Last Sunday, my sister Liz and I took Dad (aka “Opa”) along with super-boyfriend Kerb to the town of Bolinas on the Northern California coast. I received a tip from someone in Portland who had recently visited and she recommended this place highly. It’s an amazing locale and you really should visit if you ever get the chance.

I couldn’t get over how lush and green it was.

The beach we visited is called Agate Beach which is also home to the Duxbury Reef Reserve and as luck would have it, we arrived at a point of very low tide. There were many people out on this warm January day exploring the tide pools rich with sea life.

Alas, though, no agates to be found this time of year.

I also had the foresight to throw my latest hat in the car, a hat which I am calling the “Explorer Helmut” in honor of my sister’s love of nature and exploration.

Kerb looks a bit perplexed or perhaps askance. Always difficult to read Kerb’s poker face. It was really too warm for this hat which will work nicely on a chilly, snowy day – if I ever experience that again. I dunno. Maybe Ashland.

Bolinas and the surrounding beaches are not far from the city of SF. You can even see Sutro Tower in the distance. This is the view from the Muir Beach overlook down Hwy 1 a few miles.

I can safely say that I am past the hat obsession and well into my newest one: baby socks. Stay tuned.

These have got to be the ugliest slippers on earth but they were requested by my mother as a Christmas gift for my father. My mother was disappointed when they didn’t materialize on Christmas Eve but hey, what can I say? I didn’t even find the pattern until Christmas Day.

Then I got to work.

I started the slippers on December 28 and they were finished on December 30. They’re so simple that they really don’t need a pattern. I wrapped them up and presented them to Opa who was pleased…I think. Here’s a shot of Opa with his best bud, Tony D.

Tony is from Poland and comes over most Sundays after church to have a drink with Opa. This is about as cheerful as it gets around here. I love Tony because he always says “Hi gorgeous!” every time he sees me.

Today I took Opa to the beach. More on that later.

At our recent visit, Nancy brought along a stack of swatches – BIG swatches. I was especially attracted to this, the lovely scroll pattern knit in a beautiful hand-dyed koigu merino. It looks as beautiful from the front

as it does from the back.

Nancy explores different and often obscure stitch patterns from the Barbara Walker stitch dictionary series. If you’re not familiar with the genius of Barbara Walker, these books are definitely worth checking out.

Nancy shared her most recent project: Double Knitted Gloves. These gloves, of which she only had one finished are knit beginning at the tips of the fingers entirely on TWO NEEDLES. You heard right. No more futzing around with four (or five) double pointed needes. I suppose you could use magic loops but the prospect of knitting gloves on two needles is very exciting to say the least.

The lovely gloves are designed by Judy Wilcox and are taught in a class by Judy Taylor. Check with Close Knit for details. Nancy used Karabella Silk Merino Lace which I think was the perfect choice. Nancy gives more details about these gloves at her blog.

Lastly, Nancy also shared with me one of her free patterns, the Long Scalloped Adrienne glove which is convertible and can be worn as a wrist/arm warmer

as well a fingerless glove.

The fiber used is Rowan Tapestry, a verigated soy/wool blend. There’s a very detailed tutorial and pattern at Nancy’s blog so go and check it out.

Thanks for checking out my interview with local knitterati and until next time, Happy Knitting!

Of course, most everyone knows by now that I’m a huge fan of Jared Flood aka brooklyntweed and sometimes I think my mission in life is to knit every single item that he has ever designed or knit. Back in September I cast on the Urban Aran Cardigan and it has been slow going since then. I already had the booklet, Street Smart, from which this pattern is derived, and I’ve made the Must Have Cardigan which I found (surprisingly) easier than the UAC. Unlike the MHC which is easily memorized, for the UAC you have to keep one eye on the pattern at all times. The cables are not as intuitive as with the MHC.

In any case, I persevered and I pushed on. I finally finished the two fronts the other day and immediately set out on the task of piecing this mother together. And oh what a mother! When Elizabeth Zimmerman says that knitters hate to sew, I think know she was talking about me.

To my credit, I have taken the time to baste the entire garment before actually sewing the seams. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending upon your viewpoint), basting has allowed me the chance to try the jacket on and I think it’s too small! I can barely get the fronts across my big boobs! Oh well. I’m not one to give up on a sweater just because it doesn’t fit. I can always find someone to fit my hand knit sweaters. I knew that a ribbed sweater would fit snugly and I do own several already.

And did I mention that it still needs a zipper and that I’ve never installed a zipper before?

Stay tuned. This saga continues.

Sometimes a project comes out exactly as written/pictured/anticipated and sometimes it doesn’t come out that way at all. Today I have examples of both. The Sideways Grande Hat (rav link) from the book Boutique Knits by Laura Irwin is an example of the former. A splendidly simple yet original, well-written and easy-to-follow knit here modeled by an unwilling Alice (“Mom, I have to go!!!!!!!). It’s a little on the big side even for my ginormous head and were I to knit it again (unlikely) I would probably cast on fewer stitches. But then I’m notorious for NOT knitting swatches and I should have known better and used smaller needles to begin with. Ah well I think it’s a lovely hat nonetheless. It’s one of frecklegirl’s favorite hats.

