Sweet Baby Sweater

Probably the sweetest thing I've knit.

Pattern: Babies Neck Down Cardigan #982 [Rav Link]
Source: Knitting Pure and Simple
Materials: Plymouth Encore Worsted
Amount: 2 skeins
Needles: US 8 & US 6
Started: March 1, 2009

Finished: March 8, 2009

The buttons make the sweater.

This is a thank you for a friend that recently helped me out with some work stuff.
She's due in August.

The 30 Sweater

I turned 30 in June. I didn't talk about it here, but I was pretty excited about it. For my birthday, Hubby and I went flyfishing, had lunch at one of my favorite places and rounded out the day with a trip to WEBS, where I was determined to buy a sweater's worth of Rowan.

I purchased Rowan Scottish Tweed Aran in my favorite color, gray. I had no idea what I was going to knit with it, but my goal was to knit a sweater during my 30th year. Here is the result:

Pattern: Garter Yoke Cardigan [Rav Link]
Source: Knit.1 Fall/Winter 2008
Materials: Rowan Scottish Tweed Aran
Amount: idk. maybe 5 balls?
Needles: US 7
Started: December 26, 2008
Finished: January 17 2009

This was a such an easy, quick knit. It flew off my needles. I've been wearing it for weeks now waiting for the sun to return to New England so I could take some pics.

My only mods were to include decreases in the sleeves. The pattern intended for somewhat bells sleeves and I just wasn't sure that the Scottish Tweed would provide enough drape to make this look right. I decreased quite a bit and if I were a better person, I would have taken notes to share with you.


I do love it, but I have to admit that I am seriously considering re-knitting this.


Yes. Yes, I am.
See how much ease there is under the arms and across the bust? I have a 36 bust and I knit the 36 size. The sweater taught me that I really should knit a 34. More to come on exactly how I know this is true in my next post.

I am only confirmed that perhaps re-knit is needed by looking at my photo from the back.

:( frump-a-dump. Anyhoo...


The button are spectacular and come from crazy ol' Joann's. Who knew? The perfect compliment to my 30! sweater. I loves it.

The Pre Slippers

Back in December, I knit Hubby an item at his special request. Slippers in Prefontaine signature Oregon colors. I made them and then overfelted them just a touch. They probably would have fit Hubby, but this unfortunate circumstance coincided with the very fortunate 30th birthday of my friend Chrisie. Hubby, being the amazing man that he is, was happy to repurpose his prized slippers as a gift to Chrisie, a burgeoning running star.

Pattern: Fiber Trends Felt Clogs [Rav Link]
Source: FiberTrends AC-33
Materials: Cascade 220 baby!
Amount: 2 skeins each color
Needles: US 13
Started: December, 2008
Finished: December, 2008

The story of Chrisie's birthday in a nutshell:

Chrisie was less than amped about turning 30 and I found out that she had no plans for the big day. This would not do.

• December 5th: Co-conspired with our bestie Pete to fly from Arkansas to join me in Pittsburgh for Chrisie festivities. We bought plane tickets.
• December 12th: I was supposed to fly to Pittsburgh. Instead, I got a migraine and ended up puking at work. Awesome. There was no way I was going to survive a flight. Hubby was amazing. Came all the way downtown to pick me up, took me home and called the airline in time to reschedule my flight.
• December 13th: Flew to Pittsburgh: Land of Chrisie. Finest city in the land. Laissez les bons temps rouler:

Yuengling for all!

Catnip mustaches for Oedipuss:

I got Oedipuss' at the Bazaar Bizarre, but you can get one here.

• December 14th: Birthday!! We had a rockin' birthday at Chrisie's parents house. Her parents were so gratious to me and Pete. I absolutely gorged myself on Sir Pizza and to be honest, I still didn't get enough. We watched the Steelers beat the Ravens. It was an awesome day. And while Chrisie may have been entering a new decade, she was still her same old self:
  

Before we left Chrisie's to go to her parents house
she pulled out her mom's old Bleier jersey saying, "It's a big game today."

Was she talking about the Steelers game or turning 30? I'm not sure and I don't think I want to know her answer. I love the idea of her donning her mom's old Bleier jersey on a day when she and her team needed support.

Habitat

It's so not easy to photograph a black hat.
Well, there's probably some good tricks to it, but I'm not that good yet.

