C U R L Y P U R L Y

Summer Knitting

2008-07-09T15:16:00.003-04:00

Yes, I'm still here! I have precious little time to knit these days, and even less time to update the old blog. But I do have some things to show!

I made myself a sweater. This is the 4th sweater I've made myself this year. And the first one that I'm not frogging. Yet. I still might. It's Rowan All-seasons cotton in a beautiful shade of brown. I love it. I thought I wasn't going to have enough to make a full sweater so I started making a wrap shrug. But I had more yarn. So it grew, and grew, and ended up being a wrap sweater. Which looks like total crap on because it was never designed to be a full sweater. But I do love the lines of the fronts.

Here you see a chair modeling the sweater in wrap position. I'm trying to figure out how to reknit the sweater preserving the lines of the wrap without it looking like total crap on anyone but a ladder backed chair. In the meantime I wear it like this:

which does nothing for the lines of the front but at least it looks like only partial crap on. In the meantime the Divine Miss M needed a sweater for ballet class so I made the wrap for her.

It's not the best thing ever but she loves it. She loves that it's cropped and the sleeves hit above the elbow, which was what she specified. I made matching leg warmers but they're far too baggy. I used a wool-cotton blend from Plumknit and it has less memory than I do, which is really saying something. So I'll reknit those before fall.

In the meantime, I've been obsessively trying to develop the perfect mesh bag. I've got a lot of old cotton ease in a shocking shade of orange and I'm using it up. I use (and love) Chicobags for shopping, but what I need are small mesh bags for carrying wet bathing suits and toys back and forth from the sprinkler park. The first attempt was knitted.

As you can see, I was experimenting with stitch patterns to find the one that I think works best for this application. I wasn't thirilled with any of them so I gave crochet a try.

It ended up a little too narrow and tall for my taste. Also, this version doesn't compress as much as the knitted one so it's not as portable when empty. But I like the drawstring. I prefer the handles on the other one, though.

I've got another knitted one on the needles but it's turning out to be ginormous. So I'm planning to frog it but I'm kind of over the orange mesh bag thing for a bit.

I'm Still Here!

2008-06-16T13:01:00.002-04:00

I'm sorry I've been gone for so long. I've missed blogging, and though I've been reading my favorite blogs, I haven't been reading them as often as I'd like. Things have been busy and crazy and I just haven't been knitting much. I have finished a couple of projects, I've frogged a couple of projects, and I'm kind of just feeling the knitting blahs at the moment.

Anyway, I do have some photos to show: I finished a little crochet toy from a pattern by Owlishly, available on Ravelry as a Ravelry download. I modified the Scott pattern to resemble Diego whom my wee Mole adores. Truth be told, he prefers Dora (as evidenced by his calling out "Dora!" whenever he sees some Dora paraphernalia and singing the Dora theme song to himself as he rides along in a stroller or on my back in a baby carrier. However, I was afraid of making Dora's hair, so I attempted Diego first.

I made a crochet loop wig cap and cut the loops. i tried to cut them unevenly to make Diego’s spikey hair but I fear it simply looks uneven. I gave him shorts and modified the stitch count a little to make the short legs wider than the calf. I also added socks and made a little vest and rescue pack.

I am a VERY novice hooker and the Scott pattern is extremely easy to follow. My only problems with this are due to my inexperience - I’m tense, it’s tight, and hard to poke the hook through the holes. Also, the yarns are two different materials - cotton and wool - and thus have different amounts of give. They are also slightly different weights, and I don’t know enough about crochet gauge to adjust properly with hook/stitch count so i just barreled on through with the same hook size (except for the back pack which was a significantly thinner yarn and didn’t need to join with the other yarns so i downsized.)
I made this as a “test” before i plunged into another Owlishly pattern, Seth, which is the one I really want to make. I thought starting smaller would be a good first attempt but really I think the larger doll will be easier. I had trouble with the tiny little arms. they’re kind of a mess and i just sort of winged them in the end because i couldn’t find the actual stitches a lot of the time.

I used safety eyes and embroidered a small mouth but if my kid doesn’t accept it as Diego I might cut more accurate pieces from flannel and stitch them on, as I did with Dora's backpack.

I Can't Win!

2008-04-07T11:00:00.002-04:00

So I have been wanting to try to crochet some amigurumi animals. I knit a lot of toys, but I feel that the texture of the crochet would lend a totally different spin to things. So I bought the "Tikki Tiger" pattern from Simple Arts Planet and got to work. I decided if I had any hopes of the Squid liking this toy (unlike every toy I've knit for her) it had to be pink. So I set out to make a pink cat.

If I were to do it all over again (and I will!) I would not use the plastic nose. I would embroider it. It's just too much plastic on such a small face, I think. Well, my girl came home, picked it up, smiled and said "Pink's not my favorite color any more."

And seriously? I am so happy to end this year-long reign of pink that I was thrilled and thought nothing of the cat. Or the nearly complete Surprise Jacket.

