Casey made me name it that. 
It is officially the Amelia Earhart Aviator Cap but I added some pom-poms to make it look less like a 50′s bathing cap.
Front and back:
My “I love my hat” boogie shots:
This one isn’t that great of the hat but you can see my new glasses!
Technical details: Knit on size 7 needles with Blue Sky Organic Cotton.
Look who lives in our house now:
We have named him Tim.
His mommy, Maya, brought him over the other day as a surprise gift! Isn’t he the coolest? Isn’t she the coolest for making him for us?
He just makes me sooo happy. Look at his jaunty little scarf!
He is, of course, one of Jess Hutch‘s fabulous creatures- I am so excited I finally got my hands on her booklet!
Ornaments are one of my favorite things about Christmas. I love getting and giving ornaments as gifts because I remember when I got them and who gave them to me.
Last year, Carrie made Casey and I cute little sweater ornaments and they are on our tree this year. I wrote a little post last year about some of my favorite ornaments so I won’t bore you again but… yay. 
I was going through a stack of knitting patterns yesterday and came across this:
Rebecca’s ‘Wrap with Sleeves’- the pattern can be found on their site for free!
I got really excited about it all of a sudden and decided that I really needed to make it. So today I ran out and used the 10% off coupon that I had been saving to get the yarn. So excited! Woolcott even had the color that I wanted, a lovely dark brown. Everything was just falling into place!
GGH’ Soft Kid in color 67, dark brown:
So I run home and actually read the pattern and that is where the trouble begins. This pattern is INCOMPREHENSIBLE.
Not to be deterred, I google it and find that many, many people have had trouble with the “fisherman’s rib” that the pattern does a totally crap job of explaining.
I find this tutorial and although it certainly looks like it would be helpful, I still don’t understand can’t do it. Why does it have to be so difficult?! It is just stupid ribbing!
Somewhere in my ramblings, I read that what the Germans refer to as fisherman’s rib is the same as brioche stitch. So I gave that a shot… Only problem is that I am not really sure if it will have the same effect. It sorta looks the same, I guess.
I just want to knit the darn thing! Ack!!!
1. Linda at A Good Yarn
I bought a ridiculous amount of orange yarn for Julie’s stole, as in twice as much as I actually needed. You know how it is, you get down to the wire with a project, are confused, have a credit card and the rest is history.
Fortunately, the lovely Linda understands how this stuff can happen and allowed me to exchange the Karabella 8 that I had for this beeeautiful color:
What will I do with it, you ask? Well, make a happy cable cardigan, of course! Which brings me to…
2. The kpixie gals
I have heard Wendy talk and talk about how great this online store is but I really like to feel the yarn I buy so I don’t often buy yarn online. Unless I have had a chance to molest it in person first, of course.
So anyway, I was looking for a cute cabled cardigan to knit with the above karabella8 and I ran into this beauty: (It used to be here on kpixie but it has mysteriously disappeared!! agh.)
I was so excited to find that it only took one day for me to receive my package of goodies- I mean, it made it back here quicker than I drove back from New Jersey!
Oh! I also ordered some yarn because it just seemed silly to pay shipping for one piece of paper. Really, I was just being sensible.
Which brings me to…
3. Vesper Sock Yarn (the knitterly things site, and kpixie’s store)
Okay, I haven’t actually knit with it yet but look at the happy colors! I can’t wait to cast on but I want to find the perfect pattern… do I want to go with a classic pattern to enjoy the stripes in their perfect-ness, or do I want to go zig-zaggy? Decisions!
It is seriously cold here in Boston. I know, you Canadians will pipe in and say it is colder up there… you are right. I am sure!
Anyhoo.
At this time of year, I feel the need to knit a hat for a certain person. What can I say, he looks cute in hats.
I am lacking in inspiration though- has anyone seen any cool hats for a guy lately?
(if socks had butts)
Yippi! I am loving Chelsea right now… (as I said, she showed me the two circular needle method and gave me this helpful link.)
I finally finished my first sock! and am trucking through the second one! I knit all of that 2nd one tonight! And I am still going!
Yes, I am very excited!
I was not so excited yesterday and the day before when I couldn’t find a good cast-off method that was elastic enough to go over my heel. (I guess I have freakishly skinny feet or very large heels…)
I tried the regular, traditional bind-off and the single crochet bind off, neither of which would even fit all the way up my foot. Lovely.
Then, I went back to my trusty brittany double points and added two stitches per needle and did 5 rows of k1,p1 ribbing and then tried the (gulp) “grafting or kitchener stitch” bind off. Which was brave of me because I have never been able to successfully graft anything EVER. (bind off method from this awesome finishing book)
It actually worked!!
wee! Happy feet!
(update! Since everyone is asking- the yarn is Lana Grossa’s Meilenweit Cotton Fantasy #803.)
