Consolation Gift for Joshy

I had started working on a Christmas gift for my brother Joshy last summer, and when I got it done, I was thrilled with how it looked.

It was amazing.  It was trendy.  It was practical.

Then I made the mistake of asking Handyman to model it so I could get pictures.  He did.  Then he refused to take it off.

(Now please understand that while I might act all huffy, in reality I was absurdly pleased.)

This was wonderful, because then I didn't have to knit anything for Handyman for Christmas, but then that left me without anything for my brother, and I had promised him something hand knit.  It was December 2.  Things were looking grim.

With flying needles and lots (and lots) of caffeine, I somehow managed to get his gift done in two weeks.  It's even better than I could have hoped, and I think he'll get lots of use out of it (he lives in Maryland, where I'm told it's cold.  I'm skeptical, as "cold" to a Hawaiian isn't the same as "cold" to insane people who live in the Frigid North like me.)

This is the Alberta Vest by Jared Flood, and what an amazingly well-written pattern it was!  It's knit in the round as a tube (for non-knitting muggles that means it's easy knitting and fast because there's no purling required) and then armholes and the neck are cut open using steeks.

I used some Cascade 220 in a dark gray that I already had in my stash, and purchased some Chroma Worsted from Knitpicks.  The yarns are striped every two rows, and it was fun to watch how the Chroma slowly blended colors.

(Chroma is a fantastic yarn and I'd highly recommend it.  I'm not sure how much it might pill though, so I'd recommend using a rather tight gauge if you're working with it for garments.)

For the ribbing on the bottom, armholes, and neck, I was able to use up some dark heathered black yarn from my stash.  Double bonus!

Learning how to steek (cutting into the knitting) was the last thing on my Bucket List of Knitting Techniques, and I was thrilled with how easy it was.  I have to say, I was definitely holding my breath while I did it, but once I got it done I was so impressed with how easy it was and how useful it could be!

Steeking can be done either with a crochet hook or a sewing machine, but since the steeks were for the armholes and neck, both of which should have some stretch, I decided to try the crochet method.  I'm very glad I did.  I love the way the inside looks!

Next time I do a steek, though, I'm going to use a smaller crochet hook.  It's nothing that anyone else but me would probably notice, but the crochet edges pucker a tiny bit.  It didn't make any difference once the fabric was tacked down.

I hope you like it Joshy! 

The Lakeside Monastery

I was watching the news last night (which I like to call the "Gloomies") and to my horror the weatherman announced that this week the temperatures will hit some obscene lows, with some days having a high in the single digits. When one remembers the inevitable wind chill factor, we're now talking about weather that feels like 20 below zero. If God had intended normal human beings to live in such climates, he would have made us all look like penguins.

Of course, as my tummy gets bigger every day and my waddle more pronounced, perhaps I am evolving into a penguin. (If that's so, I wonder if I could get Handyman to watch the chicks for 3 months out of the year, like Emperor Penguins do? Something to think about . . .)

Therefore, I am pulling out more pictures of my trip to the Sunny South for the holidays. Perhaps warm memories will keep my toes warm too!

My Oma and Opa (that's Dutch for "Grandma" and "Grandpa") live on a lake, and we often teasingly refer to their home as a monastery, since time . . . . seems . . . . to . . . . . slow . . . . there . . . .

There's a large greenhouse adjacent to the house that used to be home to their many orchids (they raised orchids and had a flower shop as a business) that needed some shoring up. So, who did they call for help? Handyman, of course!

Handyman and his sidekick Joshy did some excellent work, as always. Those two really work well together. (They do look like salt and pepper, though, don't they?)

Even Peter got in on the action, although I'm not sure his sort of help accomplished all that much. Notice the concentration - notice the energy - notice the tongue sticking out from the effort of winding that empty garden hose reeler!

Also on the agenda was a tour of the empty fish pond in the green house. I have very vivid memories of getting spanked for throwing gravel in the fish pond. (Hey! The gravel is less than 5 inches from the tank. We're talking about temptation too great for a mortal child to resist!) Apparently, my children have more of my genes than I thought.

An hour or so on the lake was also mandatory for the kids. The weather was a bit overcast and chilly for bare feet, so we didn't stay out too much longer than that.

Oma and Opa couldn't take the kids out on their boat (Peter was very disappointed) because the water levels are so low that it's too dangerous to have a boat in the cove right now. Usually, the water is all the way to the left of the photograph. In over 27 years of living on the lake, Opa said he's never seen it this low. Very sad and depressing, I thought.

The kids didn't know that, of course. Banna-boo kept walking around and delightedly exclaiming, "It's all muddy, Mama; it's all muddy" like a broken record. Mud is good for kids, I think. Just like vitamins.

Peter had fun finding lots of shells, sticks, and rocks to throw in the water. (Notice that Banna-boo is in the background. She looks suitably ticked off about something. Don't worry, though, that's her usual expression.)

After a hard day's work, and a hard day's play, it was time to clean up.

Nobody knows how to relax quite like my brother. (He's going to kill me for publishing this photo. It's a good thing I live 900 miles away.)

Aaaaaaahhhhhh . . . .

The knitter in me is curled up in a corner of my soul, basking in the warm sunshine of appreciation.Isn't this a nice picture my brother sent to me? I wouldn't mind tasting that food . . . looks yummy . . . we won't mention the beverage . . . .

(Classic Twist Sweater, my own design, a Christmas present for my bro. Joshy. I figured that since he should be graduating from college soon, that makes him officially responsible enough to warrant a hand-knitted sweater).

Oh, Brother!

Sorry for the horrible pun in the title, but I couldn't resist. Since I last posted about my two older sisters, I figured I had to spotlight my two younger brothers, Josh and Nathan.

Josh is three years younger than I am, and is almost finished with college, and Nathan is a Sophomore in high school. There's a pretty big age gap between us siblings, but I want to keep family relations cordial, so we won't go into specific ages . . . .

Josh looks much more Hawaiian than I do, doesn't he? We often tease him that he certainly has the Hawaiian "blah-lah" spirit! He enjoys life more than anyone I know, and it's always a lot of fun to hang around him.

He even took me out to a FANTASTIC Thai restaurant while I was in the Sunny South. (Oh dear, shouldn't have brought up the Thai food - now I'm craving it again.) My particular region of the Frigid North has no ethnic food (For instance, they consider putting black pepper on potatoes "extreme" and "daring"), so I ate as much Thai and Indian as my poor belly could hold. Ha ha, no wonder the baby seems to be belly dancing in my tummy! (Hmmm, it occurs to me that I take a lot of pictures of food. I must get my priorities straight and take more pictures of knitting . . .)

For Christmas I made him a sweater that I designed especially for him. (Oops, I never put the pattern up on my design blog. I need to do that. New Years' resolution #55. . .). Anyway, he looked quite dashing in his sweater, and hopefully he'll wear it. He's going skiing this weekend, and I'm crossing my fingers that he brought this sweater to wear around the slopes.

Nathan takes after the Dutch side of the family. The kids had so much fun playing with his gear in his room. I think Breanna considered his drum set as her personal "Mount Everest". Poor Nathan was pretty patient with them! I made Nathan a Koolhaas hat for Christmas, and I think he liked it. He wears beanies a lot, so hopefully it'll get some use!