Pattern: Habitat by Jared Flood
Source: buy it through Ravelry for $4.75
Materials: Malabrigo Merino Worsted
Amount: less than 1 skein
Needles: US 7& 8 Addi Turbos
Started: November, 2008
Finished: December 20, 2008

I made this hat for my friend Rob. I sent him a bunch of patterns and he picked this one, but now I'm really wondering if it's too feminine. Hubby looks ridiculous in it. What do you think? Dude gift?

Just Enough Ruffles

I started this scarf on the plane going to my sister's wedding. I didn't get a chance to work on it until the plane ride home, then I finished it in a few hours at home. I'd say this is 6 hours of knitting or less. Need last minute gift? Got some malabrigo in your stash? This is for you.

I made this as a Christmas present for a co-worker. I'm having a hard time giving it away. She's more of a ruffle gurl than me though.

Pattern: Just Enough Ruffles by Laura Chau
Source: buy it through Ravelry for $3.50
Materials: Malabrigo Merino Worsted
Amount: 1 1/3 skeins
Needles: US 9 Addi Turbos
Started: November 23, 2008
Finished: November 30, 2008

Drive by Sweater Post

I've got no time to blog. I've been having fun. Too much fun to blog.

This is the best I can do.
A quick pic taken weeks ago before hopping on a plane to go to my sister's wedding.

Pattern: Divine by Leanne Prouse & Lorraine Tweddle
Source: Ella Rae Book Seven
Size: Small
Materials: Ella Rae Silkience
Amount: 8 skeins ( I think)
Needles: US 6 & 7 Addi Turbos
Started: September, 2008
Finished: November, 2008

One day = one hat

I ran across the pattern for Bounce last week. I've been a little taken with the squishy, beret type hats I've been seeing lately. I had some Malabrigo in the stash and wanted to give this pattern a try. So yesterday I set forth to make this hat. I finished it in about 12 hours (Not total knitting time. There were interruptions).

I LOVE this pattern. You knit the ribbing in the round, then switch to knitting it flat, thereby eliminating the need for magic loop or dpns. Genius! Just a little seaming at the end. Voila!

My incentive was to be able to wear a green hat to Hubby's marathon so that I might be easily seen by him in a crowd. It worked too.

Rutabaga

One week. One bag.

Pattern: Rutabaga
Source: Knitscene Spring 2007 (also recently released as single pattern here.)
Materials: GGH Tara, cotton/microfiber blend
Amount: 3 skeins
Needles: US 5 & 9 Addi Turbos
Started: June 15, 2008
Finished: June 22, 2008

I've been eying this bag at Butterfly Yarns for a year now. I finally made it. Things I like about this bag:

1. The yarn. Not an obvious choice for this pattern. I think the pattern uses Cotton Fleece and I think most people would steer towards a mercerized cotton to make this type of bag. The thicker sproingy Tara is lovely though. I never in a million years would have picked it. Had Kim not took a chance on knitting a sample for the store I never would have knit this.
2. On the garter strap, the pattern has you slip the first stitch of each row. I always forget about the slip stitch edging. It's lovely and on something as simple as garter stitch, it's a mighty fine choice.
3. It's gray. :)
   

#4

I've been meaning to get permission to blog about my new niece, but she's been around for a month now and it looks as though I may never remember to ask my brother. So, I won't post any pics of her, but I will post my first gift to her:

Sunshine by Jane Ellison from Queensland Book8
in Bebe CotSoy by Queensland.
Rav deets here.

Softest yarn ever. Perfect 50/50 blend of cotton and soy fiber. It's going in the mail tomorrow.
I hope it still fits! I picked this one because it could be a dress, then a shirt.

We're all very excited and proud of #4. She came rushing into the world ahead of schedule and fought like crazy to get out that dang hospital and home to the rest of the numbers.

Django socks and yellow

Last spring I had a problem with the color green. I wanted to make everything in green. Every yarn I picked out was green. A new color has snuck up on me: yellow. It started with a yellow bag. Then I bought some yellow hemp. Then I bought some yellow cotton. I was winding yarn the other night and saw this on the dining room table:

hmm... subliminal yellow.

