TGIF!!!

Hats and 60 degree days don't exactly mesh....oh well, I'm not done anyways. Here's another progress pic:



Also here's a pic of the Sparkle Hat from SnB that I knit for my mom while I was home a few weeks ago:

Seed Stitch and Me are learning to be friends!

I've always felt that seed stitch is soooo tedeous. As a matter of fact, I still do. This project has been a reminder as to why I shy away from using seed stitch-- it's so time consuming. I'm only 2 inches into the body of Le Slouche and I've been knitting a bit each night since Monday. Granted I get bored of after a few round of seed stitch and put the project down but still ;-) I'm an average speed knitter, but this stitch pattern is holding me back from finishing my project before the weather gets too warm to allow me to wear it! Grrrr..

Le Slouche
Last night I made my gauge swatch and cast on for Le Slouche-- a slouchey beret-style hat. I know, I know-- it's late in the season for a hat, but I've always loved berets. And it's about time that I made something for myself! I'm using heathered-gray lion brand wool-ease. Cheap stuff, but good for the purpose.
Once Le Slouche has been completed, I will be joining the Sexy Knitters Club spring double-knit-a-long. The patterns chosen are Rusted Root by Zephyr and Sahara by StitchDiva. For now, I'm only planning on knitting Rusted Root. Not sure if I'd actually wear Sahara. I think I'm going to knit Rusted Root in a grassy green. I have to actually go yarn shopping for this one. I do not have a good yarn substitute in my stash for this project. Hopefully, I'll find some nice Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in the right shade. Anyone wanna go yarn shopping???

Knitters Treat Exchange Questionnaire

1. What's your favourite type of yarn?
Cotton blends, super-soft premium acrylics (wool allergy!)

2. What's your least favourite type of yarn?
Straight up wool-- makes me itch!

3. What's the first thing you do when you visit a new yarn shop?
Touch, touch, touch in search of softness

4. What other crafts do you do / would like to do?
Jewelry-making, painting, collaging, cooking

5. What magazines do you currently subscribe to?
Interweave Knits, Knit.1, Domino, Allure,

6. Put this type of magazine in order of preference:
Knitting / Food / Home / Other Craft / Fashion / Garden/ Crochet / Celebrity Gossip

7. What items do you like to knit / crochet?
I love to knit small projects for their instant gratification: hats, toys, mitts

8. Are you allergic to anything?
Peaches, wool

9. What do you like to* smell of?
(*This is not a typo. The question is: What do you like to smell of)
Soft, clean scents with light floral notes for Spring & Summer and richer, spicier scent in Fall & Summer

10. What's your favourite way to relax?
Glass of red wine, curled on the couch with a good book or a movie and my boy

11. You're stood in front of a Victorian style sweetshop, an Italian cafe, an old fashioned bakery and a dainty tea room. Where do you go first?
Italian Cafe

12. What do you come out with?
Canoli & Cappuccino

13. Where do you go next?
An old-fashioned bakery

14. Any other words of wisdom for your pal?

Knit, what else can I do?
So here's yet another hat. I think I've been knitting small projects all week to keep my hands and mind occupied. I'm having trouble coping with illness right now. My maternal grandfather (my Pop) has a 30 year history of heart disease. He's been through numerous procedures including by-pass surgery in the 70's, angioplasties, stent placements, removal of the pericardium, etc. He's always been so strong-- a real fighter. We always joked that he was like a Timex: "takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin"! But this time it's bad. There's nothing else that they can do for him. He's so skinny and weak. A shadow of his former self. I've always been very close to my maternal grandparents. It's just so hard to accept.

To top it all off, my paternal grandfather was admitted to the hospital on Friday night with cardiac problems. He's scheduled to have a mitral valve replacement, a huge open-heart procedure, tomorrow. Talk about adding to my stress. My dad's going to fly down to Florida from NY either tonight or tomorrow. I think he's going to be okay. I feel guilty that I'm not as worried or saddened by this as I am for my Pop. We were just never very close. I'm more concerned with my how my dad's mom is coping, but my dad will be there for her.

I made this hat for my Gram (my maternal grandmother). I know that there's nothing I can do to better this situation so I felt like I had to make something that I can give to her. I know it's not going to make up for the fact that she's going to lose her husband, but I feel totally powerless. It's just been really hard to come to terms with.
Update 3/14/07: My Pop passed late Friday night after I arrived in NY to see him for the last time. I got to tell him that I loved him. It was really hard. And, yes, my Gram loved the hat. I even knit my Mom a hat while I was home with my family ;-)

Oh, Baby!
Here's the cutie-cute-cute hat I made in a couple of hours for my co-workers infant. The pattern is the Umbilical Cord Hat for baby from the Stitch'n'Bitch book by Debbie Stoller. Apparently one of her 3-year-old twins is totally obsessed with the color yellow hence the color choice for the hat. I hope that I'm not too late-- the baby is about 4-months-old at this point. Guess I should of had this done sooner. Oh well, better late than never. Hope the mommy likes this gift.