Finally!

After two years of "easy" knitting, I decided to challenge myself to knit something more complicated. Last winter, I began knitting Fetching from www.knitty.com. The gloves are fingerless and in Chicago's brutal winter, are useless. However, I fell in love with them and decided to make them anyway! When you knit gloves, you work from the bottom up. All was well until I had to create a space for the thumb. I read (and reread) the pattern and couldn't figure it out. Instead of asking for help, I left my incomplete glove in my knitting bag for over a year. I recently took the glove apart and started from scratch. After revisitng the pattern, something clicked and I was able to navigate through it. So far, I've only completed half of the pair. Completing this glove is a HUGE accomplishment for me. My next big challenge - socks!

Spoiling Myself

My favorite yarn store in Chicago is Nina. She has a beautiful selection of yarns and is incredibly helpful. A few weeks ago, I bought 5 skeins of Blue Sky Bulky Alpaca in a beautiful shade of teal. Both scarf and hat are fabulously warm and stylish! Again, neither was difficult to make, but I love the end results.

Scarves

Last winter, I purchased 2 skeins of Lion-Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick yarn from Jo-Anne Fabrics. I've become somewhat of a yarn snob during this past year. T&Q is the only yarn that I'll buy from Jo-Anne's. It is surprisingly soft and knits up very quickly. I decided to knit my husband and brother-in-law scarves as gifts. Knowing that they wouldn't appreciate (or notice) sophisticated knitting, I stuck to a simple garter stitch with some ribbed & stockinette detailing on each end. Not my greatest work but recipients were gracious and warm!