Infant Layette Set

Sibling #5 is 8 months pregnant. She turned 17 this month. I heard about this from my octogenarian, email-using Grandma, and if you have picked up anything about my family, you are probably bracing yourself for some horrible, dysfunctional tale. Well, there is one, but for now I'm focussing on the fact that I didn't know about this pregancy until a week and a half ago.

I called my dad get the scoop, because it's under his roof that it's happening. What I learned was that his sheepdog just had eight pups, all black and white like her, and that the winter is unseasonably warm this year. He's really concerned that the peach tree will bloom this month, thereby missing bee season, and he'll only have four or five peaches this year again. The same could happen for the plums and apples, although the Golden Delicious tree in the back yard - the one with the graft from Grandma's tree - is bound to produce pretty well because it always does. Old reliable. And there hasn't been much rain, which is weird, because usually it's rainy this time of year (my hometown gets an average of 200 days of rain a year)...

At which point he passed me to Sibling #7, who happened to be passing through the room, and I pumped her for information.

It seems it didn't occur to anyone that I might not know. Which is even stranger than the global warming. Do they think I am psychic? That town gossip reaches me from 2,000 miles away?

Ok, well, it does, but only because my Grandma uses the internet, and not exactly in a timely manner, because she also thought I knew.

So in a week I have managed to whip this up from Louisa Harding's Natural Knits. I used Sirdar Snuggly yarn.

It's going to be a boy. I'm also making as nursing sweater from the same book. I would have liked to have time to make a pregancy sweater, but I didn't exactly get that chance. (grumble grumble)

Boyfriend Sweater

Boyfriend Sweater!Pattern: my own
Yarn: Cascade 220 (black)
Needles: size US #8/ 5mm straights

I actually had this finished over a month or more ago but I was too lazy to post it. I am very bad - almost as bad as my ability to photograph black.

Still Not Dead

I figure I should post again so that you all know I am not still hung over on chocolate mint liqueur.

I am not still hung over on chocolate mint liqueur.

I am, however, about as depressed as I was after I read V for Vendetta* - I had to go home early today from work because I was weepy.

There is always a catch in life. Sometimes love isn't enough. And I don't even have clue what to do about it except fantasizing about visiting Finland, or perhaps Scotland.

I like reinventing my life. That's what got me from California to Seattle, and from Seattle to Philly and then to Boston. I am the most settled I have ever been right now, and it's pretty uncomfortable, even though I am a homebody. I'm just not an office person. Gah. But this isn't really about traveling and moving, it's about relationships, which are another kind of traveling and moving. And it's really terrible to know that someday you may have to leave a place you love because it can't offer you everything you could ever want.

Ah, but enough that. I am knitting the Retro Rib Cardi from the Winter 2005 IK in "avocado" Wool of the Andes, and it is awesome. Extremely green.
*V for Vendetta had me very, very upset for days because I am an individualist. Go figure.

Not dead yet

Just terribly, terribly slack.

So slack that I have not finished the crocheted dress. I am halfway through the top, but once I got to that point, I lost the hook for a couple weeks at the bottom of my purse. Which means I have to work on something else. A whole lot of something elses, actually.

Pictures later. I need to get some coffee first. Who knew Vandermint packed this kind of hangover?

Certainly not me.

Sick... Again!

It seems that a month can't go by lately without me getting some virus. I wash my hands so much at work that you'd think I was OCD, but I still catch something. I need to stop working with people who have children under 5 yrs. old, the little germ factories, grumble grumble. These are the purple/green Artyarns Supermerino socks I started for myself and gave to my sort-of-mother-in-law. I've finally started a pair for myself that I'm determined to actually keep for myself - they're cream, black, and light green - but I don't have a picture of the one sock I've completed just yet.

