what's your best of 2007?

you spend so much time reading other people's blogs. but how often do you look back on your own? that's the idea behind "best of 2007." inspired by a super creative food blogger, i've decided to host a similar event for knit bloggers. so take a stroll through your blog archives and share your own best of 2007 post. your post should highlight the very best that your blog had to offer this year. feel free to write about anything you like. here are a few thoughts to get you started. after you write your post, send a link to me and i'll post all the links here next february. don't have a knit blog yet? maybe 2008 will be the year you start one!

1. your best FO of the year

2. best FO of the year made by a blog you link to

3. best yarn you tried

4. best new book/mag/pattern of 2007

5. best new knitting technique or gadget you tried in 2007

6. top 5 inspirations--what five things inspired you the most over the past year?

7. designer who most amazed & inspired you throughout the year

8. knitting resolutions for 2008--what's next for you and your blog?

guidelines
* write your post by january 30, 2008. feel free to use my logo or create your own.
* in your post, include a link to this announcement.
* email me or leave a comment with the link to your post (click on the link in my sidebar) with the subject line "best of 2007."

merry chickmas

our annual chicks with sticks chickmas gift exchange was held the other night at javas. we all fawned over rudolph, made by the adorable adrianna (pictured at right). also here at left is chicks founder, knits & pieces blogger, small bird crafter, uber knitter and is there anything this chick can't do, jenna. in the middle is the ever-prepared binet. exactly how well prepared is binet? i give you exhibit A:


when i put out a desperate plea for the largest crochet hook in the land, binet casually produced one the size of a turkey baster, prompting furtive inquiries about whether or not it required batteries.


michelle's chief knitting assistant luke also attended the festivities to supervise the refreshments and test the durability of the christmas tree ornaments.


krazy jane rocked an entrelac headband knit by her secret santa.


i got two gorgeous beaded cuffs from jen.


here's jen in the purple, sitting next to kim.


all in all, a very merry chickmas. not even the $70 parking ticket i found stuck to my car when i got outside could change that.

fug or cute?

hearting hargreaves

don't you just love this girly shrug from kim hargreaves's new collection, heartfelt? the book features this charming quickie, knit from rowan biggy print, along with 20 other exquisitely executed designs.

wip: shaggi 2

here's another whack at a version of the fendi furry bag, based on a shag technique i read about over at the wonderful making things, using yarn from marcia. w00t!

word of the year?

am i the only person who hates this word?

the patron saint of bad hair days

this is jason. he is the kind of friend who will tell you that you have a poppy seed stuck in your front tooth. who will advise you that you absolutely, positively should not wear those shoes with that dress. who can spot a prada knock-off and VPLs at 40 paces. who will regale you with stories like the one about the client in the next chair who called a hand cream with dead sea minerals "dead semen rolls." and he will do it all while waving a pair of scissors within a quarter-inch of your right earlobe.

it's not enough to say the guy is a genius hairstylist. i liken his technique to a laying on of hands. it's practically a religious experience. anyone who can take frizzy, overprocessed hair and turn it into sleek, gisele waves is pretty much a god to me.

so, awhile back, when he commissioned me to knit him a vest, who was i to say no? especially when he agreed to pay for it with something far more valuable than mere money: free blowouts and haircuts.

lately, i've started to get the impression that jason is just a tad skeptical about my progress on the vest, what with all my recents posts on feathers and shaggi bags and UO cowls. lurk all you want, jason. i am so onto you.

oh ye of little faith.

[ahem.]

behold:

free pattern: XO UO cowl

my cozy, two-skein take on this great UO cowl. just the thing to tuck into today as the northeast gets socked in with the first big snowstorm of the season. i used two skeins of berroco hip hop i had in my stash, but you could use pretty much any bulky or super bulky. it would be scrumptious in rowan cocoon...if only i had some. (sigh.)

one size fits all.

materials
2 skeins hip hop berroco 100% wool varie #7255 red spyda
1 pair US 17 circular needles

gauge
8 sts and 12 rows = 4 inches

instructions
using US 17 needles and berroco hip hop, cast on 68 sts. join and place marker for beg of round, being careful not to twist. continue to knit in the round until cowl measures 13 inches or desired width. bind off all sts.

big head santa

nobody likes a skinny santa! or a pinhead santa, for that matter. i think this was designed to go over a motorcycle helmet. but it could fit just as easily over a ski helmet. or big hair. free pattern here.

craftland

i love this animated gif paper doll promoting a cool show in providence called craftland. seeing this sent me deep into the archives of the scary black hole that is my junk drawer.


behold bette in all her 1940s splendor. i guess paper dolls back then were a little more modest.