I was at a bookstore today and, as usual, spent a great deal of time looking at the knitting book section.
I found this book and thought, Christmas knitting? ugh! Probably full of ugly Christmas sweaters with bobbles!
Handknit Holidays- Melanie Falick
Boy, was I wrong! I want to knit tons of stuff in this book!
I was not able to find any images directly from the book but this lovely lady took pictures of the projects, here. (wowee! She even put the yarn requirements!)
My favorites are the nutcracker slippers, lace photo mats, the (hershey) kiss cap (teehee! too cute!), ornaments, this little purse, this scarf….ack! I could go on and on!
I am excited because there are some smaller projects using more advanced colorwork than I have tried. (I guess I haven’t really tried colorwork much at all now that I think about it…) I can’t wait to give it a shot!
Just a quick word though, be careful where you buy it- the price seems to vary greatly. At the large chain bookstore I went to today, it was $30 and on Amazon, you can get it for $18.15.
Well, Carrie, the knitting gods have punished me for doubting that you would not have enough yarn to finish your clapotis.
I really have not enough yarn to finish my clapotis. I am completely baffled here. I am using the same yarn that the pattern called for… and I have followed the instructions. (didn’t make it longer or anything…)
It even seems to measure correctly…. but see that tiny ball of yarn? I have about 60 stitches now.
Stupid little ball of yarn.
My favorite yarn is the baby alpaca… I had to go back and get another skein after I bought the first one. It is unbelievably soft… I want to live in this yarn. (as you can see from the picture on Anne Marie’s blog! haha)
Alpaca with a Twist- Baby Twist- 100% Baby Alpaca, 8.75 oz / 549 yards
Dark brown (#0294)
DK weight / 5.5 stitches per inch on #6 needles
Ohmygod- look at the cute alpacas on their site! hehehehe!! I bought this yarn at Red Maple‘s booth.
Next favorite?
Everyone talks about Brooks Farm and I can understand why… I love the yarn that I bought from their stall and can’t wait to use it! Maybe a clapotis? Something that doesn’t overwhelm the deep colors…
Brooks Farm Yarn’s Primero- 100% Kid Mohair, 8 oz / 500 yards
(I can’t tell if it is the Copper River 2 or the San Marcos colorway from their website…) It looks a little more rich in person. LOVE it!!!
Next is the sock yarn, Blue Moon Fiber Arts’ Socks that Rock
(I can’t find their website)
100% Superwash Merino- lightweight
4.25 oz / 325 yards
8-10 sts/ inch on size 1 needles
left: Lagoon, right: Obsidian
I have been searching for a needle case that will fit all of my brittany needles for a really long time. They normally don’t have enough slots for all of them or they are not long enough. This case from Crippen Works just made all my dreams come true.
Plus it is super cute.
I may contact Crippen Works to see if they can make me a matching crochet hook and double point case. (next time I am allowed to buy knitting stuff- haha)
I also got a pair of tiny circulars to learn how to knit socks on them, instead of double points. Chelsea was just rolling on a sock using that method and was nice enough to show me how. I can’t wait to give it a shot!
So that’s it!
I did get two more things but I haven’t given them to their owners yet and don’t want to ruin the surprise!
So this weekend… I got some awesome yarn and met some super people but more on that in a bit.
First, the eating.
Oh the eating…
(Are Carrie, Anne Marie and Jen not the most photogenic people you can imagine? Yes, they really are that adorable in person too.)
Along with the consuming of junk food and IHOP greasy goodness, there was a good amount of driving around, illegal U-turns, and stopping at traffic lights on Rt. 9, which is quite possibly the most annoying road on the planet. There are lights every 10 ft or so.
We had to entertain ourselves by taking pictures in the car:
(Again, those girls and the cuteness! Does it ever end?)
In between the eating, we squeezed in *a bit* of knitting (and drinking) in the room and Carrie helped me and my clapotis get along better. Thanks, sweetie, for your patience!
(Cutie Lara and me)
Oh right! There also was this Sheep and Wool Festival thingy!
(Look at those sweet little girls in their ponchos and hats! I couldn’t resists snapping their picture.)
(Lara, me, Casey, Carrie, and Jen. Poor Casey’s head was going to explode from all the pictures- he’s a bit shy and not angry in that picture.)
Along with all the sweet people, there was, of course, so much beautiful yarn and cute aminals.
My favorites were the alpacas and the angora rabbits (although the bunnies seemed to be in very dirty cages- tisk tisk.)
(Look! The alpaca smiled for me!)
Fuzzy alpaca head!!
I’ll post about my purchases tomorrow- I think I may have broken people’s browsers with all these pictures! I looove my yarn so much- can’t wait to show and tell!
If you actually would like to see more photos, go here to see the rest of my Rhinebeck album!
(This weekend was brought to you by Gas-X and peanut butter m&m’s. Don’t ask.)