Knit Picky: November 2004

"properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit...
and it doesn't hurt the untroubled spirit either."
~elizabeth zimmerman

Monday, November 29, 2004
2 comments

Holy Mother of....mamas!*

Where did my long weekend go?? It looked like this, as it sped by: ZZZZZZZZIIIIIIPPPPPPPPPPP.

Thursday was Thanksgiving with The Boy's family. Thanksgiving night we drove to [my] parents' house. Friday (dubbed by the family as 'Big Belly Day') we were to have a second Thanksgiving meal. Never happened. Ate leftovers. Mostly pie. Mmmm, banana cream pie.

Saturday we hauled ourselves back home so that The Boy could go to the USC/Notre Dame game. My Saturday? Errand-running, shopping and being Ms. Crankypants, esq. I won't go into the details, but there are certain times in a girl's life when she is just plain stinkin' cranky and there ain't nothing that helps. Except maybe obscene amounts of Pop Tarts, Cherry Soda and M&Ms. Yes, that was dinner. What about it!?

Oh yeah, and I rented and watched the entire first season of Curb Your Enthusiasm--hi-larious! I loved it. Must get on DVD!

Sunday I had friends coming over. Knitter friends. Yay! And I was making turkey chili. From scratch. In the crock pot. You really should bow down in awe of my mad homemakin' skillz. They don't come out to play often. The Boy and I were up by 10 (yay for sleeping in!) so that the apartment could be mopped and vaccuumed and ready for company. Then 2 of my friends came over so that we could eat, and knit, and watch chick movies, and eat.

I did have a productive Christmas knitting weekend. I made the sleep mask from Knitty (looooove the Touch Me!) in a gorgeously rich purple--and I have plenty of yarn left to make myself one. Yippee! I made a scarf for The Boy's best friend out of Plymouth's Alpaca Boucle (3 skeins) in a charcoal/black color. It's almost 6' long, just plain old garter stitch. He recently moved to Israel, and I'm sure it must get cold there, right? And I made that black skinny scarf for my 16-year-old cousin out of FFF's Over #4188 (a microchic replacement yarn). I just need to fringe it, and we're good to go.

We watched Chocolat, Don Juan de Marco [sigh--Johnny Depp, oh how we love thee], Two Weeks' Notice, and Desperate Housewives while we knitted and munched on goodies brought by the other two girls, M&Ms (left over from my Saturday binge), Cheez-its (THE snack cracker of choice in my household), and--finally--the yummy chili dinner, served with sour cream, chopped onion and shredded cheddar. Both of my guests had never had chili with sour cream. Have you ever heard of such an oversight?? CRAZY!

All in all, it was a good weekend. To quote one of my coworkers, though, "It was a nice four day weekend, but I need another 40 more!" I hear ya, sister!

*A quasi-expletive shouted out by one of my two knitterly friends when I accidentally knocked the remote control off the couch onto the linoleum floor. I thought she was going to have a heart attack!

Wednesday, November 24, 2004
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Wanna Go Home!

Actually, I'm not going home for a loooong time, but I AM going to do something fun in a couple of hours. I'm going to go knit at my LYS for a good long time. With some of my favorite knitterly people. Today is my teacher's last day at the shop, so it's our last chance to knit together (and, for me to pick her brain for how to seam my child's poncho--only 6 rows to go and the knitting is D-O-N-E).

Our company closes at 1 p.m. today, so I'm only about 1-1/2 hours from freedom. How much work have I accomplished today, you ask? Er, pretty much none. It's the lure of a four day weekend, people! It's hard to stay motivated or on track!

It looks like I might be keeping the scarf I knit for my aunt on Sunday. It's using Lion Brand's WoolEase in a camel color and Paton's Mosaic. I think it's too funky for my aunt, and was going to give it to my cousin. But The Boy thinks that my cousin won't like it because she's 'too cool' for these colors (she's 16, he may have a point). So he thinks I should keep it for myself. Considering that on Sunday when I was freezing I realized that I have never made myself a scarf, this might not be a bad idea. The scarf is squooshy and soft. I knit it up in a waffle stitch pattern (YOs and K2togs), so it is sort of airy and angled looking, but it's warm and cozy. Selfish me! Keeping something knit during the holiday season.

I guess I'll get my cousin something that she's more likely to wear. Like Splash. In black. Every teen likes black, right?