The worst part about being sick the past two days is that I'm falling behind on my knitting / crocheting schedule. Sure, I'm nearly done with one of the flip-tops of the fingerless gloves / mittens I'm making (Sorry! No photo yet!), and I'm about an inch and half into the top of the crocheted dress... and I swatched for a crochet project I'm planning, and did a couple rows on a red Sockotta sock I'm working on, but that just means I can focus a couple minutes here and there. If I felt fine, and didn't have a pounding headache constantly, I'd have those mittens done, as well as half the top. *tortured sigh*

However, not being at work doesn't bother me in the slightest: I get sick pay.

Back of skirt

With the help of Flickr, here is a photo of the crocheted dress thus far:


Chibi for scale.

Crocheting Away

This, in case you didn't know, is the 1920's dress I am crocheting:
It's three pieces: top, back of skirt, and front of skirt...plus some sewing and garnishing. I was feeling panicky all week about whether I'd be able to meet the Dec. 14th deadline of the office holiday party, but I'm happy to say I am 1/3 done! ...give or take some sewing, etc.

Unfortunately, Blogger won't unload the photo I took.

I'll try to get it up in Flickr some time this week.

Really.

This about sums it up.

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Except, of course, that the test doesn't ask why you're paranoid.

I'd say my largest personality flaw is my desire to avoid confrontation and just get along. This involves not getting hit by cars, too. I'd say it's pretty natural for someone who doesn't believe in an afterlife to want to stay alive as long as possible, don't you?

I've only taken one other personality quiz on-line, the Harry Potter one, and I came out Severus Snape. Really, I'm not that bad, folks. Honest. Dumbledore ordered me to do it.

Easy One Skein Noro Hat

A very serious hat.

Materials: 1 skein Noro Silk Garden, 1 set 4.25 mm double-pointed knitting needles (or circulars), large darning needle.

Size: One Size

Gauge: 6s = 1” / 10 cm worked in 2x1 (k2, p1) rib, unstretched.

Body
CO 105s and join for working in round, being careful not to twist.
k1, p1, *k2, p1, repeat from * until last s in row, k1.
Repeat in established pattern until piece measures about 7 ½” (19 cm).
If using dpns, divide the stitches evenly onto two needles.
Kitchener* closed (I advise against binding off, since it uses up yarn that could go onto making pompoms.)

Pompoms
This is a great opportunity for beginning pompoms makers. Part of what I like about this hat is that the pompoms are not fat, fluffy, overeager things. They are wimpy pompoms, so don’t worry if your pompoms suck. I made my pompoms by wrapping the yarn around the end of a 2” / 4 cm wide needle gauge ten times, cutting the end, sliding the yarn carefully free and tying it tightly around the middle with a 4” / 10 cm length of yarn. I cut the loops of the “pompom”, threaded the ends of the tie onto a large needle and sewed it onto the tips of the hat. Then I did it again. Just about any other method can be used, provided you don’t run out of yarn.

* There are plenty of free tutorials on the web for either technique if you haven't done this before.

Hats! Hats! Hats!

Just because I'm not posting often does not mean I am not knitting, folks. I am a busy bee.

Especially where hats are concerned.

Basic black seaman's cap. Yes, another one. This one is in superwash merino for my friend, Bob, who was expecting one last winter before I was derailed by all that X-mas knitting. Sorry, Bob!

The only X-mas knitting I am doing this year (Really! I mean it!) is this cabled version of the seaman's cap for my dad, a project that has been largely motivated by my suspicion that my dad has not hand washed the seaman's cap I made him last year, but is still wearing it, nevertheless. This is a humanitarian effort.

If you're at all interested how I worked the cables, leave a comment and I'll post the instructions.

Other stuff
These are not the only hats I've made. I also made a hat from one skein of Noro Silk Garden which I am going to post separately with the pattern.

I'm also still working on the boyfriend sweater, which is an incredible bore. Endless black stockingette! Ugh. I will finish this thing, if just to have it over with finally.

Socks are also happening. The purple Artyarn socks are done, but not mailed, and I've made myself several socks that don't match eachother using the One Sock at a Time Theory of Sock Making that I got from Jeanette this summer - that is, embrace your reluctance to knit that second sock and move on, because you can always get back to the the second sock later when it seems novel again. This worked wonders for her and I'm hoping it will do the same for me.

