knit a dishcloth for my mom, so I would have something to give her for her birthday. Don't worry, I'm giving my mom more than a dishcloth for her birthday: my sister and I are taking her on a cruise in June. The dishcloth has a hummingbird on it, but it was really hard to get a good picture with my phone where you can actually see the hummingbird.
Now, I finally get to finish my blanket. I do have some plans in mind for myself, if I ever get around to it. There is a hat and scarf I want to knit for myself. I was going to do it next but I really want to get the blanket finished.
