Pickin' and Throwin'

Tightening up that purl stitch!

2008-10-08T04:57:00.000-07:00

Greetings and Dear Laura:

I thought I would post a quick tip on how I was able to snug up that pesky purl stitch following the cable!

I have a book by Annie Modesitt on Combination Knitting. She does a hybrid of American and Continental knitting which is very fast for her. I use it sporatically, depending on the situation. I do really like it for situations of knit/purl patterns where I'm going to knit the knits and purl the purls on the reverse side. You'll see why.

You can follow this link to see Annie's illustrations. Basically, what you want to do for this purl stitch is to scoop the yarn UNDER the right needle instead of wrapping over the TOP of the right needle. After you've slid the stitch off the left needle, then you can snug it up a bit. Going under instead of over uses a wee bit less yarn, and makes that stitch a bit tighter. (This effect is why I don't use it all the time for stockinette stitch - it changes my gauge coming back.)

The other effect of this is that this stitch is now seated incorrectly on the needle. However, it's easy enough to correct on the next side by knitting that stitch through the back loop. I hardly even pay attention any more, I just automatically knit those stitches as they come. This is the reason that I don't use the method on a true seed stitch, where I will be purling that stitch on the next row. Purling through the back loop to correct the seat saves time for no one!!

Keep knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter!)

Dangerous indeed....

2008-10-03T13:03:00.001-07:00

Greetings and Dear Laura:

Oh my - things got really busy for a few weeks! Two family reunions, including road trips, a funeral, followed by the Fall 4-H Fair where my niece and nephew showed animals. (And speaking of the fair, I checked out the open class crafting exhibit and once again, I swear I am going to knit something for the fair next year! There were only about four crochet/knit entries, and nothing that really seemed at all intricate or complicated. I'm thinking I could run away with it all if I did, say, the Hemlock Ring blanket....)

This was followed by weekend houseguests, a Tastefully Simple party, and plenty of housecleaning in preparation, all of which resulted in my collapsing in my chair all weekend.....well, just didn't have much time for posting! (And I've fallen into the old trap of trying to catch up 3 weeks in a single post. Silly me.)

Anyway. I did work on the Must Have Cardigan for my mom, and yes, it is a dangerous pattern! I struggled with the first sleeve - I think I did the first repeat of the pattern 6 times! After I ripped the second or third time, I copied the pertinent pattern information a bit smaller and taped it to index cards.

That did help, but after I got to the end of the first repeat again, I noticed that the first purl stitch after some of the cable sections was really loose. I frogged and tried again, and I was able to snug that up so that I was finally happy with the fabric and pattern. At this point I measured the width of the sleeve and instead of 9 1/2", I had 8".

I had gauge in stockinette! I already felt this fabric was as loose as I wanted it to be, especially since this is Cotton Fleece yarn, and so isn't as elastic as I might like. A bigger needle was out of the question. I threw up my hands and decided that this yarn/pattern combination was not going to work. However, I'm hooked on the pattern, so...

I made a trip to Knitting Today, and found a WONDERFUL new worsted wool. It's called "Shepherd's Wool" and it is incredibly soft for 100% wool. I can't imagine my mom would find it in any way "scratchy." So I've ordered this yarn - they only had 4 of the 6 balls that I needed, and some lady ahead of me had her hands on them, so I'm trying to wait patiently. Meanwhile, I have my Kiri Shawl to keep me busy, and lots of inspiration working.....

That's all for now!
Keep knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter)

DANGEROUS knitting pattern

2008-09-19T08:44:00.000-07:00

Greetings, and Dear Cynthia,

Regarding the question of the sweater for your mom, my vote would be to knit what you think she would choose on her own. The Must Have Cardigan has set in sleeves (not the drop sleeves I see on a lot of aran sweaters), so you might like that look on your mom, too. As an added bonus, and in my own selfish interest, then you and I would be having our own little "knit along" across the miles, because look what I started:
Thank you to those of you who expressed thoughts about which project I should choose next. This is the first sleeve of Patons' "Must Have Cardigan," and this is a **dangerous** project. It has completely sucked me in, and I have plenty of reading and other homework which I **should** be working on **instead**, though I'm having a difficult time putting down the knitting. I just love it so far. I want to wear it tomorrow. However, wearing only half of a sleeve would not leave the sort of impression I'm typically going for... But I just really, really love it so far.

A quick note about the seamless baby bootie patterns... I knit a second bootie from the directions for the seamless "top down" pattern, and I confess that the ends of the short rows do have some little gaps/pulled stitches which I sort of "massaged" a little to close things up a bit. It's nothing serious, and only took a minute or two of adjustment, though it's not perfect. I much more strongly recommend the seamless "bottom up" pattern instead, even though I know some folks don't like using the cast-on method typical of many toe-up socks patterns...just my two cents worth. Still, this pair turned out very nice, and I was motivated to complete them because one of my friends just gave birth to a baby girl... Off to the post office this afternoon...

I also just love this dishcloth pattern:
It's much better in a solid color than in the variegated version I made first, just sayin'.

