I'm still here!

Hello out there! Apologies for my recent disappearance. The holidays were busy, I was sick and then the January workload set in. Anywho, you're all here for knitting, right?

Before the holidays, I finished up a pair of mittens for my friend Jen.

Pattern: Druid Mittens, Vogue Knitting Fall 2008
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine, less than 1 skein

Here was Jen's reaction when she opened her gift.

I think she liked them! She's a knitter, too, and appreciated the work (and love) that went into making them.

I also knit up some Baltimore Ravens hats for my brother and my dad. I didn't really follow a pattern; I just measured their heads and used that and my gauge to figure out how many stitches to cast on. I found cool iron-on patches on eBay and just pressed them on the finished hats. I used about 1 1/2 balls of Valley Yarns Superwash in black for each hat.

And, last but not least, I finally finished my Ribbon Trim Cardigan.

Pattern: Ribbon Trim Cardigan, for Blue Sky Alpacas.
Yarn: Blue Sky Melange, in Relish. About 13 1/2 skeins.

The actual knitting part of this was finished in early December, but I had a hard time picking out a ribbon that I liked. I ended up going with a pattern called Flora Earth by Patty Young. I then matched it up with a lace ribbon from Joann's for the edging. The sewing on of the ribbon was tedious, but worth the effort. With all the cold temps we've had this winter, getting outside on a sunny day has been a challenge, too!

I really love this sweater. It's really cozy, and the alpaca is stretchy for comfort, but retains its shape. I would definitely use this yarn again. Besides the ribbon, the snap band was time consuming and tricky, but I am really happy with how that came out, too.

I have started some new projects, and will get some photos and share those with all of you soon. A lot of spring patterns are out, which is giving me major spring fever. I don't know about you, but I'm hoping the Ol' Groundhog got it wrong today!

And then there were eight

This is a knitting first for me: I have EIGHT projects on the needles right now. Here are the 4 I cast on for in the past week.

Top Left: With all of the neckwarmers and cowls floating around Ravelry, I have to join in the trend. This is based on the Cashmere Neckwarmer, but I am knitting it with the stitch from the Herringbone Neckwarmer.
Top Right: My Christmas stocking! Bill's is finished, except for the loop for hanging and I need to add his name. Any suggestions on how the heck to do this? I tried embroidering it on, but it looked like crap.
Bottom Left: The popular Green Autumn mittens by Jared at brooklyntweed. I know I swore off Vogue patterns, but hey, it's Jared! It's the first pattern of his that I've knit, but his patterns seem to be generally well received by other knitters. These are for my good friend Jen who will experience her first Wisconsin winter this year.
Bottom Right: Cream gloves, to match my Irish Hiking Scarf. I started these on election night (but got distracted by all the excitement, and champagne...)

As if those aren't enough, I am working on a baby sweater for my friend's baby's first birthday. This is an "original" pattern. Once I get it done, I will give you more deets.

The other three WIPs are my Ribbon Trim Cardi, the Seamless Hybrid and Bill's stocking, which are progressing nicely. I also plan to make hats for my dad and brother for Christmas, so who knows, I may have TEN projects on the needles next time I check in.