Finished Monkeys and WIPs

The Monkeys, as I promised earlier, are finished! And thanks for the tips about photographing knitwear; I think this shot shows off the pattern a lot better. The photo was taken after they were worn a day, so they look a bit saggy. They are just a little loose. If I had them to do over again, I might needle down to a US 1.

Pattern: Monkey

Source: Cookie A, Knitty (Winter 2006)
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll Hand Painted in Tea Party (colorway discontinued)
Needle: US 2

Now, in the wake of Sock Summit, it became clear to me that I needed to get some work done on existing sock-weight projects so I could play with all my new yarn. I don't believe I've ever posted about the project below, the Cannon Beach Sweater.

The pattern is actually the Mountain View Cardigan by Connie Chang Chinchio, but it has been called the Cannon Beach Sweater in my house because of the colors of the yarn - beachy, but with a lot of basalt.  I had quite a bit more finished than is shown in the picture above, but was miserable with the pooling (GIANT grey spot) of the colorway in the center of the back. So I ripped it all back to nothing and started fresh. I also re-drafted the pattern so I could work the body in the round instead of as 5 pieces.

So now I have a sleeve. Or part of one. The lace cuff is the first part, then it's bound off and the sleeve is picked up across the long edge and worked perpendicularly. This looks a little odd with the stripey yarn, but I think it's working so far.

Also in progress, the Top Gear socks (Rick by Cookie A). This picture is a little blurry, but it gives you an idea of the length I'm at.  I'm working these on my Blackthorn Needles, which I mostly love.  I wish they were just a bit pointier, but I suppose there are other needles I could use if that was my goal.  Their carbon fiber construction contributes to the overall Top Gear nature of the socks.

I must finish one of these projects before I can start another sock or sock-weight sweater.  That was the deal I struck with Patrick when I came home from Sock Summit laden with all that sock booty!  Hopefully the occasional progress post on the blog will help keep me accountable...

Sock Summit 2011 or How I Totally Lost My Mind On Yarn Fumes

So Connie and I went shopping yesterday. At a little place called Sock Summit 2011!

We took the day to drive down to Portland and visit the marketplace. We've been planning this trip since they held the last Sock Summit. In 2009. And it totally lived up to - nay, exceeded expectations.

I bought yarn for four sock-weight cardigans and 7 pairs of socks. I also got a book signed by the Yarn Harlot herself, and picked up a nifty little project bag (top left).

This Marion Foale, picked up at the Knit Purl booth, will become a Plum Frost Cardigan.

This Sincere Sheep Treble will become a Castlegar Cardigan.

This Knitter's Brewing Sock-aholic will become a Paulie (I am really excited about this one).

This madelinetosh tosh sock will become a Ruby Red.

And, left to right, Miss Babs Windsor in Tourmaline, Socks That Rock Lightweight in Sock Hoppin'*, MacKintosh Celtic Sock in Evergreen, Sanguine Gryphon Bugga! in Golden Orb Weaver, Lorna's Laces Solemate in The Bean, Fiber Optic Foot Notes in Labyrinth, Kitchen Sink Dyeworks in Niblets* - these will all become totally kickass socks.

* colorway not on their site

It was an incredible day, one that I will not soon forget.  Other surreal moments include resisting the urge to tackle Stephanie Pearl-McPhee as she walked towards the bathroom, then telling her about resisting that urge while she signed my book; telling Janel Laidman about my Obscenity Sock, and how she taught me to read charts (while we were both in line at Burgerville); watching Cookie A sort her lunch refuse into compost and landfill bins.

In other news, the Monkey socks are finished, pictures coming soon.  The deal I have made with Patrick is that there can only be one sock and one sweater on the needles at a time, so I have a pair of socks and two sweaters to finish before I can tap into the Sock Summit loot.

WIP: Monkey Socks

Slowly, but surely, the Monkey sock progresses.  Man, I need to learn how to photograph knits better; you can't see the stitch pattern in these at all!

Finished Object: Hey Teach!

Pattern: Hey Teach!
Source: Helene Rush, Knitty (Summer 2008)
Yarn: Valley Yarns Goshen, Navy
Needle: US 9

Well, it's done. I'm not thrilled with it, but I think it's fixable. Let's start with the things I like about it:

• the pattern was so fast to make - a whole cardigan in only 5 weeks!
• the yarn is incredibly soft, but has beautiful stitch definition
• the lace is perfect - not too frippy, but still feminine
• the color; yum!