The new favorite color is "light light light light light light light light light green." Which is fine, because I have yarn just that color, with matching alien in a UFO button. All set to become a Bog Jacket. Take that, favorite color change! You can't defeat my stash!

The Good News is that the Mole adores the little pink kitty. Whew.

In other news, I have an ongoing parade of UFOs myself. The aforementioned Surprise Jacket, of course, and two pairs of unphotographed socks. I also have an unphotographed baby sweater for a baby already born. Just needs sleeves and a button band.

I've been working on Stephanie Japel's Alexandra. Since the last sweater I made for myself ended up being enormous, I'm knitting this one small. I've changed the gauge and the yarn and I'm knitting the front in stockinette instead of garter. It fits, ahem, snugly, right now. So snugly that I'm skipping the shaping.

I really like it. I like the yarn, Henry's Attic Alpine Cotton. I knit and blocked a swatch so I'm thinking I know what's going to happen to the sizing of this sweater. but you know. I worry anyway.

I've also got the crown of a Matilda on the needles for a friend. Too bad it's spring already. The color is still springy, though, so if I get cracking it might not be useless until next year. My how I love that Peace Fleece. I just adore everything about it. I keep dreaming about how many things I'm going to make for myself next winter from Peace Fleece.

Sunday in the Park with Friends

2008-03-24T11:21:00.002-04:00

Making great progress on the Surprise Jacket. This is the end of one skein of yarn, plus 2 stripes of a matching near-solid. I have assembled the jacket "inside out" for this photo, because I am trying to decide which side I like best. the "right side" can be seen in the back of the jacket - the stripes of the near-solid are clearly delineated. The "wrong side" is shown on the sleeves and front, in the garter stitch it makes a more gentle transition from the variegated to the near-solid. I'm leaning towards that, but I'm not sure. Luckily I have all the time in the world to decide. What do you think?

Ok. Thus endeth the knitting content. Following is a mess of photos from our day in Bryant Park with friends. Just warning you.

The Divine Miss M was beside herself with glee at the prospect of going to Bryant Park. We've been there a bunch with tourist-friends, but never Just Because, and she thought that was an amazing prospect. She breathlessly begged to ride the carousel, then proceeded to slowly and deliberately spin in circles while marching up and down, in her imitation of a carousel pony.

The Mole was less than impressed by the carousel and preferred to sit back and chomp down some Veggie Booty while watching his crazy sister and her crazy friends ride around and around. The Divine One showed a moment of barely-bridled glee as the carousel started up.

To be perfectly honest, she actually spent more time laughing with her friend as they hid from the camera every time they passed me. Those two join forces to become a menace to society. Or at least a menace to me. I fear the teenage years. The girls have been friends since they were less than a year old. And it shows.

Liv's mom, Rosie, is the world's finest children's movement teacher. Seriously. Here she proudly sports a bonnet her kid made for her.

Also joining us for some carousel fun was our friend Issa. Issa has what may be the most beautiful singing voice of all time. On top of that, she happens to be one of the most gentle people I think I have ever met. And, she's got this very cool idea when it comes to selling her music: self-determined pricing, to "ensure that money (or lack of it) never comes between the artist and someone who might be lifted by their offering." I find that to be pretty amazing, and I would love to follow in her footsteps. I'll be working on converting my pattern sales to follow this model as soon as I have a minute to sit down and update the store.

In the meantime, you should definitely go to Issa's store where you can buy her music, become a patron and support her as she records new music, and buy songs from some similarly minded artists (as well as songs Issa recorded under her former name, Jane Siberry).

The kids (including Issa's incredibly cool, confident, and kind niece who was here visiting from Canada) then played that old heart-stopper hide and seek.

This is where my urban parenting gets challenged. I want the kids to run and feel free to be and play however they want to, but HIDE? and SEEK? in Bryant Park? gulp. Luckily we had plenty of adults and we all just took a kid and kept our eyes glued to the kid. And luckily for the kids, they didn't catch on that if they just looked where the adults were looking they'd find their hiding friends.

The Mole didn't quite get the whole "hiding" part but sure did love flinging himself all over the ground like the big kids.

Oh hey, see those pants? Despite their current filth-covered state, those pants are in pristine condition. I made them for Miss Squid almost 4 years ago. I had to peel them off of her this year to pass them on. Last year she wore them with legwarmers to cover her ankles. She loved those pants. And you would never know it looking at them. They are in perfect condition. not a pill, worn spot, or sag. I made them from Peace Fleece and looking at them now, I don't think I will never buy a different yarn for kids' clothing. It gets so soft (picky Squid girl wears them as PANTS, fergodnesssakes) and looks great with zero maintenance.

See? I managed to end on a knitting note after all.

Happier Now.

2008-03-20T12:09:00.003-04:00

Ripped out the hem of my grey sweater (for the 4th time) and added a couple of inches. still hated it, so i dropped a bunch of stitches and picked them up again with my trusty crochet hook, so the sweater is now ribbed from the bust to the bottom. it fits a whole bunch better. Still ginormous, but not tent-like.

