Winners!

First of all, thank you SO MUCH to everyone who posted a comment about what or whom they loved. From shrimp to yarn to cats to kids - we covered a lot of ground! And I think we put a lot of good karma out there - it made my day to read them.

Congratulations to Karen and Kris! [Kris - I sent you an email!! Hello! Paging Kris!! You need to get in touch with me so I know where to send your yarn!] They are the winners of the Valentine's Day yarn and Twisty Toe-Up Tube Sock giveaway!

(I'll stop with the customized conversation hearts. I love making them, but Valentine's Day is over! Want to make one? Go here!)

Valentine's Day Giveaway!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Let's celebrate love!

Of course, there are many years when we don't have a special someone, and so society's tidal wave of candy and decorations and cards and flowers seems over-the-top and plain old depressing. I know I spent many a Valentine's Day alone and told myself it's just another day. And it is. But we all love something sometime, so let's celebrate that!

To celebrate love, in all its crazy magical forms, I'm giving away some beautiful red and pink sock yarn and two free copies of my Totally Twisty Toe-Up Tube Sock pattern. Here's the yarn:


2 skeins of Koigu in an appropriately pinky-red colorway

and one skein of Anne sock yarn (already wound! enough for a pair of socks). (PS - for those of you with allergies, my yarn is normally kept in cat-proof containers, but I thought that plunking down the yarn next to an admittedly surprised cat made for a more interesting picture.)

To be eligible, leave a comment in the comments or on the Momogus Knits group on Facebook and tell me one thing or person that you love and why. My loyal assistant will pick two winners at random. (Remember if you comment here, to leave your email address or I have no way to get in touch with you!)

I'll start:

1. I love my husband, because he makes me laugh out loud every day
2. I love my son, because he's goofy and intense and sweet
3. I love salt and vinegar potato chips, because they satisfy two of my favorite cravings: salt and vinegar!
4. I love baseball, in every iteration from T-ball to the bigs.

You get the idea. Tell me who or what you love! Let's share the love!!

Crafty Monday - Make Your Own Stitch Markers!

Welcome! It seems to be Crafty Monday around these parts! For some reason, I got a lot of crafty stuff done today, but I'm going to parcel out crafty tips over a few weeks so you all don't get overwhelmed with the craftiness.

Today's topic is stitch markers. I, like many knitters, am always looking for new gadgets and tools and enhancements to my knitting experience. Specifically, I'm always looking for good stitch markers. I've bought and received as gifts those stitch markers that look like jewelry - the kind that hang off a loop that sits on the needle.

As pretty as some of these are, I find them a pain in the patootie to knit with. They keep getting stuck in between stitches or they need to be flipped to the front or back of my knitting depending on what stitch I'm doing.

We're pretty, but we don't work well!

I wanted markers that were circles, like those ubiquitous plastic ones that we all have. I've never attempted to make stitch markers before, but I saw some online that looked like just the ticket, so I thought I'd try to recreate them. And let me tell you, they are the easiest things in the world to make! And they work! And they're pretty!

We work! And we're easy to make!

Yep. That's it. You need 10mm jump rings - the kind that are a single circle, not a coil - which you can purchase at any big box craft store or bead store, and size 6 (or E) beads, also widely available all over the place. (If you are like me, you have trillions of these beads lying around from various beading and knitting projects.)

You don't even need pliers to make these. Simply pry the jump ring apart with your fingers, slip on a bead, and then pry the jump ring back together. Voila! That's it! You're done! I took these out for a spin on a pair of mittens I'm making (Shelburne from knitty.com, if you must know).

(Terrible picture, but seeing the cat's feet made me crack up)

Those mittens are on a size #9 needle, and the markers work perfectly. They had smaller jump rings at the store, but I like markers on the big side, even if I'm using small needles. I'm going to troll Etsy and see if they have even larger ones.

No more plastic markers! Make some pretty ones of your very own today! And think of what a nice gift for your knitter friends a set of these would make!

What I Did on My Winter Vacation

Every year around this time we head out to the end of Long Island to stay at the house of my beloved Aunt Jane. We love it out there at this time of year - the bracing walks on the beach, the snuggly times reading in the cozy house, the local seafood. Heaven.

Also, I have a lot of knitting time!! Before I go on vacation, I start thinking about what I'm taking, knitting-wise, wayyyyyy before I think of packing stuff like, oh, clothes, toothbrush, those kinds of things...

I like taking small projects on vacation and besides, I'm in a very non-sweatery knitting mood these days. I started and finished these:

Shelburne Mittens from the latest Knitty.com. Great easy pattern. I do love a textured mitten!! The yarn is from an unnamed big box store. The yarn I brought was impossible to get gauge with, so I popped in a store (yarn emergency!!) and picked up a ball of this insanely bright fuschia yarn. I like it though, and they'll never get lost in the snow!

