sweet knitting

I've succumbed.

2007-06-25T09:24:00.000-06:00

I've signed up for a Wordpress blog. I'm going to try my best to make that work... For some reason my brain doesn't wrap around Wordpress's layout as well as it did to Blogger, but I have heard more good things about Wordpress than Blogger and have my own issues here in Blogger-land, so off I go. I'm not intending to shut this down anytime soon, but please do come to my new home and say hello!

My New Home

It is kinda cool that I was able to get the same name blog as I chose for my gmail account, Ravelry account, and other stuff, too. :-) What can I say, I get happy over the simple things in life. See you soon!

A couple of FOs

2007-06-24T07:58:00.000-06:00

I finally finished my dad's scarf, but I can't really post pics here because he could stop by and the whole birthday surprise would be ruined. To make matters worse, his birthday isn't until November. Stay tuned--I'll post sometime this year, I promise! For those of you (you know, all 2 readers!!) who are part of Ravelry, stop by my projects page and take a look--there are several pics there. For the other person who reads this, I followed the One Row Handspun Scarf pattern as posted by the Yarn Harlot herself using some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted. I added a couple of stitches since my dad wanted a bit larger a scarf, and used up 2 hanks of the Lorna's. Size 8 Addis. Started it in late April--embarrassed to admit that!!

I also buckled down and finished a pair of socks using some Lion Brand Magic Stripes I've had in the stash for a loooooong time. I thought they'd knit up into some fun, funky colored socks that wear like iron, but instead they knit up into what I consider the FUGLIEST pair of socks I've ever encountered. They'll presumably still wear like iron, though. What can I say? They were cheap. And they used up stash yarn. Bonus!

Anyway, here is a pic of the socks for chuckles:

Take care and enjoy your Sunday!

An odd short note...

2007-06-21T09:49:00.001-06:00

I am trying hard to reply to each commenter here because I really appreciate the compliments and traffic! I can't for the life of me figure out how to get an email address input so that when a comment is left for me I can actually reply directly back instead of hunting them like I would hunt wild game. Not that I hunt.... :-) I have been able to follow up on most comments through the blogger profile, but only to those of you who have email contacts listed on your profile or blog. If I haven't replied, it isn't because I don't want to or don't appreciate you--I just can't find you. So to speak.

I have searched the blogger help files and forums to no avail, so if anyone out there can help me, Man Oh Man would I ever appreciate it!!

Thanks and have a great day!

FO: Cabo Hoodie

2007-06-21T05:53:00.001-06:00

I started this little hoodie 4 times before it finally worked as well as I could manage. I have no doubt this is due to my own ignorance when it comes to top-down knitting and nothing at all to do with the pattern!

The first attempt I misread the increase instruction and had to rip back to the beginning. The second attempt I realized that the neck opening was nowhere near large enough to fit over my son's ginormous head. I tried adjusting the opening on my third attempt--didn't work. So I ripped back again and voila! I have to say that I won't be making more top-down for this son since his head is so large. I prefer bottom-up for him. Go figure.

So here are the specs:

Pattern: Cabo Hoodie by Wendy Bernard of Knit & Tonic

Yarn: Lion Brand Wool Ease in Ranch Red, almost exactly 2 balls for size 2

Needles: Size 8 Knit Picks options for 18 sts and 24 rows over 4"

Mods: I added addl stitches for the back section at cast on so it would fit over my son's head, then decreased them in the body section after the sleeve sts were put on waste yarn. I also did k2p2 ribbing instead of k1p1 and skipped the pocket since my not-quite-2-year-old would probably just rip it off while playing anyway. :-)

Started (the last time) June 18 and Finished June 21 early morning... I couldn't manage to stay up and finish the grafting last night!!

Explanation

2007-06-17T11:02:00.001-06:00

Thanks for the comments on the baby sweater!!

Rachel, I did add the additional stitches for the sleeves... Here's how I did it:

When I got to the sleeve instruction, I placed the required number of stitches on a holder for the right front, then started working on the first sleeve stitches. I worked the sleeve sts (28) and at the end of this row I used the cable cast on to cast on 8 stitches. I turned the work and purled the 36 stitches, and again used the cable cast on for another 8 stitches. The next row I knit one stitch, worked the gull stitch pattern as specified on the 42 sts, then ended with a knit 1. I did this on every right side row--knitting the first and last stitch--until the sleeve was the right length, then I did the garter stitch cuff.

When the sleeve was done, I continued on the body sts to the next sleeve and did the same as for the first. When I was done with both sleeves, I purled across the row, picking up 14 stitches under each arm--knowing that the 8th stitch of each section would be lost at seaming. This left me with the required number of sts to complete the sweater.

Once everything was complete, I used the 8th stitch on each side of the sleeve to seam via mattress stitch. It's as perfect as I can get!! :-)

I hope this makes sense, but if it doesn't, email me at the address listed above and I'll try to do a better job of explaining!

February Practically Seamless Baby Sweater #2

2007-06-15T14:47:00.001-06:00

I had to make another one. They're like the Baby Surprise Jacket and Lay's Potato Chips--you can't have just one!

Pattern: Baby Sweater on Two Needles; Practically Seamless from Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac, February
Yarn: Elle Pure GOLD DK in Hazelnut #198, 100 g ball
Gauge: 5.75 stitches per inch
Needles: Size 5 Knit Picks Options circular
Started June 11 and Finished June 14 (would have been even faster if not for my sudden addiction to Ravelry!!)
Final measurements--I'm guessing this would fit a 6-12 month old??
Chest (buttoned): 10" flat, 20" circumference
Neck to bottom hem: 10.25"

Once you get past the initial "What the heck..." of the sleeve instruction, this is a super fast and fun little knit. I used exactly one ball of the yarn (100g = 220 yards) and had nothing but scraps leftover-maybe not even 1g!! Definitely the closest I've cut it on a project to date. This was a cheap knit, too. Even counting the buttons and sales tax, the total cost was less than $12! Can't beat that with a stick. I hope to be back soon with another post since I immediately cast on for the Cabo Hoodie by Wendy of Knit & Tonic for my younger son. :-)

Pictures and Details!

2007-06-11T12:02:00.000-06:00

Shetland Triangle #2

Pattern found in Wrap Style, pattern written by Evelyn A. Clark
Yarn used: Knit Picks Andean Silk in Hollyberry, ~4.5 balls
Needles: Knit Picks Options size 10
Measurements: Pre-block 40 x 20" Post-block 62 x 28"
No modifications at all, (unless you consider needle size/yarn weight a mod) just knit exactly as written!
Started June 3, Finished June 9, 2007

********************

Child Placket-Neck Pullover
Pattern from Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson
Yarn used: Kraemer Yarns Little Lehigh in It's A Girl, ~1.5 balls
Needles: Size 7 Clover Bamboo 16" circular and dpns
Gauge: 21 stitches and 28 rows over 4" in stockinette
Size: 6-12 month
No modifications at all!
Started June 9, Finished June 11, 2007
(My apologies for the poor pic quality on this project. The color is light and the sun is BRIGHT so it was hard to capture.)

I HAVE been knitting

2007-06-10T14:26:00.000-06:00

Whether or not you believe that is up to you!

Ravelry is definitely a time warp, but only in the good sense. I love searching for new people and projects and all that good stuff.

As for my knitting, I finished my second Shetland Triangle and am about half through a placket neck pullover from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I just haven't taken any pictures. My kids started swim lessons yesterday and we had a little gathering at the neighbor's house Friday night. It's been a lot of kid stuff with most of the kids hanging in our yard. Don't get me wrong, I would prefer they gather here so I can keep an eye on them, even though (or maybe especially because??) they're so young. If you don't recall, my kids are 6.5, 3.5, and 20 months old. Our neighborhood kids range from 1 year to almost 8, so they're all still young and busy!!

