Hand Warmers and Filipino Lumpia

I managed to knit something for myself this week; I've never done that before. My first "ME" project was a set of pink hand warmers. I needed something to keep my hands warm while I knit, but that would not get in the way of my knitting and so these hand warmers were born.

They have an awesome XOX Cable down the back.

I put little hearts on the palms. I'm thinking about making that a signature on all of my stuff.

In my endless quest to be "super-girlfriend" I spent the past few days cooking Richard all kinds of Filipino food. He was very excited. I made tamarind soup, sponge cakes, and lumpia.

Richard helped my roll the lumpia.He actually reminded me of my brother during our cooking adventures; because my brother always has specific feedback and directions for my mom when she makes spaghetti, which is his favorite meal and that is exactly what Richard did while I was making his favorites. I tried to take it all in, but i think we might have to have a couple more trial runs before I get it right.

Back to yarn; I went home on Thursday and I got my first yarn wholesale samples. I was elated.
I also got to visit my sister at her work. She looks so adorable in her uniform. She is growing up so fast! And she makes a mean milkshake - Thanks Moo!
I started designing business cards, but of course after feedback from some trusted friends and family I have to completely redesign them. No pictures yet. I'm having trouble determining my title. I put "Owner" originally. My dad suggested I put the title "President" on my cards. This made me laugh because I am the whole company. I looked at him and said "President of what? My living room?" He laughed too. I know he has a point, I'm just not sure which title is right.

Finished Max's Blanket and Alex's Scarf

I finished Max's Baby Blanket today. It's so sweet and it came out even better than the first one I knit. Here it is:
It's really big, so it's difficult to see the detail of the basket weave and the seed stitch border. Here are some close up shots:
The color is a bit darker than the photos show. It's even more beautiful in person. I also knit Alex a scarf awhile back, and I thought I would post it for you to see.They both posed so nicely. They will do anything for cookies. I will be knitting Alex a matching sweater and April will get a snood very soon.

In other news, I got my EIN today. It's my first official step towards getting this business up and running. I also bought my domain name and I am setting up e-mail and forwarding for it right now. Barring any unforeseen disaster, debonairechicago.com should be up and running in a few days.

Bike Helmet Earmuff Insert for Richard

Today I knit Richard earmuff inserts to wear when he goes cycling in the cold weather. It was inspired by a photo I found of a similar insert and it came out beautifully. It was nice to have a chance to do something sweet for Richard, because he is always so sweet to me. Here's how it came out:
It actually is an insert for the helmet so it's all ready for him. He just puts his helmet on like usual and he's good to go.
He was really excited and he plans to test it out tomorrow on a bike ride with Jim.

In other news, my knitting supervisors (Alex and April) have taken up a new form of exercise; they like to run on our treadmill. It's actually surprisingly effective and super cute to watch. I will post pictures soon.

Finished Legwarmers

I finished Justin's legwarmers!!!! I was pretty down to the wire with this project, I was doing all of the finishing literally a half hour before I had to walk out the door to see his performance. It was a little stressful, but they turned out beautiful and his performance was stellar.
Here are the finished leg warmers:They were quite cozy. I tried them on and I have to admit I was a little jealous. I wrapped them in this cool gift box I bought from Target:

I love those boxes. In other news, I knitted an additional 6 inches of length onto Max's baby blanket today. It's more than 2/3 of the way done and looking fabulous.

Justin's Legwarmers WIP

I am rushing to finish the legwarmers I have been knitting for Justin all week. They're almost done! This is my first time knitting in the round with a circular needle, and it took me two cast-ons and 1 frog to get it right. Here's their current progress:


They look great and I can't wait to post more pictures when they're complete. The performance is tomorrow and the heat is on!

Max's Blanket Progress and Some Long-Overdue Introductions

I got another night off work tonight, and so I am happily knitting away in front of some CSI episodes. Max's blanket is knitting up well; here is the current status:
I am using Berroco Comfort Worsted Weight Yarn in the color Agean Sea (9753). It's a touch darker than the picture shows, and it's so easy to work with. It displays my stitches neatly and it's machine washable, a HUGE must for baby blankets.

Speaking of yarn, Richard noticed my stash is getting a bit large for a girl who keeps stating she doesn't have the right yarn for a project. I took a couple pictures to share. I am hoping he realizes my yarn stash only takes a fraction of the space in our living room that his bicycle does.
The evidence:
My Yarn Stash-As you can clearly see, it is all condensed in one tiny basket next to my knitting chair.
For comparison, Richard's Bicycle:It takes up an entire wall in our living room and it's supposed to be stored in the basement. I rest my case.