Well, I hope you all have a marvelous turkey day and a nice long weekend--I hope you get the long weekend!

Be thankful. Be knitterly. Remember how much you love those around you, even if they are bugging the crap out of you!

Tuesday, November 23, 2004
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Urgh! Ack! Argh!

Only (look to the right) 32 knitting days till Christimas. GAH!

Sometimes I look at my spreadsheet (how else would I MANAGE all this?!) and I think I can do this; it'll work out. And then the rational, realistic part of me points and laughs at the--clearly delusional--side.

How on earth am I going to finish this?? Here's the list of what remains to be done, heaven help me:

*2-1/2 children's ponchos for my little sisters

*3 more reverse bloom flower washcloths for various and sundry friends and relatives (as if the first four weren't work enough)

*Irish Hiking scarf in Alpaca for my stepdad (yes I joined the knitalong, and no I haven't actually knit yet)

*scarf for my dad that will include my first foray into intarsia using this pattern (what are you laughing at?? I'm sure I can learn an entirely new technique and implement it without fail in a couple of weeks--oh wait, I still have to learn to cable for the Irish Hiking Scarf, too... . [sob])

*Knitty sleep mask in Touch Me for a dear friend (I started this one, and knit half of it on 6s instead of 5s, constantly telling myself that the increased size would barely be noticeable. I finally ripped it out two days later when it became clear that lying to myself would not change the final outcome)

*4 other assorted scarves

*Plain garter scarf for The Boy's best friend

So...am I nuts or what??

***P.S. In good knitterly news, the Kitty Hat is done, and received rave reviews at the LYS. I've been asked to bring it in tomorrow night so that they can take a picture of me wearing it.***

Friday, November 19, 2004
1 comments

From Bad To Worse

Holy moly. Now I find out that the lady who has--quite literally--taught me everything I know about knitting isn't even staying through to the 12/10 closing. So I have to finish (or pretty darn close) my little sister's poncho by TOMORROW a.m. so that she can teach me how to seam it. Yikes!

In good news, the kitty hat lacks only ears--and I think I can get those done shortly. We are soooo close to an FO here, people! I was talking to another lady from my LYS today and she said that she found a sock pattern for pink ribbons, and she immediately thought of me (because I started the pink scarves for October in my LYS), so she'll be giving me that tomorrow. How nice!

Well, I'm off to knit, knit, knit. Talk to y'all Monday.

Thursday, November 18, 2004
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I Am A Sad Girl

Kitty Hat is going well. Finished the decreases and it makes a nice, soft hat all on it's own. I finished the earflap on one side (fourth time was the charm), and am working on the I-cord--my first time doing I-cord. Not nearly as hard as I thought!

But what I'm sad about is that my LYS--The Knitty Gritty in Anaheim--is definitively closing. They were trying to sell it, and had a few possible buyers, but found out today that it didn't work out, and the doors will close on Dec. 10th.

This makes me sad for a number of reasons. First, this is where I learned to knit in February, so it holds a lot of sentimentality for me for that reason. Secondly, I don't really know anyone down here in the OC (I'm really more of a life-long Valley girl, moved down here last year for work). This was my first and strongest group of friends here.

Third, I rely on the knowledge base of some of the ladies in the shop. They are genuinely wonderful people, and I just don't know how much we'll see each other once the shop closes. Fourth, I spend A LOT of time in the shop. I'm there at least 2x a week, to hang out and gossip, to get assistance, to get ideas, to play with the yarn. Fifth, there aren't any other shops nearby like this. I've checked out the other yarn places near me, but that's all they are--yarn places. The closest I have come to the kind of camaraderie and humor is Unwind, in Burbank, which is about 40 miles away--a bit far for me to drive on a weekday when I have to work!

The other places near me (I'm in Anaheim) seem to be more like industrial parks with a small yarn supply--not a dedicated shop. I can go to Skein in Pasadena, or Unwind, or Stitch Cafe (Valley Village), or Los Alamitos Bay Yarn Co, but due to driving distance, these are weekend expeditions. And more than likely just expeditions, not a place to hang out or chat since I do have to drive back home!

I know, I know, I'm being incredibly selfish. I know that Tracey (owner of TKG) has done her best to sell the shop, because she loves it for all the reasons I do and many more. I know that she has her reasons for closing, and I respect them. I just wish things could be different. Or that I had a couple hundred grand to spend on a yarn shop!

