Scowls, Cowls, and Sniffs

Like most people, my little nutshell is experiencing a bit of frenzy as the Christmas season is in full swing. The knitting is progressing nicely for the most part - I'm taking a few days off from a current sample / test knit because a deadline was lifted (thank goodness) and other projects took priority for a bit.

Like this:

Scowl by Samantha Roshak. Second time I've test knit for Sam - this was a great use of my sock yarn (Connecticut colorway, j.knits yarn) - I used up 80% of the skein I think, and I became really good at Judy's Magic Cast On (if you haven't tried it, it's really neat, and not hard once you get the hang of it). This really is a great pattern - a bit different than most scarves / cowls I've knit. I liked the construction, in the end it's reversible and is great for guys or gals, wrapped around your neck and secured or just tucked into a coat, warm but not too warm, superwashable. In the end, I have sent on this scowl to Alabama to my downstream pal in a "Plurk Cowl Swap"!

I received a cowl from my upstream pal in yesterday's mail:

Lisa made this for me - the pattern is Tuesday Evening with Rowan Felted Tweed - it's lovely!

Then there's this:

Little Miss Muffet hat - I've signed on to be part of the sample / testing pool for Tot Toppers - this little hat is made with Frog Tree Alpaca Sport, in a periwinkle blue with a chocolate brown ribbon. Who can resist that? As a fellow knitter would say, Stinkin' Cute! The whole line is adorable - I would suggest the Tot Toppers line to any knitter looking for a new hat - the patterns are well written and the end result is so nice! Ignore the fact that I'm modeling a baby hat on top of wine bottles. This is the 3-6 month size and Lorelai's head is way too big now.

And this:

Malabrigo Twisty Trousers - knit on commission :) I'm currently working on a hat to complete the set, should be done in the next day or so. The Mom is ready to pop and is in mad nesting mose (her words, not mine) so I am very happy that this is done before her baby arrives - this was so much fun to knit. Plus, Malabrigo. 'nuff said.

Perfect gift for a two year old? PlayDoh. I had been wondering about this for Lorelai for ages now and for her birthday she received multiple PlayDoh packs and two different accessory sets - a barnyard pals and a burger maker. I had found several "homemade" play dough recipes I kept meaning to try, but we just didn't get around to it. Well, no need now! We had a snowy-slushy-cold-crappy day this week and we pulled it out and she had at it. And has asked to play with it multiple times a day. And she will play with it for 20 minutes or more at a time! Excellent. Of course, it's on her terms - we do a little bit with the molds but she has more fun squooshing the playdoh in to one part and moving it back into the yellow container with a chopstick. Whatever, it's all good for her development. And good for my cleaning knitting time.



Thank you Uncle Dan, Aunt Virginia, and Uncle Matt! And her buddy, A, who also got her a playdoh set!