Nerdy Knitter

The UFOs have been defeated

If you've been paying attention, you've probably noticed a string of projects in my entries where I say, "I still have to seam this one," or "Just need to add buttons," or "haven't sewn in the ends." Well, my knitting friends--I've done it: I've finished every project but one!

And for proof, I've got the following:



This is the finished Trellis for our friend's son's first birthday, which is Sunday (the day after MY birthday, so we're kinda birthday twins...kinda).



This is the chevron scarf I made with the self-striping sock yarn my swap pal, Geraldine, sent me. Isn't it cute & cheery? the only weird thing about doing the chevron thing on a scarf is that one end comes to points at the double-decrease stitch, and the other end comes to points at the yarnovers. That's a little weird--now I know why people graft stoles & scarves to make them symmetrical. Oh well--I don't mind--it's still cute, cute, cute.



And this blurry photo is of my new Snail Hat. It starts with a 4-stitch i-cord, then winds itself around and around and around. Very clever--and using Noro made fun color changes. It's cute--I'm not sure who's going to get that one.

Here it is from the top-down:

And in non-knitting news, we had a lovely Thanksgiving week. This nerdy knitter was off for an entire week--the first time since last December! We went to see Nerdy In-laws in Williamsburg, which always includes time with the Nephews. So cute! Then we came back to our house to get ready to host Thanksgiving dinner with the Williamsburg in-laws (well, most of them), and our in-laws from Florida. Lucky for us, Nerdy Brother-in-law married my good friend, so any family get-together is even more enjoyable because I have my pal (a knitter, to boot!) with me.

Here's our favorite photo from the Thanksgiving visit:

Nerdy brother-in-law wants a dog, but our sister-in-law-in-law isn't so sure about it. Boy, does Henry LOOOOOVE his "uncle." He wants to be on that couch right ON him if at all possible.

So our Thanksgiving week was full of family, dog, shopping and eating--and knitting. Yahoo! And the weather was great, so we even spent quite a bit of time outdoors. We tried out the new microbrewery near us--very yummy, but very, very, very crowded. But that was super-fun because we met up with my friends, J and K, who live nearby.

All in all, I'd like to have a Thanksgiving week more often--I wonder if I could arrange to work every other week...wouldn't that be perfect?

Two other unrelated newsy bits: I'm going to take Drawing II next semester--yeeha! I took Drawing I last year, and loved it, and now the 2nd part is being offered when I'm available. I can't wait to get my materials list & get my portfolio, and all of that. Sigh. If I worked every other week, I could draw and play with yarn on the other days. Sigh. Double sigh.

And, the second bit of news: I'm going to be a test knitter for Lorna's Laces! The package is due any day now. I can't wait!!!! I'm hoping I can show a vague photo of the yarn (it is being released in January) at some point, but I'm sure I'll be sworn to secrecy for a little bit. Hee hee hee. I'm so excited, I can barely stand it!

So, meanwhile, I need to finish the current project on my needles (something for a gift, so I can't mention it by name)...I'm off to hopefully come close to finishing it with what's left of my lunch time.

I'll post again when I have my parcel in hand.

Happy week after Thanksgiving to you US knitters.

posted by Nerdy Knitter @ 2:40 PM 4 comments

Hapy birthday to my mommy!

Today is Nerdy Mommy's birthday--happy birthday to my mommy!!!

posted by Nerdy Knitter @ 5:26 PM 1 comments

Time flies when you're doing...the same old, same old

Well, okay, so I'm not doing the same old, same old, necessarily...I'm still knitting like a [nerdy] fiend; I'm still working [we have yet to win the lottery]; I'm still living with the Beast and Nerdy Hubby.

So what is new, you ask?

Well, I've completed teaching my very first knitting class. Our last class was 11/3. I think the students were pleased with what they learned, although none of them left with an actual finished object. They said that was fine...I hope it was. They all said they would take another class with me, which is a good sign.

I'm going to be teaching a more advanced class in the spring (February): knitting in the round. We're going to make a bag, probably something like the Everlasting Bagstopper.

Speaking of the EB (I'm too lazy to type that out all over again)--I've made 2 of them, but have yet to attach the handles to the second one. I've also made 2 more cabled newsboy caps, but have yet to sew up the brims. I just finished my very first ever tam o'shanter (what a fun name):




It was a lot of fun to make, and I like the way it looks, but I'm not sure I'll ever wear it. I might donate it to a shelter or something. We'll see. It might become a gift for someone somewhere...

Here's a close-up of the hat itself:



And here's the other side:

In other news of unfinished items, I've got a cute-as-pie pair of "pocketbook slippers" that need buttons & finishing. Here's one:



I know it doesn't look like much there, but when you put it on your foot, it becomes this adorable little maryjane-like slipper. I'll post another photo once I've got the buttons on.

And last, but definitely not least, is this little sweater (Trellis) for my friend's son's first birthday, which happens to be 1 day after my [37th] birthday:



It's a quick knit--anything for a small critter goes so quickly--and the color is lovely. I'm on the left front now, and hope to move on to the right front before too much time passes. Then it's the sleeves and the button bands and seaming...painful seaming. Ugh. How I hate seaming...

But it's soooo cute, I think I'll be motivated to sew it together just to see it in finished form. Not to mention the deadline of the birthdate to keep me in line. . .

I had a lovely weekend with lots of time for knitting--including a visit from my friend, J. She's working on a poncho with knit-on edging and a pair of socks from her own delicious handspun. Someday I'll get to spin and spin and spin, and maybe I'll have luscious yarn like hers. Maybe.

Oh--on a non-knitting note (pun intended--you'll see): we went to our friend's house for dinner on Friday night, and he & I attempted to give a recital. He plays piano, and for those of you who don't know this about me, I play the flute. E had copies of the piano music for just a few weeks, and we had never played together...you can imagine how it went. Lots of "Wait--where were you?" and "Let's start again." But it was a lot of fun. I hope we'll get to do that again. He's coming to the Nerdy House for Thanksgiving, but I doubt his piano will fit into his car, so no Thanksgiving Day recitals at the Nerdy House. Rats.

But for now, it's all Trellis, all the time, as the deadline is looming. Happy week before Thanksgiving, everyone.

posted by Nerdy Knitter @ 2:42 PM 3 comments