Knits with a silent K

FO: Birth hat for R&H

2009-07-13T10:29:00.001-07:00

DSCF0164
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

My DH's currently favorite student, R, is expecting a baby any day now. We haven't heard whether R&H's baby is born yet, but one day DH came home and requested a hat for them. I found out it was to be a girl, and I acquired some appropriate colors. These hats just keep popping out!

This time, I looked more closely at the instructions for the knitted cast-on - it appears I was supposed to be twisting the stitches as I put them on the left needle. I'm not sure I like it better this way - I'll probably go back to the way I usually did it.

Also, I wanted to try out a smoother way to decrease in ribbing - I'd read somewhere to pick out knit stitches (evenly spaced) and whenever you get to a stitch before them, do a k2tog - the previous stitch slips under the kept stitch and so the rib continues upward. I did it this time, and I do like the effect, although it's not as pronounced as what I was doing before. I sort of liked the look of the dome in Florence of the previous ones. Oh, also I miscast on 60 stitches, instead of 64, and so dividing by 8 was a little hard. I kludged it until it worked out.

Pattern: Birth hat (just like this and this). Someday I'll write up the pattern; I keep doing it over and over, so it'll be worth it for my own use!
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, pink and a tiny bit of purple leftover. I'm amassing quite a collection of this yarn!
Needles: Size 3 (for the cast-on) dpns, and size 5 12" circular (Addi turbo) and dpn (Clover/Takumi).

DH gave it to R, and he was surprised and thrilled. That baby is due sometime in July. Any day now....

FO: Football hat & sneaker booties

2009-07-09T12:59:00.001-07:00

DSCF0085
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

A friend of mine is having her second child, a boy. I happen to know that her husband is very much into college football, so I decided to make the football helmet hat for them, from Itty-Bitty Hats. I chose Northwestern University's colors, because that's where the parents went to college, and where they met.

I was looking around for an appropriate bootie to go with them (while the knitted Converse sneakers are very cute, they're not really footballish) and I found these great sneaker booties. I ordered some Cascade 220 superwash from WEBS and got started.

The ear flaps, while quick to knit, were HUGE. Like, they'd cover my ears and then some. But I persevered on (you know, like the Harlot has said many times before, your inner knitter knows this is wrong, but you have this hope that when you complete it, the rest will shrink to fit the size it was supposed to be?) Finally, I finished the hat and it was ... okay. The cap part seemed baby sized. The ear flaps were impossible. I thought and I thought, and I said, I am a knitter. I can fix this.

I decided that the culprit was actually that the ear flaps are in seed stitch, and my seed stitch (apparently) is way, way looser than my stockinette. (I'm starting to suspect that it's either switching to purl or purling itself that is looser than my knit stitch.) So I decided, the ear flaps are modules, I can cut them off and kitchener new ones on. But then I thought, well, the first few rows of the brim are also seed stitch, so I could just redo the beginning of the hat, and kitchener in stockinette. Much better. (And along the way, I can correct the number of stitches to be odd, so that I can seed stitch around. And I can center the ear flaps on the brim - the original offset them toward the back of the head.)

So while TLD was napping in the car, I took a deep breath and picked up stitches around the bottom of the hat, checked twice, and snipped the yarn. Pulled out that sucker, and I had a brim and a hat to attach to each other, with about the same number of stitches.

Then I had my inspiration - I could use the 3 needle bind-off instead of kitchener, and it would create a nice line between the seed stitch brim and the stockinette. I ran it past my knitting group, and it was decided.

I finished it with some brown KnitPicks swish DK I had around. Why is it that the Swish DK and the Cascade 220 knit at the same gauge? (I know it doesn't matter for the football but I used it in the booties below also). Exact same!

Pattern: Football, from Itty-Bitty Hats
Yarn: Cascade 220 superwash in royal purple, KnitPicks Swish DK in brown and white.
Needles: Size 7 circular 16" (my first needle; forgot the brand), DPNs (Bryspun), and size 5 circular 16" (Addi Turbo, I think) and DPNs (Probably Clover Takumi) for the seed stitch section.
Mods: I accidentally had too many stitches in the first few rows of the stockinette section, so I did a k2tog to fix it. It's visible, but I put it at the back. Should've seen if I could sew the football over it!

