koolhaas redux

jared flood of brooklyn tweed is pure knitting genius. i've been a long-time admirer through his blog - his knitting, spinning and photography are just so inspiring. when i knit his koolhaas hat the first time last year, i was smitten. but now i'm 100% in love. this pattern looks complex but knits up so easily, and it creates this amazing lattice that honestly makes me look like a much better knitter than i am. how can i ask for more than that?

if you're a knitter and haven't made this hat yet, well shame. on. you.

holliday park

eta: name correction. thanks brenda!

halfway

i'm finally halfway done with my modern quilt wrap. it's seriously the finest thing i've ever knit. and i'm not just talking yarn weight. it's absolutely lovely. and halfway done.

and now i know

i've been knitting socks for more than a year now. i've knit probably half a dozen pair. some have been on double pointed needles, some magic looped on one long circular needle but up to this point always one at a time and always from the cuff down. after spending a week with the fabulous two-at-a-time sock knitting ms g i was seduced into knitting socks two at a time, toe up. she made it look so easy. plus she gifted me with this fabulous yarn. how could i refuse?

and easy it is! i learned judy's magic cast on. i like it!

but i'm not sure i like working on one long needle.
there are some knitters who hate double pointed needles. and while i agree, sometimes it does feel like wrestling a porcupine, knitting on one long circular, for me, isn't any better. it's just different. i'm glad to have this new technique mastered but did i love it? not really. and now i know.

as a portable project, one at a time works better for me and i swear it's faster! i always laugh at knitters who say one way takes longer than the other, because really, isn't it the same number of stitches? but i swear, two at a time felt like it took forever!! surely i can knit two socks one at a time in less than 16 days!

and i'm not crazy about the afterthought heel. it's easy enough to work but i do like a good heel flap. when you knit socks from the cuff down, once you cast off, you're done. with this, i cast off both socks late last night, then spent all day working just one heel. it's done. mighty pointy, but i know how to fix that next time. this heel does seem much less bulky, so less likely to bunch up out the back of my shoe. that's a plus. and now i know. but i'm done with only one. it will be at least one more day before i have a finished pair of socks.
/whine.

i guess besides all the whining, the point of this post was to encourage you knitters to reach outside of your comfort zone and try something new. you may like it or not, but at least you can say, " i came. i saw. i knit it and now i know."

housewarming

justin moved out of the house last year. but recently he and his girlfriend jessica got an apartment together. when girl-child moved out i made her a cookbook scrapbook of some of her favorite recipes. justin requested the same. but he said, "go ahead and put some gross stuff in it too, since it's not just for me."

so justin and jessica, here is your cookbook with gross stuff included.

i bought this paper pack a few months ago, not having a clue what i was going to do with it. i was worried it was too girlie for this project but since justin now has his own girlie, i think it's perfect!

thought handwriting each recipe was a nice touch too.

♥ mom

dogs on thursday

do take a second and send some well wishes to our good friend, beau. he had to have emergency surgery yesterday. scary time for the fabulous ms g and her mr.

our thoughts are with you guys!

check out the other great dogs on thursdays.