Anyway, I'll try to get some pics later today or in the next couple days so you can SEE what I've done instead of imagining it.

I will leave you with this:

I don't think it requires much explanation, do you? :-) Notice they're both in tears?

I'm In!!! I'm In!!

2007-06-05T10:52:00.000-06:00

I got me an invite to the much anticipated Ravelry yesterday!!! Needless to say, I did nothing in the way of knitting once the invite showed up.

What a cool set-up!! I love how it works. Every last bit of it. That is, every last bit that I've had the time to investigate. My silly kids don't seem to understand that mommy doesn't want to play Play-Doh now... Oh, no!! I want to play on Ravelry!! :-)

So anyway, I finally got out to Joann and bought some buttons for the little raglan cardigan I mentioned in a previous post and sewed those on today.

Pattern: Raglan Cardigan with Fully Fashioned Shaping as found in the Baby Knits for Beginners book by Debbie Bliss.

Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Seaspray for body and Natural Heather for sleeves, less than a ball of each for the 6-9 month size

Gauge: 20 stitches and 24 rows over 4" on size 7 Addi Turbos

Started May 31, 2007 and Finished June 3, 2007.

Now back to playing on Ravelry!!!

So far behind...

2007-06-04T06:44:00.001-06:00

I feel like there's no time to do the things I want and need to do. Go figure--it's summer! Well, almost.

Anyway, I have been knitting, but not much. I have finished and mailed off the Bounce Skirt as found for purchase at Knit & Tonic's blog. I used Little Lehigh for this one in Baby Powder (white) and It's a Girl (pink) on size 5 needles for gauge. It's the size 4 for my friend's 3+ year old in Arizona. I hope she likes it because it turned out bigger than anticipated and it will fit her for quite some time! I added a row of yarnovers instead of the called-for elastic because I fear new stitches in sewing!! And because I figured this little string would be cute with one of those little shoelace clampie things. I just couldn't find one in time for the photo op. :-) The string allows for more adjustability than elastic in my opinion.

Apologies for the poor photo. I was anxious to take the pic so I could mail it off.

I'm still working on other things... but nothing is really grabbing my attention. You know, when you JUST.CAN'T.WAIT.TO.CAST.ON. I don't have any of those right now which is really unusual for me. I do have a mini FO that I need buttons for, so I'll post that as soon as I can get the right buttons.

Lace Leaf Shawl

2007-05-28T19:35:00.000-06:00

I finished the gift shawl last night and immediately set out to soak and block it so I can send it to my friend tomorrow. Overall I'm very happy with how it turned out and the yarn I used is wonderful and soft. It should be perfect for my friend's sensitive skin! I apologize ahead of time because the great pink color is just not apparent in these pics.

and a closer view:

Pattern: Lace Leaf Shawl by Evelyn A Clark/Fibertrends
Yarn: Handmaiden Sea Silk in Rose, 150g (oversized) hank--used 122g total
Needles: Size 6 Knit Picks Options
Misc: I followed the pattern to a 'T' and did a total of 12 leaf lace repeats before doing the edge lace patterning. I probably should have used the suggested size 7 needles, but I was a little nervous about the larger needles with such a fine weight yarn. Pre-blocking was about 45 x 17" and after blocking it was 68 x 28"!! Quite a decent size, I think.

The only other lace project I've done, if you recall, is the Shetland Triangle and I used a worsted weight yarn on size 8s. I also didn't knit up the gauge swatch because I figured it's lace. What the hey!!

I intend to knit another Shetland Triangle in the next couple of weeks for this friend's mother, so stay tuned for that. Until that gets done, I'm hoping to do up a couple of little knits I've wanted to do for a while. Like the baby kimono from the Mason Dixon book and the baby bolero from One Skein, and a Placket neck sweater from LMKG, and my dad's scarf... the list could go on and on, but I'm not so sure I want to admit how many things I want to knit!! :-)

Happy Memorial Day!

Ok, here I go

2007-05-22T16:40:00.000-06:00

I promised more later and it's definitely later now!!

We've had lots of time to play outside since the weather has been cooperating with us here west of Chicago. The humidity hasn't really hit, but I'm sure it's en route.

About my knitting...

The CPH is done, as you saw in my last post. It's a pretty good fit--enough that I'm happy with it, but as with all things, knitting has a learning curve. My gauge was off by quite a bit (the pattern called for 17 sts and 24 rows and my gauge was 19/24) so I adjusted by knitting a larger size. Unfortunately, if I ever want to button it closed I can't. Thankfully, I don't often button or zip anything, so no one will ever know. Except me. :-) I also adjusted the sleeves by knitting the largest size and extending the length because my arms are longer than the average woman and (almost) no store-bought sweater ever fits me right. So the real specs are:

Pattern: Central Park Hoodie as found in KnitScene Fall 2006 issue, 44" instructions (39" finished chest)
Needles: Size 7 KnitPicks Options circulars
Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers, color #9453 Amethyst Heather x 7.5 skeins
Started May 1, 2007 and Finished May 17, 2007.

As for the Shetland Triangle, the pattern is from the Wrap Style book.
Needles: Size 8 addi turbos
Yarn: Plymouth Galway Worsted, about 1.5 or less of color #30
Measurements: Pre Block= 33 x 17", Post Block 55 x 24"
I don't remember when I started or finished, exactly, but it took 3 days plus one for blocking.

I also finally found buttons for my 4th baby surprise jacket:

And I received a desperate phone call from my friend in Arizona... It went something like this:

Me: "Hello?"

Friend: "Hi. I have a HUGE favor to ask. I'll pay you. I'll buy the yarn. I'll do just about anything... We need more flower washcloths!! Would you mind making more for us? My daughter won't take a bath unless we use the flower washcloths."

I am flattered, to say the least. I do hate knitting the Reverse Bloom Flower Washcloth, but for this friend, I'd do just about anything. So off I went to Hobby Lobby and got some more of their Yarn Bee brand Dreamy Baby Chenille in the approved colors. :-) Hey, her daughter is 3. There are only certain things that are ok at that age, and anything different is unacceptable. I can deal with that. So anyway, I knit a couple flowers and a few squares. I'm hoping to sneak the squares under the radar so they're easier and faster to replace down the road.

And since this friend's birthday is Friday, I had ordered some really good stuff to make a really great pattern. I had hopes (no, really, I did!!) of getting the gift to her before her birthday or even overnighting it to her the day before, but I realize now it just can't happen. It will be done soon, though. I hope to be posting that FO soon, but for now I can't divulge any more details than I have already.

See you again soon. I hope.

Short post... more later

2007-05-18T13:54:00.000-06:00

My CPH is done... officially done!! I have no good photos of me wearing it, only those in which I look alarmingly like the unibomber. I'll try again another time to get some good pics.

Also, the Shetland Triangle has been received and I can now reveal it's true appearance post-blocking.

I have quite a bit more to ramble on about, but it's really nice outside and the kids wanna go play. Who can say no to that?!

Bye for now.

Shetland Triangle Done!

2007-05-14T07:42:00.000-06:00

I decided that I just couldn't NOT work on the Shetland Triangle this weekend, so that's all I did. The CPH has been put to the side for now. Again.

Here are a couple of pre-blocking pictures for your amusement!

