A is for...

Adorable!*

Baby Pants!

I have made baby pants! And I think they're adorable!

Details:
Pattern: Baby Bell Bottoms, by Alison
Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted, 100% single-ply merino wool, colorway "loro barranquero"
Needles: 16" circular size 8(?)
Started: December 7, 2007 (traveling to Colorado and Albuquerque)
Finished: December 21, 2007 (traveling to Indiana)

These were actually started once and then ripped, when a short reality check assured that they were super-sized...

oops

That's one of the legs around my wrist. Yes, I wanted bell bottoms, but not quite that much of a bell. Of course, I could have just made them in a bigger size, but then I would have had to change the lengths, too - size large width with size small length would have resulted in very strange pants!

Or, A could be for Ample!

That belly is ample!

That's me at 29.5 weeks. Everything baby-wise is going well - she's kicking right now in fact! I did fail my 1-hour glucose test (like some other people), so I have to do the 3-hour test. (Hopefully, like Cara, I'll pass it!) My first test was in mid-December, but they couldn't work me in for the 3-hour until now... the nurse told me that between the tests I should "Try and avoid eating sweets like candy and cookies." Over the holidays. Rii-iiight.

After all, I definitely had to eat at least one cake - the one for my baby shower!

Yummy!

That's the cake and the guest of honor - the bump! We both really enjoyed (a small piece of) the chocolate cake and ice cream! It was... Ambrosial!

Let's see, other things... I'm still throwing up a few mornings a week (1-3 times), but several days I feel fine. Except for the heartburn/acid reflux, which is Awful... Taking a Pepcid usually settles things down, but eating is still an adventure! It's getting increasingly uncomfortable to walk - my pelvis is not terribly happy about this baby's head being wedged into it. I can't wait to see what 10 more weeks will bring!

Otherwise, everything is going well! We had a quiet evening at home for New Years, just us and the cats, and some sparkling Apple cider:

Happy New Year!

We've now suceeded in clearing out the craft room entirely, to make way for the nursery! Of course, Dan brought all of the craft stuff into the dining room so that I could sort through it... well, many bags to Value Village later, the dining room is almost back to normal. Maybe tomorrow night! I have found some fabulous things that I'd forgotten about! And I've finally said a final goodbye to several crafts that I had briefly dabbled in, but which didn't quite "catch."

And I've started one more project for the baby... I've been feeling a tremendous amount of startitis, with a particular urge to start a sweater (but I don't really want to make a maternity sweater at this point, so it wouldn't fit me for a while), but I've managed to hold it off for the most part! But I'm trying to get more prepared for the baby, and making soakers for cloth diapers is smart! Here's the latest:

That's a waistband

It's the Curly Purly Soaker (pdf), in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted, colorway Sherbert. Size small, and I'm using needle sizes 4, 6, and 9 (I think). We'll see how much progress I make tomorrow when I'm sitting and knitting for 3 hours!

Well, one of my resolutions this year was to blog more (especially once Baby Girl joins us!), so hopefully you'll be hearing from me again before too long :)

* Yes, I did sign up for the ABC-Along. Maybe now I'll be encouraged to post at least twice a month!

Mittens!

Mittens!

Pattern: Loosely based on the mitten pattern in the Catalina Yarns Chunky Essentials pattern book, with some mods
Yarn: Catalina Yarns Baby Alpaca Chunky, 100% alpaca
Needles: KnitPicks interchangeables, size 8?
Started: ~ January 3, 2007
Finished: ~ January 30, 2007 (slight delay for photos and post)

Comments: Do you have any idea how hard it is to take pictures of your own hands? This is the best I could do holding my camera under my chin. It's not perfect, but you get the gist. Two solid yellow mittens in fuzzy alpaca. They're starting to felt slightly, making them exactly the size of my hands, which is just fabulous. And I finished them just in time for winter to hit DC!

Snowball!

The yarn and pattern book were from Heather at last year's stash swap. So, not only did I make myself a pair of mittens that I really need, I also knit them from stash. Sweet!

And figuring out how to take a picture of my own hands was not the only adventure involved in this photo shoot. When I first went out the door into my back yard, I noticed some paw prints across the snow - some of the neighborhood kittens. Then, while I was balancing my camera under my chin and taking blurry photos of my thumb, I looked up to notice the neighborhood gray tabby cat - the one that looks like Linus - walking toward me. I said "Hello kitty," and then thought, "That's the cat that looks like Linus!"
And then I looked at my back door and noticed Cleo sitting on the stoop - outside. Hmm. That probably then was not the cat that looked like Linus. I managed to convince Cleo to go back inside, shut the door behind her, and then went back to corral the other cat. But not before taking a photo or two.

Linus has a snowy adventure!

I had to do a bit of chasing to catch him, but I did. He didn't appear to appreciate being forced out of his outdoor playground, but he did spend the next few minutes sitting in front of the vent and licking his paws. I think he's lucky to be an indoor cat!

Bed & Breakfast Pullover!