The hemp is Hemp for Knitting allhemp6 in Dijon. I'm making the everlasting bagstopper, shown above on left. Plastic needles, hemp = good beach knitting. Thanks Lisa!! On the right is a Wicked for me in my favorite cotton yarn Premiere. It's like butter and doesn't at all feel like other cottons. Knitting with cotton to me feel like ass. Premiere = not like ass. ;)

Django socks are done. They've been done for well over a week, but I kept forgetting to sew up one toe. So here they are:

Pretty good stuff.

Ostrich

I finally blocked the ostrich. Looks pretty good.
The matching fingerless mitts will be along soon.

Ostrich Plume Scarf
Materials: Brooklyn Handspun Signature, Colorway: Persimmon
Needles: US 7 Addi Turbo 32",
Start Date: February 2008
Finish Date: February 2008

Ostrich Plume Scarf

Ostrich Plume scarf from knitspot.com
Big shout out to my girl Beth on this one. I told her what I wanted and she sent me to the right place. It's not blocked and I keep forgetting to order a set of blocking wires. I may just wash and gently block as best I can. I like it sproingy.

Knit a Koolhaas NOW!!

Here's my Malabrigo Koolhaas:



Koolhaas Hat
Materials: Malabrigo Merino Worsted, Colorway: Continental
Needles: US 8 Addi Turbo 32", US 6 Addi Turbo 32"
Start Date: January 2008
Finish Date: January 2008


Peeps. Brooklyn Tweed has done it again!
Such a great pattern. Go knit one, now!

Good news is that there's enough Malabrigo left for some fingerless mitts.

Perfect Socks

These are socks that fit me perfectly.


I finished the first sock on a car ride this weekend.


Top Down, Twisted Rib Cuff, Eye of Partridge Heel, Kitchener Toe
60 stitches at a gauge that I'd know if I wanted to measure.
Materials: Cherry Tree Hill Super Sock
Needles: US 1 Addi Turbo 32"
Start Date: January 2007
Finish Date: January 2007

Hot sock photography by Hubby.

That's Roxie back there. She gets jealous if she's not the center of attention.

Disgustingly Cute Sweater

I think the hood took as long to knit as the rest of the sweater. The pattern said to bind off at the top and seam. Eh. Didn't like that idea. So I decided to kitchener. Well, it took no less than 6 attempts to get the purl ridges on the right side. Looks fabulous now. I'm not crazy about how the arm sleeves look and I have no idea if it'll fit. Good thing there's a mess of babies in my life.

I voted against monkeys and went for mother of pearl. I think it was a good move.

Satisfaction

I think there is no better satisfaction for a knitter:

Remember this sweater? I forgot to take a pic with the buttons. I asked momma to take a pic for me and this was in my inbox this afternoon with this note:

"just wanted to show you how fabulous your sweater looks!! i LOVE it. i may have to commission you to make another! i put it on her all the time!!! thank you so much"

Aren't the buttons perfect? What about that dimple?! Oy!

Cobblestone

The Cobblestone is done. DONE! ...and I'm very happy with it.

I think Hubby likes it. He says he does. I can't tell. It doesn't really matter. If it sits in his drawer, unworn, I don't care. It's good looking and I got pretty close on the fit (try sizing a runner whose weight fluctuates like New England weather!). The first time he put it on he immediately rolled the cuffs. It doesn't change the look of the sweater, but I winced. That's 2 inches of knitting I didn't need to do!

He hasn't worn it yet because I had to block it in the basement during our visit to Ohio. 5 days, damp without turning, flipping, proper circulation. Hubby says, "Um, can you wash it again? It smells basement-y." And so I did. And so it dries upstairs on the drying rack. I even searched for the manliest smelling wool wash for him. Which, in my opinion is SOAK Aqua - which smells like nothing actually, but it's not girly.

Pattern: Cobblestone by Jared Flood
Source: IK Fall 07
Materials: Classic Elite Skye Tweed in #1206; roughly 11 skeins
Needles: US 7 Addi Turbo Circulars
Start Date: August 2007
Finish Date: December 2007

I highly recommend this pattern. It is well written, beautiful in it's simplicity and classic, yet different. I love it.

The yarn: I would use something else next time. The lack of give in it makes it really hard to work with. If you're looking for leftover Skye Tweed, stop looking. Find another tweed, my friend.

One lucky cupcake.

There is one soul scheduled to make his/her debut this January and if I had one thing to say to this wee one it would be this:

You, my little cupcake, are blessed.

Blessed with two pretty amazing souls for parents.
Compassionate, intelligent, creative, pensive and witty parents.

