Absent~minded...

Absent?...yes. On my mind?...always...

Back again, after what seems like a very long time. I guess that's what happens when a day turns into a week, and then into months.   I wish I had some really fantastic reason for the lapse in posting, but I don't.  I can't even precisely pin down what happened except that somehow life just got the better of me.  I've missed this space so much and have missed my time visiting other spaces.  I've written dozens of posts in my head, while stirring pots, knitting, driving, etc. and have spent many moments wondering what all of you creative souls out there in the ether have been up to and how you were doing.

 So why haven't I been here?  As the days collected I think I had a bit of a hump to get over and I began to feel self-conscious on top of it—you know, like you do when you haven't sent a note or haven't called someone—not because you didn't want to or were trying to avoid it but because you wanted the perfect moment to devote to it—one without distractions—and then the days get filled and it just doesn't happen {at least that's how it goes in my world}.  Once that happens I feel bad and convince myself that I can't ring the doorbell without a gift or peace offering of sorts, which means, of course, that I have to come up with an idea and make the gift—the perfect gift—insert delay here.  So there it is.  That's how hours turn to days, days to weeks, weeks to months, and months to seasons, until I find yourself in a whole new year. And because I can't bring you a plate of cookies or brownies as a peace offering and because I've decided that some little far-from-perfect-something is much better than absence and nothing, I've brought some knitting instead—a little bit of instant gratification knitting from me to you—just my way of saying that I've missed you.

Libernating Mitts

{library + hibernate = libernate}

Quick, easy and totally reversible, they sport...

cables on one side...

ribbing on the other..

.

I originally made these mitts for my daughter as part of a college care package.  I thought it might be nice for her to have something cozy and mama-made to wear during those long nights of paper writing and studying for finals.  The name came from a tweet she made about going to the library to "libernate".  I fell in love with the word, and made these mitts with images of her libernating in my head and heart. 

Of course once hers were off the needles, the boys needed some too, and then making some for me and sharing the pattern with you seemed only right.  So four pairs later, here they are, Libernating Mitts in three sizes...

Size/Hand Circumference:

Small—5 to 6 1/2", Medium—6 1/2 to 8", Large—8 to 9 1/2" 

Finished Circumference Before Stretching:

Small—5", Medium—5 1/2", Large—6"

Length: 

As desired

Note:

  These mitts are very stretchy and can accommodate a range of sizes.  Make yours as you like them, snug or roomy.

Gauge:

  23 stitches = 4" in stockinette stitch using US 5/3.75mm double point needles

Yarn: 

Cascade 220 Superwash or similar worsted weight yarn

Needles: 

US 5/3.75 double point needles or size needed to attain gauge

The Pattern

Cast on 36 (44, 48) stitches.  Divide as evenly as possible on 3 or 4 double point needles and join in the round being careful not twist stitches.  Place a marker after the first stitch of the round so that you will know where the round begins and ends.

Rounds 1-3:

  *K2, p2; repeat from * around.

Round 4:

  *Knit into the first two stitches as if you were going to knit 2 together but do not slide the stitches off of the left needle, instead insert the tip of the right hand needle between the 2 stitches just knitted together, and knit into the first stitch on the left needle again, slide both stitches off of the left needle together (you now have 2 stitches on the right needle). Purl 2.  Repeat from * around.

Repeat Rounds 1-4 until you have reached the desired length to the thumbhole ending with Round 4.  Make your mitts as long or as short as you like.

Make Thumbhole

Knit the first two stitches of the round.  Bring the yarn forward as if to purl, slip the next stitch purlwise from the left to the right needle, move the yarn to the back of the work.  *Slip the next stitch purlwise from the left to the right needle, pass the second stitch on the right needle over the first stitch as if to bind off.  Repeat from * 5 (6, 7) times for a total of 6 (7, 8) bound off stitches.  Slip the last bound off stitch from the right needle back to the left needle.  Turn the work.  Using the cable cast on, cast on 7 (8, 9) stitches.  Turn work.  Slip the first stitch on the left needle over to the right needle and pass the extra cast-on stitch on the right needle over it to close the buttonhole.  Resume knitting the rest of the round in Round 1 of the pattern.

Continue in pattern until your mitt is the length desired ending with Round 4 of pattern.  The sample mitts have 4 (4, 6) pattern repeats from the beginning of the buttonhole.  Bind off in pattern.

Finishing

Reinforce thumbhole if desired by working buttonhole stitch or crochet edge around the thumbhole opening. 