It's just about dry, but not enough to unpin it. I CANNOT wait to send it off and see how it's received!! I can say that it no longer looks like acoustic tile, but you'll have to wait for the real FO pics until it's been sent. :-)

I'm still searching for the (as-close-to-) perfect yarn to use in the shawl for my friend in AZ. I'm pretty sure it'll end up being the Handmaiden Sea Silk, but I'm not 100% sure. I'm leery because it's kinda $$ and I've read on so many blogs that it has an odor of sea water that lingers even after blocking. That kinda scares me!

Back to searching the web and LYSs for the right yarn... Have a great one!

**Edited to add: I ordered the sea silk for my friend's shawl. I hope I don't regret it, but I think it's a good decision. And on another note, I have a gmail account but I don't think I'm getting everything I should on it... Would I be horribly impatient if I sent another request to Ravelry on the off chance I have been sent an invite that hasn't made it to me?!? :-) (and yes, I do realize this is not likely... and I readily admit that I am one of the single most impatient people on this earth!!)

if the sleeve fits...

2007-05-11T10:28:00.000-06:00

I sewed the sleeve into my CPH and it fits me! It's a little bit long, but I'm happy with it. I do wish I could sew set-in style sleeves better, but it's not terrible and I can live with it. So now I need to knit the second sleeve and finish the hood and ribbing. Shouldn't take too long, if only I can stay focused on it long enough to accomplish something!

I did my speech last night and sucked dog at it. The good news is that all but 2 or 3 of the kids in the class sucked just as bad or worse than I did! :-) We all chuckled about it as we left for home. Next week is the final exam and I couldn't possibly express how happy that makes me! YIPPEE!!

As for other knitting. You know, the ADHD thing? Instead of picking up on that second sleeve I just mentioned, I opted to work more on the shawl. It's making progress quickly since I'm using a worsted weight yarn. I tend to prefer the thicker/heavier weight yarns because I don't get the impression I'll rip the yarn to shreds if I move suddenly. The lighter weight yarns make me nervous. Here's a progress shot:

It's difficult to photograph for several reasons... 1) It's eggplant-colored-- purple tone which is VERY hard to get right in pics anyway... 2) It's lace, so the texture and beauty doesn't show until it's blocked... and 3) It's gloomy-bright outside. Nuff said.

I hope you have a great weekend and enjoy the weather!

I have knitter's ADHD

2007-05-10T11:33:00.000-06:00

I have been trying to be good and only have a couple of WIPs going, but it's getting harder. Everytime I see something I like, I want to cast on for it and get it done. Until I see something else I like and the cycle repeats. For example, I have been chugging along with my CPH and now have a body (knit in one big piece to avoid seams) which is blocked and wearable as a vest. I also have a sleeve blocking as I type this. I'm waiting to work the second sleeve because I know the CPH is snug and added to that is the fact I have broad shoulders... Since it's a set-in style sleeve, I wanted to be sure the sleeve will fit me before spending a considerable amount of time working a second sleeve. Make sense? Well, it does to me. :-)

So while I'm waiting for the sleeve to block so I can seam it into the body, I figured I should start on my first shawl.

Did I forget to mention I'm taking a communication class at the community college and I have a speech to give tonight? And that I haven't decided on a topic or started the outline for said speech? Oops. My bad!

Back to the knitting. I have completed the first section of the shawl and think I like it. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a relatively simple-but-difficult thing for me to knit, though. It's simple enough as a pattern, but because it's got the lace component, I have to keep counting. And my kids like to interrupt while I count. So I count again. And again. And again... well, you get the idea. So I'm thinking this thing might take some time. It's a good thing the recipient is patient. :-)

I also have my dad's scarf in my car to work on whenever I have the time--like when waiting to pick up my oldest son from school. And I have the Log Cabin Blanket which has hit the point of stagnation. (is that a real word?!) I've said before that the blanket project is near bed and I don't often knit on it since we tend to watch TV downstairs and not while in bed.... It's almost summer anyway, so maybe T won't mind too much if he has to wait for fall... or winter.

I have no photos for you today. Sorry. Have a great day.

Yarn for sale!!

2007-05-08T20:18:00.000-06:00

Not that I have lots of blog traffic or anything, but I've got a few things I'd like to sell because they're basically just taking up space and will never meet their intended destiny!! If you're interested, send me a line or leave me a comment and I'll get back to you asap! I'll accept PayPal for payment.

A few oddments:

One full ball La Gran Mohair by Classic Elite $5, shipping to US included

3 full balls Crystal Palace Merino Frappe in black $20 incl shipping to US

1 ball Nashua Creative Focus Worsted in yellow $5 incl shipping to US

Suss Knit Kit for Baby Boy set $15 incl shipping to US

7 balls of Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick in Wheat color... 4 in one dye lot and 3 in another. $30 including shipping to the US.

Thanks for stopping by and looking... I hope to find this stuff some good new homes!

CPH body done!

2007-05-08T09:46:00.000-06:00

It took one week to the day to finish the body portion of the CPH!! Yippee! It's 'soaking' in my new trial size soak in the aquae flavor. I usually use Eucalan and have no problems with it, but I've been reading more and more about the soak and thought I'd give it a try. I'll be pinning this on the blocking board in a bit, then starting on my sleeves. I can't wait to finish this hoodie so I can wear it and so I can move on to my first lace project!!

New beginnings

2007-05-03T08:18:00.000-06:00

The dad-friend-sweater-project is kaput. Frogged. Rewound. She will never see the thing that was to be a beautiful EPS system yoke sweater with great little butterflies around the yoke. Ahh... that is the way of knitting, isn't it? I finally understand what other bloggers have written about. The resentment that sometimes grows within a project you thought at its onset would be a perfect (or at least great) item.

So I've moved on and have begun my Central Park Hoodie using Cascade 220 in color #9453. I thought this color was called Berry Heather, but now I'm thinking it's Amethyst Heather. Either way, I like the shade. It's a great purple color with flecks of pink and teal (and probably others I haven't identified yet) and it was CHEAP!! WEBS has had lots of their yarns on sale for unusually low prices. Unrefusable prices. I want to buy more but I'm trying not to...

So here's my progress shot on the CPH:

I think I made the body ribbing a bit shorter than the pattern calls for, but I don't really know. My gauge is way off, but I like the tigher stitches at my gauge, so I'm just following a larger size instruction and according to my math, I should end up with a good-fitting sweater.

I decided to knit the body in one piece, omitting the seaming stitches in my original cast on. I'll decide later how to do the sleeves. On the last one I knit, I did the sleeves flat and seamed them in, but I'm thinking this time I'll either knit them in the round up to the cap shaping or I'll pick up the stitches around the armhole opening and knit the sleeves down from there. I've never done the second option before, but it seems like a great way to do it. My decreases are much more invisible than my increases and my arms are longer than average, so this would (possibly) eliminate both of those issues entirely! My only concern is the cables looking odd because they're going the wrong way. Any input on this from my one reader?? :-)

I gotta run before the kids decorate the house in playdoh!! Bye for now.

Cursed

2007-05-01T06:37:00.000-06:00

The sweater is cursed. There. I said it out loud.

I finished the fair-isle-y portion of the sweater and for a first time effort, it's not terrible. For my satisfaction, it leaves much to be desired. It's puckery, tight/loose/fine, and generally an obvious beginner's job. Add to that the fact that because I opted not to add any more misery, er I mean fair isle to the rest of the yoke, I misplaced the decreases too close together. This gives me a sweater with a nice funnel of a neck. I'm so dang frustrated with it--and myself--that it's been put to the side where it awaits either a stroke of patience or a nice visit to the frog pond. Again.

