Warmth of Spirit

One of my dearest friends had a birthday recently and I decided it was finally time to make her a gift I have been planning for a while.

During my last stash reorg, I came across a few skeins of this lovely wool that my mother passed on to me. They complimented each other perfectly and together make up a very nice and mature representation of the school colors of TCU, my alma matter and that of my friend. She is big into football, especially TCU football, so I thought these would be perfect to make her a hat and fingerless mitts to wear to games.

Go Frogs! Set by Cori 2012.

Go Frogs! Hat by Cori 2012.

This kind of gives you an idea of how it fits.

Pattern: Really Easy Slouchy Beanie by Jennifer DiMaria (available for free at her blog).
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool Merino in Royal Purple and Gray (one skein each)
Hooks: US G and US H

I did make the hat a little shorter than the pattern calls for, because I don't know that my friend would particularly care for a hat that slouchy. The other modification was to use two colors, and I just switched to the grey when I got to the band (and changed to the smaller hook).

Go Frogs! Mitts by Cori 2012.

These are super soft and warm, y'all.

Yarn: Patons Classic Wool Merino in Royal Purple and Gray (one skein each)
Hook: US J

I don't have a pattern for these. I looked at several but couldn't find any I was happy with so I just kind of winged it, mimicking the color scheme for the hat.

Overall I am really happy with how these came out and my friend seemed to like them a lot. I actually  have enough yarn left over that I could probably make a matching scarf for her. I just need to get off my tush and do it. Maybe that will be a good post-holiday knitting project.

Speaking of the holidays, I'm taking them off from blogging. So no new posts for the next two weeks. I'll be back on January 7 (with yarn blogging starting up again on January 9). I hope everyone has a very wonderful holiday season, whatever you are celebrating! See you in 2013!

Getting In the Spirit

It dawned on me this weekend that Christmas is less than two weeks away. Wow, when did that happen? I actually feel pretty prepared. Got my cards and the few presents I am mailing sent out this weekend, and I for some reason did the vast majority of my shopping at the start of November. I have even managed to finish the two yarny gifts that I intended to make, so there's really no reason for me to be freaking out about how quickly the holiday is approaching (not that this will stop me, of course).

Anyhoo, here's a little show and tell for your Tuesday viewing pleasure.

Nifty Vest by Cori 2011.

Pattern: Crochet-Loop Cable Vest by Kristin Omdahl in XL*
Yarn: Cascade Pacific in Taupe (three skeins)
Hook: K

I wish I could have gotten a better photo of it. Maybe once it's been gifted the recipient will be kind enough to pose for a shot. It came out a lot longer than I was expecting (despite looking at the measurements and gauge several times). It is also a lot narrower. Still, it fits me decently enough, and I know I am bigger than the recipient, so it should look nice on her. This pattern was mostly pretty easy to work up, but I have to admit that it was written a little oddly. Overall it just didn't come out like I expected. I modified the edging on the neck and armholes, as well as the bottom border a bit, because it seemed like a bit too much otherwise. (*I think I made an XL, but I am not entirely certain. The pattern said it was written for small with medium, large, and extra large in the parentheses, but the parentheses contained four sets of numbers, not three. Very confusingly written.)

The yarn itself is absolutely fabulous and this thing is super soft and cozy. Hopefully it will make its recipient happy at the very least.

Pepa's Scarf by Cori 2011.

Yarn: Patons Classic Wool Merino in Blue Denim (one skein)
Hook: K

This was just a quick little project that I decided to make at the last minute when I saw there was a bit of an imbalance in some of the gifts I had gotten. This yarn is also super cozy and warm, and I am really happy with how it came out. I was also pleased as punch that it took exactly one skein of the yarn. That worked out nicely. No pattern, just kind of winged it. It is just twenty stitches wide with one row single crochet, one row half-double crochet, one row single crochet, five rows double crochet. Repeat until desired length, ending with the single/half-double/single pattern repeat.

I was gonna try to see if I could knock out a pair of socks for my baby girl's stocking but I am having a devil of a time getting them cast on and the first row knit. Will make a few more attempts and then I might just have to call it on those. However they turn out, after that I will be focusing on that scarf and sweater that are hanging around giving me pointed looks...