Buttonhole Stitch:

  Thread a 20” length of yarn on a tapestry needle. Begin at the lower right hand side of the thumbhole, with the cable side of the mitt facing you.  Leaving a tail long enough to weave in later, anchor the yarn by inserting the tapestry needle through a stitch on the rib side of the work.  Bring the tapestry needle up through the piece from the rib side of the work to the cable side.  Insert the needle down into the knitting, coming out through the thumbhole opening. As you pull the stitch through, a loop will be formed on the top of your work.  Bring the tapestry needle up through the loop as you tighten the stitch.  Continue in this manner across the lower thumb opening.  When you reach the end of the lower thumbhole, turn the work, and continue across the top of the thumbhole (cable side of work still facing you).  Once you have worked your way across the top of the thumb opening, turn and join the first and last stitch.  Weave in and trim all ends.

Hope you enjoy making and wearing these easy peasy mitts! As you can see, I've been wearing a pair pretty much nonstop this snowy winter. 

I love how snug they are and that they don't get in the way but still keep the chill off.

...and you know what they say, warm hands~warm heart...btw, why do they say that anyway?...anyway...Happy knitting!

~xoxo~

alison 

On Homecomings and Monster Mitts...

Home again, home again, jiggity jog!...You didn't honestly think that I wouldn't tell you all about the Family Weekend visit with our new college girl, did you?...Well, I'm happy to say that we {the lad and I} had a completely wonderful visit.  I'm afraid that in our haste to get out the door, I managed to leave my camera at home, but this is view out of the back seat window as we crossed the mighty Mississippi...

{taken with my phone by the lad, who I must say, is the most amazing travel companion ever—an 11 hour drive with 3 stops on the way and only 2 on the way home—incredible!}, and this is the color that the sky was the entire weekend...gorgeous.  Needless to say, we had a great time.

I can't express how much joy seeing my girl in her new world gave me {it helps that she is thriving and is soooo happy where she is}.  What is it about seeing the tiniest and most mundane details of where she is that makes my heart a little calmer?  I'm resting a little easier now that I can picture the path that she walks to class and see in my mind's eye the stairs that she climbs to get to her favorite floor in the library, etc.  Sigh...It's an amazing thing we mamas get to do...watching these little souls grow and discover and then, with held breath {and not a few tears} watching them fly away.  I feel very lucky and full right now, and a little like we have joined this great club together.  That surprised me.  I remember how it felt when I became a mom...like I had just been inducted into the most amazing society ever and that nothing but the experience of it could ever prepare me for how motherhood would really feel.  Loving her and letting her stretch her wings feels a little like that in some strange way...like we have turned a corner and we are still here, in a new place, but here all the same, that distance hasn't diminished our relationship but has maybe added a new dimension to it, and I know from my friendship with my own mother that it can be as rich and precious and fun as ever.  All this said, I still miss having her here and can't wait until I get to see her smile across the table again...and yes, I will cry big tears when she leaves, but it will be a little different the next time knowing that she loves where she is going and that she is living and thriving and becoming...makes me very happy and full indeed!

And now on a different note...  

Just in time for Halloween...the look of creativity in our house...

...pretty scary,right?!

Thankfully, there has been a little knitting here and there too...I've finished a sweater or two {more on those another day} and this morning there were these...a pair of make them in a minute Monster Mitts for the lad!...

These are really and truly a quick, quick knit.  How fast?..you're done before the end of a movie, swim meet, tap class, etc.  I used a bit of old novelty yarn {left-overs from the year when my girl made furry scarves for all of her friends for the holidays}.  These mitts took less than one skein and were literally done in a twinkling.  They are so easy, I hardly even consider this a pattern, but here's the recipe just in case you want to give them a go...

Pattern Notes:  I used a bulky weight, fluffy (eyelash) novelty yarn for these mitts.  They are worked in the round in stockinette stitch and I used a needle that is substantially smaller than that recommended on the yarn ball band.  The suggested gauge for the yarn that I used is 3 stitches to the inch on a size 10.5 needle.  I used a size 6 needle to get a gauge around 4 3/4 to 5 stitches per inch.  The resulting fabric is thick, soft and doesn't curl.  The look and the fit of the Monster Mitt is created by knitting your bulky, fuzzy yarn at a gauge that is much more dense than would be used normally (ie. for a scarf or sweater)—that's what makes them so furry and keeps them from curling.

Yarn:  Any bulky weight, fuzzy yarn that you have hanging around (or you can double up a couple of finer yarns to  achieve the desired gauge)—I used 1 skein of Lana Gatto Amsterdam (71yds (65m) per 1 3/4 oz (50g) skein.  As an alternative, you could use a double strand of a couple of finer yarns to  achieve the desired gauge.

