rabid knitter

Very belated New Year's post

2008-01-31T16:00:00.000-05:00

One of my New Year's resolutions (okay, my only New Year's resolution) this year was not to beat myself up about not getting things done because I'm spending so much time with the baby. I'm not doing so well with this goal unfortunately. I am spending tons of time with the baby, and that is a wonderful thing. I know that I won't ever regret all the time I spent with the baby, but still I get stressed out about the things I'm not doing, like for instance knitting and blogging.

Months ago, I knit a single Knuck, and kept copious notes about it so I could knit an identical matching Knuck. Alas, before I got to Knuck #2, I lost the index card on which I wrote the notes. So that project is on hold, and in the meantime I haven't managed to cast on for much else. I still have a backlog of projects and other things to write about, and someday I will hopefully get to it all.

I also need to just do things and worry less about perfection (which I never achieve anyway of course). Like I should be able to write a quick blog entry and just publish it instead of letting it stew for days or weeks and agonizing over every word and rewriting it several times. It's just a blog, after all! And knitting is just knitting! (Or so I hear anyway...)

Gifts from Aunt Emma

2007-12-20T18:37:00.000-05:00

Baby Helen received some amazing handmade gifts, before she was even born!

Emma crocheted not one, but two incredible afghans which now adorn the nursery. This beautiful hexagonal one she gave us a while back and we knew someday it would be well loved by our future child.

This super-soft Emma original was a fabulous shower gift. (Emma also hosted the surprise shower!)

Emma's afghans look so gorgeous in the nursery!

And then she knitted her a dress! Here is baby H modeling it (at 17 days old) while cuddling with the knitter herself:

The dress has silver lizard buttons!

(That's me holding her in that one.)

Baby H is so fortunate to have such a talented, generous, and loving Aunt Emma!!!

Rhinebeck 2007

2007-12-10T15:42:00.000-05:00

I wasn't sure I'd be able to make it to Rhinebeck this year, seeing as how I had a not-quite-6-week-old baby (this was way back on Oct. 20), but we went and it was a great time! Emma came up for the weekend, and the 4 of us packed into our trusty station wagon and drove up Route 9. Rhinebeck is much closer to where we live now than when we lived in Brooklyn. We didn't get there at the crack of dawn -- it was more like 10am -- but we lucked out and got an awesome parking spot. The day was warm and sunny, full of gorgeous yarn, adorable fiber animals, and decadent food.

Emma and I are overwhelmed by all the pretty yarn...

Baby Helen loves wool; she just doesn't know it yet.

The ever patient husband

Baby Helen hides from the obsessive knitters in her pumpkin hat.

This is pumpkin hat #2. It's a tad big, which is fine because it rolls up (in theory at least) and it will probably still fit her next autumn! (Pumpkin hat #1 I sent to Helen's cousin who was born in August, but ended up fitting the 3-year-old big sister instead! Not sure if it's my own gauge issues, or if the sizing in Itty Bitty Hats is a bit off.)

In the above picture, you can also kind of see the beautiful dress that Emma knit! I have better pictures of the dress, which I will post at a later date.

And here Emma and I are enjoying some of the aforementioned decadent food:

Here are some of my Rhinebeck purchases, which were pretty under control this year:

Two skeins of Brooks Farm Solana, which I'm thinking may become an Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Sweater...

One skein of Spirit Trail Fiberworks Superwash Merino, which may be destined to become a baby hat...

Some cute buttons which would look lovely on a baby cardigan...(Getting a bit repetitive here, now that I think of it...)

And a beautiful wooden swift! (Ball winder too, but it's not as photogenic.)

And that's pretty much it, aside from a bottle of lavender Eucalan, which I didn't bother photographing.

Baby Helen's first sweater

2007-12-08T15:17:00.000-05:00

Baby Helen's first sweater
Started: July 8, 2007
Finished: November, 2007 (actually I finished the knitting over the summer but finally finished the finishing in November, once I was able to try it on the baby and be sure it would fit)
Pattern: "One Piece, one button, child's seamless pullover," by Nina Shishkoff -- purchased at Knittingsmith
Modifications: Shortened the neck ribbing, put the stripes on both sleeves, made several other changes to make it fit a 20" chest, smaller than the smallest size offered in the pattern (but I didn't take very good notes)
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted, in Sunshine (less than 1 skein) and Blackberry (leftovers)
Needles: US 5 Denises, US 5 dpns

Gotta start somewhere...