Anyone local have other suggestions so that I don't feel so lost? Other places where I can get this same kind of support group/circle of friends? Pleasepleaseplease?!?! Aw, well....

Wednesday, November 17, 2004
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You Know How People Always Complain About Stockinette?

Well, they obviously haven't tried it using Rowan's All Season's Cotton. Yowza! This stuff is a *treat* to work with. It comes out so soft and perfect. And I can watch TV at the same time--without looking at my hands--because it's an easy stitch. :)

The pattern in the Stitch 'n Bitch book (Official Kittyville Hat) called for 3 skeins of Mission Falls Wool. When I transitioned to the cotton, I also bought 3 skeins of the Rowan.

I can't for the life of me see how I will need 3 full skeins. I'd honestly be surprised to use more than 2. I'm working the decrease rows now, and I'm down to a couple of yards of the first skein. So I'll switch to skein #2 to finish the decreases and add the kitty parts, but I think I'm going to have a significant amount left over. YAY! A beanie for me out of the goshdarndest softest cotton I've ever run across. Love it!

Tuesday, November 16, 2004
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Funny, She Doesn't Look Flu-ish

I seem to have caught the same icky malaise that is torturing JenLa, consisting of general uckiness, and an inability to move much if not absolutely necessary. Maybe it's something unique to the LA area? Dunno.

I'm thinking it's not so good when you go to the doctor because you've had "flu-like symptoms" for two weeks, and your diagnosis is: "Yep; it's probably something viral. Hopefully you'll feel better in a couple of weeks." Greeeeaaat.

For the time being, I'm trying to squeeze in some knitting. You know, in between naps. I'm currently working on the Kittyville hat in Rowan's All Season's Cotton (blackcurrant) and just finished the seed stitch hatband (finished at the doc's office, actually). I also have Sally Melville's children's poncho on needles. I'm a little less than halfway through the first rectangle of two for the first poncho. Good thing I'm only doing three ponchos for Christmas, huh?! Urgh...I am insane.

Christmas knitting. HA! I laugh at thee!

And beg thee for mercy.

Wednesday, November 10, 2004
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In The Spirit Of Ms. McYarnpants

This post is practically non-knitting-related (although I can't say the same about snark content). If you stick with me, though, I promise some sort of knitting content. Sort of. I'll get to it eventually. I do think it'll be entertaining nonetheless. {Note: you can click on any of the pictures for larger images}

On Saturday my mother gave me this fabulous book, circa 1969.

The title is a little cut off, but it's the Better Homes & Gardens Guide to Entertaining. It was my grandmother's, and she was probably deadly serious about it in 1969 and the early '70s. She was an uber-hostess. Can you see the fabulous '60s decorated home on the cover there? Ah, those were the days...

Who is this book geared toward, you might ask. Well, the thoughtful editors of BH&G address that in the introduction to the book.

Who wants or needs a book about entertaining? The hostess who believes that she must show consideration for her guests--the hostess who accepts that the guest's enjoyment is more important than her own--the one who wants her family and friends and her husband's business acquaintances to accept her as a thoughtful, considerate, imaginative hostess--she is the one who wants a guide to entertaining.

Ah. Thank you. Now, moving right along...

This guide is chock-full of useful information such as: Planning A Party, Party Themes, Special Situation Entertaining, Entertaining Etiquette and Party Games. Full of gastronomic wonders, decorating tips, classy homes, and hints for keeping guests occupied (not to give too much away, but how about a game of miniature ten-pin bowling?), BH&G's Guide to Entertaining is clearly a jewel among books of its type.

While the section on table settings--replete with diagrams for food placement--are interesting, it is the centerpieces and party foods that have captured my imagination and interest.

***

Let's start with food, shall we? First up is a very heart-healthy option. Cake with 7 lbs. of butter as a garnish.

Hmm, maybe the cake is the garnish for the bowl of butter balls?

***

Next we have this...thing that I like to call WTF?? EWWWW!!

Let's deconstruct this one, 'kay? It seems to consist of some kind of creamed meat in the shape of a bundt cake. Inside are huge quantities of peas and the occasional mushroom. And the piece de resistance appears to be apricot halves and parsley. Dig in!

***

On to decorating.

I call this little lovely Hair, Ham & Horror.