The booties were really wonderful, quick, and easy. And I'd wondered for a long time why I hadn't seen any bootie patterns that knit the bottom and attached the sides at the same time. I'd thought that's how I'd like to make a bootie, but I assumed there was something wrong with it that I'd find out. Nope, nothing wrong, just not a very common construction. This is great- it makes a rectangular sole, and no seams at all (no seam up the bottom, no seams up the side, just no seams!) The roll-top is perfect (I did sew it down, as it was threatening to reveal my woven-in ends), and the lacing was fun.

Pattern: Sneaker Booties
Yarn: Cascade 220 superwash in royal purple, KnitPicks Swish DK in brown and white.
Needles: Size 2 DPNs (Clover Takumi)

I gave these to my friend, and she asked if I'd put the hat on TLD. It was so cute, I've got to make another hat for him to wear during college football season!

FO: Brown Bricks dishcloth

2009-07-08T09:45:00.001-07:00

DSCF0093
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

Here it is, at long last: the Ballband dishcloth. I made it with two colors of Lion cotton I got on sale (boy, those balls have great yardage!). It is a fun pattern, and I could get into these easy slip stitch patterns. So easy to make colorful stuff with no fuss! As I made this, I realized that a blanket that was given to TLD is the same pattern, except that it's all in stockinette instead of putting the "bricks" in reverse-stockinette.

Pattern: Ball band dishcloth, from Mason Dixon knitting or the ball band of Pisgah Peaches & Creme.
Yarn: Lion Cotton, red and brown.
Needle: KnitPicks Options, size 6.

I did this exactly as written.

Here's a modeled shot:

When I handed this over to TLD, he put it in his mouth (of course), but then he started polishing his toys and wiping the floor! So now of course it's his.

Still here Tuesday

2009-06-23T11:03:00.001-07:00

DSCF0001
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

Leaving on vacation at the end of this week, so I'm working hard at work and The Sweetie's working hard at home. I'm hoping to get the 160+ photos off the camera before leaving so I can take more photos. Of course, I still have to get the good ones chosen and uploaded, emailed, shared, etc. But that can wait until after vacation if need be.

TLD is so great these days. Such a wide smile, such raw pleasure in simple things - running around and falling on the carpet, opening cupboards and taking cans off the shelf, replacing them and closing the cupboard, putting his hands under running water in the sink. This weekend he picked a tiny daisy and handed it to me. And he didn't even want it back, as he often does when he hands me treasures. And he blew a kiss to his grandmother as we were leaving.

Here is a "where is it now" photo of my Grandma's Favorite dishcloth. It seems to have had a run-in with a knife. Poor thing.

Have a great 4th of July!

World Wide Knit in Public Day 2009

2009-06-17T10:38:00.001-07:00

World Wide Knit in Public Day 2009
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

We made it to my local knit guild's World Wide Knit in Public Day this year. TLD hasn't missed one yet!

The ladies asked how TLD was while I was knitting. In fact, this is the first time he's seen me knit! I usually do it when he's asleep.

I've got lots to show you - but as usual, it's languishing on the camera.

FO: XOXO Baby Socks

2009-06-10T15:24:00.001-07:00

XOXO Baby Socks
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

I can't believe it's been over a month since posting! I'll try to at least present bullet updates more often. I've been knitting as much as I can (lots of babies are gestating this season...) but mostly it's been the lack of ability to upload photos in a timely fashion.

I knit these socks for up and coming younger sibling of the recipient of this, in the same yarn (had it left over).

Project specs:
Pattern: XOXO Baby socks (pdf)
Yarn: Knit Picks Shine Sport
Needles: Size 2 DPNs (Clover/Takumi bamboo)
Mods: None.

I seamed with the cast-on tail, and the only hitch was the pattern has you hold two stitches when you join (the cuff is knit flat and seamed, then joined in the round to finish the sock), and it didn't say what to do with them. Turns out you just thread the seaming yarn through them to secure them; they create a nice transition between the seam and the in-the-round, where the selvedge stitches are taken up.

