Greetings from St. Lucia

Just a quick drive-by post while I'm on vacation in St. Lucia (oh yeah, and attending my brother's wedding). It seems like nowadays the only time I have to focus on crafting and my blog is while I am on vacation. Free time has been a rare luxury.

Our first full day in St. Lucia was spent on the beach. As we ate ate lunch, a young vendor came by with palm frond bookmarks for sale. He demonstrated the making of this lovely little fish in 2 minutes flat. It was a quick and beautiful example of craft. I don't know if this craft or this design is particular to St. Lucia, but I do know that I enjoyed watching him make it immensely. It will dry to a faded tan and be quite sturdy in a few weeks. Now it is green, flexible, and quite delicate.

Some catch up and more St. Lucia crafts after I return next week. I spent quite a bit of time planning and packing for my airplane knitting. What do you suppose I've been working on? (No fair peeking at my Ravelry site.)

Hope your week has been as sunny and relaxing as mine. Until later...

Just Right

Today is a government holiday so I had the day off. Sometimes it really is fabulous to work in the public sector. It has been a rare freedom lately to have the day off and not be sick, so with Mr. Hipp busy on schoolwork, I took full advantage of the time to finish something for my long-suffering mother. She may not have her guilt socks yet (they're coming, I promise!) but at least her hands will be warm.

Project Specifications
Pattern: Evangeline from MagKnits January 2008 (Ravelry link)
Yarn: Cascade 220 Paints. My mom picked out this yarn herself when I dragged her to The Woolie Ewe during our Thanksgiving visit with her.
Needles: US7 KnitPicks Options 40" circular (magic loop) and a nice little wooden cable needle that I got from Mr. Hipp as a Christmas gift (sweet man).
Modifications: Did two extra cable repeats before the thumb and an extra 10 rows of ribbing at the top for extra warmth. Picked up extra stitches (16 total) for the thumb because the first try was just too darn tight.
What I learned: Cabling without a cable needle! It is fantastic. I didn't trust the technique enough for the 4/2 cables (six stitches off the needle at once! eeek!) but it worked like a charm for the smaller ones.

It took me a long time to decide on a pattern for these mitts. For months, I waffled between these (too bulky for the yarn) and these (too fussy). Then I saw Tiennie's post on her million and one Evangelines and it was like Goldilocks and Baby Bear's bed...just right.

2001 Revived and Holiday Crafting Wrap Up

The Christmas handmade crafts are (finally) over. Thanks goodness. It was a lot of fun to commit to handmade for the holidays, but boy oh boy, it was a lot of work. I didn't get to everything on my list, but I am very happy with the things I did get finished.

After all that, I don't have any photos of the recipients with their gifts. Bleh, always a day late and a dollar short in this house.

Dear family - please snap a photo of you and your hand made gift and send the pics to me. Pretty please? I'll crop your face out if you don't want it to be on the blog. Thanks!

I can at least share a run down of what I worked on:
* Foliage for my brother, made with DELICIOUS Malabrigo merino worsted in Azul Profundo (my Ravelry page on this project)
* Thuja socks for my dad, made with Colinette Cadenza (a new find and I love it!)
* My So Called Scarf for my step-mom, made with recycled yarn from a sweater she gave me that never quite fit (her or me) right
* Embroidered felt ornaments for my mother-in-law and father-in-law, made from some of this felt

I did get a quick photo of Mr. Hipp wearing my brother's Foliage before it was gifted. He liked it so much, he asked for a Koolhaas out of the same yarn, but we'll see what happens with that. Mr. Hipp is a patient man. He can be patient a little longer.

I knew I couldn't hand make something for everyone on my list, so I turned to Etsy. This amazing motorcycle passport holder went to one (future) sister-in-law and this cute owl tote went to the other sister-in-law. Etsy is freaking great. I am so going to use it again next Christmas.

My poor mom is still waiting on her Guilt Socks and some newly requested fingerless mitts (perhaps a solid color version of these?). She even bought me the Cascade 200 over Thanksgiving for the mitts. *Sigh* I just couldn't get the mojo going for these projects. She ended up with not one hand made gift this Christmas. Bad Mrs. Hipp. Mom - your birthday is coming up so don't despair!

In the meantime, I have been distracting myself from my responsibilities (knitterly and otherwise) with a different project for Mr. Hipp.

A bulky version of Cobblestone (Ravelry link) by brooklyntweed (aka Jared Flood). Does this yarn look familiar? It's the Reynolds Lopi I bought seven years ago to make a sweater for Mr. Hipp. That sad thing was frogged earlier this year and is now bring revived into a Cobblestone. Let's hope its second incarnation is a happier one.

Happy 2008 everyone!

Time Flies

Where have I been since that last post? It feels like ages have passed. Most of my time has been spent are various local hospitals -- my father had a massive heart attack just over two weeks ago. Since then, he has been in an out of the ICU, in and out of consciousness, off and on a ventilator, in and out of operating rooms...and now he is finally home. The picture above is of us a couple of days ago. He is recuperating fantastically well!