Bed & Breakfast Pullover

Pattern: the Bed & Breakfast Pullover by Kathy Zimmerman, Fall 2003 Interweave Knits
Yarn: Austermann Rubino, 100% superwash merino, body in teal, trim in navy
Needles: Denise interchangeables - I think 7's
Started: sometime between January 18 and March 13, 2004
Finished: October 21, 2006, approximately 3 AM

Notes: Looks pretty good, doesn't it? It's times like these when I wonder why it took me so long to finish... I started it almost 3 years ago and worked on it, then put it on hold, worked on it some more, put it on hold, rinse, repeat. But now it's done and I'm really happy with it. I love the fit - close, but there's ease thanks to the ribbing.
The yarn is fabulous - merino (very soft) but superwash! I first bought Austermann Rubino off of elann.com in 2003, and used it to make my Boatneck Shell. Of course, I didn't buy enough balls of any one color to make more than a sleeveless shell (d'oh!). I went looking for large lots of it on E-Bay and found this beautiful teal color. I really lucked out! The navy came from that original elann purchase.
I wore it to work last week and no one asked me if I'd knit it, which I generally take to be a good sign about the construction. Of course, that means I couldn't brag about it, so I did have to casually drop it into conversation. The number one thing that everyone commented on was the contrast color at the cuffs. That definitely wasn't what drew me to the pattern, so that was pretty interesting.

Look at how happy I am in my new sweater!

Long story short - great sweater, will wear it a ton. Well done, me!

Chai Cardigan!

Another View
Close-up of the Clasp
Close-up of the fabric

Pattern: custom-designed pattern, heavily modified
Yarn: Chai, a 100% tussah silk yarn from ArtFibers, color 16
Needles: US 6 Bamboo Circulars
Started: April 2005
Finished: July 2, 2006

Notes:
Finishing this sweater was a New Year's Knitting Resolution, and it feels great! To refresh your memory (it would have to be a very long memory, or you could cheat and look back at this entry), I got a custom pattern designed for my at ArtFibers when I purchased the yarn. I asked for a ballet-neck pullover with 3/4 length loose sleeves. I kept the sleeves and changed almost everything else. Making it a cardigan is the most obvious, but I also converted it from a ballet to a scoop neck.

Deciding on a closure was one of the longest processes. I considered hook and eyes, a zipper, buttons, clasps, one button, and finally the single clasp. I like the look of just having the top closed with the edges hanging open. They form points, which is kind of interesting (I swear they are right angles when blocked).

I did iron the silk. I saw a huge difference when I ironed the swatch between the pre and post ironing, but I didn't see that drastic of a change in the sweater. I love ArtFibers, and I love all of their yarns that I've knit with so far!!

The length, the sleeves, and the open front, are absolutely perfect for a summer sweater in the air-conditioned office environment. I'll get a lot of wear out of this sweater, I think. I love the fabric - it's so beautiful, luminous, and amazing colors.

Socks, Socks, Socks!

I've been holding out on you a little bit... I've had a few finished pairs of socks for a while now and just not blogged them.. but here you go:

Blue and White!

Yarn: can't remember. A previous post states that it's Regia cotton, but I can't find a colorway that matches. It's a pretty blue and white color - maybe 5432?
Pattern: Made up; short-row heels and toes and a patterned cuff
Needles: 2's I think
Comments: This was my first sock project on sock needles. I actually knit the first one as a practice to my Sockapalooza (the first one) sock, but then I didn't have enough time to knit the second one before I had to start the real socks. There's a brief mention of it last January, and then I had actually finished them in June 2005, but they'd never gotten their own FO photo until now.

Stripey Green Socks!

Yarn: Regia Mini-Ringel 5343
Needles: US 1.5's
Pattern: Made-up; plain stockinette with heel flap
Comments: These socks I knit from the cuff-down just to prove that I could - I had the short-row thing figured out pretty well, but I wanted to do a heel flap on tiny needles just to see if I could. And it worked out. Well documented on the blog, started here, progess here, a picture of it in Panama here, and then one sock finished going into the Lent-Along. I did work on the mate to this sock during the Lent-Along, but just finished it up right after MDS&W. This yarn was purchased at last year's Sheep & Wool, so it feels good to have it done.

Pretty Ruby Slippers!

Yarn: Socks That Rock in Ruby Slippers
Needles: US 2's
Pattern: My own, ribbing and cables
Comments: This yarn was bought at Rhinebeck, so it's one of my quickest sock knits yet! I made the pattern up, and knitted toe-up with short row toes and heels.

Right now, I actually don't have a pair of socks on the needles (gasp!). I think the next pair will be from the yarn that my hand-dyed sock-yarn swap-pal sent me (it's gorgeous!) - but more on that in the next entry.

Two For 1!

