Christmas in March

I promised months ago that I would share the Cobblestone Pullover I made for my Dad for Christmas. It was a hush-hush project, because I didn't want him to have any idea that I was knitting him anything, let alone a sweater.

The problem with it being a total surprise is that I knew the fit wasn't going to be perfect. My Mom helped by taking about a dozen measurements from one of his best fitting sweaters, but since the Cobblestone has a round yoke and none of his sweaters did... it wasn't exact. The yoke itself is a little too long, the neck is too wide, and the sleeves are a little too long. (I lengthened them from the pattern since he is tall but apparently I didn't stop knitting until they were gorilla length.)

Here is a photo of the finished (1st time around) sweater, and a less then flattering but cute pic of my Dad opening it Christmas morning.







After months of what felt like non-stop knitting, I just couldn't touch it for a while - let alone rip it apart. So it sat in a sad heap in my knitting bag, mocking me to just finish it already. So in February I got up the nerve to rip the yoke out, and ended up the three separate pieces again. (Body and two sleeves.) The idea of working on it again after finishing once makes my tired, but the thought of knitting something new makes me feel guilty, so I don't knit anything. I pick it up every night and look at it, but can't find the energy to pickup all those stitches and calculate for the smaller yoke I want to make.

(It's making me tired just typing this.)

BUT. I really want my Dad to have this sweater. It's probably going to be too warm for him to wear this season still, but at least it will be ready and waiting for next fall.

I am setting a goal for myself. It will be finished (2nd time) by April 11, two weekends from now. Or else it might never happen.

As a little motivation for that "Never Give Up" spirit, here is Reggie attempting to sleep on his favorite chair even after I've piled it up with junk.

The Big Huge Finished Objects Post

So I finished a number of smaller projects in September, but got so far behind in writing about them that I finally gave up. I'm going to put photos and basic information on all of them here now so at least there will be some record of them.

Please feel free to ask questions if you'd like to know anything more about something. They can all be found on my Ravelry page as well.

Cabled Waves Scarf


my own design


Perdita Cuff Bracelet


from Knitty Summer '06


Bacteria!


Clockwise from top right: Salmonella, e.coli, Shigella
based on Bacteria!


Bead Soup Bracelet


from an Earth Faire kit



Hermione's Cable & Eyelet Hat


from this pattern; based on the hat Hermione wears in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

Key Chain Sock Blocker

I bought this adorable little sock blocker keychain from The Loopy Ewe a few months ago, and just got around to knitting a little sock for it.




(I realize that I forgot to put anything in for scale - it's about 2.5 inches tall)

The yarn for this little sock was leftover from yarn I spun for my mom. (I still need to take some decent photos of her yarn.) I had some thin singles left on one of the bobbins and chain plyed it just to clear the bobbin for the Neapolitan yarn I wrote about yesterday. It turned out very soft and squishy, and looked a whole lot like sock yarn. I was very excited since while I've seen a lot of gorgeous handspun sock yarn, I didn't think I'd be capable of it for a long time. Maybe I will give it a try sooner.

I have been home sick from work for the last two afternoons. (I've gone in for the mornings since some work just had to get done.) I hate missing work; I haven't had to take sick time in over a year because I don't usually get sick. I am feeling pretty bad and am just hoping I don't have the pig flu. Ugh.

Finished: One Row Handspun Scarf

Before I started spinning, I imagined that it would be difficult to actually knit with (and "use up") the yarns that I spun. In fact, the opposite has been true for me. I love knitting with my handspun yarn, and only worry a little about finding the perfect pattern to use for them.

I'm sure it helps that all of my spinning to this point has produced worsted weight yarn approximate to a skein of Cascade 220. Hats and scarves, anyone?

