Happy April! And Week 13?? Review

Happy April! I try to not think of it as April Fools' Day, due to some bad childhood memories (I was a pretty gullible kid). I also remember only too painfully the 2+ feet of snow dumped on us March 31/April 1, 1997 -- the only part of that storm that didn't suck was that I got a day or two off work. What did suck is that I wasn't exactly stocked up on groceries (milk and cat food, for the most part), but I only had to trudge a few blocks down Western Ave to the 7-Eleven for that, and it was really surreal seeing Central Square, Cambridge, completely devoid of cars. That's normally a pretty hopping place.

Anyway, here is Week 13 (I think) revew from the Knitting Pattern-a-Day Calendar. I usually take a quick break a work to draft a review each day (if anyone from work is reading this, it literally only takes about 2 minutes!), but I was so busy this week I sometimes forgot to change the calendar! So here goes. . .

Monday, March 27 -- Arches & Columns Lace Scarf. I have only recently been experimenting with lace knitting, and I dig it. I think I would love making something like this; I just have to figure out who the recipient would be. This is something that would probably impress my sisters, but not really be very hard to make (shhhhhh!!!!) or costly either (shhhhhh!!!!!). I'll put this one aside for a possible later!

Tuesday, March 28 -- Blue Sky Bulky Earflap Hat. Luckily, I don't need to think about wearing anything this warm right now, but this is something I'd wear. It's knit on size 13 US needles, so it's probably nice and fast. I bet as soon as the temperature hits 40 (hopefully not until about November!), I'll be scrambling for this pattern. But I hope to not have to think about bulky warm hats for about 6 months. It is a cute pattern.

Wednesday, March 29 -- Silk Tweed Sweater. I'd make this except for one thing: the smallest finished measurement is 39 inches, and my bust is about 35-36. I know, I know. . . .ease and whatnot, but I've made two sweaters that came out a bit too big (well, in the case of my To Dye For sweater from Stitch n' Bitch, it came out HUGE -- and I made the small!). It would account for a nice comfy sweater, but I don't want to be swimming in it. It's a lovely, simple design, though.

Thurday, March 30 -- Silk Tweed Sweater continued. . . Still like it.

Friday, March 31 -- Basket Weave Eyelet. This is one of those "all over patterns" to use for a "cardigan, baby blanket, or carriage cover". I think it's pretty nice, and I'm grateful for these "all over patterns" included in here. I can do swatches of them to learn new techniques, and can make blankets (cat blankets, perhaps?) using them.

Saturday/Sunday, April 1 and 2 -- Sweet Caroline Bonnet. Cute little old-fashioned newborn bonnet with a lacy brim and a ribbon tie. I think I may make one for my stepdaughter to put on her cat. Her cat Daisy lets her do anything -- she's even got pictures of Daisy in a diaper! The bonnet would be icing on the cake.

That's it for this week's patterns! Feel free to comment!!

In other news:

Thank you to everyone who gave me feedback on Odessa! I am proud to say that I have prompted other people to start Odessa or put her on their to-knit list! I am glad to be of service!

On the needles: The April 4 pattern "Opening Night". I'm almost done with the left wristlet, and guess what? The April '06 MagKnits has a similar pattern called Lucky K8 -- well, it's similar in the sense that it is a fingerless glove and has the same lace pattern, but there are some differences. I like those a lot too, and maybe someday when I finish my Rock Star scarf I will see if Lucy at Mind's Eye Yarns had the same sock yarn I'm using for Rock Star to make some matching Lucky K8s.

Other Projects: Super-secret Reptile Swap stuff for Mommabear1963! It's gonna be good! (and yes, this time I am making almost everything in duplicate; one for me, and one for Mommabear1963!).

Future Projects: I am dying to venture into my World of Knitted Toys book and make some knitted cats! Plus I got a Japanese craft book of "felt mascots" (using craft felt, not felted wool), that I would love to sink my teeth into. I also plan on giving socks another shot (still have last year's Magic Loop attempt on my needles; I'm hoping that now that I am more experienced with knitting in the round I can untangle the huge knot that is keeping the yarn stuck to my needles and pick those up again, as I am dying for hand-knit socks!) I got invited to a baby shower for an ex-co-worker on April 12, so I'd love to whip up something for that (probably booties and a hat; in such short notice I should keep it simple), and a friend of mine is having a baby boy in May and my hairdresser is having one in September (there's plenty of time there!). I think my fingers will be busy for a while.

The Sheep and Wool Festivals will be starting soon!!!! Yippee!!! We'll miss the first one because we're going to exotic Rome, NY, to visit ZMrK's dad that weekend, but I'm hoping to hit the rest and increase my stash (which I'm supposed to be decreasing, but. . . .umm. . . . yeah).

That's it for this LONG post!!!

xoxo. . . ZantiMissKnit