My first Lent-Along accomplishment! And no knitting required:

Yarn: Regia Crazy Colors in Shade 05262 - Pinocchio
Pattern: Mexicali Baby Ole from Knitter's Summer 2003 [link to yarn pack for sweater]
Needles: Addi 3's
Comments: OK, so technically this sweater has been 99% finished since October 2003. The only thing left was the seaming, and I'm an atypical knitter who actually likes loves to seam! I guess I ran out of motivation - no babies to knit for. There's still no babies to knit for (this is not a hint) but it does feel good to get it done finally. Teddy is modeling, as he usually does for my baby knitwear (again with the no babies). But hopefully it will fit someone someday, and look good to boot.

Also, a Kitty Pi! Tested and approved by Cleo, both Before and After felting:

Yarn: variegated purple and pink Outback Wool that I picked up at the Knitting Meet-Up last month
Needles: 10 (too small in retrospect)
Pattern: Kitty Pi
Comments: I'm not entirely happy with how this turned out - I think it either needs to be felted (fulled) more, to make it a bit smaller and studier, or I need to block it around a bigger circle so that the sides don't stand up so high. They're kind of floppy and the cats tend to sit on them (and collapse it) rather than sit in the bed. So I'm still working on it.
Also, this colorway has to be one of the ugliest I've seen, knitted up (sorry, Lolly - but I guess that's why you were giving it away!). Luckily a cat is sleeping on it most of the time.
And next time (I still have a bit more than a skein left, so I think Linus needs a bed, too), it should be on bigger needles to be looser and felt more.

Golden Tubey!

Pattern: Tubey from Knitty
Yarn: Maple Creek Farms Fine Wools 100% Alpaca in colorways Power and Strawberry Smoothie, purchased at Rhinebeck 2005 (knitting from stash!)
Needles: Denise 5's and 6's, Crystal Palace Bamboo dpns and circular size 6
Started: February 10, 2006 during the Opening Ceremonies
Finished: February 26, 2006 (down to the wire!)

Comments: Love the fit, love the neckline, love the yarn. More photos: front and back.
I'm still having trouble believing that it's done. I got off to a bit of a slow start, not finishing the sleeves/shrug until last Monday and knitting the entire body this week. I am a complete Olympics addict (thanks, Mom!), and spent a lot of time on the couch knitting both weeks. I also had my meetup group and another knitting nite party this week (at Fidget Ann's) which helped tons.

Of course, I had tons of help while working on this sweater. The fur babies helped tons:

And Dan was a big help, too. He went to the grocery store by himself to buy me a dessert to take to an office party (because I couldn't possibly spare the time), brought me Tylenol when my hands were hurting, and was a great cheerleader.

I had lots of other exciting, creative stuff to say about this sweater, but I'm kinda Tubey-ed out right now. In fact, I might be knitted out for a few days. I'm not sure what my next project will be either...

Jaywalkers

Pattern: Jaywalker socks from Magknits by the fabulous Grumperina

Yarn: Socks That Rock in the Blarney Stone colorway

Needles: Addi turbo 1's

Started: Approximately Jan 1, 2006

Finished: Feb 9, 2006

Comments: This pair of socks was knit on 9 plane flights and in a total of 6 states, and the photo above was in a 7th state (from where we went snowboarding today). I have a massive post coming to help trace their journey, but that will wait, and the contest ends in just two days. These socks fit quite closely (although I'm glad that I went down to the smaller size) and the fabric is stiffer than the pair that I knitted on 2's (socks done; photo yet to come). They're getting more comfortable as I wear them. I think it's safe to say that they'll become standards in the hand knit sock drawer!

Baby Suprise II

Pattern: Baby Aran Pullover, size 3 months, from Knitting For Baby

Yarn: Austermann Rubino, a superwash 100% merino wool

Needles: Can't remember. 7 I think.

Started/Finished: December 2005 to be gifted at a Dec. 23rd baby shower

Comments: I made this sweater once before, using a chunkier acrylic. This is a great baby present - very little effort really (the front and back panels are only 8 x 9" for the 3 month size!) but looks very impressive. It was one of the hits of the baby shower - several women got into a discussion over how much they would pay for a similar baby sweater. $80 seemed to be the agreed-upon number - which isn't bad for about 12 hours worth of work! I can't wait to see pictures of it on young James, just as soon as he gets done growing and joins us!

Clapotis

Pattern: Clapotis from knitty, by the fabulous Kate Gilbert

Yarn: Andes, a 100% cotton yarn from Artfibers - so soft, and dyed a beautiful shade of blue with just a little bit of variation in the color

Needles: Denise 8's

Started: February 2005 - I found my first entry about it here. But I bought the yarn almost exactly a year ago here.

Finished: October 2005, just before Rhinebeck. In fact, it made its debut there.

Comments: I love this thing. I thought I would, but I really, really do. It's the softest cotton, so it feels great around my neck. I love that it's wide and long so it scrunches up nicely, and I can wrap it around my neck a couple of times. I love it, and I'll wear it all winter. Until I leave it somewhere (which I almost did yesterday - luckily, I came back to the same room today and it was there).
I knit this pattern almost exactly as written, which is quite odd for me. The only thing I changed was knitting the dropped stitches as purls, rather than using stitch markers to set them off. But I kept all of the other dimensions the same.
Love it!
(and although I look a little purple in that photo, I'm really not - it's just the one that shows off the Clapotis the best)

Sock-a-Pal-2-Za!

