Eleven Days Until Christmas!

Time is moving way too fast for me, as it usually does at this time of year! It seems like there should be more time until Christmas!

I'll bet you're all feeling the same way.

If you still have Christmas presents to make, there is my Santa Hat,  which is a quick knit, but there's also my Dicky Pattern, which is another quick knit.

There's also my Watch Cap pattern and a version of Crazy Aunt Purl's beret translated to a worsted weight yarn. You can read Crazy Aunt Purl and get her original beret pattern for heavier yarn by clicking here.

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I'd like to write more today, but Comcast is at a point where it's internet connection almost isn't working at all, it's so bad. So there won't be much more to this post.

The CW will be running two hours of Vampire Diaries reruns every night all this week. There will be a new Human Target tomorrow night. And if you're looking for some good, offbeat Christmas programs,  Eureka, Warehouse 13 and Leverage have had great Christmas episodes on in the past week which will be repeated to death between now and Christmas. Keep an eye out for them!

Have fun until I can get Comcast to actually provide internet service again!

I'm Back

Comcast internet was down for a while around here. My internet service with them has been bad for a long time, but this is the first time my internet service has been completely gone!

Since my landline phone connects to the world through the internet, it wasn't working, either. My cell phone insisted that wifi wasn't working and quit, too. It came back when I turned off wifi, when it switched to being an actual phone.

So, I called Comcast on my cell, and got an out-of-order notice. Their phone service was gone. Their website was down, too.

I got an email from them this morning that said they were experiencing "widespread involuntary maintenance." I got the impression that nature played a nasty trick on them.

I wouldn't be upset with them if this was the only time there had been a problem, but my TV service has been an ongoing problem for 4 years, and internet doesn't work too good, either.

If it was possible to get service from anyone else, I would.

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Holly went to Michigan and (among other things) gave Malaia and Johnny their Christmas presents.

Here they are with their presents:

Johnny got a hat, mitts, and a hood. Malaia is wearing the hood in this photo. Malaia got socks, which she is wearing on her hands for the photo.

Johnny's presents are made with Classic Worsted Tapestry in Loden, which I showed a photo of a few posts back, while they were still balls of yarn. He wore the hat and mitts over the weekend when he went skeet shooting. I hadn't thought about it, but this yarn is not only handsome (Holly described it as "very manly"), but is an effective outdoor camouflage for this time of year.

The hood is from my wimple and hood pattern, and the mitts are from my long, short and easy mitts pattern. The hat is from the Watch Cap pattern available free by clicking on the link in the sidebar.

Malaia's socks are made from Red Heart Heart & Sole sock yarn in toasted almond. She wanted socks last year, and this year she's gotten them. I made three pair of them for me and liked them so much I wanted three more pair, but when I started knitting the second set of three, the more I looked at them, the more I kept thinking they looked like they should belong to Malaia. So, she got three pair of socks.

I'm working on a new line of patterns, and the pattern for the comfy socks will be one of the new ones. I designed these socks to be similar to some socks that were created for an made for diabetics. Holly doesn't have diabetes, but someone recommended them to her and she said they were the most comfortable socks she's ever worn, so I made similar socks with modifications for hand knitting.

Well, that's two presents down, and it means that I can show a lot of what I'm making for Christmas on my blog because Malaia was the one who was reading my blog and was certain that anything I made was for her.

While we're on the subject of knitting patterns, the free Santa Hat pattern is still up on my blog.

This is a quick and easy knit that will keep your head warm and look festive for the holidays. You can make it in more traditional colors (like red), too. I made one last year for Robin in his favorite color, all black. I like mine in navy blue, though. It blends with my coat and other clothes, and still manages to look Christmassy.

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If you're interested in buying a tablet computer, either for yourself or as a Christmas present, I put together a page where you can find many of the current contenders. These are not always the best deals, but they not only have the specs for each computer, but also reviews from customers who have bought and used them. Hope this helps.

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There's a new Chuck on tonight, along with a new The Event and Hawaii Five-O! Chuck and The Event are really dynamite!

Christmas Is Coming! Christmas Is Coming!

Christmas is coming in only 49 days!

Is there someone on your Christmas gift list that leaves you completely at a loss for what to get for them? Is there someone you want to get something really special?

