Goodbye and Thanks For All the Comments

Dear Readers old and new,

I wanted to thank you for reading, for checking in, and for commenting and letting me know, throughout the years, that I was a part of your knitting community. I have tried, off and on, to keep up this blog, but I am failing and faltering. I realize that I am not alone: I have checked in on many a blogging-knitting friend only to find that they, too, have gone AWOL without a word as to why. So I want to tell you why I am no longer going to be blogging about my knitting: I don't have time to knit anymore.

I have a toddler and another baby on the way, a writing career, a teaching career, and a house that isn't ever as tidy as I should like it. I have books to write, books to read, books to reread as I prepare for class. I have a spinning wheel I haven't dusted off in over two years, I have another UFO, I have a baby blanket to make, I have a baby hat to knit, I have a baby to prepare for and one to care for already.

I was, in fact, going to update my blog today with photos of recently completed work, but I felt exhausted by the task.

I still want to share my work and endeavors, so I will be uploading photos to flickr (Lone_Knitter) and Ravelry (WoollyBoully). Please look for me there. I also Tweet (WoollyBoullly) from time to time.

I have enjoyed blogging and loved sharing, but my life now is such that I don't have the time or energy to devote it. I might be back to blogging someday, but it will be a long, long while from now.

Goodbye, and thank you for all the love.

Yours,
the Lone Knitter

Mother's Day Yarn Score

On Mother's Day, Manly took me to one of my favorite local yarn stores, Sifu Design Studio. Here is what I got:



The three balls of Cascade Pacific are for a baby blanket.

I also got two balls of Noro sock yarn. Okay: here is the deal with Noro sock yarn. I have previously knit with the Kureyon version and hated it; however, I cannot resist the way Noro surprises, so I am trying the Taiyo version. I love the color changes and blending of Noro and find it all fascinating. I cannot, no matter the experience with the yarn, resist the magical rainbow that is Noro.

Here is a picture of Noro Kureyon socks that I knit for my older sister four summers ago, right before my wedding:



I'm thinking that the best socks knit out of Noro to show off the color changes are knee highs, so I will probably go that route with the new Noro. As least whenever I see knee highs made of Noro, I think they look splendid.

I also got a skein of Malabrigo sock yarn; I have yet to knit with Malabrigo. Is it as dreamy as everyone says it is?

Portland Yarn Score

There are, apparently, a lot of knitters in Portland, Oregon; there are, apparently, a lot of yarn stores in Portland. I was there this past week to do two readings. I didn't have a lot of down time, and down time is always iffy with a baby, but I did manage to get to a yarn store, KnitPurl, which was in walking distance of my hotel, Ace Hotel, which I stayed in during my last stay in Portland. The Ace is lovely, quirky, in the middle of everything.



I bought Koigu PPPM in colorway 326. I know: it isn't rare or local or hard to find or coveted. It is, in the sock-knitting world, abundant. I wanted, however, to start a new practice: that is, I wanted to start buying "souvenir" yarn during my travels. This colorway complimented the hotel postcard and seemed like a perfect way to remember my stay in Portland. Although I've knit socks with Koigu before, I have always knit gift socks with Koigu. These socks will be for me; these socks will be mine.

I wish I had time to get to Angelika's Yarn Store, which I have ordered from in the past, but it was too far, and we had no time.

Manly and I absolutely adored Portland. We loved Powell's Bookstore, which sells (get ready!) Malabrigo yarn in all weights and has a whole aisle devoted to knitting books. I was on a budget, so I didn't score any Malabrigo or knitting books. We loved the food carts. We adored our friends there. We loved the sky. We loved the coffee. We want to move there.

At the airport, on our way back to Chicago, I saw many a needle knitting.

Baby Hats

When she was waiting for her first grandbaby to be born, my mother was bored in the Chicago winter, holed up in my apartment. So she could overcome her boredom, I taught her how to knit. She knit a scarf, a hat for herself, and a hat for my daughter. The baby hat she knit (Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, Ice Lake Heather) has the little pom-pom on top of it. She was so proud of herself--so proud that she could knit, could make a pom-pom, and could see her granddaughter wearing the hat she made.