Here they are!

Since the original Sockapalooza socks were in front of my spring daffodils, it's only fitting that these socks are posing with my fall mums, don't you think?

Only a week overdue - not bad, eh? Actually, the socks were finished before the deadline, but I just managed to get everything packaged and mailed today. The postcards actually wound up being the hardest thing to find, despite living near a major tourist destination. I just haven't been into the city in a while and hadn't bought any... but I finally found some at the drugstore. Now the whole package (socks, postcards and a few goodies) is winging its way across the ocean

Specs:
Yarn: Soft Rock from The Fold in color Beryl
Needles: size 2 Addi turbo circulars
Pattern: River Rapids socks from Sockbug
Notes: I lengthened the foot to accomodate my pal's measurements, and used a short-row heel, but otherwise followed the pattern. I thought at first that it was going to turn out to be huge (based on the ribbing) but the lace pattern pulled in quite a bit, and everything turned out perfectly. Here's a close-up view of the lace:

They are too big for me, but my pal's foot is bigger than mine, so here's hoping they fit!
Maybe the next pair of socks I fit might actually be for me...

P.S. Whomever wound up here from googling "orangutan ballet pictures" I'm sorry you didn't find them here, but you cracked me up!

Dreamcatcher Medallion Cardigan!

Are you here looking for Part 2 of my San Francisco Yarn Haul? Well, I'm a tricky one, aren't I? I snuck in a Finished Object! Check her out:

Rather plain Jane cardigan at walking toward you, but walking away - Wowza!

(mouseover the picture for the back view, or click here for a pop-up.

Pattern: Dreamcatcher Medallion Cardigan from the incredible Loop-D-Loop book by Teva Durham. I made the size Medium (38 1/2" chest) and love the fit
Yarn: Suedish from Artfibers (sadly, discontinued). This was my celebratory yarn splurge after finishing my master's, and it feels good to have finally knit it up!
Needles: Denise 7's
Started: July 4th Weekend
Finished: August 21st. I actually finished the entire body in two weeks, but then stalled out a bit on the sleeves, and then stalled even longer over the finishing.

Comments: I knit the body all at the same time - at the top, this involves four different balls of yarn and 8 simultaneous shapings to keep track of (right front neck, right front armhole, right back armhole, right medallion, left medallion, left back armhole, left front armhole, left front neck). I didn't chart or even write down my progress - I just mentally kept track. I know I'm bragging a little, but by God, I think this is an accomplishment!
I read the pattern wrong and knit the sleeves a good 2" longer than they're supposed to be (I thought it was taking forever, and I was right!). However, they're the perfect length. I've said before that I have orangutan arms, and I'll say it again.
As soon as I finished the body piece I went ahead and did the medallion (the pattern has you binding off and then increasing in the back to make a big hole, which you then fill in with the medallion at the end). Without it, the hole tended to gape and hang strangely, and I couldn't tell if it was going to fit or not. Plus, I wanted to see what it looked like. Then I wove in all of the ends, and had a vest for a while.
When I took the class with Teva Durham in July, I brought the vest to show it off. It was the first one she'd seen anyone else knit, so it was pretty cool. I wish the entire sweater had been done at that point, but I did have to work and sleep.
I worked on this sweater in San Francisco, so it's a cross-country project. I also took the vest with me to Artfibers to show off their yarn being put to good use. I love their yarn, yes I do.
I've seen one other completed sweater (on craftster), but otherwise I haven't seen it mentioned very much in blogland (though I have gotten a few google hits off it being listed in my sidebar). If anyone is thinking about it or working on it, let me know!

Shrug!

Remember that shrug I showed you a brief sneak peek in progress picture of? The one that I told you was finished and worn to a wedding (rehearsal dinner and wedding, actually) almost a month ago? Well, here she is! Isn't she purdy?

Details:
Pattern: Drop Stitch Shrug from the Summer 2005 Interweave Knits staff project. The photo was in the magazine, but the instructions are available in a pdf file from the website (linked directly above).
Yarn: Brooks Fiber Farm Duet in Warm Black (which can be slightly gray-black variegated in some light conditions)
Needles: Um, I've already forgotten. 8 sounds about right?
Completed: I finished sewing it up in the afternoon of May 27, 2005 (after finishing the knitting in the car on the drive up) and wore it to the rehearsal dinner that night.

Comments: I love this stitch pattern. It definitely looks like knot holes in bark, and I love this arrangement of them in an orderly pattern. It also makes the knitting go quicker when you're dropping a bunch of stitches every eighth row. The mohair was perhaps not the absolute best choice to deal with the stitch pattern, since it didn't really like to drop down, but with a little coaxing it worked out OK.
The corners of the arms in the back tend to pull and pucker a bit strangely, and I think that maybe I didn't sew the sleeves up as far as I might have (so it's a bit wider across the shoulders than it needs to be), but that's a simple fix. Also, I don't notice the puckering except in photographs!