Needles: US size 6 double point needles or size needed to attain gauge

Gauge: 19 stitches equals 4" (10cm)—about 4 3/4 sts/inch—row gauge isn't important as we will be working with measurements, not row numbers

Finished Measurements:  

Length from wrist hem to finger opening: 6 1/2" (16 1/2 cm)

Width (measured flat): 3 1/4" (8 1/2 cm)

Circumference (not stretched):  6 1/2" (16 1/2 cm)

Sample Size: Child  8 and up/Small Adult.  These mitts fit both me and my almost 11 year old son. 

To make these mitts in another size: 

1)  Measure your hand circumference (over the knuckles but not including the thumb)

2)  Subtract 1/2" (1 1/2 cm)

Multiply the number you ended up with after step 2 by your gauge (in stitches per inch).  This will give you the number needed to cast on.

Instructions:

Cast on 30 sts (or number of stitches needed for your size and yarn) 

Place a marker and join work in the round.  Knit 4 1/2" or for desired length slipping the marker as you go.  This will be the section of the mitt from the wrist hem to thumb base (along the inside of hand by the index finger).  Measure from the inside curve of your thumb down the wrist to get your desired length.  You can make these as long or as short as you desire.

Making the thumb hole:  Once your mitt is the length desired to the thumb, you will begin the thumb hole.  Bind off the first 5 sts on the next round.  If these mitts are for a larger or smaller hand you may need to bind off more or fewer stitches—to determine the number needed multiply your gauge per inch by the width of the thumb—the result will be the number of stitches to bind off).  Knit to the end of the round.  Slip marker.  At the beginning of the next round, cast on 5 sts (or the number of stitches bound off in the previous round).  You can use your favorite cast on method—a backward loop cast on or you can turn the mitts around and use a cable cast on—either way works. 

Continue to knit in the round for 1" or until you have reached the desired length from the thumb hole to the base of the fingers, slipping the marker as you go.

Finishing:  Bind off all stitches.  Weave in all ends.  Wear and scare!

Monster Mitt Update:  The lad wore these all afternoon and loved them!...And as for me...they are a great little stash buster—they were on and off the needles so fast that I can see myself making lots of puppy paws, kitty legs, mouse mitts, and bear claws in the coming days...fun, fun, fun!

Happy, happy Halloween!!!...

~xoxo
alison

Batty...

Now that it's October proper we are most definitely in pre-Halloween mode here—a fat pumpkin adorning our front stoop, me taking advantage of this spooky holiday to embrace the cobwebs on our porch and, of course, lots of talk of costume possibilities.  To add to the fun, I decided this was a good time to repaint our kitchen, pantry and center hallway {it all started with a couple rolls of contact paper and got totally out of hand from there}.  Actually, I'm not so much in the middle of painting, but more in the middle of emptying the contents of our pantry and cupboards and putting said stuff in our dining room...there it sits, waiting for me.  It's amazing really, how much one pantry can hold.  Needless to say,  the Halloween decorations aren't up yet, but the rolled oats, flour and miscellaneous bake ware  decorating our dining room are honestly a little scary in their own special way, and presumably they will eventually make way for the pumpkins, black cats and bats that we love so much.  I have so many decorating ideas that I want to try this year.  How is it that so many fun ideas flood the brain when you have little time to execute them?  Anyway, as I was getting into the thick of reorganizing, I discovered this little project.

I made this one up last year at about this time.  It is a quick and easy treat bag {really and truly, this one knits up in a flash...big needles + big yarn = big fun fast!}.  The pattern is a freebie on my web site.  Forgive the re-blogging of this project, but I thought some of you might find it a handy, last minute project.  I would love to use the bat motif on a sweater or maybe a pair of socks...it is Socktober after all.  I even have some black yarn that would be perfect...fingers crossed I can squeeze it in before the end of October.
Where ever you are, I hope that you are enjoying the kind of lovely Indian summer days that we have been having here these days...blue, blue skies, turning leaves, warm days and cool evenings...gorgeous!  Happy, happy fall to you and yours!

~alison

October?

Hello, October...here so soon?...what happened to my good friend September? Oh dear September, where did you go?....you're one of my very favorite months and you up and left before I even knew you were here, leaving me bereft with a list full of good intentions.  Ah well, lucky for me that I like your neighbor October very well and our visit will last a full 31 days {30 days indeed!}.