Oh yeah, and you owe your mom. Bigtime!

The little one's papa sent me inspiration for this hat and I fudged a pattern.
Pretty cute, no?

Mittens

Mittens for my friend at work. Probably for Christmas. They match my walls.
The mate will have the now infamous, Charlie pocket.

PS - Thanks for the pattern, Mafia.

omg. omg. omg. omg. omg.

Let me tell you a sad story about a girl named Haddy....

So I knit this clapotis, right? Out of koigu. My first koigu ever. It turned out lovely. Soft and squishy. It's probably one of the best things I've ever knit. Along the way, I started to really think about the color. Was it too pink? Was it for me? Would I wear it? Then one morning while knitting on it on the train, I had this great idea to give it as a Christmas gift to my dear friend who has a thing for pink. Maybe I'd wear it to try it out, but I was 95% sure it was going to this special person for Christmas. It was so in the bag. Me! A Christmas gift done in October?!? YAY!

I blocked it Sunday and I knew that tonight it would be dry. We had an impromptu dinner at my mother-in-law's tonight. Hubby's Auntie is in town. She used a knit a lot. I'll take it to show her. I came home from work, changed my clothes and un-pinned the clapotis. It was better than I expected. I was still on the fence. For me? Christmas gift? Maybe I should try it out, then decide. We were short on time, but I made Hubby snap this pic:

I took one look at it on the preview function and said something about how frumpy I looked. Not enough time for another pic now. Maybe later. Oh.... here comes the sad part....

So, we go to dinner. It's a raucous good time. Dinner's winding down. I decide it's a good time to show Auntie. I bring it over to her. (Brace yourself...) She sees it and says, "It's beautiful! Thank you."

Inner monologue: WHAT!?!?!?!?!

I say, "I knit this." Trying to redirect. She says, "I know. It'll look so lovely with my new pants."

Inner monologue: Oh F*CK!!!!!! She thinks I made this for her!!

Auntie is getting up there in age and her hearing.... well it sucks.

Inner monologue: Omg. Omg. Someone help.

I look around. No one is noticing this sh*t. She says she loves it and it's so beautiful and thanks me again with a big hug.

Inner monologue: Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.

I take one last good look at it and consider petting it one last time before I return to my seat. No one else was really paying attention, so no one came to my aid. I sit down and think several of these things at once:
stupid idiot! Why'd you bring that? Why didn't you show Mother-in-law first? How can I get it back? I can't believe that just happened. I only have one frumpy picture!!! Nooooo!

Then, I look over and Auntie is crying. She is petting the scarf and admiring the stitches. No one else noticed what was going on. She was all teary over this scarf. She just kept petting it. She gets up and slowly walks the scarf up to her room.

At this point, I'm still praying that perhaps this hasn't happened. Maybe I can go upstairs and steal it back? No. She loves it. I hope she loves it? Does she love it? I actually glanced over to where my coat was hanging. Perhaps this is a dream and it's still hanging where I left it. Drat. Just a plain black coat over there.

The thing is, I'm pretty okay with things going. I consider myself a process knitter. I love me a finished product, but ordinarily I'd let a project go freely. Not this one. This one was so special. Even to give it to my friend was going to be a sacrifice. I knew this and this was part of why it was to be such a special gift for this friend. I was willingly going to part with this for my friend. I knew that she would love it and wear it in a way that any knitter hopes that a knit will be cherished.

The other thing is that I love Auntie too. She's wise, beautiful and she's had a tough life. She deserves that scarf. She really does. It just kills me that I can let it go. I need absolute reassurance that that scarf won't be tossed aside, or re-gifted, or found by someone in the dirty salvation army bin. Oh, the horror.

So here's what I need. Help me to believe. Please, I beg you.

Do you ever think your knits have minds of their own? Like maybe they want to go with certain people? Or perhaps you have certain plans or expectations of your yarn and try as you may it just wants to do what it wants to do.

As of right now, I'm believing it. That scarf was meant to go to Auntie. I'm going to believe that my idea for this scarf was good, but somehow that scarf just knew it needed to go home with Auntie. It knew it would be loved and cherished. It knew that it could provide her with something she desperately needed.

Please help me believe this. Otherwise I think I might never knit again.

PS - She lives in Florida! A wool scarf owned by someone that lives in FLORIDA! Oh, help me. I may not get over this.