So here are the things I don't like about it:

• it is way too big.  I used a US 9 instead of the US 8 in the pattern, so I probably should have gone down a size.  I have lost all my baby weight, but you can't tell when I'm wearing this sweater!
  
• the buttons I used are too heavy for the yarn, so the button band side sags down.  I wore it to work yesterday and was tugging and adjusting all day.

I think that if I sew some matching twill tape into the button band, that should fix the sag.  As for it being too big, I'm considering taking it in.  I found this article, and might try to take it in at the side seams.  I don't have a serger, so I'm a little scared.

Thoughts?

R is for Rhinoceros

Another knitting finish! This rhinoceros is the latest in a string of knitted animals for Leah's nursery:

A is for Alligator
B is for Bear
F is for Flamingo
O is for Octopus
S is for Snail
T is for Turtle

Pattern: Rhinoceros (rav link)
Source: Kath Dalmeny, World of Knitted Toys
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette in Silver (held double)
Needle: US 3

And a gratuitous Leah picture! She's 14 weeks now, and more wonderful every day.

Another Finished Object - Purple Socks

 

These aren't the fanciest socks ever.  There's no hifalutin stitch pattern or lacework.  It's just Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's "A Good, Plain Sock Recipe" (rav link).

The yarn is Pagewood Farms Yukon in Plum.

They're just a little big, but I made the first one when I was 6 months pregnant, so it stands to reason that my ankles are a slightly different size now.

So there it is. Nothing earth-shattering, just a pair of socks, but I'm happy they're finished!

Garter Yoke Baby Cardigan

I started this little baby sweater while I was still pregnant with Leah, but just finished it today. I was in a bit of a rush to finish it because she is growing by leaps and bounds. She's only 6 weeks old, but she's already wearing 3-6 month clothing! This sweater was sized for 6-12 months, but it barely fits her.

The pattern is Garter Yoke Baby Cardigan (Rav link) by Jennifer Hoel. The yarn is Jo Ann's Cuddle knit up on US 4's. It's a very simple pattern, and I'd love to try it again with a heavier yarn to get a larger size.

In Leah news, she's just starting to smile this week. You can see a little bit of her dimples in the picture above, but then she pulls her all-out grin and your heart just explodes with happiness...

Baby Leaves Hat

God, isn't she adorable? She's wearing the Baby Leaves Hat (rav link) designed by Paula Dean Nevison. It's knit in Sublime Yarns Organic Cotton DK in colorway #145 - Yogurt on US 4's.

It was great fun to knit this while I was pregnant - baby knits are so fun and quick, and the lace pattern in this made it all the more interesting. It's a free pattern on Ravelry; I highly recommend it.

Christmas Stockings - Reveal!

Christmas is a tricky time for the crafty blogger. When do you reveal the gifts you've been working on so the surprise isn't spoiled for the recipient? At the beginning of this year, my sister-in-law asked if I would make her family Christmas stockings. I'm glad she asked early, because these took me all year. Now that they have received them I am very proud to show you all this labor of love:

My in-laws are a family of four: Andi, her husband Brian, and their twins Ethan and Logan. All the name plates are reverse fusible applique. The font is Minya Nouvelle.

Both Andi and her mother are wonderfully talented gardeners, so I knew I wanted to do something floral for her stocking. And floral + Christmas = poinsettias! After some lengthy Google image searches for inspiration, I decided a stained glass poinsettia would be the most fun.

The colors are all fused to a piece of muslin. The black is done all as one piece - traced on to heavy-duty fusible, carefully cut (it looks like a giant spiderweb or a big lace doily at that stage), then carefully arranged over the background and fused and sewn in place.

I really floundered with a design for Brian's stocking. I had lots of ideas, and eventually decided that another stained glass design would look best as part of a pair with Andi's. It doesn't show in the picture, but some of the blues in the night sky have silver sparkles in them. All of the blues came from stash, so I dug through my scraps for a very long time, carefully arranging my palette in a color gradient.

