I want a girl with a short skirt and a loooooooong jacket.

Well, sorry to burst your bubble, Cake, but you're going to have to settle for a long cowl.

Cowls, you guys.  They're incredible.  This project happened for a few reasons:

1.  My coat is a bit of an odd color and, seeing that I've now passed a couple winters with it, it seemed appropriate to make some accessories that were a little less clashy / more classy.

2.  I was cruisin' Instagram (Have I mentioned how much I love Instagram?) and saw a picture of some chick I don't know wearing a fab cowl.  Lightweight yarn that just sorta fell all around her face.  I won't lie, I was jealous of her face.  And, yes, I am scrutinizing your knitwear, folks.  For better or worse.  Sorry, not sorry.

3.  I recently taught a friend to knit.  This was the best idea ever, because now I have another swell pal to sit around knitting and shooting the breeze with.  (What does one appropriately shoot the breeze with, you guys?  BB gun?  Pea shooter?  Salad shooter?  Inquiring minds.)  One such session of lighthearted knit-foolery found my friend knitting a cowl-of-a-different-color.  Said friend's brother suggested that the only thing that could make that cowl better was about 4 feet of length.  Being hep to the jive, as I am, I saw that he meant to imprison his brother in a knitclad fortress of his own making.  Hilarity.  Anyway, you don't just let an idea like that pass you by.

Please see below, the resultant cowl/straight jacket.  I'm digging it so far.  It's really versatile.  Not pictured, it's also pretty fun to just pull that puppy up over your head and rock it as a hood.  In short, it's long.  But, I ain't mad at it!

Machete in a tree stump, hound dog on a chain;

wouldn't let a woman play on the banjo in the rain.  -O' Be Joyful (Shovels and Rope)

Folks, this one was FUN.  So, last year, I was browsing a neat clothing shop downtown with my best gal Friday.  She wanted to show me this wonderful sweater she'd been lovin' on.  You know the type.  Long.  Cozy.  The kind of whale you'd like to get Jonah-ed by, and then beg to n'er be spat back out.  (Yes, I did just used "Jonah" as a verb.  You're going to have to run with it.)  It just so happened that this particular sweater was also a child of the Navajo print family.  In short, it was a dreamboat.

I found myself carrying on a mental dialogue (party-of-one) about how much I love navajo print, especially in conjunction with sweaters.  But, then, I thought to myself that Scandinavian sweaters are also the best.  Sidebar, this is funny because my two favorite patterns are comprised of my true heritage (100% Norway, bay bees) and my presumed heritage (Native.  Well, I get a lot of that and a little Greek.  But, mostly Native.)  Coincidence?  Probably.  Regardless, Navajo & Scandinavian knitwear bests all other knitwear.  It seemed only logical to marry the two.  Alas, I made a vow to myself that I would one day begin a knitventure in creating projects that I would call my "Scandajo" knits.  Ridiculous?  Yes.  Awesome?  Mabes.  Choose your own adventure.

Now, a year later, after having discovered this wonderful book of Scandinavian knitting motifs, I decided 'twas time.  Below is the first of what will probably be a longstanding friendship with Scandajo knitting.  It seemed only appropriate that my first project should be gifted to a dear friend who is one of the most creatively inspired (and, therefore, inspiring) people I've ever met.  If not for people like this, I'm convinced I would be content to never have original thoughts.  But, it's contagious.  Shout out to all my original thinkers!  (I know many.  But, here's looking at you, Sam and Ashley.  You guys keep me on my toes, and I love you for it.)  Anyway, this Scandi book contained a pattern for an exact replica of my friend's dog (Zeus), so it had to be done.  Other Scandi features include the traditional thrumming (the pattern just above the brim), and the l'il viking boats up at the top.  The navajo biz is all the color work in the center of the hat.  I'm pretty happy with it for the first go, but looking forward to playing with it more in future.