I wrote about spinning this Spunky Eclectic fiber here in March. I was excited to see how it knitted up, since I didn't pay any attention to how I split the colors while spinning. I ended up with some great subtle stripes:





Pattern: One Row Handspun Scarf by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (available free here)
Yarn:Handspun Spunky Eclectic Roving in "New Day", details here
Needles:size 8US bamboo straights
Start/Finish: October 6, 2009/October 13, 2009

Finished: Sedum Sweater

:::dances around:::

It’s done It’s done It’s done It’s done.

Actually, it was done September 6th. I love it.

And I am never making a one piece, top down, bulky yarn, oversize cardigan again. Especially not during the summer.







I feel like I need to say that it actually does fit very well, even though they way I am standing in one photo makes it appear too small and the other a little too big.

I don’t have buttons for it yet, and hope to find some lightweight plastic ones that will blend into the fabric rather than stand out.

Let’s see, what else to say about this. I changed the pattern to make the body of the sweater in stockinette stitch instead of seed stitch. While I love the look of seed stitch, I didn’t think the extra bulk of it in this yarn would be very flattering on me.

I also wish I would have had one more ball of yarn to make the ribbed collar a little longer. Still, it's very comfy and is going to be perfect to wear this fall for running out to the store or keeping warm at home.

Pattern: Sedum Sweater (on Ravelry)
Yarn: GGH Aspen in Camel
Needles: size 10 US circs and dpns
Started/Finished: May 19, 2009/September 6, 2009

Finished: Anastasia Socks

I have a love/hate relationship with this sock yarn, Misti International Hand Paint Sock Yarn. I love the colors and soft, smooth feel. For whatever reason I had a beast of a time keeping consistent tension with it while knitting. Almost as if it was so smooth as to be slippery. It was so frustrating, and cramping up in my left pinky, that I put them aside for almost six months.

I found them about two weeks ago in the bottom of my knitting bag and just wanted them done. Apparently that was enough motivation; I finished them last Friday. My tension must have been a little more relaxed with the second sock since the colors didn't pool the same way. Oh well, the fit is the same.

As for the pattern itself, I love that the spirals travel in opposite directions. I substituted an afterthought heel for the one written in the pattern. No reason, other than I wanted to keep working on the spiral instead of knitting a heel when I got to it on the first sock.


Pattern: Anastasia Socks by Minty Fresh (on Ravelry)
Yarn: Misti International Hand Paint Sock Yarn
Needles: Addi Turbo 0US, 2 circs
Started/Finished: February 9, 2009 - August 14, 2009

Finished: Swallowtail Shawl

The Swallowtail was my first triangular shawl. I think I'm hooked! (But I still need to figure out how to photograph them to show off the lace best.)





I've said it before, but I am a much better knitter when I'm using an interesting pattern stitch, instead of plain stockinette or rib. It's like, if I'm not forced to pay attention then I won't at all. I knit this whole thing without lifelines, marking up my chart, or even writing down what row I was on. And I didn't ever need to rip more than two or three stitches. (I did need to correct a lost yarnover from the previous row a few times though.)

I'm saying this not to brag or feel like a superior knitter (I'm definitely not), but to prove how important learning to read your knitting is. It's something I struggled with for a long time. It actually took me years to figure out that the row where the two stitch leaned together wasn't the decrease row, but the row where the loop passed through both of them at once was.

The Swallowtail is a simple enough pattern that I could tell what row I was on by a glance at what I had done in the previous row. Pattern repeats were easily counted, and the repeat section across the chart was short, intuitive, and easily memorized.

Plus, I think I got lucky.



I'll probably wear it like this, under my coat.



Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark, Interweave Knits Fall 2006
Yarn: Wisdom Yarns Poem Sock, in color #955
Needles: Addi Turbo Lace in 3US
Started/Finished: June 2009 - August 3, 2009




I really tried everything when it came to the photo.

Finished: Fruit Protector

Also possibly called an Apple Cozy.



Adorable Apple Cozy by Theresa Grant


I know some people have issues with things like this, since it just seems to pointless. While I am not against making pointless items (see: knit t.p.) this little guy actually serves a purpose for me.