FO: Propeller Hat

2009-05-06T10:31:00.001-07:00

Propeller Hat
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

I made a Who Hat (it was named by trek) for R..., but when I gave it to her, her son Island Boy tried to put it on, and I realized I had brought no gift for him! I went home determined to rectify the situation.

A while back I made a sweater for him (this was before he arrived) and I thought a matching hat would be just the thing. I even had the yarn leftover, so it would be a perfect match. It took me a while to finish it, but I did finally do the propellers (fiddly, but really short work) and mail it off. The parents took photos and emailed them back!

Pattern: Autogyro. Be sure to get the errata on the Ravelry page:
Erratum
Rounds 15 and 16 of the propeller section should read:
Round 15: K1, k2tog, k2, ssk, k1 twice. 12 sts.
Round 16: K1, k2tog, ssk, k1 twice. 8 sts.
Needles: Size 4 and 6, 16" circular (Susan Bates, I think) and dpns, I think Clover/Takumi
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash. Yep, it's washable!
Mods: I didn't do the turned hem with elastic - I did a picot cast-on for stretch and 1x1 ribbing instead. Then I replicated my stripe sequence from the sweater, in reverse. I tried out slipping stitches to avoid jogs as described by TechKnitter here. They look okay in the photo, but at the time I still wasn't too satisfied.

And here is the little scholar wearing the ensemble, studying to be a Cal Bear like his dad:

FO: Wee Tiny Sock 2009

2009-05-04T11:52:00.001-07:00

Wee Tiny Sock 2009
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

Wow, this little knitblog seems to be turning into an FO blog. It's because I seem to be able to download photos from the camera in small bursts, and by then there aren't any in-progress shots. That and my new schedule (baby and work) seems to only allow small projects - they really don't admit much by way of in-progress, because by the time I get a photo, they're done!

Here is my Wee Tiny sock, waiting to be mailed. I took it on my camera phone because I forgot to take a photo at home, but it was mailing day so mail it I did. Note the vintage Flash Gordon stamp, which I had to lick! And the collection of ~~antique~~ 1c, 4c, and 5c stamps with antiques on them. The notecard is by rkbezzie who blogs at Random Meanderings, but doesn't seem to have anything for sale just now. She's been working hard at work and just had a baby, but I hope she'll pull out the sheep print again, because I love the cards!

Pattern: Wee Tiny Sock pattern (pdf)
Needles: Size 0 dpns, Brittany birch (slightly warped)
Yarn: KnitPicks Risata

I only did 6 plain rounds for the toe, which ended up with a short toe, but there you have it.

My pal was Grace and she loves it. She made her Wee Tiny Sock as her first (well, second) sock. She kept the first "practice" one, as her first sock, and made a second one for the swap. You go, Grace! I'm sure it won't be her last sock!

FO: Lace Easter Egg dishcloth

2009-04-29T09:40:00.001-07:00

Easter Egg dishcloth
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

This was the speediest, easiest lace I've ever done! It's 37 sts wide and only 50 rows, only 17 of which are pattern. No chart, but it's really short and not that hard to follow. Just a word of caution: in this pattern, m1 means to do the increase AND knit the following stitch. I've never seen m1 instructions include knitting the following stitch before.

Pattern: Easter Egg Washcloth Pattern, by Obsidian Kitten.
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton, variegated pastels.
Needle: Size 7, KnitPicks Options.

I love it! My only misgiving was because it's stockinette, it doesn't have those lovely bumps for scrubbing. But it's in use right now and it's very nice.

The photo would have been better if I'd blocked it, but it's a dishcloth. I refuse to block dishcloths.

Modeled shot (the model seems a bit tired of this game):

FO: Easter Egg "Circles" dishcloth

2009-04-28T12:35:00.001-07:00

Easter Egg "Circles" dishcloth
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

I saw this dishcloth somewhere on the Internet, where someone had made one in a variegated yarn, and said something to the effect of "Tee hee! The circles look like Easter Eggs!" and I instantly had the urge to make one for Easter.