Back to knitting. The pattern I've been using to make these baby blankets is the Basket Weave Baby Blanket pattern inside Kris Percival's Knit Knack Kit. I love love love her kit; the cards are portable and the patterns are really easy to understand. She captures simplicity in her patterns and the results are beautiful knits. Her kit looks like this:

It's fabulous and everyone should buy one.

Speaking of everyone, I thought I would take this opportunity to introduce my knitting supervisors:

Alex is a 2 year old min pin/ mini doxie mix.

He likes to play fetch and sleep on my lap while I knit.

And this is his assistant, April. She's 1 year old and a pure breed mini doxie.
She likes to chew on rawhides and chase Alex. She also sleeps on my lap while I knit.
Time to report back to my knitting. I will post more progress soon.

Knit Night 1- Erin and Kate

We had our first Knit Night last night and it was SO fun! Erin brought salad and cookies and I provided the pizza and wine.
We drank Parducci's Sustainable Red:It's a fabulous medium-bodied blend that pairs well with cheese, red meat, pasta, chocolate, etc. You can pick it up at Whole Foods for $11.

After our feast, I settled into my knitting chair and Erin hopped online to try some patterns. She crocheted two adorable hearts.

Erin made them so quickly she moved on to a snake scarf project. She settled onto the couch and the dogs snuggled together at her feet.
They just love Erin.

I spent the evening casting on and working on Max's baby blanket. Here's my progress so far:
It's coming along nicely. There's something so peaceful about the two of us quietly knitting together; it was a lot of fun. Our first Knit Night was a success.

Finished Projects and Fresh Starts

I finished the basket weave baby blanket and the matching booties and finally packed them up to ship them to L.A. today. They turned out fabulously. There's something about baby booties that is just so adorable. And I love that I could give their daughter her first pair of fabulous shoes made just for her. Shoes are important in a girls' life.
First, the finished blanket (not the clearest picture, sorry!):More blanket views:And the booties in their handmade box:
I am very proud to say I made the box out of paper. I was a little skeptical when I first heard about how to do it; I thought it would feel and look cheap. However, after trying it I have found that making the box out of paper adds a charming touch and I can't wait to experiment with new patterns and colors!
I boxed it up and topped it off with a handwritten note.

So I will send it to L.A. this week and hopefully they will get it before she delivers.

Yesterday was National Boss Day, so I got my boss a fabulous musical card (It said "When you boss 'em, you're awesome" and it played the song "Unbelievable") and knit him up some beer cozies. He was amused and appreciative that I used 49ers colors. I did not have time to photograph them before I wrapped them up and took them to work, (sorry!) but they were very cute.

Also yesterday, my fabulous friend Justin gave me two free tickets to see his dance company perform at the Athenaeum on Sunday the 26th. To show my appreciation I'm going to knit him some leg warmers. I hope he likes them, I picked out his favorite colors. I know you're supposed to give flowers to dancers but I just feel so lost picking out flowers for a guy. I don't think there exists any MAN-LY flowers. I will keep you posted on that.

Today my friend Erin is coming over to knit and have dinner with me. I will begin on the legwarmers and probably start casting on the baby blanket for Anne's baby boy as well. I will post pictures of our knit night soon.

Baby Blanket and Booties

I have a whole bunch of pregnant friends right now, all of whom are due around the same time this fall. My current project is to knit a basket weave baby blanket and matching booties to send to my friend Sam in L.A. She is having a baby girl later this month and I really want her to have something made especially for her daughter. As I knit this blanket, I think about who her daughter might grow up to be and how much love she'll receive in the years ahead. I am not a very religious person, but I do hope that the loving thoughts, hopes, and dreams I have for her sweet baby girl are woven into her blanket as I knit along.

Baby blankets have a special place in my heart, not only because they keep baby warm, but because they remind me of the security a blanket can bring to a child. My blanket never left my side for the first four years of my life (except when my mom would sneak it into the wash as I slept). I would carry it everywhere I went, suck on it, poke my fingers through the loops, wrap myself in it and wrap my favorite stuffed animals in it. That blanket was a comfort to me, and by the time my mother put it in my memory box, it was showing quite a bit of wear. I wish the same fate to this baby blanket: I hope it brings her warmth and security and many years of snuggles. I hope it is as special to her child as mine was to me.

Here is my current progress on the basket weave blanket:I think the basket weave with the seed stitch border is just darling. I am hoping to finish it tonight and begin progress on the matching booties.

Just for fun, here's my baby blanket from my childhood: