knitting for fun

I come from a family of creators.

My dad has always been into woodworking of some sort and he has created many an awesome item.  In fact, my favorite piece of furniture happens to be the TV stand he made for me a few years ago.  Unfortunately with our very poorly planned out move, that piece of furniture was left behind in safe keeping, but I miss it.

My mom has always been trying new crafts and old crafts for as long as I can remember.  Always opting to make something handmade for presents instead of buying junk made by a factory.  I guess I get that mentality from her.  She's actually a pretty good quilter when she has the time to complete a project.  I'm still waiting for my lap quilt, but I know she'll get to it eventually.

My grandma's on both sides of my family were crafters of sorts, so I guess it just runs in my family.

I've tried quilting and it's just not my cup of tea.  Fabric costs a lot of money and you have to cut the material just so in order for the pieces to go together correctly.  I'm horrible at cutting material- so I'll leave that to the pros (including my mom, who sometimes farms out the cutting of fabric to my dad).  I've tried turning wood, like my dad does for pens, but have learned that I have a pretty severe allergy to "raw" wood.  My hands feel like they're on fire when I try to turn, so I'll also leave that to the pros (or just to my dad, he makes some pretty awesome stuff- but is also allergic to several species of wood that he uses). 

I did however learn to knit back in 2004 (if you look in the archives of this blog you can see some of my previous work).  Gonzo has learned that if he wants a knitted hat or scarf or something he can ask me and I'll figure out how to knit it for him.  A few months ago while out window shopping, he pointed to a very specific machine knit hat by a very famous designer and asked if I could knit something like it.  Since the offending hat cost over $500, I said of course...I often feel bad for people who don't know someone who knits.

While my version (below) isn't 100% the design of what we saw it was recognizable to Gonzo and it fits his head perfectly, so I'll call that a win.

(I'm the one wearing it in the picture, but it fits Gonzo's head better)

I'm noticing that when I am asked to knit something specific, I tend to take my sweet time doing it.  But if I just want to make it for someone I tend to get it done a little faster.  Example: Gonzo's socks.
I started them way back in September of 2012...I finished them in time for Christmas 2014, after having frogged what I had started in September of 2012: 

I managed to complete three other pairs of socks before I finished his.  I didn't actually take a picture of the socks I made for my mom before I gave them to her, so just imagine purple variegated striped socks- completed in time for Christmas 2013...    

My friend Jessica's socks completed in December 2013 (she didn't ask for them):

(pictured while still wet and in the blocking stage)

Jessica's mom Helen's socks, completed in January 2014 (she mentioned that she would like a pair of socks):

(also pictured while still wet and in the blocking stage)

But something is changing in how quickly I will be turning around knitted items.  I'm about to have a niece!  If she wants something it's going to be pushed to the front of the list.  Her mom, my sister-in-law, already requested a few items, which are nearly complete and will be sent as soon as they are finished.  I'll post pictures of the completed items once my brother receives them.  I have a few other surprise items in store for them that I hope my niece will like.

Oh, and I will be posting a pattern, once I knit it a few more times to make sure all of the kinks are worked out...I've searched far and wide and haven't seen a knitted version, only crochet...so I am working on correcting that.  Look in the near future for a Baby Groot pattern (if you've seen "Guardians of the Galaxy" then you know what I'm talking about).