I cast on earlier that week, and The Sweetie said I was crazy for trying to finish it by Easter. But lo and behold, TLD took a long nap in the car and I ended up finishing this and knitting most of a second Easter dishcloth (forthcoming blog post).

Pattern: Circle Cloth
Yarn: Lion Cotton for the variegated, Sugar 'n' Creme for the solid green.
Needles: Size 7, KnitPicks Options

It's pretty heavily textured with the reverse-stockinette framing stockinette. We'll see if it's a good scrubber or unwieldly thick. But it is happy and Eastery.

Modeled shot:

FO: Gloveless Finger

2009-04-24T12:06:00.001-07:00

Gloveless Finger
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

Sit back and hear this tale of foolishness followed by pointlessness.

My DH had a nonstick roasting pan. When the coating started flaking off, I objected to continuing to use it, and threw it out. We had intended to replace it, but couldn't find a good, cheap roasting pan. We have an expensive, non-non-stick pan, suitable for turkeys and standing rib roasts, but nothing for we-just-want-to-have-some-roasted-veggies. In the meantime, our Pyrex(R) baking dish stood in, and for most things, it did just fine.

But we wanted to make this roasted pork recipe, where the pork roast is cooked at 500 degrees, and then you pour in apples tossed with oil and lemon juice (or something) and they roast and melt into the pork fat. Yum!

Yeah, can you see where this led? We took at 500 degree glass dish out of the oven and poured cold apples into it. My husband credits his escape from grave injury to the cracking sound the pan made just before it exploded, throwing shards of glass everywhere in the kitchen.

In cleaning up the mess, he managed to get a splinter of glass in his middle fingertip. For a few weeks, he tried to pretend there wasn't a splinter, but soon enough he was living in fear of sudden pains in his fingertip while typing (he's a computer science professor - typing is part of his career). So he went to the doctor to get the splinter out.

His doctor very professionally pointed out that sometimes these exploratory surgeries don't really find things, especially things like infinitesimal (but sharp) bits of glass. Anyway, he dug around and made a hash out of DH's finger, found nothing, and stitched it up. DH came home via the pharmacy and bought a bunch of fingertip band-aids and rubber fingertip covers. He was instructed to keep the stitches clean.

Bah, I said, you don't need those rubber fingertip covers. It'll get sweaty and gnarly. I'll knit you a fingertip cover. It'll protect it, remind you to go easy on your finger, provide cushioning, and it'll breathe while keeping most of the dirt out of it. DH dutifully put a band-aid over the fingertip, and covered it with this, the first bit of knitting I have done for DH which actually fit him.

He loved it. He wore it for a week until the stitches came out. He showed it to the nurses when he got the stitches removed. At one point, he misplaced it (while replacing the band-aid) and searched for it for 30 minutes. He couldn't live without it.

Ah, finally, a successful knitting project for my dear, sweet, Sweetie.

Here's a closeup:

Oh, yeah. He thinks there's still a sliver of glass in his finger. But he'll wait for it to make its own way out this time. (It's not stabbing him regularly, so the rooting around in there did change it for the better.)

Pattern: Gloveless finger - it's a tube with decreases at one hand, essentially a glove finger, without the glove. 16 stitches around, ribbing and then stockinette.
Yarn: KnitPicks Risata.
Needles: Size 0, Brittany birch dpns.

Risata has some elastic in it, so it would stretch. It's also machine-washable. And it fit, uh, like a glove!

FO: Pinwheel Dishcloth

2009-04-20T12:57:00.001-07:00

DSCF0121
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

This was another really fast dishcloth. It uses short rows to make the curved triangle shapes. I alternated the variegated yarn I had leftover from Grandmother's Favorite with some solid blue I had from dishrag tag.

Yarn: Creme de la Creme, blue, yellow, white variegated; Sugar 'n' Cream, blue.
Needles: Size 6, Knitpicks Options
Pattern: Pinwheel dishcloth (pdf), from 1870 pearl.