Yes, unbelievably, October is on the doorstep {oh wait it's in the door} and instead of fretting about the spilt milk of a month that was September, I am ready to move forward with just the quickest of glances back.  It has been a busy couple of weeks here in our little corner.  September is always a month of transition, but has been even more so this year.  After depositing my girl at college—still adjusting to that one {can anyone tell me when I will stop putting a plate out for her, or telling restaurant hostesses that there are 5 in our party?  I almost bought an extra opera ticket yesterday, just because I'm in the habit of saying 2 adult and 3 student tickets—realized it just in the nick of time—phew!}. In addition to all of that we have returned to homeschooling {I homeschooled our older two when they were younger, but this is a new thing for the lad} .  Needless to say, our days have been full.
Full of long walks, scientific observation and nature journaling  outside...

 and chemistry and physics inside {aka baking}...

{We've been playing with Beth Hensperger's Bread Bible, yum~science never tasted so good!  Did you see the size of those challah loaves?...our first baking of challah~delish and fun to make!...more of that for us!}

There has been lots of this...

some of this {origami crane mobiles~fyi they make great care package fodder}...

and happily there has been lots of this for both the mama and the lad...

And now, here we are, it's official...Fall is upon us!  It's getting crisp out, leaves are turning and we are finally feeling the first nip of autumn.  We are settling in, and routines of a sort are forming.
October promises to be full of all sorts of good things and I am ready to welcome it with open arms.  It is, after all, one of my very favorite months, and to my thinking the official beginning of the knitting and baking year—not that the knitting and baking ever really stop around here, but for some reason it always feels like the beginning—the start of cozy, homey, contented times.  So bring on the sweaters, warm up the teapot and let the nesting commence!...Happy Fall!!!

~xoxo
alison

My girl...

Here she is, my girl, wearing her first ever I-made-it-myself sweater...

She did a great job and I think it looks great on her.  It is a slightly adapted version of Emma Fassio's design and is a really wearable and flattering little garment...

...love that hemline...so cute!  You may remember this version from earlier in the summer—it {like most clothes these days} is cuter on her but I don't mind a bit.  She made her version with a double strand of Berroco NaturLin {love this yarn!}.  The night that she finished this sweet tunic, she immediately swatched and cast on for her second ever sweater—Liesl, a Coco Knits pattern.  She's knitting it in Lang's Tosca Light {another great yarn}.  It's going to be gorgeous and is progressing nicely—I'll keep you posted.

I don't have to tell you how happy all of this knitting this makes her mama.  After a couple of early false starts with knitting {consisting mainly of last minute scarves for gifting and one ill-fated and unfinished sweater—due to an unfortunate combo of a poorly written pattern and icky yarn—no fun}, I feel confident that she is now a true knitting convert, and I am over the moon about it.  It is so gratifying to sit and knit with her, to see her reach for her knitting needles, to enjoy a Saturday stitching, talking and laughing at the knitting shop with her.  Knitting is such a huge part of my life, such a great source of joy and comfort to me, and it brings me no end of happiness to see my girl get it and share it...and how timely that it should come right now, right before she leaves the nest.

Which brings me to another little item...I will be absent here for a few days as we are taking my sweetie off to her first year of college.  I'm not going to delve too deeply into all of that right now...the feelings, the excitement that I have for her, the pride that I feel, the anxiousness, the knowledge that I will miss her more than words can say, and that I am so very happy for her all at the same time.  No, I am not going to go into all of that...there will be time enough and I just can't right now...no time to open that up right now {not that I haven't already had my moments~pass the tissues please}, but for now there is still so much to do and it's time to put one foot in front of another...one...foot...in front...of...the other...

I'll be back next week with a little show and tell {I'm really excited about this one}.  Until then...happy knitting!

~xox~
alison

LYS love...

The LYS {Local Yarn Store for any non-knitting types out there}, aka home-away-from home to most knitters—the place where so much more than knitting and yarn acquisition occurs {although, happily there is plenty of that too}.  It's where we gather and share our lives, where friendships are made and grow.
I live in a rural midwestern town {read—the middle of nowhere} and there are no knitting stores in our area, but shortly after our move here I was invited to teach and work part-time at a shop an hour down the road.  Needless to say, I jumped at the offer and through the intervening years it has been a godsend for me.  Yarns Unlimited has been a Bloomington institution for over 30 years.  It is known for its beautiful yarns and positive energy, and I feel so fortunate to be a part of such a wonderful shop.  When I think of Yarns, the words empowering and supportive come to mind.  Whether it's a tricky lace pattern or sending a child off to college, "you can do it—it's going to be okay" and "we'll be here to help you along the way"  are the words of encouragement that I, and so many others hear at Yarns.  That's really what a good LYS offers.

