A Cashmere Hug

An Ishbel for my grandmother, because I can’t be there to hug her myself.

Ishbel| Crazy4Dyeing Elfin Lace| US 4 [3.5 mm] | 2 – 10 April 2010

Sheep and Wool and Podcaster Meet Up

Last weekend was the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival.
Last year, I said I wouldn’t go on Saturday again, but there was just too much awesome going on for me to miss it.

Many a podcaster gathered in the 90+*F heat to do a meet and greet. Jasmin and Gigi from Knitmore girls were there. I only managed to get a picture with them, and I’m about ….a foot taller than them in real life. I was bending down in the picture above. Guido from It’s a Purl Man was there, and so was Meghan from Stitch It Podcast and Jackie from KIPing It Real.

The swag was AWESOME. Pins, a ruler, samples, sniffies.

They did a drawing for prizes, and Matt won a lovely crochet hook roll, that I’m using for my DPNs, and I won a prize for a fibre club! He’s rather lucky; I’ll have to keep him around.

Everyone was really nice, and so gracious about being the the horrid heat. I’m so excited that I got to meet some of my favorite podcasters!

The goodies! Creatively Dyed Seawool, in I’m currently obsessed with this shade pink.

Socks That Rock Lightweight, in Cattywompus.

Socks That Rock Silkie, in Valkyrie

A Golding Tsunami, in Purple Heart Wood.

I’m so glad I went this year, and was able to take my friend Meg with us.

I can’t wait until next year.

Kate’s Alice

Alice | Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice Print | US 6 [4.0 mm] | 2 March 2010

Dead simple pattern, finished in a day, for a friend, for her niece for her birthday.

Getting all the FOs out of the Way

Drive by FOs, before all the Olympic knitting!!

A stash buster! This yarn should look familiar. I used it two years ago to make a Swallowtail shawl for my friend Elle. I had enough to make a pair of socks out of each yarn, but I could never find a pattern for either. I loved how this turned out, even if I ran out of the light blue yarn about six inches from the end, Luckily, I had enough to finish, and add tassels to the ends to make it fun. I’ve been wearing this in all the crazy weather we’ve been having lately. The only ‘mod’ I made was striping the two different yarns with one another.

Baktus |Farmhouse Yarns- Fannie’s Fingering Weight & Knit Picks Bare – Superwash Merino/Nylon Fingering Weight

| US 4  [3.5 mm] | 19 Jan – 30 Jan 2010

I was supposed to make my brother in law a cheesecake for his birthday, but due to our current living circumstances, finding a kitchen in which to bake is difficult. His feet were cold, and I offered to make him slippers instead. I cruised the Ravelry pages, and TA DA. I wanted to make these slippers anyways (and I have the pink and black yarn to make a striped pair), so this was the perfect opportunity for a dry run.

I had to run them through 1 1/2 cycles in the washing machine for them to fit my BiL’s feet. He loves them, and they fit perfectly. This pattern is really well written, and I can’t wait to make a pair for myself. I cast on for the largest size, using the green for the cuff, and then knit 12 inches before starting the toe. I’m really glad I did, as I barely had enough to finish the second foot. I think I had maybe 2 yards left over.

Elf Shoes | Patons Wool Classic in Bright Red & Bright Green | US 10.5 [6.5 mm] | 2 Feb – 3 Feb 2010

Another something for the BiL. He asked me for a scarf… oh… about 2 years ago. I finally got around to knitting one for him. This pattern was a good knit for being around people, as there are only two rows that have patterning. I love the knit on i-cord edging, which I’ve never done before. I plan on using it on the edge of a scarf I’m reknitting for Matt. It ended up being 7″ x 70″, and I only did 8″ of ribbing on either end.

Luke’s Toasty Scarf | Caron Simply Soft | US 8 [mm] | 15 Jan – 8 Feb 2010

Something for me!

This hat was infuriating.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, it was easy to knit, fun to knit, and the pattern, once I relearned how to read English, was well written.

The problem was that I knit it as written and it was too small.