2007-12-03T08:49:00.000-05:00

I've been gone way too long. I've got a lot to blog about, so much in fact, that I'm not sure where to start! Which is probably why I've put it off so long. So finally I've decided to just dive in.

Baby Helen Rose was born on September 10, 2007. 6 lbs., 8 oz. at birth, much bigger now! She is an absolute joy, and I love every moment I spend with her (which is a lot of moments). She keeps me very busy, another reason why I've been such a bad blogger.

Also in the past few months: I went to Rhinebeck; joined Ravelry; knitted another pair and a half of Knucks, several baby hats, tiny baby mitts, and a baby sweater; and bought a fair amount of yarn. More details and pictures to come.

Itty-bitty hats

2007-07-19T20:11:00.000-04:00

My brother very kindly gave me the Itty-Bitty Hats book as a baby shower gift, and it really sparked the knitting resurgence I have been experiencing.

I started with the upside-down daisy hat, which I gave to the other couple in our childbirth education class. They were scheduled to have their baby Tuesday morning. I haven't heard from them yet, but I'm hoping everything went well! The hat came out really tiny. I meant to make the 0-6 month size but accidentally ended up making the "newborn" size -- silly me, thinking 0-6 months would be the smallest size! I'm hoping it will fit the baby for the first few weeks at least. I knitted the petals and did most of the finishing in the waiting room at my midwives' practice during my 3-hour gestational diabetes test, and it was a great distraction from the fasting and blood drawing. (It really wasn't that bad, and happily I passed the test!)

I used Cleckheaton Country 8-ply for most of the hat. It's a relatively inexpensive superwash wool from Australia. Not the softest yarn I've ever worked with, but it softens up quite a bit after washing. The petals are made of a velvety superwash merino also from Australia, called "Extra." For the stem I used leftover Tess' Designer Yarns Superwash Merino from Courtney's placket sweater. It reminded me how much I loved working with that yarn. It's so soft and shiny and I love the subtle color variations that result from the kettle-dyeing. And it comes in such generous skeins! I haven't seen it anywhere but Brooklyn General, and now that I don't live in Brooklyn anymore, I'm not sure when I'll get back over there. The Tess folks won't be at Rhinebeck either, sadly. I asked the owner of my new LYS if she ever carries Tess yarns...apparently she used to, but "they make it difficult to do business with them." Not sure what that means exactly. They have a web site, but it's not a web store, and it doesn't have pictures of every colorway. At some point I may call them up and try to describe some colors I'm interested in and see what happens.

Upside-down daisy hat
Started: June 23, 2007
Finished: June 25, 2007
Pattern: From Itty-Bitty Hats
Yarn: Cleckheaton Country 8-ply (purple, yellow), Extra 100% Australian Merino (white), Tess' Designer Yarns Superwash Merino (green)
Needles: US 6 dpns

I also made this pumpkin hat, recipient to be determined. This one actually is the 0-6 month size, and it's considerably larger. The leaf really wants to curl, but otherwise it's pretty cute.

Little pumpkin hat
Started: June 25, 2007
Finished: June 28, 2007
Pattern: From Itty-Bitty Hats
Yarn: Cleckheaton Country 8-ply (orange, brown), Tess' Designer Yarns Superwash Merino (green)
Needles: US 6 Denises, US 6 dpns

High-top booties

2007-07-17T19:09:00.000-04:00

This pair of booties I started towards the end of my first trimester. While knitting the first bootie I had a little scare with the pregnancy and got superstitious and stopped, then lost my knitting momentum for a few months. These past few weeks I've been trying to make up for lost time. I finally finished the booties, knitted several little hats (not all for my baby), and there are a couple of baby sweaters in the works.