One caution about the mohair: it's definitely a bad yarn to use next to the skin when wearing anything sleeveless under it. See, the mohair has a tendency to shed little black fuzzies everywhere, which I don't mind, except when they stick in my armpit and make me look like I have a couple of months worth of growth down there. (Luckily one of my friends said something to me in a non-embarrasing way so I could de-fuzz before too much of the night went on).
I love wearing this over a sleeveless dress or tank. It's also one of the perfect garments for me to take to work in the frigidaire that passes for an office (seriously, we're pretty sure the thermostat is broken in the Arctic range) because it covers my arms, thereby letting me wear the cute short-sleeved tops in the summer, but does not cause me to get too warm and overheat.
All in all, this was a great project. It's actually the perfect thing to make if you're just trying to move on from scarves and don't want to tackle anything too different yet. You do a bunch of increases and decreases, but the basic knitting is a long skinny rectangle. It's then miraculously turned into a garment (really a pair of sleeves) but just seaming up two of the sides and stopping before you get to the middle. Ingenious! I love it! I see lots more shrugs in my future... I'm thinking soft yarn like MicroSpun. These things had better stay in style for a long time!

P.S. Also to note - the super cute super short summer hair cut! Yay!

Sockapalooza!

They're done! Hooray! Not even a month overdue... OK, I'm a bad sock pal who is completely unable to meet a deadline, but at least they're finally done. Here are the specs:

Yarn: Fortissima Cotton Colori in color 0009 (a crayonesque mix of primary colors)
Needles: size 1 Crystal Palace Bamboo double points
Pattern: my own, based on Wendy's generic toe-up pattern, with toes from this knitty article
Beads: 6/0 Czech Glass E-beads matte mix

Notes: The first pair of socks I've ever completed. The first beaded knitting I've ever done. As I blogged about before, the cuff is a result of swatching and deciding that I liked the "wrong" side better. Here's an improved picture:

which captures the colors well, too. I love the cotton sock yarn, and I love the fabric from knitting it on size 1's (although arduous during the process). I only hope that they fit - they fit me fairly well, but I think my sock pal's feet are slightly larger than mine. Hopefully a little strenous blocking (if needed) will do the trick. I can't wait to hear what my pal thinks! Unfortunately, she doesn't have a blog, but maybe she'll let me post her comments here once she gets them. They're headed overseas, so it might take a while.
I admit that I'm a bit sad to send off my beautiful socks, but I hope know that my pal will appreciate them. And, I keep reminding myself that I'm going to receive some great socks in return!

Coronet

I know, it's been ages since I've had a finished object, and now there are two in a row! Craziness! I've had this luscious yarn in my stash for quite some time now (last August, so not as long as some, but a few months), but could never commit to what I wanted it to be. It's amazingly soft and scrumtious (because it's made from bunnies!) and it's also the most expensive yarn I have purchased to date, price per yard wise (I rationalized because it was close to my birthday, so it was a present). Then I decided I needed a hat because my head frequently gets cold, looked through my printed patterns, and the desire to make a Coronet was born. It was not the easiest of labors.

I knit the cable band, Kitchenered (grafted) the ends of the cable band together to make a ring, and picked up stitches along one side for the top of the hat. Three rows into that, I decided to actually try it on (gotta love 2 circs!). It was too big. It just didn't really grab my ears how I wanted it to. So I ripped, ripped the picked-up stitches (sob), un-Kitchenered (double sob), and unknit a cable repeat (sob again). Then re-Kitchenered (sob, sob, sob), and probably did a better job the second time because I actually attempted to graft the purls as purls and knits as knits. There are only 4 purl stitches, so this is not as big of a deal as it sounds, but still an accomplishment. Then I picked up stitches again (sob), and commenced knitting the hat (again). I did try it on, and while it is still a bit loose, I decided it was liveable. I finished it while we were at Snowshoe snowboarding last weekend, and it kept my head nice and warm while walking around the village.

The picture above was taken on my business trip on Friday - that's the view from my hotel. Not bad, eh?

Details:
Pattern: Coronet from knitty
Yarn: Reynolds Devotion (50% angora, 50% nylon)
Needles: 8
Completed: February 19, 2005

I still have almost an entire ball left of the green and two balls of magenta. I'm thinking probably mittens to match with some kind of cable detail... stay tuned! (Of course, it will probably be next winter, so don't hold your breath)

Tanja!

That's a finished Tanja! I wove in the ends and everything... Even wore her to work. I think she fits fairly well, so I'm leaving her a pullover. I can always change my mind and cardiganize her later, but once that's done there's no going back!

Specs:
Pattern: Tanja, from The Best of Lopi (and also a Lopi book that I bought in Iceland)
Yarn: Gjestel Naturgarn, purchased from Elann, 100% wool
Needles: 10 (or was it 10.5?)
Started: December 2003
Finished: January 2004

Comments: I started this sweater and then put it aside with one sleeve and the body done up to the armholes. What can I say - it got warm, and this is a cold-weather garment. I picked it back up again a little before Christmas and finished the other sleeve. With a slightly different gauge. I'm not sure if I used a smaller needle, or if my tension has just changed in the intervening year, but whatever. It didn't bother me enough to actually redo it, so I just went with it. The yoke was finished several weeks ago, and then it sat in the living room waiting patiently for the ends to be woven in. I finally did that one lazy weekend day, and then wore her to work the next week! Still hasn't been blocked, but I'll do that someday.