Small public health soapbox moment #1: If you and/or a loved one smokes, please consider quitting and/or encouraging your loved one to quit. My father's decades of smoking were a direct contribution to his heart attack and the pace of his recovery. It is possible to quit and so worth it! There are free online resources and my co-worker swears by Nictone Anonymous.

Small public health soapbox moment #2: CPR really does save lives! If you aren't already CPR-certified, do so as soon as possible. My father went into full arrest (no heart beat, no breathing) immediately after his heart attack. Thank goodness he was at a party with several CPR-trained persons. Their quick and effective actions not only led to the later revival of his heart and lungs at the ER but also kept blood and oxygen circulating to his brain, preventing brain damage. He doesn't remember much about what has happened in the past few weeks, but every other aspect of his memory, mental capacity, and personality are intact. The American Red Cross offers classes in most areas.

On the crafty front, I am almost done with the first Monkey Sock for the swap. It is easily the most beautiful thing I have ever knit. I will take photos of the sock itself later today, but here is a glimpse of the delightful Koigu it is made from:

Have a great Monday. More Monkey news in forthcoming posts.

Where My Stitches At?

Have you ordered your Ravelry t-shirt yet?

We were out of town last weekend visiting the NC. Internet access was a whopping $8.95 per day in our hotel, which is too steep for this craft blogger. Surprisingly little knitting was done on the plane. Why? I've been teaching a summer school class at a local university and it's been kicking my ass. I got to grade and compile scores instead of having quality knit time. Thank goodness it is all wrapped up now! Now don't get me wrong...teaching is super fun, and the students energized me every class session with their enthusiasm and intelligence. But WOW is it exhausting. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if I weren't also working full-time at my regular job.

The one little bit of knitting that I have accomplished recently is an iPod Nano cozy for my sister-in-law (the lovely Miss Hipp). I used the leftover yarn from the Sockapalooza 4 socks and whipped up a cute little seed stitch pouch. Too bad it was half an inch too short! Grrrrr. That's what I get for thinking I could eyeball the 9 cm length. And you know how seed stitch is -- can't stretch it worth a darn.

So I started over today, this time in 2x2 rib so that it has a bit more give in either direction. Me likey so far.

Some news of my Monkey Sock Swap pal's socks (agggh! the gauge nightmare!) in my next post.

More Hipps Than You Can Shake a Stick (or a Needle) At

The Hipp parents and sister were in town last week. We had a great time with them and got to see some things around Southern California that have been on our to-do list for ages.

We all did a 5K walk/run to celebrate the 4th of July. I finished somewhere between 33 and 38 minutes (I didn't time myself exactly); not bad for someone who sits all day at work, then sits at home knitting (or reading blogs) afterwards. We spent some time hanging out on the beach, playing golf, and eating like there's no tomorrow. It was a great vacation and one I sorely needed after an endless parade of outbreaks at work.

Some time was taken from the general gluttony to visit the Getty Center and my dear alma mater, UCLA (go Bruins!). The Getty Center rocks. It is breathtakingly beautiful. But make sure you bring sunglasses...that white travertine is bright with a capital B.



I pulled a tendon in my foot during the 5K, so after hobbling through the Getty architectural tour and a few exhibits, I skipped the garden tour (sigh), propped my foot on a chair, and set a spell by a fountain to knit. I managed to complete the toe finished on sock #2 for my Sockapalooza 4 pal before feeling ready to limp to some fine art.

Yup, that means sock #1 is done! I ended up redoing the entire cuff in 1X1 rib; I think it will help hold the sock up a little better. Linda at Happy Sticks commented that her Roza Socks don't stay up as well as she would like, so I wanted to give it a little extra lift. Does 1X1 rib grip better than 3X3 rib? I'm not totally sure, but it seems like it would.


UCLA was more beautiful than I remembered. Much of the construction that was ongoing during my time there is complete. Powell Library was getting retrofitted for earthquake protection during my first year, and we had a temporary tent-like library that was christened the Towell (temporary Powell, get it?). When Powell was finished, it became a good place to study and, thanks to the cushy leather chairs and hidden desks in the book stacks, a good place to take a nap between classes.


My foot still hurt, but I had such fun poking around North Campus that I barely had time to defend myself against the Bruin Bear that tried to attack me.

I survived. But just barely. I used my knitting needles to poke it in the eye. It's back to work for me. Have a great week!

Guilt Socks

My mom seems to think that these Sockapalooza 4 socks are going to make their way to her someday. She has been leaving comments admiring the colors, wondering if the socks will fit a size 9 (happens to be her shoe size), and blatantly saying that she would take them as hand-me-downs. Sorry, Mom, these are for a sock exchange and will be sent to a sock knitter in a far off land!

But then I saw on Grumperina's blog that there is a yarn that wicks sweat away from your feet, and it's worsted weight for quick knitting. I knew the knitting cosmos was telling me "Knit a freaking pair of socks for your mom already!". See, Mom's a big hiker, and keeping sweat away from your feet while hiking is key to avoiding blisters. With fatty yarn, even I should be able to finish a pair of socks in a reasonable length of time, and the result will have the thickness as regular hiking socks.