The horror could refer to the hair or the ham, couldn't it? Our hostess, little Mrs. Happy Housewife, has quite the bouffant 'do there, doesn't she? And check out the goodies on offer: a very fatty looking ham, green jello with what appear to be halves of apples or possibly cucumbers floating around in there. [I understand that this is de rigeur in parts of the Midwest, but I'm sorry--I'm a California girl through and through, and it is just wrong to put vegetables inside of jello.] It also looks like Waldorf Salad, and possibly a cheeseball in the background, there. Ooh, and who wouldn't love 3' cubes with fake candles in them hanging from the ceiling of their faux sports-lodge home? Do you think she has deer antlers on the wall somewhere? Yeah, me too.

***

But wait! There's more!

This one actually isn't too horrible. Except for the centerpiece of plumbing fixtures, that is.

Don't you think the caption just about says it all? The unique and daring, indeed...

***

This photo appears in the section 'Special Situation Entertaining'. How better to subdivide for a dinner party in a small home than to put up giant chartreuse drapes on a track?

By the way, I think that the artist who did that painting went on to great things, don't you? What an eye!

***

I think that this is one of my favorites. I call it: As If Clowns Aren't Scary Enough

BH&G recommends creating novel and unique centerpieces to set yourself apart from all the other inconsiderate hostesses out there. I guess these would be the women who don't give a damn what their husbands' business acquaintances think of them. These stellar women can take 'variety store circus figures', carnations, plastic shavings, food coloring and shaving cream and create this bit of fabulosity:

***

Tired of Boy or Girl Scouts hounding you to buy things from them? Just run them over with a steamroller, and they make simply charming table decorations.

***

And finally, the quasi-knitting content. Look at what an entrepreneurial woman can do with a swift, some yarn, and some candles.

If I see this at the next party I go to, I'll know where it came from!

***

Well, that's it for our trip through entertaining in 1969. Thanks for joining me. Maybe some day I'll relay some of the truly amazing recipes in my treasured book. Something like Water Chestnuts With Chicken Livers, or Beet-Herring Salad. Mmm-mmm.

Tuesday, November 09, 2004
2 comments

I Am A Lucky Girl

Today I walked into my cubicle and there were 3 skeins of Paton's yarn on my chair.

They are: (from top to bottom) Paton's Cha Cha in Hippie, Paton's Allure in Mink, and Paton's Cha Cha in Jazz.

Hmmm. Where did those come from? I spent a few minutes contemplating the possibilities before it occurred to me that my yarn fairy was probably this very nice woman that I work with. We've gotten friendly over the last couple of months, and she knows that I knit.

It was indeed she that gifted me with the three little pretties. Isn't that thoughtful?! Apparently she was out with her husband passing through Chinatown and she saw these yarns in a shop and thought of me! So she said she picked out the three prettiest and bought them for me. I feel so special. :)

I'm not a big fan of a lot of the Michael's/Joann's types of yarns (I know that there are acrylic lovers out there, and I know that acrylic has its practical applications, but I don't like the feel of it, or how it squeaks on the needles--sorry!), but I do like both Lion Brand's WoolEase and MicroSpun, and Paton's yarns. The WoolEase is almost identical in composition (or maybe even identical) to Plymouth Encore, and about half as expensive (although I find less color offerings available in the WoolEase). The Patons are all synthetics--not my favorites--BUT I find them all so soft and squooshy, that their synthetic-ness is forgiven.

What's more, last night I went to Hancock Fabrics for some WoolEase to go with the Paton's Mosaic for my aunt's scarf, and found these:

Top to bottom, they are WoolEase Camel, and WoolEase Mushroom. I didn't have the Mosaic with me, so I got one of each, figuring that one would have to work with the browns in the Mosaic. Well the Camel was perfect, so I was all set to return the Mushroom, until I saw the offerings in my chair today. Mushroom is going to look GREAT with the Hippie Paton's Cha Cha. What a lovely knitty thing to happen to me! I'm so excited to see how they work with other yarns I have in my stash for Christmas gifts.

Monday, November 08, 2004
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The Holidays Are Coming! The Holidays Are Coming!

Yes, I've even added a countdown to my sidebar to keep me on track. As I have mentioned once before, I have developed that sickness that undoubtedly afflicts many new knitters: knitting outlandish numbers of gifts for (in my case) Christmas. To give you a visual of how this is going, imagine that the number of knitting days I have left until Christmas was this*:

In proportion, the number of gifts I have to knit in that amount of time would be this**:

So, you see my dilemma, right?

