Dishcloth Set for Grandma

So after expressing some optimism that I might actually get all of my holiday knitting done on time in the last post, I totally dropped the ball and ended up only getting 2 of the 4 gifts done on time. In fact, I haven't finished anything since that post.

Here's something that did go out on time, a set of dishcloths for my grandma.



The term set may be a little pretentious for two dishcloths, but they're coordinated. In fact, the patterns for both came from the same book, Mason Dixon Knitting.

First is the Mason Dixon Dishcloth, which has already been posted about. It's yellow Peaches n' Cream.

Next is the ball band dishcloth.



This is the same yellow Sugar n' Cream, along with Peaches n' Cream Baby Ombre. The color pooled in the most awesome way, with diagonal strips of pink, blue and white. It looks great.

Look at the texture (ignore the slightly uneven stitches, this is before washing):



This was well received, and grandma is probably going to use them as decoration. I'm ok with that.

Probably my favorite (and most unexpected gift) this year was this:



Sock yarn from my knitting group. There's a ball of Lana Grossa and some Socks That Rock. STR socks are what's in the cue as soon as I get my MIL's Jaywalkers done.

And for a last little bit of Christmas spirit:



Santa or Hagrid? You decide.

I Think I Can Make It...

It's December 21st, we have all of our Christmas shopping done, and I think I'll get all of my Christmas gifts out this year, on time even. This is only because we aren't seeing the in-laws until a week after Christmas, and I've been knitting feverishly. It also doesn't hurt that we're leaving tomorrow to see the parents

In addition to the Coriolis socks in this post there are a pair of Jaywalkers for my mother in law, two dishcloths for my Grandma, and a pair of gloves for my dad.

For a while there I was a 24-hour a day knitting machine. The Jaywalkers bag had a permanent home in my purse or hanging from my belt loop. I knit at the movies, at stoplights while I was driving, and even found out that I could knit the simple chevron pattern while in the car in the dark, as long as I counted.

This must be proof that I love them. The people, not the patterns, although I choose patterns that I want to do, or that present a challenge, because otherwise I'd let the projects stagnate and not work on them for months at a time. Case in point, Husband's Ugly Brown Sweater.

It's coming...

The OrangeBlossomKnits podcast is coming soon.

This time I mean it.

We'll be recording a promo and a short episode soon.

Husband's Ugly Brown Sweater

So, it's finally done. It may have taken six months or so, but Husband's Ugly Brown Sweater is completed. Mostly. I have to tighten up the armpit vents created by my provisional cast ons, but more on that later.

As far as pictures go, I have a few close ups, but none of the whole sweater that are worth looking at yet, as during the photoshoot the camera was set on close-up focus and Nerdy Husband was wearing superman pajama pants.

But here is the super cool thumb hole that I added at NH's request:



Pretty cool, huh. It's 2x2 ribbing, I worked back and forth on double points like I was making a muli-row buttonhole. The dpns were used as opposed to magic loop because that was the best way to keep the 40 or so stitches that I had in a somewhat natural position and not stretched out at the top and bottom of the buttonhole. This way, he won't have to tear a hole in the sleeve like he's done with almost all of his other sweaters.

Here's one of the provisional cast on's in the neck.



It's a top down raglan knit in one piece, so provisional cast on's were used at the back of the neck, and the front, and in the armholes. I couldv'e used a standard cast on and picked up or grafted the stitches, but I'm a fan of the provisional cast on. The only problem is that in the armpit, at the beginning and end of the provisional cast on, there are some really loose stitches. I'm going to tighten them up by basically duplicate stitching them.

The pattern comes from SweaterPro, but I lost the pattern during the four month break that I took from this project. I got distracted by something new and fun and not miles and miles of stockinette, big surprise. But getting it done has been part of my effort to buckle down and finish things, and since it should be getting cold here soon I have no excuse to put it off. NH was teasing me about not doing it; we'd go shopping and he'd say "Wow, those knit sweaters look awfully warm. I wish I had a sweater...". I tell him that it's not winter when the highs are still in the 80's.

The yarn is Moda Dea Washable Wool. I don't actually think the sweater is ugly, and there's enough yarn left over that I may actually make myself something. But if I do, hubby and I are going to have to coordinate, because we accidentally dress in matching clothes way too often, and usually don't notice till we leave the house.