More on series

As I've looked through my knitting projects, I realized that I've worked several projects in a series fashion. There are always some sort of alterations but knitting the same pattern more than once, is really enjoyable. I learn so much the first time that the second time I am able to relax a bit and enjoy the knitting process rather than the learning process. And by the third or fourth time, it's like making chocolate chip cookies from your mom's recipe ... you know it all by heart.

Noah's 1 year-old hat

Noah's 2 year-old hat

Noah's 2 year-old socks

Noah's 3 year-old socks

Alice's 1 year-old socks

Alice's 2 year-socks

Knitted Series

At school I often talk to students about artists who work in series. I discuss the benefits for artists to create a series: the repetitive nature offers an opportunity to improve a skill or experiment with a new media and the slight changes in every piece create interest and document your experimentation. Well, I thought I should experiment a bit with my work as well. A knitted hat series is the result. In September of 2008, I needed to make several baby hats for my friends. I am at that age where all my friends are getting married, are married, are having children, or have children already... you know, those early middle years where everyone is sleep deprived because so many things are changing in their lives and they just can't seem to keep up. And thus, the knitted hat series was born. One for Baby Sylvia, One for Baby Gabrielle, and One for the Little Boy yet to be born. Knitting a series is great. I made each hat a different size and color and I experimented with a new technique called jogless color change. My goal was to make the stripes exactly the same all the way around the hat- meaning no seam showing where the one color ends and the new color is picked up and knit.
In order to do this, work one round with the new color (B), remove the marker, lift the previous color (A) stitch below the first B color stitch onto the left-hand needle; knit 2 stitches together (lifted stitch of color A and first stitch of color B), replace the marker. Note: The beginning of the round will move 1 stitch to the left at each color change. This is important to notice when you begin decreasing for the crown. Be careful when you get near the marker and make sure to follow your decreases from previous rows so that they are consistent. The end result, no stripes with ugly jumps marking the beginning of each row where you change colors. Nice neat rows. Amazing huh?

For the first time...

Every Tuesday for six weeks in January and February, my brother and I go skiing at Afton Alps. It's a great place to ski for beginners and intermediate skiers. The only draw back is that I miss my good friends at Tuesday Knit night. I'm sure they can survive without me but I find when spring arrives, I'm excited to get back to my peeps at Borealis.
Last Tuesday on my way home, I saw it for the first time.... my SUV. My old SUV. My poor dead SUV. Of course, it wasn't really mine, it was someone else's and they were happily driving along without a care in the world. Little did the female driver know that I longed to trade cars with her.
You see, on New Year's Eve day, I was in a terrible, horrible car accident. I lost control of my sweet little SUV (ETA: on some black ice) and rolled that sucker twice. It was quite traumatic, however I only realized this after I was safely out of the car with chocolate cheesecake in my hair and all over the inside of the car. Mina was along for the rolling and was none too pleased with her final resting spot under her broken tote wrapped tightly in her t-shirt but I'm sure she enjoyed the chocolate cake. I am thankful that I was not hurt and was able to climb out of the car safely with my little hedgie. I told myself and the 20 or so bystanders as I was crawling from the wreckage that I wouldn't cry, but let's be real.... I had just filled up my tank with gas. What a waste! My good friend Renata picked me up from the hospital. (The nurses were very interested in Mina and gave her the last warmed towel.) G and his entire family came to get me after visiting the remains at the towing company. They were able to get all of my stuff... I was so thankful I didn't have to see my poor SUV in its new state of disaster. I really loved that car. Strange how I became so attached to my sporty little truck..... I have searched and searched but I have no photos of her. I owned her for 5 years and all I have left is a fruit box full of cds, maps, and an ipod charger, all covered in Mina's liter and chocolate cake. But I'm alive... and things are good.

Engaged

As most of you know, at least the ones who are my close friends and who even know about this blog, G and I got engaged in August. He proposed to me at the state's largest municipal park in Minnesota that happens to be in the town he currently lives in. It was a beautiful day and we were talking wedding plans, sitting by the water on a very pointy rock. My bum was beginning to ache and I had to stand up before he had the chance to get the words out but once we were back on the trail, he got my attention and asked me if after all the wedding plans were completed and the day was over, would I still choose him? I nearly threw the ring off that I was currently wearing and couldn't get my engagement ring on due to the sweaty palms I had gotten from walking in the woods. What an amazing feeling... what an amazing guy.... we are so lucky.

Noah and his pumpkins

Noah had a difficult time deciding what he was gong to be for Halloween last year... Thomas' Engineer or a pumpkin. Back and forth, back and forth.... I like to think that I helped him along a little when I told his dad, Jamie, my brother, that I could make him a hat for his pumpkin costume. We met at a park in early October to hand it off and Noah was SUPER excited. He did inform me though that he wasn't going to be a pumpkin this year. Two weeks later, the hat was on, the trick-or-treat bags were out and he and Alice, the princess, were off to scavenge the neighborhood.

Mina & Mischa

Check out these cuties... This photo was taken last summer at my family's farm in Wisconsin. Grant and I let Mina and Mischa roam around the large grassy lawn for a bit of exercise and family entertainment. Mischa went wild and ran all over the place but our slow little Mina rambled here and there and didn't go too far from where we originally set her down. Not at all like this morning when I had her out on the couch and she ran from one side to the other, under the lap blanket I had on and across the computer keys, near the edge of the couch before I caught her... I guess she's a morning hedgehog not an early afternoon hedgie.

Look What I learned!

Check out the cool video of the backward knitting technique. Ok, so I learned the technique AND I learned how to add videos from Youtube to my blog. Cool huh?