Discovered the problem. I read the pattern and then cast on for it while I was not looking at it. I remembered the gauge as 16 stitches/4 inches but it's actually written to be 17. So my already-intended-to-be-roomy sweater became a whole bunch roomier.

Whatever. It's fine now. Cozy, comfy, and not an embarrassment.

Spring is for Sweaters

2008-03-18T09:54:00.003-04:00

I was running late for school this weekend and hadn't prepared a school-friendly project. So I grabbed 2 skeins of yarn (Berocco Comfort) and decided to wing a springy cardi for wee Mole. However, I forgot to bring a tape measure with me, so I guessed on the numbers, and it's coming out more like a 2T than the 12 mos. size the wee one needs. So I'm sticking it on hold for the moment and moving on to more pressing things, that will fit now, when they're needed.

Which means, it's time for a new Elizabeth Zimmermann Surprise Jacket. This time for the Squid, following the Adult pattern found in The Opinionated Knitter so I can make up my own size. Lately I'm really nervous about sizing. I've had some bad luck with my powers of estimating and I'm concerned.

The Knit Along is, hopefully, going to help my trepidation.

The yarn is nice and thick (Montana Targhee dyed by Mosaic Moon in the "Malayan Orchid" colorway with a skein of the same yarn dyed by Mountain Colors in the "Rosehip" colorway. I have a skein undyed for emergencies.) and I'm thinking to make a hood or a foldover collar or something to make it more jackety.

Miters are cool

2008-03-10T13:14:00.003-04:00

So I got this idea. Whenever I'm between projects and spinning my wheels about what to do next (which is when i usually cast on 15 things I don't really want to make) I'm going to start using up my scraps to make miters. Then I will put them together (no, really!) for a blanket for my bed. So far, so good.

I particularly like the cashmere ones!

Oh, another thing I knit. Sigh. I'm really sad about it, and it's ABSOLUTELY my fault. I've been admiring the lines of Tahoe for a year. I finally decided to make it. But I made some changes, and nearly all of them turned out to be bad ideas. Cumulatively, they make the sweater unwearable.

Looks ok, right? The yarn is pretty. It's single ply merino from Mosaic Moon.

Anyway. Yeah, that was one. I used a worsted merino. So the lines of the sweater no longer draped so much as seemed, well, big. And I knit it at a larger gauge than usual hoping to maintain that drape, but instead I made it so this single ply merino, already prone to pilling, pills like it's winning a speed pilling contest or something. by the time I was seaming I could already tell which sleeve I'd knit first.

Which is another modification I made. I ditched the bell sleeves and went for tapered. I like the sleeves a lot, actually. It was a good choice, because with the extra thickness of the yarn, the drape of the bell would have been unbearable. As it was, I had to slice the sweater in half across the middle and reknit the bottom downwards to omit some of the shaping to make it narrower at the bottom. I did this three times. And it's still not long enough.

And in case you didn't notice i made it a pullover instead of a cardigan (like) and I raised the V a little (do not like).

In the end, the only things I kept of the pattern, really, are the armscyes and the sleeve caps. Which are really, really great and fit very well. I think I will reknit the sweater, saving the sleeves, and going from there.

I'll leave you with the Divine Miss M eating a Ginger-O, the best cookies on the planet.

Oh such a long time.

2008-03-08T21:08:00.003-05:00

I've been busy. We've been sick. We're getting better. (The kidney stone is missing, they think it might have dissolved. whatever.) Winter is ending. We're applying for Kindergartens (yes, i KNOW how insane that is. but there are some really amazing "empowerment" public schools in our district, one only a block away. and admittance is by lottery, so we're applying for kindergarten. So there.) The Mole is nearly one. yikes.

Oh, and I have a pattern published for free in the most recent Berocco newsletter! I'm very excited about this.

The fun part about it this time of year is if you stop after knitting the body, you have an egg. Then after you're finished decorating with eggs, you can "hatch" them by going back, adding neck scultping, wings, beaks, and tails.

Onto more knitting.

I made some socks from Cherry Tree Hill DK sock yarn, part of my gift from my delightful sister. I made nearly-knee socks, my favorite length, and made them sufficiently slouchy. Knit the foot on US 3s, and the leg using 4s. They were pretty quick and I didn't hate making them.

Had enough yarn left over (I always do toe-up and try to use all the yarn, but this yarn was neverending, especially knit on 4s) to make a pair for The Squid who is very happy with them.

Let's talk about the Squid for a second, shall we? She is an amazing kid. This morning my husband slipped on one of the 70 thousand toys strewn over our 2'x2' living room and she said "see, papà? this is why it's a good idea to clean up before bringing new toys out."

And she gets on her hands and knees and starts putting things away. The Mole crawled over to where she was putting blocks in the block box and started doing it, too. and she said "good job, wee man."

She's so amazing with him. Her patience and tolerance seem endless. She's sweet, looks out for him, and is generally pretty good natured when he tries to eat her eyeballs or her toes.

