Tuesday, December 30, 2008

unwrapped

or all wrapped up? a knitting year in review!

2008 Mittens
three pairs of mittens

2008 - Scarves, Shawls & Cowls
four neck/wrap-type things

2008 Hats
five hats

2008 Sweaters
and six sweaters!

which is more than double the amount i knit in 2007! very few duds - that modern lace henley never really got off the ground, and the carrie cropped cardi is too tight in the arms (yes, i bought more yarn to reknit but there are too many new projects to work on!). and then there was the disaster with the olive branch hoodie zipper - did i ever tell 'yall about that? probably not. it's hiding in shame.

here's to a better 2009! happy knitting!

Monday, December 29, 2008

bella's mittens - updated pattern!

bella's mittens

bella's mittens

bella's mittens

with help from my mom, i finally had the opportunity to take some decent photos of bella's mittens. i've also fixed a couple of typos in the original pattern. you can download the new version here.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

everyday

merry xmas

b's family gave me my own tree to decorate with much-loved ornaments my mom sent from home. b and his sister added their favorite homemade baubles and we're calling this the kids' tree. like the kids' table at thanksgiving, but better.

happy holidays if you celebrate; peace on earth and goodwill to you and yours even if you don't!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

last-minute decisions

i definitely had my most harried get-out-of-the-house-and-into-a-cab pre-flight experience yesterday morning, but i still managed to throw a skein of cascade 220 and #7 circs into my carry-on at the last possible moment.

marsan watchcap #4

you know that whole "i'm not knitting anything for anyone this holiday season" mantra it seems everyone's been espousing? i was on that bandwagon. happily seated, enjoying the ride. and then i remembered that my dad's been wearing the same roll-brim hat i knit for him since the first winter i re-discovered my love for knitting - like, five years ago. (everyone got a stockinette hat that year - if you were lucky, i got around to you closer to the holiday and yours had a ribbed band rather than rolled!)

it's time for an upgrade.

this year, i'm in ohio with b for the holidays and i won't see my parents until the day after xmas, so i've plenty of time, and i'm almost done anyway. a nice delay in the airport (they couldn't find the flight crew?!!!) saw to that.

happy travels!

xmas in ohio

Sunday, December 14, 2008

it's upon us...

spent the morning at the promenade (think big, outdoor mall *shudder*) finishing up my holiday shopping. came home, wrapped everything up, and played with wool.

felted bowls

quick and easy felted bowls; no pattern necessary. just use the needles you normally would for the wool weight (or maybe go up a size - slightly loose stitches seem to felt better than tight ones), cast on however many stitches you want for your circumference in a multiple of four, and knit in the round until your bowl is as tall as you want it to be, remembering that the whole thing is going to shrink when you felt it, and it will shrink more lengthwise than widthwise (yeah, i've made a few rather shallow felted purses in my past, oops!). then divide your stitches into four groups with markers and k2tog and ssk on either side of your markers every other row until you only have eight stitches left. cut yourself a nice long tail and using a tapestry needle, thread up your live stitches. cinch and bind off.

i like to be hands-on with the actual felting process, so i fill up the sink with hot water and squeeze in a good amount of dishwashing soap. knead your bowl until you can't see the individual stitches anymore (you may need to change the water as it cools down or gets too fuzzy/full of dye). rinse. find a cup or bowl the shape you want your felted bowl to be and stick it in there overnight. take it out the next day to dry fully. enjoy!

(yes, we do have quite an army of two-buck chuck there in the background. we finally gave in this week and bought a case - company coming and all!)

Saturday, December 13, 2008

vista

malibu hiking

malibu hiking

met some friends this afternoon for a beautiful hike in malibu - just a few miles each way, with the ocean in sight the entire climb and a great look-out point at the end. we will definitely be returning.

tomorrow, one of my favorite people comes to visit for the week, so please excuse me while i go clean the house!

Sunday, December 07, 2008

maggie's armwarmers

the cabled armwarmers have been named and the pattern is up!

maggie armwarmers

the maggie armwarmers feature a classic cable pattern up the back and palm, twisting around the thumb gusset. guaranteed to keep your mitts toasty while leaving your fingers free to read, write, draw, or knit!

maggie armwarmers

Saturday, December 06, 2008

it's my party

another bella mitten

yep, i'm working on another mitten! but i've been a bit distracted these week.

b-day tulips

as b says, it was birthday week. amongst many other wonderful things, he brought home these beautiful tulips, and they fully opened today. so pretty!

mr b

mr b celebrated by chewing on my yoga mat. i think he was silently protesting the arrival of another bunny in the household:

knit chocolate bunny

a knit chocolate bunny from beigeberry! so adorable!

i celebrated with lots of indian food - first, on my actual birthday with b, and tonight with a friend. we went to little india in artesia - an adventure for us both ($100,000 watches, anyone?) - and she decided to take me to a restaurant that specializes in dosa. as this was my first experience with dosa, i asked her to order for me, and she chose the paper masala dosa.

dosa

a requirement for being my friend? a good sense of humor. ;)

(many thanks to cleolinda and the twilight lexicon for the link-backs this week!)

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

getting in touch

hey everyone,

i've received a few questions/requests in the comments section that i can't respond to, because email addresses aren't linked or blogger profiles are private. if you'd like to get in touch with me - and you'd like me to email you back - please send me a note at webmaster[at]subliminalrabbit[dot]com from your personal email address.

take care,
marri

wow.

umm, hi everyone. nice to meet you. glad you like the mittens!

i wanted to take this opportunity to mention some other fantastic free twilight-inspired patterns out there for fans who knit or crochet - patterns that inspired me to give those mittens a shot.

Twilight Knits
1. Eclipse Socks, 2. Rosalie Scarf, 3. La Push Hat, 4. Twilight Socks


links above are to the photos. here are links to the patterns:

Julie Miller's Eclipse Socks

A.M. Down's Rosalie Hale Scarf

JennyHat's Bella Swan La Push Hat

Chicken Betty's Twilight Cover Socks

enjoy!