Neko in da 'Hood

I had several friends on Facebook ask me to get some pictures of Neko in his sweater with the hood up, so while Ken held him, I took some pictures.  As you can see, he is not happy. He will probably never be a Bronco fan now.

Neko and the Denver Broncos. Orange is the new black

"Someone needs to take her knitting needles away!" Neko

I love football. I have been a pro football fan my entire life since my dad cheers for the Vikings. And of course, living in Colorado in a southern suburb of Denver, I am a big Bronco fan.

And this year (in case you didn't know), the Denver Broncos are in the Super Bowl for the 7th time (have won twice, and hopefully once more this year). I believe I have watched every Super Bowl game since the 1970's and unknown other games throughout the years, and have knitted my way through most of them.

"I am so humiliated."

So this year, I decided Neko needed a Super Bowl sweater in Bronco orange and blue. I used this pattern from Kristin Roach (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cat-hoodie) as a model. I knew I didn't need to make it very sturdy because there is no way my mean little cat will be happy with anything I make!

So here he is modeling his sweater. I just don't understand why he doesn't like it. It is made with love and warm in mind. And it has a hood! I also told him that orange is the new black. He is not amused.

"There will be blood." Neko

"Take it off or I am going to become a Seahawks fan.
Hawks are tastier than horses anyway." Neko

"Maybe if I slink away, the sweater won't go with me."

Regina Hat - What a Fun Pattern!

This pattern has been on my "to-do" for some time, and I finally got around to doing it. That's what play off footballs games are for, right? -- especially since our Denver Broncos are now in the Superbowl. Not only was it a very fun pattern to do, it fits beautifully! (My head is bigger than the fake head) I especially loved the I-cord at the beginning of the band and creating the fan. Once the body of the hat is added, it is a great 'take-along' project for the knitting bag that travels with me everywhere.

What is really cool about this pattern is that it can be used with several different weights of yarn and size needles. It is fitted by measurement, not by the number of stitches. So I am going to try next to the use a fingering yarn and see how that turns out.

So if you want a little adventure, try this creation by Carina Spencer. It is worth it.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/regina-9

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/regina-2

Deep Freeze

A good part of our nation is below freezing including Colorado. Our temperatures are only (only?) in the low 20's, while many areas in the country are below zero. The good news is that Ken and I have nowhere to go and nowhere we have to be until Monday morning. I am cuddled under my afghan with my kitty in my nap, felted slippers on my feet, hot coffee to drink, bagel and cream cream to eat, and needles in my hands. Soon the football games will start on TV and I will be watching, glad that I am at home and not at a stadium where the temperatures will reach -50 below with wind temperatures.

I am working on a scarf in the Mirasol Nuna yarn I got with my gift certificate and it is turning out beautifully.  The pattern is on Ravelry at http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/leaf-scarf-8.

Whenever I check in on Ravelry, I always notice how many people are on at that time.  Although this is not by any means scientific, it appears tat there are about twice as many people online today than any other day that I have checked.  I guess many others are home and knitting today as well!

I'll post pictures of my scarf when I am done.

Back to the needles.

My Beautiful Fingerless Glove!

I recently showed the yarn I purchased with the gift certificate that my boss gave me. Well, I have finished the first project from that haul and I love them! That are surprisingly warm which helps in my new office because it is pretty cold in there.

I used the pale pink yarn (Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK - 2 skeins. Pale Pink).  The pattern is from the Unofficial Downton Abbey Knits magazine, so I will not be sharing the pattern. However, I love this magazine, so you might want to check it out anyway.  I plan to also make the felted hat and the stocking cap/scarf. I also have my eye on a few of the sweaters so stay tuned.

If you want to check out the magazine on Ravelry, go to: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/the-unofficial-downton-abbey-knits.

I put my fingerless on my Ravelry page at: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/KniceKnitties/half-day-off-mitts 

I am off to work on a scarf using the navy blue yarn for that haul. I will put it up once I finished in it. 

Back to the needles.

Happy New Year!

Why are you dragging me into this?

It is 2014. I hope this coming year brings you happiness and love.

When you think about it, New Year's Day is actually our only worldwide holiday. Other holidays involve specific religions (Christmas, Easter, Passover) or your specific nation (Independence Day, Thanksgiving), or even cultural (Valentine's Day). But all people, nations and cultures acknowledge and celebrate New Year's Day.

I was up early this morning. As I drink my coffee looking over the cold snowy valley below my windows, I realize that I am alone this morning but not lonely. The snow contains the comings and goings footprints of the deer and foxes who passed through my valley last night. I wonder where they are this morning. Are they safe? Warm? Did they find what they were looking for?

New Year's Day feels different than other holidays. It doesn't have the anticipation of the coming day such as Thanksgiving or the 4th of July. It doesn't have the celebrating of Christmas with opening gifts or playing with new presents. It is quiet because holiday is basically behind us. Maybe it is because some people are still "sleeping it off." Others are just sleeping in because they have the day off. Some even have to clean up from the party the night before.  So we can take a minute to pause (or paws in Neko's case). We look back at the last year and look forward to what is to come.

Actually 2013 was a good year for us:

My family and I all made it through healthy. I would like to lose weight but I know enough not to try to make any resolutions. Just try.

We're not in the poor house yet. We don't seem to have a lot of money, but we realize that we don't need much right now, so we'll be okay.

We worked hard on some causes that were important to us with some success.

I got a new job that I am very happy with and it looks like it will be around for awhile (even though it leaves less time for knitting).

My sons are starting to figure out how to succeed in this new type of economy. One is moving to Los Angeles and the other is going back to school.

Most importantly, I have enough yarn to last me for the next several years!

Back to the needles.