I have about 10,000 photos just like that - him attacking her, she is still and smiling beatifically. Most of them take place in the park, because we're big park geeks.

And here's the Squid enjoying our one and only day of snow this year.

If a Rolling Stone

2008-02-11T15:18:00.000-05:00

Gathers no moss then I have one seriously mossy stone. My kidney stone has not moved. It's there. Causing trouble. The Squid calls it my Rock and asks me often "How's your Rock, Mamma? Where is it now?" and then she admonishes "You'd better drink more water, Mamma, or you're just going to get more rocks."

Sigh.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring you the shortest-lived socks ever. Too much of our family illness has killed them. there's not even really enough left to darn anymore. I'm throwing them away.

Luckily I've found a way to not hate making socks so much. This is Cherry Tree Hill DK sock yarn, from my sister's lively gift certificate. I've found that knitting socks on 3s is easier for me than on 0s. And besides, I really do prefer a thicker sock. There's not as much DK sock yarn out there (and from now on i will never use a yarn without nylon!) but I don't care. Two at a time, on size 3 needles, I can manage.

I got some Henry's Attic Pigtail Cotton in two weights. I actually got this about a month ago but just got around to fondling it. The thinner weight is the same stuff I used to make the Squid's blue chenille bunny. I got a little of each to play around with. Who knows.

No Photos

2008-02-05T16:29:00.000-05:00

i have no photos to show you. because are you ready for this? I have a kidney stone. i've been in and out of the hospital and off and on morphine, toradol, and percocet. i'm a drooling, blithering idiot. and i'm attempting to pick up and attach some ear flaps to one of the mole's hats. i can't wait to see what it looks like when i sober up.

in the meantime, if you have some "ok. enough with the sick" energy to send my way, i surely would appreciate it.

Razor Shell Turtleneck

2008-01-31T12:09:00.000-05:00

So I've been wanting a neck warmer. I had something pretty specific in mind. I really liked the stitch pattern in the Razor Shell Neckwarmer from Knitology but I really wanted something nice and tight. Something I could pull up over my chin, because the very tip of my chin is always the coldest part of me outside. I also wanted it to flare out over so slightly at the bottom of the neck, to cover the opening of a crew-necked tshirt. So I started with the stitch pattern and just made up the rest.

The yarn is "Ballet" by Fiesta Yarns (one of the yarns I bought with my gift certificate, thanks, Eej!). It's a blend of Alpaca and Tencel and has delightful drape. It's also nice and soft, and not the tiniest bit itchy - a must in neck warmer yarn. I'm wearing it now to keep my sore throat nice and cozy. I'll let you know how it keeps its shape.

So: modifications. Start with the Razor Shell stitch pattern. CO 84 stitches. I did not do the 4 rows of stockinette the original pattern specifies, but jumped right into the stitch pattern. After 5 inches I did all of the YO increases, but none of the decreases for one row. I did a few more rows in pattern, then one row of YO, k2tog around, then a simple bind off.

It's simple as pie, but oh-so-beautiful. And the fanciest thing I own (I'm a super plain-jane type). And it happens to match my hair color.

Go Ahead.

2008-01-30T15:17:00.001-05:00

Tiennie says, on her blog, that the idea behind this is "Give the award to people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on." I was touched and shocked that such a talented woman thought to mention me. And hoo-boy did it lift my spirits.

We're back in the house of sick. I spent last week barely able to drag myself out of bed with yet another cold, and my husband has the same horrid cold this week. I started to get over mine on Monday, just in time for a trip to the doctor to discover that both kids have ear infections. The Squid's strep is back (and it brought the pukies with it). And my husband has the same horrid cold. And what's today, Wednesday? That "feeling better" I had for all of 48 hours is waning and I'm getting sick AGAIN.

But, sneaking away to read some knitting blogs is what makes MY day, and Tiennie's is right up there among my favorites.

And here are some more:

b r o o k l y n t w e e d 's designs and photography always fill me with such calm. His yarn and color choices inspire me and reading his blog is like a brief visit to a tropical island. In the shade. With a cocktail.

Pamelamama is one of my favorite people in the world. Her blog is part yarn, part kids, and all pamelamama. I adore her.

Crossroad Knits: knitblogging reconnected me with high school friend LizK. I love the glimpses of her life now, some unspecified number of years later. And meeting her good friends through the bolg has been wonderful, too.

Machin-truc: what does that even mean? I have no idea. This is my sister's blog. It's brand new; she started it while she takes a semester's sabbatical from her professordom in Kansas, of all places.

Through The Loops never ceases to inspire and delight me. I found her blog when I started to knit one of her designs: Tahoe, from knitty.com.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: I don't know her. I don't have a kitchen to speak of. I don't cook. But I read her blog every day and pretend that I do know her, do have a kitchen to speak of, and that I cook all of her delicious looking treats every single day.

Brainylady: brainy indeed. And charming. And talented.

