The Woolcat

April goals

2009-04-03T11:49:00.000-07:00

Here are my April goals.

1) Helgi’s mittens, from Folk Knitting in Estonia, for Kittycat's preschool teacher. I already did Anu's mittens from the same book for the other preschool teacher. It would be nice to have them done for Easter...
2) Finish Brea bag. Only need to sew the lining into the bag now.
3) Finish Kittycat's little chevron scarf. I finally finished mine and love it, now she wants one too!
4) Make a Shetland Triangle for MIL. I just did one for myself (see #7 below) and love it. It's in Cascade Baby Alpaca Chunky and I have enough, in a different colour, for another.
5) Fix back of Eastlake, finish and knit a sleeve/better yet, FINISH it! I started this in January and as with every sweater I knit, I'm having issues with it! I need to go back and add some rows to the back, then finish the neckline on the front; I'm hoping that once the fit is good in the body, the sleeves will be easier. At least once the first sleeve is done, the second should be easy!
6) CO Sylvi (only if I finish Eastlake first). I just adore this pattern; and I need to knit up all that chunky Atlantic wool that takes up so much space in the stash!
7) Finish Shetland triangle (104 rows). Done! I love it! It needs blocking.
8) Weave fabric for 3 dishcloths. I got a Schact Cricket last month and am enjoying playing with it. So far I have made 6 dishcloths. I'm playing with the dishcloth cotton because I got a whole bunch for free and don't get all ticked off if I make a mistake and waste some.
9) Get sleeves into blue jacket. This is a sewing goal; last month I made myself a top and finished one for Kittycat, but still didn't finish this silly jacket. Problem: I lost the last page of the pattern. ARGH.
10) Start smocking Kittycat's navy dress. I got a kit from Country Bumpkin oh, maybe last year? It's a 3 year old size so I need to make it. She's more of a t-shirt and jeans girl though.
11) Use 5 balls (so far: 2)
12) Buy no yarn or fabric. So far so good! Let's see how long I can last.

I'm here, really

2009-01-21T14:23:00.001-08:00

Here is me in a nutshell right now:

1) my shoulder hurts and I can't knit right now. Boo!
2) I am still working on Chi's brown sweater. I'm doing the sleeve for the 3rd time, and once I've finished it and its twin, I will have to pull out the neckline and saddle shoulders and redo those so they look normal. It's an EZ seamless saddle shoulder sweater.
3) I just made a fantastic scarf out of 2 skeins of Noro Iro. I CO 240 sts on a long circular 8mm needle and just kept on in garter stitch until I ran out. I love it!
4) I'm also working on a chevron scarf. I love it, too, but it needs to be quite a chunk longer yet.
5) I'm making socks for Chi out of Cascade Heritage. 2x2 rib. I like them. He has big feet.
6) I lost 2 lbs last month. Hurrah for the Wii Fit!
7) If I can get down to my goal, I will go down a couple of dress sizes by next winter. Dilemma: do I hold off knitting sweaters for myself until I get thinner?
8) If I do knit a sweater, should I start with Tempest or Silver Belle??
9) I need to buy NO YARN ALL YEAR. This sore shoulder is the universe telling me to stop stashing.

November goals

2008-11-04T11:32:00.001-08:00

Well, October has come and gone, and I did finish my red mittens but no other goals were met since my last post.

November goals:
1) finish the Shaded Aspen Leaf sweater for Kittycat. It just needs a neckband, hems and the underarm grafting so I might get it done this week if the neckband behaves itself and doesn't take too much thinking.
2) finish Chi's sweater. I so need to do this!
3) Knit that trinity stitch beret
4) finish sewing my blue corduroy jacket (It was fitting too loosely on me and so I had to take in the side seams, which meant adapting the armholes and sleeves, too - thinking leads to big delays in completion of craft projects)
5) finish sewing a green top for Kittycat (this is so close to done!)
6) finish the Green Hope socks (I need to work out the short row technique).
7) finish the microgauge socks (boredom is the only reason I haven't finished these yet)
8) get my O quilt ready to quilt (I made a quilt! well, a quilt top anyway. I like it. I need to finish sewing the backing pieces together, then get it ready to hand quilt. Then hand quilt it. This may take time. I'm not thinking about that right now.)
9) make some fetching mitts (this may or may not happen; if it does they will make good Christmas gifts)
10) use up 5 balls (so far: 1. I managed 4.5 last month in the end.)
11) buy no yarn or fabric (there is really, really no reason to fail on this one!)

October

2008-10-23T19:53:00.000-07:00

Firstly, here is a wee sweater I completed in September. Details are all on Ravelry; it's made of Sandnes Garn Lanett which is one of my favourite (and most stashed) yarns.

And here are my October goals.

1) Finish my Lopi mittens (I made a pair for Chi and a pair for myself in September. Finally using up leftovers from my big Lopi sweater that I made in 2003!)

Here are the man-sized ones I made for Chi. I also finished a pair of navy ones for me, and have just one thumb to do on a pair of red ones for me. I think I can get this done in the next 5 days.

2) CO for green hope sock (done!)
3) Make mittens for MIL (done! but they are for Christmas so no piccies)
4) Make Kittycat a sweater

I'm doing the Shaded Aspen Leaf one from Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Workshop. First I cast on with a twist and knitted about 3 inches. Frogged. Then I knitted about an inch before realising I'd cast on 30 stitches too many. Frogged. Then I knit about 3 inches and realised it was way too tight for her (it was the same width as a t-shirt she has that fits her quite snugly!). Frogged. Finally I've got it right and it's coming along nicely, though I'm not sure it will be done by the 31st.
5) Finish Chi's sweater (this was begun in February, and it's still not done) I have frogged and reknit this a fair bit for some reason. I got all the way to the neckline, finished it off with a hem and everything, then found it fits weird. I need to knit the sleeves then go back, undo the neckline partway and then reknit. I think that if I raise the back neck a little less, it will fit more nicely.

6) Make trinity stitch hat
7) Finish microgauge sock
8) Finish green top (sewing)
9) Finish blue jacket (sewing)
10) Use 5 balls (so far: 3.5)
11) Buy no yarn or fabric (failed this one earlier this month. Maybe I should go ahead and buy fabric too, since I already got yarn from Elann at the beginning of the month)

You know what I did last summer

2008-10-23T18:47:00.000-07:00

Yes I am alive! Hurrah! It's been a crazy busy summer and autumn so far.

In knitting news my summer was mainly sock-consumed, and autumn has been about getting sweaters and scarves knit. Oh and mittens too. Mittens are good, especially when made on 6mm needles with Alafoss Lopi yarn which is woolly and hairy and warm.

Here are some pictures of my summer sock knitting:

Waving lace socks from IK Favourite socks; Araucania Ranco solid yarn. I love these muchly.

Priscilla's Dream socks from IK favourite socks; Opal Hundertwasser yarn. Why do I love these so much? I like the fact that the yarn's colourway is based on a Friedensreich Hundertwasser painting. I had never heard of this artist and the yarn inspired me to find out more. I had lots of fun doing so. I find his buildings very fascinating. Plus the socks are just so warm and woolly and scrummy.