It only took me 3 days to knit!

A modeled shot (doesn't it look like a yarmulke?):

FO: Chinese Waves dishcloth

2009-04-17T10:29:00.001-07:00

DSCF0016
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

This was a fun and easy dishcloth knit, although it made a really large dishcloth. Mine turned out about 10" square. In the future I'd make it smaller. But the texture does make a nice scrubby cloth.

Pattern: Chinese Waves
Needle: Size 8, KnitPicks Options
Yarn: Peaches 'n' Creme in Cream, received in Dishrag Tag

Thanks to my wonderful dishrag modeler! I've decided to make all of my finished dishcloth shots modeled.

Still here Tuesday

2009-04-07T09:40:00.001-07:00

DSCF0065
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

I was going to make this a photo-less entry, but I hate it when there are no photos, so I went into my photo archive and found this, a beautiful pizza The Sweetie made. The dough is made via a no-knead method, and sparked a recent flurry of homemade breadmaking, from the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day book. This pizza, the recipe that started it all, is from the King Arthur Flour company's blog, Baker's Banter. We made the potato, brie, and carmelized shallot (we didn't have the time to carmelize the onion, but shallots carmelize quickly in a pan), and it was so good we made it 2 or 3 more times that week!

I'm working on a Circle Dishcloth. Somewhere out there, I saw someone's who had said hers looked like Easter eggs, and I got it in my head to make one by Easter.

I cast on Saturday, with the 46 stitches recommended. I knit the first two rows (purl, knit), then got tired and went to sleep.

Sunday, I decided that I would prefer the eggs to stick out in reverse-stockinette, and be framed in stockinette, so I marked up the pattern swapping purls for knits. To reverse the rows I'd already knit, I knit another row.

Edited to add: I started on the colors, with the reversing of knit and purl, and when the green purl bumps stuck out against the smooth stockinette, I realized that "just swapping knits and purls" won't work. I should follow the pattern, and if I want it reversed, I can figure it out with another cloth.

I then looked at how wide it was and decided it was way too wide for a dishcloth. It was about 16"! I subtracted 6 from 46, got 40, still too wide. Subtracted 6 again, got 34, that looked about right. Ripped.

Cast one with 34 stitches. Re-read the pattern. "k4, (sl2, k4), k4" is 6n + 8, which 34 is not. Double check math. Change to 38 stitches. Rip.

Cast on 38, knit 3 rows (I'd figured out that the pattern writer used long-tail cast-on and omitted a row of knitting, but I always use knitted cast on so I needed another row), and started pattern with contrast color. Got to end of row, where I had just knit 4 and had 4 stitches left. I'm short 2 stitches to slip before ending with knit 4.

Redo the math. How can it be that 46 is the right number, and 38, is not a good number, when 38 is 6n + 8 or 6(n+1) + 2 (that is, the other pattern row is "k1, (sl 2, k4), k1")?

Rip anyway, stick with "subtract a multiple of 6" to make a smaller cloth. Cast on 34. Knit first 3 rows. Switch to contrast color. Make it across the row with the right count. Think, yay, I'm finally making progress! Make it to the 8th row of the CC and notice how the cloth has shrunk. It's now just larger than a sponge. That's why the stitch count was so generous to begin with. Rip.

Cast on with 46, as the pattern suggests, and resolve to FOLLOW IT. Mutter about stupid 6n + 2, 6n + 8, 46 is not either of those.

The next day I figured out the math problem. The pattern says "K4, (sl 2, k4), ending with k4". In my opinion, "ending with k4" is not necessary to say, but if you read it as reassurance instead of an additional instruction after the repeated part, then we get 6n + 4, which 46 is, thus making the math work out.

I'm so glad the world works now.

FO: Grandma's Favorite dishcloth

2009-03-20T09:20:00.001-07:00

Grandma's Favorite dishcloth
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

Our dishcloths (machine knit, bought at local health foods store) were in terrible shape (keep getting holes in them and raveling), and I kept getting caught in the car with a sleeping baby. I've resolved to always have a dishcloth project on hand in the car. (Heck, I could keep one going in each car!) Expect to see a few dishcloths on the blog this year. (Warning: I've already finished 3 this year, and I've got 50 in my Ravelry queue!)

