project: the ott girls hats

Yes, I've already started my holiday projects. This is what is going to be the challenge about blogging now: not to give away what people might be receiving from me this holiday season. While I am known for working on numerous projects at once (and rarely finishing them), I can at least try to balance a holiday project for a friend and something for myself!

So one of the first knitted holiday projects I've started were new hats for the Ott girls: Avery, Claire and Nora. This has been a request by Momma Ott for quite some time, and while on the Chicago Yarn Hop, I came across Noro Kureyon yarn on sale at Loopy Yarns. Perfect! The hat pattern used is one I've adopted from the book, Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. It's a great pattern that has kept many a heads warm throughout the years.

Each hat's colorway has been chosen to fit each girls features. I opted not for full on pom poms at the top of each, but rather what I call "sprigs of yarn." How organic of me...

Avery's hat

Claire's hat

Nora's hat

Let's just hope that Momma Ott can contain her excitement and keep these photos from the girls until December!

In the meantime, let's finish off the summer season with one more summer themed playlist...


playlist: the ott girls hats

"summersong" - the decemberists
"summertime clothes" - animal collective
"deadbeat summer" - neon indian
"all summer long" - the beach boys
"it's summertime" - the flaming lips
"summertime" - the sundays
"summerteeth" - wilco
"summer song" yacht
"here comes the summer" - the fiery furnaces

project: stephanie's birthday socks

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STEPHANIE!

Well, it only two two weeks after the fact, but I finally finished Stephanie's birthday gift! I must have sent her three packages full of little birthday gifts before she got the big one: a pair of hand knit socks! And, of course, I used my favorite ankle sock pattern and Lorna's Laces yarn to create them.

This yarn was purchased at Nina's in Chicago, and the colorway is South Shore. I knit the socks in about two weeks, and I must admit, was some of the best drinking-while-knitting that I've ever done!

Haha, look at Karma's butt!

This playlist was created in honor of Stephanie's birthday actually being in the heat of the summer, and that summer is quickly coming to a close. The more songs with the word 'summer' in it the better! And I had so many in my itunes, another summer word playlist is soon to come...

playlist: stephanie's birthday socks

"everyone has a summer" - lovage
"wait for the summer" - yeasayer
"66 sleepers to summer" - hope of the states
"jogging gorgeous summer" - islands
"summer on the westhill" - kings of convenience
"indian summer" - pedro the lion
"summer skin" - death cab for cutie
"in the summertime" - the rural alberta advantage
"sweet summer's night on hammer hill" - jens lekman

project: shauna's baby socks

Oh, hey. Yeah, I still blog every now and again...

This past weekend I got very ambitious and decided to knit another pair of baby socks. The Costume Shop Manager, Shauna, at Chicago Shakespeare is leaving in a week to focus on the baby boy that will be coming out of her very soon! With this in mind, a baby shower was put together at the last minute to celebrate! Key words here: last minute.

So instead of buying something, I went to the Knitting Workshop (now located in Bucktown) to get some Cascade Fixation yarn in a boy-ish color way. This happened at noon on Sunday, the shower being held at 4pm Monday. Damn.
Had I decided not to go to North Halsted Market Days, I could have gotten the socks done in one afternoon. But there is just something about many gay men wearing very little that leaves nothing to the imagination that really gets me going...

I finished the socks around 3:30pm on Monday. Just in time for the shower. And they were a success!

So tiny and cute! Just like the little boy that is on his way!

In other news, in case you haven't heard, I was doored on my bike ride home from work last Thursday. If you don't know what that means, look it up on urban dictionary. Very painful, but thankfully nothing was broken. But in honor of getting doored, and still being in shock that it happened, I made a small playlist. This is it:

playlist: shauna's baby socks/getting doored

"the shining" - badly drawn boy
"polar opposites" - modest mouse
"someone great" - lcd soundsystem
"fluorescent half dome" - dirty projectors
"benton harbor blues" - the fiery furnaces
"summer in the city" - regina spektor
"i don't want to see you" - camera obscura
"let me know" - the yeah yeah yeahs