Gotta run (literally…trying to exercise more) but I will leave you with a photo of a current WIP.

We had a “cold snap” today…dropped all the way to 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

Warrants some ginormous cabled mittens, don’t you think?

SPECS:
Pattern = Bella’s Mittens from Subliminal Rabbit Free pattern! I love the internets.
Yarn = Horstia Mogador (discontinued). Frogged from this failed Marilyn Sweater.
Needles = US 8 KnitPicks circulars, using Magic Loop

A few modifications made to adjust for my big hands, but otherwise the pattern is perfect as is. More deets on the mods in a later post…

1.4.2009 Cleaning the kitchen, originally uploaded by Mrs. Hipp.

Well Howdy! I realize most people who have been away from their blogs for as long as I have would begin with profuse apologies and excuses. I’ve done that myself in the past, after unplanned absences. But today, no apologies and no excuses. I’m just posting today. So that’s it.

Most of the time that has not been spent blogging has been spent at Flickr. The 365 days project continues, albeit with many fits and starts. Today’s photo features a recently finished knit of which I am quite proud. Thought it would make sense to share it here as well. It’s also a good opportunity to test out the “Blog This” feature on Flickr, which zaps a photo to my blog (hopefully) and adds in this text. Let’s see how it goes.

SPECS
Pattern: Hermione Hat (Ravelry link) by atypically.knit, although I used the pattern in my copy of Charmed Knits
Yarn: Cascase 220 Heathers in a dark blue (for Ravenclaw!)
Needles: US 7 32″ Knit Picks options circulars using Magic Loop
Modifications: Used Ysolda’s tubular cast on instead of a regular long tail cast on. The pattern is written perfectly so there was nothing else to change!

This hat is my first experience with making bobbles, which thrills me to no end as I heard somewhere that bobbles cannot be made by machine and are therefore the true mark of a hand knit item. Is that true? Gosh I hope so, because otherwise there would be a bit less thrill.

The 365 Days project is a great way to force myself to take a pause and enjoy each day for what it is. Life is so busy busy busy that I feel like I sometimes can’t distinguish one day from another. Most days are quite ordinary, but ordinary does not have to be meaningless. This week was a good one to start on this project as Mr. Hipp has been out of town (returning today! yay!) and I’ve had a lot of time to myself. There are may 365 Days groups on Flickr. I chose to join the one for knitterly and crafty types because it has (relatively) few members and – duh – is crafty.

The Game is something I saw on my buddy Monique’s blog. The Flickr search is such a mystery…you never know what will pop up.

1. Untitled, 2. First find the Heart, then eat!!!, 3. Luz Bonita *by 15 year old student Colochon*, 4. llibreria – bookstore – Amsterdam, 5. Glen Hansard, 6. return for refund., 7. Follow the red line, 8. more than just little chocolate eggs, 9. Are You Fulfilled?, 10. Nearly 5 years of marriage and still in love!, 11. 013-365 | Distracted, 12. 372

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.

Try The Game for yourself!

The concept:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker).

The Questions:

1. What is your first name? That’s a secret…can you figure it out from the photo?
2. What is your favorite food? Avocado
3. What high school did you go to? Bonita High School
4. What is your favorite color? Blue
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Glen Hansard
6. Favorite drink? Coke
7. Dream vacation? Rome
8. Favorite dessert? Cadbury Mini Eggs
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Fulfilled
10. What do you love most in life? Mr. Hipp
11. One Word to describe you. Distracted
12. Your flickr name. Mrs. Hipp

Happy crafting, all.

Although, after an afternoon of baseball and a big ol’ cup of beer, the ugly scarf was starting to look pretty good.

That’s me at a Rancho Cucamonga Quakes game this weekend. Minor league baseball is GREAT for knitting. We even got to see two major leaguers from the Angels who were coming off the disabled list. Pretty cool. More photos from the game are at my Flickr site.

Hmmm, ugly knitted project + alcohol = a pretty scarf. It’s the beer goggle effect, but without the morning-after shame and STD worries.

In other crafting news, this Mod Podge frame for my brother and sister-in-law got tagged as a Mod Podge Project of the Week! Super exciting!

The Oddments Scarf is not turning out the way I had hoped. Where is the Bohemian flavor? Where is the rusticity? Where is the beauty?