On the crochet front, I finally have the right yarn to make that 1920's dress. A bit of research revealed to me that it was originally done up in something a lot like embroidery floss. So I took a risk and ordered a 1 lb. cone of 8/2 black weaving tencel - US$25 after shipping for 3360 yds! (You may wonder what I would do with over 3,000 yds of fingering weight yarn if it didn't work out, but unfortunately I do have a few ideas up my sleeve. More than few, actually.) The dress is size 36", with 3 mesh stitches = 1", and the tencel worked up on the same hook to about 3 1/2" mesh stitches = 1", which is what I was hoping for since I am a 34" chest. The tencel is 2-ply, slightly prone to splitting, and slippery as hell. (I admit there was a bit of cursing yesterday when I started, but not enough to scare the cat.) I chose the tencel because it is supposed to have a good drape and sheen and is lighter than cotton. I'm still on the hem of the dress - I'll be there for a while - but I can already tell that this dress will be awesome. I hope to have it done by the office X-mas party since that is the only event I go to all year that is practically black tie.

Crochetting really has an undeserved bad reputation, in my opinion. Of course, I crochetted before I knit, so you could say I have a slight bias, but I'm sticking by that statement. Any craft or technique can create crap. With the possible exception of macrame, this isn't the craft or technique's fault. (I say this because it seems to be about 10x harder to make something tasteful from macrame than, say, knitting or beading. Please correct me if I'm wrong.) Which begs the question: Why is it that the only patterns in crochetting magazines these days that are halfway decent are mainly knitting? Why? Why? Perhaps I should embark on a personal crusade to improve the name of crochet, eh? Right after this dress. And all those knit socks. And the darned boyfriend sweater.

Stash Sorting

Let me see... Wool Ease (worsted); Wool of the Andes (Avocado); Cotton Ease (red); Merino Style (Coal); Alpaca (Rusty Heather); Angora (cat); Cascade 220 (black)...

Wait a second... Did I say "cat"? Hmm... That's going to be tough to knit.

French Press Cosy Pattern

I believe I actually used less than an entire 70 g ball of kitchen cotton for this pattern. If I'm wrong, please let me know. Photo of the cosy I knit here. If you have any questions about the pattern, leave a comment and I will answer you there.

Materials
About 70 g any 4-ply kitchen cotton yarn
Thread to match yarn, sewing needle
Knitting needles, size 4.25 mm and 3.75 mm
Two buttons (1/2” / 2.5 cm diameter)
Darning needle
Crochet hook, size 4.50 mm

Gauge
20s = 4” / 10 cm on 4.25 mm needles or size needed to obtain gauge.

Filler Pattern
I used the Double Moss (Double Seed) Stitch as a filler for my cosy, but any stitch pattern worked in a multiple of 2, 4, or 8 can be substituted. (For symmetry, I shifted the starting point of the double moss stitch pattern on my cosy to be: p1, k2, * p2, k1, repeat from * to last s, p1, etc. This shift centered the V of the spout opening above a p2.)

Double Moss (Double Seed) Stitch
Row 1: (RS) *k2, p2, repeat from * across
Row 2: (WS) *p2, k2, repeat from * across
Row 3: (RS) *p2, k2, repeat from * across
Row 4: (WS) *k2, p2, repeat from * across
Repeat rows 1 though 4.

Special Abbreviations
(Just the ones that might not be too obvious.)
FS = Filler stitch
WS = Wrong side facing
RS = Right side facing

Note for open handles: My French press has a closed handle. If the one you are knitting for does not have a closed handle you may eliminate the button closure and work the body of the cosy entirely in the round until it reaches your handle. In this case, you would not cast off stitches after the 5 rows of 1x1 ribbing, and you would not need the two buttons or a set of 3.75 mm knitting needles.

