Lifestyles of the Pampered and Knitterly...

I have to tell you about the lovely day my husband gave me yesterday. He gave me a sizeable gift-certificate to the Blue Dragonfly Salon and Day Spa and I spend the best part of the day having a massage, facial, manicure and pedicure. It was so pampering that it was a little bit overwhelming, and in the future, I will probably break those activities up into a couple of visits...in the off-chance that I am again gifted with such a nice present. The staff there was very nice, friendly and professional, and I felt the services were reasonably priced. If you live near here, you should check it out.

I have also finished a couple of knitting projects and started a new one.

Here is my Abby Cowl:

Pattern: Abby from Knitty, designed by Amy Singer
Yarn: 1 skein of Royal Fiber Spinnery Alpaca, in a colorway called either "Cosmos" or "Garden Cosmos". I can't remember and I lost the label.
Needles: Size 8 circular

I enjoyed making this, and I love the yarn. The pattern was interesting enough to keep my attention, while still being simple enough to knit while watching TV or listening to Podcasts. The problem with this yarn/pattern combination is that the yarn is so soft that the cowl is a bit too "floppy" and therefore not the look I was hoping for. Also, I ran out of yarn before I got to 16 inches, and I had to stop at 13 inches. This means that it's a little too short for the over-the-head look that is pictured with the pattern, and that's probably OK since that look did not turn out to be very flattering on me anyway. So I'm afraid I've made a lovely thing from beautiful yarn and a great pattern that will be destined to stay unworn in my closet.

I made these for a coworker:

These are the Garter-stitch Booties pattern from Elizabeth Zimmermann's The Opinionated Knitter.

EZ was a genius, I tell you! The first one of these I knit had me convinced that I was either crazy or stupid, because the odd little object I was knitting did not resemble anything I've ever seen, let alone a baby's foot. And on the last step, I folded the knitted blob in half to weave up the seam and Poof! A cute little bootie was on my needles when I least expected it.

Yarn: Plymouth Happy Feet. I lost that yarn label, too, so I don't know what color it is.
Needles: Size 3.

This project is the perfect way to use up sock yarn and other lightweight yarn left-overs. I made the pair in one evening, and made the I-cord ties the next day. I really want to try some with striped yarn to show off the fabulously intelligent design. Hmmm....Noro Kureyon Sock booties? Opal or OnLine Self-striping Booties? People need to get busy and make more babies for me to knit for.....

And last, but not least, I cast on some huge, thick, sheepy socks for DH:


I was feeling especially like making a nice gesture after my day at the spa, and last night my feet were freezing, so I cast on a pair of thick socks for him. Somewhere there is some logic in that statement, so I'm going to let it be. I'm using the Woodsman's Thick Socks pattern from Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Around. I had purchased some of the Sheepswool yarn from Schoolhouse Press, and there you go...big, thick socks. This yarn is great! It's scratchy and wooly, but in a good way, and it has a not-so-faint sheepy smell. It's the natural color of the sheep, also. I feel like "Ma" in Little House on the Prairie, knitting warm woolen socks for my man. They are going very quickly, and I'm guessing I should have the pair finished over the weekend.

Lest you think that I am a Lady of Leisure, what with all the knitting and spa treatments, let me disclose that I am now about to go take down the Christmas Decorations and wash laundry. Yes, I said take down the Christmas Decorations. Maybe I should just throw a sheet over the tree and keep it until next year....