Holler at my fellow knitters:  Anyone out there seasoned in the art of setting your knitwear?  This is a fairly new practice for me.  I'm finding that sometimes it stretches out my work.  Which is funny, because everything I've read seems to caution against shrinking during the setting process.  Anyway, it's happened a few times, this time included, and I find it irksome.  (Sam.  If your hat conspicuously goes missing one day, don't worry too much.  It's probably me just trying to shrink that sucker back down b/c I noticed it fits a little loose after the setting shenanigans.  Hrrmph.)  Anyway, if anyone knows what the what is, let's talk.  (Shaina?  Hit me with your best shot!)

"O' be joyful.  Is that what yer doin'?"  (Guys, if you don't know Shovels and Rope, you should.)  Peace.

I'm starting with the man in the mirror.

Y'all, knitting a beard hat has been an intention of mine since a couple years back.  In fact, my dear friend Lindsay suggested it be added to my list of resolutions for the 2012 season.  To this, I thought:  quantifiable, brilliant, I may actually be able to check that one off the list!  It should not surprise you, friends, to know that I did NOT complete this mission in 2012.  However, I did get around to it just recently.  I finally set aside the time for bearding, thinking I was going to use it as part of a halloween costume.  You see, my primary job takes place in a bookstore.  I typically like to tailor my get-up for the environment I'm working in.  This tradition started back when I began working at the gym and made myself a Power Bar costume (See right.)  Since making the switch to being a more prominent bookstore presence, I've begun attempting to dress as a literal representation of a book.  Last year, endeavoring to stay hip with the times, I dressed up in 50 shades of grey.  The books were so ridiculously popular, I felt that it was an inevitable choice.  Yes, I am that strange person dressing up as a pun, and thusly being completely misunderstood.  God bless my friend Sam, though, as all he needed was the hint "it's a book pun" to jump right to the right conclusion.  Another guess worth noting was Flashdance Barbie.  That was funny.  Anywho, this year I was planning to dress up as The Old Man and the Sea.  That's where the beard hat comes in.  Every sailor needs a stocking cap and a beard, as I see it.  Alas, I didn't hear any buzz about folks dressing up, so I never put the whole costume together.  Regardless, here is my first beard hat for your enjoyment:

All I ask is a tall ship, and a star to steer her by.

Also, progress checks are funny.  

Bless your beautiful hide, wherever you may be.

I consider it apropos to bring Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (as quoted above) into any discussion about lumberjacks.  I can't even quite recall if they (the brothers) were lumberjacks, per se, as it has been quite some time since I watched it at my Great Aunt Eunice's house.  (Bless her, she brought many a wonderful thing into my life.  Mostly herself.  She was wonderful.)  Regardless, great movie.  If they weren't lumberjacks, they certainly threw down that vibe.  

Confession time.  I have a irreversible crush on Lumberjack Plaid.  You know.  The classic red and black flannel.  It's got my heart.  

While at an apple festival at a local orchard with my sister and roommate, it dawned on me that I NEEDED, in a big way, some lumberjack legwarmers.  Armed with no less than four skeins of yarn, a set of "death sticks" (as my friend Anna has recently termed double-point needle sets), and a heaping spoonful of determination, I set out to make this a reality.  Though a time-intensive task, it was really not that difficult to bring to fruition.  For this I am glad.  

Here they are, as photographed by a lovely friend of mine who has just set out to sharpen her photography skills.  Luckily, that means she was willing to roll on down to a local hiking oasis with me to snap some photos of my newly acquired lumberjack legs and share in the merriment of a good forest frolic.  She's a favorite of mine to frolic with, so I was doubly blessed by her involvement in this endeavor.  

There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold.

Another favored barista of mine (I'm telling you guys, coffee is the way to my heart.) is the biggest Harry Potter fan I've ever met.  Ever.  And I know a lot of  HP fans.  Of which, I am one.  Last year she asked me if I'd consider making her a Weasley sweater.  I explained that, though I would love nothing more, at my current rate this endeavor would likely take up all of my spare time for a solid year.  :/  So, we struck a deal and decided that golden snitch mitts were the thing to sport to properly non-verbally state one's admiration for the magical writings of miss JK.  I hope these mitts would do JK proud.  I can't bear the thought of anything less.  She's been so good to me, entertainmentwise,  I wouldn't want to disappoint her.

Summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind.

As previously shared, the warm summer months tend to leave me lacking in inspiration to knit things.  Nothing I like to knit is to be worn in the summertime.  So, like a true procrastinator, I like to save the bulk of my knitting for the days when the early morning air is ominously chilly.  I need this reminder of the imminent cold snap to snap me out of daydreaming about squirrels and canoeing, and to inspire me to get to the getting on fall and winterwear.  It's like a race to see if I'll finish things before my appendages and the appendages of those I care about fall off from frostbite.  It's all very exciting.  Necessity.  Mother of invention.  That old chestnut.

However, I found myself this summer continually thinking of one of those such someones I care about & wishing I had gotten one more knitted thing sent off through the snail mail before the season for knittings wound down.  Thus, I did a rare thing and got summertime crafty.  The search for a non-wearable knit sent me down a solitary path toward kitchen accessories.  Some other crafty skills were dusted off along the way, namely crochet and embroidery, to complete the ensemble.  As this friend has one of the best senses of humour of anyone I know, it was a delight to make some custom kitchen things for her based on inside jokes and some hilarity that has been brought to my life by her (Cherie) and also by my dear Wild Norrberries.  (Hi Ash!)

Please enjoy the before and after below.

Somehow this after photo looks a little worse for wear after its drive down the information superhighway, so I'll just tell you that it contains crocheted dish scrubbers, knitted dish rags, embroidered tea towels which say "we say crumbs now" and "someone in SD buffaluffs me", and a copy of Who Pooped in the Black Hills (for good measure). 

You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,

know when to walk away, know when to run.  

Looking for one last knitted hoorah before the inevitable season of inspirationless knitting hiatus that is summer (Don't feel too bad for me here, there are just so many other things to do, and it's just too warm to think about wearing yarn.), I decided to knit a springy pattern that I had saved on Ravelry for a couple years for the day when I would give lace knitting a go.  You see, lace knitting involve purposefully leaving holes in your work, so as to create eye-catching patterns and whatnot.  See leafy fun below.  This was meant to be what is called a "bandit" (think shawl worn backwards in a scarf-like manner) for my dear friend Cherie (Hi Cher!), but alas, as the project was nearing completion, I realized I didn't like it as well as I did when I first put it in queue to be knit.  So, I just chalked this up to a lace-learning experience and moved on to the next big thing.  It's definitely a technique I'll repeat.  It has some pretty fun possibilities, and plastic makes it possible.

Sarah, Sarah. Storms are brewing in her eyes.

What do you get for the rad coworker in your life upon parting coworking ways?  Especially one who is quick to share in a good giggle, never lets you down on music trivia knowledge, will endlessly entertain you by completely rocking out the lyrics to some crazy 80's song, and will put up with her fellow coworkers singing any song (see above) to her (no matter how lame it may be) which contains her name?  Well, this bandana cowl says "I know exactly how much of a bad mamma jamma you are and I'll miss the heck outta yer mug."  Or, at least that's what I was going for.  It also says my love for you will still be strong, after the boys of summer have gone.  But, that's neither here nor there.  

And I was like, baby, baby, baby, oh.

My dear friends who reside in a li'l town not so very far from my own had a bun emerge from the proverbial oven several months back.  The mother of this babe and I go way back.  All the way back.  So, she is well acquainted with my joy in crafting things, in general, and knitting things, in specific. She is always very kind to send inspiration my way.  I love her for trusting me to bring her thoughts to life.  She's pretty sweet.  Anyway, It was my great pleasure to make this little hat commissioned by miss Nola, so that she and her rad husband Scott (who I want to DJ my life) may enjoy the sight of it perched upon their little one's head.  She's cute as a button, so it's only appropriate that there should be a larger-than-life button on her noggin.  