Ok, back to my world of disease-ridden kidlets. Thanks to all of these bloggers and more who give me my little daily escape.

Survival

2008-01-21T15:05:00.000-05:00

So, it's a horrible cell phone photo but I wanted to show this scarf. I made it from Henry's Attic Andromeda (silk/merino) and my simple dropped yarnover pattern. I really liked the pattern when I first made it years ago, and then every time since I've thought about making one I felt it was a little cheesy and unexciting. But with this yarn it really turned out beautifully and I like it all over again. I made this scarf during a weekend of homeopathy classes and wrapped it up to give to my teacher as a new year's present. I need all the help I can get since I haven't done a single assignment all year. My midterms are next week. Should be interesting.

I also made myself these socks in class. This yarn is some (non-superwash) Merino I bought years ago in Milan. I dyed it in my one and only dyeing experiment using acid dyes. I made a single sock about 4 years ago, hated it, and never made the other. So I frogged evil first sock ever and made 2 new ones.

Added a cable up the back to alleviate the boredom.

I then continued my mitten extravaganza by making these for my friend Martha who was visiting. See the blue Ikea bag in the background? It's a sign of things yet to come. I'll get to that part later.

In the meantime, The Mole learned how to play peekaboo. He lives for peekaboo. Epecially when played with a bowl of Pirate Booty.

Then things went to hell. Remember the blue Ikea bag? We brought back more than just some wooden bowls and a string of star-shaped lights on clearance. My little Squid brought back a nasty case of Scarlet Fever which she picked up in the ball pen. Never, ever ever again.

I was trying to figure out which was the worst part of the Scarlet Fever. The fact that she came down with it the day my husband left for a week in Europe? So she was sick, out of school, and I had no co-parent? Or the fact that she and the Mole perfected their synchronized of waking up and wailing "mamma!" in the middle of the night while sleeping in separate bedrooms, so I needed to constantly choose which kid to leave screaming for me while I cared for the other.

But eventually with the help of some antibiotics which made the Squid a Squid-on-Speed, the Scarlet Fever passed. The Squid went back to school. For one day. because the next day she woke with a rash. I gave her benadryl immediately upon seeing the rash, by the doctor's orders. Guess what? she's allergic to that, too. A reaction to the antibiotics and then to the Benadryl has lasted longer than the Scarlet Fever they were treating and led us down the road to anaphylaxis, and, thankfully, back again. Hideous doesn't describe it. Nothing can tell of the fear that coldy gripped my heart as i sat next to my girl's bed watching her chest rise and fall - waiting for it to stop. Willing it not to. Nothing can come close to the look on her face or the sound in her voice as she screamed "IT ITCHES!" at 3 am. And it's still not really gone. Not yet.

Maybe the worst part is that I wore a hole in the bottoms of both of my brand-new green socks within a week of completing them. I just never took them off and shuffled from kid to kid on wool carpets for a week. When I finally took them off (and showered) I noticed the holes. boo. I patched them with some leftover yarn from the Donnie Osmond socks. There's enough Nylon in that yarn to hold anything together.

Here she is today, the Divine Miss M, playing with her baby brother. She just looks sunburned now. That will go away eventually.

Shall we talk about knitting again and banish evil thoughts of sick kids from our hearts? Check out the Mole's sweater. I finally finished it. I had intended to make the sleeves really long so he could wear it for a long time. But really I just ended up making the body too short.

I really need to go back and add a few inches but I just can't bear the thought of more stripes. And yes, he's rummaging through my yarn stash.

Stitch n Bitch!

2008-01-11T19:58:00.000-05:00

Well, apparently today's pattern in the Stitch n Bitch 2008 page-a-day calendar is my Urban Urchin. I don't actually have a copy of the calendar, it's apparently on its way to me. So I didn't know it was today. Whoops!

And apparently there's an error in the pattern. Several people have written to me asking me to explain the odd abbreviations in the pattern. They are not odd abbreviations - they are typos. Whoops!

Wherever you see "s2s" in the decrease rounds, the pattern *should* read "sl 2, k1, psso" meaning “slip 2 stitches knitwise at the same time, knit the next stitch, then pass the two slipped stitches over the knitted stitch and off the needles. ”

This is essentially the same double decrease as sl1 k2tog, psso, but the sl2 k1 psso version lies flatter and is more invisible.

Sorry for the trouble!

What do i make from this yarn?

2008-01-05T22:03:00.000-05:00

Remember my Clapotis? I love the yarn. I adore the yarn. I still want to make myself something, probably a scarf. The Clapotis showed off the yarn beautifully but the pattern bored me to tears. I tried "Branching Out" and the pattern was more interesting but made the yarn look muddy. Or the yarn made the pattern look muddy. Or something.

So what can I make? looking for some of your favorite patten suggestions to show off an alpaca-silk blend fingering weight yarn, of which I have 333 yards. Beautiful colors, short repeats.

Happy 2008!