If I floundered with Brian's design, I was downright flummoxed when it came to the twins. They will turn 6 this month; how to make something that would appeal to a 6-year-old boy that would still be treasured by the young man he would eventually become? Also, when creating something for twins, it's important not to make things too matchy.

I settled on a design of fair-isle applique. The 3-D effect would make it fun enough for a kid, and the simple, classic design would make it timeless enough for an heirloom. The snowflake design (which I showed my swatch of back in August) is out of Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting. The general mitten pattern came from Ann Budd's Handy Book of Patterns.  The i-cord is sewn down in those loops.

The structure of this hat was based on the Andean Chullo (which I don't think is available anymore) at Knit Picks, minus the ear flaps. I dug up some free Christmas-y stitch patterns on the internet, did a little pattern in Excel, and voila! - stocking.  The i-cord is sewn down, but the tassels are free to wiggle in the wind.  Both the knitted pieces have been blocked, soaked in starch, and pressed to ensure maximum flatness.  It would be horrible to get to appliqueing these down and then have the stretchiness of the knitted item distort the stocking.

So there you go, my year-long Christmas project, which I have been DYING to show this whole time, finally revealed.  I'm so proud, and thrilled that the family likes their early Christmas gift.

T is for Turtle

Pattern: Piecrust the Tortoise
Source: Debi Birkin
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette in Forest Heather and Edamame, Knit Picks Stroll Multi in Lilypad (each held double)
Needle: US 3

If you follow that link to the pattern, you can see she did a whole ton of embroidery on the shell. I left that out. I was happy with him the way he was.

And he seems pretty happy too.

A Bunch of Finished Objects

First up, we have a whole slew of finished animals for the nursery. Why the sudden rush? Well, I had a few that were just waiting for their finishing touches, and finally found my safety eyes today (there's been a big move as we clear the sewing room out of the nursery and move it to it's new location in the ex-guest room).

O is for Octopus

Pattern: Aristotle the Octopus
Source: Nicola Coffield
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll Multi in Princess Multi (held double for head, single for legs)
Needle: US 2

F is for Flamingo

Pattern: Flamingo
Source: Spud & Chloe
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette in Cotton Candy, Cosmopolitan, White and Black (all held double)
Needle: US 3

B is for Bear

Pattern: Grizzly Bear
Source: World of Knitted Toys by Kath Dalmeny
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette in Bison (held double)
Needle: US 3

And this is an old project that I said was finished earlier, but only just reached its intended owner (in truth, I hadn't woven in the ends until Sunday). This is Mauer, and the general consensus is that he looks quite dapper in his sweater:

Pattern: Shawl Collar Sweater (blogged earlier as modeled by Maggie)
Source: Essential Baby by Debbie Bliss
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran
Needle: US 7 & 8

A is for Alligator, S is for Snail

I (finally) have two stuffed animals to show you!  The first is my Alligator.  Here's some technical specs:

Pattern: Plush Alligator by Kristi Benedict

Source: Ravelry

Yarn: Knit Picks Palette in Forest Heather (top) and Edamame (belly)

Needle: US 1

Alligator from top side - you can see his little toes very well from this angle.

Alligator Side View - the pieces are just whip-stitched together, but I like the effect.  You can see at this angle that his eyes (actually bobbles) stand out from the top of his head a little.

Alligator Belly View - I love that the designer included a garter-ridged belly!  For the non-knitters, this means that he has little ridges all the way down his belly - like a real alligator.

Next up is my finished Snail.  Now you may be thinking, "An alligator and a snail?  For a girl's nursery?"  Well, these are going to be joined by many other animals, some of which will not be creepy crawly scaly things.

Pattern: Garden Snail by Hansi Singh

Source: Amigurumi Knits

Yarn: Knit Picks Palette in Suede (held double for top) and Malabrigo Silky in Indiecita (shell)

Needle: US 3, US 1 for eye stalks

Snail from Side - the body was knit all as one piece, first the top, then picked up stitches around the bottom edge and knit in, then grafted and stuffed as you went.  As such, there was no opportunity for pre-stuffed blocking and my snail has a bit of torque.  I pinned him down and soaked him for a while, but that has only eliminated some of the twist - that's why his butt is twisting up and towards the camera...