I'm a Christmas Unicorn! In a uniform made of gold.

^^ The genius of Sufjan.

Greetings, friends.  Alas, admittedly, I am a terrible blogger.  Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.  But, as knitting season is in full swing and demanding to be chronicled, lest I forget my knittings, as I am wont to do.  Here begins the recap of other things that were knit last season, which I have kept secret and safe until this very day.  I didn't really do that on purpose.  Just out of sheer laziness.  I know better.  My grandma taught me that "secrets are lies," after all.  So, here, let's get truthful.

A dear barista of mine (Yes, I claim baristas as my own.  My favorites among the human race.) showed a small amount of interest in some ninja mitts I was making during some in-between jobs time in the cafe one day. To this, I of course responded with something along the lines of: "You want 'em?  They're yours.  What color?"  Really, folks.  Just give me coffee and I'll do just about anything for you.

Anyhoot, this particular coffee-slinging chick is a BIG FAN of the unicorn.  They're so fluffy she wants to die.  Beings as though I like to support folks in their liking of things and life and whatnot, I set out to surprise her by making these mitts to fit her personality, not just her handles.  As you can imagine, there weren't a whole lot of unicorn knitting patterns to choose from on the world wide web, so I just did my own durn thing, as per usj.  I busted out the highlighters, created a pattern, set out to swap in some colors to give life to our mythological friend here, sang some Livin' on a Prayer, and we were off to the races.

Overall, I was pretty pleased with the result.  Due to color preference (bright purple!), I did these in an acrylic yarn which I've discovered doesn't play as nicely for fair isle (knitting with multiple strands so you can pick up a different color as needed) as I'd like.  So, I think I'll stick to my wool blends for such projects in future, as they have better stretch.  But hey, don't think twice, it's alright.  Uni-Uni-Unicoooooooorns, I looooove them.



<-- Talk to my thrummed palms, alright?!

To infinity! And Beyond!

Okay.  That wasn't a song reference this time.  But I couldn't contain it.  It had to be said.  Buzz Lightyear for president!  Who's with me?

Christmas times!  I made my very first infinity scarf as a gift for my friend, Sam.  Boy howdy, was it ever an adventure.  If you'll remember back to the blog installment about the moustache hat where I revealed my propensity for changing my mind and starting over, you'll not be surprised to hear that there were several false starts on this one.  9 false, 1 true, to be precise...You see, I started out trying to follow a pattern I thought I liked that I found online.  I figured I'd better do that, being-as-though I hadn't made an infinity before.  Turns out I didn't like that pattern.  Or any other I came across, really.  So, I tweaked and retweaked and eventually just decided to venture off into the unknown, armed only with the bits of general information I could glean from patterns I'd looked at, down the path to infinity scarftown.  Patterns are great, don't get me wrong!  But sometimes the fun part about making things, rather than buying them, is that they can sort of take shape around the recipient.  You know how every once in a while you meet someone and their name doesn't suit them?  You think "Oh, she is NOT a Brenda!"  Well, I feel that way about patterns sometimes.  They're all well and good, but if they don't look like the person who will be wearing them, well, it ain't right!  So, finally, I decided to go fully custom with this one.  It was the right choice.  Let the journey begin.

 For starters, my first "provisional cast-on", Bay-beeeeees!  Beginning by knitting your first row of stitches into a crocheted chain (that you will later unzip and remove)  allows you to go back in the end and pick up your starter stitches to bind them off with the end row.  No sewing!  Woot!  

     Being-as-though my buddy can rock an argyle sock with the best of 'em (two, even!), I decided that an argyle scarf would be prudent, as well.  Because, let's face it, one can never have too much of a good thing going.  

     All it took was a strategic plan for where to swap out the knit stitch for a purl to create the argyle look.  Once that was done, we were ready to rock&roll.  I love it when a plan comes together! (A-team style.)

      There she is (left), blocked and drying, and reminding me a little of the opening sequence of a Star Wars film from this angle...