I know that the simple fix is to rip back at least to the start of the decreases where I can refigure them and end with more of a crew neck styling, but I'm at that point of disgust that sometimes comes with a project that's not all that captivating. I just don't look forward to working on this at the moment. Keep in mind, though, that this is in NO WAY any indication of how I feel of it's intended recipient!!

For now, I'll be working on the Log Cabin and maybe even starting my CPH.

Have a great day!

Still working

2007-04-29T08:16:00.000-06:00

I'm finally into the most difficult part of the sweater and I can say with little to no hesitation at all that

I DON'T LIKE FAIR ISLE!

I love how it looks once it's done.. and maybe if I knew what the hell I was doing it wouldn't be so much like giving birth to my children. But I know nothing. Nothing at all.

The good news is that I knew going into this project that I wasn't experienced at fair isle knitting and as such decided against a difficult pattern. I just keep reminding myself that it will be over soon.

In other news, I've been working on a Log Cabin blanket (ala Mason Dixon) using el cheapo Red Heart acrylic because 1) it's cheap! 2) they have about a zillion colors to choose from! and 3) it's machine washable!!

Here's a progress shot:

Yeah, yeah, I know. It's not very far along. We tend to watch TV after the kids are in bed, but we do so in the family room and this blanket is a bed project so it's neglected often!

And in still more news, our lillies are coming!!

We received lillies several years in a row from Grandma and decided to replant them in bigger pots... They grew and grew and branched out! When we moved into this house we decided they should be planted in the ground so they could really expand. They definitely have!! I think we started with 3 plants that each had about 2-3 stalks and we now have an entire area of different colored lillies. They're beautiful when they bloom and the blooms are HUGE!!

Here are a couple of pics of last year's blooms:

And for frame of reference, a photo of my then-18 month old daughter in the flowers:

Have a great day and enjoy the sunshine!!

A little tease

2007-04-27T10:01:00.000-06:00

If all turns out the way I'm hoping, this will be a bit of a teaser for the project I've been working on feverishly for my dad's friend. I'm not thrilled with the lack of color contrast in this little dodad, but I'm not in the right mindset to search out alternate colors. I also don't want to buy anymore yarn for this project.

Can you tell what it is? I sure hope so!! :-)

I went to the library yesterday to check out several books I've been eyeballing for a while now. I found a few patterns I'd like to make up from the Cables Untangled book and two Lucinda Guy books. I am going to show some restraint, though, and wait until I have some of my to-do list completed before even buying the new yarn. I PROMISE!!

BSJ #3 has buttons!

2007-04-22T16:38:00.000-06:00

They're not what I had hoped for, but they look ok with the colors of this yarn so it's all good.

I'll be back later with more interesting writing, I promise.
:-)

Spring has Sprung... Finally!

2007-04-21T19:40:00.000-06:00

I think, anyway. The weather has definitely been nice and the kids have enjoyed being outside!! As a result, I've gotten little done on the knitting front. It's a happy trade-off. Next summer ought to be the first I can get some knitting done while the kids are playing in the yard or front, etc. This year my youngest is still too young to be semi-self-sufficient. He still has ZERO fear and likes to climb up the slide backwards, almost fall off the platform, then slide face/head first back down!

I have made some progress on the dad-friend-sweater. A whole sleeve is done (except for joining it to the body) and the body has been started. I also bought some yummy yummy yarn for my dad's scarf. He's not exactly a high-maintenance type guy, so I had to find something that was nice and soft but also easy care. He asked for charcoal. I thought that was far too boring, albeit useful since it goes with anything, so I found a great color variation in Lorna's Shepherd Worsted. I figure I have some time to get started since it's also spring in Colorado where he lives. :-)

So that's it in a nutshell for me. I'm going to get back to the knitting since the kids are sleeping. Good Night!

BSJ #4

2007-04-19T09:01:00.000-06:00

I finished the fourth baby surprise jacket this morning. That is, except for buttons. It's always the buttons. I might try to get to Joann or one of the LYS's to find the right buttons today, but it's more likely that won't happen until the weekend when I have a chance to leave the kiddos at home.

Here it is:

Pattern: Baby Surprise Jacket from Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Workshop
Needles: Size 8 addi turbos
Gauge: 4.5 stitches per inch
Yarn: Jojoland Rhythm, color #M05, a bit more than 3 balls or ~375 yards

I'm not thrilled with the color variations in this yarn, but it's definitely a nice thick wool-y jacket for a little girl. I thought the colorway would produce more pink colors than it did, which is in large part why I bought the yarn from the Destash Blog. No biggie, though. I'm thinking since the chest measures ~21" when it's closed it'll probably fit a 12-15 month old, but maybe younger as well. I still haven't seen this jacket in action, even after knitting 4 of them!! :-) I have intentions of making one using larger needles and Lion Brand Wool Ease since I have so much in my stash. Based on figures I've seen online, I think this combination might fit my youngest son.

I also cast on last night for the dad-friend-sweater. This attempt will be using the same yarn as the first try, but instead of following a set pattern I'll be using the EPS system from Knitting Without Tears. I have about a quarter of a sleeve done so far. I haven't decided if I'll be doing a yoke sweater with a design or a raglan style with no design. Too many choices, ya know?! I'll be sure to post pics once it's done and received by the dad-friend!

Chugging away

2007-04-18T14:43:00.000-06:00

So I still haven't reworked the collar on my baby-gift-to-be. I figured I would take the time to finish the project I had FINALLY decided on for my dad's friend while I cooled off at the irritation of the Debbie Bliss pattern errors. I worked like a madwoman on the sweater and when it was all said and done, I really shoulda listened to my gut and knitted the thing circularly in one piece. Really really really shoulda done that. But even if I had done that, I wouldn't have been able to avoid the problem that sent this project to the frog pond. The fronts were curling in (because of stockinette stitch) and my I-cord (that was supposed to fix this rolling issue) didn't keep the rolling at bay. The only way you would have been able to tell this sweater actually had front pieces is if it were ALWAYS zipped. Darn it!

I have little knitting to show for this past week... or two. I decided to rip the sweater and it's now sitting on the dining table in yarn cakes waiting to become something else. I'm almost done with yet another BSJ using some yarn I bought from the Destash blog. LOVE that blog!! I'll have pics soon, I promise.

Why you should always check for errata

2007-04-14T10:40:00.000-06:00

I give you a baby gift... that needs the collar to be ripped and redone following the errata given online. I will do exactly that, but not until I've cooled down. I'm sooo irritated at the screw up, but even more so that I didn't notice that the collar wasn't centered on the neck properly as I knit away. Oh well. Lesson learned. FYI, the pattern is the Shawl Collared Jacket from Debbie Bliss's Baby Knits for Beginners book. I used some el-cheapo acrylic TLC Heathers in Teal color on size 8 addis. I figured the mom would appreciate the washability of the stuff. I also like the color very much. Think it's very boyish. I do have to say that the more patterns I knit from Debbie Bliss the less I like her style. The things she designs are so very cute, but are way too oversized, in my opinion. This sweater pictured is the 6-12 month size. My son is a thick child and at 19 months, this fits him except for the too-short sleeves. The finished chest measurement is 24"!!! That's almost big enough to fit my 3 year old!! Just my opinion. I need to remember that her stuff is always oversized and adjust accordingly on future things.

I still have the rest of the second sleeve for the lady-friend project I spoke of in the last post. I hope to finish that this weekend so I can wash the whole thing, pack it up and ship it off!!

Have a great weekend!

I am still here, I promise!

