Another FO: Reversible Brioche Scarf

My other final finished Christmas Gift (again, last Christmas) is this scarf made for my dad, again to accompany the gloves and hat, all to keep him warm at Seahawks games.

Reversible Brioche Scarf

Start-End: Feb 18 - Mar 8, 2008
Pattern: Reversible Brioche Scarf by Lori Law. I found the directions on The Brioche Stitch much clearer for the brioche stitch itself.
Yarn: RYC Cashsoft Aran in SH008 and SH006
Needles: US7/4.5 mm
New-to-Me Techniques: Brioche stitch

I can't recommend The Brioche Stitch website enough for anything to do with the brioche stitch. The site contains directions and color pictures of many different variations. Much like entrelac, I found the brioche stitch to be a lot of fun once you got the pattern down. I did make a couple mistakes, and found it very difficult to rip back, so there are more "design features" in this than I would normally like.


Brioche up close

This is another pattern I may do again. The knitted fabric is very warm and cushy.

FO Parade: Seahawks-Inspired Danica

I've finally finished all of my Christmas knitting... from last Christmas.

I've posted before about making Danica for my mom to accompany a pair of gloves and a hat to keep her warm at the Seahawks games, and I'm very pleased to say that it's all blocked and ready to be mailed.

Danica completed

Start-End: Jan 1-27, 2008
Pattern: Danica by Jesse Loesberg
Yarn: RYC Cashsoft Aran in SH008, SH004, SH006
Needles: KnitPicks US 8/5.0 mm
New-to-me Techniques: Entrelac
Modifications: I wanted a wider scarf, but instead of adding an extra column of diamonds, I changed the number of base triangle stitches to 16, instead of 10.

Despite having a lot of ends to weave in, I really enjoyed this pattern. I found entrelac to be a lot of fun - simple enough that you can still watch a movie, but with enough complexity that you don't get bored. I also loved working with this yarn. It's the type of yarn that is spendy enough I would likely never have bought it, but when you get it at 75% discount (due to a store closing) you grab what you can.

When blocking this scarf, I decided to try blocking wires. I found a few stainless steel wires at a local welding supply, and enjoyed how quick and easy the process was.


Blocking Danica

I already have plans to knit this pattern again, perhaps playing with the arrangement of color blocks.

FO: Matinee Coat

Earlier this week, I mailed off my penultimate lingering Christmas gift - a matinee coat for my niece, Denay.

Matinee Coat - finished

I really liked the lace stitch pattern at the bottom of the coat - it did take me a few attempts to get the pattern down, but once I got going, it was really quick and fun. It's a one-row pattern, with a purl row on the wrong side.

I decided to work the body of the jacket in one piece to eliminate some seaming. For this, I worked the sides and back of the lace pattern together, and separated the pieces once I reached the stockinette section.

Start-End: ?,2007 - Feb 17, 2008
Pattern: Matinee Coat from Simply Baby by Debbie Bliss
Yarn: Sirdar Snuggly DK in shade 0257
Needles: KnitPicks Options and fixed circulars sizes US 6 (4.0 mm), US 3 (3.25 mm) and US 5 (3.75 mm)
New-to-Me Techniques: Lace Knitting

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I felt the yarn could be a little bit splitty. Having said that, it's a great choice for babies - it's quite soft, comes in a variety of colors and is machine washable. I can see using it for other baby projects in the future.

I am very happy with the finished product. All the patterns in Simply Baby are simple and timeless, but require a good amount of seaming up in the end. My biggest gripe with the book is the lack of decent photos and schematics. This particular pattern lacked a good, clear picture of the finished piece. While the photos that were included were well-shot and artistic, they were not particularly helpful, making me very glad for Ravelry.

Christmas Knitting - Part 3

THE SCARVES

Sadly, the scarves to match my parents' hats and gloves are not quite finished yet.

For mom, I'm working on Danica from Knitty.

Danica, Seahawk Style*

I haven't started Dad's yet, but I'm thinking of either doing a scarf with narrow vertical stripes, or the similar-yet-different High School Colors Scarf.