More pictures: the Rachael, and (for Becky), a dancing photo (in which I look quite stupid - thank goodness it's blurry!)

Scarves and Bags and More, Oh My!

Where has the time gone? Am I stuck in a vortex where the time-space continuum has sped up without warning? Oh no, it's just the holidays. I guess this happens every year.

Not that I'm the most diligent blogger, but sheesh - three weeks! It doesn't feel like that long, I swear!

I have been knitting in the meantime, and I have pictures to prove it! Remember that craft fair I was prattling on about earlier? Well, if not, the short version is that it's at my office and it's this Friday (Dec. 10th). I've been busy knitting Inventory with a capital I, and here are the fruits of my labor:

Scarves.

Felted Bags.

Somehow it doesn't seem like much, laid out like that. But it's been an awful lot of time and effort. You're knitters, you understand. I'm hoping I can get another scarf done between now and then. Lest you think that this will be the sparsest booth ever, I should let you know that this is a group effort. There's at least twice that many scarves, crocheted snowflake ornaments/coasters, votive candle holders, wine charms, and handmade cards. I'm sure our table will look fabulous. I only hope we sell things. I'm suffering from pricing uncertainty. If you've done a craft fair lately with novelty scarves and felted bags, would you mind sending me an e-mail (or leave a comment) and letting me know what you charged and how well the price went over? I'd truly appreciate it.

That's not all that's been going on in my knitterly world. I also went to a lecture/book-signing by the very cool Debbie Stoller (author of Stitch N'Bitch Nation). Met up with Natalie, which was fun. The best part for me was the show and tell from Stich N' Bitch, when Debbie modeled my Alien Illusion Scarf for everyone to ooh and aah (which they actually did - kinda weird). Other people had the To Dye For sweater, a Go-Everywhere cardigan, and even a Princess Snowball cat bed. One neat thing was just people-watching - seeing the cross-section of "today's knitters." Old and young, punk and traditional, predominately female. Pretty cool.

It was also a trunk show, which meant that we all got to touch some of the sample garments from the book. Which was very, very cool and led me to consider a purchase that I wouldn't have normally made. On Saturday, Christmas shopping found me at Aylin's Woolgatherer (and not just shopping for me, I swear!). But after feeling the angora scarf from the SnB book, and then finding it on sale in the Sale Nook, I broke down and bought this. That's 200 yds (100 grams) of 100% fluffy bunny fur. For what it cost, I'm considering buying a bunny and spinning my own. We'll see. There's also a very cool yarn that's a nylon shell around a cottony core - kind of like when you stuff pantyhose to make crafty dolls or animals or whatever. It's really soft, and there's a sweater's worth for about $14. Can't beat that!

I still have some more craft fair knitting to do, then it's the final push to Christmas. Unfortunately, I won't really be able to show pictures of the presents because all of the recipients read this blog... maybe I'll do little sneak peeks.

Oh, and go say hi to my Secret Pal from Secret Pal 3 (the one I sent things too) - Rachelle. She's really cool, and her daughters are extremely sweet. I'm not sure who my pal is yet, I'll post when I know!

Hallowig!

It's true blaze orange - you know, the color hunters wear to make sure they're not mistaken for deer and shot at. People could see me coming, that's for sure!

I wore it to work the day before Halloween - one of the very few people I saw with any sort of a nod towards the holiday. People generally did a double take, and then said "Nice hat. I mean, nice wig. Is it a hat?" I assured them that it could be either.

And here's a shot of the two orange-heads:

Isn't Cleo cute?

I loved this pattern, and found it quite easy to follow. I think I may have a strangely proportioned head, though - knitting from my chin to my eyebrows made the length seem a little short, and I wished the bangs opening was about 4 stitches smaller, because my hair kept peeking out from the sides. All in all, though, it's fabulous.

Details:
Pattern: Hallowig from knitty.com
Yarn: Red Heart 100% Acrylic in bright orange
Needles: Denise size 7
Started: October 19, 2004 (at the Montgomery Co. Knitting Meet-Up)
Finished: October 25, 2004

FO - Clogs!

Is that a washing machine? With some meticulously hand crafty items being mercilessly pummeled into submission, alternately shocked with water temperatures from the steaming to the frigid, and being flayed by the agitator and hardy blue jeans alike? Why, yes it is! And that can only mean one thing... Felting! (OK, purists, fulling, but whatever)

Yes, the suprise of my mother's Christmas present has ended. But better than than opening a package of this on Christmas morning and pretending to be pleased:

("Um, darling, they're lovely! A little on the, um, large side, don't you think?")