I finally made a Grandmother's Favorite (or Grandma's Favorite) - the classic on-the-bias, knit until it's as wide and long as you want, then start decreasing, with eyelets on the border that are knit in as you go. Mindless, as each row is the same, and wonderful to scrub with, as it's garter stitch. Beautiful in ombres and solids.

Project specs:

Yarn: Creme de la Creme, received in Dishrag Tag (the first) swap.
Needles: size 8, KnitPicks Options
Pattern: Grandmother's Favorite

It's in use, and it already has a hole in it.

Pay It Forward

Well, it's been a year and I've failed. But only barely. I actually have the things almost made, and last night DH was babysitting (for another couple - we exchange so we both get free babysitting) and I was gonna finish them up on the exact day, but I got tired and surfed the Internet instead. Yeah, should've gone to bed, because TLD was up at 11pm.

Anyway, someday soon, I'll have les secret hand-made gifts finished and send them. Hey Marie, are you out there? I need your address. You can email me - just go to the "View my complete profile" page. Trek, I've got yours. Kadiddly, I'm waiting to see when I finish to see if you've moved by then.

FO: Birth hat for R...'s baby

2009-03-18T09:43:00.001-07:00

Birth hat for R...'s baby
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

My friend IRL (in real life) "R..." and her husband are expecting a baby at the end of March. She left a comment back in January when I blogged about Niecey's hat, and I knew right away I had to make one for her baby too. She is expecting a little girl, and so I just reversed the colors of Niecey's hat. I'm certainly getting my mileage out of this Baby Cashmerino yarn.

We saw them last week (and the whale too) and I got to deliver it. It was very well received. Yay! Welcome, little girl! We're ready when you are!

Project specs: Picot cast-on, 64 sts, all in 1x1 ribbing. I did matching left and right leaning decreases at 4 points around the circle. Maybe next time I'll try a different decrease strategy. It was an attempt to not interrupt the ribbing. Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, size 5 needles (circular at first, then dpns), size 3 needles for the cast-on.

This time I could see the picots in the picot cast-on:

Sewing FO: Christening gown, bonnet, and slip

2009-03-11T10:16:00.001-07:00

Christening gown, bonnet, and slip
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

When I was christened, I was 18 months old and wore a nice dress. But I've always dreamed of having my babies wear big long gowns with lace trimmings. I'd kept my eye out for antique gowns, and admired the lovely expensive ones at the baby boutiques.

I decided I'd make the gown. I hadn't followed a sewing pattern since I was a little girl, but I was pretty sure I could do it, and I got encouragement from a friend who also works at a fabric store. She took a look at the pattern McCall's 4865 and told me it was definitely doable. In fact, I did a dry run of the bonnet to make sure I remembered how to follow a pattern.

I made the size L, because my baby grew so fast! I did the cutting before my mom arrived 2 weeks before the christening, and sewed each day while she watched TLD. I couldn't have done it without her! I omitted the lace, and added pintucks to the bodice. (I pintucked some fabric, and then cut the pattern shape out afterward - worked great!)

Instead of the pattern's bonnet, however, I wanted a handkerchief bonnet. I scoured antique stores ("junk shops") for attractive old linen hankies. I do know how to tat, but I didn't want the pressure of having to finish tatting a hankie when I hadn't ever made one. I found a lovely linen handkerchief with a simple tatted edging, in wonderful shape, for about $12. I found instructions on the web (not the ones I linked to; I can't find the page I used anymore) and sewed it. For the ribbon ties, I used the ribbon from one of the gifts. It was pale blue and satin, and I made the ties long - I figured he'd only wear it while we were there, so strangulation wouldn't be much of a risk.

They all turned out beautifully, and the priest even announced to everyone that I'd made the gown. The gown and slip are on display at the fabric store; this spring I hope to enter them in the county fair.