It sure as heck isn’t here. I think I made the color repeats too long while winding my oddball, so I got fat stripes instead of whimsical flashes of color and texture (oh, I was so optimistic!). It looks like a failed tribute to the girls’ apartment in “Too Close for Comfort”. I hate how the garter stitch shows of the color changes so dramatically – smack in the middle of a row too.

This project is making me nauseated…I think I am going to be sick…

Back in the early days of my knitting life, Michael’s craft store was THE place to get yarn. I collected balls of Lion Brand Wool Ease (Ravelry link) in just about every color available, usually without a specific project in mind. So I still have some of the OG* balls of Wool Ease lying around the house. Added to the Wool Ease are thrift store balls of unknown vintage, origin, and content. Can you tell I really wasn’t picky when I started knitting?

These loyal balls of yarn moved with me from Everett, Washington, where I first learned to knit, to Southern California at my mom’s house for a few summer months, to New Orleans for grad school, back to Southern California for Mr. Hipp’s grad school, and finally into our snug little condo. They have been waiting patiently all these years, sometimes pulled out to provide bits of color for a project here and there, but never completely disappearing.

Their time has come. It is time to unify these oddments into something useful, perhaps even gift-able. Enter the odd ball stole pattern and article of encouragement from Knitty. My mother-in-law told me about seeing – and admiring – a scarf like this on a friend a few years ago. It didn’t really click how it should/could/would be done until I saw this article. So now I have a ginormous ball of yarn, soon to be a ginormous (but hopefully pretty) scarf.

But there is still so much yarn left! Ack!

* You know how I roll.

Evidence #1: Baby Thorpe Hat

This knit is not technically done because I can’t decide if I want to add the braids at the end of the ear flaps or not. Here are a few examples with the braids. But it looks kind of cool without. Since this hat is intended for a baby, will the braid be a safety problem? What do you think?

Evidence #2: Birthday Tote Bag

It is my first sewing project in a long time and OMG! I love sewing! I’m going to have to incorporate more of it into my crafting time. Sewing is near-instant gratification compared to knitting.

I spent a few hours on my birthday to indulge in making this project and it was pure bliss. The fabric is from Purl Warehouse, purchased during this blog buddy visit, and the pattern is adapted from this tutorial. Nothing but good things to say about this finished object. I’ve been using the bag everyday and it makes me proud and happy every time I pick it up. If that is not the point of crafting, then I don’t know what is.

Evidence #3: My Current Work in Progress…The Flutter Sleeve Cardigan

Smooth sailing so far. I am determined to finish this before starting another project, so thank goodness it only has three pieces!

So let me know what you think about the braids on my Baby Thorpe Hat. Otherwise I’ll be forced to flip a coin! Decisions, decisions….

Our first full day in St. Lucia was spent on the beach. As we ate ate lunch, a young vendor came by with palm frond bookmarks for sale. He demonstrated the making of this lovely little fish in 2 minutes flat. It was a quick and beautiful example of craft. I don’t know if this craft or this design is particular to St. Lucia, but I do know that I enjoyed watching him make it immensely. It will dry to a faded tan and be quite sturdy in a few weeks. Now it is green, flexible, and quite delicate.

Some catch up and more St. Lucia crafts after I return next week. I spent quite a bit of time planning and packing for my airplane knitting. What do you suppose I’ve been working on? (No fair peeking at my Ravelry site.)

Hope your week has been as sunny and relaxing as mine. Until later…

Project Specifications
Pattern: Evangeline from MagKnits January 2008 (Ravelry link)
Yarn: Cascade 220 Paints. My mom picked out this yarn herself when I dragged her to The Woolie Ewe during our Thanksgiving visit with her.
Needles: US7 KnitPicks Options 40″ circular (magic loop) and a nice little wooden cable needle that I got from Mr. Hipp as a Christmas gift (sweet man).
Modifications: Did two extra cable repeats before the thumb and an extra 10 rows of ribbing at the top for extra warmth. Picked up extra stitches (16 total) for the thumb because the first try was just too darn tight.
What I learned: Cabling without a cable needle! It is fantastic. I didn’t trust the technique enough for the 4/2 cables (six stitches off the needle at once! eeek!) but it worked like a charm for the smaller ones.

It took me a long time to decide on a pattern for these mitts. For months, I waffled between these (too bulky for the yarn) and these (too fussy). Then I saw Tiennie‘s post on her million and one Evangelines and it was like Goldilocks and Baby Bear’s bed…just right.