Little Bubbles for Lilah

I am really behind in my blogging. It's an understatement to say that I have next to no personal time on the computer right now. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean this blog has yet again suffered a period of neglect.

Well, anyways, I have just enough time to write a few brief lines about this project:

This lovely pattern from Knit Picks was a joy to make. The bubbles were super easy to do and the result is so very pleasing. I am very much looking forward to making more of these in the future. Top down, seamless sweater, gotta love it! The hat was made with no decreases. The top is seamed and then the "ears" are made by pinching the corners and wrapping yarn around them. Hopefully, the moon booties will be the kind that don't fly off of baby's feet every 30 seconds. They seem to have the potential of being the useful variety but one can never tell until they are tried on for the first time. Hopefully, the mommy will check in with me and let me know :)

Zip up the back Hoodie

This is a gift for my little nephew-to-be. It zips up the back and the hoodie makes a point at the top. The little babe should look very gnome-like in this sweater. Self-striping yarn (Universal Yarn Classic Worsted Tapestry) is very reminiscent of self-striping sock yarn. I'm not a lover of acrylic, but must admit that this was a good choice for this project, and my sister will appreciate the easy-care aspect of it. I linked this to Kathy Roletter Gayner's pattern on Ravelry, but it is based on a very old pattern and the version I did was adapted by someone else. They are very similar though, but I do believe Kathy's version used sport weight and the version I worked from called for worsted.

Thanks to Barb at my office, I was able to sew the zipper in with no major calamities. I think little Austin will be snug as a bug in this sweater and I hope he wears it often!

Crock pot dying results

The crock pot dying was a big success! As pictured in these images, the color is fairly true. I used Gaywool dye in Cedar. The outcome was green, but with a blue-gray shimmer. Perhaps the fact that I'm dying light gray wool rather than white adds this element. I've got some white lambs wool to card and then I'll try dying that in order to see how it compares.

I spun up the wool today:
Lovely outcome! But my dye lot was so small as I wasn't sure how much wool my small crock pot could handle. It only spun up about 38 yards double plied. Next time, I will dye more wool and increase my lot.
I'm very impressed with this dye and will use it again (quite a lot came in the container). I noticed no noxious odour but still, it is a chemical dye. In the future, I'd like to experiment with natural dyes as much as possible.

Back in the spin of things

I'm off of work for most of this month and have taken the opportunity to dust off my spinning wheel and get it moving again.
I've probably mentioned before, but spinning with a toddler around presents challenges that will be obvious to anyone with small kids or anyone who has ever been around small children for more than two minutes, for that matter. They are just so curious. My son sees the wheel and says "I'm going to drive it!" He moves his little chair over to it and the wheel is then at a perfect height for him to pretend to drive a boat or car or truck or lawnmower --whatever suits his fancy. While this is nice for Silas and his wonderfully vibrant imagination, his interaction with my wheel can make my head spin faster than the yarn. In a limited way, I have been able to engage him in helping me in the spinning process. I've gotten him to hold the yarn while I'm plying two strands together and he will stand there letting the yarn flow through his hand saying "I'm spinning yarn!" This works while plying, but it's going to be a while until he's able to handle drafting. So, basically, I spin while he's asleep or out of the house with his dad. This limits things, but whatever. You do what you can.

Today, I'm trying my hand at dying by using a crock pot. We had an old crock pot we never used, so I decided to make it my dye pot. I'll know in a few hours how it turned out and will post pics soon. I also dyed wool last fall using coffee and I don't believe I ever posted pictures. I'll be spinning that up soon. Dying wool is pretty new for me, but I'm getting tired of spinning nothing but variations on grey, and I have SO much grey batting. I've gotta do something fun with it!

My knitting speed has slowed while I focus my attentions on spinning, but I have started another project from the book "French Girl Knits." The pattern is Paloma, which is a lace cap-sleeve blouse. While I'm loving the pattern so far, it's been hard to find the time to knit more than a few rounds a day. It's going to be a while before this becomes an fo, that's for sure.

Time to go check my dye pot!

Just one (or two or three) more

I never imagined that I'd be stocking up on Peaches N' Cream cotton yarn and queing pattern after pattern of nothing but dishcloths. Apparently, I just can't help myself. They're quick, useful, and mildly addicting. I really do need to move onto something else. At least, that's what I keep saying...right before casting on for another dishcloth. "Just one more," I tell myself. Right.