Not sure what to say about these booties. They came out mismatched (likely due to the time that elapsed between bootie #1 and bootie #2) and the pattern may be a little wonky on the eyelet round (it could just be me, though the same thing happened for both booties). But they're done, and time will tell if they are wearable by an actual baby.

John bought us a digital SLR on our one-year wedding anniversary, and this is the first picture I'll be posting that was taken with that camera (photo credit: John).

High-top baby booties
Started: Feb. 24, 2007
Finished: June, 2007
Pattern: From Knitting To Go
Yarn: RYC CashSoft Aran in Haze
Needles: US 8 dpns

Poor neglected knitting blog

2007-04-27T18:50:00.000-04:00

I haven't been updating the blog because I have no real knitting news to report. However I have been plenty busy with other things...

We bought a house and moved upstate and we are expecting a baby in September! I have started knitting baby things but haven't had the time or concentration to finish anything yet. Hopefully that will soon change and I'll have something to post about!

Dad's hat

2007-03-04T18:27:00.000-05:00

It seemed wrong that I hadn't knitted anything for my dad so far, and I was thinking he might wear a hand-knit hat. I found this donegal cashmere at School Products which seemed perfect for him. A few weeks ago I had some gals over for an afternoon of knitting, and I knitted up this hat. The yarn was delightful to work with. At first I tried using size 11 needles, but the fabric was coming out too loose, so I went all the way down to 8's (because I happen to have Addi Turbos in that size). I totally winged it -- didn't bother swatching, just guessed how many stitches to cast on, and how long to knit before starting the decrease rounds. I was a little worried it would be too small, but after washing, it got much bigger (and softer). This was my first time blocking cashmere, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but now I know! Dad says the hat is very warm and comfortable.

Dad's hat
Started: Feb. 3, 2007
Finished: Feb. 3, 2007
Pattern: None
Yarn: Donegal Cashmere from School Products (50 gr., 95 yds., color 10096), 1 skein
Needles: US 8 Addi Turbos

Shedir

2007-02-22T07:37:00.000-05:00

Meet Shedir, the first project I've knitted for charity. I donated it to Support Connection, an organization that provides support services to women with breast and ovarian cancer. My mom has been volunteering there for about 12 years, and they do really amazing work.

I'm pleased with this hat, though maybe it is a bit big. When I tried it on, I had to roll up the brim so it doesn't cover my eyes. But I have a small head. It also used up more yarn than the pattern suggested. My gauge must have been a little off. (I didn't swatch!) The cables probably could have been a little neater, though blocking helped even things out. The Rowan Calmer took a little getting used to since it is so stretchy. (Swatching beforehand could have gotten me used to it!) Towards the end, the pattern involves some p2tog tbl maneuvers, and I had a lot of trouble with those, but I got through it. Shedir is a very beautiful, clever pattern, and I'm happy with how the hat came out, but I probably won't be racing to make another one of these anytime soon. I intend to make more chemo caps for Support Connection, but I'll try different patterns.

Shedir
Started: Dec. 31, 2006
Finished: Jan. 21, 2007
Pattern: Shedir from Knitty's breast cancer awareness special issue
Yarn: Rowan Calmer, 2 skeins (used very little of the second skein), shade #478, "Joy"
Needles: US 3 bamboo circ, US 3 dpns

Knucks for me

2007-01-15T08:49:00.000-05:00

John and I now have matching pairs of Knucks (although mine doesn't say LOVE and HATE).

Here's an almost-done in-progress shot:

Originally I tried the textured cuff suggested in the pattern, but I didn't like the way it came out, and it wasn't stretchy at all. (I did it in the car at night so it's possible I just messed it up.) I ripped out the cuff and re-knitted it in K2P2 ribbing. So much better!

They fit me better than any gloves have ever fit me. I love having my fingers free to operate my iPod or fish my Metrocard out of my pocket. My hands are still surprisingly warm due to the alpaca, especially with the unseasonably warm weather we've been having.

I learned a few lessons from John's Knucks that I was able to apply to mine. The pattern says "less is more" when it comes to stitching up the holes between the fingers. I followed that advice on John's, but the holes next to the thumbs opened up after some time and I had to mend them. On mine, I was extra careful in closing up the holes. So far, so good.