Now onto the second FO featured in this post which is an example of a project that did not come out as planned but was transformed into something completely different by the suggestion of a fellow knitter. What started life as the Fall Poncho (ravelry link) morphed into the Fall Poncho PILLOW (It’s actually the Union Square Shawl/Poncho from the book Weekend Knitting).

After months of knitting those phony little cables the resulting rectangle was much too small for a poncho (should have used BIGger needles in this case) but hey, who couldn’t use another pillow? Thanks Kirsten!

My second Cobblestone Pullover, originally uploaded by alicethelma.

On New Year’s Eve, we had a rare dry day around here so I packed up the kids with their xmas knits and we headed to Reed College for a . I’m a little late in blogging about these FOs but I’m very proud of them, especially the Cobblestone Sweater designed by the oh so talented Jared Flood. It’s my second. I knit the first one about a year ago (see it here on Roland) and I have to say, the second one was just as much fun to knit. If you haven’t made one yet, find a guy, your brother, father, son, nephew, friend – anyone! – And knit one today.

I did stress out a little bit thinking it might be a bit short but Max insisted is was just fine (he’s so easy to please) and I think the sweater will stretch or drape with wear. I didn’t even block it before I gave it to him. The Cobblestone is so much fun to knit because while you’re working away on the yoke, you get to the neck and all of a sudden it’s finished and all that’s left to do is kitchener the underarms. That’s it! Oh how I love seamless sweaters.

Along with the Cobblestone sweater, Max got a Noro Striped scarf (also a Jared Flood design) to replace one he lost (I had no idea), two pairs of gloves and a hat, which he requested. I love the way the all work together. Browns and grays are my favorites but I never thought of putting them together. The bright fuchsia of his shirts and the stripes of the Noro Scarf pull it all together wonderfully. *sigh* I should be a stylist.

It was fun to get outside and wander around Reed and have Hot Lips pizza after. BTW Max is at Indiana University now. Say “Hi” if you happen to run into him.

I knit this sweater from Paton’s Classic Wool Merino and it cost me under $20 – one 40% coupon at a time. It’s a great sweater project for hard times.

spiral yoke sweater, originally uploaded by alicethelma.

I finished the sys several weeks ago but wasn’t very happy with it (am I ever?) It was intended as a christmas gift for Max but turned out way too small (sorry Max!). The gals at knitting night tried to convince me that it looked great on me but I didn’t believe them. It felt much too tight and the sleeves were too short.

It did, however, look great on Julie and I convinced her to model it when we were at the beach earlier this month. It was a spectacular day for sweater modeling as you can see.

I followed the pattern in Handknitting with Meg Swansen exactly as written using a size 7 needle and I later realized my mistake. I should have used the dimensions written for the cobblestone sweater which I made for max last year and then I would have [probably] gotten the correct size for him.

The sweater is starting to grow on me now although I would definitely choose a different yarn if I made it again. The left and right pattern twists in the yoke were not easy – but they look nice don’t they?

Circles scarf in progress, originally uploaded by alicethelma.

Actually the sun is shining today and it’s absolutely gorgeous outside so what am I doing in here? Just sharing another WIP with you and giving your eyeballs a little break from the constant barrage of bright colors that I subject you to. This is the Circles scarf from the book Knitting New Scarves and I abruptly stopped working on it some months ago. The challenge of all those little donut holes suddenly struck me as a real daunting task. Not sure when I’ll get back to it but I’m sure I will finish it someday. I always do. Finish things.

The yarn used is Knit Picks Panache which is quite possibly the softest yarn I have ever touched. It’s a simply awesome blend of Baby Alpaca, Cashmere, Silk and Extrafine Merino. So utterly soft. So unbelievably soft. Sorry but I think these colors are discontinued. Oh yeah, on size 10 needles. Can you spot a trend here?

Alice is on the sofa re-reading Atonement. I’m off to PDX. Ciao!

Hemlock blanket in progress, originally uploaded by alicethelma.

Now it may appear to some of you that many of my projects are knock offs from the brooklyntweed blogsite and I need to address this issue. IT’S TRUE! I confess that I’m a huge fan of the designs and creations of Jared Flood. I think he’s an absolute knitting (and photographic) genius. At one time I must have had four or five of his knitting projects on needles at the same time. I have managed to finish some of them:
1. the Cobblestone sweater of course,
2. the Log Cabin socks, two pairs, which I first saw on his blog
3. the Beaverslide scarf although I didn’t end up making it from Beaverslide

HOWEVER, I *am* stuck on the Hemlock Ring Blanket. To the uninitiated, this lap blanket is really an oversized vintage doily with a giant feather and fan pattern. Somehow my count strayed and the feather and fan is a little lopsided, doesn’t jive with BT’s charted extension and seems overall a little warped (or maybe that’s me). I tried taking it off the needles to get a good look. It doesn’t lay flat but of course it wouldn’t because it hasn’t been washed and blocked yet. I thought I would start it all over but then thought better of it. It really is a lovely little blanket…so far. And I do adore the color. In addition to brown, I’m a great fan of the color gray and this is an especially warm shade.

Perhaps I just need to let it alone for a while and allow it to gestate….perhaps I just need to give myself a break.

Stay tuned: More WIPs to come.

[Technical Info: Knit Picks Superwash in Squirrel Heather, Options circular needle size US 10.]