Nope, they've been shrunken to a custom fit, thanks to the recipients' feet wearing them around until they were mostly dry:

After this picture was taken, we wrapped them in towels and then taped a plastic bag over them to complete the drying process whilst molding them to the feet. Moon boots, anyone?
(And how about that funky tile in my basement? Pretty groovy, huh?)

The observant will notice that one of the clogs (on the right in the photos) appears a bit darker and more extreme in the color patterns, particularly the purple. That particular dye-lot was definitely stronger... and more Grape. The felting process did great things to blend the colors together and also to tone down the 2nd clog so they look more similar. But still hand crafted :)

The Christmas present element of the clogs remains, as Mom did not get to take them home with her, but left them here to be placed under the tree and unwrapped with all of the other gifts.

Details:
Pattern: Fiber Trends Felted Clogs
Yarn: Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool, Kool-Aid dyed by me and Dan
Needles: 10? (I can't believe I've forgotten already... could have been 11's or 10.5's... something in the Denise kit, any way!)

Anouk!

(Click for the back)

Pattern: Anouk, Spring 04 knitty
Yarn: Lion Brand Microspun
Needles: 7
Started 7/18, finished 8/2/04

I cast on for this at my first knitting meet-up. I got through about 4 rows of the seed stitch and set it aside. I finished the back on the next Saturday, on the drive to Delaware and sitting on the beach watching Dan learn to kite-surf. I finished the front the next weekend, on the drive to Delaware and sitting on the beach watching Dan learn to kite-surf. (Sound familiar? That's not a typo... we really did go two weeks in a row.) I finished the neck and pockets on Sunday, driving to visit our friends in Virginia. It will be a baby present for the child (um, hopefully daughter) of these friends, due to be born August 6th (thus, any day). I was hoping to finish it on the drive down, but that didn't quite work out. I bought buttons and sewed them on Monday night. Then all that was left was showing it off! Oh yes, and the gifting... after the babe is born, now.

FO - Sophie!

Pattern: Sophie (from Magknits)
Yarn: Araucania Nature Wool, shade 3
Needles: 10
Started 6/18, finished 6/20, felted 6/21

So one of your good friends has a birthday, you realize you haven't gotten her a present and have no idea what to get... what's a girl to do? Create a Sophie! Cute and functional. I love how the colors get muted and subtle after felting, too. My friend is already getting compliments on her. She's a hit!

And because I'm a geek, the before and after comparison:

Honeymoon Cami!

Pattern: Honeymoon Cami, Spring 2004 Knitty
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill 100% linen, purchased on E-Bay
Needles: US 7

I like this tank, although it's a bit more revealing than my "normal" wardrobe. I'm going to Florida next week and I'll hopefully get to wear it there. Otherwise, I thought the pattern was well done, it fits well, and I do like the yarn - it softened up as I knit and more now as I wash and move the fabric. The only problem I have is a dye lot change between my two balls of linen, which results in a noticeable-to-me (although not so much in the picture) stripe across the chest. I'm not sure how much I'll actually wear it (mostly because I'm a prude), but I had fun knitting it!

FO - Critter Knitters Blanket!

I decided to make a blanket for the Critter Knitters Knit-Along. It was easy - I even knit it while watching Shakespeare!
It's cat tested:

and approved:

Yarn: Lion Brand Homespun in Baroque
Pattern: Diagonal garter stitch dishcloth
Needles: 10.5
Knowing you're giving a shelter kitty a comfy bed: priceless!

FO - Baby Hat!

Made for a baby shower gift.
Yarn: Lion Brand Micro-spun in fuschia
Needles: 7 for the brim and band, 4 for the top
Pattern: Kyle's Kap from Knit Baby Heads & Toes!
Model: Cleo looking very hip

Ribbita!

Here she is! Ribbita 1, to be exact. Here're the details:
Pattern: "Ripped Pull" (no. 29) from Rebecca #25
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease in hmm... I think it's Popsicle Blue, but it could be Candy Blue. Neither color on the Lion Brand website is a good match for what it actually looks like.
Needles: Addi Turbo 4.5 mm
Started: ~April 1st
Finished: April 30th
Comments: I'm wearing a tank under it. I was in the earlier picture, too. That's because the ribbing combined with the V-neck tends to quickly turn from Va-Va-Va-Voom into Boom-Chicka-Wah-Wah (which is my rendition of the *ahem* music from 70's *ahem* adult films). I'll be redoing the parts above the armhole bindoff... I don't think I'll be able to fix the *ahem* revealing nature of the V-neck, but I don't like how far the shoulders droop over my arms - sort of cap sleeves, but not really droopy enough for that. I also need to stop knitting about 1" before the current shoulder seam, to make the bodice fit a little bit better.

Oh, and for Becky, a dancing photo:

Sort of. My hair's not really purple... or white... I promise. Credit the photographer with a unique effect.

Bucket O'Chic!

Before...

and After!

And, for Becky, a dancing photo.

Bob II

Here's the secret to Bob.
Take another look at the picture... pay special attention to the tweedy flecks.