2008-01-01T12:01:00.001-05:00

Well, it's two full years since I started this blog. So crazy crazy much has happened in the past two years that I can hardly think of it all without my brain exploding.

For one, I've made and kept two resolutions in a row, now. In 2006 I resolved to keep a blog. Check. And then last year I made the whole stash resolution which I managed to keep, for an entire year. And yet I still have a ridiculous amount of yarn.

However, it's time to buy yarn. I just can't take it any more.

So I have two questions: What would you buy if your incredibly wonderful sister gave you a gift certificate for $50 at Yarnmarket? I'm thinking socks. I know. I know. I KNOW. I hate knitting socks. But I love wearing hand-knit socks. And I think they'd be great school-knitting projects. So which sock yarn might make me not hate knitting socks? Or do you have a better idea?

Second question. My husband wants a black sweater. Either another Seamless Hybrid or a Cobblestone. He wants it black. Solid black. Not a tweed, not charcoal. Black. Solid Black. So will a Cobblestone look horrid in a solid color? Will I lose everything if I don't use a tweed? and which black yarn should I use? He's extremely hard on sweaters. Elbows wear out in months. When he likes a sweater he wears it every single day until it expires. Think of him as a two year old. But large. I was thinking perhaps Blackberry Ridge?

And now I'll leave you with a few photos.

Here's our tree topper. I made Elizabeth Zimmermann's Christmas Fiddle Faddle stars using Malabrigo held double on size 13s. I made two stars and sewed them together, leaving an opening at the bottom. I stuffed the points with a little wool roving to make it puffy. This was our first tree and the squid decorated it with scraps of yarn and candy canes. She also put random balls of yarn under the tree in lieu of a tree skirt. All of this yarn love with utterly without prompting, by the way.

Then I made these slippers for my sister. I used the Little Turtle Knits felted moc pattern (no longer available) which I've owned for years and never tried.

I used Mosaic Moon's one-ply merino, which feels just like the Malabrigo I used for the star. I knit the womens size 8+ on 11s and felted them for 8 minutes and they felted so beautifully, but they shrank a LOT. They do perfectly fit my sister's 6.5 feet, luckily.

Oh, So Many Mittens

2007-12-20T12:08:00.000-05:00

Ten pairs of mittens (one isn't pictured here because it's already wrapped). The Squid is so excited to give them to her friends. She told me that she told everyone already, told them which color they're getting, and that it's a secret and a surprise and not to tell anyone. I bet they'll be so surprised.

I made these out of yarn that matches my husband's mittens of last year. As soon as my girl saw them, she said they had to be for Malik, because when they play house he's always the dad (she's the mom, of course). So since they match her dad's mittens, they're for Malik.

Which means the crazy 80s mittens are for Makani, which is actually more appropriate. He's that kind of guy. He wears gold lame sneakers.

Max lives for all things green, so this yarn was chosen for his mittens.

Mia gets rainbow mittens. Her favorite color is actually yellow but I didn't think it was such a great color for mittens. My Squid's pink ones are black within 2 seconds of leaving the house. I don't mind, but someone else might. So we picked this yarn, which has bright yellow in it, but is a little more playground-friendly.

And there you have it. A preschool class with warm hands for Christmas. I have to admit, I'm pretty excited to give them away and see how excited my girl is to hand out gifts to her friends.

Flu. And Mittens.

2007-12-17T10:12:00.000-05:00

First, happy birthday, Liz! Can you believe the first time I said that to you it was twenty-two years ago? gulp. moving on.

So a few years ago I was in line at the bank. I had a cold and was commenting to a friend of mine how scratchy my throat was, and how I was sick of the drippies, and I said something about "I get this same flu every year." and the woman in line in front of me turned around and literally hissed at me "if you're standing in this line it is NOT the flu." I was, of course, taken aback. Well, this past week, the Mole and I had the flu. And now I am one of those hissers. a cold is NOT the flu. Man, several times this week i wished I were just in a coma somewhere. No exaggeration. Bone pain like labor. And I've done that twice, without drugs, so I should know. just bad, bad, bad.

And worst of all, I got completely behind on my holiday knitting. Just as the Squid decided that she wanted me to make mittens for ALL of her classmates. Sigh. Luckily there are only 9 of them, including the Squid. And then two non-school friends. But those can wait. the classmates' mittens need to be finished by Friday. So as soon as I was able (yesterday), I got to knitting. (oh and by the way, as soon as I have a second I will happily share my mitten formula with all of you who asked.)

For Angus. Matching a hat I made for him last year.

For Declan, the Squid's current bestest friend. Diego to her Dora. The kid who broke my heart by telling me his favorite color was pink and that he was sad that only girl clothes came with rainbows and unicorns. He wears pink flip flops in the summer, but knows what makes boy clothes "boy clothes" and just wants rainbows, damnit. I wanted to make him something rainbowy-er and pinker, but my girl chose the yarn, professing it the "best one for her best friend." So there you have it.

For Macayla, who has not for a moment wavered in her love of purple since the moment she could talk.