These are from Charlene Schurch's More Sensational Knitted Socks. I knit them in Elann Sock it to me 4-ply (red) and SRK On your toes (ecru). These are a gift for my aunt, who wrote me a card to say she likes them, which means I will be happy to knit her more socks in the future!

This one is knit in Cascade Heritage (which I love a lot) and is also from More Sensational Knitted Socks. It was for my little sister who has big ol' feet. This sock almost had a twin, but just as I was about 2 inches away from completing it, I lost it (and my favey Addi Turbo sock needle, too!). The people from the lost and found at the library and the mall were entirely bemused when I tried to describe to them the kind of sock that was lost (i.e. one with the needle still in it...) and were sadly unable to find it for me. I can't see how it would be of use to anyone else, though. I'll get another ball of the yarn and make another, one day.

These I designed myself. They are knit in Elann sock it to me 4-ply. The stranded design on the cuff is a houndstooth check that is elongated and then goes back to its original proportions. I rather like it.

These were all knit for Summer of Socks '08. I hoped I could get 5 pairs done, and if I'd not lost that second Heritage sock, I would have met my goal! I did also knit another sock - in TOFUtsies
on a 2mm needle - that is still waiting for its twin (it's a boring plain sock and I don't really like it) so technically I did knit 10 complete socks over the summer, just not 5 pairs.

I have another on the needles now: This is Gruen ist die Hoffnung by Steffi Linden in Cascade Heritage. The sock begins with the circular lace motif and then is worked to the toe and back, picking up the remaining live stitches of the lace motif as the sole is worked, then the heel and cuff are worked and voila*, a crazy little sock. Steffi is a genius.

I have knit other stuff too this summer, but I'm happy I filled up my sock drawer - nothing like cosy wool socks to wear on hardwood floors as the rain fills the sky and the darkness swallows up the evenings.

*note the spelling. One of the things that drives me nuts is when people spell this word "viola." A viola is a musical instrument. Voila (and I would put the accent on the a, except I'm too lazy to work out how to do that in blogger) is a French word meaning "There it is!" If you can't spell the French word, go ahead and use some English ones instead. Et voila**, sound advice from the woolcat.

**or maybe all these people really meant to use the word viola? Perhaps I should continue the trend of using the names of musical instruments as random expressions of accomplishment. Here are the socks I knit - oboe! And then I baked a cake - flugelhorn!

(it's entirely possible that I am really too tired to be blogging.)

June goals and more socks

2008-06-02T13:52:00.000-07:00

Firstly, here are my latest socks: Clover socks. My own design, knitted in Elann Sock it to me 4-ply (the pink) and SR Kertzer On your Toes (the brown, left over from Chi's socks in the last post). Knit on 2.25mm needles, toe-up, magic loop, 72 sts round the foot and leg. I like a nice tight gauge on my socks.

Also, here are my June goals.

1) FO finish tomten
(I am knitting a toddler or smallish child sized Tomten in Gedifra Living, an aran-weight superwash wool. It is going to be too big for Kittycat, but I think I might give it away to a friend with a four year old boy).
2) FO finish lace ribbon scarf
(Great pattern! Very excellend mindless knitting and ate up a couple of balls that had been stashed with no real purpose in mind. I am already over half way through).
3) frog back ogee tunic front and finish
(this is giving me grief... I love the pattern, but the yarn is hard on the hands - Elann's Camila, a cotton-linen blend. Also I am not as keen on the colour as I thought I would be. So, now that the front appears to be too long (so that the split for the front neckline gives me a cleavage that plunges somewhere around my belly button - NOT a good thing on this body!) I need to frog it back, and that just makes me sad. I think I've done more frogging than knitting this year already!)
4) finish Betsy’s norgi’s body section
(I'm knitting a cute little Norwegian-style sweater, just the same as in my first ever blog post, but a bit bigger. It's going along nicely - I can definitely finish the body this month, perhaps the sleeves too)
5) FO make a pair of plain (ribbed) socks (green tofutsies for me) (start June 21)
(Summer of socks starts June 21!! I'm not going for fancy, just knitting away the stash. Which may have been added to. A little. )
6) FO make a dishcloth
(just so I have something easy to cross off the list!)
7) use up 8 balls of yarn
(I managed 10 in May! May was a good month. Not so much frogging happened as in March and April, which were sad and depressing months. Mind you I also bought 4 balls in May, which takes away from the achievement a little. )
8) FO finish Cathedral mitts
(These started as Cathedral socks by Jeannie Townsend, but I didn't like how they were coming out. Then I tried one on my hand and lo and behold, it wanted to be a fingerless mitt. And so it became just that. Now I have second mitt syndrome!)
9) smocking!!
(A non knitting goal... I have a little dress for Kittycat that is partially smocked, it needs to be finished and sewn up. I also have a brown skirt for me that needs to be smocked and sewn, but I cut the smocking threads off too short and have to work out how I can make it work after all. If make any progress on either of these in June I'll be happy).
10) FO finish platypus
(This was knit several years ago and has never been seamed and stuffed! Just do it already, woman!)
11) FO finish the blue jacket
(A non knitting goal. I started sewing this jacket in April, - no, March - and it's really close to being done).
12) FO make a tiny turtle from sock yarn?
(I won't be sad if I don't do this, but it looks kind of fun!)

In May I achieved 8 of my 14 goals, so I hope I can do better this month.

Socks.

2008-05-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

I made my first pair of socks last summer, in a yarn that I got on an excellent sale (full bag of 10 balls for less than $25!). I thought the yarn was a bit on the ugly side but would keep the knitting interesting.

I was bitten by the bug big time - knitting them was basically no more fun than other knitting, but wearing them is lovely. I come home, take off my work shoes, and snuggle up my feet in lovely wool. And then the knitting is very portable, which is great for riding in the car or walking around after Kittycat when she's on a nature walk ("LOOK, mummy!!! A ROCK!")

So, I knit another pair of ugly blue stripy socks, a pair of kneesocks for Kittycat from the leftovers, and then I got to start on my Boxing Day stash and make a pair of brown socks for Chi. He wanted them to be boot socks, so they are super long and gobbled up the yarn, but I should have enough leftovers for a pair for me or Kittycat.

I invented the pattern, knit them toe-up with an eye of partridge heel flap, and Chi, despite initial doubts that knitting socks would be worth it, really likes them.

Here are Kittycat's leftover kneesocks, which were really useful under wellies this winter. Toe-up with a shortrow (yarnover) heel.

Here is a WIP shot of the Diamond Waffle socks I made myself. It's a great pattern, but the yarn is horrible for the pattern. Still, I wear these all the time because they fit beautifully.

These are all photos of my first socks - a plain toe-up, short row heel sock. The two lower photos are of the two sides of the heel - the yo method makes them different from each other, at least the way I knit it. I wasn't happy with that at first, but the socks are still comfy and it's a handy way of doing a heel!