ONE MORE UFO

For my niece, I have in progress the Matinee Coat from Debbie Bliss' Simply Baby. I'm knitting the sides together with the back, to eliminate some seaming up. Over the holidays, I got so far as to reach the point where I finished the lace and then started working the upper, stockinette section... until I realized that at this point I needed to be knitting the back and sides separately. Much frogging and yarn detangling later, I am here:

Matinee Coat

THE HATS (again)


Mr. Tall on a snowy Christmas Day

Start-End: December 21 - 22, 2007
Pattern: A Hat Fit for a Boyfriend by Stephanie Nicole
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Solid in #152 Oxford Gray
Needles: US 8 (5.0 mm) 16 inch circular Addi Turbos
Notes: I fell in love with the way the decreases in this simple ribbed hat worked. On one of my days off, I cast on soon after Mr. Tall left for work and finished late that evening (technically, early the next morning). Perhaps it was the lateness of the hour, but I was simply amazed. About a year previous, I spent a few weeks making my first ever hat (and knitted item) - The Chocolate Ribbed Hat. It was amazing to me to think of how much I learned in just one year.

Decreases on the Hat Fit for a Boyfriend Husband


Spiderman Hat for my nephew, Wyatt

Start-End: December 18 - 27, 2007
Pattern: We Call Him Spidey from PumpkinKnits, based off the Generic Norweigan Hat from Hello Yarn.
Yarn: Patons Fab DK in #2321 (blue), #2323 (red), and #2311 (black).
Needles: US 3 (3.25mm)
New-to-Me Techniques: Fair Isle Knitting, Continental Knitting
Notes: Despite using DK weight instead of 4 ply, I kept the needle size the same as in the original pattern. The resultant hat is too small for me, but still a bit too big for my nephew. I really enjoyed this pattern and could see trying to design my own chart in the future. I taught myself how to knit Continental so that I could speed up the colorwork by knitting one color Continental and the other using the English method.

Wyatt in his Spidey hat


* All apologies for the weird WIP photos in this post. I prefer to shoot in natural light, which has been lacking a bit lately in this area.

Christmas Knitting - Part 2

Knowing that my parents heads would stay warm and toasty while watching the Seahawks games, I thought they could stand to have some warm hands as well...

THE GLOVES


Fetching for Mom

Pattern: Fetching by Cheryl Niamath
Yarn: RYC Cashsoft Aran in Haze (#00004)
Needles: (KnitPicks Options) Used 5.0mm needles for cabled wrist portion, switched to 4.5mm for the next 6 rows and then 3.75mm needles to the thumb opening. Worked the remainder of the gloves in 4.5mm needles.
Notes: I put 20 rows of ribbing between cable and thumb opening instead of 18. I think if I was to make these again, I would find away to make the cuff section longer by a couple inches to cover the wrist/lower arms a bit better. I would also leave off the picot binding. While it's nice, it's just not my thing :)

This pattern was really fun and quick to work up. It was my second cabling project, and I still am thrilled with how slick cables are. Perhaps I'm a bit too easily amused...

Dashing for Dad

Start/End: December 10-22, 2007
Pattern: Dashing by Cheryl Niamath
Yarn: RYC Cashsoft Aran in Tornado (#00008)
Needles: US 7 (4.5 mm)
Notes: For these, I worked each glove to the first cable, then transferred the stitches to two circular needles so that I could work both gloves at the same time. For some reason, I just couldn't wrap my head around how to start both gloves on two circs, but this worked just as well. I also only worked 16 rows after the thumb holes instead of 18 as the gloves seemed to be getting a bit long.

I haven't yet decided where my Christmas knitting recap will go next, so stay tuned and be surprised!

Christmas Knitting - Part 1

Ok, so I'm finally getting to the point where I can catch up and move forward. Luckily, not much else is happening at the moment (oh, except I got a new JOB!) so you're not missing much.

My parents are Seahawks season ticket holders, and have been for some time. Back in the day, they had four tickets as brother and I were a bit young to stay home. That was in the days of the Kingdome and the end of the Steve Largent era.

They still go to the games - no longer with brother and I, and no longer at the Kingdome. While Qwest Field is a nice stadium, it lacks something the Kingdome had - a roof.

To help keep my parents warm next season, I decided to knit them each a hat/glove/scarf set. Earlier this year, I found a bunch of RYC Cashsoft Aran on sale. Even better, in Seahawk colors!