Well, I need money, and because of that, I'm willing to spend some time and effort making presents for others. I can make something completely designed specifically for that special person. This will be something you won't see elsewhere.

Is your intended recipient a science fiction fan? The most memorable SF knit of all time is probably Doctor Who's scarf, but there were plenty of knits in Twilight, and I've knit dozens of Harry Potter scarves and hats. But it doesn't have to be limited to that. From the new Doctor Who, Rose wore a lot of knits. Her Boomtown scarf was beautiful. In Doomsday, she wore a gorgeous pair of mitts, and there was a photo of her in a gorgeous knitted slouch hat with a brim. It doesn't end there. Almost any SF movie has knits in it.

Do you know someone who's family tree is from Scandinavia or Ireland? Or somebody who just likes Celtic knots or beautiful things? I have done some really amazing things with Celtic knots in garments, and I can do it for you, too.

Here's a photo of the top of the hood from one sweater I'm working on.

And here's a Saint John's cross from the back of the sweater. A Saint John's cross is a Viking symbol of happiness, so the sweater is a symbol of good wishes.

Here's the version from the sleeve. Please notice that the cables at the bottom of the cross come right off the surface of the sleeve and become a tie to make the cuff ruffled (which will make it warmer), although it can be worn with it loose to be a romantic medieval sleeve and be a little cooler.

The bottom of the sweater is wider to make it fit better and be more flattering, and the extra width was achieved using a gusset, so I used the opportunity to add another variation of a Saint Johns cross.

Variations of these motifs would look great on a hat. I can also do knitted Viking Runes. Other cables or special knots can be created for almost any kind of garment, but for a Christmas present, I'd suggest something that doesn't require a lot of fitting, like a hat, scarf, mitts, wimple or shawl. I plan to make a bag for my runes with four runes on the bag: Fehu for wealth and prosperity, Algiz for protection, Wunjo for joy or happiness, and Sowelo for success. These runes would also work for other things, too.

And then, there are always things like a Santa hat. And, if you knit, the Santa hat directions are still available through this website.

And I could make a stocking for you or for you to give. Here's a sample of one I made for myself with my spinning wheel in the background and some Christmas lights. Everything on the stocking sparkles, and the star beads are glow-in-the-dark.

Other color schemes are available, too.

Anyway, let your imagination go crazy and let me know what you want.

There's lots of good stuff on TV, so have a great evening and a wonderful weekend!

Happy Columbus Day!

Happy Columbus Day, particularly to those of you who have a day off work!

For this blog, it's going to be a Miscellaneous Monday. And to kick off this insanity, here's a great photo with a great story to go with it:

Although, I must say that the photo sort of says it all!

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For those of you who were worried, I found an article that proves that the 21st of December in 2012 will not be the end of the world. According to the article, the people on the History Channel have just misinterpreted some things.

Well, I'm certainly relieved!

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Now we have several different items about knitting.

If you're a knitter and also into fashion, you're in luck this year. Knits are big in both senses of the word in fashion at the moment! Read more about it here!

Knitstorming hits the news in this article.

Has your stash reached SABLE (Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy) proportions? Read about yet another scheme to hide your addiction here.

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I'm busy! Sorry! Otherwise I would be blogging more.

This past week, I had a lot going on that I couldn't control, including: having my kitchen completely redone (they ripped things out to the point where only the walls were left--I'm still moving stuff back into it), a dental appointment, and a doctor's appointment. That's on top of the normal stuff.

I'm currently working on the outside cover for Volume 3 of the Steve Canyon DVDs.

I'm not only knitting, but also designing Christmas presents. I'd love to discuss it more here, but can't for obvious reasons. I have just a bit of the toe to do to finish Holly's birthday present socks. The Christmas present socks are done and were delivered on Saturday. She knew all about them and even picked the colors for them, so I saw no reason why she shouldn't be enjoying them right now. On the subject of socks, that leaves only Malaia's socks to do.

But I'm trying to focus on Christmas stockings for all those that I haven't made them for. Which means that you can forget about it, Malaia. I already gave you and John yours.

