Braids, buns.

I finally tried the Latvian braid from the Lizbeth Upitis book…it turned out pretty well.

And doesn’t my breakfast look good?

I'm seeing black dots - is that normal?

Oh. My.


FREAKING.


FRACKNESS.

Click a word...any word...

VIP Service.

I got my brochures from Cunard, two days after I ordered them - lovely "ExpressPost". I'm sure if I hadn't made up all those expensive cruises I'd taken, they'd have sent them by donkey.

GrannyPurple, your comment made my entire week. And, Bon Voyage!

* * *

I got a lovely Bodum for Christmas, having wanted one for a long time. Any ideas what this might be?

You, there in the back - good answer. Observe, the transformation:

The steek stitches.

The steek, fulfilling its natural purpose.

The serger, fulfilling its natural purpose.

I like Bodum cozies, and there's no arguing their necessity. This one ended up a bit too narrow, even after an aggressive blocking, so I ended up ribbing more than I thought. Don't care - it looks cute. I opted for many buttons because I think it looks neat that way.

Bodum Cozy

Pattern: None. Corrugated rib using scraps

Yarn: Patons Classic Merino in a few colours

Needle: 2 circular method, 5mm bamboo

Time: about six hours all together

Size: About Bodum-sized. Could have used a few more stitches (I cast on 40 - should have used about 52)

FO, FO, FO, Merry Christmas.

Cross-Country Chullo

Pattern: Knitty, winter 2004

Yarn: Phildar Preface in light denim and denim marl

Yarn Source: Touch of Wool, Vancouver

Needle: 2.75mm Lantern Moon ebony DPNs and 3.25mm bamboo circular

Tension: Dunno.

Cast On: November 20, 2008

Bound Off: December 5, 2008

Size: This one is pretty big. It fits my 24" head perfectly but I think it's a bit too large for my brother-in-law, who got it for Christmas. I guess I'll be knitting him a watchcap to go underneath.

Notes: This one takes a lot of blocking. You've really got to use wool for best results, and do a heavy block. I used a steam iron on this because I didn't want it to grow, but next time I'll knit it smaller and stretch it like crazy in the blocking.

Note the shades - it's my clever solution to the time-consuming photo-shoot makeup problem.

I like it. I wouldn't mind making myself one of these eventually - it's a cool-looking hat. It was a fairly quick knit considering it's made of sock-weight yarn and small needles, and it was fun to make. The applied i-cord was a bit of a palaver though - not sure I wouldn't change that for next time, but it does make a nice finish.

Insert Loot at Top

So this is the OTHER thing on my needles. It's a Christmas stocking made from Kauni Effektgarn 8/2. The pattern and the yarn are both from Fun Knits - Shelley designed the pattern and it's available from her website.

I've never knit with this yarn before and I wasn't too sure about it when I first cast on. It's very rough - scratchy and traditional. It's also a little fragile - I pulled the centre out of it, looking for the end, and a tight plug came out, in the process snapping the yarn in two places. It spit-spliced easily, though, so no real harm was done.

I love the pattern - the photo really doesn't do justice to it. Despite the scratchiness of the yarn, the knitted fabric is surprisingly nice. It's warm, drapey, and comforting. The colours are very much at home in my living room, so I think I'll keep this one as a decoration. I should have enough yarn to knit another, and I've got about 5 different recipients in mind for that one.

Anyone interested in a little casual knitalong? Comment if so - we can start one on Ravelry, or just blog-based, whichever. If you do want to join me, the pattern is available for $4.00 here, and the yarn is available here. You could probably use almost any Kauni yarn with beautiful results - Shelley suggests using one ball of EQ but starting at two different colour repeats. It would be lovely.