I also made the fingers much tighter on mine, since the alpaca has a tendency to stretch out, and John's Knucks are no longer snug on his fingers. Making the fingers tighter may have also helped prevent curling. Only one thumb on mine is starting to curl. I haven't tried blocking them yet -- maybe that could also help keep the curling in check.

The cuffs on John's Knucks ended up being too short to go under his coat sleeves. I made my cuffs just under 2" long, which is proving to be a perfect length.

Knucks for me
Started: Oct. 24, 2006
Finished: Dec. 30, 2006
Pattern: Knucks from Knitty
Yarn: Frog Tree Alpaca Sport, color #0010, 1 skein (130 yds.)
Needles: US 2 dpns

Irish Hiking Wrist Warmers pattern

2007-01-11T20:41:00.000-05:00

This is the first pattern I'm posting. I did my best to write it up accurately and clearly based on my notes, but I can't promise it's error-free. Please leave a comment if you have any questions, suggestions, corrections, etc.

These wrist warmers should fit most people, as the cables and ribs make them both clingy and stretchy. You can try them on as you go, and make them as long or as short as you want.

This pattern was inspired by the Irish Hiking Scarf pattern from Hello Yarn, and by the Uneven Cable pattern from Barbara Walker's Treasury of Knitting Patterns.

MATERIALS
- Less than 166 yards of worsted weight yarn (I used Bernat Satin)
- 5 double-pointed needles, size 8 US
- Cable needle

GAUGE
In stockinette, 18 sts and 25 rows = 4"

ABBREVIATIONS
C6B = Slip 2 sts onto a cable needle and hold to back of work. K4, then K the 2 sts off cable needle.
M1K = Make one knit stitch using the increase of your choice (I used lifted increases: first right-slant, then left-slant)
M1P = Make one purl stitch using the increase of your choice (I used lifted increases: first right-slant, then left-slant)

DIRECTIONS
Cast on 36 stitches and join for knitting in the round, being careful not to twist. Place marker at beginning of round.

Stitch Pattern:
Rounds 1, 2, 4, 5, 6: * K2, P2, K6, P2, repeat from * to end of round
Round 3: * K2, P2, C6B, P2, repeat from * to end of round

Repeat these 6 rounds, continuing in pattern until the wrist warmer is about 3 1/2" from the cast-on (or where ever you want the thumb gusset to start).

On the next round: slip marker, M1K, K2, M1K, pM, then complete the round in pattern.

Knit a round even in pattern. (Starting with K4 now that there are 2 extra stitches)
Continue in pattern, increasing by M1P after the first marker and M1P before the second marker. (These added stitches will be purled in future rounds.)

Repeat these last 2 rounds. There should now be 42 stitches.

Continue in pattern until wrist warmer is 5 1/2" (or desired length) from cast-on.

Bind off the 8 stitches between the markers, remove the second marker, and complete the round in pattern.
At the beginning of the next round, slip marker, cast on 2 stitches using the backward loop cast on, and complete the round in pattern. (These new stitches will be knitted in future rounds.)

Continue in pattern until wrist warmer is 7 1/2" long, or desired length.
Bind off loosely in pattern.

Make another wrist warmer just like this one!

Happy 2007!

2007-01-02T21:45:00.000-05:00

All in all, 2006 was a good year for me, full of knitting firsts. Here are some of the highlights:

- First lace project
- First fair isle
- First pair of socks
- First 3 sweaters
- First baby booties
- First baby blanket
- First wrist warmers and fingerless gloves
- First beaded project
- First attempts to modify and improvise patterns
- First trip to Rhinebeck

I don't have any specific knitting goals for 2007, but I would like to try and keep my stash under control and get braver about modifying patterns and making up my own.

Knitting for the kitchen

2007-01-02T21:43:00.000-05:00

Here's what I did on the ride back from Pittsburgh:

It's the ballband dishcloth from Mason-Dixon Knitting!