Here's closeup of the bonnet (now disassembled, pressed and ready for his wedding...):

And another of the bodice of the gown:

Turqoise and rust barf

2009-03-04T09:31:00.001-08:00

DSCF0049
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

So I started working on the Little Arrowhead Shawl (pdf) for my mom, and I got through one repeat and a couple of rows before my cables started being too short. Last night I pinned it out to take a long look at it.

It still kind of looks barfy. Now I know I haven't wet it and truly blocked it, but I just don't see a definitive pattern here. And it just looks like Granny Square (i.e., not Chanel) to me. I think it's headed for the frog pond.

A closer look:

What do you think? Maybe this yarn is just doomed. My next try might be some scribble lace, and after that maybe just a mitered square pillow (thanks for the idea, Kathryn)? Or a felted purse? After all, my mom loved the colors of this yarn, but she didn't mention anything about the texture. What do you all think?

Other people's knitting - modeled

2009-02-27T10:11:00.001-08:00

DSCF0107
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

My friend, Ali, made this darling sweater and hat for TLD. It was her first top-down raglan sweater! It came out so beautifully - I just love the accent green trim. It's been cool enough lately that we brought the sweater out.

TLD doesn't seem to like close-fitting hats, so we snapped this one pretty quickly. But he likes the sweater just fine! The neck is super-stretchy and plenty big, so it goes on really easily - just what moms and dads love!

2008 FO wrap-up

2009-02-23T09:17:00.001-08:00

2008 FO mosaic
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

Well, it's almost the end of February, and so I thought it was high time I reviewed my knitting of 2008. It was (not surprisingly) dominated by baby items, mostly for my own, but also for some others. The main theme is that they were ~~almost~~ all small items.

The year started strong with a garterlac dishcloth, which has now been used and is full of holes and badly needs replacement. We love the garterlac for its scrubbing power!

Then, I finally finished the Cal striped scarf.

The Wee Tiny Sock Swap sock took a day to make.

Moc-a-soc booties were a little disappointing - they came out gigantic and have a seam in the sole. They are too big for TLD now, and he needs non-skid bottoms for walking, so I don't think these booties are going to be used.

The birth hat for TLD, with non-jog spirals a la Grumperina.

The Tulips sweater (renamed Paintbox), which is still too big but not for long! I loved knitting that sweater, and I love how it came out. I heart Dream In Colour. I guess I never blogged its "finished" photo, which is it on the blocking board.

Spiral socks - which fit for a few hours, it seemed, but gave me a bit of brainwork to be sure that the spiraling works for socks too.

Ridiculously Tiny Sock, and its mate, which I gave to a friend's preemie. (TLD wore the first one his first week, but it was a tight fit then too!)

Ribbed hat for TLD's first cousin (double meaning!) - I decided after TLD outgrew so many hats that ribbed was the only way to go if you want it to fit for more than a week!

And finally, the crowning achievement, finishing TLD's colorwork Christmas stocking on Christmas Eve. I'll be making 2 more in 2009 - for TLD's first first cousin, and his second first cousin, expected fall of 2009! But at 54 stitches per round, and no second sock syndrome (okay, I'm making two, but they'll be different designs), these socks practically knit themselves. That is, if TLD lets me get any sleep.

So 10 items in 2008. Here's to at least as many (even small ones) in 2009. I joined the Knit 3, wear 3 group on Ravelry - the goal is to finish 3 sweaters in 2009. But baby sweaters are permitted, and I've got lots of optimism!

ECF: Sailboat at the harbor entrance

2009-02-13T09:21:00.001-08:00

Sailboat at the harbor entrance
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

Today it's pouring rain (and occasionally hail) but I took this picture on a beautiful day last fall. Enjoy, especially you people that have winter!

Stash Enhancement: Araucania Loa

2009-02-11T11:23:00.000-08:00

Araucania Loa
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

When my mom was visiting, we went looking for buttons for TLD's christening gown. I brought her to an eclectic shop with lots of antique trims, laces, buttons, and yarn. The proprietor there is a somewhat wacky lady who really loves all of the things she sells. The yarn selection is overwhelming; however, she charges about 30% above MSRP. My mom (not a knitter) saw this beautiful yarn that she just loved. Said shop just put all yarn on sale for 50% off (she says she hasn't had a sale in over 10 years, and it's time to clean out) and so I got the yarn.

