FORE!

Golf club covers, people! One of the secret gifts I've been working on recently.


I first had the notion to make these last year, when I stumbled across some patterns on Ravelry, but somehow never got around to actually wrapping the yarn around the needle. That is, until last week, when panic struck. They're a birthday present for a dear friend, and although her birthday isn't for another 4 weeks, I started to feel the pressure of time (as in not enough to do all I plan) bearing down on me. I stress out A LOT about things like gifts and packing, so I decided that unless I favored sleepless nights in my future, I'd better get in gear and start working on a present.

Since I'd had the club covers in my mind for a while, the main issue was picking colors. This sporty friend is rather preppy and owns more than one Lily Pulitzer garment, so I decided to go with uber-preppy country club colors: pink, green and bright blue. I had the pink and blue already, so only had to buy the green and white. Then, I decided on a couple of patterns, and we were off, as it were.

Details:
Pattern: Striped Golf Club Cover, by Lauren Nell Roy
Holey Hexagon Golf Club Covers, by Sarah Wilson
Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver Solids (pink)
Caron Simply Soft Brites (blue and green)
Lion Brand Vanna's Choice Baby (white)
Needles: US7s/4.5mm
Started: September 9
Finished: September 16

I knit the pink cover in the round with bamboo DPNs, and that was a mistake. The Red Heart yarn is sticky and the saddle joint of my thumb was really sore by the time I'd bound off, so despite my ambivalence towards seaming, I knit the other two covers flat. For those, I used my Denise interchangeable needles, which are plastic and glide much more smoothly through the yarn. Also, the Vanna's Choice and Caron are both much softer yarns, and so were easier on my hands. Knitting the second two covers was such a breeze, I didn't mind seaming them a bit. In fact, it was kind of fun. What I did mind, however, was the duplicate stitch I used to faux-argyle the green cover. It came out kind of messy and amateurish, but there really wasn't much I could do. Lesson learned: duplicate stitch = not for me.

These covers are kind of a continuation on a birthday theme for this friend; several years I needlepointed a case for her golf tees. I'm nothing if not consistent.

Side note: Michael Kors and some other designers showed a lot of neon bright accent pieces in their Fall '09 collections (see this, and this and this), and I'm thinking that Caron Brites might be the perfect yarn out of which to craft a cozy and shocking cowl (yarn held doubled or tripled, of course).

She's a dance, dance, dance, dance dancing machine!

I like routine, sometimes a bit too much.

I've been keeping myself pretty busy the past couple of months with knitting and canning. Like I'd said in an earlier post, canning has become an obsession, and it's a time consuming one: recipe research, trips to farmers' markets, schlepping to the hardware store for jars, sterilizing said jars, cooking up the goods and cleaning up the resultant mess. The more I do it, the easier and more routine it becomes; I know what to do and learn what to expect, get my timing down. It's been super fun, but looking back, I see how much of my free time it's taken. I like that; I like being productive. But I think I've also really quieted my social life quite a bit. Which is also OK; I like concentrating and concentration requires other things to take a back seat. But sometimes, enough is enough. The other night I felt like Diana Ross, singing: I'm coming out!



Really, who has more style than her? Too bad about those DUIs a few years back. Back to me:

I got to change things up the other Friday at a super fun party. The older my friends and I get, the fewer parties crop up, but this one made up for the dearth. What's better than a house party with a DJ playing funk and soul music? Stayed out past 4, so my a** was dragging the next day. But it felt good; even waking up this morning looking like road kill felt good. It was a reminder that I'm not just this canning, knitting shut-in.

That being said, I do love to knit.

Pattern: Viking Hat
Needles: US8s/5mm
Yarn: Lion Brand Vanna's Choice Solid
Started: September 12
Finished: September 14

So cute! And fun. Intended for a duo of babies to be, the sexes of which are still unknown. When they reveal themselves, I will add either little braids (for girls) or ear-flaps (for boys) to the hats. The yarn is 100% acrylic, but soft and washable, which I consider to be of paramount importance when knitting for children. I made two hats, each of which knit up in about 4 hours, including making, stuffing and sewing on the horns. The horns are a bit wonky, because I'm not the best seamstress, but I don't think the recipients will mind.

I've also finished Sylvi, save for sewing on the flower petals. Pictures of that next time!