THE HATS


Mom's hat

Start-End: I did each in a couple days, but I didn't write down which ones.
Pattern: "Classic Ribbed Hat" from Frugal Knitting Haus
Yarn: RYC Cashsoft Aran in Haze (#00004), Tornado (#00008), and Bud (#00006).
Needles: US8 (5.0 mm) 16" circular Addi Turbo.
Notes: This pattern was really easy to follow and worked up really quickly. I absolutely loved this yarn, it was like buttah - I am really glad it was on sale because I wouldn't have bought it at full price.

Dad's Hat

Next up... the gloves!

FO: Sweet Serenity

Since I've started knitting, I've noticed that I take an active interest in other's clothing. I'm at the point where I'll rubberneck if an attractive sweater passes me by, regardless as to who is wearing it. I think you can only imagine my embarrassment when I'm caught.

Isn't that the way it is though? When you become more involved in something, you become aware of it, it permeates your life and seeps into your everyday existence.

Now, seemingly non sequitur: I'm a band geek. I was in my college and high school marching bands, and loved most every minute of it.

Just as I have picked up a hypersensitivity to knitted goods, I am also much more sensitive to marching bands. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but as I mentioned earlier, I married a USC fan.

For those not in the know, USC has an annoying band. Sure, their musicianship is quite good, but still, annoying. This is largely due to their fight song, "Fight On". Most bands in the Pac-10 will tell you that the USC fight song goes "This is the only song we know, and we play it all the time", and for good reason.

In our home, between the game-watching and PlayStation playing, my poor sensitivity to the oft-heard USC fight song puts me in a state of constant torment (ok, it's not that bad, but don't tell Mr. Tall that). My work around to this is to put in a pair of headphones and tune out USC in favor of something more appealing.

I decided to knit up a little carrying case for my headphones, to keep the end table tidy, and to try my hand designing something completely from scratch.

Sweet Serenity

Not only is this my first design, it will be the last FO I share until after Christmas. There is much knitting going on, but I just can't quite share it all yet.


Sweet Serenity

Project Details:
Pattern: My own! I will gladly write this up as a free pattern if there is any interest. If so, drop a comment and let me know. This fits a pair of headphones, but could also work as a small wallet or cell phone/iPod cozy.
Yarn: Home "Island Multi" purchased from Manor Department store, Switzerland
Needles: KnitPicks Options in US4 (3.5 mm)

String (Grocery Bag) Theory

In theory, reusable grocery bags are a great idea. They are easy on the environment and less likely to rip, spilling your contents everywhere. In practice however... well, one has to remember to bring the bag for them to do any good.

With this known, I set out to knit a less-forgettable grocery bag.

I found this pattern through Ravelry, and found the yarn in a Manor Department Store while visiting Switzerland this summer.

The bag utilizes a Turkish stitch pattern, which is just a matter of yarn overs and knit2togethers, but I still got off the pattern from time to time. It's not really noticeable, and it's just a grocery bag, so in theory, it really doesn't matter.

Turkish stitch

As for remembering to have the bag with me, I made one modification that makes the empty grocery bag more compact, thus easier to take along for the grocery trip:

Self-contained carrying pouch


Bags expanded

To accomplish this, I followed the pattern instructions almost to the end. After knitting the strap for the main bag, but before grafting the strap to the bag, I knit a smaller version of the bag. I used the same base as in the pattern, and kept increasing the base until it seemed large enough to hold the rolled-up grocery bag. From there, I switched to the larger needle size, and worked in stockinette until it seemed tall enough to fit the grocery bag. It's not an exact science, but again, it's just a grocery bag. I added a small carrying strap, and then grafted it in as I attached the main strap to the grocery bag.

When using the grocery bag, the carrying bag becomes a pocket for items you may need close at hand. When you're done grocery shopping, the grocery bag easily folds back into the carrying bag for much easier storage.

Project Details:
Start-End: October 26 - November 15, 2007
Pattern: "The String Bag" from My Best Friend's a Dork
Yarn: Home "Island Multi" purchased from Manor Department store, Switzerland
Needles: KnitPicks Options in US4 (3.5 mm) and US11 (8.0 mm)
New-to-me: Emily Ocker's circular cast-on.
Modifications: Added small carrying bag, as described above.
If I do this again... I would definitely make one a bit smaller than this, as this one is best suited for larger, light items.