Our van has been acting up for about a year and a half, dying at will, typically when idling. I've had it looked at a few times, and the biggest problem is that the service garage has been unable to make it fail, so I bring the thing back home, and it continues with its erratic behavior. This past Tuesday, it conked out six times when I went to pick up the boys from school, bordering on dangerous as it has started to happen when I pull out into traffic, and so I took it to the service shop the very next day. I rejoiced that this time they experienced the problem, though they diagnosed it as the electronic control module -- you know, the part which costs $700 and requires another $300 for labor and other miscellaneous? It sounded like a lot of money, so we debated -- should we just keep on going, since the issue is intermittent and sometimes doesn't happen for weeks at a time, or should we bite the bullet and try to have the issue fixed once and for all. We opted for the latter.

Here's the best part of the story... The garage phoned me and said that when they called the dealer in order to purchase the required part, the dealer needed the vehicle ID number in order to know how to program the part, and said that it was covered under a service warranty (which had been "thrown in" as an incentive when we bought the vehicle -- 7 years, 100,000 miles on the powertrain), so if we took it over to the dealer, we could have it fixed for $100 deductible.

I did that this morning, and now I'm driving a vehicle that runs soooo much better. And, we've had this vehicle for just under seven years, and it has 90K miles on it. Phew. Nice that things work out this way sometimes!! And, I credit the first garage with letting me know about what the dealer told them, because they lost the revenue... There are honest garages out there!

Well, I'm going to work on some halloween costumes today while the boys are at school. My school load is intense in terms of activities during the school day (classes and labs), though this weekend I only have about six or seven chapters of reading, so very manageable...and tempting to keep on knitting my Must Have Cardigan... Hmmm....

Have a great weekend!
Warm Regards,
Laura (YarnThrower)

Socks done and begun...

2008-09-17T05:45:00.000-07:00

Greetings and Dear Laura:

I really enjoyed reading what you've been up to. That is so cool that you were designing seamless booties at the same time that Knitting Guy did! (And coming from a trucking family, I enjoy that there is a knitting trucker! Hmm, wonder if I could get my brother to learn to knit?)

Your coin purse is so cool! I know what you mean about having loose change in the bottom of your backpack. It's so much handier to have a place to put your change, and then in turn have access to it when you need it. I like the loop - I'd hook it someplace in my purse so I could actually find it when I have a hand full of change!

I'm intrigued by the "Must Have Cardigan" pattern that you're looking at. My mom had a cotton sweater that looked similar to that. When it finally fell apart, she replaced it with an acrylic one that she paid very little for. It lasted a very little time. Recently I drove her to visit with some of her friends, and discovered that now for a sweater she is using a polyester sweatshirt/cardigan with snaps. She has had it for a long time and it is dingy and pill-y. So, I have decided that I have to knit her a sweater. I measured her up, and got some yarn and now I'm looking at patterns. (I know you shouldn't order the yarn until you have a pattern, but I knew I wanted Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in white, so I ordered 7 skeins, which should be enough for a medium women's sweater. I hope.)

The "Must Have Cardigan" looks like something she would choose. However, she is really petite, especially her shoulders, and a bulky sweater just seems to overwhelm her. I like the body structure of the Summer Braids Cardigan (I made one for my sil) but I think that either set-in or raglan sleeves would be more flattering on her. So I'm thinking of using a basic raglan pattern built using my "Handy Book of Sweater Patterns" and using the body ribs and cables of the Summer Braids.

What do you think? Maker her a sweater that she would choose, or one I think she'd look better in?? Knit for her or me? ;)

I did finish the Alizerine socks over the weekend. I had to quickly pick something else for mindless knitting, and since these where child's socks, I still had yarn left. My niece was visiting, so I traced the feet of her 2-year-old daughter, and just kept knitting with the same yarn. I have one sock done, and I'm almost to the heel of the second. Toddler socks go fast!!

And for tomorrow - amazing shawl knitting!! Stay tuned to local stations.....

Keep knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter)

Coin Purse

2008-09-13T10:30:00.000-07:00

Greetings, and Dear Cynthia,

Thank you for the information about the Hiya Hiya needles. At half the price of Addi's, it sounds like I should check them out the next time I need more needles, though it seems with all of the needles I own, I should have a "complete set" by now...but really, does anybody?

One of the comments I received on my Seamless Bottom Up Baby Booties pattern really caught my attention. Knitting Guy (author of Knitting On The Road) just happened to be designing his own seamless bottom-up pattern at roughly the same time I was, and his ideas regarding construction were very similar to mine. He is a long haul trucker, I am a stay at home mom/student, yet we each formulated a pattern for baby booties which was the same concept... Really! Follow the link to his blog and check it out! Very fun!

I spent a few minutes yesterday making a little coin purse:I've been throwing my small change into a pocket in my back pack, and I have to go digging for it when I need it, and I'm too cheap to buy a coin purse, so I made one out of stuff I had on hand. I followed a pattern I found in this book. Also, a little key ring may be placed on the ribbon shown on the top of this photo... It looks sort of weird, but it's quite functional.

Well, I'm two weeks into the fall semester. Earlier this week, my eight year old told me he was out of shorts. I suggested that he wear pants, because the weather is cooler. So, yesterday morning, he told me that not only is he out of shorts, but he is now *also* out of underwear. Then my five year old piped up and started telling me that he is running out of clean clothes to wear, too. I think I need to implement some sort of "process" for housework here, because I don't think my family is going to like my initial thoughts: "I'll have time for your laundry when the semester is over." Needless to say, it will be a weekend devoted to laundry...