2007-04-09T14:40:00.000-06:00

I've been working feverishly on a project for someone close to my dad. I had promised to make something for her and just couldn't quite find the right thing to fit. I haven't actually met her in person, but have spoken with her on the phone a couple of times and get the feeling I kinda know her already! Anyway, I kept finding projects that I thought would suit her well--her personal style, work environment, etc and when I would go to find the right color of yarn for it, the bottom would fall out. I wanted the item--sweater or cardigan--to be as close to perfect as possible. So much so that I was beating myself up about it. Then I finally realized a few things: 1) This woman is so generous and forgiving and kind that ANY project will be well received, 2) I don't think it's possible to create anything perfectly, and 3) I'm being WAAAAAAAY too OCD about my choice!! :-)

I don't have any knitting photos for you today because I'm not done with the gift yet and she might just be lurking here... I wouldn't want to give it away before she opens the box I have yet to send! So I'll leave you with what I think is a cute shot I got while on vacation.

I'm Back!

2007-04-02T15:28:00.000-06:00

We were on vacation for a week so there was no posting and very little knitting done. Much beach time, though so it all worked out great!

The view from our condo:

And some knitted goodies:

This is the Tomten from Elizabeth Zimmermann and I LOVE it! I intentionally made it large in hopes it will fit next winter. It might be snug in the chest, but maybe not. I can hope, right? The only things left to do are block it and sew in a zipper. I've never done a zipper before and although I've seen many great looking tutorials online, I have no previous knowledge of sewing and think it best to seek professional help!! I'll be finding that at a LYS nearby. I can't wait, too because the zipper is a great matching yellow and it's gonna look GREAT!!

Specs: No clue on gauge. I just knit... I'm thinking probably around 4.5 - 4.75 spi on size 8 addi turbos using Paton's Classic Merino Wool in Dark Grey Mix, Natural Mix, and New Denim as well as Nature Spun in Impasse Yellow for the I-cord edging. I don't know how much I used total, but I will try to weigh the entire thing soon and guesstimate.

I also knitted this while on vacation:
It's not done yet because I can't find the right buttons. I found some awesome ones at the LYS, but I need 5 and they only had 3. I could almost cry. But there are others and I will find the right ones soon enough. I used Blackberry Ridge's Mer-Made merino wool in fingering weight on size 4 knitpicks options needles. Not sure of gauge, but it's probably 6-7 spi. It's definitely newborn size. I intended to make socks out of this, since that's what it's supposed to be for. As luck would have it, I was actually wearing a pair of socks I had made in the past using this exact yarn in a different color while we were on vacation and they basically shredded at the ball of my foot. I'm completely dissatisfied with their wear-ability and will never use this yarn for socks again. I think it's perfect for a little jacket that won't see lots of hard-wear time.

That's it for now. Thanks for stopping by!

Tomten-In-Progress

2007-03-22T09:25:00.000-06:00

It's coming along nicely, though the hood is going to have to be ripped and re-woven! When I kitchenered the hood together this morning, it didn't look nearly as terrible as it does in this photo! Guess that's what early morning (non)lighting will do, huh? I'm thinking that I maybe did the grafting on the wrong side of the hood, but I'm really not sure. I can kitchener pretty well in stockinette, but I've never done so on garter. Live and learn, right?

Anyway, I've got the rest of this first sleeve, the entire second sleeve and the i-cord contrast to do before I'll consider it done. I do plan on sewing my first ever zipper in this coat, but intentions are just that until they've been completed! Unfortunately, the Tomten will have to rest for a week while we're on Spring Break. I may regret this decision, but I don't want to be working on a woolen item while I'm on the beach!! :-) I only hope I can finish at least the first sleeve before we leave. Time will tell.

More EZ on the way

2007-03-20T14:08:00.000-06:00

I couldn't resist casting on for a tomten for my youngest. I've seen so many extremely cute versions at the zimmermaniacs blog that I had to jump on the bandwagon and start one myself.

Here's the tentative plan:

All subject to change, of course! I also cast on for the Everyday Tweed sweater found at The Garter Belt using my Jaeger Trinity. I like how the yarn looks once knit up, though the stitch definition is non-existant in my opinion, I just don't really enjoy working with it. I have to say that it's the lightest feeling yarn I've worked with thus far. I'm anxious to see the finished product and send it to it's recipient.

Back to work... :-)

Spending some time with the frogs

2007-03-16T07:09:00.000-06:00

Actually, I've been spending a lot of time in the frog pond lately. This visit I scrapped the Placket-Neck Sweater because I just didn't like how it was turning out. I have no doubt I'll make the sweater, just not using cotton fleece.

Now I'm trying to decide what to work on next... Our spring break trip is coming and I don't want to be in the middle of some big project when we leave for a week, nor do I want to schlep around a huge wintery sweater to a nice warm beach!! :-)

I should get to work on my to-do list for a friend, but I'm having a hard time getting motivated. Spring is almost here, which means summer is right behind and any winter-like garment will not see the light of day for several months. Same thing happened last year about this time--I kinda lost my getupandgo to knit like a madwoman. I'll snap out of it soon.

Since I don't have any knitting pics, here's a shot of my kiddos going UP the slide, cause that's how we do things around here!

Placket-Neck Sweater

2007-03-15T14:30:00.000-06:00

I haven't made a lot of progress on this, and as I get farther along I'm wondering if it's such a great choice of yarn for the project. At least I didn't buy the yarn intending to use it on this, so it doesn't feel like a loss. Seems like it could end up being too drapey, but it's not done, so there's still hope.

This is Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in the Nymph color. I do like the stitch definition and the color, so if it's not right for this, I'll rip and use it for something else... like a tank for myself! :-)

February Practically Seamless Baby Sweater

2007-03-14T07:46:00.000-06:00

I finished (well, almost finished) the baby sweater that I just HAD to make, even with no intended recipient. It's just so dang cute! I just need to add the buttons--I have 4, but need 8.

I also cast on yesterday for the Child's Placket-Neck Pullover from LMKG for my youngest. I'm making the 2-4 year size for a couple of reasons: my son is a big boy, my gauge is off, and it's for next year when he'll be 2, so rather than make the 1-2 year size and hold my breath for it to fit, I'm going larger in the hopes it will fit for more than one season. Cross your fingers! I'm using some stash yarn that I don't have enough of to make something larger, so it's perfect for this project. I'll post pics soon, when there's a little progress to report.

FINISHED!

2007-03-12T15:01:00.000-06:00

The blanket is finally finished! Here it is, in all it's glory:

All told, it's about 60" wide and 50" high. I used Lion Brand Pound of Love in white, purple, light pink, and turquoise and could probably make at least 2-3 of the same blanket from one ball of each color! Definitely a bargain, that's for sure! I got about 4.25 stitches per inch on size 9 knitpicks options needles and knit over 220 sts and 250 rows, bordered by 10sts/rows of garter all around. Used a slip stitch crochet join for the two strips and a single crochet border.

I cast on for this little gem on March 9:

Then it sat in the car for a couple days. I decided I wanted to see what it looks like finished, so I'm working diligently on it. It's the February Practically Seamless Baby Sweater from EZ's Knitter's Almanac using Lion Brand Baby Soft in pastel pink on size 6 knitpicks options. I'm not sure of my gauge because I'm not knitting it for anyone in particular--I just want to see the finished product and be able to say "I did that!"

More coming soon, I hope!

What's that? Off in the distance? Is that...

2007-03-10T16:16:00.000-06:00

I think it might be the finish line! WOOHOO!!

(kindly disregard the errant toys and numbers... they have no significance except to prove that I get lots of help from little ones!)

I've finished knitting the blanket for my daughter so all that's left to do is seam it together and border it with the contrast color. I had thought that would be an easy but time-consuming task, but now I'm not so sure.

