A new love...fair isle

Have I mentioned knitting is an obsession? yeah, just a little bit. And I'm knitting up a storm because birthday season is just around the corner! This weekend I finished the Jenns' birthday presents.  Yes, that is plural...my sister Jennifer's birthday is in a month and my sister-in-law Jenn's birthday is a month later. Her birthday is the same day as my brother Christopher's birthday. Convenient to marry a guy with your birthday. He'll never forget it. Even more convenient that they got married on my mom's birthday that happens to also be my sister-in-law Laura's birthday. Just for good measure Penelope's birthday, my mother-in-law Phyllis's birthday, and mine and Chris's wedding anniversary are all thrown in there too. Maybe I'll do a chart...although, even with a chart it would get confusing with all the Lauras, Chris' and Jenns.

So anyways back to the knitting...I think I have to admit a problem when I start my day at 6:30 dreaming of a pattern and actually thinking it might be worth calling in for a "mental health" day. Thankfully I'm really busy at work so the day flew by. I saw this pattern on Sunday and knew right away that I wanted to make it for Penny.

If you've been following for 2 years you may remember my very first project was a hat for Penny. Last year I did a more complicated hat and this year I decided to tackle fair isle. I've got to admit I was a little scared the way some knitters complain about fair isle and colorwork. Fair isle is named after a small island in Scotland where it was started. It is using the basic knit stitch with multiple colors to make patterns.

I couldn't wait till after bedtime to start so I brought my yarn and needles to her gymnastics class, then picked it up again at 8:00. I'm loving it! It's amazing how quickly this hat knits up!

Can you see the snowflakes taking shape? The pink yarn was one Penelope picked out a few months ago. For non-knitters, the navy yarn pieces are just markers so I know when to start the next snowflake. And yes, that's an egg with bacon for my starting marker. My sister bought these great breakfast inspired markers on etsy.

Knock on wood...I haven't made a mistake yet. I think I get into some kind of zone with the projects that require my utmost attention. My thoughts never wander because I'm concentrating on the pattern. I feel more relaxed after an hour of doing this than any yoga class I've done. I have a feeling I might be done on this by the weekend. yup, an obsession.


 (By the way, all of you listed in the first paragraph are not getting knitted items...I'm not that fast! Maybe next year. I'll post pictures of the birthday knits in a couple months)