Nothing else too exciting. I blocked Ibenholt, but it is still in three pieces, waiting to be sewn together. I'm contemplating my next projects, and have it narrowed down to three, all having yarn available in my stash:

1.) Must Have Cardigan, in the Patons "Street Smart" booklet, using Patons Classic Merino in the standard "Aran" color.
2.) Basic Chic Hoodie, by Bonne Marie Burns, using a two-tone (blues/grays) colorway of Cascade 220.
3.) Sienna, by Ann Smith, from Interweave Knits Fall 2006, using Mary Maxim 2-ply chunky weight acrylic.

I'm probably the least excited about option 3.), though acrylic doesn't necessarily mean "bad," though perhaps it does mean "not as nice?" The yarn was given to me by my son's preschool, because they had so much acrylic yarn on their hands and they were trying to just get rid of it. This yarn actually feels okay to the touch (meaning that it doesn't stick to the dry skin on my hands). Any inputs for which project to tackle next?

Well, time to get cracking on the stuff I put off until the weekend... It's raining right now, so it's a perfect day to be indoors...

Have a great weekend!
Warm regards,
Laura (YarnThrower)

Avoiding Second Sock Syndrome!

2008-09-11T06:21:00.001-07:00

Avoiding Second Sock Syndrome!
Originally uploaded by designatedknitter

Greetings and Dear Laura:

Well, I'm moving along on my second Alizerine sock. I still really love knitting with the Collinette Jitterbug yarn. It's soft and squooshy, yet it has a solid feel that I really like. Why, oh WHY can't they throw some extra yardage on the skein so that it could be my favorite all-time sock yarn?????

I'm using new needles that I bought from Knitting Today last month. They are "Hiya-Hiya" needles. I'm always interested in trying different needles. I've always liked the feel of INOX needles, but I find the cables too stiff. I think I'm the only person to not like Addi Turbo's because my yarn hangs at the join, because other knitters love them! I did like the Addi Lace needles, but I noticed that my hands pick up a metallic smell. (I'm so picky!) I dearly love my KnitPicks interchangeable set! The cables are supple, the joins are fairly smooth and I love the sharp points. However, they don't come any smaller than a size 4, and so for my fingering weight sock yarn (using magic loop!) I still need 40" needles. And since I am not very 'project monogamous,' I can always use another needle.

I've become a fan of these "Hiya-Hiya" needles. (Other than feeling kind of goofy when I have to say the name!) They have a nice sharp point, the cable isn't TOO annoyingly stiff, and the join is the best I've used. I get distracted sometimes by that. As I switch needles for magic loop, I push the front needle back into the stitches and I have to stop and think, "Wow, that didn't snag on the join!" And as an added bonus, these are very affordable. Addi's run $13.50, but these are just $7.50. I see me switching!

In other news, my new glasses came in and I love the whole 'I can see clearly now' of it all. I'm adjusting to the new zones (bifocals, you know) but I don't have to tilt my head back to see the computer screen anymore, so bye-bye stiff neck. And Lauren says they're cute!

Keep knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter)

Final Blanket Block

2008-09-09T10:48:00.001-07:00

Final Blanket Block
Originally uploaded by designatedknitter

Greetings and Dear Laura:

The Omnivore 100 was kind of fun! Lauren, I got a chuckle out of your noticing that I've never had a PB&J! Thank you Marit, for your recommendation of Gjetost/brunost. I looked it up online, and it looks very yummy! One of the websites that I looked at said that it's available in the states, so I'm going to keep my eye out for it. I have to confess that when I was preparing my list, I had to look up a LOT of the items!

It turned out that my limits are poisonous (fugu) dirt (kaolin) and blow-your-head off hot (raw scotch bonnet pepper) although I might try a dish that CONTAINS the pepper. Just couldn't see eating the raw pepper.

I finished my final square for Jessica's Grandpa's Blanket. I had this ball of Cascade 220 that I wanted to try something new with. I believe that I did a double moss stitch, although it may have been a double rice stitch. I know I looked at them both!

So, now back to my Alizerine socks and planning more projects!

Keep Knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter)

Omnivore's 100...

2008-09-08T09:13:00.001-07:00

Ok, this looked like fun to me - I grabbed it from The Rebellious Pastor's Wife. Here are the instructions.

The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all. And here are the instructions:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out (I ghosted them) any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at http://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk/ linking to your results.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding (we call it blood pudding and I love this!)
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
~~26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper~~
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
~~46. Fugu~~
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads (love, LOVE these!)
~~63. Kaolin~~
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe Beef
86. Hare (well, rabbit)
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam (grossest thing on the menu)
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Have fun and keep knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter)
**Edited to add:
No, it's not a mistake that I've never eaten PB&J. As a child, the list of things I wouldn't eat included eggs (cooked any way,) mustard, ketchup, pickles, anything with mayonnaise, and peanut butter. I will now eat eggs (but not over-easy) and ketchup, but those are the only changes.

Be Late for Something Day!