The brown yarn is SR Kertzer's On your toes with aloe vera, and the stripy stuff is Elann's Sock it to me Harlequin.

My mum saw me knitting these and liked the stripy yarn, so I gave her some for Christmas and lent her my Spring 2007 Interweave Knits with the toe-up recipe. She's been on a total sock bender. All her kids and grandkids got socks for Easter, Kittycat has 5-6 pairs made from the leftovers, she sent socks to my aunt and uncle and has made some for herself and my Dad too! I love that crazy knitting lady.

Victorian Lace in May

2008-05-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

This is the Scarf with the Wide and Handsome border for a Mantel, from Victorian Lace Today, knit in Millefili Fine (sport weight variegated cotton), and taking just over 3 balls.

It's for MIL and she loves it - I saw this colourway and thought of her right away.

The pattern is relatively easy, especially for lace. The drop-stitch centre just flies by, and the ends are fun but not too complex or fiddly. Because of the heavier yarn I used, I did only 2 points instead of 3 at the ends. I used my lovely Lantern Moon straights (5mm, which gave a nice open fabric). I love the variegation of the yarn - it goes from a coffee-brown to a light golden-beige, and with the slight sheen of the cotton it really glimmers, without being such an extreme variation that it would detract from the lace pattern. I wasn't sure how the cotton would block out, but I pinned and steam-blocked it through a wet cloth, then left it to get nice and dry and the lace opened up quite nicely (and the yarnovers at the end stopped curling too).

I started it in December and finished it in May, but it was actually a quick knit, but with a long winter sleep when I abandoned it for other stuff.

In other news: I am starstruck! I left a comment on WendyKnits' blog and she emailed me back. I was all excited to get an email from her (cos she is famous!!). I love reading Wendy's blog because she's so prolific and always has something new (and beautiful) to show off. Of course, if you knit and have ever been connected to the internet in any way, you have probably come across her blog.

Other blogs I read are the Yarn Harlot (my favourite!), Lene's Dances with Wool (except she's off on a quilting thing right now - I'm reading her shared quilting blog, Fine Stitches, instead), and Yarnstorm (just beautiful! AND I had an email from Jane, too, a couple of weeks back. Turns out she did her teacher training at the same place, and with the same professor that I did, but she went on to gentler and prettier things, and I am still teaching French! I am very envious of all her talents, and her blog makes me smile with the gorgeous handwork and photos). I also read and love Brooklyn Tweed (beautiful knitting, spinning and photography - very happy he's got time to blog more recently!), Grumperina (she does excellent tutorials, knits beautifully and you've got to love an opinionated scientist who crafts!) and Lolly (who has made me all interested in weaving, like I don't already have my fingers in too many crafting pies - and she's into composting too which fascinates me big time and makes me want a garden).

Of course I'm linking to a bunch of famous ones, which is a bit lame, because anyone who has found their way to my little tupenny-hapenny blog has no doubt found all these other ones already - but for what it's worth, these are blogs I wholeheartedly recommend.

French Trellis Scarf

2008-01-15T16:37:00.000-08:00

This is the French Trellis scarf from p98 of Victorian Lace Today, but instead of the bramble centre from the book, I substituted the centre from another scarf in the book. It's simpler than the bramble one, and I wanted something that would be a little less busy.

The filling that I substituted gives a definite bias to the fabric, as you can see in the photo of it before blocking. I didn't block it really severely - the bottom photo shows the scarf with one end blocked and one end not.

The yarn is Elann's Pure Alpaca Fina - a little itchy round my neck, but lovely and soft and light to work with. I hope the recipient likes it and doesn't find it itchy.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-04T13:36:00.000-08:00

We have a new computer! And Chi sorted out the photos on iPhoto! So you can see my impressive boxing day sale yarn haul (above; actually there are 3 balls of Elann Peruvian Pure Alpaca Fina and 2 of Peruvian baby lace merino that I got online in November, too, but the rest was all one purchase). R-L from top: Cascade 220 for an EZ seamless saddle shoulder (or maybe a hybrid, not sure yet) for Chi; the elann stuff, which is slated for a couple of stoles; 3 balls of Cascade baby alpaca chunky for a scarf for me; Cascade Jewel for a gift scarf; Merino Oro (laceweight) in black and sage green (the latter already wound in the photo) for some yummy things out of Victorian Lace Today; Oceanwind Knits Merino in a green colourway; Cascade Fixation in blue; tofutsies in a green and white marl (the least ugly colourway in the shop); On Your Toes sock yarn with aloe vera, 2 balls of brown and one of grey; and in the middle 2 balls of Cascade Ecological Wool, the white being to play around with a design for an aran sweater for Chi, and the brown being for gift hats - I already made one in brioche stitch for Kittycat, no photo yet.
Here is the little toque I made for Kittycat for Christmas. Here you see it with the lining showing, but obviously I folded that in for her to wear it. It's made of Lanett, so quite thin, but what with the lining and the stranded knitting, it makes a nice warm layer over the ears.

However, when I steam-blocked it, I realised it was too big! No big deal, since little heads do grow - I am a little sorry it doesn't fit now, because it's made of leftovers from a dress and a sweater that she wears right now, and it would have gone nicely with them.

It has a great big pompom which is fab but does make it more liable to fall off when she shakes her head.
These are the wee mittens I made for Kittycat a couple of months back. I just made them up.

Here is a poncho I made for Kittycat in the summer. I made it because she liked to wear skirts as ponchos. However, by the time it was the autumn - woolly poncho weather - she'd gone off ponchos and she officially hates this one. She was freaked out when she put it on and couldn't see her hands, and has never really got over it!

Never fear, I know other little girls who can use a poncho :) I told her we would send it to baby Amy if she didn't like it, and she didn't like that idea and actually consented to put it on, but I don't think that is good enough motivation to keep it!

For technical info on any of these, check out my Ravelry page (I'm woolcat there, too).

December goals

2007-12-03T13:24:00.000-08:00

This is officially a boring post. It would be less boring with photos, but my computer at home is horribly slow - we are getting a new one this week or next (hurrah!) and I may be better at posting photos once that happens.

For November I DID finish my mum's pressie; I made mittens; I finished my droplet hat.

I did NOT finish the entrelac scarf, and being obedient to my own rule did not, therefore, cast on for the Brea bag. Neither did I finish the socks, but that is OK.

I DID however knit a hat for Chi (I need to do the tubular bind-off but apart from that it is done); I started a hat for Kittycat; I started a scarf from Victorian Lace Today (the one on p98, with the French Trellis border, but I'm simplifying the centre panel) out of some alpaca I got.

SO my December goals are as follows:
1) finish Chi's hat
2) finish Kittycat's hat
3) finish the alpaca scarf (it is intended as a "prayer scarf" for a student of mine who's having a tough time right now and has spent a big chunk of time in hospital)
4) finish a scarf I am knitting for my niece (a Matilda scarf from Noro Kureyon and Lett-Lopi)

all these in time for Christmas, and if some weird time warp thing happens and I have more time before Christmas, I'll make some socks for my Mum.