These gloves I had already finished before I left, but they felt short to me, so I picked up stitches around the cuff and knit a couple of inches of garter stitch. The wonky, Wonder-Woman type shape of the cuffs was because I had added a sort of tab to put the button on, but added it on the wrong side on one of the gloves. So I seamed the tab to the side of the cuff and got that weird shape. Which I like, so that's cool.

Garter Stitch Sideways Gloves, in Claudia Handpaints Fingering weight, Zecca buttons.

I did some Momogus knitting too. Here I am zooming up the 2nd of a pair of Totally Twisty Toe-Up Tube Socks. Some vintage Opal sock yarn from the stash. These will never get lost in the snow either!


Finally, I made an Easy Colorwork Headband for myself, but just as I finished a cold front swept the East Coast, and I decided to convert it to a hat. It was super-warm! I'm going to write up the conversion-to-a-hat instructions and add them to the Free Patterns page of the website.

Easy Colorwork Headband, converted to a hat! Brown Sheep NatureSpun yarn.

Stay Tuned...

I got a little off track there after the holidays, but I'm getting back in gear now. Right now, we're taking a little vacation out at the end of Long Island. It looks like this and it's heavenly this time of year.

We're heading back this weekend and then there will be some great Momogus Knits contests and patterns coming down the pike. Stay tuned!

Holiday Present Ideas

It's that time of year again - for knitters it's variously a fun and/or a stressful time. Yes, it's holiday knitting time! Honestly, I'm ambivalent about the whole prospect.

I used to knit for everyone - because I could and because I couldn't imagine anything nicer than a handmade gift. But then I realized that there were some people - smart, funny, kind, loving people - who just didn't appreciate the wonderfulness of a knitted gift. So they came off the knitted gift list. And soon, I wasn't knitting holiday presents anymore.

But then gradually over the years, I've dipped into holiday knitting again. For me, non-garments are the way to go. But your mileage may vary, of course. I still think a handmade gift is the best thing you can give someone. Here are some quick little fun projects that I've enjoyed making and giving over the years:

Beaded Bookmark (Ravelry link)

This is my new go-to teacher gift. Knock this sweet little thing out in an evening, enclose a gift card to a bookstore, and you're done! Fingering weight yarn and about 25 beads (added as you go). Easy-peasy. The pattern comes with a half dozen variations of the beading pattern.

Tiny Sweater Ornaments


Oh, don't get me started on these. Last year I made a half dozen of these. I gave these to some dear friends. They're fussy, but also awesome (the sweaters, not the friends). The cable is fun, but the pattern also includes a plain version. Fingering weight - another small project you can knock out in an evening or two.

Cable Hot Water Bottle Cover (Ravelry link)

My husband thought knitting a hot water bottle cover was absurd, but he doesn't have crazy-knitter genes. I loved this (and actually kept it for myself). Eschew all those high-tech polarfleece, electrical-corded warming devices! A hot water bottle (you can still buy them in any drugstore) with a handsome cover is like snuggling up with a warm, non-demanding companion. This pattern is written for bulky weight yarn, so it goes quickly. There are a bunch of patterns on Ravelry, but this one was my favorite. This would be a nice gift for someone who lives in a drafty old house, or a reader, or an older person (wait - that's me!)

Tiny Felted Hearts

This pattern isn't written to be felted and the picture above is pre-felting, but I ended up stuffing these with yarn and felting them. Then I added a ribbon and gave them as ornaments to the above-noted fussy but awesome friends. I didn't put eyes on them, but those amirugumi creatures always make me laugh out loud. Poke around her website - her patterns are delightful.

So there you go - some ideas for you. But don't feel like you have to knit gifts for people. Only do it if you enjoy the process (knitting should be a stress-reducer, not a stress-inducer!!) and if you realize that not everyone will get the wonderfulness of what you did for them.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I love giving and receiving presents as much (okay, maybe more) as the next person, but this time of year, it's good to take a break from your gift list and think about how you can make your world better. Here's a link to Interweave Press's list of charitable organizations and their guidelines for giving. Boy, just reading the list gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling!

Though every one of these programs is doing fabulous wonderful necessary work, one of my personal favorites is Heifer International. They donate animals, trees and other stock to needy families around the world in order to increase sustainable self-sufficiency. They have a "Knitting Basket" donation that provides two llamas and two sheep to a family for income-producing wool.

Each year Gus and I go through the catalog and pick out an animal to give. Two years ago we had Merry Chicksmas and last year was Merry Cowmas. He donates all of his December allowance and then asks relatives to each donate a few dollars too. And that adds up to a lot of chicks! Or one cow!

Most of these organizations will accept donations on behalf of someone else, so think of it as a nice alternative to a gift card to the local mall. A donation to a charitable organization is especially nice for a teacher's gift.

And, as I tell myself 10 times a day this time of year, stay calm! Take some time to stop and smell the pine and cinnamon scents around us, hear the beautiful holiday music, watch the twinkly lights, sip some hot chocolate, and appreciate all the little good things we have in our lives.