But that leaves me trying to figure out how to make a festive Christmas stocking in Robin's favorite color, which is black! I am piecing together a concept for that little by little. Actually, I had a concept a while ago. I just have to find the yarn and stuff to put it into practice. Last year, I gave him a black Santa hat.

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There's a new Heroes on tonight! As well as a new Big Bang Theory.

Dead Like Me: Life After Death will be on the SyFy Channel at 5 (locally) in case you missed it the first time it was on, and will be followed by four episodes of Ghost Whisperer.

Have a great evening!

Finished Objects 2008 Part Two

Here is a whole collection of things that I made as a set. It includes a hat (you already saw that), a scarf, three mittens and three boot cuffs. The photo only shows one each of the mittens and boot cuffs.

This finished poncho is now up in my Etsy shop.

And, of course, I finished the covers (back and front) plus the inside covers and two labels for the first volume of the Complete Steve Canyon on TV. You can see the inside cover art here.

I made a glow-in-the-dark Christmas stocking for my Harry Potter school house KAL.

The photo here shows some yarn and one mitt that's finished. I actually finished two more to make a complete set, plus two more out of the black yarn to go with John M's hood.

I know this isn't finished, but here's a glimpse of part of the Celtic sweater I've been working on. There are ends to darn in and blocking before I can sew on the buttons, but it's almost done.

And here is the first of the five stockings I'm doing for a commission (front and back views).

While we're on a Christmas theme, here's the Santa hat I made for myself, and which it turns out I like and have been wearing a lot. I made another one just like it in black for Robin (since that's his favorite color).

And here is the almost finished hood for John M. I neglected to take a photo of it when it was done, but I did finish it in time to give it to him on Christmas.


There are probably a bunch of miscellaneous things that I've knitted but neglected to photograph, too.

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I went to Michaels on the bus yesterday and got to do a lot of walking. Well, it's a lot of walking for me, anyway.

I found some better yarn for the beard and fur on the Christmas stockings, a calendar, and a punch to round corners on paper. Thanks, Malaia and John! But I lost track of time, and left Michaels about the time that I should have been at the bus stop. Since I still had a half mile walk to the bus stop, I didn't make it, and had to wait almost two hours between the two buses (there are far fewer buses on a Saturday). 

This actually turned out to be a good thing because I had time to stop in to Borders and get the Winter issue of Spin Off Magazine.

I left Michaels at 5:30, and got home at about 8:30. 

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I got home and got the news that Malaia had gotten a tattoo. Holly says she has (some of) the words to Amazing Grace tattooed in a spiral around her arm. She also got a rose and a butterfly. She said the rose was for me, and the butterfly was for her mom. I got on Facebook and demanded photos. She wrote back "Photos of what?"

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I hope you all had a chance to see Serenity on the SciFi Channel last night! I love Firefly!

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There is a new post up on the Steve Canyon on DVD blog! Check it out!

I hope you had a great weekend!

Santa Hat

This Santa hat pattern is slated to go in the knitting book I'm writing, so it will be up here free for a limited time only.

Stuff you'll need:

About 210 yards of worsted weight yarn in the color of your choice (Santa hats don't have to be red in my opinion). I used one skein of Caron's Simply Soft Eco.

About 130 yards of eyelash yarn. I used Lion Brand Fun Fur.

Size 8 circular needle in a 24 inch length. According to your knitting style, you may also want a 16 inch one.

Size 8 circular needle in a 47 inch length OR a set of DP needles

Size 6 circular needle in a 24 inch length

Scissors

Stitch markers

Tapestry needle

Gauge

With size 8 needles and worsted yarn, you should have 17 stitches per 4 inches.

Fur Cuff

Cast on 20 stitches with Fun Fur on size 8 needle and work even in garter stitch for about 21 inches. Bind off and whip stitch the two short ends together.

Body of the Hat

This is knit inside out. You'll wind up with the purl side of the fabric showing on the outside.

With the size 6 needle, pick up one stitch in each knot along the edge of one side of the fur cuff. That means you'll be picking up one stitch for every other row in the band. You won't be able to see the stitches in the band clearly, just pick up stitches in what looks like the right place, and don't worry about it. We're going to fix it in the next round. Place a marker at the beginning/end of the round.