It was a fun pattern to knit, even though cotton isn't my favorite fiber to work with. We've already started using it to wash dishes, and it works very well for certain things. I'm used to sponges, so I ended up spritzing myself with dishwater a few times as the cloth flopped around in my hand. Bits of food get caught in it easily. But it's very absorbent and can cover a large surface area at once. And it's pretty!

Ballband Dishcloth
Started: Dec. 27
Finished: Dec. 27
Pattern: From Mason-Dixon Knitting
Yarn: Sugar 'n Cream, 1 skein Bright Navy, 1 skein Midnight Magic
Needles: US 7 Denises

Gimli on steroids

2007-01-02T21:40:00.000-05:00

I finally added a lining to my Gimli hat, something I had been meaning to do since last winter. I used the Morehouse Farm Merino I bought at Brooklyn General.

Here's what I did:

Lining the earflaps
I picked up 25 stitches along the earflap seam and repeated the following two rows:
1) ssk, knit to last 2 stitches, k2tog
2) sl 1, purl to last stitch, sl 1
...until there were only 2 stitches left, which I knitted together. I sewed down the other 2 sides of the triangle to the earflap, and repeated for the other side.

Lining the rest of the hat
I picked up 110 stitches along the inside edge, joined, knitted until the lining was about 2.5 inches long, then began the decrease rounds because I had too many stitches on there. I placed markers every 10 stitches and knitted together the 2 stitches before each stitch marker. I repeated this decrease round every third round (maybe 5 times) and finally every other round, until I had 10 stitches left. I cut the yarn and pulled it through the 10 stitches and weaved in the end.

I didn't swatch or do any math, and it definitely was not a scientific process, but I'm pleased with how it turned out. Basically there is a second hat inside the original hat. And it is super warm and very soft inside! And the hat is ridiculously thick! If it sort of resembled armor before, now it practically is!

It hasn't been cold enough yet to really try it out. In fact, I'm not sure it will get cold enough in NYC this winter! But if we do get a blizzard this year, I'm prepared.

Gimli Lining
Started: Dec. 24
Finished: Dec. 26
Pattern: None
Yarn: Morehouse Farm Merino worsted, 1 skein
Needles: US 8 Denises and dpns, I think...

Self-indulgence

2007-01-02T21:30:00.000-05:00

I generally refrain from buying things for myself before the holidays, but immediately afterwards I tend to go on a bit of a shopping spree.

This snail-like contraption is a needle threader. Until now, I've been using the kind of needle threader that has a wire loop. Those work very well with sewing needles and thread, but they are pretty delicate and have a tendency to break when used with thick yarn. I suspected there must be a device better tailored to threading yarn, and the other day when I was in Daytona Trimmings, I happened upon this cute little item. Unfortunately it has some rough edges from when the metal was stamped out, but it works pretty well and I'm not afraid it's going to break.

One of the Christmas gifts we bought for a friend this year was from the Bust Boobtique, and in order to, um, make the shipping cost worthwhile, I ordered a copy of Stitch 'n' Bitch Nation for myself. I had taken it out of the library a while back, copied a few pages, and made the Fairly Easy Fair Isle cardigan from it. The book contains many good patterns and lots of useful information about modifying patterns, adding waist shaping, etc., so I wanted a copy of my own.

The gizmo above is an "ear light." I have to thank Christine from the Pointy Sticks podcast for sharing her three favorite knitting things: her ear light, highlighter tape, and dpn protectors! Shortly after hearing that podcast, I went to the Discovery Store at Grand Central and picked up an ear light. It enabled me to knit Courtney's tassel hat in the car the night we drove to Pittsburgh. I found it to be more comfortable than my head lamp which I have used for the same purpose.

I also ordered a pair of handmade dpn stitch protectors from Three Owls Knitting on Etsy! She has instructions on her blog on how to make them, but I really like the ones she's selling, and they're reasonably priced. This was my first Etsy purchase!

Tracking down highlighter tape was a little tricky. Staples didn't have it, and I thought Christine said it was made by 3M, but I couldn't find it on their web site. Eventually I found highlightertape.com (they also have an eBay store) and ordered the one-line (1/6") tape. This should be very helpful with knitting charts. I'm currently knitting Shedir and wishing I already had my highlighter tape!

