Things are changing

So by now I'm sure most of you have heard that Walker and I are trying to orchestrate a move to North Carolina. In fact, this weekend, we're flying down there to scope out a few apartments and meet with some job contacts. If all goes well, we'll be down here in March, which is really really coming up fast. If all doesn't go well, then I don't know what we're going to do, so keep your fingers crossed.

As far as the job things go, Walker is still looking to pursue a legal career (which is one of the reasons we're looking to move to NC now rather than later). But, as I'm sure you've all heard, I've been turned off quite a bit by the legal profession and am looking to transfer into the financial sector. Wish us luck--we're probably going to need it!

And now, knitting news. I know I neglect this blog and I'm really sorry that I do. I think the reason is that I wait until I have pictures to show and since I'm often way too lazy to take pictures, the projects pile up and things get rather daunting. So I resolve to update this thing much more often, with or without pictures. Also, no more than one project per post. It's getting out of control. Further, once I come up with a new name, I intend to move this blog. Blogger won't let me change the user to my new email address and it's a bit of a PITA to keep logging into old email. I'll let you know and leave the forwarding information on this blog when/if that happens.

Progress toward the etsy shop is plugging along. I hadn't been very inspired lately, but I have 2.5 hats that I think might sell, so hopefully soon I'll be posting about my Grand Opening! This is another incentive for switching the blog: I hope to link the two in a feeble attempt to generate sales. We'll see how that goes...

Today's project: Spiral Boot Socks!

I finished the first one ages ago and set the other aside so that I could finish my Christmas knitting. I really like this yarn, Lion Brand Superwash Merino. It's about the only Lion Brand yarn that I like and it was a royal pain to acquire, but for these socks, it was worth it.

This pattern was a joy to knit. Easy, but not too easy and kept me interested the whole time. The only problem is that I wish instead of the lacy edging that I had used ribbing because they have a tendency to fall down. Maybe the boss is right and I am too skinny. If my calves were meatier, I wouldn't have this problem...

They are super soft, though and I love wearing them. I may make them again, just shorter next time.

Happy New Year!

Sorry I've been so late with this post, but here, finally, are our Christmas stockings:
They are mostly based on designs by Judy's Colors, but since she charges $82 for a kit and does not sell the patterns separately, I was forced to improvise. Using an online chart maker, designs from Judy and some Scandanavian mitten patterns, along with alphabet charts from this blog, I made my own stocking pattern.
I made Walker's first, using his favorite green as the main color. For the yarn, I used Knit Picks Swish DK, a very soft merino yarn. I figured since we're going to be using these for a long time, I could splurge a little.
I really love the way the trees turned out. They look great in white on the green.I was not as happy with the way his name turned out. "Walker" was just too long for the space provided. I probably could have gone with a different script look, but I really liked this font. Oh well!

For mine, I used MY favorite color as the main color and made it kind of the opposite of Walker's. Where he has snowflakes, I have trees and vice versa. I really like my snowflakes, but am not as happy with the way my foot turned out. I should probably have just striped it the way I did Walker's. It wouldn't look so uneven.That said, I love love love the way my name turned out. "Allie" was just the right length for the space provided and I think it looks great!I finished them both just in time for our trip to GA so we were able to use them on our first Christmas morning as a married couple. This was also my first Christmas away from my family, ever. I was a little worried about how I would handle it at first, but I had a really good time in GA. Walker's family tried very hard to make me feel welcome and at home there. I am very lucky in the in-law department. I had a truly blessed Christmas with them.

One quick afterthought: It's been getting very cold here in Maine in the last month or so, what with all the snow and everything. I decided that I didn't like the hat I made for myself last year, so I frogged it and used the yarn to make another Jacques Cousteau hat for myself.It fits me much better than the previous one did, which is importand to keep the snow away from my little ears! It's also made of my favorite material, alpaca and silk, so it's super soft!

Since I'm all done with Christmas knitting now, I am starting to think about opening an Etsy shop to market my skills. I've been reading a lot about it and many of the people say that it's a lot of work to get your name out there and make a living. I don't know how much energy I'm willing to expend tweeting and the like to get an Etsy shop going, so for now I'm going to work on making an inventory and then seeing how far word of mouth can go. I'll let you all know how that progresses and when/if I make my grand opening! I guess can be one of my New Year's resolutions: try to market my knitting skills to make a little side cash. Wish me luck!

-Allie

A Very Wilkes Christmas

So here is the partner post to the previous post: a showcase of all the gifts I knit for my family this year:

For Miss Caroline, I knit Interweave Knits Tilted Duster by Norah Gaughan. I used Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Maple Syrup. Had I unlimited funds, I obviously would have used a more luxurious fiber, but their wool is very sturdy and all makes all that ribbing look great. It will also keep her very warm.

I managed to knock this baby out in about a week, but I credit that to it being Thanksgiving week and spending a lot of time in front of the tv with my family. And unlike Venezia, I had her try it on to make sure it fits and it does, yay! What a relief.

For the newest addition to the Wilkes family, Sandy, I also knit a sweater. Caroline said the poor thing had been shivering whenever she went outside, so now she has a little sweater to keep her nice and toasty.

I used the Rainbow Pooch Sweater pattern by Caron and knit it with Cascade Eco +, which is an 80/20 Acrylic/Wool mix. Normally, I really hate working with acrylic, but for her dog my sister wanted something she could throw in the wash because there's no way that thing will stay clean long. Surprisingly enough, the 20% wool kept the yarn from feeling too icky. Not a bad route if you need something acrylic.
My mom, of course, had the most outrageous request of anyone in the family, more so than a duster: she wanted a shawl like the one I made for my wedding, but in black. Obviously, I did not want to knit the same thing again because that is very boring. So I mined Knitting Lace of Estonia by Nancy Bush for something different. I found the Leaf and Nupp shawl, which I think suited my needs very nicely.
I omitted the nupps because I just plain don't like knitting them and I used Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud, which is 100% baby alpaca and unbelievably soft. My only complaint with this shawl is that I was not able to block it to the proper dimensions, largely due to my lack of proper blocking materials. A towel on the floor just doesn't quite cut it. It's still super soft and will make my mom very happy. Branwen liked it too.I am still currently working on my Christmas stocking and then the next installment will feature the completed pair, even though pictures of Walker's stocking are already up on Ravelry. After that, I am all done with my Christmas knitting (unless I decide the kitties are deserving of some new catnip toy. I have some scraps, that might happen). And then I need to get to making myself a hat, since it has gotten VERY cold all of a sudden and my poor little head is freezing :(

Walker and I are off to GA on Wednesday, so I should definitely do another update before then, as the stockings both need to be done.

Hope all of you are almost done with your pre-Christmas obligations: finals, shopping, etc. And if you're not, I hope you are soon.
Cheers,

-Allie