2008-09-05T06:17:00.001-07:00

Be Late for Something Day!
Originally uploaded by designatedknitter

Greetings and Dear Laura:

YAY!! A holiday that is just my style! According to the calendar of bizarre holidays, today is "Be Late For Something" day. I got to work this morning and checked my holiday calendar and TA DA! I had already managed to celebrate the holiday. Nothing like getting that out of the way.

(Tomorrow is Fight Procrastination Day, but Saturday is my best procrastination day, so that probably won't work out so well.) I'm also late with posting to the blog, so maybe we can say that I'm "fighting procrastination" a day early!

First of all - Ibenholt is beautiful! And off the needles is such a wonderful feeling. Congratulations!

I did not have big plans for Labor Day, which was just fine by me. My parents were home unexpectedly - my dad had been to a routine doctors appointment, and diagnosed with pneumonia. A course of mega-antibiotics has him back to normal, so that's good. While he was resting, I took mom for a big grocery shopping on Saturday, took her to church on Sunday and then helped her with bookwork. Monday I took her to see her best friend from childhood who was visiting from her home in Iowa. Monday afternoon I did cooking and cleaning for the week ahead - so it was a good thing I had that extra day to get things done.

I had an eye doctor appointment on Wednesday - I was due for that last January. My new glasses should be here in about a week - I am SO looking forward to seeing more clearly. Hmm, maybe my lace knitting will be easier... I also ended up at the dentist on Wednesday. Over the weekend, I had a crown pop off, and I wanted to have it glued back. I was past due for a cleaning (are you seeing the procrastination theme here????) and it worked out I could schedule both things at one time. In the end, they also filled a cavity while I was there, so my mouth and eyes are good to go for a while.

By now you're probably asking yourself what any of this has to do with the picture of the sock. Not a thing! Just rambling on. The sock? I finished that last night at knit-in. I hadn't made it there in quite a while, so it was fun to see everyone again. A lot of them were working on sweaters. I got a lot of inspiration. Of course, I'm susceptible to inspiration. Here's a list of my current inspirations:

A baptismal gown for my great-niece Josie.
Squares for a blanket for my dad.
A sweater for my mom.
Socks for me.
Baby things for my new niece/nephew in January (THANK YOU for the seamless baby bootie pattern! I can't wait to try it out!!!!! I'll probably do that before anything else, even tho I should get the bigger things out of the way first. Say it with me, pro-cra-sti-nation??)

Hope your first week back at school has gone well. Keep knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter)

Ibenholt Off the Needles!

2008-09-01T04:58:00.000-07:00

Greetings, and Dear Cynthia,

First, thank you Johanna for de-lurking and leaving your nice comment! I very much appreciated both hearing that you went back to school when your youngest went to kindergarten AND your encouragement for me. We're practically neighbors! I hope that I have a chance to meet you at the Sow's Ear sometime! Also, I'm taking it under advisement that it will be helpful to continue knitting throughout my school years to reduce the stress :-)

Second, I'm glad to hear that the baby bootie pattern is already in use (you go girl, Marit!), and that it does not "look like crap," a statement which made me laugh out loud when I read it on Lauren's blog.

Third, I went to "last Saturday knitting" (Johanna - hint hint) this past weekend, and cast OFF on the collar of Ibenholt. (Great fun, that Last Saturday knitting! Nice, nice bunch of ladies!)

Next I worked the "Front Plackets." If you've ever made a Dale of Norway sweater, then you are familiar with their somewhat, er, "unprolific" style of giving directions. Here is a spippet from the directions for the front plackets:

....pick up sts K-wise. Working back and forth, beg with a WS R and C OFF K-wise.

When I read through that the first time, I was sure that there had to be some steps missing; certainly I wouldn't pick up stitches and then turn around and cast them off again on the next row. However, I blindly did what was asked, and really am quite pleased with how the finished edge looks all the way up the front of the sweater. The zipper does *not* extend into the collar, though with the edge worked in this way, it all fits together nicely and looks good:Now all that remains is the weaving in of 13 more ends (don't know why I count, but it's what I do during dreaded tasks), the blocking, and the "sewing in" of the sleeves and zipper into the body of the sweater. (This means that I'll be embarking on the "great zipper hunt" in the next day or two. I hope I don't have to settle for black, though the photo in the pattern shows a natural colored sweater having a zipper which might be black with metal teeth -- I might try to find one with coil teeth... Ah, decisions....)

So, do you have big plans for Labor Day? First I'm going grocery shopping; then some more home organizing. I actually made some progress on getting things put in order before school starts, and I should try to capitalize on the "momentum" I had yesterday and really get some things done.

It is the first day of school tomorrow for the boys and me... I think we're all happy to be going back to school, and that's a good place to be.

Have a great Labor Day!
Warm regards,
Laura (YarnThrower)

Baby Booties Without Seams (top down)

2008-08-29T11:42:00.001-07:00

A Pattern by YarnThrower
This pattern was inspired by Ruth's "Perfect" Baby Booties, though my construction method is quite different, eliminating the seam found along the back and center bottom of many baby bootie patterns. (After searching online **unsuccessfully** for a "seamless" baby bootie pattern, I decided to figure one out on my own...)

