Back from the dead, apparently!

Bad Jenni. Bad, bad Jenni! EIGHT months? *looks ashamed* I swear, I really am going to be better about updating this blog! I'm getting more into knitting, now that I've found a bridge between scarf land and giant project city: Little shrugs and mini sweaters. I want to make them by the dozen. But before I start on that, here's what little bits of knitting I've been doing over the past eight months. . .

Mice. Knitted mice. A lot of them! My Aunt Jenny visited from Japan in November, and thought the knitted mouse I made for my kitty from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation was super cute, and so of course, I made a pair for her two kitties:



Then, I couldn't have Halloween not get one too, so I made her another one. (The gray contrast is actually remnants from my first-ever finished knitted item - the Gray Scarf of Doom that I made for my husband).



The next mouse came in December, when my beloved niece got a kitten! Of course, this one had to be knit much smaller, since her kitty is smaller, and it also had to be done in baby yarn, since her cat is, well, a baby! ;)



And then in January, my friend at work found out her kitty was really sick, and to comfort the poor thing, I made him a mouse too!



My friend shared pictures of her kitty and the mouse. While he doesn't look to amused, I have it on good authority that he drags it around everywhere, and plays with it quite a bit. :) (And, has recovered! Yay!)



So those were the mice!

Oh, and I finally put the seam on the kitty bed for Halloween that I knitted a million and a half years ago (give or take). I can't believe how long that took me! Halloween showed her approval:



I've also been working on the Gryffindor scarf in between projects, but it's very slow-going, not to mention totally boring. Here is where it is at:



To try to liven it up, I made some cute stitch markers:



So then I didn't knit too much for a while because I'm sick of scarves (and mice, ha ha ha!) and afraid to tackle something big like a sweater. Enter the shrug! Ahh, crafster.org, how I love thee, let me count the ways!

I started with the "Everyone's Doing It" Shrug:



It's so easy and quick, it's ridiculous! And cute! It's like a scarf, but less boring, and I can wear it in the warmer months. Yay that!

Just last night, I started the Anthropologie Knock-Off Sweater. I'm making mine in Wool-Ease Chunky, in white like the original, but with glitter in it, unlike the original, but very "me." ;)



And just for kicks, I unearthed my collection of favorite Anthropologie catalogs (I'm too poor to shop there, so I save my favorites in case I ever feel like sewing a knock-off of anything) and wouldn't you know it, I have the winter '05 issue! Here is the original:



Personally, I think all of the knock-offs I've seen are way cuter. I think it's the yarn they use or something. However, I need a rhinestone-encrusted ginormous hook and eye for mine! OMG! Where can I get one?!?

So. That brings us up to date. Upcoming projects include a possible second Anthropologie Knock-Off in Caron's "Black Magic" yarn (in shades of blue/black), the cropped hoodie from craftser in Caron's Simply Soft (in a pretty rasperry color) (this is my bargain project!), and in a blend of my knitting and historic costuming obsessions, I'll be making a knitted reticule like this one either in Baby Ull or Royale crochet thread - tbd. I had plans to do the Stitch 'n Bitch "Pippi Kneestockings" in shades of black/gray/pink, but I don't like the colors together now that I've received them, so I'm not sure if I'll go for it or not. And on a whim, I bought this silly yarn at JoAnn's because it was funky and on sale. Not sure what to do with it. An iPod cozy? Another shrug? Who knows!

I definitely have enough to keep me busy. Let's hope I a.) stay busy, and b.) actually keep up with posting about it!