The little creme colored one (Knit Picks Bare worsted weight) was just about worn out. My daughter lived in that hat. No matter how much I washed and reshaped it, the yarn just never sprung back; it would no longer stay on. So I made another, the light pink one (Cascade 220--I forget the color--maybe Pink Rose?).

The red one (Cascade Pacific--again, I don't know the colorway) I made for fun simply because these hats are so quick to make.

The baby blue one (also Cascade 220, Caribbean), started yesterday, is for a friend who is due in June.

I know this is the first post I've had in a long time. Being a mom and full-time professor has made it difficult for me to even find the time to knit. I realized a few weeks ago, however, that I was unhappy because I was no longer doing what I loved to do so much. So I picked up my needles again and have since been happier.

Baby hats were made with the Umbilical Cord Hat pattern from Stitch 'n Bitch. My mom choose to forego the "umbilical cord" in favor of the pom-pom.

Sweet Angel Amigurumi Ornament and Doll

My husband and I put up our tree last week, and like the trees of many newly-married couples, ours was lacking ornaments. Especially lacking was an angel ornament. So I sat down to figure out an amigurumi pattern for an angel ornament that could also double as a doll.



Here she is with the other two ornaments I designed. Now Manly says he wants a whole village of amigurumi ornaments and keeps asking for a Santa one.

As always, this new pattern is available in my etsy shop. Enjoy!

Sweet Winter Bear

Here's my latest amigurumi attempt. I was trying to make a Christmas bear, but that didn't go so well. Nonetheless, this little bear was born on a very cold Chicago winter day.



I think every amigurumi designer should have at least one bear in their pattern batch. I wanted something cute and sweet but with some personality. So much depends upon how the face comes out. I think I spend more time on the face than on crocheting the whole doll.



The removable scarf was an afterthought, but I think it makes the bear look extra cozy.

As always, the pattern is available in my etsy shop.

Baby Rudolph and Abominable Snowman Amigurumi

Here's a new pattern that I worked on this week: Baby Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer Ornament and Toy. Needless to say, you can make it an ornament, a toy, or both. It's easy and works up quickly.



Here is little Baby Rudolph with Baby Abominable Snowman, who is also an ornament and toy.

You can purchase one of both together (discounted if bought together) in my etsy shop in time to get them crocheted and hung on your tree.

As a child, I absolutely loved watching the Rudolph special on television. That was way back in the day before we could own it on video or DVD. If I missed it one year, that was tragic.

I want to make more ornament patterns before Christmastime, but the semester is demanding that I grade and make amends with my dissertation revisions. We'll see.

New Amigurumi Pattern

I finished another amigurumi pattern over the week. I'm calling this one The Incredibly Hungry and Sleepy Puppy. It's a play set complete with puppy bed, puppy chow, and a little ball for it to play with.



The pattern features a reversible face so the puppy can be either sleeping or awake. Isn't it so cute? I think it's SO CUTE!



You know you want to make one. So visit my etsy shop and purchase the pattern before I get all sad that no one is buying my patterns.

Update: this pattern won a spot in the CrochetMe 2012 Calendar and will not be available in my etsy shop. Keep an eye out for the calendar for the pattern.

In knitterly news, I just finished a baby blanket and am now making another. I need to make some booties, too. All this for a very special January delivery.

My first amigurumi pattern

I spent a few nights last week coming up with a doll that was partially inspired by a Tokidoki character. It's a mishmash of that and my own whimsy. What I love about this pattern is the doll's reversible face. You can make it look scary or you can make her sweet.



She also has a cute little skirt and candy stripe legs.



The pattern is up in my etsy shop. Enjoy!

I'm currently working on a little puppy amigurumi. Almost done! I hope to post the pattern this weekend.

More amigurumi

My amigurumi obsession continues. Below is a little frog amigurumi (using the same pattern as the bunny one in the previous post) that I made for my little sister's birthday. My mom saw it and now wants one, so I'll need to get working on a doll for her, too.



This little guy was made for my nephew who adores Elmo. After seeing how easy it is to design your own dolls after you learn a few basic amigurumi shapes, it was easy to come up with this design. He loved it! I put some jingle bells inside, but I think the stuffing muffled the sound too much. Next time I'll place them in the little arms.



I'm currently working on my own doll patterns and hope to have a few posted to my etsy shop soon!