I started seaming the two pieces together and everything was going well, but then it wasn't. Apparently I'm not joining the two pieces right or something because it doesn't look all nice and pretty like the ones I've seen elsewhere.

I plan on hassling my LYS to ask for help sometime tomorrow so I can finish this project and move on to others without the guilt that comes with leaving a task unfinished! :-)

Is it Spring yet?

2007-03-07T09:24:00.000-06:00

I'm into the second strip of color for the second half of the blankie:

It's actually not taking too terribly long to knit, but it sure feels like it's been forever!

I gave up on adjusting the EZ Practically Seamless Baby Sweater so that it might fit E. I may try again at a later date, but for now it's off the drawing board. In the larger size, that is. I still intend to make at least one in the called-for size. I might make two for the twin girls of a friend in Iowa. Maybe.

I thought I'd try to 'write' a pattern for a decorative little sweater from scratch for my E. I'm not sure whether it'll actually be my pattern if it works out--I am loosely following the Handy Book of Sweater Patterns instructions, but adjusting them because the smallest size the book has is a 26" chest. My little girl would be swimming in that! So I am adjusting the smallest size and also adding a couple of elements--a stitch design from the Big Book of Knitting Stitches, a minor adjustment to the neckline, etc. At what point does something become your own? I may never know! :-)

And now, I'm headed back to the blankie.

Almost halfway there!

2007-03-06T07:04:00.000-06:00

This is the first strip of the blanket for E. I cast on last night for the other half, which will be striped -- two colors, 5 stripes. I'm so anxious to finish the second part because I'm scarily excited to seam the pieces using the turquoise color!!

I realized that my knitting has involved a fair amount of pink in the past few months. Lots of pink. I'm not a huge fan of pink, so I'm not exactly sure how this happened, though I suppose it has something to do with a certain 3 year old girl...

On to the second strip!!

Minimal Log Cabin Progress

2007-03-05T09:24:00.000-06:00

I like knitting the log cabin blanket much more than I thought I would! It's strange... It feels like I'm making a lot of progress each time I switch colors, but the blanket is still so very small. I enjoy the feeling of something being accomplished, even if it's a false feeling!!

As for my daughter's blanket, it's definitely growing. I can't wait to finish the first strip--the pink--so I can at least knit a different color for a while. She's very excited about her new blankie and I want to give it to her asap! I'm not posting pics of it because it's boring. Boring boring boring. Cute, but boring.

I also cast on (again) for the EZ Practically Seamless Baby Sweater from the Knitter's Almanac. I worked feverishly to calculate how many stitches I should cast on, how many to increase, how many for sleeves, fronts, back, etc etc etc so that it will hopefully fit E. She's just over 3 years old, but she's skinny as all get out. Skinny and tall. Couldn't we all be so lucky?! :-) So I cast on again last night and I'm knitting a row here and there. I hope my math was correct because I think E would look so adorable in it! It's a beautiful little lacy sweater.

In non-knitting news, we flipped the trampoline over after removing the posts that hold the safety net up. What a pain that was! It's still cold here and that wind sure does have a vicious bite! We couldn't stand the white trash appearance anymore, though. It still looks kinda icky, what with the posts and netting underneath the trampoline, but at least the thing's in an upright position. And of course, we learned a valuable lesson: If you live in Chicago and wish to keep a trampoline as a toy in your yard, you will require at least a few bags of sand to hold said trampoline in it's place during gale force winds and unheard of gusts.

Bye for now!

Chicago winter sucks.

2007-03-03T09:50:00.000-06:00

That would be our 13' trampoline that actually made it into our back neighbor's yard on top of a couple of his evergreens. This photo is the 'after' view. I admit that it had to be funny as hell to watch us struggle to get the thing rolled back into our yard. That sucker is heavy and awkward!! The problem was, the wind (40mph and more) was working against us. Literally. We're sure the tramp is completely dead, not just the outer rails that hold the netting up. They're trashed. But it looks like the frame of the bouncy portion is all bent up, too.

Bummer.

As for knitting, there hasn't been a whole lot of worthy progress. I'm chugging away at the really large blanket for my daughter, but not quite half done with the solid pink strip. I'm bored to tears knitting it, but at the same time I'm excited to get it done and crochet that neato contrast color in!! Hope to post progress photos soon!

Ribbit... Ribbit...

2007-02-27T17:28:00.000-06:00

I'm afraid both of the projects I was actually making progress on have been tossed to the frog pond. I messed up somewhere at the underarm joining of the EZ baby sweater and that completely messed up the gull stitch pattern... I'm still novice enough that I have no idea how to frog it back to the point I messed up, not to mention I don't really know where (or what) I messed up, so even if I could muster the courage to rip back, I wouldn't know when to stop.

The other ribbit is the hearts blanket. I decided today that there are many factors I just can't live with about the project. 1) It's bound to be WAAAAAY too small to do any good for my daughter and I don't want to spend $100 or more to get enough yarn to make it bigger. 2) It's kinda looking like a glorified dishcloth to me. 3) The seed stitch pattern has gotten completely under my skin and I can't take the slow progress anymore. 4) While I really do love this yarn (Rowan Wool/Cotton) I don't like it for a blanket. Not this blanket, anyway. I think it'd be much better used in a sweater or two.

So I started on a different blanket for dd. She kinda helped me design it... It's going to use up a fair amount of cheap acrylic yarn (Lion Pound of Love) I've had in the stash for a year or so, and I think it's gonna be cute as hell! I totally copied the idea from Alison at The Blue Blog, only using different colors, yarns, and making up a pattern myself instead of buying the Sarah Dallas Knitting book. :-)

You can't see it in this photo, but the blanket will be two pieces--solid pink on one side, striped purple and white on the other, joined in the middle with a turquoise. The same turquoise color will be used for a simple crochet stitch around the entire border of the blanket.

If this one for my daughter actually makes it to completion, I plan on making another in a blue, turquoise, and white combo with a red contrast crochet border for my youngest son. My oldest son has agreed to the Log Cabin Blanket, but I'm having a hard time locating all the different colors he wants me to use... I wanted to use Wool Ease since it's cheap for the yardage, on sale here locally, and is supposedly available in lots of colors... that I can't find. :-(

Too many projects

2007-02-26T11:53:00.000-06:00

As always seems to happen to me, I have startitis and get too many things going at once, so all the projects suffer V-E-R-Y slow progress.

Over the weekend, I did make a little progress on E's Hearts blanket, but not much. I think it would be easier and more fun to knit this blanket if I knew how to knit continental so the seed stitch would go faster and smoother.

I made some big progress on the Practically Seamless Baby Sweater from EZ's Knitter's Almanac. I'm using this attempt as a practice run for a larger one to be done for E using something like my Knit Picks Andean Silk or another wool blend yarn. I'll have to adjust for sizing, so I wanted to be sure I could manage the lace pattern before diving in with real yarn. This one is Bernat Softee Baby in lilac. I really like this pattern and think it's a perfect introduction into lace knitting, primitive as it is. You gotta start somewhere, right?! I'm anxious to finish it and go from there on sizing for E. I am hoping that I can just knit the exact pattern using a larger gauge yarn/needle combo and get something that will fit her, but I'm just not sure yet.

I also got started on T's blanket. He had originally asked for a pirate blanket, then a striped blanket, then he saw a picture of the Log Cabin Blanket in the Mason*Dixon Knitting book and really lit up at it. That's what I'm working on for him, using Lion Brand Wool Ease in multiple colors. I can't even imagine knitting an entire blanket of garter stitch in a cotton yarn, as is called for in the pattern. My hands would break off!!