Also for Shedir, I picked up a US 3 circular needle (my first bamboo circ) and dpns (by KA, a brand I haven't tried before).

And...I bought more yarn! I ordered a couple skeins from Lisa Souza. One is a skein of superwash sport merino in the "Violet's Pink Ribbon" colorway. The proceeds from that yarn will go towards medical bills for Violet from the Lime and Violet podcast, who recently found a lump in her breast. The yarn is pink, which isn't a favorite color of mine, but I'll probably use it to make something for a baby. It was a great excuse to try out Lisa's handpainted yarn, about which I've heard wonderful things. While I was at it, I also purchased a skein of merino sock yarn in the "Earth Birth" colorway.

Odessa II

2007-01-02T21:15:00.000-05:00

John got his hat in time for Christmas!

John's Odessa
Started: Dec. 23
Finished: Dec. 24
Pattern: Odessa by Grumperina (sans beads)
Yarn: RYC CashSoft DK, 1 skein
Needles: US 4 plastic circ, US 6 Addi Turbos, US 6 dpns

Cute as a button

2007-01-01T21:31:00.000-05:00

On the way to Pittsburgh I knitted a hat to match Courtney's placket sweater. I casted on 80 stitches, joined for knitting in the round, did k2p2 ribbing for about an inch, then placed markers every 20 stitches and alternated stockinette for 20 stitches, then seed stitch for 20 stitches, etc. I continued this until the hat was about 6 inches long, and then I bound off. I turned the hat inside out, laid it flat so that the seed stitch was in the middle and the stockinette was on the edges, and backstitched the top together. Then I made 2 tassels and attached them at the corners. Very simple, but it turned out pretty cute!

The sweater fits better than I could have hoped -- the sleeves and body are the right length, and there's a bit of growing room. She seemed to enjoy wearing both the hat and the sweater, to the extent that she repeatedly put them on herself throughout our visit!

Courtney's tassel hat
Started: Dec. 22
Finished: Dec. 24
Pattern: Inspired by "Fat Hats" pattern in Hip to Knit, also page 111 in Knitting Rules! (Scarf Rescue Hat section)
Yarn: Tess' Designer Yarns Superwash Merino, leftovers from placket sweater (with still more remaining)
Needles: US 8 Addi Turbos

Knitting-related gifts!

2007-01-01T19:27:00.000-05:00

I was very lucky this holiday season to receive 5 gifts overflowing with knitting wisdom!

Amy and Derek gave me the fabulous 'Knitting to go' patterns, by Kris Percival, which come on individual cards for extra portability. There are some great patterns in there, lots of classic designs plus ideas on improvising. I especially love the men's V-neck sweater and the soft baby blocks.

Mom and Dad gave me the 'Stitch 'n' Bitch Knitter's Calendar,' by Debbie Stoller. I'm very strict with myself about page-a-day calendars (no peeking ahead!), so this morning I woke up eager to open it up and look at the first page. Mondays are "Fave Fiber" writeups, and I learned about a yarn I hadn't heard of before. I'm looking forward to Tuesday tips, Wednesday Web Sightings, Knitting History on Thursdays, and Grab-and-Go Patterns on Fridays!

Elizabeth Zimmerman's 'Knitting Workshop' is also from Mom and Dad. I'm about halfway through it, and I'm learning a lot about sweater construction. I can't wait to try out some of the techniques! EDITED TO ADD: In this book, Elizabeth Zimmerman describes how to add short row shaping to the neck of a sweater in the back to make it fit better. This would have been a big improvement to John's zip raglan cardigan! His main complaint about that sweater is that the collar is too short in the back and won't turn down. Now I'll know for the next sweater!

Andrew gave me Barbara Walker's 'Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns,' which is even thicker than the First! It contains pages and pages of cable, lace, and color patterns that I'm itching to try out.