This particular pattern begins at the cuff of the bootie and works down toward the bottom. If you prefer working from the bottom up, I've also posted a "Baby Booties Without Seams (bottom up)" pattern.

(This pattern is the property of YarnThrower and may not be reproduced except for one copy for individual use. If you print or distribute this pattern without YarnThrower's written permission, you are stealing.)

Needles required: Size 5 DPN's

Yarn required: DK or Sport weight

Directions:

Cuff:

Cast-on 36 stitches.
Joining to work in the round, *K2P2* for 20 rounds.
Knit 1 round.
*K2tog, YO, K1* and repeat until end of round. (This forms eyelets for inserting a tie.)
Knit 2 rounds.

Top of foot shaping:

Next round (set up round): K20, M1, turn.
Next row (purl short row): Slip 1 as to purl, P8, M1, turn.
Next row (knit short row): Slip 1 as to purl, K8, M1, turn.

(Note: For mirrored increases, when working M1 on the purl row, insert left needle into bar between prior and next stitch worked from back to front to "make" new stitch; then purl this new stitch. When working M1 on the knit row, insert left needle into bar between prior and next stitch worked from front to back to "make" new stitch; then knit into the back of this new stitch.)

Work these two rows until there are a total of 52 stitches. Do not turn work after the M1 of the final purl row.
Slip next stitch onto right needle, bring yarn to opposite side of work, then return the slipped stitch to the left needle. (This is "wrapping" the stitch.) Now turn work.
Knit to end of round (which will be the back of the bootie).

Sides and bottom of bootie:

Knit one round, knitting wrapped stitch along with its wrap.
Knit seven rounds.
Purl one round.
Knit one round.
*P4, P2tog, P14, P2tog, P4* twice.
*K2tog, K20, K2tog* twice.
*P3, P2tog, P12, P2tog, P3* twice.
*K2tog, K16, K2tog* twice.
*P2, P2tog, P10, P2tog, P2* twice.
*K2tog, K12, K2tog* twice. (28 stitches)
Place first 14 stitches of round on one dpn; place the rest of the stitches on a second dpn. Work a three needle bind-off.

Finishing:

Cut yarn.
Weave in ends.
NO SEAM TO SEW!

As always, I welcome your comments, concerns, suggestions -- and by all means, if you find an error or if something is confusing, I'd love to know about it so that I may improve the pattern!

Baby Booties Without Seams (bottom up)

2008-08-27T08:39:00.000-07:00

A pattern by YarnThrower
This pattern was inspired by Ruth's "Perfect" Baby Booties, though my construction method is quite different, eliminating the seam found along the back and center bottom of many baby bootie patterns. (After searching online **unsuccessfully** for a "seamless" baby bootie pattern, I decided to figure one out on my own...)

This particular pattern begins at the bottom of the bootie and works up toward the cuff. I have also published another version, which is Baby Booties Without Seams (top down).

This pattern utilizes a cast on which is often used in toe-up sock patterns. A couple of methods are Judy's Magic Cast-On and Deb's Turkish Cast-On. [I find that this type of cast-on works very well using a long circular needle (magic loop), continuing with that needle until at least the first row is knit.]

(This pattern is the property of YarnThrower and may not be reproduced except for one copy for individual use. If you print or distribute this pattern without YarnThrower's written permission, you are stealing.)

Needles required: Size 5 DPN's, or very long circular needle (40" for magic loop), or both.

Note: I used a size 2 circular needle which is 40 inches long to cast on and work the first round (because that happens to be the largest diameter *long* circular needle I have), and then switched to size 5 DPN's for the rest of the bootie.

Yarn required: DK weight

Directions:

Sole and sides of bootie:

Using your preferred method for a "toe-up" style cast-on, Cast-On 28 stitches. (There will be 14 stitches on each of the two needles.)
Knit one round. (After this row, I switched over to my size 5 DPN's.)
*P1, M1, P12, M1, P1* twice. (Note: To do a "M1" on a purl row, insert the left needle through the back of the little bar which extends between the first stitch on the left needle and the first stitch on the right needle, effectively adding a "stitch" to the left needle; then purl this "new" stitch.)
Knit one round.
*P2, M1, P12, M1, P2* twice.
*K1, M1, K16, M1, K1* twice.
*P3, M1, P14, M1, P3* twice.
*K1, M1, K20, M1, K1* twice.
*P4, M1, P16, M1, P4* twice. (52 stitches)
Knit eight rounds.

Top of bootie shaping:

K29, SSK, turn.
Purl Short Row: Slip 1 as to purl, P6, P2tog, turn.
Knit Short Row: Slip 1 as to knit, K6, SSK, turn.
Repeat these two rows until the total number of stitches is 36, ending with the purl row, except do not turn work on the final purl row.
Slip next stitch from left needle to right needle, bring yarn to opposite side of work, and return the slipped stitch to the left needle. (This "wraps" the next stitch.) Now turn work.
Continuing in the round, knit to the end of the round, which is at the center back of the bootie.

Cuff:

Knit one round, working the wrap along with the stitch it wraps together as one.
Knit one round.
*K2tog, YO, K1* repeat until end of row. (This forms eyelets for inserting a tie.)
Knit one round.
Work K2 P2 ribbing for 15 to 20 rounds. Bootie shown in photo has 15 rounds of ribbing.