Anyways, above and below is the Harmony Mosaic Dishcloth. I LOVE this pattern. The outcome is so pretty! I skipped one pattern repeat because I was running out of the cc yarn, but I don't think it matters much.
And below is my most recent fo: the Scrubby Washcloth, designed by my friend Amelia.
See the whitish tufts in the picture below? that's tulle, sliced into strips and knit along with the yarn. It creates an abrasive surface that should be great for scrubbing dishes and counter tops. Since I just cast off a few hours ago, dh and I have yet to break this one in, but I have a feeling we will like it so much, I'll have to knit just one more dishcloth (or maybe two) before the month is over.

Cranberry Cap

My MIL commissioned me to make this hat for my SIL, Amy. I made up the pattern as I went along. Amy took a liking to one of the hats I'd knit for Silas that had three i-cord tails so I added those to this hat as well.

Here are the basics:
Yarn: Cascade 220
Needles: size 8 USA
Cast on 80 st. k1 p1 ribbing for about an inch and a half. Spiral purling every 10th stitch for about 20 rows or until ready to decrease. Decrease while keeping the spiral purling as much as possible... Perhaps someday, I'll be organized enough to write out the pattern, though I'm sure similar and more refined patterns abound.

I am happy with the outcome and have told my MIL that if Amy likes it, I'll make her a matching scarf for Christmas.

Garterlac Dishcloth

My friend Beth made some lovely dishcloths using garter stitch entrelac. I've never done entrelac, and thought a small dishcloth might be a suitable introduction. The next day, a ball of Peaches n' Cream dishcloth yarn appeared on my desk, courtesy of Beth. I could resist no longer: That weekend, my first handknit dishcloth was born. My darling house husband has asked for a total of 7. I will surely make a couple more from this pattern, but have also been searching on Ravalry for a few more ideas. There is no want for dishcloth patterns, let me tell you.

If you have never knit a dishcloth and can't figure out why anyone would want to, consider this: They are quick to make, useful, make good gifts, and cost next to nothing to produce. Whenever I'm between projects, I might just have to whip one up!

Socks of Three Firsts

So named because this is my first time doing:

1. Toe-up socks.

2. Two at a time.

3. On two circs instead of on dpts.

I used the magic cast on for these and LOVED it. Everything else went pretty smoothly. I did a gusseted heal which was perhaps the trickiest part because the short rows must be done one sock at at time. My count was a wee bit off on one of them, but it's not noticeable in the fo.

Doing two at a time is definitely the way to go for me. Still, it takes me way too long to knit a pair and just doing stockinette is brutal on my boredom radar. The next pair I do will have to have an interesting pattern to keep me engaged and motivated. Still, D loves them and has worn them every day since I finished them. He wants me to start another pair of self striping socks, no patterning just "regular." Gaah! He'll have to wait a bit.

Austin's Bunny

My parents are visiting from WI this week and my mom brought the book Natural Knits for Babies and Moms by Louisa Harding as a little gift. She especially loved the stuffed rabbit pattern. While she's here, I thought I’d quick knit one up for her to take back to WI to give to my sister, who is expecting a new baby around September 1st. This is an extremely easy pattern, but it is knit flat and then sewn up, which seems kind of unnecessary to me. I chose to knit it in the round instead. That’s a time-saver! There's no increasing or decreasing, and this results in a less-than-elegant bunny. But it is a sweet little toy, none-the-less. I hope my new nephew will like it :)

Wrenna

Wrenna, Wrenna, how do I love thee?
Enough to post a gazillion pictures, apparently.
I really am in love with this fo. Misti Alpaca is soft as soft can be. And would you believe it, it took less than 250 yards to knit this sweater! That's the magic of chunky yarn and size 17 needles. If I wasn't the working mom of a 2 year old, this would have been an easy weekend project. But even with my hustle and bustle life, it still only took a week. That's as close to instant gratification in the knitting realm as I get these days. I'll take it! I'm making a hat with the remaining alpaca yarn, as I barely broke into the third skein for Wrenna. Then, it's on to 2 socks on 2 circs for dh. That'll be quite a switch after working in such a large gauge!

