Tomato Tomahto

It's done. I love it.

Pattern: Tomato by Wendy Bernard
Size: 44"
Yarn: Tess Designer Yarns Superwash Merino
Mods: I added an extra set of increases to the waist shaping. I picked up the stitches for the sleeves and decreased every 5th row until I liked the length. Then I did 8 rows of ribbing to match the neckline.

I love this so much that I could see myself making another in the future, maybe with long sleeves next time. There are more pictures on Ravelry and Flickr under daniknits.

Holiday Knitting

I love to knit for the holidays.

Wait, scratch that. I love to plan what to knit for the holidays. When we get down to the actual knitting and deadlines, there's usually a great deal of coffee, late night tv, and crying.

Last year, I did a very reasonable amount of holiday knitting. Just 2 toddler sweaters for my nieces. I had a bit of a time crunch near the end, but I didn't break down. Therefore, I'm counting last year as a victory.

I'm feeling encouraged by the lack of tears last year, so I'm making my list for this year. This is the earliest I have ever begun the holiday knitting. See how prepared I am?

I decided to start with a modest amount of knitting. Some knitted food (a la Pez) to make picnic baskets. One for my children and one for my nieces. Oh, wait, one more for my other niece and 2 nephews. 3 baskets. Not bad. Then I found these.

I have never ever knit a toy. I've never wanted to. But these are the cutest toys I have ever seen! I now think that each of nieces and nephews need a doll or stuffed animal. My aunt and in-laws need Santa and Mrs. Claus or Snowmen. My good friends, who just moved into their first house, need little ornaments and maybe the sweet knitted creche. I can't forget about the vest was going to make my mom, either. Or the family members I was thinking of making socks for, or the hat for my hubby, or fingerless mitts for my godchild.

I am making a list. I am counting up my available knitting hours per day (AKH). I am considering my discount a the LYS.

In my lucid moments, I know this is crazy. I even dreamed about the Christmas knitting last night. What are you planning for the holiday knitting? Please tell me I'm not the only freak.

Knitdiot

Tonight's blog entry was going to be "Block Party," and it was going to be followed by pictures of all the stuff I was blocking tonight. I've been saving a few projects and wanted to do them all at once. So, after I finished the pea pod hat that I had to re-knit because the first one was way too big, I threw into a pot the sweater, the two hats, and the Clapotis I made for my mom awhile back.

The clapotis that was knitted with Claudia's Handpainted yarn.

From very deep reds and purples.

Do you see where I am going with this?

I almost cried when I pulled out the sweater, which was resting on top of the clapotis in the pot. It had dark patches where it had made contact with the clapotis. It was only due to the quick actions of my husband, who jumped up, grabbed the sweater and started rinsing it with warm water, that the sweater was salvagable. He stood over the sink for a good fifteen minutes, massaging the sweater, and mentally willing the colors out. It was very sexy.

It's drying now, and I will look at it in the morning to see if it can be given as a gift. I think I see some faint marks where the colors ran, but it could be just me and my overly critical eye.

By the way, I am using blocking wires for the clapotis. I like the clean edge that it allows, but it is not a time-saver. Also, why don't the wires have tapered ends? I am QUITE PUT OUT.

I wish I had thought of Knitdiot when I was signing up for ravelry. That really would have hit the nail on the head.