Finishing:

Cut yarn.
Weave in ends.
NO SEAM TO SEW!

As always, I welcome your comments, concerns, suggestions -- and by all means, if you find an error or if something is confusing, I'd love to know about it so that I may improve the pattern!

Of Blocks and Blocking

2008-08-27T06:08:00.000-07:00

Greetings and Dear Laura:

Those are really cute baby booties! I really liked the ones that Knitting at Lunch made with that pattern, but I'm anxious to see how you eliminate that seam. I'm always in favor of that.

I did some finishing and blocking over the weekend. Saturday, I blocked a baby blanket that my SIL Chris made. This is such a cool blanket! She did a Feather and Fan pattern, using Schoeller & Stahl "BIG BALL" yarn. We saw a similar blanket at Sarah Jane's Yarn Shoppe, and she couldn't resist making one for her granddaughter.

I helped her find the pattern and get started on this, and since we knew from the sample that two balls would not make a very large blanket, I advised her to make it a bit narrower so she could get length, and then we'd block it out wider. (The sample was wider than it was long, and that always looks like poor planning to me!) What I didn't account for is the fact that this yarn is not wool (100% Polyacrylic) and so when I unpinned it, it lost most of the shape I had blocked in. It's a good size tho, and I think it's really pretty!

I was playing around with some 'shades of red' Cascade 220 on Sunday, trying to figure out another square for the blanket for Jess's grandpa. I settled on a stitch pattern from my Harmony Guide, and I like how it came out. I worked on it while watching baseball, and before I knew it, it was complete!

I filled the sink with water to block the square and while I was at it decided to block the first Lizard Ridge Square that I had laying around. I stretched it out to be flat and came up with a 10 x 11 block, which will give me a finished blanket of 60 x 44. THEN I looked at the directions and discovered I should have steam blocked it to almost flat. Oh well! Guess we're going with regular blocking on this one!

So, two blocks and a blanket blocked!

Keep knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter!)

Baby booties

2008-08-26T03:48:00.000-07:00

Greetings, and Dear Cynthia,

Your post yesterday was sobering - thank you for alerting us to the opportunity to help out for such a devastating (and far reaching) disease! My heart goes out to those in your family struggling with breast cancer. Strength to all of you!

I thought your comment about us "knowing" the bloggers from the blogs we read without them even "knowing we exist" was quite interesting, too. I'd just like to say, "Hey," to anybody I'm not aware of who might be reading...

One of my friends had a baby, so I made a pair of booties for her new baby:I'm not very happy with the seams in these. It has prompted me to design a pair of booties having no seams. I've got the idea/method in my head; I'll post it once I have one knit.

So, after getting the dreaded "school supplies" yesterday (and we got a late start, because it is dependent on teacher assignments, and we didn't know those until last Friday - interpret this a few items are more difficult (impossible?) to find now) and continuing in my (futile?) efforts to get this house to a lower state of clutter, our plans today are to take my eight year old to the dentist, then visit my friend and her new baby, then a trip to Trader Joe's to stock up on their fish sticks (only one gram of saturated fat per serving) so that I have quick meals in the coming weeks as I start school full time again.

I might be sleep deprived by the time school starts -- first the Olympics, and now the political conventions... I suppose it will be good preparation for late nights studying...

Have a great Tuesday!
Warm regards,
Laura (YarnThrower)

Check this out....

2008-08-25T05:05:00.000-07:00

Greetings and Dear Laura:

Welcome back from vacation! It sounds like you had a great time. I think the sunrise expedition was a excellent choice. And Ibenholt is really coming along! It looks great - and if our mild summer is any indication, it really won't be that long before you'll be ready to wear it.

I just have a short post today - mostly I want to link to a fellow knit-blogger who is walking in the Breast Cancer 3-Day. **Whoops, forgot the link!!** She's walking in memory of her mother - and sponsoring a great contest to help raise her goal. Be sure to stop by and see what's available, and join in if you are of a mind to. (You know, I don't even remember how I stumbled onto her blog, but I've been reading for a while. Isn't it funny how you read someone's blog and start to feel like you know them - yet they have no idea you even exist! I know, I'm a bad commenter....)

While I'm not up for walking 60 miles, I'm happy for the opportunity to support my two Aunts - Betty & Charlene, and two Cousins - Connie and Lita who are all battling breast cancer. Thanks Mel!

Keep knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter)

Family Vacation!

2008-08-23T11:40:00.001-07:00

Greetings and Dear Cynthia,

I've been enjoying reading your posts, and I think you are totally "on" to something when you talk about more frequent, though shorter, posts. Today, for example, I was debating about whether or not to post, since a lot has happened (for me, and for all of you, too!) since my last post, and I just don't have a lot of time to discuss it all, not that it would be very interesting, anyway... So, here are a few items from knitting and life lately, which spring immediately to mind...

My family and I went to Door County for vacation, just returning home yesterday. This allowed a lot of knitting time, and here is my current progress on Ibenholt:I have about three inches of the "collar," and just the cap of the second sleeve remaining to knit. Then there is the dreaded FINISHING...but I really want to wear this sweater as the air cools in the coming weeks, so I'm somewhat motivated. It is my fourth Dale of Norway sweater, and the only one so far which hasn't required steeks, so that should make the whole finishing of it more palatable, less daunting, all of that...though I think you know, I still really don't like finishing.

