Cake!

It's not the royal wedding cake, but it's certainly cake - yarn cake! My first knit sweater is certainly cause for celebration.  How many times have I talked myself out of a long-term knitting project?  Or a large scale project?  Plenty.  Well, no more.  Why? Because I saw beautiful green cardigan designed by Norah Gaughan in the Vogue Knitting magazine, Winter 2010/11 issue.  I have yet to find a photo link, so here's one to VK's 360 video of Norah Gaugan's Cardigan .  

If you ever have lived in S.F. (like yours truly) or along the coast, cardis are a must, even in the summer.  This cardi is made out of Berrocco's Ultra Ulpaca (alpaca/wool blend) in #6725 and Ultra Ulpaca Light in #4275.  The alpaca feels really soft, and the "pea soup mix" yarn has great subtle color variation of green, light green, and yellow.  So, I ordered the yarn from my LYS, waited two weeks for the yarn to arrive, then a wonderful friend transformed the hanks into these beautiful cakes.

They're really fun to squish.

And to knit with.

To My Valentine

I love you, Jeff.  You're sweet.

Here are all the reasons I love my Jeff.  He:

1. makes me laugh.
2. makes the morning and evening commute better.  (We carpool.)  And he drives so i can knit.

3. does major home projects for me.  (Thanks, honey-do!)
4. loves to travel. 
5. lets me incorporate yarn trips into our travel itinerary.
6. is a great dad.
7. loves big dogs.  We adopted our sled dog, Dakoda, together.
8. makes great music videos.
9. takes amazing photographs. He is also the official photographer on our travels together.

10. is my go-to tech guy.
11. is a mean, lean, fighting machine.
12. gives the best hugs.
13. camps.
14. gave me my first veggie garden ever.
15. gave me space to plant all my flowers.  He dug some of those holes, too.
16. took me to a tree farm to get me my first real Christmas tree.  It's an annual tradition now.
17. bought me my first bicycle.  After I learned how to ride one.  I'm still learning.
18. hiked Half Dome with me.  He guided me and another couple we met up to the top!  We couldn't have done it without him.
19. thoughtful.
20. adores my family and I adore his.
21. is always game for random adventures.
22. believes in the power of the coffee machine.
23. can grill a mean flank steak.  (He also put an end to my vegetarian days.)
24. bought me a really sweet gift today.
25. all these things and many more!

Happy Valentine's Day, Jeff!

 You have my heart.  Because I sewed one for you.

There's more homemade Valentine love!

Jeff's mom also makes amazing cards.  Here's the Valentine's Day card we received this year:



See?  Amazing.

Grandma's Birthday Hat

Last weekend, Zach received a stuffed rabbit during our Lunar New Year dinner.  I am very fortunate to be able to celebrate with both my grandmothers and my grandpa, my parents, and my sisters, aunt, uncle, and cousin.  I was attaching Mr. Rabbit's eyes while waiting for dinner to arrive, and my dad's mom was sitting next to me, watching intently.  My dad was also intrigued by my bunny knitting skills, particularly since it was appropriate for Lunar New Year. Why?  Because this year we LOVE bunnies. 

Bunnies on the postage stamps....

Bunnies on the red envelopes (with lucky money inside)...

 and... knitted bunnies. 

Knitted bunnies? You can't just buy that in Chinatown.  So my dad had a thought.

Dad:  "You should knit your grandma (his mom) a hat."
Me:   "She has a hat, Dad. It fits."
Dad:  "Fine, never mind."

My grandma loves her hat.  It was crocheted by my aunt.  It's pink and beautiful.  Why would she need another one?  Then it hit me.  She didn't need a hat.  My dad just wanted me to knit my grandma a hat.  So, I went to the store to buy some yarn.  My grandma would want a bright color, and I figured, why not pick a different color?  So I went with Caron Country Berry Frappe.

I knit a size small version of Meghan Dougherty's Honeycomb Hat, which can be found on Ravelry as a free download. 

Just in time for her birthday this weekend.  Happy Birthday, Grandma!  My dad was happy, too.  Good suggestion, Dad.  Although, I will be knitting a pink version of this as well, because my Grandma prefers pink!  (Must consult aunt about colors in advance in the future...sometimes thinking others would like hats in different colors can backfire... and, must poll prior recipients of handknits whether they were ok with color choice.)  Making another hat in pink is completely fine and dandy with me, because I like the Honeycomb pattern and will have fun the second time around.  And, I have the satisfaction of knowing that there will be one more warmer head in the family!

And, the knitting requests keep coming!  Some who witnessed my grandma try on the hat also made requests for one.  Yay!  Into the Christmas queue they go.  Must get a head start this year!