days #27, #28, and #29: 30 + 1 handknits project...

this is a very exciting day in the so bro homestead (that's "so(uth) bro(ad) ripple," for those not from indianapolis). i must depart from our regularly scheduled 30+1 handknits project installation to share this news. frankly, i'm so excited about it that i kind of feel the need to wet myself or run around the house for a while, bouncing off the walls.

see, we've been talking about getting chickens for a while. you know, the clucking, cooing, egg laying variety to eat bugs, poop all over our yard, till our soil, and give us the most delicious eggs we'll probably ever eat. i even got TWO, count 'em TWO chicken-rearing books for christmas. i figured i'd read about them, line up housing for them, and eventually order a handful for rearing later in the spring.

so a couple of days ago, i leisurely contacted a local fellow who makes coops, only to be told that he has so many orders for the spring that he wouldn't be able to get us one before may. SOB! he's a super nice fellow who has been contracted to make 11 coops for area schools - check him out at the urban coop on craiglist.

back to the story - i asked him if we can at least get in the chicken queue now and, rather than receiving bad "i'm way too busy for one man building chicken coops for a living to handle right now" news, i get a message back that we will actually be able to have our very own chicken coop by january 3 or 4! complete with wheels and wire across the bottom of the attached chicken yard!

two hours later, i've ordered us two black australorps, one buff orpington, and one ameraucana, to arrive in a little peeping express mail bundle the week of march 19. and here i am, basking in the glow of chickens to come. BABIES!

now, however, let's get back to the final days of the 30+1 handknits project. it really has gone too fast, although i'm finally running out of my own handknitted sweaters, dresses, skirts, and vests to wear for this project. i guess i need to get to finishing up some half finished knits stat! i have two more days to go still.

12/27/2011. day #27, Mystic Pullover by Melissa LaBarre, completed december 2011. here we have my most recently completed sweater, done and still drying from blocking right as we left for the holidays. we also got our first real snow - a white christmas, two days late (and apparently everywhere around us had rain or a wintry mix... take THAT, wintry mix!).


SNOW! big, fat flakes.


although i love the idea of pockets in sweaters, they aren't the most flattering things. whatever - they are green and cozy and i love the ugly little buggers.


12/28/2011. day #28, sophie by robin dodge. this is kind of sad, but i have absolutely zero information on this project. i usually save everything in my ravelry projects list, but i think i made this as such a throw away / boredom-induced / stash busting project that i never even entered it in as something i had completed. i rarely wear it, but i actually quite like its weird neckline and super soft yarn.




i also got new glasses! i can see again. amazing.


12/29/2011. day #29, Francis Revisited by Beth Silverstein, completed october 2010. this dress is one of my pride and joy projects. i used the pattern referenced and then just worked my decreases and increases to create waist and booty shaping, added a cable down each side, and knit, knit, knit. as you can imagine, it's quite warm - perfect snow bunny dress for the winter.

i also happen to be standing in front of my NEWLY ORGANIZED craft and sweater wardrobe. this might not sound like a big deal to some, but it took me literally an entire day to reorganize all of my yarn and craft goodies. ah, vacation, how do i love thee? let me count the ways...


just being silly yet again.

days #24, #25, and #26: 30 + 1 handknits project...

it's the 26th of december, and i am currently sitting on my very own couch, sipping one of chris' christmas beers (we give the gift of booze liberally in my family), which is sitting on our brand new coffee table. in other words, we made it through our christmas-midwest-family extravaganza with flying colors and made it safely back home to the house and the cats.

i'm so very glad to be home.

today, i'm sort of struck with how lucky i am in this life. to say i was slowly dying a few short years ago would be an exaggeration, to be sure, but when i consider the vastly different ways i live these days, the things i'm doing and plan to do, the way i take care of myself, the pride i take in the day-to-day, and my overall level of happiness with life in general, i might as well have been slowly dying.

i guess i just consider myself incredibly lucky. i have another week of vacation - at home with my boyfriend and cats - and i have a whole slew of things planned. the to do list is looking pretty awesome to me. the to do list, in part:

• take down tree
• plan layout of living room (rug, blanket chest built by dad)
• clean car (okay, so it's still a tad boring, but...)
• research chicken coops, contact coop builder, look into buying chicks (YEAH!)
• draw up backyard and front yard landscape designs (DOUBLE YEAH!)
• organize art and craft stuff
• harvest worm compost and set up new bin
• write thank yous

and so on and so forth. damn lucky. so, without further ado, here are the last three days of handknit outfit love. i'm still going strong, even though we're nearing the end. merry, merry christmas, happy holidays, and happy early new year. it's going to be a good one.