5) finish the entrelac scarf (I'm almost 2/3 done).
6) finish the diamond waffle socks (I've finished one and started the other, but not got beyond the toe).

I also have some UFOs that I don't want to drag into 2008 - specifically, a scarf in Manos del Uruguay that just isn't connecting with me, so I'm going to frog it and assign the lovely yarn to hats; and a needle case in Kureyon, that is frankly kind of ugly, but I've already felted it so I'm just going to have to finish it. I need one anyway, it just won't be as pretty as I'd hoped.

Once again my reward for finishing all this, if I do, will be to cast on for the brea bag.

Status Update

2007-11-22T09:27:00.001-08:00

Droplet hat is done - photo soon. I love it!

My mum's birthday present - a cushion cover embroidered with colonial knots - is done. I didn't take a photo, I'll have to ask her for one.

The entrelac scarf is languishing, but I'm knitting Chi a tuque instead (leftover Jaeger Matchmaker DK from his poloneck sweater, top-down, 2x2 rib, pattern improvised by me).

I have made 2 pairs of mittens - one pair of Norah Gaughans' Target Wave mittens from Knitting Nature, in Cascade 220, that are way too big for Kittycat. Another pair I improvised myself, but I'm not entirely happy with the thumbs; she likes them and they are warm, so they are OK.

And I broke my yarn diet and got some alpaca yumminess from Elann. I plan to make the Voyager stole for a student who's been in hospital for 3 weeks... I'm not too sure now about the colour I got for her, but I'm going to cast on and give it a go.

Sorry for the boring post.. I'm so behind on everything right now. I will post PHOTOS and I will post BLOGSTALKING stuff soon! Really and truly!

November goals

2007-11-07T08:50:00.001-08:00

1) finish the Droplet Hat (from Knitting Nature - my birthday present!) in delectable sapphire blue Cash Iroha (last year's anniversary gift). I started it this weekend, and think I might get it done by the end of the week. I'm adding extra rows here and there because my stitch gauge is perfect, but my row gauge is too tight, and I am large of head so I can't afford to lose hat length. Besides, I saw a number of short-looking ones on Ravelry, and I would hate to use my lovely Cash Iroha on a project I didn't like.

2) make mittens for Kittycat. She has cold little hands, and I only have 1 pair of mittens for her. They are made of some synthetic chenilley stuff, with beads round the edges to look like Christmas lights. Cute, but don't go with anything she's currently wearing. I started a Target Wave Mitten for her (again from Knitting Nature) in size small but it is way too big, AND it looks horrible - the thumb part bulges out so it would only fit a seriously deformed hand. I think I can fiddle with the pattern a bit, though.

3) finish Chi's entrelac scarf. It is driving me nuts! I'm almost at the end of the 2nd ball of yarn in each colour (4 balls in all of Filatura di Crosa Zara - this means I'm about 2/3 of the way through). The scarf is really long. But Chi wants it long on a Dr Who scale, so there is no chance of this taking a short time to finish. I really should have learned to knit backwards before beginning this scarf! But I made a fair bit of progress on it in October, so with hat and mittens as a fun knitting break, I should be able to get it done with a little willpower and some good lighting in the evenings.

4) IF I finish the scarf, I am allowed to cast on for the Brea Bag. That is my reward.

5) I'm also knitting on a sock - my portable project that goes in my bag with me everywhere I go. It's a diamond waffle sock from Knitty. It's a toe-up but it has a gusset heel, not short rows. I did short row yarnover heels on my first pair of socks (I'd have shown you a picture of them, but Chi reorganised our photos on the computer and I can't find the FO pics) and they looked horrible - the K side of the heel did not match the P side. Anyway I like the heels on the diamond waffles, even though I do not like the yarn I used for this pattern (too stripy for the texture). This is a non-goal item really - I don't much care when they get done. But I'll probably finish at least the first one by the end of the month.

6) non-knitting goal: I have a birthday gift for my mum to finish. I've done the embroidery bit, and I just need to machine sew it together. I need to do that by the 18th, and after Mum has got it, I'll post the FO (even though it's not a knitting one, I hope you'll forgive me!)

Autumn Leaves Sweater - the how-to

2007-10-29T10:37:00.000-07:00

Finally some photos!

(I also have my Blogstalking posts to catch up on - I think I finally have all the pictures done! Coming soon!)

The Autumn Leaves sweater. Fits a rather skinny almost-2 year old with not much room to grow, but that is OK. It's an autumn sweater after all. She needs to be wearing it right now.

It is knit in Debbie Bliss Wool Cotton, which is discontinued. Its gauge is about 23 sts/10cm. It was knit on 3.75 mm needles, mainly in the round.

I began with 12 repeats of Nicky Epstein's leaf border (from p120 of Knitting on the edge). I did this in the first contrast colour. Then I picked up one stitch in each garter ridge, and knit 2 rows back and forth with the second contrast (brown). I then switched to my circular needle, the main colour, and stocking stitch. To compensate for the extra width of the garter stitch, I made one more stitch for every 10 that I picked up. I ended up with 120 stitches.

Actually now I write that down, I'm not sure I really did have 120 - I think I had 120 garter ridges, but if I made more, I should have had more stitches than that... I can't remember now whether I counted my 120 stitches (I think I did...) or whetherI just presumed that was what I had. Hm.

Either way. Once I had knit round and round in stocking stitch to the armholes I started my sleeves. Using Elizabeth Zimmermann's percentage system, I calculated I needed 40 stitches in each sleeve. (if I did miscount for the body, that would explain the narrowness of the sleeves... I thought I was just making the whole thing close-fitting for warmth!).

I knit a 5-stitch strip of garter stitch in my first contrast colour. I knit 37 ridges, so that when I increased to compensate for stocking stitch being wider than garter stitch, I would have 40 stitches for the sleeve. I cast off, and picked up one stitch in each garter ridge, with brown. Then I joined to knit in the round, changed to the circular needle, increased 3 stitches evenly and knit in the round to the armhole. From there, I followed EZ's seamless raglan instructions (I have both Knitting without Tears and the Knitting Workshop, and consulted both) to join the body and sleeves together. I started the raglan shaping, but after an inch or so of that, I wanted the front right raglan line to open for easier over-the-head access. So I started to work back and forth on the circular, still following the raglan decreasing. ( I added a stitch at one end, so that the decreases still happened one stitch in from the edge).

When it came to the neck opening, EZ recommends a simple square neckline, and I wanted more of a curve, so I worked a few short rows in order to get that shape. Once I was done with that, I put a few rows of garter stitch on as a neckline - since I had used short rows, I didn't need to pick up any stitches at the side of the neck. On the last row of the neckband, I picked up stitches along the opening in the right front raglan, then continued around and cast off (I think I did it in purl on the right hand side) all around the neck and front opening.