Body
CO 61 s on 4.25 mm needles and work a 1x1 (k1, p1) rib for 5 rows.
Row 6: (RS) cast off 3s, K1, work FS to last s (56s total filler stitches), k1, turn.
Row 7: (WS) p1, work FS to last s, p1, turn.
Repeat previous two rows 16 times (39 rows total worked in piece), turn.
Row 40: (RS) k1, work FS 26s, k2tog, turn. Place unworked stitches on holder or waste yarn.
Row 41: (WS) ssk, work FS to last s, p1, turn.
Row 42: (RS) k1, work FS to last 2s, k2tog, turn.
Repeat previous two rows to 48 rows total have been worked in piece, turn.
Row 49: (WS) k across, turn. (21s)
Row 50 through 58: work 1x1 rib, turn.
Cut yarn. Place ribbed stitches on holder or waste yarn.
Pick up 29s from first stitch holder/waste yarn with a 4.25 mm needle. Follow the instructions for Row 51 through 58, substituting WS for RS, and WS for RS. Do not place stitches on a holder or waste yarn.
Place stitches from holder on 4.50 mm knitting needle.
At this point you should have two knitting needles with 21s each. Viewed RS, the needle on the left should have the stitches that are attached to the yarn ball. This is Needle 1. The other is Needle 2.
Row 59: (WS) work 1x1 rib as set on Needle 1, then work 1x1 as set on Needle 2 across, turn. (42s) All stitches should now be on one needle.
Row 60: (RS) work 1x1 rib as set for 20s, increse 1s by knitting into next s twice, work 1x1 rib as set across, turn. (43s)
Row 61: (WS) p2, (yo, p2tog, p3) twice, yo, p2tog, p4, yo, p2tog, p3, yo, p2tog, p4, (yo, p2tog, p3) twice, yo, p2tog, p2, turn.
Row 62: (RS) *k1, p1, repeat from * to last s, k1, turn.
Work 1x1 rib as set 4 rows. Bind off as set.

Button Flaps
Part 1:
Pick up 15s from center of the edge of body with 3.75 mm knitting needle, turn.
Work in 5 rows 1x1 rib, beginning and ending with a knit stitch on RS. Bind off as set.
Part 2:
(WS) Pick up 15s from center of the opposite edge of body with 3.75 mm knitting needle., turn.
Row 1: k1, p1, k1, BO 2s, p1, (k1, p1) 3 times, BO 2s, k1, p1, k1, turn.
Row 2: p1, k1, p1, CO 2s, work 7s in 1x1 rib as set, CO 2s, p1, k1, p1, turn.
Row 3 through 5: Work 1x1 rib as set, turn. Cast off, cut yarn.

Drawstring
With 4.50 mm crochet hook, make chain 16”/ 40 cm long, or desired length, leaving 2”/ 5 cm tails of yarn at either end.

Finishing
Thread tail of drawstring on large darning needle and run through yo’s in body. Sew buttons on flap with sewing thread and needle. Sew edge of bottom ribbing together with darning needle. Weave in ends. Place cosy on Fench Press. Make coffee.

The One Slipper Wonder

There's a multitude of patterns out there on the internet and in books. I don't know about you, but sometimes I suffer from information overload. So tonight I am going to post links to some of my favorite free internet patterns to save you from having to go running all around the ether and taking a chance on an unknown pattern. Think of me as your test knitter.

I think the pattern I knit the most is the seaman's cap. It's a simple pattern with nice details, and everyone I have made one for reportedly wears them obsessively. I've made it in yellow, pink, and black, and I am about to make it in black again. I'm planning to knit my dad a second cap in navy blue Cascade Tweed 220 with cables on the crown.

I tried the pocketbook slipper pattern because it looked so easy, and because I couldn't help wondering how it would actually work out. (There's a pattern out there for making them with a button, but since I am surfing on a dial-up, I'll save that link for another day.) I admit my expectations were not very high for this pattern, but I wasn't really risking much yarn. I am happy to report that I wear them. When I had the flu recently I wore them at nearly all times. I am, in fact, wearign them now. Or rather one of them. I can't find the other. But my wearing one slipper says something, doesn't it? I mean, aside from how odd I am.

