Really!?  What is it about fair isle that makes it so addicting?  When I start a fair isle project, I simply can’t put it down.  My fingers could be cramping, my back hurting from sitting in one place to long, and I’d still sit there and knit some more.

I think it has a lot to do about watching the design emerge, almost like magic, as the two colored strands loop around eachother row-by-row.  Suddenly a few rows of nonsensical color-switching begin to form a design - checkers, flowers, snowflakes.

Pattern: Selbu Mittens from Folk Mittens
Yarn: Cascade 220 (in Black and Christmas Red)

That’s the beginning of my new mittens.  To be specific, that’s my new left mitten, and love it already.  That was one evening’s worth of knitting.  Even though I’d promised myself I’d take a nap or go to bed early, I just kept knitting away at it.  I couldn’t help myself.

I’m really in love with the Folk Mittens book also.  I highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in fair isle mittens.  I’m a huge fan of traditional Norwegian and Latvian patterns, and this book has some great examples.  I have a feeling this is just the beginning of my foray into fair isle this winter…

I finished this several days ago (last Friday) and I forgot to update…

Super cute, eh?  The Wonderful Wallaby is my new addiction, bumping the EZ Baby Surprise Jacket to the side (for now).

So, what’s on my needles?  Another Wallaby Sweater (in pink!), a pair of 2-at-a-time socks, and a pair of fair isle mittens (no picture yet).  Plus some Christmas gifts.  There just aren’t enough hours in the day!

Once again, I’ve tossed all my other projects aside because I’ve become smitten with something new.  I cast on this Wonderful Wallaby sweater on Sunday night, and here’s the progress I’ve made thus far (please excuse the picture quality as these were taken with my cellphone)…

Pattern: Wonderful Wallaby by Cottage Creations
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash in “Grape” (#9871)

That’s my progress as of lunchtime on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (today).  I’m ready to start the ribbing at the neckline, then the hood, and then I’ll be ready to weave in all the ends and be done!  Wowee was it ever a fast knit!  Then again, it’s only a children’s size 2, but we’ll ignore that part, heh.

Anyway, I need to finish my little fling with this project so I can get to all the other things waiting on their needles for my attention.  Christmas is right around the corner, I’m afraid, and though I got an early start, I’m falling woefully behind on my holiday-knitting.  Bah-humbug!

A sampling of what’s been going on…

Nick and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary on October 6th.  It’s hard to believe it’s been a year already.  We celebrated with a quiet evening and a fantastic dinner.  Because I’m a big geek, I uploaded a new design for our family blog to celebrate.

My best friend Melanie came to visit this past weekend.  It was SO good getting to spend some time with her.  We did some of the Nashville touristy stuff and I taught her to knit.  (She’s going to kill me for this picture because she has her face all twisted in concentration, but I think it’s fun.  Heh.)

She had tried knitting in the past, but I guess it never quite “clicked” with her.  I dragged her to the knit shop and coaxed her into giving it another shot.  Lucky for me, she was willing to try.

She sent me this picture from her cell phone yesterday at her lay-over during her flight home.  I think she’s making great progress!

That’s an in-progress Dumpling Bag that she’s working on.  ‘Cause who the heck ever insisted that your first project had to be a garter-stitch scarf anyway?!  Pfft.  Looks like she’s doing great to me!  And talk about learning a ton of skills in one shot — knits, purls, i-cord, increases, decreases, and knitting in the round.  Whew!  Now I just have to get her onto Ravelry… heh.

AND…

I published a new pattern!  I’m calling them my Zig-to-the-Zag Socks.  You can find it on my patterns page or on Ravelry.  It’s a free PDF download.

The pattern is a really simple one.  It’s basic cuff-down with a heel flap and a very simple zig-zag lace pattern.  I wanted something very simple to use with self-striping yarns (such as this Knit One, Crochet Too Ty-Dy Sock shown in the picture).  Typically I knit self-striping sock yarn into plain socks, and that got boring — so this was my middle ground.  Just enough pattern to keep things interesting, and not get lost in the stripes or take away from them.

Anyway, if you happen to try this pattern, be sure to send me pictures and any feedback!

Where is this year going!?  It somehow seems apropos that I’m finishing up my Charlie Brown sweater during the month of October, because the first thing I think of when I think of the Peanuts is: “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!”

I’m pretty proud of this particular project, because it marks my first real sweater I’ve ever knit (even if it is only 6-year-old size).  I’ve completed a couple Baby Surprise Jackets, but I don’t consider those to be “real” sweaters because they’re a flat piece of knitting with clever increases and decreases that just so happens to fold-up into a sweater.

This… is a REAL sweater.  And It’s almost done!

I can’t claim credit for the idea of this sweater, however.  My friend Pam asked me one day about figuring out how to make a Charlie Brown sweater as a gift.  I’m by no means a designer, but I thought it couldn’t really be that difficult to take a basic plain sweater pattern and add a fair isle zig-zag wrapping around the body.

And sure enough, it wasn’t!  The sweater is knitted in the round, bottom-up.  I’ve finished the entire body of the sweater and now I’m working on the first sleeve.  Once the sleeves are done, the last step will be to pick up around the neckline and knit a ribbed edge.

And, as a little teaser, here’s the next bit I’m working on…

An entrelac scarf!

I’m basing it on this pattern, though I have some modifications in mind.  The yarn is Knit One, Crochet Too Paint Box in the Caribbean colorway.

This is really, really fun to knit.  I’d attempted entrelac once in the past by casting on the Garterlac Dish Cloth, and I just wound up frustrated and confused.  It’s no reflection on the pattern of course.  I think I just wasn’t ready to attempt something like entrelac at that time.  Now it has finally “clicked” and I’m enjoying the heck out of it.  I believe we’ll be doing this as a class at the knit shop, so hopefully others will have as much fun with it as I am.