Easter 2007

Happy Easter!

The North Carolina Easter Bunny (aka my dear mother-in-law) sent us a special package.

Yum-aroo! Our sweet teeth are set for at least a week.

Notice anything else in the basket besides candy and scratcher tickets? Yep, it's yarn! Mr. Hipp took the hint and got me some very special Harry Potter-themed sock yarn from Dani at Sunshine Yarns.

From top to bottom: Colors inspired by Fawkes the Phoenix, a Welsh Green Dragon, a Swedish Short Snout Dragon, a Hungarian Horntail Dragon, and a Chinese Fireball Dragon.

This yarn is amazing. I couldn't quite capture the rich colors on this cloudy day but I promise it is better in real life. Mr. Hipp has already called dibs on any socks made from the Welsh Green or Hungarian Horntail.

We're going to spend the rest of the day watching the Masters on TV and getting some quality knitting done. I'm working on the curved front hem of the Sunrise Circle Jacket. I'm attaching the hem as I purl and bind off all at once; it's a lot of keep track of but seems to be working nicely. Not having to sew it down afterwards is worth it! Sorry about the blurry picture, I'm going to try to get a better one taken later today.


After finishing the hem, I'll either start right into the other sleeve or go back to the baby booties. Choice choices choices. Have a happy day!

Molasses

The baby bonnet from my last post arrived in South Carolina yesterday, just in time for the baby shower today. I sent it off on Wednesday via Priority Mail with fingers crossed for a Saturday arrival (and toes crossed for arrival before the 2:00 PM start time for the shower!) and it gets there a whole day early. Gotta love the US Postal Service.

With this baby gift off my list, I was able to devote a bit of time to the Sunrise Circle Jacket. I am on Row 73 of the left sleeve/front.


Only four more rows before the turning row for the hem. Woot woot! But man oh man, those loooooong purl rows are about killing me. I timed myself this morning: eight minutes to do the 137 purl stitches of Row 72. Yeesh, slower than molasses.

Distractions

In an effort to distract myself from my Jaywalker quandary, I decided to cast on for the Sunrise Circle Jacket using the giant Irish spools of yarn.


Note the ruler in the pencil-cup on the right. That's right, this spool is a good 12 inches tall. Irish yarn does not mess around.

And on the left side? My favorite mug, a gift from a good friend.


You still have time to cast your vote on my Jaywalker quandary! Help an indecisive girl out! UPDATE: Voting is closed, thanks!

Blog Shout Out!

Ahhhh! I am so excited. Hipp Crafts has been mentioned on another blog - the fabulous Nubian Craftster. Just a few weeks after adoring her Sunrise Circle Jacket in my first blog entry, I ran into her at the Yarn Lade bag sale. (75% off...drooooool.) Shrinking violet that I am, I interrupted her yarn shopping with an embarrassingly loud, "Are you the Nubian Craftster?" You would have thought I had just seen Brangelina with all three kids in tow.

Go check out her blog -- there are some breathtaking photos of her recent trip to Indiana.

I wish I had had my camera with me during the bag sale (had to keep my hands free for grabbing the yarn) because she was wearing the Sunrise Circle Jacket and it was even better in person. The yarn she used looks a lot thicker than what I got in Ireland. I might have to double it to get the right gauge. Do you think I have enough yarn to do that?

Welcome to Hipp Crafts

After many months of gaining inspiration from other people's blogs, I have finally started my own. This site will be home to all Hipp Crafts, from knitting to sewing to DIY home improvements. I hope you enjoy it!

Let's start with some recent history. Mr. Hipp and I traveled to Wales and Ireland in September. We met up with other Hipp family members in Dublin, then traveled together to Killarney.

Does this picture give you any indication of how much I enjoyed the trip? That's right, two huge spools of amazing, 100% wool, tweedy-licious yarn. I purchased it at the Muckross House gift shop. They have all sorts of traditional crafts, including a working weaving studio. I guess this yarn was intended for a loom, but no reason it can't be knit instead! The orange yarn has bits of blue in it so the two yarns should go together nicely.

I am thinking of making a Sunrise Circle Jacket with this yarn - orange as the main color and blue inside the hems for a little pop of fun. This knit-along has shown some great examples of how this jacket looks on "real people". I especially love the one completed by the Nubian Craftster. Seeing her completed jacket made me think, "Okay! This can really work!". Of course, goodness only knows how long it will be before I can actually start on this project. I have a long list going already, so the Sunrise Circle Jacket will just have to wait patiently for its turn.