While we were on vacation, DH decided that we should get up early to catch the sunrise on the "lake side" (Lake Michigan, that is) of the "Door Peninsula," about a half hour drive from where we were staying. Since the sun rose at approximately 6:04am that day, it required us to rise at about 5:00am. The words from my five year old as DH was trying to get him moving that morning were, "I am **not** doing it!" It was one of many moments in which I really felt like bursting out laughing though I kept it inside. Anyway, it was a great morning for it, clear skies, not too cold, and I appreciated DH's efforts even though our kids weren't very excited about it:We also visited a farm, and my boys had a great time, thanking us profusely for taking them there and repeatedly saying how much fun it was. Here is a goat nibbling on my skirt:We spent many hours by the waters of the bay between the Door Peninsula and Upper Michigan. I think our boys would have been thrilled if they could have just spent the whole time throwing rocks into the water:
I have to admit, at the beginning of the summer, with my nine weeks of grad school looming ahead of me and all of the unknowns involved with that, when DH began talking about taking a vacation this summer, I thought he was out of his ever-loving mind. In retrospect, he was so right to plan this great, relaxing, not too far from home trip, and we have so many nice memories (and pictures) of our family fun. It was very relaxing, and some of my favorite things were the bike rides through Peninsula State Park. Our boys are both riding their own bikes now, and it was beautiful, refreshing, all of that, and hardly any mosquitoes!

Okay, so now I have some laundry to do. More soon!
Warm regards,
Laura (YarnThrower)

This week has flown by!

2008-08-22T06:16:00.000-07:00

So, I posted my plan for the meeting at church last Saturday. I decided to cast on socks for my God-daughter Renata, who requested them when I visited them over Memorial Day. She requested "pink and purple, please!" I purchased the yarn last month, and this seemed a good time to cast on. Here's a picture of my gathered materials, all ready to go.

I'm not going to take up the needed bandwidth to post a picture of my progress during the meeting. Just look at the picture again! Didn't knit a stitch! However, it was a productive meeting, and that's what counts. There was a clear agenda, a schedule, and goals to achieve. The meeting ended up being an hour longer than expected, but that hour was used to iron out the calendar of events for the next year, and was worth the extra time. So, kudos to our congregation's president for a job well done!

I have managed to work on the socks since then tho, and so I have progress to report. I wanted to do toe-up socks, and the pattern that you pointed out to me in the Summer 2007 Interweave Knits is such a great resource for that. This yarn is fairly colorful (!) so I wanted a simple pattern that wouldn't get lost in the busy-ness. I went to my standard fall back stitch pattern, garter-rib. I like the look so far! I had to have a 3-hour insulin resistence test this week, so between blood draws I was able to get to the heel of the first sock.

AND, since one of the lab techs was interested in my knitting, I was able to do some evangelizing for several local yarn shops!

Keep knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter)

First Block

2008-08-19T05:21:00.001-07:00

First Block
Originally uploaded by designatedknitter

Greetings and Dear Laura:

Well, I don't know if you can tell - but my parents surprised me on Friday night by coming home for a visit! I spoked with them on Friday morning on my way to work, and they never even mentioned the possibility of a trip north. My brother and sil and I were just walking into a local retaurant for dinner when they called and said they'd be home in about 1/2 hour, so we were all surprised! And somehow that always translates into the disappearance of all blogging time!

So I'll start my catch up reporting with this picture of a blanket square that I completed on Friday while my sil and I were waiting for my brother to be ready to go to dinner! It's an 8" square, made from leftover Classic Elite London Tweed in a nice royal blue color. I like the multi-color flecks, so I chose a simple stockinette stitch with a garter stitch border for this square. I used almost all of my scraps! This is for Jess's Grandpa's Blanket that Knitting at Lunch and I are knitting squares for.

Keep knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter)

As promised.....

2008-08-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

Greetings and Dear Laura:

The week is winding down, and I am feeling better. Able to hope that at the end of the "7-10 days" I'll be completely recovered!

I have a busy weekend planned, but there should be some prime knitting time as well. On Saturday morning, my church will be having its annual "All Boards Planning Retreat." Everyone who is serving on a Board for next year is expected to attend, and work to plan and set goals for the following year. I served on a Board last year, and discovered that meetings are good knitting time! I can certainly listen and participate in conversation while knitting a plain pattern. Basically the only difference between a Board Meeting and Knit-In is that at Knit-In, I'm not the only one knitting! Well, plus I'm doing Board stuff.

I wanted to report on my latest yarn-store visit. On the way home from my 'staycation' at a nearby lake, I scheduled a stop at Knitting Today near South Milford. I love this shop and would certainly visit more often if it were closer to me (or the price of gas magically went down to $1.50/gal. Oh well, a girl's gotta have a dream!)

I had a plan going in, and that's always a good thing for me. I knew that Lea-Ann carries Noro, so I planned to pick up a skein or two for my Lizard Ridge. I hadn't seen this color before, but I really like it!

I kept it to one tho, because I also found Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, which it is well documented that I have no resistance against. I chose a rich orangey-red color, which I think will make a great baby hat!