I've chosen NOT to show you a picture of the finished product on MY neck for two reasons:

1.  Y'all have already seen entirely too much of my mug on this blog.  

-and-

2.  The aforementioned friend is a spectacular photographer.  I am honored by the fact that this scarf made one of his recent shoots, and you should really check it out there instead.  Sam (with the help of his lovely friend Shannon) makes it look far better than I ever could!  So.  I beseech you to follow the link below and see how great it looks there. :)  And then continue perusing Sam's work, because it is just wonderful.  This gun's for hire, kids.  Tell your friends.  ;)

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=232719433528750&set=a.140558782744816.36378.123860371081324&type=1&theater

Pictures come alive, you can dance right through your life.

It is a requirement to quote Flashdance when delving into this next topic.

On that note, I'm just gonna say it.  I LOVE leg warmers.  They are so rad.  People don't wear enough leg warmers these days.

These lovely lady leg warmers were commissioned as a Christmas gift for the sister of a friend of mine.  Burnt Red/Deep Orange and Cream.  Of the over-the-boot/little-bit-slouchy persuasion.  They're pretty crush worthy.  I can't wait until you meet them walking down the street one day.

Red - a world about to dawn!

Black - the night that ends at last! - Les Miserables

So.  Fun.  The request here was for red/black, in this previously pioneered styling.  Knucks exposed.  I like to put them in the category of "mHandies" (man+handies).  You see, Ashley and I primarily like to call fingerless mittens "handies."  (When not in the presence of Ashley, you will typically hear me refer to them as 'ninja mitts'...I know, it's all very confusing.)  With these being a little shorter, they just look a titch less cozy and a smack more hardcore to me.  Rugged-ish.  You know, for those times you want to haul out and punch someone in the eye sans knitted cushioning buffer, but you still want to be warm and comfortable whilst you put the hurt on.*

"Red - the blood of angry men!
Black - the dark of ages past!"
            - Les Miserables (reprised, but in reverse order) :)  

*Disclaimer:  My violent side is only in jest.  I do not actually condone you go punching unsuspecting (or suspecting, for that matter) folks in the eye.  Nor do I think all folks of the Male persuasion are into that sort of thing.  Though they may, as a whole, be a little more rough and tumble, I believe the cross-cultural sampling I've witnessed to be a fairly agreeable and even-keeled lot.  It's the chicks you want to watch out for.  (j/k!)  There, I believe I've covered my bases.  ;)

Young man, full of big plans and thinkin' about tomorrow...

...young man, gonna make a stand.  You beg, you steal, you borrow. -Ray LaMontagne

But, sometimes, you also barter.

I was at the home of some good friends over the holiday season.  The Mulberry House, to be precise.  The lady of the house had been gifted a particular chair, with a particular charm, for which she had no need.  She jokingly said to me:  "You want that chair, right?"  To which I responded a little too decidedly: "No."  Time went by, and over the course of the day, I found myself courting the chair.  We sat together, we knit, we experienced delightful conversation over scones and tea with our friends.  A bond was formed.  After leaving, still insisting I didn't want to take the chair home with me, I went on my merry way and endeavored to put the chair out of my mind.  Turns out the darn thing weaseled its way into my affections over the course of a solitary morning and I wound up texting Ashley to let her know that (much to her surprise) I did want that chair.  Like, a lot.  You see, when I was quite young, my Grandma Alva had a chair like this in her home.  Warms my heart and brings back good memories of playing with her trinkets and sliding down the stairs for hours with my sisters and our cousins.  My wonderful mama has set to work re-upholstering it for me.  It's on its way to being grandma chic, just like me, now!


Anyhoot, being disinclined (as I am) to take without some give, Ophelia and I struck a sweet deal over the matter.  You see, homegirl was in need of something to warm her lovely little lady paws.  For the winter months, mild as they were at the time, were upon us.  And, knowing South Dakota, the threat of mitten weather was imminent.  With gladness, I set out to warm the hands of this adorable child in exchange for my chair.  I'm told she never complains to don them.  Knowing the nature of the childrens of this age to resist being bogged down by such things (coats, hats, mittens - they're all the enemy in our formative years, eh?), this is the highest praise for which I could hope.  XO, O-town!

