And then there were two, two and a half, three...

Two down...one more to go! I rather like the look of Drew's stocking --all green and white except for the red toe and heel. My stocking will be the opposite --all red and white with a green toe and heal.

A lot of people seem interested in what the inside, or wrongside, of this sort of colorwork looks like, so here's a picture:
You can really see how thick these are. They would keep feet nice and toasty even on the coldest of nights.

Here's a look at my stocking, which is on my needles right now.
That metal thing around my finger is a Norwegian knitting thimble. I decided to try it out to see if it helped keep the two colors separated, since I prefer to hold the two strands in the same hand, rather than one in each hand. I haven't quite gotten used to it yet, so the jury's still out. It does keep the colors in order, but I find it a bit awkward, and I have to wrap something inside it so that it doesn't slide around (or off) my finger constantly. I'm not so sure I'll continue to use it or not, but I can see it's potential as a handy little do-dad.

Tricot Machine

Another knitter had this video posted on her blog and I just had to share. It's an animated music video unlike any you've ever seen --the entire thing is knitted, believe it or not. More info about the project is on youtube. Enjoy!

Christmas stocking for Si

Christmas stockings are fun to make. Really! This was a very satisfying project; so much so that I'm going to make one for myself and one for dh too. After all, one stocking hanging by its lonesome just won't do. Here's the pattern I used. It's very versatile, with several motifs to choose from, which should keep things interesting as I begin stockings # 2 and 3.

We are not really into decking the halls for Christmas, but I am into the idea of homemade holidays, so making this stocking for Silas was a first step in that endeavor. I will not be making gifts for everyone because that's just crazy and stress inducing, but Mr. Silas will be getting something special, and there will be a few more handmade decorations too.

Pumpkin Sprite Costume

Better late than never, here are pictures of my son's Halloween costume.
The hat ended up being a pretty tedious project. It was first knit, then felted, and then the pumpkin segments were needle felted onto it. My goal was that the needle felting would make the hat plump and ridiculously cute.

Knowing that he would never keep the hat on otherwise, I made ear flaps. And since he hated how it felt and tore it off of his head within 2 seconds, I had no choice but to line it with a soft flannel. That seemed to do the trick as he wore it for 4 hours straight on Halloween without trying to take it off once.

To complete his costume, he wore his pumpkin longies, which I had completed in early October...
...and I crocheted him a quiver to hold Chinese lanterns. He wasn't too thrilled about the quiver but luckily soon forgot that it was on.
Good little pumpkin sprite that he was, I had him pass out mini pumpkins to people we know during trick-or-treat.

This was Silas' second Halloween and the second time I've made him a costume. I love doing it, but I may have to tone it down in the future and opt for something less time consuming (I saw a toddler "mummy" wrapped in strips of old sheeting--now there's an idea that wouldn't take over a month to render!). Then again, he wears both the pants and the hat all of the time, so it's not as though I went through the effort just for a one-time deal. Well, who knows. During trick-or-treat, Silas eyed some boys who had made themselves cardboard cars and seemed really interested in them. Hmmm. Maybe next year, it will be Drew's turn to make the costume :)

Pumpkin Head

Silas is going to be a pumpkin sprite for Halloween. This is part of his costume, a hat that I've been working on for quite some time...I'll have more pictures and info on the hat and the rest of his costume after Halloween.

"Baby A" for Baby S (Fall/Winter fashion shoot #1)

During my pregnancy, as well as in the months following my son's birth, I knit Silas 4 or 5 sweaters in larger sizes, anticipating his rapid growth. He's just growing into some of these now. Because I prefer to have the pictures I post on Ravelry showing items being warn whenever possible, I haven't posted these projects, or blogged about them yet. Over the next few months, I'll showcase these as part of Silas' fall/winter wardrobe.

With that, I give you the Baby A hat and cardigan ensemble from the book Yarnplay by Lisa Shobhana Mason.
Aw, my heart just melts. This kid knows how to work the camera!

