I've succumbed.

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

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...

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

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

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

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!

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

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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.)