I take a nectarine, peach, or pear to work almost every single day. I love these fruits when they are super ripe, but not quite mushy. Consider that I also typically carry a Tupperware or corning ware container with the main part of my lunch and you might realize what my problem usually is. Bruised fruit with split skin and usually some pear or peach gooped all over the inside of my lunch bag. Blech.

I used to wrap my fruit up in a napkin or paper towel but that felt too wasteful so I switched to a knit dishcloth. Which is really only a half step away from something fruit shaped with a keep-the-fruit-inside button.

The attentive among you may notice that my fruit protector is crocheted. I wanted a quick project and crochet has always been much much faster for me than knitting. (This took around 25 min.) You know, only one hook to hold, only one loose loop to worry about. For the record, my mom taught me to crochet around 1987, and I taught myself how to knit in 2002.

I have a feeling there are going to be a few more crochet projects coming. I'm not sure when I got bit by the bug since I haven't actually crocheted in almost a decade, but I have found a few patterns I'd like to try.

Finished: t.p.

The first time I came across this Toliet Paper pattern at Mochimochi Land I knew I had to knit it. In fact, I feel that way about most of her patterns. It is completely useless but (I think) hilarious.






This was a stashbuster project that wasn't quite successful as I still have a little of each color wool left. It was a quick knit, and once I steam blocked the heck out of it the stockinette section didn't curl in very much.








It has now made it's home in the downstairs bathroom. Here are the answers, in order, to the questions I received after placing it there:

1) Yes, it is.
2) Because I can.
3) Please don't. For decorative purposes only!

Finished: Storm Cloud Shawlette

Hey, would you look at that - knitting! It feels good to be knitting again, and especially good to finish a project. This is just a simple little pattern (which I actually made smaller than written) but it was just want I needed to get my knit mojo flowing again.

I also used up a ball of stash yarn which I must confess felt just as good as finishing a project.






Pattern: Storm Cloud Shawlette (Ruffle-less Version) by Hanna Breetz On Ravelry here.
Yarn: Elsepeth Lavold Silky Wool, 1 skein
Needles: size 6US Clover Bamboo circs
Started/Finished: May 5, 2009/May 9, 2009


I probably should have used bigger needles for a larger, lacier shawl but I'm happy enough with how it turned out. I knit most of this during the first few nights in our new house when I was distracted by all of the "stuff" - things in boxes, things that needed to be done, things I hadn't gotten used to yet. You can see my distraction in the photo below.




The bottom edge of the shawl is supposed to be straight and mine is more scalloped. I think this was caused by my not really keeping track of the number of plain rows between the increase rows. Whatever. It works, and looks, fine. I think I'll just call it a design element.

This is definitely something I'd knit again. I think it would make a great gift. (When knit correctly, of course.)

Finished: Bunnies!

These cute guys are modified from Christine Manitz's Easter Bunny pattern. The original pattern calls for the bunnies to be felted, but since most of my felting experiments end up slightly misshapen I wanted to make these bunnies non-felted to retain their cuteness.

For the most part I followed the pattern as written. I reduced the needle size drastically to make a nice firm fabric that had some body and didn't let the stuffing show though. One of the only changes I made was to switch the 'knit into the front and back' increases to 'knit into the row below' increases since I didn't want the little bar that is created with the kfb to show on my unfelted bun. I also shortened the length of the body, neck, and head since I wasn't losing any length in felting.

I wanted to be able to play around with the positioning of ears a little, so I bent some thin wire into ear shapes and inserted them.





Finally, I wanted to make sure the bunnies stood up by themselves without falling over. This was accomplished by sewing a little bean bag (filled with dry lentils - I felt they were heavier than rice per volume) into the base.



Cutting the felt.
One half fits the interior diameter of the bun base,
the other is larger to form a pocket for the lentils.


Filling the base.
The lentil are a snack for my hub's
spiny-tailed lizard. Don't tell her I stole some!


The completed UFO-shaped base.



Sewing the base into the bun, so the flat side is down.


Oh and I pinked up the ears with a little of my favorite eyeshadow, Bobbi Brown Pink Sugar. I tried twice to embroider a face but my pathetic skills actually make the bunnies less cute. So plain it is!

And just in case there are not quite enough photos in this thread I'll show you a few more bunnies I made for Easter dessert with the family.




Wilton cake pan



Red Velvet Bunny Cakes



A pastry chef I am not, but they were delicious!

Finished: Spinning Wheel Bag

(Last catch-up post. Woo!)

I happened across this cute little spinning wheel bag on Ravelry and knew I had to make it.





I don't have any of the little tools that are supposed to go in it yet, and to be honest am not really sure even what they are. But the bag is cute, huh?

In keeping with my theme of using leftover yarn, I wanted to finish the Paton's SWS I used in my Fake Isle hat. I'd never felted it before but knew other people had successfully. (It worked just fine, but took a few trips through the machine.)

I didn't measure how much yarn I had left - just assumed it was enough. This next photo is entitled "Extreme Yarn Usage":





The arrows point to my two yarn ends, untrimmed and not woven in. Oh yeah! That's extreme, baby. (I am unreasonably thrilled by this. I think I need to get out more.)





Pattern: Felted Spinning Wheel Bag by Shannon Geddes (on Ravelry)
Yarn: Paton's SWS in Natural Navy
Needles: US10 Bamboo circs
Started/Finished: March 20/March 20 (about two hours around 1am)

Finished: Fetching mitts

Once again, I am way behind the curve on knitting the popular patterns. And really, the only reason I made these was because I had 100 yards of Malabrigo to use up and I didn't know what else to make. (I've gotten sick of seeing the same old balls of yarn in my stash and am in need of some turnover.)





They are the perfect size to keep me a little warmer when it is chilly inside but not so big they get in the way of either long sleeves or hand dexterity.

Hrmm... what else to say about these? Oh - when I was putting stitches on hold for the second thumb, I noticed that I had miss crossed the one of the cables on the first cable round. After contemplating for a minute and deciding that no, I couldn't live with it, I dropped the four stitched that made up the cable all the way down and fixed that cross (and then the two above it) with a crochet hook. And even I can't tell which cable it was now.





Pattern: Fetching by Cheryl Niamath, Knitty Summer '06 (on Ravelry)
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Pearl, less than 100 yards
Needles: bamboo dpns, US4
Started/Finished: March 11/March 19

Finished: Urchin Hat

(Three more FOs to post and I am caught up.)





Urchin not only marks a finished project, but my first finished project from handspun yarn. I used my first spinning attempt on Lennie the Lendrum, this lumpy designer CVM wool:






I can't find any notes that tell me how many yards I had, but I'm sure I measured it at some point. Although maybe not, since I did run out of yarn about 3/4 of the way through the hat and had to spin some more up.

An interesting thing is that when I went to recreate my lumpy designer yarn, it was actually difficult to make it lumpy enough to match. Apparently the few weeks of spinning practice in between evened out my drafting enough so that getting that "designer" look is actually a skill and not an accident. You can see the difference in the last quarter of the hat if you know what you are looking for. I guess I am now too talented to make chunky lumpy yarn on accident and no where near good enough to make it on purpose. Oh well.

Pattern: Urchin by Ysolda Teague, Knitty Fall '07 (on Ravelry)
Yarn: handspun CVM ("Madge" from The Fold), 2 ply
Needles: US10 straight
Started/Finished: February 26/February 28

Finished: Moss Stitch Cowl/Scarf

This simple little project was started during a hectic period when I needed some completely brainless knitting. It also served well to use up a couple partial balls of Wool-Ease hanging around my stash.