Back to work... Gotta finish at least one project sometime soon!!

Neutral Baby Gift Set

2007-02-22T09:35:00.000-06:00

The last piece of the baby gift set is seamed and ready to go. I finished the Debbie Bliss boatneck sweater this morning and decided last minute to add a striped pocket because the winter white color was way too boring!

A close up of the pocket:

I'm not happy with how the buttons worked out, but it's not a big enough deal for me to tear them out and seam the neck further. I just wouldn't do the same thing if I made another. I do really love the pocket, though. In my opinion, the colors are bold but not too gender-specific. I hope the parents think so, too!

And here is the complete package to be given to our favorite pediatrician at our next visit:

Specs on the boatneck sweater:
Pattern: Boat neck sweater from the Baby Knits for Beginners book by Debbie Bliss
Yarn: TLC Essentials in winter white for the sweater and TLC Heathers in teal and mulberry for the striped pocket.
Used size 8 addi turbos on this one and got roughly 4.75 spi. I made a few adjustments to the pattern such as: added k2p2 ribbing at hems and cuffs, added buttons to neckline, and added a small striped pocket. I followed the 6-9 month sizing and personally think this sweater would almost fit my large 17 month old. The sleeves might be short on him, but otherwise I think it would fit!

Now I need to get back to work on the hearts blanket for E!! She's getting a bit impatient, asking several times a day whether or not I'm done with her blanket for her bed!!

Oh, and did I forget to mention that I bought more yarn?? I plan on making two Essential Tweed sweaters from the Garter Belt website... one for myself and one for a friend!

Progress shot

2007-02-20T09:52:00.000-06:00

The Rowan Wool Cotton is becoming a blanket for E. I'm following the Hearts and Stars Blanket pattern from Adorable Knits for Tots--I just subbed the yarn. And skipped the stars part because my little princess likes "pink hearts, no stars, just hearts." :-)

I had never felt or seen the wool cotton, so it was a blind choice. I think it is working really well! The yarn is very soft. A bit hard on my hands because it's 50% cotton, but that's more me than anything. It's definitely a softer cotton than I've used before--I just don't like knitting with cotton at all.

I'm not sure how big this blanket will be since I'm working at a tighter gauge than the pattern calls for and I swapped out yarns. I have 10 balls of the wool cotton and the pattern calls for 14 of the Rowan Handknit Cotton DK. I'm hoping to get 5 squares wide and at least 5 high, maybe six--the pattern calls for 7 high so I might be a little shy.

Once this blankie is done, my oldest has requested one in a pirate theme. I can't quite get specifics out of him so I can design one, but I think we might end up skipping it altogether. Attention span, ya know? Time will tell.

Next up... Any guesses?

2007-02-19T07:26:00.000-06:00

It's pink, it's girly, and it's big...

I'll at least have some progress shots soon. I've decided to scrap the bear toy and booties that were to be part of the gift set. I'm hoping to have the last element of the gift set done this week, so pictures will be posted then.

BSJ #2

2007-02-18T14:56:00.000-06:00

This one in Lion Brand Baby Soft cream color on size 7 Knit Picks Options circular needles at a gauge of 5spi. A little loose for my liking, but it's still nice. I also don't care too much for the color... or lack thereof. I might try another bsj in a solid color, but not cream or white. I like the color changes with variegated and hand painted much better!

I do like these little buttons, though. I think they're pretty gender neutral and have a little pazazz, but not too much. What the heck.

This one will be part of a gift set for our Pediatrician who is expecting #3 in May-ish. They aren't finding out until d-day what the gender is, so my hands are kinda tied.

More to come soon... like booties and maybe a bear toy!

Duck and Gift Set

2007-02-14T09:02:00.000-06:00

Here is the completed duck toy:

The duck toy was made following a pattern from the Knitted Toys book by Fiona McTague using Red Heart Sport in yellow and pumpkin on size 3 needles. I used the entire skein of yellow and about half, maybe a bit less of the pumpkin. He's a little wonky, but I like 'im!

And here is the set together:

Bunny Buddy following the Lion Brand pattern using Bernat Cottontots in Blue Berry color, Baby Surprise Jacket and Stay On Booties using Bernat Softee Baby in His Jeans Ombre color, and the duck as described above. I hope the recipient likes this stuff as much as I do! I like the theme idea--duck buttons on the jacket, duck toy, duck bag, etc. I'm planning a similar one in a bear theme for an acquaintance who's not finding out the gender of the baby-to-be until D-Day.

Baby Surprise Jacket & Booties

2007-02-13T06:28:00.000-06:00

It took only 3 days to finish the Elizabeth Zimmermann pattern for the Baby Surprise Jacket and I loved it!!! I can't wait to make more of them... They just look so cool and the way they transform into a little almost seamless cardigan is so neat! I finished this several days ago but didn't buy the buttons until this past weekend, then I couldn't get a good picture, then I got lazy... I've decided to just post the not-completely-finished picture I do have, so here you go:

And a close-up of the buttons: (not yet sewn on in this photo)

I used Bernat Softee Baby in His Jeans Ombre for both patterns. The booties are called Stay On Booties from the Knitting for Baby book by Melanie Falick. All told, it took one entire ball of this yarn, but I did have to dip into a second because I'm paranoid. If you were a better gauge of seaming needs and could knit booties better than I, you'd probably get away with one ball and have inches to spare. (~333 yards)

Used size 5 Knit Picks Options needles with a 24" cable. I like these needles pretty well. They're easy to work with, though for some reason I've had a lot of trouble with the needles unscrewing. I'd much prefer Addis, but they cost about a zillion dollars for all the different lengths, so the KP's will do just fine until I'm rich.

Keep your eyes peeled for the duck toy to coordinate (and complete) the little gift pack. Lots and Lots and Lots of seaming involved, so maybe another day or two. He sure is cute, though.

Central Park Hoodie

2007-02-05T08:55:00.000-06:00

I finished seaming the Central Park Hoodie made for a friend's daughter last night, but wanted to wait until this morning when the sun was out to take a picture of it. You'll probably notice that the cables flatten out toward the neck, but that's only because the hoodie is too small for my broad shoulders... When the hoodie's laying flat, it's just as it should be!

Pattern from KnitScene, Special Issue, Fall 2006
Yarn: Wool Ease Blue Mist (multiple dye lots, hence the 'stripe') ~6 balls?
Needles: 8 addi turbos and knit pick options
Modifications: knit body in one big piece to avoid side seams, extended the hood about 2" more than pattern called for, and picked up all the front edge ribbing in one big piece instead of two sections.

Started January 18, 2007 and Finished February 4, 2007

Next project in the works is a baby surprise jacket in Bernat softee baby yarn... sneak preview:

Bunny Buddies 1 & 2

2007-02-01T20:39:00.000-06:00

I have a handful of friends or acquaintances who are expecting babies in May, June, and July, so I'm working on little gift packs for them all... First up are two bunny buddies. The pattern for these can be found on Lion Brand's website, but I don't like the yarn called for, so I subbed Bernat Cottontots. I've also made these using Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton, and while it was certainly nice, I didn't think it was nicer enough to pay over $9 for a skein of the stuff when I can buy a ball of Cottontots for a third or less of the cost and make at least 2, maybe squeeze a third buddy from that single ball. Cost effective and just as soft, in my book, anyway.

So here are #1 and #2 for 2007 in Sweet Cream:

and Blue Berry:

I hope to be back soon with completed photos of the CPH, wonky stripe and all!

A lesson in Dye Lots

2007-01-29T19:14:00.000-06:00

I won't say much. I'm too mad. At myself and at the stupid $#%(#($@#$&*$%)$_ idiots who developed dye lots. SONUVA.