Fortunately this weekend saw the completion of two gifties: the fourth Reverse Bloom Flower Washcloth (only 2 to go--gah!) and a roll brim hat for my mom to match the scarf I gave her for Mother's Day (I post this knowing full well that my mother has never read this blog. With my luck, today's the day she will start.)

I cast on and knit about a dozen rows of a scarf for my aunt in Paton's Mosaic--nice sheen to the yarn, very soft (color 12008, Pottery). I started knitting away on 13s, and then paused to look. I think that this yarn calls for a smaller needle, sadly--sadly because it will not go nearly as fast on 8s or 9s! Also I'm thinking about holding it together with Encore in a taupey brown color to give it more body. We shall see.

I also cast on a hat (London Beanie) for my brother-in-law in Encore, charcoal gray with red stripes. Simple and hip. He wears all skater style clothes (he's 27), so I figure that he'll like this.

Oh, and I gave K to my little sis Rachel on Saturday. I think she really liked it! She wore it to the movies and showed it off--success! Of course every time she took it off I put it on (it really is a great little hat), so that probably unfairly kept her focused on it. And that thought never once crossed my mind. Nope. Not once.

Anyway, here's a picture of my little sister Rachel wearing the hat, posing with her best friend Michelle***.

*Picture from an automotive site
**Picture from Google images
**Sorry for the quality; image taken with picture phone

Friday, November 05, 2004
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K Is Done!

K is all neatly cleaned up and off those size 3s. I wore him for a couple minutes last night to make sure it was a good fit (since, although the recipient is 9, I understand that their heads are pretty standard--just seems weird to me that your head is pretty much the same size for so much of your life...).

K is now on Kate, looking very snazzy, I might add. K will be gifted tomorrow when The Boy and I drive out to Northridge to my parents' house and we all go see The Incredibles for Rachel's birthday. Is it sad that I'm SO excited about this moving coming out? Can't wait!

Since I still don't have a digital camera, I'm afraid you'll have to make do with seeing Kate sans hat, in all her bald glory, at the right. She's now a permanent fixture in the sidebar. That oughtta thrill all of you who find her creepy. :)

Oh, that reminds me, The Boy has found a new way to torment el gato. I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom, and Max was keeping me company. Suddenly I looked down and he was flattening his body to the ground and trying to run away (his usual reaction to that other mighty foe, the vaccuum). I turned to see what was scaring him and there was The Boy, holding Kate and dancing her (bodyless form) toward Max. Poor little guy is now terrified of her. One day I came home to find her knocked over onto her side on my little blocking table. Coincidence? I think not.

Thursday, November 04, 2004
2 comments

Blogger Ate My Post!

You'd think by now I'd know better, wouldn't you? But nooooooo. I continue to do my posts directly in Blogger. 98% of the time I'm fine, but it always manages to eat the longest ones. Grrrrrrrrrrr.

Anyway, I had written that I only have 3 rows left on my Koigu spiral hat. K (as I like to call the hat) and I have had quite an adventure. He spent a good hour on time out behind the bookcase in the bedroom (where I threw him) after he had to be ripped out the first time. Then I found some mistakes around row 14 or so on the second effort. Yeah, it's for a 9-year-old, so I let it go.

After going on quite happily for 30 rows or so, I found the error manifesting once again. K and I had to have a heart-to-yarn talk at that point. Tough love time. I'm normally someone who likes to do things until they turn out right, but I was able to rationalize going on with a fairly badly flawed hat. How pathetic am I?

Here's how my rationale worked: a) The recipient (my sister) is 9; b) Being 9, there's a good chance she will lose the hat; c) her birthday party is on Saturday, so there's really not time at this point for me to frog the whole thing a second time and start over; d) I will definitely be doing this hat again, so it's okay to screw it up this time.

Seriously, I think that fixing mistakes is actually good for me; it's how I've learned to pick up stitches, and back out of rows. Unfortunately I just don't have the bandwidth right now to fix everything. I've spent hours just seeing if I could figure out how to fix the hat without ripping the whole thing (I can't). So, having said all that, I am going to be all zen about this hat and let it go. And make another one that will be right later. (For me, probably. After Christmas, naturalment.)