Count the stitches you picked up. You should have something in the vicinity of 88 stitches, but probably not. The first time I did this, I was 4 stitches short. As long as you wind up with something between about 84 and 92 stitches, it's OK.

Purl one row around adding or subtracting stitches to make a total of 88.

Work even in K2 P2 ribbing for 2.5 or 3 inches.

Switch to size 8 circulars in the 24 inch length (or 47 for the magic loop method). Work even, knitting every round until 6 inches from where you picked up the stitches from the cuff. Somewhere along the way while you're knitting even, place markers after 22, 44, and 66 stitches. Your markers will divide the hat into quarters, and you should have 4 markers placed. This is easier if the one at the beginning of the round is different so that you know when you complete a round.

Decrease Row

*K2tog, Knit to next marker* 4 times.

Repeat this decrease round every third row until 4 stitches remain. Cut yarn, leaving a long tail and thread through remaining stitches . You're going to sew the furry blob at the end on with this, so leave enough.

Switch to 16 inch needle/DPs or 47 inch needle for the magic loop method when there are too few stitches on the needle.

Furry Blob

With the size 6 needle and Fun Fur, cast on 24 stitches. Work even in garter stitch for 16 rows. You'll have a hard time seeing what you're doing and keeping track of the rows. Don't worry. The idea is to knit until the length is about 1/3 of the width. OR knit even back and forth until about 1-1/4 inch from the beginning.

Next row: K 15, K2 tog, turn.

Next row: K 7, K2 tog, turn.

Repeat that last row until there are 8 stitches left on the needle. It's kind of like turning the heel on a sock, if you've ever done that.

What you're knitting is a little cube, and you've knitted three sides, and then connected them with a fourth side. You still need to knit two more sides and connect them to the first four.

At this point, there are two ways you can proceed. Method one: This is easiest to describe. Just continue even in garter stitch for about 2-1/2 inches, bind off and sew down the sides and end of the flap to the 5 sides to make a cube.

Method two: K 8 sts. Pick up one stitch on the side next to the place you stopped. Turn. Next row: K2 tog, K to end (7 more sts), pick out one stitch on the side next to the place you stopped.

Repeat that last row until you are at a point where you've picked up stitches along all the sides except for that 8 stitches at the beginning. Stuff the tail from the original cast-on inside the cube. Bind off and sew the end to the beginning. Use the tapestry needle to bury the end inside the cube.

You should have constructed a little cube.

It's really hard to see what you're doing while you're doing this. My work was very sloppy, and I'm an experienced knitter. But nobody will be able to see the mess.

Before I made this, I couldn't figure out what to use to stuff the cube, but I finally decided to just knit it and worry about it later. This turned out to be a good plan, because with furry yarn, it fills up the center all by itself.

Finishing

Use the end from the point at the top of the hat to sew the furry cube to the hat with the purl side of the hat out. You probably won't need to block it. Darn in ends, turn up the cuff, and you're done.

Now you can keep your head warm and show your Christmas spirit at the same time!

Merry Christmas!

Fun Saturday

Holly and I went out together yesterday, and I, for one, had a wonderful time!

First stop was Borders, where I got my own personal copy of Beedle the Bard. I brought along coupons for both of us, and we each got a bargain.

Holly bought a collectors edition of Beedle through my Amazon store, and it arrived this past week. I wanted to see it, but she said it's so big that she didn't want to bring it along.

We stopped in Michaels to get the rest of the yarn for the stockings. I found the beige yarn for Santa's face, but they had none of the red yarn that I started using for the main color of the stockings. I tried to order it from JoAnn Fabrics over the internet this morning, but their website (although it will accept the order), will not let me pay for it and finish the sale. I've bought from them over the internet before, so I don't know what was wrong. I tried to call them, but they won't be open for phone orders until tomorrow. There will be more stocking info later in the post.

We went to the WalMart that actually has things for sale so I could get what the local WalMart didn't have. My sister who works at a different WalMart says I should complain to them, and once I figure out how to do that, I will. I keep hoping that they'll fix the problem on their own, but that really isn't happening.

The other WalMart has Caron Simply Soft Eco, and I got some for a scarf/mitts/hat for someone (who shall remain nameless at this point) for Christmas. They had several beautiful colors to choose from, and this is what I got:

That the start of the Just Enough Ruffles scarf, which you can see if you belong to Ravelry.