Originally based on Eton's Scarf by Jennifer Refat, I decided to sew the ends together while it was still short and turn it into a cowl. (Due to a combination of boredom, low yarn reserves, and lack of necessity for another long scarf.)





Pattern: loosely based on Eton's Scarf (on Ravelry)
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease leftovers in Gray Heather
Needles: Clover Bamboo straights US8
Started/Finished: February 7/February 20

Finished: Circular Shrug

And so begins the backlog of FO posts. This is a project that had been on my radar for years. I first saw it on Craftster and filed it away in my memory as "something to do sometime". When I came across it again on Ravelry last year, I added it to my queue and then forgot about it again.

I only got around to making it because I was (am?) on a stash yarn kick and wanted to use up some Bernat Denim Style yarn I received as a gift about 4 years ago. Of course it only used 2.5 of the 5 balls I had; not really good planning on my part. I have used this yarn in the past for another shrug and really love how it washes up. The first shrug has been thrown in the washer and dryer and just keeps getting softer. I originally wanted to make a full sweater out of these 5 balls .... again, bad planning.

Obligatory "as seen from above" shot:




Being worn: (I will warn you in advance that this is an exceedingly awful photo of both me and the shrug.)




I still need to find a pin or button to close it with - I used a green barrette for the photo, but it doesn't stay closed for very long.


Pattern: Circular Shrug by Julia Allen (free pattern; on Ravelry)
Yarn: Bernat Denim Style, 2.25 skeins (about 440 yds)
Needles: US7 Knit Picks Options
Started/Finished: January 15/February 5

Finished: Crofter's Cowl

I made this knit cowl from leftover Creatively Dyed Merino from my button tab hat. I had to modify the pattern a few ways since I realized less than halfway through that I would run out of yarn if I continued as written. You wouldn't notice the mods unless you were looking at the original pattern, but I only did four out of six pattern repeats and they are all in the same direction. The pattern calls for two sets of three repeats to be knit and then grafted together in the center to make a symmetrical tube.

I am happy with mine but I do still like the original pattern and might make it again with ample yardage available.



not the most flattering photo, but you get the idea


This yarn is very very soft. Not only does it match the button tab hat (obviously) but I looks good with two of my winter coats*.


Pattern: Crofter's Cowl, by Gudrun Johnston (on Ravelry)
Yarn: leftover Creatively Dyed Merino (I think this is one of her older yarns.)
Needles: size 7US bamboo circs
Started/Finished: January 9, 2009 - January 11, 2009




*Yes, I have more than one winter coat. Three, exactly. My Columbia it's-super-cold-and-snowy coat - i.e. every day for the last month, a charcoal wool pea coat for when it is not super cold and I want something a little nicer, and a new long black winter trench-type coat from my mother. The hat goes with the last two.

Finished: Winter Break Socks

These were fun socks to knit. I started them Christmas Eve and finished the first week in January. Really fast for me; usually I need at least a month to finish a pair of socks. Ah, the joys of working in education and having time off over the holidays! This was my first time doing a "bubble drop stitch" type pattern, and I have to admit that I didn't even know how it was accomplished until I tried this pattern.

The yarn is Lion Brand Sock-Ease, which I bought at Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon and falling in love with the colors as I was walking past. I was pleased with the quality of this yarn, especially when compared to Lion Brand's old sock yarn Magic Stripes. The yarn is very similar to Regia and the colors are very nice and didn't bleed at all when washed.

(I believe this sock yarn holds the record of "least time spend in my stash before knitting". I bought this sock yarn maybe two and a half months ago? Most of my sock yarn stash is years old, and I usually go for the oldest stuff first.)





Pattern: Zombie Socks by Sheryl Giles (only available on Ravelry)
Yarn: Lion Brand Sock-Ease in "Rock Candy"
Needles: two 24" 0US Addi Turbos
Started/Finished: December 24, 2009 - January 9, 2009