Two Finishes for the Post of One!

In a previous post, I mentioned that I was working on something, and that it was seasonally relevant, but not a turkey. I posted this picture:

I'm pleased to say that the project is now finished, and now for the big reveal:


Dixon the Duck

The seasonal relevance? College (American) Football, of course! Let me explain... Mr. Tall's biggest flaw is that he is a fan of the USC Trojans (boo! hiss!). The downside to this is that he watches the games whenever they're broadcast here in the UK and they are his team of preference when he's playing NCAA '07 Football on his PlayStation. The big problem with this, of course, is that the Trojans are just one of those teams that always seem to win and do well (boo! hiss!).

So... Dixon the Duck. With all the USC Trojan game watching and PlayStation playing going on around the house, I needed a little something of my own for some sanity. Enter Dixon, named after the UO Quarterback, who has sadly been injured.

The pattern for the duck comes out of Fiona McTague's irresistible book,
Knitted Toys, which is definitely worth a look at as there are a lot of great patterns and the pictures are superb. The sweater was adapted from The Incredible, Custom-Fit Raglan Sweater, and the "O" was charted out from the school's official logo and knit using intarsia in the round.

To get the sweater just right, I knit all duck pieces, and did all the finishing, save poor Dixon's head. I decided it was best to keep Dixon un-capitated until I had finished the sweater, and so he sat and waited patiently.

Un-capitated Dixon

I'm quite glad that he's finished, despite the sagging bowl hopes for Oregon, we'll cheer the team on anyways!

Dixon

Details:
Start-End: September 21 - November 23, 2007
Pattern: "Duck" from Knitted Toys: 21 Easy-to-Knit Patterns for Irresistible Soft Toys by Fiona McTague
Yarn: King Cole Merino Blend DK
Needles: KnitPicks Options US 4/3.5 mm
Other: I knit the head and sleeves in the round, and the legs and feet connected in one piece. If I knit this again, I would try to knit the body and head in one piece to avoid some of the seaming up.

Oregon Sweater

Start-End: September 27-November 23, 2007
Pattern: The Incredible, Custom-fit Raglan Sweater by Pamela Costello
Yarn: Palette Yarns #018 (DK) in green and scraps of King Cole Merino DK for the "O"
Needles:KnitPicks Options US 4/3.5 mm
Other: I tried the intarsia-in-the-round technique found here. It worked well enough for this purpose, but it's quite noticeable on the back of the sweater, where I started/ended the rounds. I'm not entirely sure if it's because of my error or the fact that intarsia-in-the-round just isn't meant to be.

Two FO's and some beading

Lately I've been feeling like there's just not enough time for anything - but not in a bad way. I've just been hit with a desire to create, to craft and to learn. I have been good - I haven't started a bunch of projects that now lay unfinished, but we all know that is a very slippery slope, and I'm starting to slide.

Before I sank into the quagmire of starter-itis, I really wanted to finish the Ballerina Wrap Sweater I begun for my neice. As I was working on the 0-3 month size, and she was a large baby, there was really a clock ticking and I didn't want to delay. At last, it is done.

Completed Ballerina Wrap Sweater

Start - End: July 21 - September 20, 2007
Pattern: "Ballerina Wrap Cardigan" from Sublime #600
Yarn: Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo in Pink
Needles: KnitPicks Options size US7 (4.5 mm)
New-to-me: Making (and sewing up) a sweater!

This was the first sweater I've ever done, and I really think I learned a lot in the process. Granted, most of the stuff I learned came a bit too late to be useful for this sweater, but I know it now and will be able to use it in the future.

While I received a lot of help over the course of finishing this up, I really really have to thank Susoolu for practically holding my hand through the seaming and setting of the sleeves. I reached that part of the pattern in a state of near panic and she really helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel. All told, this was an enjoyable process, one I'm glad I did for the first time on the miniature scale. Perhaps I'm ready to make something to get through the cold and rainy English winter.

What are your best tips for sweater making? Best resources, hints, and tips online? Drop me a comment because I would really like to hear them!

Given that it's fall and it's my duty both as an aunt and as a knitter to keep adorable soft baby feet warm, I decided to use some of my leftover edging yarn for a pair of booties.