Lesson du jour: Pay attention when doing lace patterns. Duh. Like I need to tell anyone that. My entire problem stems from 4 missing stitches. Lost, at some point. I don't know where. And I'm resigned to never possessing that knowledge. I'm counting on the dark yarn not being too closely observed by other knitters, so that I can keep my rep (such as it is) intact.

Monday, November 01, 2004
1 comments

Knitting Weekend

I did a lot of knitting-related activities this weekend and yet, remarkably, got very little actual knitting done. Hmph.

Friday I worked on the Koigu spiral hat. I got about 9 pattern repeats (18 rows) + the 6 row hatband base done. That was, until my sister called and I dropped some stitches. Stitches that I tried to rescue, and started reknitting, only to find that my spirals were mysteriously spiralling the wrong direction. Here's your one way ticket to Frogville, baby!

Saturday I did a couple of rows on the hat, part deux. I also gave The Boy's sister a hat I made for her little boy. The Boy and his sister are both USC grads, so it was imperative that the kid's hat be crimson and gold. I did a cute little toddler-sized hat in crimson and gold stripes with a great big crimson & gold pom-pom on top. So cute. It was 19" around. Turns out the kid has a head like Sputnik. He'll probably get only a couple of months of use out of it before he and his gargantuan head are in adult sizes! At least The Boy and his sister were thrilled with it.

I also went to a yarn store in Pasadena (Skein) to try to find Mission Falls Cotton or something similar. I am making my sister the Official Kittyville Hat from Stitch 'n Bitch, but she can't wear wool. And I don't want to use my usual cotton selection of King Tut because I want something with a little more heft. They didn't have MF cotton, but they did have Rowan All Season's Cotton. I selected #211 Blackcurrant. Yummy! Are you familiar with this stuff? Exact same gauge as the pattern called for, but so soft. I may have a little bit of a crush on the Rowan. Mmmmm.

I also picked up a cable needle so that I can foray into cabling. Did'ya see the new knitalong button on the right there? -------->

Yep, I'm going to take a stab at the Irish Hiking Scarf for my stepdad. I'm really excited. I'm going to use the Peruvian Tweed Alpaca that I got at the TKGA festival last week (on this page, it is Color 109 at the far right). I did a couple of rows (once I wound that skein into two BIG yarnballs), just so that I could feel what it would be like to knit with 100% alpaca. OMG. I loved it.

{Incidentally, the guy at the yarn shop kept showing me circular needles when I asked for a cable needle. It took me a minute to sort out what was going on: circular needles have a cable that connects the needles, so he assumed that they were cable needles. I had to show him what a cable needle looked like (they only had a couple).}

The highlight of my Skein adventure, though, was that I got to pet Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk. !!!! There's no way on God's green earth that I can afford to make an article of clothing out of the stuff, but I'm making something for me out of it. After Christmas. (see my self control?) It is the first yarn that ever brought to mind the word 'divine'. Heavenly soft and silky. I just want to buy a bunch of skeins and roll around in them naked (sorry for any visual that may conjure). I may only get to make another scarf (as if I really need another scarf), but I'm going to have something made out of that. DB Alpaca Silk and I were meant to be together.

Sunday The Boy was going to be studying, so I finagled an invitation to my knitting friend Denell's house to help her wind her 1300 yds of acrylic chenille that she got from Newton's Knits' booth at TKGA. We watched Edward Scissorhands and picked apart knots and the thing looks like angel hair pasta (it's even the right color). Then we watched Sleepy Hollow and continued to wind. (All Johnny Depp, all the time. YAY!!)

Finally we took a break from that and went on to our Koigu spiral hats. Yay! I've gotten through 11 pattern repeats plus the hatband. The trick is paying attention. The pattern's not complicated, it's just something that you have to pay attention to while working on it. Or, at least, I do. I'm not lucky enough to be able to look away from my knitting for more than a stitch or two without dropping a lot of stitches.

Quite a satisfying knit weekend, all in all. I think I've also decided to do ponchos for each of my little sisters for Christmas. I've been struggling with what to make them, and I don't really want a big chunky poncho for myself (I don't need help in the big chunky arena), but this will satisfy any repressed urge to knit something trendy. And I'm going to use the pattern from Sally Melville's The Knit Stitch, so it'll be with big yarn and needles. I hope it's as easy as it looks!

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