Back to the sweater. This a garter stitch pattern. It's been a while since I knit this, but if memory serves me correctly, the blue piece was knit and then the upper portion was constructed by picking up stitches along the side of the blue piece.
For once, I used the exact same yarn that the pattern called for --Rowan Felted Tweed. I usually substitute yarn, but I was so in love with the colors, the textures, the yum factor of this yarn. I'm glad I sprung for it.
The hat was slightly obnoxious to make. Have you ever made a completely garter stitch hat in the round? I felt a bit like a belligerent child being forced to clean my room every time I had to purl a row. Why do I have to do this, is it really worth the effort? But, again, I made this over a year ago, and all strife was forgotten when I completed it and put it on his little head. It's still a bit big on him...
And because I just couldn't help myself, I took the leftover yarn and made him a pair of matching tube socks. I may make another pair using the colors inversely. They are, unfortunately, a slip-n-slide experience when worn on our tile and wood floors. I figure, it will be a good opportunity for him to hone his balancing skills and practice awareness (is that too much to ask of a 19 month old?).

And finally, the entire ensemble:

Pumpkin Longies (30 days till Halloween!)

My first pair of longies! We will use them for everyday cloth diapering, but I must admit that I made them post haste with Si's Halloween costume in mind. The costume will have a pumpkin theme (I'm working on the hat right now).
The pattern is named Booty Extreme Knit Pants. For anyone making this pattern for the first time, note that it assumes you know some basics and can figure out a certain amount on your own, Elizabeth Zimmerman-style. If you haven't done short rows before (the technique that allows you to get a nice round behind), this pattern won't teach you how, so consult the wisdom of the interwebs and look up a tutorial. The gauge was for 7 stitches an inch but I made mine with a 5 stitches an inch gauge. Because the pattern is so adaptable, it was quite easy to do the math and proceed with the different gauge.
I had originally thought I'd embroider little pumpkins or leaves and such things. I also contemplated crocheted pumpkin patches (pun intended) or felted do-dads. But frankly, everything I tried looked stupid. Finally, I decided to leave the longies as is. They're orange. They'll do the trick!

Si likes them too, apparently :)

Spinster and Son

My mom took some pictures of me spinning recently.
It's pretty much impossible to keep the kiddo from becoming involved. While it's not easy, I have found that it is possible to spin while a 25+ pound child is on my lap. I figure it's a good thing that he wants to observe the process.

Estes Vest is off the needles!

Well, I've finally got myself a finished Estes Vest! It took some last minute tweaking after several days of finishing work, but it finally fits just about the way I want it to. The bottom was a bit too wide, and after weighing my options, which included steeking the sides in order to make the bottom smaller and more fitted, I decided to crochet a chain and run it through the bottom, slightly cinching it. This was a much faster fix and seems to have worked without making it look odd.
I have a long torso and I do regret not making it slightly longer than the pattern called for. but I can live with the length.

And now for the pattern variations. First of all, when I was just about 4 inches into the back, I realized that I wasn't following the horseshoe cable pattern and that I was cabling every 4 rows. I suppose I could have fixed it by dropping the cable stitches and redoing them, but I decided it wasn't worth it. The photo below makes it look like the middle cable gets wider at the top, but I think this must be the angle.
Also, there is a discrepancy between the pattern photos and the pattern instructions. The instructions do not include the line of knit stitch separating the hexagons from the cables on the front of the vest. I decided to include this element (see picture below) which makes the front pieces match up with the back piece. Here's what I did (instructions are for left front piece, size 36 1/2 inch).
k 2 salvage stitches, then hexagon for 24 stitches, p1 k1 p1, horseshoe for 12 stitches, p1, k1. When it came time to break for the pocket, I bound off after 20 instead of 22. This allows for half of a hexagon pattern to continue (along with the p1 k1 p1 repeat) between the pocket and the horseshoe cable. As far as I can tell, this will make the pattern more closely resemble the vest pictured in IK than as it is written, which is just with a single purl, rather than the k1 p1 k1 repeat that appears in the pictures and also on the back of the vest.

Yummy yarn thanks to Beth

This is the first weekend since I returned to spinning that I have not spun. I'm on a mission to finish the Estes Vest, which probably won't be completed till Monday or Tuesday, realistically. But that's where all my crafting energy has been directed.