These will be for Malik, when finished. Some of these is form yarn in balls, not cakes, so I have to do one at a time. Which annoys me, but there you have it. Look at that mitten. Now picture that mitten as vague geometric shapes, as if sketched in pastels on bumpy paper. Picture that, say, aqua triangle imposed over a salmon rectangle with a zorro-like scribble of black, on an oversized white shirt with shoulder pads, bloused out over a wide, asymetrical black studded belt. Over an acid wash denim miniskirt. Over slouchy suede ankle boots. I think I wore that to Liz's birthday 22 years ago.

Tomten! Finally!

2007-12-10T15:59:00.000-05:00

Moley is sporting his first fever, so please excuse the sad, sad gaze. He's actually an amazingly chipper sick baby, but we were out on a little walk to get some fresh air and he was zoning out a little. These photos are taken with my cell phone while holding it up to a glass door so I could center the photo. So clearly not my most pristine images ever.

I haven't received the buttons I ordered yet, so I've tied a scarf around his neck to hold the hood on. He's in a baby carrier strapped to my chest to the front is staying closed that way. I love the shape of this hood.

I'm thinking about adding a blanket stitch edging in royal blue or purple. I have to see what the buttons look like when they arrive. I love the Rowan Big Wool in garter stitch, and I love the shape of this Tomten. I just halved the numbers EZ specified and skipped the short rows and the jacket is perfect. The sleeve length is great to just unroll and use as mittens.

I can't believe how long this took me to finish. I've been holding off on the last 14 rows of the last sleeve for ages. I don't really love knitting at such a large gauge, and the bulkiness of the big wool meant I couldn't tote it around. I loved the pattern though, and will be making one for the Squid soon.

In the meantime, this was a school weekend so I got some other knitting done, too. Wanting to give hand-made gifts this year, but having only my persnickety kid as a gauge - the only thing she has ever loved that I've made for her are these mittens. Almost a year later, she readily admits her love of pink, though she still mostly shuns princesses (especially princess movies, though she is sometimes tempted by some sparkle and shine in the toy store). When she lost one of her pink mittens, you'd have thought the world ended. I made her some new ones (she's at school with them right now, so no photo) and she wept with joy. Seriously.

So we decided to make mittens for all of her friends for the holidays. We meaning she decided what I should knit, for whom, and which color. And I'm doing the knitting. This pair is for Ruby and they match Maya's ladyslipper cardigan.

This pair is for Liv, who used to like blue but now likes pink and blue. Only 4 or 5 more pairs to go.

I also started a pink bunny out of some Muench Yarns Touch Me. So shiny and pink. The Squid requested it, of course. I fully expect her to reject it, but I needed to make one anyway to photograph for the pattern which I'll be printing up soon.

Urban Urchin

2007-12-07T09:29:00.001-05:00

I designed this hat 2 winters ago. I was looking for something that wasn't snug, but stayed on. Something that wasn't froo-froo, but wasn't plain, either. I had been making myself some mistake rib scarves - I can't stand when scarves are all bulky under coats. So I was making skinny scarves just long enough to wrap around my neck twice and tie. When I'm inside, i unwrap it a little so it goes around my neck one time - but it's not thick so it doesn't make me hot, and it doesn't dangle too long and get in the way. So I decided to make a matching hat. The first version - the one I still wear every day in winter - you can see in my little photo of me over there in the corner.

This pattern is in the 2008 Stitch N Bitch calendar, but I've finally gotten it laid out and ready for you to buy if you don't want to buy the whole calendar. I haven't seen it yet, but I've seen some of the other designs on Ravelry, and it looks like a great collection - I hope mine arrives soon!

The red version pictured here? Stolen by the Squid. Though sometimes even the infant Mole wears the hat. I love mistake rib.

(and the Knitty pattern of the similar name? yeah, I know. But I submitted this to the Calendar in autumn of 2006 so it's a little late to change the name now! hats *do* resemble sea urchins. what can I say?)

Tying up loose ends.

2007-12-05T09:29:00.000-05:00

Finally lengthened Brigitta's sleeves. put new soles on my slippers, and my husband's slippers. made the Mole some tiny rainbowy leg warmers. finished one sleeve of the stripey sweater, can't face the next one. have half a sleeve left on his Tomten. need to knit the Squid a hat. holiday knitting? hahahaha.

bye bye, Arwen

2007-11-30T11:13:00.000-05:00

So. After seeing this beautiful cardigan by Tiennie I decided to abandon Arwen. I've hated nearly every minute of making it. I may try again some day, because I do love the cable and especially how it reverses, but I think I'll try to remake it in worsted, as the pattern calls for. I think playing with gauge and not understanding the construction is all too much for me. If I can get gauge I can just follow the pattern and not have to work so hard. My brain can't take the working so hard these days.

So I bought the "Olive Branch Yoga Hoodie" pattern from Webs, and while I still need to convert the pattern from worsted to DK, at least this one is a raglan and I can figure it out if i hit some glitches along the road.

