I've got cramps...

Knitting two hats in one day I believe is called "a knitting addiction". Ok, OK, most of you would probably say "idiot". I agree... my hands really cramped up from that. I haven't knitted all day because of it. But, I popped the motrin and let my hands rest most of the day. Now I'm ready to go again. I need to get some more coffee cozies done for a school bazaar on Friday. I sure hope someone buys them :)

My first hat above is another Orvieto, requested by a friend. She has been fighting the big "C" and I've been wanting to make her a hat for a while now. It was knit, of course, out of my favorite yarn, Merisoft from Punta Yarns. This pattern is so quick and easy and can be accomplised in a day (hey, if I can do it you can too). The second hat is the Dean Street Hat I also found on Ravelry. This was a fun, easy, quick hat also... the best kind. It was also made out of the merisoft yarn for my nephew. The third hat is the Koolhaas Hat (also on Ravelry) made out of di've yarn and was made for my sons teacher. My Christmas pile is happily growing daily but it still seems like I have a ton more to do. Does it ever end? NO... I believe that a "true" knitter has a never ending pile of stashed gifts and a never ending pile of stashed yarn to keep that pile going! I AM A TRUE KNITTER! (lol) Or, as my husband would say, a knitting nerd :)

New sock yarn...

I'm in heaven... today I drove out to Allyn Knit Shop and surprise, surprise, they now carry Punta Yarns. If it wasn't clear before (lol) this is one of my very favorite yarns. They had some beautiful colors for sock yarn so, of course, I bought some. The colorways are so vibrant and pretty it was really hard to choose just one. The nice thing about this sock yarn? Besides being soft and wonderful it is a bit cheaper than most but oh so darn pretty. I was in a rut with socks but now I can't wait to start a new pair. They will have to wait until after Christmas though. If you haven't been to Allyn, it is a great little shop with a nice big selection of yarn. It has become one of my favorite shops. Check it out sometime (http://www.allynknitandspin.com/).

Christmas in coming...

It's almost Thanksgiving and Christmas is just around the corner. I can't believe how quick it has snuck up on us. I'm in full swing with Christmas knitting now. Finished several projects and am working on requests from friends. Once I finish that it's back to my own gifts. Last week I went to one of my favorite shops, Renaissance Yarns. They carry the yarn that I seemed to be obsessed with lately, Punta Yarns Merisoft. I can't help it, I'm addicted to this yarn (http://www.puntayarns.com/all-yarns.htm). It is so nice to knit with and the colorways are just beautiful. Everyone is getting a gift with this yarn this year. What can I say? I LOVE it!

I hope you all have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving! Be thankful, be happy, have fun!

(PS: Purple hat & headband were made with Malabrigo and the pink gloves were made with the Punta yarn)

The weather outside is... FREEZING

Today was the last day of outdoor soccer... thank goodness considering it was only 37 degrees outside. And, silly me, with all the hats I've been making I go and forget to wear one. I decided I don't care what I look like, darn it, I'm going to wear a hat. Now I think I have an ear infection so a hat today would have been really nice. The wind put a chill in every part of my body, two hours later I'm still sitting here with my coat on. So, I just printed out a free pattern from Ravelry.com for a cute headband. Maybe that will look better on me than a hat... it will at least keep my ears warm. Winter is here... darn it!

A shopping we will go...

Today was a fun day. Our knitting group decided to go on a field trip to Fibers Etc. in Tacoma. I had never been there before and I had heard that they have yarn from floor to ceiling. Well... not only do they have yarn from floor to ceiling they have isle after isle and bin after bin of yarn and their button collection was AMAZING! I've never seen so many buttons in a yarn shop before. There definitely was something for everyone! It was so much fun seeing and feeling all the different yarns. My mind was rolling with all the projects I could make. Then what do I do? I pick out my usual favorite Merisoft by Punta Yarns instead of something new. I can't help myself, I just love this stuff. Also grabbed a couple of new needles and headed out the door. Even though this little shop has very odd hours I will definitely make a return trip.

On another note... tonight I didn't listen to my head telling me to "go to bed, your eyes are getting tired, put the needles down and just go to bed". I just had to keep on knitting and knitting and knitting until I took a break and realized that, crap, I was doing something wrong. I was so focused on finishing the hat I was test knitting for Lisa (www.lisaellisdesigns.com) that I didn't see that I had read the pattern wrong. Now I must pay the awful price that us knitters dread... rip, rip, rip! This is not going to be fun but I must bite the bullet and do it. I hate ripping out cables, I'm just hoping I don't end up having to rip back to the beginning. Wish me luck! I'm going to bed now...