There were no seams - hurray! I love how neat the inside of it is. I did have to graft about 8 sts together at each underarm. I suck at grafting, and I managed to make a row of purl bumps under one arm - and I hate grafting so much that I decided no-one would see it and I didn't care!

Finally I made a frog closure (this was Chi's idea, and it really made the sweater!) using 2 lengths of 2-stitch i-cord in the first contrast colour. I found out how to make the knot for it here (scroll down).

Kittycat loves wearing her sweater and the matching hat - she insists on wearing the hat at home, too!

And... since I put the sweater on Ravelry, it's got 8 hearts - yay! AND I linked to the pattern for the beret on Ravelry and it's in 5 queues! I'm feeling a great sense of accomplishment. Love you, Ravelry!

Autumn leaves sweater

2007-10-27T20:28:00.000-07:00

Hurray! I've finished the autumn leaves sweater and I did it in time for it still to fit Kittycat!

Just a couple of "teaser" shots for now, since blogger is putting my photos in sideways at the moment. I'll do a longer post, with all the technical stuff, tomorrow.

Free pattern: Top-down toddler beret!

2007-10-24T20:41:00.000-07:00

Top-down toddler beret

This beret is worked top-down using a magic loop technique (dpns and I do not get along). These are the instructions for the one I knit; because it is knit top-down, you could adjust it for any size you like by just increasing until you get the diameter you want, working your plain rounds and then decreasing until the opening fits the head in question. Do note though, that the i-cord edging tightens up the edge considerably, when compared to live stitches sitting on a circular needle.

Size: head opening has a circumference of 42cm; fits my almost 2-year old with some room to grow.

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Wool Cotton, 2 balls main colour, small amount contrast colour (you won’t use much of the second ball of the main colour).

Needles: 3.75mm circular – 24” (to use magic loop), 2x 3.25mm dpns for i-cord “stalk”

Tension: 23 st/10cm

With MC, CO 4 stitches onto one dpn.

*Slide these 4 stitches to the other end of the dpn. With the other dpn, K across all 4 stitches. Repeat from * 6 times.

Using the circular needle, kfb into each of the first 2 stitches. Pull the needle through the stitches just worked, so that they rest on the cable. Now kfb into the remaining 2 stitches. You have 8 stitches in total, 4 resting on the cable, and 4 that you have just worked on the needle.

K one round plain thus: pull the stitches that are on the cable onto the other end of the circular needle. 4 stitches are on each point. Now pull the other 4 stitches onto the cable. K the 4 stitches off the point, pull the needle through as before, K the remaining 4 stitches. All subsequent rows are worked in this way.

Next round: kfb in each stitch. 16 sts.

K 1 round plain.

Next round: kfb, K1, repeat to end. 24 sts.

K 1 round plain.

Next round: kfb, K2, repeat to end. 32 sts.

Keep increasing in this manner until you have worked the round that goes kfb, K18, repeat to end (160 sts).

K 10 rounds plain (you can knit fewer plain rounds if you would like a less slouchy beret – about 4 would work).

Now, in order to work the decreases, you’ll need to move a couple of stitches.

At the beginning of the round, K1 and slip this stitch past the loop so it is with the other group of stitches on the cable. K18, *K2tog, K18, repeat from * until the end of this group of stitches, where you are left with one stitch. You need 2 stitches to work a K2tog, so nab the first stitch of the next group, slip it along the loop and onto the working end of the needle. Now K it together with the previously lonely stitch.

For the second group of stitches, K18, K2tog, repeat to end.

K one round plain.

Next row: K17, K2tog, repeat to end.

K one round plain.

Next row: K16, K2tog, repeat to end.

Keep decreasing in this way until you have knit 12 sts between K2togs.

K one round plain and cut yarn.

Now add the i-cord edging (if you do not like i-cord, you could just K about 4-6 rows of garter stitch instead).

With CC, CO 4 sts onto a dpn and work about 4cm of i-cord as before on the dpns, depending on how long you want the ends of your tie. Then slip the 4 sts onto the left-hand point of the circular needle. Still using CC (and now using the other end of the circ to knit – no more dpns!), *K3 on your i-cord as usual, then K the last st of the i-cord tog with the first st of the hat. Slip the 4 sts back onto the left needle, and repeat from * until all the hat sts have been eaten up by the i-cord. Switch back to dpns and K another 4cm of i-cord for the other end of the tie. Cut yarn, and using a sewing needle thread the end through the 4 sts of the i-cord and pull tight. Secure the end, but do not break yarn. Now tie a single knot in the tie, and use the CC yarn end to secure the knot invisibly. Weave in all ends, block over a plate or saucepan lid, *put hat on toddler, toddler removes hat and throws it on floor, repeat from *.

Statue

2007-10-23T21:07:00.000-07:00

He's on top of a war memorial, along our evening walk today.

Kittycat wore the beret I just finished for her:

I improvised the pattern, which is a top-down beret. I'm working on writing up the pattern for the blog!
It's knit in Debbie Bliss Wool Cotton and took 2 balls (not much more than one actually) plus a little of the contrast colour. It goes with the raglan sweater I am just finishing up - more on that in an upcoming post.

Here is my blogstalking post of an interesting statue:

More FOs

2007-10-22T10:47:00.000-07:00

I'm way behind on posting these... sorry about that.

Firstly, a finished scarf: Matilda from Magknits. Knit in one skein of Noro Kureyon, and not quite a whole one of Lett-Lopi.

I made my first pair of socks! I used Ann Budd's basic toe-up socks recipe from Interweave Knits, Summer 2007. I am not too happy with the heels though - the 2 sides of them do not look the same, and one side has a row of purl bumps while the other has nasty holes. These were done using yarnovers. I love my socks though - plain and ugly though they may be, they are cosy and woolly. I used Elann's Sock it to me sock yarn (got a bag of it on a good deal). I thought it was nice and cheap to try out socks with, but I honestly don't love this self-striping stuff. It looks like you don't know how to do colour stranding so you have to let the yarn do it for you. I'm all for hand-paints but I don't like this much. I'm currently working on another pair of socks for myself, this time Diamond Waffle from Knitty; it has a different heel construction but is still toe-up (which I'm drawn to - I like the try it on as you go idea). My yarn is not the nicest for the pattern, but it's all about trying out different constructions until I decide what I like best.

With the leftovers I'm knitting some wee socks for Kittycat.

In other knitting news: I have been reading lots of Elizabeth Zimmermann! I made a tomten jacket from Knitting without Tears (out of Lanett) and am just finishing off a seamless raglan - a whole post on that when it's all done and I have photos.

Trice

2007-10-14T20:49:00.000-07:00

Here is Trice:Pattern: Trice from X-treme Knitting
Yarn: Estelle Young Touch DK (100% cotton)

I made no modifications at all and it took virtually no time (well, a couple of weeks, but it wasn't my primary knitting). Lots of fun. Kittycat calls it "Ceratops" or "Cyteratops" and when I gave it to her today after her nap, she immediately brought out all her other dinosaurs to introduce it: "Hello! I'm a dinosaur! I'm a ceratops!" So it's a hit. Fun to knit, quick, and as you can see from the photo, it is the ruler of all it surveys.