OK, I know what you're thinking.  You used Malabrigo Silky for a kid's toy?!  But it was the perfect colorway and I had a leftover skein that didn't go with anything.  And, because these toys don't use a lot of yarn, I still have most of that skein left.  I'm really happy with how the shell looks.

I knit the eye stalks on smaller needles so they'd be nice and tight and stand up firmly from the head.  I love how they turned out.  Adding the embroidery for his expression was a little tricky because the black embroidery floss had to travel all the way up the eye stalk (from where I anchored it in the head), make the two stitches that form his eyes, then all the way back down the eye stalk without showing.

Maggie seems to think that C is for Cat, hence the group shot.  This picture gives you an idea of the scale, though.  Both animals are roughly the same size (about 8-9" long), but that was more luck than plan.

So Behind!

I have now finished two knit animals for the nursery, but my pictures are upstairs and I'm just dropping this note before work.  I'm so behind in posts!  This lovely long weekend I:

• sewed eyes on A is for Alligator
• finished construction on S is for Snail
• had a great visit with Connie where she
• gave me a beautiful Baby Surprise Jacket and matching booties for Little Miss (pictures coming)
• helped me work through my massive list of knit animals (P for Penguin, Pig, or Panda?  Pig!), and pick out yarn to go with each project
• ate the bagels I brought like a little bird after her gall bladder surgery (poor Frank)
• went to Ikea and got frames for the Little Missery (term for the nursery coined by Patrick) and end tables (finally!) for the living room
• "helped" Patrick paint the new sewing room (I'm not a terrific amount of help, really)
• visited the Inimitable Michelle and saw her nursery.  She's 5 weeks ahead of me and oodles more prepared.  I am a wee bit jealous!  Still, getting there...

So it was a very busy weekend.  You can hardly blame me for not posting.  What?  You say you still blame me for not posting?  You say you know how much time I spent reading other people's blogs and watching Top Gear and there's no reason I couldn't have uploaded those photos by now?

Well I'll just have to try and do better this week.  Pictures coming soon!

Let It Snow...Pretty Please?!

Today is our second day with 90+ temperatures, hence the title of the post. This is not great weather in which to be 4+ months pregnant, I can tell you.

Here's an eensie preview of what I've been working on in my secret Christmas workshop.  It's a swatch for a larger project, but the swatch turned out so well I may turn it into a Christmas ornament of some sort.  The snowflake design is from Alice Starmore's "Fair Isle Knitting" and is worked in Knit Picks Palette (Cream and Blue Note Heather) on US 1s.  The reason for the very tiny gauge: I was looking for a tight fabric with almost no stretch.  After blocking and starching and pressing this swatch, I can tell you that goal was achieved!  This sucker's not going anywhere.

You'll definitely be hearing from me again on Tuesday, when I have the gender-revealing ultrasound. I'M SO EXCITED!

Finished Objects! - Booties, Shawl Collar Sweater, Electric Oreo Hat

Why did no one tell me how fast and easy baby knits are? My friends Erin & Todd became parents in January, and the projects are so speedy!


These are some booties I tried, as modeled by the tiny man himself. They're a first attempt, but didn't end up working out because of my issues with stretchy bind-off. I'm going to try again, but there are other projects calling me first. This pattern was from a knitting desk calendar, whose publisher escapes me now.


(Um, ignore the cat model.) This is Debbie Bliss' Shawl Collar Sweater. I got it out of Essential Baby, but it's been published a bunch of other places. The sleeves roll up and the collar folds down. It is not technically "finished" because I still have a ton of ends to weave in. (Seriously, just ignore the cat.)


And this is my hat! I say "my hat" because I concocted it myself! I borrowed the cast on from The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns and the crown decrease from my beloved Andean Chullo. I dubbed this combination of colors "Electric Oreo."


The yarn is Knit Picks Palette in Bittersweet Heather and Noro Silk Garden Sock. I continue to be deeply enamored of the Palette, but the Noro was a gift and I don't think it's quite for me. I had multiple breakages and lots of places where the fiber wasn't twisted at all. Still, it's a striking colorway, and I know lots of knitters just love it. It was good that I got to try it and make up my own mind.


You guys, you knew there was going to be a tassel, so why act surprised?