I can't believe I didn't see this happening. I just kept on-a-knittin and didn't look at anything but what I was working on at the immediate moment. I am actually completely amazed at what a HUGE difference there is between two balls of the same yarn in the same color. I mean, come on! Was the stripe-y causing yarn dyed by someone on crack, or what? Did the dyer forget to add the blue dye? SONUVA.

I'm going to finish it. I'm afraid if I don't, there will officially be a curse on me and the central park hoodie, as I still have one 3/4 finished lying on my bedroom floor. Good news is I'm happy with the overall results, save the color variance. It turned out better than I expected!

In general

2007-01-26T10:06:00.000-06:00

I'm chugging along with the CPH v2 in wool ease. Both sleeves are done and blocking away. I've had some trouble with the body, though. In knitting this second one, I realized an error I never really worried about on the first one. Anyway, I have cast on at least 3 times, and I think I've got it right this time. No photos because I doubt anyone wants to see half an inch of k2p2 ribbing! :-) I have used the cable cast on for the entire project... No real reasoning behind this except that I kind of like how it looks. I prefer the long tail method, but I didn't feel like trying to guess-timate how much of a tail to leave for 162 sts!!

On another front, I had found MANY patterns in Phildar's various magazines on their french website and I fell hard! I decided to buy six magazines, mostly the Layette, but also a couple of the kids' versions. That was almost 2 weeks ago! I'm not sure if the delay is on the overseas mailing portion or if it's my not-so-adept-at-their-job mailpeople. They are the worst. I am super anxious to see the mags first hand, though!! I've been a little obsessed (to say the least) about checking the mail. :-) Maybe they'll come today. Or tomorrow. Or sometime this month.

Have a great day! I'll leave you with my youngest, eating his banana and hamming it up for the camera!

Baby Cardigan

2007-01-23T18:45:00.000-06:00

Done up in stash-busting Bernat Softee Baby in pale blue, this is the Sirdar leaflet pattern #3143 on size 5 bamboo needles. I adapted to knit in one piece instead of 3 and joined the sleeves as if knitting in the round. Kind of made it more difficult than I thought, but it turned out ok. At least I didn't have to seam much--only the underarms! My gauge was a little off from the pattern, so I followed the 3-6 month sizing to achieve a newborn finished product. I have a couple aquaintances who are expecting this summer, so I might knit up one or two more of these in a summer-y cotton yarn of some sort... perhaps Patons Grace or Jaeger Aqua. I also really want to try the baby surprise jacket (Knitting Workshop) and the baby sweater (Knitter's Almanac) by Elizabeth Zimmermann, so those might take precedence over another Sirdar. We'll see what gender babies are coming before making the decision!

Anyway, enough of the mindless chatter and on to the photo.

I had some trouble with the button band, as you can see, and I haven't officially finished this knit since I still have the buttons to sew on, but I wanted to post a pic anway! (ps... I 'borrowed' this photo idea from a blog I've been following for a while now... I hope that's legal! If not, lemme know!)

Suburban Wildlife

2007-01-22T07:16:00.000-06:00

So we're gearing up to watch the Bears playoff game a little before 2pm yesterday when my hubby looks out the window and sees this:

and this:

That's right! A mini pack of deer all of 5 feet from our window! It was pretty cool and the kids were super excited!

Not much knitting news, though. I did finish one sleeve on the teenage CPH and it's blocking... cast on for the second sleeve and have turned one cable... Also almost done with a baby cardigan in Bernat Softee Baby using a Sirdar pattern I've had for a while. I'll post pics tomorrow if I'm done by then!

Avoidance isn't always the best policy...

2007-01-19T12:16:00.000-06:00

But it's a pretty well exercised one in my world!!

I have a Central Park Hoodie (CPH) on the needles in Rowan Yorkshire Aran Tweed because I'm afraid to finish it... If I finish knitting it, I'll have to seam it and the yarn scares me. It's thick and thin and weak and strong and I'm freaked out. So I have the entire cardigan body and one sleeve done and another sleeve all-but-done (I'm about half through the sleeve cap shaping) and the only things left to do are finish the sleeve and knit the hood. And seam it. Did I mention I fear seaming this sweater? I don't dare admit when I actually cast on for this one. You'd faint.

So yesterday I did what any rational person would do: I picked out some stash yarn (wool ease in blue mist) and cast on for a sleeve of another CPH for a friend's teenage daughter. There's some good news and some bad news to this. Good News: stash yarn! (need I say more?!?) This yarn doesn't freak me out so it should become a finished project in a timely fashion. And finally, it's a gift, which is always a good thing. Bad news? Well, I'll probably never finish the first one. The one I bought good yarn for. The one meant for ME! Only time will tell. For now, here's my progress on the blue one in wool ease, along with a footie shot of my littlest helper! :-)

River Run Vest... Done.

2007-01-18T16:38:00.000-06:00

It has several issues, but it wasn't exactly planned well before jumping in and knitting away. Worked in the round until the armholes, then back and forth on two fronts and the back sections. I used size 8 addis on this, as well as 7 bamboo for the neck and armhole ribbing. If I did it again, I'd make several adjustments, including (but not limited to) lengthening the armhole, spreading the armhole and neck shaping over MANY more rows to avoid the tank-top style, and skip the side purl sections. The yarn is Lion Brand Wool Ease in Dark Rose Heather color, and for ~37" measurement I used 3 balls plus a tiny bit of a fourth for the neck ribbing.

Please forgive me my sweatpants and horrible winter lighting self-photo!!

Don't Try This At Home!

2007-01-16T21:59:00.000-06:00

I decided it would be fun to semi-design a vest with a nice cable for a friend. From scratch using the Handy Book of Sweater Patterns. Ouch. All was going well until I needed to split the cable, so nicely centered in the front, into two even sections flanking the V of the neckline. It's actually not turning out too terrible, but like an idiot, I left myself a lifeline in a contrasting yarn but forgot to actually LEAVE the yarn in after I started knitting the first side of the neck. DUMB DUMB DUMB.

Oh well. I'm hoping to finish this tomorrow or at the latest on Thursday.

Dolly is born!

2007-01-14T18:43:00.000-06:00

From the Jess Hutchison Unusual Toys For You to Knit and Enjoy booklet. Used Patons Astra in lip pink, baby pink, and baby yellow on size 5 clover dpns. Took about 1.5 days including kid-interruption time. I can definitely see more of her patterns in my immediate future!!

My foray into knitting and blogging!

2007-01-12T18:09:00.000-06:00

So I'm not a "real" blogger, I'm just faking it so I have a central location for my knitting tidbits. I started knitting in late 2004 when I bought a learn-to-knit-kit by Lion Brand at Joann. I had never even set foot inside a Joann before, let alone a brand spanking new Joann Superstore, so I had no idea what I was in for. I had a 40% off coupon in my hot little hands that was begging to be spent. I had no idea what to buy, but I wasn't gonna leave empty handed. I spotted the kit and I was off. The deep end. I just didn't know it yet.

I since have learned lots of techniques and perfected none. I have fun knitting, but am not often truly please with the end results. Probably because I'm impatient. Very impatient. And I get bored easily. Ahhh... My poor kids got those traits from me. Sad but true.
Anyway, I will try to post things as I finish them now and perhaps throw in a few older FOs along the way for fun.

Thanks for stopping by!

For now, here is a pic of my oldest modeling one of my first FOs, the Bill sweater in Debbie Bliss's Junior Knits book using Knit Picks Merino Style.

And for some older FOs, check out:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/94024423@N00/