Blogstalkin'

2007-10-14T13:50:00.000-07:00

Finally I am getting around to posting my blogstalking assignments!

Week 1: Who am I?

I'm a knitter in my mid-30s, who teaches high school modern languages, has a husband and daughter - and knitting, work and family takes up most of my time and space these days. My faith is central to who I am. I work hard not to simply accept what the dominant culture around me says is acceptable, but to think for myself; I am an inveterate consumer (especially of yarn) but I'm trying to detox from that. I speak four languages, and want to learn more (they are English, French, Russian and Spanish - I can also make sense of a fair bit of Italian and I have a smattering of German, and I'd like to learn Mandarin or Japanese next). I was always a bit of a bookworm but find my time for that is limited these days. I hate commuting by car and much prefer public transit.

Week 2: Purseguts
My handbag contained (this is 2 or 3 days ago):
a hairbrush and a headband
transit tickets
paper hankies and some fisherman's friends
foundation and mascara
sunglasses for me, and some for Kittycat
an agenda
a novel (La Curee by Emile Zola) - and I promise I did not plant that there to look intellectual
a blue leather purse and a black leather keychain
the sleeve of Kittycat's autumn leaves sweater (which is now attached to the sweater) and a tape measure
a piece of seashell that Kittycat bestowed upon me.

Chi wants the computer now - I have finished a trice and he has done a photoshoot, so he needs the machine - so the next 2 weeks will have to wait a while. Still, I am on my way to being caught up!

The Internets are eating my brain

2007-09-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

Long time, no post, eh?

Here is what happened.

First, I discovered Facebook. For a couple of weeks it was all fun and excitement - like getting in contact with old friends, feeling like I was keeping up with friends better - almost like having a real social life!

Then I realised that actually, it's not like having a REAL social life - you know, where people actually want to spend time with you in real life. So I've not checked it for ages.

THEN I got my invite to Ravelry, which is as cool as everyone says it is. I spent lots of time uploading photos of my knitted stuff, hoping people will say they like it so that my projects get little hearts by them. Some of them did! People like Kittycat's fall sweater, for example.

The really cool thing about Ravelry is checking out a pattern that you want to do, and finding out whether other people liked it. You can see what modifications they made, and see pictures of how the item looks in a variety of yarns and on a variety of bodies. Very handy.

So.. I spend a lot of time on Ravelry, looking at - no, drooling over stuff I'd like to knit.

And not actually knitting.

The internets are eating my brain, and I am NOT consuming my stash at a rate that would allow me to buy new yarn. Sigh. The yarn diet continues.

On the plus side I have almost finished Caress; I've made my first pair of socks and almost finished another; I am semi-designing a sweater for Kittycat (I'm using an Elizabeth Zimmermann pattern for the basic structure of the sweater but using an edging from Nicky Epstein as a starting point); I've made a baby jacket (EZ's tomten) and am doing another in the same pattern for Kittycat's dolly - wow, I do sound productive, don't I? Pictures to follow.

Here to give you a little preview is my latest cast-on: it's from Victorian Lace Today (this book is soaked in figurative drool - so much I want to make from it, and the photos are luscious!). I'm using Millefili Fine that I got from Elann.com - it's a heavier yarn than specified, so we'll see if I like it once it is done.

Finally, a finished object

2007-06-18T16:19:00.000-07:00

This is me in my new top. It's a Jaeger pattern from 2003, and it's done in Jaeger Trinity. Not a huge fan of the yarn, honestly - it's a silk/cotton/nylon blend, and it's got that silky sheen, but it's kind of rough to work with. I like the top though, although looking at the photos it makes me look a bit boobalicious. The pattern was fun to knit and it fits really well. I was supposed to be on a yarn diet when I bought the yarn, but the pattern was calling me so loudly I had to heed it.

There is also a photo of me using my ball winder (yeah, it's my left hand) and my swift (Kittycat's modern interpretation of a dog). Our home is hip with the technology, oh yeah.

I've been working on a poncho for Kittycat because she likes to wear her skirts as ponchos. And when I say like, let me elaborate: she pulls them over her head, is intensely proud of herself, and throws a paddy when you try to persuade her the skirt should be worn round the waist when company is coming. Hopefully a fall poncho will fulfill all her pulling-things-over-her-head desires. The pattern is out of a 1976 booklet, and was originally done in camel, orange and brown; I've changed it to blue, brown and beige, which looks tastefully retro to me. I'm using Cascade 220 - love it - not looking forward to having to handwash it each time, but on the upside, I can probably make a matching felted purse for her from it.

Also working on Caress lacy top from Fiddlesticks knitting, Michael's entrelac scarf, 2 slip-stitch scarves and an afghan in some nasty acrylic yarn that I pulled out of my UFO pile. It's WIPapalooza chez woolcat! If I didn't have all that pesky end of year marking, I'd be so productive.

Fall sweater

2007-04-15T13:09:00.000-07:00

Finished: Kittycat's fall sweater. It's a 2 year size, and she is currently 16 months, so for the official trying-on I had to do some serious sleeve-rolling; still, it's not as enormous on her as I feared it would be. I think it will fit her this winter. In the photos she is sitting under a table, her new favourite place to play; and in the second one attempting to put on a t-shirt (her utter failure in putting on anything other than hats does not deter her from spending big chunks of time pulling various items of clothing over her head. She especially likes wearing mummy's bra as a kind of avant-garde necklace!)

Still loving that Zara yarn - perfect for cables. I also love Kittycat in green, and this will be a nice warm sweater for kicking the leaves around; she finally started walking this week, and no doubt will be running around like nobody's business this autumn!

Progress report

2007-03-16T13:57:00.000-07:00

There is a reason for this photo - but it should be at the end of the post.
I'm suffering from a surfeit of WIPs. Above you see all my current works in progress in all their glory. From right to left: a felted bag in Twilley's Freedom Spirit (I am currently working the strap - garter stitch on 9 stitches for what feels like miles. Can anyone blame me for putting it down and hoping it somehow grows on its own? After all, Spring is nearly here); Chi's entrelac scarf in Zara (lovely yarn, and I'm using my Lantern Moon ebony needles, and it's my first real project in entrelac - but it's a scarf, for heaven's sakes. No shaping, no "yippee I am at the armhole," no "I think I can finish this cable repeat before Kittycat wakes up" - I was hoping that finishing my first 2 balls of yarn would motivate me, but they seem to be lasting forever); a scarf in a slipped-stitch pattern that I'm making as a thank you to someone who runs an online message board that I frequent (I like it and it's in Kureyon, so knitting to the next colour change is a great motivator - but I am saving it for mindless knitting time, when I am tired and need an easy pattern); at bottom left the ginkgo leave tunic (this is the swatch. I like it, but I know it will take a LONG time to do, and I need to get these other things done before I get really stuck into it); and so finally, at the left in green, I cast on for Kittycat's fall sweater. It is in Zara, it's LOVELY - the yarn shows the cables at their crispest, and makes my tension look almost perfect. I love the colour and it's knitting up very fast. It's the one that was meant to be in Snuggly DK - I like it MUCH better in extra fine merino (go figure!). I've posted a photo of Kittycat (aged 2 or 3 weeks) wearing the hooded version of the cardi, in a newborn size, in Snuggly DK, so you can see what the pattern is like. The version I'm knitting will have a sailor collar instead of the hood.

