Friday, February 4, 2011

It's been so long I forgot how to log on

I am beginning a new year today and am resolved to get back on the blog horse and ride again. For my mid-morning snack I prepared my new favorite treat from Mad Hungry. I keep bagels in the freezer and I bake a batch of bacon and keep it in the frig, so when I need a bagel breakfast sandwich I just warm up the pieces in the oven and scramble an egg! It is magnificence!

I've been knitting these Valentine wash cloth/dish cloths. I use Natalja's pattern over at Sonnentaler. For a nice dish cloth size I double her numbers - casting on 10 (instead of 5), increasing to 18 (instead of 9). Her instructions are so nice you could adjust them to knit any size heart!

I'm also making some Kiki Mariko socks with my leftovers...

And mittens - I've been thinking of these Birch Mittens in last year's Piecework (Jan/Feb 2010) by Jette Uzane and adapted by Barbara Plakans. I changed the leaf a little to resemble the originals. I am going to embroider the black lines of the Birch bark after I steam them. I enjoyed this quote in the article:
"I soon lost interest in following the strict geometrical patterns of traditional Latvian etnographic designs and wanted to make something more complicated and original. When knitting those traditional designs I was only moving my fingers. I couldn't knit myself into them."
They are wonderful to make, as are all the traditional Latvian mitten patterns that can be found in Lizbeth Upitis' Latvian Mittens. Why not go on a mitten binge, or like Jette Uzane, create a mitten cycle?


15 comments:

Laura said...

Glad you found your way back to blogland. You have been missed!

Thank you for the link to the heart patterns. I see great potential for housewarming gifts in addition to the more obvious Valentine's possibilities. But what I find most tantalizing is the preview of your Kiki Mariko socks. As mouth-watering as a sock could ever hope to be.

Rose said...

Love the socks! Thanks for the link to the heart w/ your mods. Perfect for my craft club!

Meredith said...

Welcome back you have been missed, love all the knitting. Have a great weekend,
Meredith

Unknown said...

I'd almost given up on you. Glad you're back.

Kim Jeffery said...

So happy to see you back! You have been sorely missed -- I was hoping you were just delightfully busy and not over burdened! Love the socks!

April said...

Glad you got your blogging mojo went.

I love the socks. I'm definitely going to have to try that out soon.

Anonymous said...

So glad you are back. We loved the special rice crispie treats. I keep checking your blog. You do such neat things.
tp

Virginia G said...

You're here!

Love the socks. Although they are so profoundly out of my skill range at the moment. Ah well.

MaureenTakoma said...

Yay! Glad you're back. Love the socks and the bagel breakfast looks awful good.

Janet said...

yeah - welcome back!

Alexandra said...

I love the Kiki Mariko socks!

Renee said...

So glad to see you again, Mrs. Lear! Love the hearts!

heather t said...

I've been thinking about how to use up all my leftover sock yarn bits; preferably in sock form. Kiki Mariko socks - how brilliant! Do you think it's ok if they don't match?

Mrs. Lear said...

Heather T - I've spent the first sock figuring out the sequence I like. The second sock is going to be fabulous. I don't think socks like this can match - it's just too tempting to keep changing! If I have any yarn left I think I'm going to make a glasses case. Also, this project makes me think a long tube scarf would be wonderful - but I would have to buy more yarn for that!

LeahW said...

Thank you for the link to the heart pattern! I have made four of them in the past three days and they are addictive.