So I'm going to tear out Arwen and get started on that this evening. Wish me Luck.

I Hate Stripes.

2007-11-29T11:43:00.000-05:00

This Treliske striped sweater is killing me. I loathe knitting stripes, especially striped sleeves in the round, spit-felted and magic looped. But the alternatives sound so much worse: weaving ends, seaming... I just hate stripes. The Mole will have outgrown this thing before I'm finished with it.

To distract myself I ripped out the red muppety shrug I made while pregnant, salvaged the sleeves, which fit nicely, provisionally cast on and knit the raglan up, following EZ' plans, and then picked up and knit down. I find myself with a too-snug raglan and a too-wide rest of the sweater. I'm going to have to rip it out again and provisionally cast on far fewer stitches and do the raglan decreases every 3rd row. But now i don't feel like it.

So I made myself some mittens. The convertible ones I made myself 3 years ago got lost last year - or at least one of them did. I've been wearing my Knucks a lot, but when I push the stroller I need a bit more. So I made plain old mittens. I've been hoarding this yarn for a while. I just love it, and that's saying a lot for someone who is not head-over-heels about blue. In fact I mostly hate it. But I love this yarn. It's an Oregon Merino from Mosaic Moon and the texture reminds me of a cross between Adam's farm merino and Blackberry Ridge. Buttery soft, but sturdy. I knitted it pretty tightly to hold up to the wind. I also made a duck-webbed thumb gusset which looks crazy but fits like a dream.

In other knitting news, Brigitta is fitting me well with the addition of a couple of buttons and some wearing. I do need to lengthen the sleeves. Then I can put the other sleeve on the Tomten for the Mole.

Also? i found another skein of that Farmhouse Yarn's "I'm Allergic To Wool" to go with the pink one for the Squid's biki. Ihad the squid choose a color to complement the pink and she chose a peachy-orange that reminds me of Baby Aspirin. Nice combo.

So Many Things, Halfway Finished

2007-11-20T11:32:00.000-05:00

We have houseguests (don't get me started) and it's impossible to find the time to sneeze much less take posed photos of unfinished knitting projects.

So here's where I am. An all-verbal update. Finished Brigitta. Maybe. It came out as I expected with my adjusted gauge. Problem is, I am not the size I expected. I don't actually own a full-length mirror which makes it hard for one to have any concept of one's changing shape after having a baby. and I am not one of those people who bounces right back after having a baby. So I made this sweater based on what shape I think I am. And I'm not.

So I occasionally wear it around the house trying to decide if ripping it out and making it again, larger, will help or not. I don't really think so. I think it is what it is, I am what I am, and we shall just continue to hang out together, a little uncomfortably.

I'm also plowing away on that mohair thing. Progress is being made but I think I might not have enough yarn. And I suspect that's going to be too small, too. I need to get a mirror. and possibly measure myself.

Oh, and here's a photo of my hair perfectly matching the decor in a Chinese restaurant. Too bad I hadn't finished the mohair thing. It's the same color. Classy.

School Weekend Knitting

2007-11-13T10:09:00.001-05:00

Last weekend was another lecture weekend for us first year students in the NY School of Homeopathy. Which means I broadened my knowledge of the medical art, more deeply explored my thoughts and ideas about illness and cure, spent alone, adult time with no small people climbing on me, sucking on me, puking on me, or wiping their maple-syrupy fingers all over me. And I got to knit a whole bunch, too.

Brigitta. I did a lot of playing around with size, but decided to follow the numbers for the size small arm scye and sleeve cap. I am glad I did. It's tough to take a photo of black yarn on a cloudy day, and it's equally tough to use words to describe how well this sleeve is constructed. I have to say it's been a long time since I've knit a set-in sleeve, because I hate designing them and have rarely found one in a commercial pattern that fits just right. This one definitely does.

The sweater itself doesn't look particularly great on me, but that's my post-partum body, not the sweater. It would look adorable on someone who is built differently - either slender or roly-poly. I'm neither at the moment, I'm lumpy, and while this sweater masks the lumps somewhat, some lumps just won't be masked.

I don't have a finished photo yet because I need to pick up the provisional cast-on for the sleeves and put on the cuffs. I couldn't do that in class because it requires more trying on and measuring than I'm comfortable doing in a casual class of 20.

So on Sunday, I cast on a sweater for the Mole.

It's various natural shades of Treliske Organic Merino from New Zealand. Part of my ongoing use-up-the-old-stash experiment (still have not purchased yarn this year, can you believe it? and I have TWO sweaters on the needles for myself. whoops.) I wish these photos could show how beautifully squishy and soft this yarn is. In my opinion, there is nothing finer. I love this yarn. It may be my favorite yarn of all time. t does pill and felt rather severely, so who knows what i'll look like by the time the Mole finishes rolling all over the wool rugs while wearing it, but I don't care. It's soft and lovely and uses up 3 partial skeins of yarn. And he needs sweaters.