Busy, busy, busy!!

Why is it, despite planning and executing holiday knitting year round, I always feel sorta *crunched* this time of year?

The good news is I've been a busy knitter and that puts me in the homestretch for meeting holiday knitting goals!

I don't mean to imply that I don't love holiday knitting, I do!! And my recipients love my handknits just as enthusiastically which thrills me to no end! There is nothing better than seeing someone truly happy to receive a handknit and love it so much that they put it on immediately and wear it with a huge smile on their face!

I do however confess I have weeded out the less than enthusiastic from my list, I wouldn't want you to think it's all knitting Utopia here at blog de fluffy :)

I have so much to show you so I'll jump right in!

Here's a pair of Kureyon Wristers I whipped up...

I'm not the biggest Kureyon fan cause despite it's glorious color I find it horribly scratchy and I hate pulling extraneous crap out of my yarn! But I had this pretty colorway in my stash and I wanted some really warm wristers - and believe me, Kureyon knit at 7 sts/inch makes for a dense, toasty wrister!

Specs:

Exactly one skein of Kureyon, colorway #150

My own pattern

Magic loop, US#4 (3.5mm)

I literally used every inch of the skein for these. Once knit I washed them in baby shampoo and then while still wet massaged some Redken "Soft" hair conditioner into them and rinsed very well. Now they are super soft and super cuddly!

Next up, I give you La Dolce Vita!

Here she is lying down after a bath...

(The color is kinda off here, it's not quite so orange)

And the money shot...

This color is spot on on my monitor - it's a vibrant, sunny coral

Specs:

La Dolce Vita Tank by Dipsy Doodle

9 skeins Knitpicks Shine Worsted in Coral

US# 3 (3.25mm) Addi Lace needle

I totally LOVE how this tank came out!! I think it is truly lovely!

It's an original design by Angela of Dipsy Doodle and as soon as I saw it I knew it would be perfect for the person I plan to give it to. The pattern is not for the feint of heart tho!

Altho the lace isn't really difficult, there is no guidance for maintaining the decreases in pattern so a knitter has to "knit on her feet" - not at all mindless but not terribly difficult if you pay attention.

Mods: I felt the armscythe as written was too deep and the V-Neck, too shallow, so I redesigned both to suit my needs. I added an extra inch to the body length. I did short row shoulders and used a 3 needle bind off for the shoulder seams. The pattern calls for a crochet edging to the neck and armscythe but I wanted a more finished look so after sewing the tank together I picked up stitches around the neck and arms and did 3 row garter stitch neck and arm bands to match the garter ridges in the pattern.

All in all, I'm very pleased with this top and despite all the mods I think it's a wonderful design (thanks Angela!) and will probably knit it again, albeit not too soon!

Wait, there's even more - I told you I was busy, busy, busy! I'm still working on my Caramel Apple Twisted Flower socks but since that was my only WIP, I cast on for a new pair of socks - check off another holiday gift, woot!

Here's my Marigold Sock...

I'm using Opal Petticoat #1290 which I think is *perfect* for this pattern! Isn't it pretty?

I'm loving this pattern cause it's really cute yet super easy! It's become my "mindless" sock when I need a respite from teenie cables and because it's such an easy pattern it's infinitely more portable than the Caramel Apples! BTW, this would be a GREAT pattern for those toe-up sock virgins out there - if you're looking for the perfect pattern to get your feet wet with, imo, this is the one! I subbed the Turkish Cast-on (of course!) for the short row toe as written so that makes it even easier.

Whew, that was a busy post! I leave you with this cute pic of the P-man...I love it because it appears as if you are looking directly into his eyes, especially if you click to embiggen...

You're getting sleepy...you're being hypnotized...send organic wild salmon treats...hehehe...

Have a great weekend/week and don't stress about holiday knitting too much - it's still early :)

It's raining, it's pouring...still

I'm not complaining mind you, I realize there are lots of places suffering with terrible drought right now and rain is certainly WAY preferable to the big "H"!

During the rainy season, it does rain here every day but it's usually just a brief sprinkle (most often during rush hour traffic, of course!) For the last month we've had torrential rain for a good portion of every day.

While rain can be an inconvenience, it's beauty and it's usefulness is unquestionable.

I love to watch the storms rolling in from my balcony....I can see the thunderheads and watch the rain falling in thick grey curtains in the distance...

Isn't it beautiful?

Onto the knitting...

Since holiday time draws near, thoughts turn to gift knitting and one of my favorite knitted gifts is fingerless mitts or wristers.

To that end I've posted a link on my sidebar that is super easy, super cute, easy to size up or down, unisex and takes less than one skein of koigu! I did post about it once before but it was way at the bottom of a very long post so I thought I'd be a sport and chat it up again :)

In addition, if you're into mitts, there's a great new KAL in town!


It's the Fall Fingerless Mitts KAL and Keri is the lovely hostess!

There's lots of pretty mitt eye candy, lots of free patterns and lots of sharing and companionship - the things knitters do best!

So if you have chilly hands or know anyone that does, come join us and knit some fall mitts!

As for me, I'm still working on my Flamingo Stripe socks but there's nothing exciting to see. It's my "grab and go - hurry up and wait" project so I'm not knitting on it all that much.

I am excited about this new WIP tho, look....

It's a new cotton tank I'm making as a gift...isn't the color yummy? At least something around here is bright and sunny!

I'm only showing this little bit because altho it is a gift and the recipient doesn't read FKD, I'm actually finished with the back and well into the front so I'll have an FO soon and I'll show y'all the whole enchilada then :)

Remember that big, fluffy, luxurious bed the P-Man has been enjoying? Well as we all know, explaining why a cat does what he does is an exercise in futility!

I had my blocking board on my bed to block the Esprit Tank and seems my P-Man likes a firm "mattress" too!

I can't get him off the thing and when I fold it up to put away, he meows and paces until I bring it out again! Silly kitty man!

To those that are off to Rhinebeck this weekend once again, bite me have a wonderful time! To my hapless fellow non-attendees, have a great weekend and knit lots!