Rounding out my library of knitting essentials is 'Knitting From the Top,' also by Barbara Walker (another gift from Mom and Dad). I've started flipping through and it looks amazing. This book, along with the EZ books, should help me go farther in deviating from patterns.

Thanks Amy, Derek, Mom, Dad, and Andrew, for these fantastic additions to my knitting library!

A most amazing scarf

2006-12-31T14:22:00.000-05:00

This is the scarf that Emily made. Isn't it beautiful?!? She alternated 2 rows of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted with 2 rows of ~~Inca Alpaca~~ some Jo Sharp yarn (I think), and the effect is breathtaking! I love the way the colors dance with each other for the length of the scarf. The different textures and weights of the two yarns make it even more appealing, both visually and tactilely. And it's so soft and warm! Thank you so much, Emma!

Emily's Odessa

2006-12-21T10:14:00.000-05:00

Last night John and I exchanged holiday gifts with our dear friends Emily and Chris. They bestowed upon us a most amazing scarf. This is a scarf I had been admiring and petting while Emily was still working on it, before it had a designated recipient. How did she know it was just what I wanted? John and I have both worn it already (not at the same time) and it's around my neck as I type this. Pictures are forthcoming.

We gave Emily this Odessa hat:

I loved knitting this pattern! I didn't make any modifications. It took 121 beads and one skein of RYC CashSoft DK with just a few yards left over. Before I gave it to Emily, John agreed to model it for me:

After trying it on, John wants a hat that fits the same way, maybe even this same pattern but without the beads. I'd love to knit this again, so he'll probably get his wish!

I hope Emily enjoys wearing this hat as much as I enjoyed making it!

Emily's Odessa
Started: Dec. 15
Finished: Dec. 17
Pattern: Odessa by Grumperina
Yarn: RYC CashSoft DK, 1 skein
Needles: US 4 plastic circ, US 6 Addi Turbos, US 6 dpns

Irish hiking gifts

2006-12-16T18:01:00.000-05:00

This Irish hiking scarf and matching wrist warmers are for my mother-in-law. The only modification I made to the Hello Yarn Irish hiking scarf pattern was to use "uneven cables" which I found in Barbara Walker's Treasury of Knitting Patterns. Instead of putting 3 stitches on a cable needle and knitting the next 3 before knitting the 3 from the cable needle, you put 2 stitches on the cable needle and knit the next 4. I like the way these cables turn out, and they're a bit easier to do. I went with a 6-row repeat, as opposed to the 8-row cables in the Hello Yarn pattern.

The finished scarf is about 60" long. The ends don't fan out much because I did the first cable row on row 3 (the Hello Yarn pattern has you do it at row 8). Likewise I ended the scarf 2 rows after the last cable row.

I improvised a matching wrist warmer pattern, after a botched attempt at modifying the wrist warmer pattern from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. The wrist warmers I made are 36 stitches around (3 repeats of the 12-stitch cable pattern). I started at the arm, and after 22 rounds began increasing for the thumb gusset. I increased 2 stitches every other round until there were 42 stitches. In round 35 I bound off 8 stitches at the thumb, and in round 36 I cast on 2 stitches to complete the circle. After another 10 rounds, I bound off.

1/15/07 EDITED TO ADD: I have posted the complete pattern.

Irish hiking scarf
Started: Nov. 1(?)
Finished: Nov. 30(?)
Pattern: From Hello Yarn
Yarn: Bernat Satin, Sterling, 3 skeins (used very little of the 3rd skein)
Needles: US 8 Addi Turbos

Irish hiking wrist warmers
Started: Dec. 1(?)
Finished: Dec. 9
Pattern: My own
Yarn: Bernat Satin, less than 1 skein
Needles: US 8 dpns

FO: Courtney's placket sweater

2006-11-24T14:43:00.000-05:00

This is my first completed hand-knitted holiday gift of the season. Yikes! I'm probably going to have to set my holiday knitting goals a little lower in order to preserve my sanity.