The Irish Knit Tea Cosy was a nice knit, even though I have yet to size it to a teapot I actually own. I knit up a towel that hangs from my fridge door that I'm inordinantly pleased with, also. Both items can be seen here.

And that's it for now.

F.Y.I.

I haven't been laid up for the past two weeks with the flu.

What I have been is a lame ass. I seem to have very little motivation to get on the computer once I get home. I don't know why. Obviously, I love computers, because I spend nine hours a day on one, right?

Well, maybe that it's quite the definition of love.

Knitting
No pictures. Sorry. Soon, though. I will deliver! And when I deliver the goods that is pictures, it will be of a new sweater and a finished pair of purple/yellow socks. Have I finished these items? Well... No. But soon. Very soon, I will. I am knitting the sleeves onto the body of the sweater as I type this. With my toes.

Ok, maybe I that's not entirely accurate. But it is on my lap and I am knitting the sleeve between hitting "Save as Draft", etc. (Oh, good ol' Pentium II. Believe me, if I had a different home PC, I wouldn't have so much knitting time.)

I did get a substantial amount of knitting on this sweater done while ill. I'm trying to work from the stash - which is also substantial, I'm pained to say - and I desperately need another black cardigan. Black cardigans go with everything, especially if you're like me and everything you wear is black, or might as well be. (Yes, it's true. I wear 90% black and gray. The remaining 10%? Brown, orange, and burgundy. Sometimes red. But mainly orange and burgundy. Together. Over something black and gray. I know, I'm terrrible. I don't know how I have evaded the fashion police so far.)

Wow! Am I rambling on. What do you want to bet that Blogger loses this post because I have invested so much time in it? How about two skeins of that discontinued KnitPicks sock yarn, "Sock Garden", in Zinnia? (Red, orange, yellow! Or was that three skeins? Gosh, I have alot of sock yarn!) If this post goes through, the first person who comments gets it. Even if you don't realize I'm giving away sock yarn! So there! (Don't that sound kind of like a threat? The yarn really isn't that bad, really.)

Boy, I'm in high spirits tonight. Must be all those fumes from cutting rigid foam with an electricified wire all week at work. Enjoy it while you can!

And now, I press the dreaded "Publish" button...

Edit: Arianna got the three skeins, although she insisted on doing something in exchange for them. So I got a decaf soy latte. (I think I came out ahead.)

Cold? Flu? Sure!

I'm taking the day off today to do my slow nose leaking in private. I think the folks at the office will appreciate that. If not, then maybe Monday, when I come in with a chapped nose.

I'm finally knitting up the Artyarns I bought, and ironically what was intended as a luxury item for myself is becoming socks for what I call my Mother-In-Law. These are Get-Out-of-Visiting-Free socks: my boyfriend/ partner/ whatnot is going down to Philly on the 14th for a surprise birthday party for her, and I'm still getting over the last trip I took to Philly last X-mas. There is no way I'm going. Not even for Thanksgiving. I will visit my family if I have to. (Hi, family!) So these socks should assauge the guilt.

In Other News
There's a new firewall at work that won't let me access Blogger anymore, which is probably for the best. This means I'll be blogging from home, most likely in the evenings from now on. I'm trying not to amuse myself too much at work with finding out what the firewall will and won't let me access. I'm hearing a lot of consternation all through my studio as my fellow workers try to buy Red Sox tickets, etc., and find themselves locked out. It's at times like these that I really feel one is not truly an adult if one works for someone else, especially if that someone else is a corporate model architecture firm. Too many people are relating to Dilbert, esp. where helplessness to control the situation is concerned. And I'm not just talking about the firewall. At least I don't need to tell anybody when I'm using the restroom, eh?

Not yet, anyway.

Boyfriend Sweater

Ahoy! There be pirate buttons here!

I got my boyfriend/ partner/ whatnot to journey down to Windsor Button with me Sunday during the Knit Out to pick out buttons for the black cardigan I am knitting him. (There are actually six of these - five for the button flap, one for emergencies.)

As you can see, he's already getting the required alottment of cat hair in his sweater.