This yarn is Araucania Loa, a somewhat thin and thick, crimped wool yarn. My mom loved the colors - rust and aqua. The question is, what to do with it? It's pretty pricey stuff, and it's super bulky - 47 yds per skein! I got 4, and so I have under 200 yds of the stuff.

My mom is not into hats. She lives in a warm climate and does not really need winter-type scarves. I've been thinking and thinking what to make for her. She is petite and into very tailored styling - think Coco Chanel. So bulky sweater, winter scarf - these are not really for her.

While I've considered a shawlette like Just enough Ruffles or a shawlette version of Maja (big and holey), right now I'm thinking of a rectangular stole of Scribble lace, maybe mingled with some laceweight baby alpaca. This would be elegant, and would show off the colors she enjoys most, and she can wear it out to concerts and things.

Any other suggestions?

Here's a closeup:

Daisy Sweater, modeled

2009-02-03T12:20:00.001-08:00

turquoise-sweater
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

Way back when I first discovered knitblogs, one of the first blogs I found (I believe linked from the Bloggie award nominations) was Stephanie Pearl McPhee's famous blog, Yarn Harlot. And I started to read (oh, I was a neophyte - I typed the URL in every day to see if there was a new entry).

Soon after I discovered the world of blogs, the Yarn Harlot proposed the Knitting Olympics. I knew how to knit, but had put it down some time ago. This seemed the perfect way to restart my knitting hobby.

A sweater. I had to do a sweater. But since time was tight and I'd never made a sweater, I made it a baby sweater.

Way back when I started this blog, I mentioned it. Apparently I did finally get around to showing a photo of it.

Here it is, at long last, being worn.

Aran Baby Sweater, modeled

2009-01-30T11:12:00.001-08:00

Aran Baby Sweater, modeled
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

Remember this?

Here it is, with TLD gamely modeling it. Because of the drawing in of the cabling, it still stretches to fit, so we took pictures right quick, before he outgrew it. (You can tell it's on the small side, because it's a little short.) But those arms which I could have sworn were huge huge HUGE, are just right.

Shortly after the photo shoot, he drooled on the sweater, which I'd neglected to soak in vinegar because I was too lazy to re-block it. The shirt did become white again, but he hasn't worn the sweater again yet, because I still haven't given it a vinegar bath. (And it probably doesn't fit anymore; this photo was taken about 3 weeks ago.)

And that is this week's combination installment of Eye Candy Friday (do people still do that anymore?) and Where are they now? Have a great weekend!

FO: TLD's Christmas Stocking

2009-01-28T11:50:00.001-08:00

TLD's Christmas Stocking
Originally uploaded by knitswithasilentk

I've decided to give my baby the blog name "The Little Dude" or TLD. We sort of started to call him that at home, and it stuck.

One of my goals a year ago (indeed, I think I made the order on January 8 or so last year) was to knit this guy a Christmas stocking. I loved the kits on Annie's Woolens and so I ordered the kit.

Pattern: Bear Stocking, personalized version with short row heel and toe.
Yarn: whatever they sent in the kit, very rustic with lots of VM
Needles: Susan Bates Silvalume circulars, 16" sizes 6 and 8, I think. These were the needles I used for my first ever knitting project.

I personalized it with his name duplicate stitched on that white band (this photo is of the back), and lined it with knit fabric to prevent any loot from catching on the knitting. This was my first foray into combination knitting, and I loved it! Especially the charted part - I couldn't stop myself! The other 2-color parts were easy to memorize. At 54 stitches per round, it's less work than a real sock, and you don't have to make a second!

There was only one issue I had with the short row heel, where I couldn't get the stitch count to work out. I ended up crossing off one line of instructions and then it seemed to fall into place. Not sure if it really was an error, or whether I was just off somehow.

Here's the inside:

And a detail of the back of the bear (heart is duplicate stitched):

A fitting last FO of 2008!