I don’t know many grown adults that have 16″ heads. I ripped the hat out, screeched, and then cast on again. And then cast on again, since I forgot to make the 1×1 rib from the Italian cast on to a 2×2. Once that was all figured out, I sat down and finished this in one evening. The only real modification I made to this was to cast on stitches for an extra repeat around, and then knit enough repeats for the man hat.

It fits perfectly now, and I love it.

Koolhaas | Dream in Color Classy | US 5 [3.75] /US 8  [5] | 6 Jan – 11 Feb 2010

Last Finished Object of 2009 – belatedly

I took simple kitting with me when I spent the holidays with my family. We spend a lot of time together, eating, hanging out, watching movies, and, this time, being horribly ill.

I’ve wanted the Regia Nationals Yarn for a while, ever since I saw that I could make a pair of socks that striped in the pattern of the German flag. I took six years of German, and have German heritage, and so Germany has a soft place in my heart. What better way to show my interest than on my feet? [Hey, some people get tattoos. This is a little less permanent.]

I tried knitting these toe up, so that I could knit as much as possible, but I really, really prefer to work from the top down. It makes me get the long leg done first before I get to all the interesting knitting from the heel down.

So, I ripped the socks out, and started over again.

The cuffs are about eight inches long, done in my usual vanilla sock pattern. I knit the heels with Dale Ull, since I didn’t want to mess with the stripe repeat. This resulted in a squooshy, comfortable heel. Regia wears like iron, but I’m glad to have a softer heel. I don’t really have a lot of wear on the heel of my socks anyways, since I usually wear clogs.

When all was said and knit, I could have knit one more repeat on the leg, but I have enough left over that I can make a little pair of fingerless mitts or wristlets. For now, the yarn is going into the leftover bag.

My Vanilla Sock Pattern | Regia Nations: Germany / Dale Ull | US 0 [2.0mm]

Erm… Christmas knitting

I know I had said that I wasn’t going to do any knitting for Christmas this year.

I kind of technically didn’t, because these socks weren’t meant to be a Christmas gift, but things got shifted around, and these ended up as a gift for my Mother in Law for Christmas instead of her birthday.

Basic MiL Socks |  Elann Esprit |  US 3 [3.25 mm]

They are cotton, as she shares the same wool allergy that Matt does. Summarily put on over her stockings, she declared them ‘wonderful’. I’m glad she likes them! [And am even more glad that I only have enough left of this yarn for myself to make a short pair of Gentleman's Saki socks.]

A Year in Review in Knits

walk like an egyptian

With all of the knitting I’ve been doing for others, I wanted to have a little something for me.

I working on the Egyptian Mittens, found here or here. There are charts, and the pattern is in Finnish, but Google Translate takes care of that.

They are so pretty! Even though it’s been warmer here lately, I know I’ll want warm mittens when winter hits. I can knit a chart repeat in an evening, so as soon as we’re done moving, these are going to be my podcast knitting. I’m about halfway done, and I can really see these being finished by Christmas.

What are you knitting for yourself to keep warm this winter?

surprise

I’ve been physically tired by the time evening rolls around, and my brain power isn’t much higher either.

This sweater, which I’ve knit before, is my evening knitting. I have much Love for Elizabeth Zimmerman.

I’m knitting the amoeba-like manta ray sweater thingity [aka BSJ]. My cousin is expecting at the end of December, and I wanted to knit something for her little one. There is enough stitch counting to keep me awake, but it’s all garter, so no thought involved there. I’m so glad I have this as my moving knitting.

Dad’s Sweater Update

There has NaKniSweMo action in my house. It’s slow, and I know I’m not going to finish anything this month, but NaKniSweMo has been the motivator I’ve needed to get cracking.

I have actually been knitting on my dad’s sweater. There’s proof! I’ve knit about 1 1/2 inches of the pattern part, and I’m pleased with how it’s turning out. Each row takes about 10- 15 minutes to knit, so I’ve been saving it for knit night when I have a block of knitting time. I plan on taking this with me when I go down to see my parents for Thanksgiving; hopefully I’ll have more done so Dad can get more of an idea of how it’s going to look. I’m tempted to start the sleeves, but I want to see how far I can get in the patterned part with one ball, just for kicks.