Knitter's Tea Swap 2

You can probably guess what this post will be about. If not, I am about to tell you what I think of tea, chocolate, and sock yarn for the benefit of my swap pal.

Tea
I am a bit of a purist. I like black tea, green tea, and herbal tea, but I don't like complicated blends. Irish Breakfast, Lapsang Souchang, etc., go over fine with me, provided they're not flavored with orange peels or something. Same goes with herbal teas. I like mint in my mint tea, chamomile in the chamomile tea, etc. There are a couple exceptions: I love Earl Grey, Gen Mai Cha, and flowers. I have a ton of Jasmine Green Tea and I even have some green tea I got at a framer's market that has organic lavender in it. I like the instant ginger tea that can be found in some Asian food stores. I hate licorice in tea.

Chocolate
You can't go wrong with dark chocolate. I don't give a flying fudge about brand, but the darker, the better. I like toffee. I also have thing lately for candied ginger thanks to SP8.

Sock Yarn
Oh, crap, did you know that I have four socks on the needles and enough sock yarn for 20 pairs? Hmm. (I guess this means I know what I like, eh?)

I've been moving away from bright colors, toward heathered varigated yarns and dark solids. I'm also leaning toward superwash since I am getting lazy. I have more red yarn than I can deal with right now, and I make socks in multiple gauges: 20s =1" (Jawool) up to 6s = 1" (Artyarns Supermerino). My itch tolerance is pretty high.

French Press Cosy

Materials: about 1 ball (70g) worsted weight kitchen cotton, 4.25mm/US#6 & 3.75mm/US#5 (optional) knitting needles, darning needle, buttons

Size: fits a standard 12" circumference French press

This is a quick knit. I started to write out the instructions but it was making me crazy. I've realized that the fastest and most efficient way I can get this pattern across (with the least confusion) is to draw a Japanese-style knitting diagram. It's really quite simple, but there are some fussy little details that make it symmetrical. Of course, this is because I am totally anal. *sigh*

The world sickens me, but at least there's knitting

There is a painfull kerscuffle happening over at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books on the issue of race.

I wish it wasn't an issue. I wish everyone could just get along, regardless of perceived race, creed, gender, nationality. Unfortunately, there is no escaping it. The legacy of genocide and slavery lives on in the US, as well as everywhere else in the world. Somebody is always killing or using somebody because they are different or alledgedly "inferior."

It digusts me.

One of my life goals is to live in a country not based on genocide.

Maybe before I die I will figure out what country that is.

In the meantime, we need to treat each other with respect. And behave humanely. Which, considering how humans behave, is an ironic word.

Knitting
On a less depressed and misanthropic note, I'm making a cosy for my French press.

If anyone is interested in the pattern, I'll post it when I'm done.

Edit: the pattern is here. Enjoy!

Photo Extravaganza

I'm not kidding. If Blogger lets me, I'm going to show you every picture I ever took of the Raglan Cardigan I just finished.

Let's begin at the beginning, as they say. I have a photo of the original thrift store man's sweater at home - but I'll insert that later. Which means for the moment we start with the pattern.
Good Ol' Style 7194, which I first went on about here. I hunted rather desperately for some time for a good basic cardigan pattern, only to discover it on my shelf in a vintage book called Campus Hand Knits. I also discovered after I was half-way through the cardigan that I had a nearly identical pattern that's knit in the round and debated frogging the whole thing to start over. In the end, I nixed this plan because the unevenness of the yarn meant I needed to block every piece face down before assembly for a smooth surface.

This project involved my first pockets, which I talk about here.

They are still virtually invisible.
Below you can see the reverse of the button flap. Edge of the cuff!
Neckline!
Finished sweater! (Blogger won't allow me to post any more photos, so here's a link.)

I used US#8 straights. There was a ton of splicing and tucking, of course, but fortunately this yarn hides it well. The color is actually a brown with a reddish-burgundy cast to it, like the buttons. I think I might have enough leftover yarn to make a pullover vest - we'll see.

Overall, this wasn't as fussy as some of my past projects.