So, I have project ADD, but I think I can get Kittycat's cardi done in the next couple of weeks and then I will attack all my other projects with the appropriate amount of enthusiasm.

And my yarn diet is going well - I even went into a yarn store today and bought nothing!

A Hat of Her Own

2007-03-04T20:54:00.000-08:00

Since Kittycat had such fun wearing my beret, I made her one of her own. I used pretty much the same pattern, but did it on 3mm needles in Lanett instead of 4.5mm and Freedom Spirit. I also added the stripe pattern so it would match her mousie pants, and finished the centre with a short length of i-cord to make it look more like a traditional beret. Then I blocked it on a dessert plate and voila!

By the way, in my last post I carefully positioned my gorgeous new Lantern Moon ebony needles (Valentine's gift from Chi) in the photo of the dishcloth, then forgot to blog about them. I'm a little ashamed that my first project on them was just a dishcloth - but now I'm using them to make an entrelac scarf for Chi in Filatura di Crosa Zara, which is a yummy yarn and quite worthy of the needles. I don't think my entrelac technique is entirely worthy though - it is not as even as I'd like and I have bumps showing through of the contrast colours when I work the p2togs. Still, it doesn't look bad.

Speaking of Zara I bought more of it online, to make Kittycat's next autumn sweaters. I have a pattern book for Sirdar Snuggly DK which I love, but that yarn is 100% acrylic, and lovely though it is to knit, after a few washes you can really tell it's acrylic. I realised that Zara will knit to the same gauge, is machine washable and it's 100% merino wool so it will be nice and warm and breathable and should wear better too.

You may be wondering why I bought yarn now for her fall sweaters. Well... I'm on a yarn diet. It started at the beginning of the month. So I had to get in a few frantic last-minute purchases in at the end of February. As well as the Zara (some in navy and some in green) I bought some ecoknit organic cotton to make the ginkgo leaf top (on sale, and it's lovely, lovely soft yummy stuff, although the colour is not me at all - I'm looking into natural dyes for it) and also treated myself to Zephyr wool-silk from Fiddlesticks Knitting to make the Caress lacy top. My yarn diet ends in September - hopefully it will help me cut a swathe through my stash so that by the time it's up I'll actually have room (and good reason) to buy more. To be honest, though, it would probably take me several years of yarn dieting to actually deplete the stash. To find out more about why I'm yarn dieting check out Chi's blog.

Garterlac dishcloth and a little hat thief

2007-02-19T15:56:00.000-08:00

This is the garterlac dishcloth from Criminy Jickets. I found the pattern and thought I'd give it a go, because Chi (this is my husband's online pseudo) liked the Danica scarf at Knitty, and I'd never tried entrelac before. Well, if entrelac is as easy as its garter stitch variant, I like it! I'm especially pleased with this dishcloth because I like the colours - with the changing directions of the knitting, it reminds me of waves on the sea. Also, we needed a new dishcloth, so that worked out well.
Kittycat found my beret and was practising putting it on. After a few tries she managed it, and looked far too adorable in it. I especially liked this picture of her looking très française. I think she actually has an imaginary glass of vin rouge in that right hand. Mind you, I think most French people have better fashion sense than she is exhibiting here!

Using my head

2007-02-11T15:08:00.000-08:00

Made this beret out of Twilley's Freedom Spirit - took me 5 days, and this was the week I returned to work after mat leave! Very quick knit. I love this yarn too - the second photo shows the colours quite well.
And here are some photos of my foray into Fair Isle design. I ordered yarn a few weeks back from Jamieson and Smith. After looking at the yarns in real life, I chose these colours and made a design on paper (It's for a vest/waistcoat for Betsy, by the way. I bought her a t-shirt that is dark grey with a turquoisy stripe, and I wanted to girly it up a bit by putting those colours together with some pinks in a little matching vest).

It needs some reworking, because although I like my pattern, it doesn't "pop" out against the background greys as much as I'd like. I read the article in the Winter 2006 Knitty by Julie Theaker, which recommends looking at one's colour designs in black and white to see whether the values of the colours look pleasing together; when I scanned my sample in black and white (bottom picture) it became really obvious why the design wasn't looking good. I had put colours together that were way too close in value.

The upshot is that I'm going to order a couple more of the undyed wool shades, so that I can have a little more variation in the backgrounds; I'm also going to switch around the backgrounds I already have so I get a little more contrast. I do think the design has potential though - watch this space for developments.

Cat and mouse

2007-02-04T20:37:00.000-08:00

Mousie pants are DONE!

The tail cracks me up. They are a bit long yet, but that is fine.

This is one of the last photos of Kittycat with our cat Minette. Minette left our home today after scratching Kittycat's face (this happened BEFORE we dressed our daughter up as a mouse, I hasten to add). We're sad, but we're sure she'll find a good home soon.
Here is my (probably) needlecase in Kureyon, post-felting. You can still see the stitches quite clearly - in fact there are still holes in it where the yarn was spun more tightly. I put it through 2 hot washes (taking it out before the rinse cycle), and did some hand felting too on the bits that didn't felt so well. I am thinking that trying felting when the only machine I have access to is a coin operated one might not be the most practical idea. I'll probably give it another attempt next time I'm at my parents' to see if it will tighten up a bit. I like the feel of the fabric though.

Thirteen month dress

2007-01-18T17:26:00.000-08:00

Finally it is done! Not in time for Kittycat's birthday, but for her 13 month birthday :)

In the first picture she is pointing at her books on the shelf. She is addicted to books right now and is always asking for them (using the tried and tested "point and whine" method of communication). It's funny because she is speaking a few words now and we're also teaching her sign language; she knows about 20 signs, but book apparently isn't one of them. In the second photo you can see the buttons - I have a button stash as well as a yarn stash, and I actually found these vintage white glass buttons in the stash. In the last one she is sleeping - I didn't want her to nap too late so went in and opened the blinds and turned on the radio, but she slept through all that AND having a camera flash at her. Most unusual. She must be tired out from looking gorgeous in her new dress :)

Having finished that I should be on to the mousie pants which need finishing. So of course, I took out the ball of Kureyon that I added to the stash last fall and started knitting it up on 7mm needles. I didn't want to swatch and waste the yarn, so I just dived in. In theory it's going to be a felted needle case, but I'm a little doubtful it's going to end up the right shape. That's fine - I think I'll knit it up, felt it, and then see what it wants to be. It's all about trying out felting, rather than having a specific project in mind. Sorry no photo today!