I do have some homespun yarn to show, however! My friend Beth gave me this lovely roving while I was pregnant. It's 85% wool, 15% mohair and was intended to be spun up and knit into something for the baby. Well, I'm a little behind, but finally, a year and a half later, it's all spun! It will have to be knit into something very special... Thanks, Beth!

Political Interlude

Well, this has nothing to do with knitting, but look what arrived in the mail, finally. Love it! DH got one too --a tan t-shirt with Obama's picture on the front and Obama 08 on the back. Silas looks at the picture, points, and says "bah-uma."

I'm making great progress on the Estes Vest and will hopefully finish it over the weekend.

On the needles: Estes Vest

Man, I love cables. Don't get me wrong, I like lacework too, but if I had to choose between cabling and lace, I'd choose cables, hands down. I find cable patterns easier to memorize and I am less prone to making mistakes because I have to pick it up and set it down again in the middle of a row. My knitting seldom gets my undivided attention these days, so it is nice to have an interesting pattern to work with that won't frustrate or bore me. In this way, the Estes Vest has been very good to me so far. EV and I are having a lot of fun together. I've almost finished the back piece. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to wearing the f/o!

These pictures don't contain the true richness of the dark green Lopi yarn. It has subtle shades of earth tones that thankfully don't detract from the texture of the pattern itself. If only every knitting project could be as joyful as this one. Every time I stop and really look at what I've done so far, I smile. That is the beauty of cables. I've got 10 balls of Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed waiting for me to find the perfect project. Hmmm. I think a cabled sweater might be just the thing!

More Bart Yarn

I've recommitted myself to spinning and while I have a long way to go till I'm really decent at it, I've been enjoying myself and the outcome of my labors. This past weekend, I spun the above yarn. Again, I'm using wool from our old sheep, Bart. Bart is possibly not a purebred Romney. If you'll recall, Bart was bought at a garage sale, so, who knows what he is. Unlike the other 3 sheep, Bart has a lighter topcoat, and a darker undercoat. So, what you see here is a two-ply yarn, one strand of which is the silver topcoat, and one strand which is the charcoal black undercoat. I rather like the effect.

To me, the pictures don't do the yarn justice, but they are better than no pictures at all, at least! I'm hoping you will see an improvement in the quality of the images I post shortly. We just ordered a new camera and it should be capable of producing better pictures, even though, unlike my husband, I have little talent for photography. We finally settled on a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18K. It has a Leica lens and can shoot raw files, which is what my husband wants, and it takes great pictures with little lag time plus has video with sound, which is what I want. I'm looking forward to playing with our new toy!

And for my next design fiasco...

I designed a wool wrap soaker held together with Velcro when Silas was little, but he outgrew it long ago and I never wrote down what I was doing when I made it. So, I decided to try my hand at designing another wrap-styled soaker. I wanted it to tie together, rather than be pinned or Velcroed. After several variations, I really thought I had it right. The ribbing on the legs seemed perfect--Done in a smaller needle size, it created a nice pucker around the thighs.

All seemed well.

And then I lanolized it. After it dried, everything seemed way too blocked, though I didn't intentionally block it. The ribbing was stretched out and it sagged on the baby. I also struggle with the tie part of the design as it didn't totally seem to keep the diaper and the front flap of the wrap in place correctly.

All in all, this pattern needs some major improvement before it's usable or sharable. I want to make it work, but I also don't want to spent too much more time on it. For now, I think I'll lay it aside. I've begun the Estes Vest from the fall IK, and I've got felted scarves and hopefully a couple pairs of longies in my queue to complete before fall hits. Maybe after that, I'll revisit this pattern. Maybe.

Imagine Peace Vest/Tank-top for Toddlers

Imagine Peace Vest/Tank-top for Toddlers

Inspired by Yoko Ono’s Imagine Peace Project, I designed this toddler vest/tank-top to reflect the idea that if we as individuals think of peace, this thought has the potential to spread throughout the world. Yoko’s goal is to have 1 billion people participate by imagining peace, so I encourage you to join in by trying your hand at this simple pattern.