You might notice that there seem to be more flecks of color in the body than in the sleeves. You would be right. I actually ran out of the tweedy yarn, and had to use plain ecru yarn (luckily, the colors matched perfectly). So on the sleeves, I did 2 rows with color flecks and 2 rows without, using the plain yarn. Cool, eh?

Bob!

Finally, a picture! Bob is an official FO... and has been since the middle of July. I finished seaming him on the last day of our drive from Indianapolis to DC... This sweater went on two plane trips and drove across 12 states (Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland). And she's not for me - she'll be my mom's. Early Christmas present, maybe? :)

And there's something a little funky about him... maybe you can figure it out from this picture? See if you can figure it out :).

Catnip Mouse

I joined in Wendy's Catnip Mouse Knit-Along (pattern here). Linus was pleased with the results:

       
(the one in the middle totally cracks me up everytime I look at it... what an expression!)

If you'd like to see lots of other happy kitties, there's a gallery, too. Linus is a few kitties down.

And yes, I have been packing... I knit this while I was checking my e-mail. We've been getting an amazingly slow connection recently. But we're not complaining because a) it's free and b) I'm leaving on Saturday morning (ack!) and Dan doesn't use the internet from home too much.

Boatneck Shell

That, ladies and gentlemen, is a Boatneck Shell. The pattern is from the wonderful chicknits.com, and the enthusiam from the knit-along gang.

It's done in Austermann Rubino, a washable wool that I purchased from elann.com. Size 7 needles = 5 stitches/in.

I wore it yesterday to my thesis defense/presentation (more about that over here). Now that that's over, I'll have tons more time to knit! And pack my house and move... doh.

Baby Suprise Done!

Yep, the baby suprise is finished! Here it is: (everyone except Kelly click on the "More")

Cleo approves. Thanks to Teddy for being such a great model! Of course, on him it's more like a dress... and it probably will be on the baby as well. Oh, well. He'll just get more use out of it, right?

Baby Gift

My blog is called "crafty" for a reason - I didn't want it to just be about knitting. Thus far, it pretty much has been, but here's the first exception.

This is a baby shower gift for a little tyke due in July. Its mom really likes rubber duckies, so when I saw this on Martha Stewart I knew I had to make one:

If you'd like the instructions, they're here. (There's a bunny towel, too)

Hey, Mister! What's another name for pirate treasure?

It's a bootie! Soon there will be a pair of them... there's already a hat to match. An awfully big hat, I might add. It fits me fairly well. I think I'll make another one for myself.
Anyway, this is the Stay-On Baby Bootie from Knitting for Baby, made with Caron Simply Soft on size 2 dpn's. The hat (picture to come) is the Garter Stitch Cloche from the same book.

Suki!!!!

So, remember how I was going to spend my car trips this weekend blasting through the back of Bella? Well, um, that didn't exactly happen. Instead, this did:

I finished Suki!!!!
And through the magic of digital photos, you can see it before and after. I might have been a bit overenthusiastic about the felting - I can't believe how much it shrank. But it completely felted (including the yellow, which I'd been a little bit worried about). Now it's stuffed with newspapers and drying. My first big FO! Hooray!

Fuzzy Feet (After)

They're done! I wore them for the custom fit... so warm! They'll come in handy around here, that's for sure. And what a painless way to do my first sock... huge needles, thick yarn and an excellent pattern. Thanks, Theresa for the great directions, knitty for being such a wonderful resource, and Kate for organizing the Worldwide Fuzzy Feet Felt-Along... go check out that page for lots of pictures! Some have fluff, some have stripes...

Fuzzy Feet (Before)

There they are... a pair of fuzzy feet before! Ready to go in the washing machine to be agitated down to size... pictures later.
Next on the needles: a hat for my hubby. He picked out the yarn (Noro Silk Garden) and everything! Yes, he braved a yarn store with me... isn't that sweet?

Baby Blanket!

Hooray! This weekend I finished the baby blanket! This photo shows it folded in half. It's a weird size - 36"x20" and has quite a few little pattern mistakes, but, as Dan likes to remind me, "The baby won't care."
My local Project Linus chapter is having a blanket day on Feb. 16th, and I'll drop it off then.

Nosewarmers!

Well, I found a new use for the Knitty Nosewarmer pattern (which is actually a toe-up sock toe)... party hats for cats! Yesterday was the one year anniversary of Cleo's adoption, so we got all festive. Along with the hats, there were treats and mousies. Too much fun!

Cleo modelling... and we're scratching her chin, not holding it on her :)

And Linus... one stylish cat!

Purse!

My second finished project! And I'm especially proud of this one because I made the pattern up - I just had a vision, I guess. The strap is a k2 p2 ribbing so it expands slightly, and the strap is sewn into the sides as a gusset. The purse body was just a big rectangle in garter stitch. The yarn was cheap acrylic.
Go me!

Scarf!

Woo, I finished my first real project! It's a scarf! I just knitted until I used up the entire skein. It's stockinette stich and then reverse stockinette stich to make a horizontal stripes pattern. And despite blocking, it still wants to curl up on the edges, but oh well.