 

 Please enjoy the most ludicrous of knitting patterns (left).  We kept forgetting to trace her hand for sizing purposes.  We took a stab at doing things this way for the purpose of scale, quoted The Princess Bride ("Think it'll work?" "It would take a miracle.") and were on our way.  Turns out it worked!  Booyah, grandma.  

To shave-a da face, to cut-a da hair...

...require a grace, require da flare. -The Contest (Sweeney Todd)

I took me a break from the Owl Mitt Mania to knit up a hat for a friendly.  After shopping around ('cause my momma told me I better shop around) for the design awhile among the ideas mingling in my brainspace, I settled on this.  A moustache to warm a melon.  Yes, I have a bad habit of starting a project only to change my mind down the road a ways.  After tearing out and starting over a few times, the world is generally a better place, though.  So, a knitwit's gotta do what a knitwit's gotta do.

Funny story about that.  The friend I gifted this to has a wonderful grandmother.  She is hilarious.  She is adorable.  She has all the good attributes that wonderful grandmothers have.  In abundance.  I'm sure you know the type.  Anyway, I was lucky enough to meet her at the cinema a while back.  My friend had been showing her a couple things that I had knit, this hat included, "back at the ranch" before the fam ventured out to take a stroll through Middle Earth (See The Hobbit, kids.  Just quit refusing to see The Hobbit, already).  When I was introduced to said wonderful grandmother as "The Knitter", her response was:  "Well, better that than a nitwit!"  She ain't no nitwit, herself.  More of a quick-wit, really.  I want to be just like her.  I've said it before, I'll say it again, grandmas are the bomb.

Anyway, here's the finished product, folks.  A hat very appropriate for the head on which it resides from time-to-time, during days in which the winter winds of our fine state are alive and well and freezing the marbles right out of the melons that are not fortunate enough to have a moustached hat perched upon them.

Moustache on the front.

A little slouchy with a pair of specs on the flip.  

She wanna start all over, want a shiny clean slate.

Alternate lyrical title:  "It takes two to make a thing go right."

The past couple months have been spent with so much yarn occupying the general vicinity of my fingertips that I (forgive me, please) have not allowed them time to strike the keys, so to speak.  I can no longer convince myself that I am the only one who noticed that I kicked off this blog and then basically took an immediate hiatus, as I have now had two lovely friends inquire with a general:  "What gives?"  Well, your polite cries have been heard, my friends.  Thanks for "making a thing go right."  I live to please, so let's ride this recap together, eh?  Get ready to be blogged, knitwear!

So.  Let's "kick this pig", as my friend John always says (Literally, that's all he ever says!  What's with that? j/k) with a myriad of owl mitts.  Yes, that one little instagram photo back in October led to many pairs of knitted owls in all shapes/sizes/colors.  Here are the highlights.  Each a little different, in their own right.  Variety is the spice of life.  Six of one, half a dozen of the other.  *Insert other cliche' remarks here*

Now, there's a mitt of a different color.  (please, save the thanks for my hiatus b/c it saved you from many endless days of my posting "today, I knit this same thing but in THIS color"...I feel your thanks.  I accept them.  We can forgo the formalities.) ;)

Now that you have had your eye-fill of owl mitts, a side note.  I sometimes find it charming to knit yarn off of a "hank", as modeled by my little helper, Ophelia.  Yes, the twisty yarns you see sometimes in fancier yarn shops are called "hanks" of yarn.  Isn't that endearing?  I love it.  Though, this is not a customary practice (you're supposed to use a machine and get the yarn into the traditional "skein" format before you use it), there is something about wearing your yarn as a necklace and having to unwrap it around your head each go-round that I can't resist.  I think it just makes me feel more "at one" with the yarn.  And also the sheep who provided it.  Is that wrong?  Well, if it is, I don't wanna be right.