I used cotton yarn in order to create a summer tank-top, but two contrasting colors in a worsted wait wool yarn would work just as well if you would prefer to make a warmer winter vest.

When selecting the size you want to make, please note that this is a close-fitting vest. I knit up the 1 year old size to fit my average-sized (25 lb.) 16-month-old son. If you are in doubt, measure your toddler around the biggest part of his/her belly and make the size with the chest circumference that is just a bit bigger than that measurement, regardless of age. If this is a gift and you can’t take measurements, err on the side of caution and make one size up. They’ll fit into it eventually!

If you have any questions or notice something that needs to be corrected, leave me a comment, or contact me, amberbryant, in Ravelry. I will be happy to hear from you!

Sizes: 1 yr.(2 yr.,3 yr.)

Finished Measurements:
Chest circumference: 22(24, 26) in.
Length: 12.5(13,13.5) in.

Materials:
Yarn:
MC: Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton 1(2,2) skeins in Sand or other light color
CC: Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Organic Cotton 1(1,1) skein in Periwinkle or other contrasting color

Needles:
US 6/4mm needle
US 7/4.5mm needle
1 set US 6/4mm double pointed needles

Notions:
Stitch holder or spare needle.
Tapestry needle.

Gauge: 16 stitches = 4 inches (change needle size to achieve correct gauge)

Pattern notes: If you’ve never done colorwork before, don’t be intimidated! This is a pretty simple project, color-wise, so jump right in. If you need some guidance, I’d recommend reading Knitty’s tutorial on color stranding, to help get you started. Note that the MC can be stranded throughout the peace symbol, but the CC should be dropped (after twisting it around the MC) each time you finish the outer circle of the symbol.

Directions:

BACK

Using CC and smaller needles, CO 44(48, 52) stitches.

Work in K2, P2 ribbing for 4 rows.

Switch to MC and larger needles and work in stockinette stitch until piece measure 7.5(8, 8.5) inches from CO edge, ending with WS row.

Arm hole shaping: BO 2 stitches at beginning of next two rows. 40(44,48) stitches remain.

BO 1 stitch at beginning of next 2 rows. 38(42, 46) stitches remain.

Continue until piece measures 11.5(12, 12.5) in. from CO edge, ending with WS row.

Neck shaping: knit 8(9,10) stitches, BO 22(24,26) stitches, Knit remaining 8(9,10) stitches.

Back right shoulder:

R1: Purl.

R2: K1, SSK. Knit to end of row.

R3: Purl.

R4: K1 SSK. Knit to end of row.

Continue until piece measures 12.5(13, 13.5) in.

Put remaining 6(7,8) stitches on stitch holder.

Repeat process for back left shoulder as follows:

R1: With WS facing, reattach yarn and Purl.

R2: Knit to last 3 stitches, K2tog, k1.

R3: Purl.

R4: Knit to last 3 stitches, K2tog, k1.

Complete as with Right shoulder.

FRONT

Work as for back until piece measures 5(5.5, 6) in. from CO edge, ending with WS row.

Begin chart as follows:

The first chart line will form the bottom 6 stitches of the peace sign. These six stitches should be in the middle of the vest to ensure that the entire Imagine Peace motif is centered. Knit 19(21,23) stitches with the MC, then knit 6 stitches in CC, then knit 19(21,23) stitches with the MC.

Continue with chart.

AT THE SAME TIME that you are working the chart, remember to BO for the armhole shaping the same way you did for the back when the piece measures 7.5(8,8.5) in. from CO edge.

Finish the chart and continue until piece measures 10(10.5,11) in. from CO edge, ending with WS row.

Repeat same neck shaping as with the back piece and continue until piece measures 12.5(13,13.5) from CO, leaving remaining stitches on needle.

FINISHING

Graph shoulder pieces together using Kitchener stitch.

Weave in loose ends.

Block pieces.

Seam sides using mattress stitch.

Using double pointed needles, pick up 36(40,44) stitches evenly around each armhole and work k2,p2 ribbing for 4 rounds. BO loosely.

Pick up 56(60,64) stitches evenly around neck and work k2,p2 ribbing for 4 rounds. BO loosely.

Weave in remaining loose ends.

click on chart to print a larger copy