A while ago, I completed the cuff for another Santa hat, and just hadn't taken a photo, so here it is:

I am liking my Santa hat so much (even though I haven't made the pom pom at the top yet) that I thought a friend of mine might like one, too, to show his Christmas spirit. So, this will be made in his favorite color.

Then there are the whole pile of projects that are knitted, but need some Kitchner stitch and ends darned in and they'll be finished (except for the few that need blocking).

I plan to spend the daylight hours finishing these and then getting back to the Christmas stocking.

Here's the hood for John M, finished except for kitchnering the top of the hood, darning ends and blocking. It's so close to done, it's a shame not to finish it today.

I've been meaning to buy a light so that I have adequate light to knit by for the last two years, and at some point I'll get around to it (translation: have the money to get one or two). In the meantime, I'm reduced to waiting for daylight to finish projects that need light to see for finishing details.

And now, back to the first stocking. 

I found some gold metallic yarn for the star on the top of the Christmas tree, even though you can't see it here. I'm about to start on the furry part of Santa's hat. The intarsia (multicolored knitting on the top of the stocking) is the slowest part. Once I'm past that, the foot will go quickly. 

At this point, it's accumulated so many loose ends on the back that it's difficult and time consuming to handle, so some of the ends I'll be working on today will be on the back of the leg of the stocking. You can see a very small amount of the ends at the bottom of the photo. I've added a hem to the top of the stocking so that it will have a lot less tendency to roll.

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While I'm sitting and knitting this afternoon and this evening, I'll be watching all three of the Librarian movies on TNT (Quest for the Spear, Return to King Solomon's Mines, and the new one, Curse of the Judas Chalice), followed by Leverage, which sounds like it will be good.

For those of you not so inclined, I hope you're getting to see the Harry Potter movies on ABC Family. They will be showing Goblet of Fire this evening. and working up to them with earlier movies all day.

I hope you're having as much fun this weekend as I am!

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PS  When I was leaving yesterday, there were a whole batch of people arriving to decorate a Christmas tree on my floor of the apartment building. When I got home, there was a bag of candy and Christmas greetings on my door. This is an amazing place to live!

The Librarian just started. Got to go!

Rain, Knitting, and the Lord of the Rings

Here's a photo of the new Santa hat I'm knitting. I finished the hat part, and now have to decide how I want to proceed with the fuzzy ball at the end. I'm thinking it over, and will continue when I have an inspiration. Once it's done, I'll post a pattern. I think it looks pretty good, so far.

I got a start on the hood for John M for Christmas, too. Once it's done, there will be mitts to go with it.

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Do you recall back before Haloween, when Holly bought the mask and I didn't take a photo of it? Well, here it is from both sides. 

I think you'll agree that this is a truly unusual mask.

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In science fiction news, I came across a fabulous post on io9 about Bruce Campbell and his new movie, My Name is Bruce. Click and read the description. I can't possibly do it justice other than to say it's a twist on Galaxy Quest, where an actor is asked to play his movie character in real life.

I hope you've been getting a chance to follow the Lord of the Rings trilogy on TNT this weekend.

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Today is not only a cold, damp, overcast day (like the days we've had most of the month) but this time, it's actually raining! I am so glad I don't have to go out today!

I hope you've been having a fabulous extended weekend.

I'm Moving On into Christmas Mode

Well, Thanksgiving is over, and yesterday I got to shop in a real WalMart, not the pale imitation near me.

I say the one near me is a pale imitation because I only found out that they carry the new Caron Simply Soft Eco yarn because I started seeing a few skeins of white and natural at the top of a big empty section of their yarn display, and the empty section says that's what's supposed to be there.

Yesterday, I got a skein of it in the dark denim color and two skeins of white Fun Fur to make a Santa hat.

This is how far I got last night and a bit this morning. Once it's finished and I like it, I'll write up the instructions and post it. I think I'm going to like it, although I haven't figured out how I'm going to make the furry ball at the end of the hat. I'm mulling over several ideas including knitting it around a big bell.

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Well, Eloise just came on and I want to see it, so this will be short.

I hope you're having a great Thanksgiving weekend!