Mary Jane Booties

These are the same booties I made before, knit up in the Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo. All other details can be found here. Together, the set is really quite cute.

Sweater and Bootie set

One of the projects that I'm really itching to start is some bead knitting. While I still haven't started that yet, I tested the waters this afternoon by making myself a couple of stitch markers.

First stitch markers

I used lobster clasps on them, and I'm not sure if this was a good or bad idea yet. On the one hand, I can use them either as regular stitch markers, or removable ones. On the other hand, they are small enough that they don't fit anything larger than a 4.0 mm needle. Still, it's a start and I can't wait to use them to bring an extra level of luxury to my knitting.

Stitch markers

FO - a very Harry Week!

As almost everyone is aware, the past couple weeks have been busy for Harry Potter fans. First, the release of the fifth movie, Order of the Phoneix, followed by the release of the seventh and *sob* final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (don't worry, this post is spoiler-free!).

I was very honored to have two of my friends from the states come out to enjoy the festivities in the UK, and was very glad to finish both of their scarves on time!

Gryffindor House Scarf for Suzi

Start Date/Finish Date: February 15 - July 11, 2007
Pattern: Prisoner of Azkaban scarf by Lauren Kent
Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in Claret and Gold.
Needles: Addi Turbo 5.0mm (US 8) 16" circular
Notes: 9" wide, 8'7" long. 12 pattern repeats, 70 stitches/round yields 33,810 total stitches.

This was actually the first of three scarves I started, and the second finished. It ended up a lot bigger than I thought it would (especially in comparison to my shorter friend). Due to it's size and time constraints, I left the scarf at 12 pattern repeats instead of the called for 14.

Sadly, the night before we were due to see the movie premiere, Katie called telling us that one of her flights had been canceled due to weather :( This meant that there were only 2 of us weirdos who would be showing up to the theater in robes and scarves on opening day. As the tickets were already purchased, Suzi and I went along to the movie, which we pretended not to have seen until we went with Katie the following day.

Leicester Square Odeon Cinema


Suzi and I outside the cinema

While in London, I was able to catch a couple musicals - Mary Poppins and Avenue Q. Both were very good, for very different reasons! We also did the usual sightseeing, and some shopping.

After spending time in London, a change of scenery was in order, and so we took the train up to Yorkshire. Suzi and Katie stayed with Mr. Tall and myself for a few days - one of which included an expedition to York to pick up the final book.

Ravenclaw (movie) House Scarf for Katie

Start Date/Finish Date: June 25 - July 12, 2007
Pattern: Prisoner of Azkaban scarf by Lauren Kent
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Dark Country Blue and Grey Heather
Needles: Addi Turbo 4.0mm (US 8) 16" circular
Notes: 7" wide, 6'4" long. 11 pattern repeats, 70 stitches/round yields 31,150 total stitches.

I initially started this scarf in March on 5.0 mm needles. It was a good deal wider, but unfortunately, I was not going to have enough yarn to finish the scarf. Well... I could've had enough, but the two different shades of the "no dye lot" blue I had were different enough that I decided against it. I frogged and restarted on 4.0 mm needles. Even then, I was only able to do 11 pattern repeats. While I would've loved to have it be longer and wider, like the above Gryffindor scarf and my Ravenclaw scarf, I figure it's for the best. Katie (living in New York) is the one most likely to wear the scarf in the winter to keep warm, and the longer, wider scarves are just too troublesome for "regular" wear.

For fun, we laid the scarves out side-by-side:

House Scarves

The Borders we bought our books from had a great atmosphere - there were costume contests, activities, and best of all - staff costumes. Each staff member was dressed as a different character. All throughout the night we would hear things such as "Harry Potter, call 222" over the intercom. Our place in line snaked through the music section:

Waiting for the book

Truth be told, I haven't finished the book yet. This isn't due to lack of interest or excitement - quite the opposite. I only have one time to read this final book (for the first time) and I am trying to savor it!

FO: Petunia the Purple Pachyderm

Petunia the Purple Pachyderm

Start Date/Finish Date: May 27 - July 3, 2007
Pattern: "Lovable Toys" from Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson
Yarn: Sirdar Snuggly DK in lilac (doubled throughout)
Needles: KnitPicks Options 4.0 mm
New-to-me Techniques: Mattress stitch, Kitchener stitch, picking up stitches, provisional (crochet) cast-on, magic loop

My sister-in-law's shower is scheduled for July 14. I think I have this finished in time to get it shipped back to the states. For me, this means it's not quite as last minute as I'm capable of. Go me!