I dropped a little email to my mom, indicating that if someone wanted to get me 2-3 balls of this cool wicking yarn, I could maybe be convinced to knit up a quick pair. (Mom's not the only one who can drop an obvious hint.)

Four days later, I got a gift certificate to Halcyon Yarn. And what do you know...they sell Wick!


Yarn diet maintained? Check. Mom looking forward to cool wicking hiking socks? Check. I can't back off now, especially after never finishing her Scholar Collar scarf (oops).

Mammoth Lakes

It's been a long time since I posted anything but Sockapalooza 4 activity, but I think my recent trip to Mammoth Lakes deserves a special viewing.

There is still snow on the mountains in June!

The six hour drive was made bearable by my iPod and the promise of knitting (that's yarn in the plastic bag). Podcasts of "This American Life" turn any long drive into a treat. I had six hour-long episodes loaded on my iPod and listened to them all! I love you, Ira Glass, you and your smug little liberal smart-mouth attitude and your radio show that makes me alternate between raucous giggles and pensive quiet.


The moments of pensive quiet did not last for long, thanks in part to this winner...

His mother must be so proud!

I was spoiled with a fruit smoothie upon arrival at my brother's campsite. My brother 1) likes toys with engines, and 2) does not believe in doing anything half-way. Here he is whipping up the smoothie using a gas-powered blender. Yes, those handles on the sides rev up the blender and make it go vroom vroom! I am pleasantly surprised to report that the gasoline power did not affect the smoothie taste one bit.


My future sister-in-law modeled another one of the toys with engines that they brought along.


After polishing off my smoothie, I opted for non-gasoline-powered fun: handknit socks and a pair of hiking shoes.

These socks were sort of my first pair ever. I made the first one as practice before launching into my first ever socks for Sockapalooza 3 last year. The second one came along after I finished my pal's pair.

My little hike took me up and over a small ridge. The view was spectacular. If you have never seen the Sierra Nevadas in real life, you must add this area to your list of places to visit before you die. It will be worth it. Promise!


I'm approaching the end of sock #1 for my Sock Pal. That means next post will be back to the Knitting Channel. Have a great week!

I Heart Mr. Hipp

This post is a few days late, but sweet nevertheless. Despite his moaning and groaning about balls of yarn all over the house, I believe he secretly loves being married to a knitter.

The proof is in the pudding. Ever eco-minded, Mr. Hipp presented these lovely gifts to me on Valentine's Day.

Nature's Palette fingering weight yarn in "Spring Grass" and
a tree-free card.

He could not help but inject a bit of Mr. Hipp humor with the card. Note the wording at the bottom.

This yarn is so soft and squishy. And it's completely within my customized rules for Knit from Your Stash 2007. The green and yellow blend so prettily together. Here is a close up for all of you yarn-porn fiends out there.


This yarn may just have to join the Green Socks Knitalong. Hmnm, yet another project for another day.

P.S. If you're interested in getting yourself (or a loved one) some eco-friendly yarn, head over to Earth Friendly Yarns. It is definitely worth checking out!

Dallas - More Fun than I Thought

We had a good time in downtown Dallas yesterday watching a dragon parade. Happy Year of the Pig!

There was a long line in the chilly weather to get into the Asian art exhibit, so we all pulled out our scarves to keep warm. It was a proud day in Hipp Crafts history -- all three scarves were hand knit by yours truly!

Mr. Hipp is wearing a Gryffindor scarf I made for him in the summer of 2005 while reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Notice the tiny "A" (his first initial) embroidered into the first red stripe. My mom is wearing a stockinette stole (bunched up) I made for her birthday in 2004.

And of course, I was wearing my entrelac scarf. One of my favorite knits ever!

Eye Candy Friday - February 16, 2007

Howdy from Dallas! Visiting my mom gives me access to her photos for Eye Candy Friday this week.

On a crafting note, here is some beautiful Maasai beadwork she saw while visiting Tanzania and Kenya last summer.

And on a Hipp note, here are some hippos she saw in a wildlife park. She has some amazing zoom power on her camera.

Tomorrow we're heading to downtown Dallas to see dragons on parade. Happy Lunar New Year!

Off to Dallas

We're off to Dallas for the long weekend to visit my mom. The Jaywalkers and mom's Scholar Collar are coming with me. I'll try to post while there. Such lovely birthday and Valentine's Day goodies to share!

I Get the Hint

My mom sent me an email yesterday containing a picture of this. There was no text in the message, just the picture. The email's subject line was "Hey this is nice..." She has also been saying how cold it is in Dallas.

I guess it's time to dig through my stash and get cracking on a scarf for Mom. It should be a good chance to learn how to make knit-in button holes.

BTW, the original scarf is from the amazing brooklyntweed. If you haven't already, you must go see his man-sweaters!

Eye Candy Friday - January 12, 2007

What could be better for Eye Candy Friday than a picture of two people in love?

Here are my brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law at Las Vegas when they got engaged. You can see the ring on her finger!
May we all feel this happy today!

Non-Crafty Content Ahead

Okay, so this post is not craft-related, but since friends and family visit this site, I thought I would share the good news.

My brother got engaged this weekend!

Best wishes to the happy couple!

We will now resume our usual programming...