Now, I'll be honest, I do sometimes buy yarn online, and there are some wonderful indie yarn producers and online yarn providers that I truly love and happily support, but I have to say that no amount of online offerings will ever replace a good brick and mortar yarn store—you just can't get that touchy feely {and here I'm talking both about the burying your hand deep into a hank of lovely wool part of knit shopping as well as the "we're here for you" part}. 

So before we get too far away from our New England vacation, I want to take a moment to sing the praises of my Vermont LYS—

The Knitting Studio in Montpelier, Vermont.  You know that feeling you get when you walk into a yarn store and it just feels right~in a this could be my knitting home if I lived here kind of way?...Well that's how this shop feels to me.  It is my favorite kind of yarn store—colorful and cozy, stuffed to bursting with beautiful yarns from near and far {I especially love that they have lots of locally produced yarn}, gorgeous knitting accessory and notion offerings,  a great pattern/book selection, and with a staff that just oozes a good knitting~happy to be here~glad your here vibe.
Let's take a quick tour...  

That's my sweet girl admiring the buttons.  As you can see by her shopping bags, we did some serious damage at The Knitting Studio.  Over the summer my daughter made the transformation from being a casual~I need a scarf for gifting kind of knitter to a real~I love to knit~finisher of projects knitter {you know how happy this makes me!}, and in one of those bags is a sweater's worth of yarn—she began and completed her first sweater ever this summer—huzzah! {Ahem...the other bag?...we'll discuss that another time}.

And here you see the lovely Lee {on the left, in the rosy sweater and gorgeous lace skirt—all handknit of course}, along with some of the shop's very nice patrons.  Every time I stopped by this gem of a shop {more times than I care to admit}, I returned home feeling the kind of happiness that comes from a spell of admiring beautiful yarns among really nice, knowledgeable and positive people.  You can just tell that this is a place where good knitting and good friendships grow...LYS bliss for sure! 
Do you have a LYS love of your own?...I'd love to hear what shop makes your heart sing and gives you that happy knitting, perfectly at home feeling?

Wishing you much bliss...knitting and otherwise...

~alison

Hanging on to summer...

Okay, so posting by phone from the mountains...not so much.  It seems that my posts didn't make it all the way through and ended up abbreviated and a bit choppy.  So sorry to those of you who received my mixed-up missives.  It was worth a try though, and who knows maybe I'll figure it out before my next get-away.  I love the idea of the quick pic and three sentence away-from-home post, but then again, I guess that's what Twitter is for, right?

Anyway, we are indeed back home.  Our visit to the mountains was idyllic in every way and was exactly what we all needed.  Here's a peek at the face of our summer vacation... 

...big smiles and floaty relaxation all around...love.

Now that we're home, we are back at it {and how!}...one of our bunch is already in school {so not right} and the rest of us are getting ready for the start of a new semester.  It promises to be a big one around these parts, full of change and lots of firsts—more about that another day.  Anyway, suffice it to say that we've hit the ground running.  It's amazing how many directions five people can fly in at one time.   All the hubbub makes our little break feel even more precious and I am trying to hang on to every bit of it that I can, in every way that I can.  I've been living on a steady diet of tomatoes, basil and olive oil...YuM...

{really, is there anything better than toasted crusty bread, rubbed with a clove of garlic, and then buried under ripe tomatoes and basil with a drizzle of good olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper?...no, I don't think there is}. 

I've been knitting and crocheting every possible moment...

Okay, the knitting isn't so different, but me crocheting and not griping that crochet isn't knitting is definitely a new thing.  I think that all of that yummy color must be doing it for me.  I'll post more about this little {actually not-so little} project very soon.

And lately I've become quite adept at ignoring the piles of laundry and stacks of books and yarn covering every available surface of our house—I figure the mess will still be there when things slow down a bit, and if I don't steal the remaining bits of summer that I can amidst all of the running around, it will be gone before I know it {but then there will be fall...lovely, knitterly, crispy fall...so no tears here!}.

Hope you are managing to steal a little summer for yourself...

xoxo~
alison

And the living is easy...

Hi from the Brookfield floating bridge.  Yes, this bridge actually floats—one of only a handful of floating bridges in the world.
I've been spending a lot of time drifting in this pond.  We make our way to the pond on every warm sunny day we get up here in the mountains (and even on some not-so warm days—brrrr!).  After all of the schedules and hubbub of our day to day it feels really good to drift aimlessly, letting all the cares of the world drain away and working on nothing more pressing than contemplating the clouds.  I usually have a hard time being still for this kind of thing, but this pond seems to do the trick for me and before I know it, I'm rocked into relax mode every time.

Sending you summer wishes for blue skies and aimless sunny afternoons.

 xoxo~alison