I've heard of people a little less than happy with this pattern. I didn't really have any problems following it, but I also read the directions for finishing and stuffing the elephant, ignored it and did it my own way. I reasoned it would be a lot simpler to sew on ears and arms if the body wasn't stuffed, which it was. Furthermore, the state of un-stuffedness meant that symmetry was a bit easier to accomplish, though it still eluded me to some extent.

At this point, I can't say what I think of the yarn. I bought 4 more balls of this yarn in the pink colorway so that I could make the NIP a sweater, so I'm reserving full judgment until I've worked on that a bit. For the purposes of this project, I felt it was a bit splitty (is that a technical term?). Perhaps it was because I was holding the yarn doubled, perhaps it was just the pointy-ness of my pointy sticks, but we shall see.

Perhaps I've been to the Build-A-Bear workshop one too many times, but I couldn't allow myself to seam up a hand-knitted toy without including a heart.

Petunia's Heart

Ok, stop laughing. That really is a heart. At least, it's as much of a heart as I could try to do on my own without a pattern. Don't you know that knit elephants are supposed to have V shaped hearts?

Now all that is left is to obsessively finish up my Hogwarts Scarves as the movie and book release are fast approaching!

FO: Book Ravenclaw Scarf

It's been awhile since I've posted a FO here, and for good reason - my needles are madly clicking away trying to finish three Prisoner of Azkaban style Harry Potter scarves. Well... one down, two to go!

Prisoner of Azkaban Book Ravenclaw Scarf

Start/Finish: March 12, 2007 - June 28, 2007
Pattern: Harry Potter Prisoner of Azkaban Scarf by Lauren Kent
Yarn: KnitPicks Wool of the Andes (100% wool) in Winter Night (11 skeins) and Wheat (2 skeins)
Needles: Addi Turbo 5.0 mm (US8) 40 cm (16 inch) circular needles.
New-to-me techniques: PATIENCE!, three needle bind off.
Important stats: 85 stitches per round and a full set of 14 trapped bar repeats (559 rows) yields 47,515 stitches. This is 8 feet, 10 inches long and ranges from 9.5-10 inches wide.

47,515. Four-seven-five-one-five. Forty-seven THOUSAND five hundred fifteen stitches. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I knit that many stitches. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I've done anything that many times. But, as the only knitter in my household, it must be true.

One would think that working a pattern like this - stockinette in the round - would get boring. I didn't really get tired of it. I would often knit while watching a movie or TV show, listening to an audiobook or podcast, which I think really really helped.

There's not much else to say about something this straight forward. I decided to try a three-needle bind off, which worked quite well, I think. However, the difference in appearance of the two ends is what ultimately lead to my decision to add the fringe.

Initially, I wanted to add the "S" monogram by intarsia or duplicate stitching with the bronze color, but that was not to be as I was lucky to have enough to finished my last set of trapped bars. Instead I purled it in. The benefit to also being a cross-stitcher is the fact that a lot of cross-stitch software will allow you to "type" using any font on your computer and have it display in stitches. I believe the font for this is Copperplate. As I was adding this to the last repeat of the scarf, I decided to add it in "upside down" so it wouldn't seem upside down while wearing the scarf. While I remembered to turn my pattern upside down, I forgot about the fact that I was knitting right to left while reading left to right. Oops! I frogged back and fixed it and am quite pleased with the results.

I think I will have to postpone Part 2 of my ogranization picturepalooza. Tomorrow we're off to the Lake District after work to partake in Woolfest, so I will catch up with that in the upcoming weeks!

Spring Sprogs (FO!)

Spring is here, a-suh-puh-ring is here.
Life is skittles and life is beer.
I think the loveliest time of the year is the spring.
I do, don't you? 'Course you do.
--Tom Lehrer, "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park"


Ahhh... spring. I don't know about where you are, but here in Jolly Ole England, spring is in full force. Hundreds of daffodils can be seen almost anywhere you go (it's quite breathtaking, actually), and cherry blossoms are starting to appear. It's a time when heavy coats are put aside, people look at their gardens (usually in dismay), and this year - two of my cousins are due within weeks of each other.