I was sorely tempted by the Noro Silk Garden Sock yarn, but I do have SOME self control! I also picked up the latest issue of Knitters and some new colors of kitchen cotton. I haven't seen this 'long repeat' and I'm anxious to try it out. I'm also going to try a new-to-me-anyway circular needle. I'm always looking for that perfect combo of smooth join, sharp points, easy glide material. I'll let you know!

Keep knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter!)

Back at it

2008-08-13T09:59:00.001-07:00

Greetings and Dear Laura:

Hey, congratulations on finishing your first session! That's great, and I'm glad you've been enjoying it. Ibenholt is coming along nicely - you do still have a little time before the snow flies - even in Wisconsin!

I think I'm about recovered from my bug - it hit harder than I expected. Tomorrow it will have been a full week since it started. I'm hoping to try something more substantial than 'clear liquids' tonight, so fingers crossed.

While staying home from work and knitting always sounds appealing, a high fever kind of spoils the good time, so I didn't get any knitting done on Thursday or Friday. Saturday was good tho - I finished up my green socks!

I love these socks! I thought I was going to wear them out the first few days - I never wanted to take them off! (My feet were weirdly cold while I was sick. On the up-side, I got to wear my new socks even tho it's August.) The yarn is Jitterbug by Colinette and I love it so much I would marry it, EXCEPT for the lousy put-up. The cuffs on these socks aren't all that long, and I had ONE GRAM of yarn left. Anyone with feet any larger than mine is going to have pretty short cuffs. I love the color and the feel and the squooshiness of this yarn - but it seriously needs more yardage, especially as it's at the top of my price range for sock yarn. I have a couple more skeins in my stash, so I'll know to plan accordingly, but I can't see buying more when I know how tight it will be to get a pair of socks.

But see?? I can't quit wearing them!

Keep knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter)

Nine credits completed, Ibenholt not completed

2008-08-11T07:12:00.000-07:00

Greetings, and Dear Cynthia,

I'm so sorry to hear about your tummy bug, and I hope that you are feeling much better today!

It's been a long time since I last posted, though I'm happy to report that as of last Friday, I completed my summer session of PT school, and am now enjoying a three week break!

I picked up my knitting more in the past few weeks, and have some crazy idea that I can possibly finish Ibenholt during this three week break, though I'm not going to do anything totally nuts like sign up for the Knitting Olympics in order to push myself to finish it -- after having five tests last week, I feel I've had enough stress for one summer. The left front is done; now I'm working on the back above the "split" for the armholes... (Right front is folded under in the photo...)

I love PT school so far (though after being a stay at home mom for eight years, just leaving the house *by myself* sort of feels like going to a party), and continue to feel fortunate for this opportunity. I have great instructors and classmates, and couldn't even dream of having a better experience there so far. I've maybe said this before, and I'll say it again -- Going back to school is a great way to handle a midlife crisis, and only costs a little bit more than a new car.

The boys and I are off to the gym for a little while this morning (I can watch the Olympics while I exercise, and my boys can play with all the other kids in the gym) and then we're going to do some work around the (much neglected) house. More soon!

Warm regards,
Laura (YarnThrower)

I've got a bug....

2008-08-08T04:26:00.001-07:00

IMG_4594.JPG
Originally uploaded by designatedknitter

I had a really great time at the lake (altho rumors of internet access did not pan out!) I brought home some tummy bug tho - it's my second day running a fever, so this will be short. Let's just say that I managed to turn the heel on the second sock - and I stopped at a yarn store on the way home, so there is more report coming.

Keep knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter!)

Weekend Progress...

2008-08-04T03:36:00.000-07:00

Greetings and Dear Laura:

Well, it was a productive weekend here, knitting and otherwise. When I wasn't out abusing sports equipment, I managed to get quite a bit done. I finished putting 20 lbs of blueberries in the freezer, so that's done. I also froze a casserole so that I would have one on hand when I hear of someone that needs to have a dinner supplied. I hadn't been to the grocery in several weeks, so I did a big shopping, and caught up on laundry.

Much of this in preparation for a mini-vacation this week! I'm about to pack up my car and head to the lake cottage that my youngest brother and his family have rented for the week. I'll be back tomorrow evening, so it's just a couple of days, but I'm really looking forward to it! I still have to pack my knitting tho!

I won't be taking the first Lizard Ridge Square, because that is finished!

The green socks might go - they're on the move again.

So, I'd better get going and figure out what all to pack and get on the road. They say there is internet connection, so I'll pack the computer and maybe another post will be forthcoming.

Keep knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter)

Think again.....

2008-08-02T14:47:00.001-07:00

Think again.....
Originally uploaded by designatedknitter

Greetings and Dear Laura:

Just a quick note - a little "life lesson." If you're driving a 2003 Buick Rendezvous, and there is a black basketball in your path, you may think to yourself - "My car is tall enough to clear that ball!"

Think again!

(We had to remove the tire to get the remains of the ball out. Not a major disaster - but good to know!)

Keep knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter)

Ahhh......

2008-07-30T19:24:00.000-07:00

Greetings and Dear Laura:

Oh yes. Knitting and watching baseball.

Keep knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter!)