Nifty neckline and the sweater from Hades

2007-01-03T14:43:00.000-08:00

Neckline

I decided to try out this technique for avoiding steps when casting off for a neckline.
The directions said to cast off 10, then 2, then 2 more stitches for the neckline. Instead, I used short rows. Instead of casting off 10 stitches, on the previous row I left 10 stitches on the needle and turned the work. I did the same for the 2 sets of 2 stitches. On the next row I worked all the stitches, then on the next cast off all 14 stitches at once (continuing to work on the remaining stitches up the side of the neck). For the short rows, I worked wraps.

I still need to put the decorative edging on but you can see from the photo that I now have a nice smooth curve to work off. I like it!

This sweater has given me so much grief - but it is now finally finished! It is a Phildar pattern, and it's really nice, but I started it when my husband was one size, then he started working out, his shoulders got bigger, and the rest is a tragic history. Really, I know I should have frogged it... but I couldn't. Instead I made armhole gussets (which I thought was quite ingenious of me!) and then also ended up having to add to the sleeve length (I knit an extra cuff piece then grafted it onto the cast on edge... yeah, my grafting needs practice).

It is now DONE and if he asks me to change anything else about it I am SO frogging it and making something for ME.

Seven years, no itch!

2006-12-22T13:28:00.000-08:00

This is the Tychus toque from Knitty. I made it from Lett-Lopi leftovers for my husband for our 7th anniversary - traditionally the woollen anniversary. Which I think is a little ironic given the idea of the seven year itch. Thankfully wool does not make my husband itch too badly.

The hat knit up very quickly. I shortened it by two stitches because I didn't want him to have to turn up the brim, but as you can see I didn't shorten it quite enough. It fits me really nicely too - perhaps I'll have to have one.

It looks like Kittycat is trying to sign "hat" in the first photo. She's wearing an outfit she was given for her birthday. Excuse the unfixed red eyes and the piles of laundry in that photo!
And here is my progress on Kittycat's dress. I've finished the skirt part and am on to the bodice. I'm now working back and forth on a circular needle, which means I have to purl on the circ - one of my most hated things to do. Oh well. I just can't pick-purl. I don't think I'll have it done for Christmas, but it might be done for the inlaws' family gathering on the 30th.

Birthday...Christmas...New Year's dress

2006-12-09T20:44:00.001-08:00

Firstly:
This came in the post a week or so ago. It's a colour card for Jamieson's shetland wool. I want to try out some Fair Isle designing. I think I'll get a few balls in colours I like and play at swatching them - perhaps I'll make a tam, since there is a clipping posted in my LYS that says berets are in style again (and I don't think it's a clipping from 1992 or anything).
Secondly:
Here is the dress I'm making for Kittycat's birthday. Well, actually, since that is less than a week away the dress may have to be for Christmas. Or perhaps New Year. I've actually done a bit more than this now - the colour part is finished, and I'm on the almost plain knitting (there is a very sparse eyelet pattern).

I cast on 396 (count 'em) stitches for the skirt. I used a long tail cast on. That was one long tail, I can tell you.

Mousie pants progress report: I finished one leg, saw how long they were and decided I should do this dress first, since she will probably grow out of it faster. I'm also hoping to make a toque for my husband for Christmas and I have a sweater for him that I thought I had finished, but the sleeves are too short, so I've made extra bits for the cuffs and just need to graft on the second one. It doesn't look ideal, but it works OK and he'll finally wear the sweater I began 2 years ago!

Little Twin Stars

2006-11-18T09:49:00.000-08:00

Whew - finally finished the toddler cable sweaters for April and Ben. They came around yesterday, and it was baby central for a while. Kittycat enjoyed interacting with the twins, who are 4 months younger than her; the twins kind of watched bemused as she patted their faces and babbled to them. Ben got to try on his sweater; he's 7 months and the sweater is a 12 month size, but with the cuffs turned up it looked not half bad. The contrast colour at the edge (a needs-must-when-you-run-out-of-yarn measure) actually looks cute on him.
Here are the finished sweaters:
They were only lightly steam-blocked, after they were sewn together, but even so the blocking really made a difference.

(not sure why that first part is all underlined - ask blogger, not me)

Lost in Space... no longer

2006-11-07T16:19:00.000-08:00

The second and third pictures are of the sweater and pants set (finished back in July) that I sent to little Ethan C. Twighead that I am, I sent it to the wrong address - Ethan's mum called me today to say she'd finally got it. Good thing too, since it only just fits him!

I made the sweater from a pattern in an old baby book - I'd say it's from the late 60s or early 70s. The original pattern has some pretty lurid colours, so I changed those, and knit it in lovely soft 100% wool Lanett. I also changed the neckband slightly, knitting it twice the length suggested, and then turning it under and sewing it down. That way I was able to cast off very loosely without it looking untidy. I sometimes find the necklines on these older patterns come out rather tight, and I hope my adaptation will keep the neckline stretchy enough.

After it was done it didn't feel right as a baby gift unless it had pants to go with it, so I took a Pingouin pattern I'd knit for Kittycat (first picture - she was such a chubby little newborn...) and adapted it. I changed the crochet edging for a neat hem, and I made a little pocket with the pattern from the sweater.

If I were to knit it again, I think I'd add a few cm to the sweater body, too.

I'm pleased with how this project turned out. I hope this very loved little boy is cosy in it!

Ran out of yarn; mousie pants

2006-11-03T10:09:00.000-08:00

Here is the toddler's cabled sweater I've been knitting for little Ben F. All was peachy until I realised I would run out of yarn just before finishing the neckband (argh!) I was using yarn from my stash that had threatened to become a scarf, but I'd frogged it and no longer had the ball band. Stress!

I went into Burnaby Knitworks yesterday and not only did the fabulous Freda know what my yarn was (and that it is indeed superwash - hurray!) but she helped me find the perfect yarn to finish it off. I'd decided to do the rolled edging on the neckline in a contrast colour, rather than trying to match it; that way I can do twin sister April's sweater (in cream) with the same contrast edging. However, where I had been envisioning a boring beige or sage green, Freda found me this yummy variegated yarn - 100% wool and superwash, just like the sweater.

I've never been drawn to these bright variegated things before - I'm not into bright and busy. But knitting with it is FUN!

And here is my latest project - started while Ben's sweater was on hold, pending a solution to the yarn issue. I'm using the Lil' Devil Pants pattern from Stitch 'n' Bitch Nation, but since Kittycat is not devilish, I'm using white and grey Lanett (from Sandnes Garn) and making stripes (because doing it in plain old boring old stocking stitch will take forever - I'll get bored and not finish it). Instead of a devil tail, I'm going to make a mouse tail for her. Just because. I don't even like mice. But I think she will make a very cute mousie.

Slash and burn (except without the burning)

2006-11-01T16:55:00.000-08:00

Here's my latest project, a baby Norwegian sweater in Sandnes Garn Lanett. This is the first time I've cut armholes - a little scary, but it worked out fine. Here's the sweater being modelled by the beautiful Kittycat, and also at the cutting stage :)