12/24/2011. day #24, Rusted Root by sarah moore, completed august 2011. knitters, this is a brilliant little lace pattern, and i fully plan on making a cardigan or long-sleeved crewneck using this same lacey panel at some point in the future. i never ever EVER buy patterns... but this one was totally worth it (i bought it years ago and tried to knit it before i was really, ahem, up to the challenge... i rediscovered the pattern tucked away with loads others after i found this yarn on sale and needed to find something suitable).

here i am standing in front of the SUN at the adler planetarium. hot!


just your average christmas eve.


they had an infrared camera exhibit. look at how cold my nose is.


on our way out of the planetarium, we managed to catch golden hour with the sun setting over chicago.


12/25/2011. day #25, Printed Silk Cardigan by Connie Chang Chinchio, completed september 2010. this yarn (elsebeth lavold silky wool) gets softer and softer every time i wear it. and the color remains screamingly chartreuse.


what? i've got red and green going on - perfect christmas outfit, right? right-o. i also totally got this hat for christmas and tried my best ruska accent to go along with it.


i was probably singing the muppets version of "12 days of christmas" right here. my favorite part is beaker's part (listen for the "mee-mee-mee mee-mee-mee").


i also got these ridiculous/amazing socks:


12/26/2011. day #26, Miette by Andi Satterlund, completed april 2011. this was knitted up with more of the yarn that an old friend from my hometown found for me at a thrift store. really, he sent me a 2'x3'x3' box full of yarn last winter, and i haven't made it through even half of it yet. this is another sweet, simple pattern. make it! make it, i say! i've been dying to wear it with a poofy skirted dress of some sort, but i don't really own the PERFECT dress for it. jeans will do.


so glad to be home!

days #22 and #23: 30 + 1 handknits project...

the 30 + 1 handknits project is quickly winding down, but i've had so much fun that i kind of don't want it to end. it has forced me to make outfits out of some items i've made and then inadvertently banished to the back of the wardrobe, realizing in the process that they are actually quite suitable for wearing... outside... in public. 

it's also been interesting planning out outfits in advance for 11 days of travels around the midwest in the middle of winter. i borrowed my boyfriend's giant suitcase (because, if you've ever tried to pack more than a couple of sweaters into a suitcase, you know they pretty much take up ALL THE ROOM), i got baby puke on one of my cardigan sleeves within five minutes of holding said baby (who is absolutely adorable, by the way, minus the puking), i've sweated and shivered, and i've managed to do a few clothing switcharoos based on weather and circumstances (such as, "we will be spending all day driving back to chicago, then taking a side trip to ikea - i think jeans are in order").

all in all, though, this challenge to wear a different handknitted item every day for an entire month has been really entertaining, at least for myself. my man friend has taken some beautiful photos, too. way to go, man friend.

12/22/2011. day #22, Pioneer by kBomb, completed january 2010. chris' mom bought me this same yarn for christmas, only in a heavier weight. it's lovely stuff - wool with a touch of silk. it's all meow-rawr and cozy-warm at the same time.




i actually wanted a shot of me COVERED in presents, but i decided that was a little too third grader, even for me. i settled for lying down in front of the prezzies and the massive tree at my parents' place.


12/23/2011. day #23, Boatneck Bluebell Sweater by Stefanie Japel, completed january 2009. this sweater, knitted up in a nice purple and blue heathered wool, keeps me toasty warm. the pattern creator, ms. japel, is quite awesome at making sweaters that make the ladies look lovely. no bulky, shapeless masses here, no sirree.




this shot kind of slays me. just a little. i can only act all serious-modelly for so long.


in celebration of being back in chicago, we headed to the christkindl market, watched some amazing guys drumming on the bottoms of plastic buckets (a chicago christmas tradition), checked out the macy's christmas tree, and headed over to the bean at millennium park (of course).


i would love to do a photo project taking photos of people taking photos of their own reflections in the bean. i loved this group of kids.


me and the bean.


and the sweater photographer himself.

days #20 and #21: 30 + 1 handknits project...

today marks our last day in des moines for the holidays. we'll be missing the real extravaganza here on christmas eve, but i think it's safe to say we've spent some good time with chris' family. last night, we introduced his nieces, 10 and 6 years old respectively, to national lampoon's christmas vacation. perhaps a little on the old side for the girls language-wise, but abigail loved the slapstick parts. and we hadn't watched it yet this year, so it was absolutely necessary.

other things we've done so far: watched the latest mission: impossible at an imax theater, met a mummy and a camel at the des moines science center, eyed dartboards, dreamed of visits to nationally-recognized bbq joints, and hung out with one very sweet baby. i've been feeling really lucky.