As a beginning knitter, I had to think long and hard about what to make them. They are sisters-in-law, so I didn't want to make a sweater/blanket/bear set for one and then a pair of booties for the other. Also, while I'm up for trying anything, I did have to think about projects I could do - twice - in the amount of time I had left myself (about 3 months). I decided baby booties would be the best course of action.


Pattern: Ballet Pumps (left) and Mary Janes (right) from Sublime's "15 Designs for Babies".
Yarn: Plymouth Dreambaby DK (50% acrylic, 50% nylon) in colors black (113) and pink (126).
Needles: KnitPicks Options 4.5 mm (US7)
New-to-me Techniques: Increases (Make One versions A and B), Decreases (K2tog TBL and K2tog), short row shaping.
Start/Finish: Mary Janes: 03 FEB 07 - 12 MAR 07. Ballet Pumps: 05 MAR 07 - 12 MAR 07



My cousin, Dave, and his wife, Heidi, are expecting a girl. I know that this is what they were hoping for, as they already have a son, and so I thought the pink would be a perfect choice for them. Of course, at first I was reading the pattern entirely wrong (as you may have read in my earlier post.



My cousin, Michelle, and her husband, Chris, are also expecting a girl. I thought the combination of black bootie with red ties would fit in nicely with their goth lifestyle.



This was my first project using my new Options needle set that I had received at Christmas. All I can say is that I really love this set. As a new knitter, I was so thankful to have a variety of needles available to me as I was swatching for these. The cables are nice and flexible, the tips nice and pointy, and in some ways I think I may prefer them to my Addi Turbos (can I say that and still be a knitter?). If you're thinking of getting a set of interchangeables, I highly recommend these. The bonus is you can buy any of the pieces individually should you lose a tip or a cable or just if you have that much knitting to do.



I also enjoyed working with the yarn. While the recommended yarn is a lovely-to-the-touch cashmere/merino blend, I really felt that something machine washable would be a bit more important. As it is, this yarn is quite comparable in softness, plus it came in black, which was a must-have!

All in all, I really enjoyed this project. Once I figured out how to read the pattern correctly *blush* I could easily sit down and work one bootie up in an evening. That combined with how little yarn is used is a great weapon to have in your knitting arsenal for that last minute baby shower.

FO - Irish Hiking Scarf

Pattern: Hello Yarn's Irish Hiking Scarf
Wool: Lion Brand Wool-Ease (80% acrylic, 20% wool) in Oxford Grey #152. 3 skeins used.
Needles: Addi Turbo US 8 (5.0mm) circular
New-to-me Techniques: Cables!
Start/finish: 20 Dec 06 - 29 Jan 07

My husband, who I tend to call Mr. Tall in the blogosphere, bikes and trains to work every day. The cold and wet weather here in England is a lot different than in his native Southern California. I felt very guilty about having the car during the day while he is stuck commuting, so I offered to make him a scarf as a peace offering.

I showed him a number of patterns that I was really gung-ho to try, and we both agreed on this one. It is manly enough for him and it gave me something new to learn, so we were both quite happy.

I cast on our first day back in the states for Christmas. I accompanied my mother-in-law and brother-in-law as we took grandma to a doctor's appointment. I cast on in the waiting room, and 8 rows in, when I successfully turned my first cable, I was so excited, I quickly showed my brother-in-law. He did a god job humoring me and seeming impressed. I found the pattern really easy and fun and quickly got to the point where I just didn't need the pattern anymore.

At first, the yarn felt a bit scratchy to me, but I got used to it, and it started feeling very nice. It was a good match for my addi turbos - I felt like I could fly along on this project (fly is a relative term for me as a beginning knitter).

Mr. Tall is also quite happy with it, and got to use it a few times before spring made it's debut here in Yorkshire. I'm also really glad that I got the make-a-project-for-your-husband thing out of the way as that seems to trip a lot of people up ;)

If I was to do this pattern again (which I would like to do), I would most likely stagger the cabling in the middle row, so that there was cabling every 4th row, as I really looked forward to that part. It might also be interesting to make the middle cable a different color, and if you use two skeins of the same color for the outside cables, this may be possible, right? Again, beginner here so I'm still figuring all of this out ;)