I want a coat

     It's not like I don't have enough coats - I do.  It's not that the ones I have aren't warm enough - they are (for the most part).  I want a coat, not any coat, but The Coat - the one I've been dreaming of, and perfecting in my head, ever since I began to have any interest in fashion and clothing.

Slow knitting

     A few years ago I learned about the concept of slow food - an amazing idea.  When you take the time to cook and eat your food slower, you enjoy the whole process more and it's also healthier.
     Lately I've been seeing a lot of people bragging about how fast they knit, how many stitches the can do per minute;  and I wonder why this is relevant.

Check list

I usually don't write about what I plan to do because I feel like if I do, I end up not knitting what I had planned. :P
Oddly, this time around I managed to knit some of the things I said I would...Maybe times are changing, maybe it is the stars' alignment...I don't care, I got some stuff done and it's good. :)

This first picture is the hat I knit for the UPS guy. I used the method described on Knitting from the top, by Barbara Walker. I thought this stitch was called brioche in English - I was wrong. According to some of the stitch dictionaries I have, it's called a fisherman rib. Whatever you call it, it's a nice, lofty, warm stitch.
It took me a few tries until I got the number of stitches right - I still have the one I did before, which is suited for a giant...
Once I got the numbers right, it was a breeze. I love how it feels and am now in the process of talking Joel into a pair of socks done with this stitch. The second photo shows how the increases make a swirl.

To do (or not to do) list

     I've been busy working with a great group of test knitters, trying to get the pattern for PPaola ready to publish.  As the mistakes are corrected and less issues arises, my mind begins to drift towards other things I want/have to knit.

     I wanted to knit a pair of flip-top mittens for my BIL, like the ones I did for Joel last year and the FIL the year before.  I say wanted, past tense, because the SIL and MIL came up with some silly secret Santa where we have to give gifts that are traditional to some geographic area and tell the others about that tradition (sounds like school work, doesn't it?) - the giver chooses which tradition they want to follow.
  I'm leaning towards disregarding the silliness and doing it anyway.  If I think about it, most people who celebrate Christmas have a tradition of giving garments and in most places above the equator line it's very common to give winter items, is it not?

     I'm planning on knitting another set of flip-top mittens and a hat (if I manage the time well) to give to the UPS guy.  Just today I got some boxes sent through them and the poor guy was shivering...
     Then, there is the shawl I came up with a few weeks before starting the test knitting.  I've already knit one, using some handspun I had for a while (almost sport weight), but didn't like the edging (or lack thereof).  I have since, come up with some prospects for a good edging and now the shawl is screaming to be knit again - with cobweb no less!

     So far, very doable, but wait!  There is more.  There is this idea for a cabled stole that I'm too lazy (or too fed up) to chart, the Wonderful Wallaby I was knitting for the nephew (that I might frog and knit again in black - the one I was doing is white...sigh), the Fireside Jacket that I was knitting for myself and lost my place, which I'll frog and start again aaaaaaaaaaaand another idea that has been haunting me since Spring.
     I want to do a raglan sleeve, top down, in the round sweater for myself and I want to do it in brioche st.  I've played with the idea earlier in the year, but it was taking forever, so I frogged.  Today I saw the most amazing sweater on Ravelry and decided to give it another try.
     I know that for my idea to work, I'll have to take some serious measurements and swatch and that is what is holding me down - for now.

     I still need to finish the second PPaola I'm knitting, but am waiting for more yarn to be delivered.  There are a few other ideas for new patterns, but I think I'll wait until the holiday knitting is done (or when I get tired of fast ST st) to begin working on those.

     Now, if you excuse me, I'll go cast on for a hat ;)
    

My favorite holiday (kinda)

     Happy Halloween! A few days ago I saw this über cool wreath in Craftzine and decided our front door needed one. 

Good news, everybody!

     I finally got my act together, made the last chart for PPaola, put the document together and managed to get an awesome group of test knitters working on it.
     I was afraid I wouldn't be able to keep track more than 2 or 3 people working on a pattern, but I'm changing my mind about that.  With more people testing at the same time, one can help the other when I'm not available, giving me more time to do something else.