12/20/2011. day #20, Girl Friday by Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark, completed february 2011. here's me with my new camel buddy - i named him frank (in my mind). yes, i am fully aware he is not real. shhh... let me dream that i met a camel named frank yesterday.




i tried to get frank to get going, but he wouldn't budge. camels are notoriously stubborn.


and then there's this... yeah, i'm pretty special like that.


12/21/2011. day #21, Seamless Yoke Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmermann, completed november 2008. this is the closest i've ever come to knitting a nordic sweater, but i'd really love to someday do up a crazy winter sweater with snowflakes or snow bunnies or reindeer or some such christmas/winter type of motif. someday!


this was also an unintentional turtleneck, but by the time i got to the neck, i couldn't face tearing it out and figuring out where i went wrong.

days #18 and #19: 30 + 1 handknits project...

holy criminy, google+ - thanks so much for the featured post on the handmade community! i swear, this is what social media should be all about - sharing projects with people around the world, learning how to make cyborgs and such, cool articles about people being creative in their own little lives (or in really big ways, too). thanks for taking a look, and check out the google+ handmade community to see some general awesomeness. i hardly fit in with the absolutely fantastic things people are making and sharing, and i love it.

12/18/2011. day #18, Leitmotif Cardigan by Carol Feller, completed august 2010. sunday morning marked the second crossing-of-state-lines for the holiday season - the chicago to des moines leg of the trip. for any knitters out there, this was possibly one of my favorite patterns to knit and, now, wear. what a great sweater. sunday = breakfast with my parents, loading up into the car, driving 5 hours to des moines (fueled by cheese popcorn, beef jerky, and gas station machine coffee), then a big birthday party for chris' younger sister with oodles of kids hanging off of every limb. it's good to be in iowa.


can you tell it was FREEZING yesterday morning in illinois? in half the photos we snapped, my hands were balled up into tight little fists.


12/19/2011. day #19, Alderbrook by Cecily Glowik MacDonald, completed in january 2011. i bought this yarn off of some random online broker, who ships amazing hand-dyed peruvian yarn at a fraction of the cost. i have no idea if it's really kosher or legit, which bothers me a bit... but then i look at some bulky, insane, eye-bleeding creation like this, and i'm just the happiest darned knitter this side of the mississippi.


oh, and meet dolores the yaris, the vehicle with the most-est when it comes to holiday travel. of course, she doesn't handle well in the snow, but we'll forgive her for that.




also, my super-talented man-friend, chris, got himself a new lens for christmas. he takes pretty pictures.

days #15, #16, and #17: 30 + 1 handknits...

the 30 + 1 handknits project passes the halfway point! hurrah! even more importantly, i celebrated my last day of work of 2011 yesterday. hallelujah! i love my job, but i am very excited to have two weeks of nothing but relaxation, puzzle completions, a little bit of traveling all over the midwest, and a dose of knitting and reading (for fun!). i'm currently typing this from my parents' kitchen table, where we just finished a dinner of homemade guacamole and lagunitas a little sumpin' sumpin' ale (delicious, by the way). i'm looking forward to our other family traditions, too, including bailey's in the coffee on christmas morning, boxes of turtles to share over christmas presents, and the muppets christmas record playing in the background.

have i mentioned lately that i love christmas? because i do. i really do. i also love vacation.

12/15/2011. day #15, Blush by Kessa Tay Anlin, completed august 2008. it was strangely 58 degrees when i woke up and went to the gym this morning, so i celebrated by wearing a lightweight little number. by that night? back down to 28 degrees. hello, winter, can you just come and stay a while?


also, those shoes were a $3 score from value world down the street from my house - i love their ugliness.

12/16/2011. day #16, Duchess Raglan by Cecily Glowik MacDonald, completed february 2010. i modified the original pattern with some arm cables in a bulky wool yarn over the course of a couple of days where i was sick as a dog. my plan was to create a cozy wool sweater, reminiscent of cooler nights at my grandparents' old cabin in canada, where we spent long, lazy summer vacations.


this was also the beginning of vacation and a drive up to chicago, so being comfy and cozy just seemed right.

two hours into vacation, and we found ourselves in a magical place - a place called three floyd's brewpub. man, that place is the best. burger with gorgonzola and bacon, washed down with two fantastic beers called big black van. really, that was the name of the beer.

12/17/2011. day #17, Lanesplitter by Tina Whitmore, completed november 2010. today was our huge family christmas party, and this seemed just festive enough (and just green enough) to be appropriate for the occasion. and look! we woke up this morning to SNOW - the first real snow i've seen this year!


my parents live in a very picturesque place anyway. can you believe this is the suburbs of chicago? chris also bought himself a new camera lens for christmas, making me look far better than i do in real life. well done, baby.




happy holidays, all!