FO Giveaway

A little over a year ago, I made a resolution to knit only what I want to knit. It's been great for eliminating the stress I was putting on myself to finish things. There has been a downside, however. I have a whole pile of knits with no home! So I am offering them up to anyone who wants them. First come, first served. To claim an item, email me or leave a comment. I prefer email because Blogger doesn't have a good reply system. My email is kubackit AT hotmail DOT com. Please write something in the subject line that indicates you are responding to this post. I'd like to give one item to a person, but go ahead and list everything you like. If your first choice isn't available, then I'll send the next on the list. If no one claims the second item you like, I'll mail that to you, too. I will leave this open until March 31, or whenever everything has been claimed, and I'll indicate which items have been claimed.

I'll list the pattern and the yarn I used, and link to both my Ravelry page and the pattern's website, if it has one, so you can see the inspiration.

First item: Claimed!

Capucine in Suss Twisted (100% Cotton) (Ravelry link). This was fun to make. I think it will look best on someone with long hair. Note that it's made from cotton, so it will stretch. The top pom pom is just tied on so it can be removed. I don't have the skills to make a cute bird for the side, so I hope whoever chooses this will adorn it with something cute. The designer's blog has a lot of great examples.


Second item: Claimed!

Faux Bois in Berroco Inca Gold (Ravelry link). I have a thing for faux bois. These are stranded knitting, which I'm no expert at. They are a bit tight, therefore, I'd recommend them for someone with small hands.

Third item: Claimed!
Marram in Rowan Pima Cotton DK (Ravelry link). While I was knitting it I knew I should add another repeat of the pattern. I didn't. This is short, so it would probably fit a smaller head better, maybe a child's head.

Fourth item:Claimed!
Veyla in Datura Fiber Arts 100% Superwash Merino Wool (Ravelry). These were fun to knit. The yarn is a bit thin, so these are also best suited to smaller hands. My hands fit fine, but stretch them a little too much for my tastes. I can add buttons before I mail these (please give me time to find some--there aren't any buttons in Elko), or I can leave them off so you can add buttons of your choosing.

Fifth item:
Café au Lait mitts in Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend (Ravelry). Please look at the original pattern to get a better idea of how these look. The lace pattern is somewhat lost in this yarn, but they are very soft and warm.

Sixth item: Claimed!
Herringbone Hat in Berroco Inca Gold (Ravelry). This is my own design using the herringbone stitch pattern from the Harmony Guides: Knit and Purl. I felt like trying out a new stitch pattern on a hat, and this is the result. I love the way the decreases on the crown turned out.

Seventh item:
Susie's Reading Mitts in Blue Sky Alpacas Suri Merino (Ravelry). These are luscious in a suri alpaca, merino blend.

Eighth item: Claimed!
Noro Hat in Noro Chirimen (Ravelry). I like the fun striping in Noro, but the mohair content in the majority of their yarns makes it impossible for me to use. This was another attempt at using a non-mohair Noro yarn. The yarn just isn't for me, even though I love the color changes. Believe it or not, this hat works for either a man or a woman.

Ninth item: Claimed!
Kaura (no pattern website) in RYC Cashcotton 4 ply (Ravelry). I love this yarn. I felt like knitting some bobbles when I chose this pattern. It's a dense fabric, so the hat will be very warm.

Tenth item: Claimed!

Daybreak in Zwerger Garn Opal and Colinette Jitterbug (Ravelry). I felt like knitting a shawl, which is unusual for me, and the examples of this were so nice. I knit the smallest size, so it can be worn like a scarf tucked into a coat.

Ten items! If this is successful, I think will try to giveaway knits once I've accumulated another ten items, which should be soon, since I've nearly finished another hat!

My apologies to anyone reading this in a reader. I don't know how to edit the post without reposting it.

Presents and Poetry

So many things were completed since my last real post: 13 FOs, one frogged hat, and one cowboy poetry gathering. Sure, it's been two months, but that many projects is a lot for me these days, especially those days leading up to the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

I'm not sure where to start. The Gathering was great. I had been feeling about a month behind in preparations (probably because I'd lost a month's worth of work days to furlough) until two weeks before the event. Then, magically, I was ready. I'm sure a few things got overlooked, but all in all, it was a great Gathering. I heard so many compliments--people don't usually tell me those things, since I'm the invisible hand running the machine--which was really nice. I even got a present! I usually only get amazing hugs, but Doris Daley gave me chocolate straws (and hugs). I finally shared them with the staff, but I pretended they were just for me for about a week.

I didn't see much music or poetry, as is usually the case, but I did get to see my friends Andy Hedges and Andy Wilkinson perform. Andy Hedges's wife, Alissa, sang with them, too. They are all great. Video and audio from some of the shows are available on the Western Folklife Center's website. We also blogged during the event. Find that here.

Now on to knitting. Here are some things that became presents (in Blogger upload order, not chronological).

Windschief, which I will some day send to my brother.

Owl, with a magnet in the bottom, for Brian

Cat toy. It was supposed to be a sock, but I did not like the colors at all. I ripped back to the toe, seamed it up, and voila! a cat toy.

Mittens with flip-top thumbs (my pattern) so Brian can use his iPhone.

Soxies for Brian's Mom.

Men's Cashmere Scarf (not cashmere) that Brian will probably never wear (don't be surprised if you see it in my giveaway pile)

Argyle Felted Hot Pad for my kitchen. I always forget that white yarn doesn't felt at the same rate as colored yarn, so I pulled out the blue argyle pattern.

I also finished Duck for a pregnant friend. I'm not sure whether she reads this, so no pictures until I mail them off.

On impulse, Brian and I went to Portland after Christmas (which was spent with his mom in Mountain Home, ID). I visited a few yarn shops while we were there.

Malabrigo Sock

Rowan Purelife (I made the mittens above out of this)

2 skeins of Shelter. I used one skein on a hat that I ended up frogging. It was knit too tightly and I couldn't get the lace pattern (as usual).

All of the above were from Knit Purl. Very nice store.

Purple Lotus Sweet Grass hand dyed cotton from Gossamer

Cascade Eco + from Close Knit. I'd been to Close Knit the first time I was in Portland. It's a really great store. I'd probably shop there a lot if I lived in Portland.

I didn't love Portland the first time Brian took me (nearly a year ago, for our second date), but my mind was changed this time. The weather was awful, but I miss the moist air of the Midwest so much that I didn't mind. My car minded, fogging up and condensing on the inside every day, all day. We ate some amazing food. Food I dream about. We did some great sightseeing to Sauvie Island and The Grotto. We also explored some neighborhoods, and did a lot of window shopping. My favorite day was spent in Ground Kontrol, dropping quarters into classic video games. That day reminded me of the times when my dad would take me to the arcade after school. All the games were from that era, except most of the pinball, which was newer and reminded me of college when I would spend my laundry money on pinball. I love pinball.

Ever since I started knitting without an intended recipient (for the most part), I have accumulated a pile of homeless knits. I have an idea to give these away to whomever expresses interest in them. I recently gifted the Snapdragon mitts to CarrieK because she liked them. Why not give away the rest of the items to people who will use them? I think this post is too long and picture heavy to do it here, so I'll list the items next week. Stay tuned!