Modifications:

- Yarn substitution. This was my first experience with Tess' Designer Yarns, and I really enjoyed it. I bought this 570-yard hank of yarn at Brooklyn General with what was left of my gift certificate. I had been intending to go with RYC CashSoft DK, but they don't carry it at Brooklyn General. The nice woman who worked there suggested Tess' yarn, and it was love at first sight. The hand-painted color is beautiful and organic-looking, subtly variegated, and, I think at least, unusual in a good way for a little girl's sweater. (Courtney has so much pink and purple clothing already!) This yarn is soft in the skein, and I found that it gets even softer after knitting up and washing. I kept stroking the swatch and rubbing it against my cheek. It's superwash, unlike the Koigu Kersti suggested in a pattern. My only complaint with this yarn is that there were a couple of spots where it was a bit frayed. There were no knots at all; I guess it's acceptable to have a couple defects in such a giant skein. This yarn is light worsted, as opposed to the DK weight Koigu Kersti. My stitch gauge came out to 21 sts = 4" just as the pattern calls for, but I got 28 rows to 4" rather than 32.

- Added 1" to the sleeve length. Courtney just turned 2, and though she is small for her age, when I had knitted a sleeve to the pattern's specifications, it just looked too short (and I confirmed this by checking the baby size chart). I figure they can always be rolled up if they are too long.

- Picked up the 5 stitches for the placket, instead of using cable cast-on and sewing them on later. A cable needle helped to keep the two placket layers separated while they were too short to sit side by side on the circular needle.

- Added buttonholes and buttons. I found the buttons at M&J Trimming, which is just a couple blocks from where I work. They are clear plastic, with flowers painted onto the bottom -- they almost look like real pressed flowers.

- Reversed the placket. This was accidental, but it's my understanding that small children's clothes are meant to have the buttons on the other side anyway, since they generally do not dress themselves.

- Started seed stitch for neckband a row early, worked 6 rows of seed stitch instead of 8. I didn't want such a high collar.

- Upper body is a bit longer due to different row gauge. This should add some extra ease around the shoulders, which seems like a good idea for an active 2-year-old.

Note on Lion Brand plastic double-pointed needles: they rattle! I don't know why they didn't just make them solid. They seem to have some sort of core floating inside. I bought these at A.C. Moore due to lack of other options at the time. I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to buy these needles in the future. I also found them to be a little too slippery for dpns, which may have been part of the reason why I knitted the first sleeve super tightly. I had to rip out that sleeve and start over, thinking "loose, loose, loose" the whole time. A couple times my knitting slipped off one of the needles, but the yarn wasn't very slippery so hardly any stitches dropped.

Courtney's placket sweater
Started: Nov. 6
Finished: Nov. 22
Pattern: Child's placket sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, corrected version found here. Size: 1-2 years. See modifications above.
Yarn: Tess' Designer Yarns Superwash Merino, 1 skein
Needles: US 7 Denises (21" circular), US 7 dpns (Lion Brand plastic)

FO: Efeziya's blanket

2006-11-24T11:25:00.000-05:00

From the blog backlog...

Efeziya's blanket
Started: July 1 (?)
Finished: Sept. 11
Pattern: Based on this recipe. Stitch patterns include Embossed Diamonds and King Charles Brocade from the Vogue Knitting Ultimate Knitting Book. I used a double crochet bind-off, as detailed here. Approximately 36" square.
Yarn: Knit Picks Shine Worsted, 10.5 balls cream, 0.5 ball sea spray
Needles: US 9 Denises

FO: diagonal airy scarf

2006-11-24T11:24:00.000-05:00

I made this little scarf for cousin Marie -- it seemed like a good choice for someone who lives in a climate where it never gets cold. The airy scarf pattern from Last Minute Knitted Gifts is lovely and fun to knit, but I wanted to give it a bit of a twist this time, so I knitted it on the bias. It ended up kind of skinny and required more than just a spray-blocking. I gave this one a proper bath with baby shampoo and pinned it as tightly as I could to open up the lace pattern.

Diagonal airy scarf
Started: Sept. 24
Finished: Oct. 9 (blocked Oct. 16)
Pattern: Adapted from the Airy Scarf pattern from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Rowan Kidsilk Haze, half a skein, Heavenly
Needles: US 10 plastic needles