She has arrived...

Finally got some pictures taken of the Ice Queen.It's hard to take pics of myself in the guest bathroom mirror. (First I had to wash the mirror...)
I must have taken 30 different photos, and changed the camera's batteries 3 times.
This one shows how it started to wear a little thin:
"We are not amused."

And continuing in my "Masked Avenger" persona...

Pattern: Ice Queen, by Rosemary Hill
Yarn: Classic Elite Lace Mohair (Mohair/Wool, 196 yds, 1.5 oz) 1 ball, plus a little of another. (I didn't run out on the bind off, as Laurie predicted, but only because I had already run out with about an inch left to knit) (And I would like to try Kid Silk Haze someday, but this is what is available locally)
Needles: My favorite unknown-maker size 6. This is a circular needle that I've had for 25 years - all plastic, very pointy tips which are also a little bit flexible. I love this knitting needle, but have no idea where I got it or who made it)
Mods: I complete ignored the beads bit. I could only foresee whining if I tried to put in the beads, and I don't like beads anyway. Maybe if I knit this again someday, I'll dance with beads.

The Ice Queen Cometh..

But she's not here, yet. I'm casting off. And casting off, and casting off, and casting off. The Picot Cast-off is really pretty, but it's firmly in the PITA department. And not only do you cast off the cast-off edge, you have to go back and cast off where you cast on! (You start with a provisional cast-on.) Holy picots!
I'd take a photo, but it looks like every other blob of knit mohair lace. I'm sure if you just google "lace blob," you'll see a thousand pictures of it. And since I skipped the beads part, it looks even less fancy than an Ice Queen should.
I got Poinsettia blocked just in time - it was -14 here this morning. It's still a bit scratchy, but the warmth was truly appreciated!

So, back to the picots. I started knitting Ice Queen as a way of avoiding weaving in all those ends on Annemor 10. It's been very effective so far.

We have Poinsettia!

I have no idea why I always type that "Poinsettie" and then have to go back and correct it...

So, anyway, I finished Poinsettia. Not blocked yet - our pipes froze AGAIN, and when you're melting snow for water, it's kind of hard to justify using any for soaking a cowl. (We're finally thawed again. Argh. I'll get to the blocking soon!)

I edited my nostrils out of this shot. Be glad.


Pattern: Poinsettia by Anne Hanson
Yarn: Plymouth Galway (I think - I can't find the ball band now. Lovely yarn. Purple with lots of little blips in red, blue, and cream.)
Needles: I used a size 3, rather than the size 4 called for. I still could have gone a size smaller. I'm a very loose knitter.
Mods: None, other than needle size.
The yarn isn't as soft as I'd like, but I think it'll soften up with a good blocking. Love love love the color!



And I may pursue a new career as a Masked Avenger!

Ooops. I accidentally cast on Poinsettia...

And I might have accidentally knit a few rows. Maybe a repeat or two of the lace pattern. I've really got to pay more attention to those fingers of mine.


In my defense, I did finish the fingers on Annemor 10. Just have the thumbs to go!


So, obviously I deserved to cast on something new. And I really really need a purple cowl.

After all, it's cold up here!

This is the same view as this, only without the snowstorm...

By the way, I just went to check - tomorrow is my 1st blogiversary! Will I post? Will I not? Only time will tell...

Lazy blogger finally remembers to post...

Somehow that final countdown to Christmas, followed by travel, followed by guests for New Year's Eve, followed by New Year's Day with its all-time-low on the energy scale... Well, now that the dust has settled a bit (the resident dust rhinos are currently whooping it up in all the corners and under the furniture), just maybe I can get things back on track.
I finished a second Crofter's Cowl out of that skein of Blue Fog Nature Spun. I won't bother taking another picture. Just back up a couple of entries to here if you're curious. Absolutely freakin' identical... That was my traveling knitting for going to my Dad's house.
I didn't finish the second pair of Fiber Trends clogs. They were meant to be for Madman for Christmas (not the first time he's unwrapped a lumpy package complete with knitting needles...), but I ran out of yarn at the eleventh hour. I had planned to run down to the LYS to get more this morning (my only chance to go until next week), but when we woke up this morning we found that the pipes had frozen in the well-below-zero temps, so plans had to be changed.
I had to run to the coffee shop for coffee (where I got my first senior citizen's discount EVER. I'm still not sure how I feel about that. Fifty-five is not old.) then swung by the grocery store to pick up some gallons of water, and to the feed store to get some chicken feed. I'm currently thawing out the chicken's waterer on top the stove.

I hate winter.
At least I didn't have to be in to work early this morning. I would have had to brush my teeth with wine leftover from New Year's Eve...

Another finished object

Finished the Crofter's Cowl. Pattern is by Gudrun Johnston at The Shetland Trader. This was a great easy knit. The lace pattern was simple and easy to memorize - one run-through and I didn't have to look at the chart again. The grafting wasn't as bad as you would think - but then again, I've never had a problem with grafting.This picture shows the color really well, but the lace is hard to see...
On the other hand, this one shows the lace off really well, but the color is way too dark.

Pattern: Crofter's Cowl by Gudrun Johnston (The Shetland Trader) (pattern is on the sidebar as a free download)
Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun - (245 yards/100gms) Blue Fog - I used maybe half the skein. I'm thinking of knitting another one with the leftovers, so that will tell the tale
Needles: Size 8 circs
Mods: None. I actually followed the pattern as written. (Yeah, yeah, I think it's a miracle, too)

I'm very happy with this. I want one for myself, now. Maybe in purple...

Though I'd be a lot happier if I had remembered last night that I had put this in to soak so I could block it. The plan was to let it dry overnight and ship it today. Unfortunately, I went off to bed, completely forgetting the fact that it was still sitting in a bowl of water.
Crap.
Another day behind.