Here's one of my Mother's day shots with Silas, and another bonus Wrenna picture ends the post...

Satisfaction

Satisfaction is a finished 14 point tee that turned out just the way I wanted it to. Strictly speaking, this isn't really a tee anymore. I lengthened the arms and the body from what the pattern dictated and it's made of wool rather than cotton. But I've been calling it the 14 point tee for a month and a half, so I'm sticking with it.

The weather was perfect for our photo shoot this afternoon. The outside shots are from right outside our house, where I've been doing a lot of gardening the past several weeks. The inside shots were taken in our greenhouse.

I love this sweater. I love this sweater. I love this sweater. I also love the fact that there was so little finishing work...just a few ends to weave in really, and no blocking was necessary. I finished it at 11 pm last night and wore it to work today! This will be a well worn and well beloved wardrobe item, hopefully for years to come.

Barb's hat

I can take no credit for this hat. Barb, a friend from work, made it for another kiddo, and asked me to try it on Silas to see how it fit. I'd call it a success, Barb!
I just got Barb set up with a Ravelry account, where you can find her as grandmax, so this hat may just be the first project she posts...

Divide and Conquer

A few posts back, I was working on this sweater, the 14 point tee, and you may recall that I was uncertain about how the ruffled yoke would look once I divided for the sleeves and body. Well, see for yourself:

Personally, I am pleased with it and am very much looking forward to finishing and wearing it (just in time for summer, naturally). I decided to alter the pattern just a bit for the body. First of all, it was meant to be a straight body, with no shaping. I thought that would make the garment too boxy for me, so I decided to decrease after the bust line. In order to keep the continuity of the knit 4/purl 4 pattern, it was necessary to decrease 8 stitches on each side, for a total of 16 stitches decreased.
There's definitely some shape to it, and so I'm glad I did it. I have enough yarn, so I will also make the body longer than the 10 inches called for. It's about 11 inches as pictured above, and I will go at least 2 more. I know cropped is "in," but I hate having my midriff freeze during the winter months. I have a long torso, so adding some length will be a good thing.

Tonight, after the gardening is done for the day and the boy has been put to bed, I'll start on the sleeves. I'm hoping to have this completed soon, though I'm not sure what I mean by "soon." In my head, I think it may be defined as "Amber really wants to start on about 5 other projects and is really sick of basket weave, so let's get a move on."

Choo-Choo Cap

Thus named because I think it resembles a conductor's hat. This is the way-cute "Kiddie Cadet Cap" available free through Ravelry. I used Rowan All Seasons Cotton in a denim-like colorway. This was yarn from my stash, left over from the Eyelet Skirt I made about 4 years ago. The All Season's Cotton is perfect for Pacific Northwest weather. He literally can wear this all year round, but really, I made it so that he'd have something hand-knit to wear during the summer months. It will be a great hiking hat. I made the toddler size, which, surprise surprise, since he is a toddler, fits him very nicely. I was convinced it would be too small, however. Then, when I was just a few inches in, I thought it would be too big. I did take a gauge. I did, I really did! But it wasn't until I could plunk the partially finished hat on Si's head that I realized my fears were groundless and I could stop doubting both my gauge and the pattern. The garter stitch rim is a bit wider than the stockinette portion and were I to do this again, I'd go down a needle size for that part.

Other than that one minor thing, this was a great quick project. I love the short rows and the doubled over brim, and the overall look is great. He'll be a stylish young chap this summer.
Oh yes, and Silas also loves his Choo-Choo Cap. He even insisted on wearing it at the breakfast table this morning. (Man I love that misty-eyed, tousled-hair, just woke up look).
You know, I always feared that since I love to knit, I'd have the kind of kid who refused to wear what I made for him, especially hats. Another ungrounded fear, as you can see :)

Something for the April (or May) baby

It seems that when the economy tanks, people stay home and make babies. Maybe that explains why I've got four babies to knit for this year. Three of them, including my sister's, are due in September, but my friend Anna's baby is up first, and is due this spring. The baby shower is on Saturday, and I just finished the above pictured hat and sweater set.

Silas is modeling the (way too small for him but isn't it still cute) Baby's cabled milk-silk cap from Luxury Yarn One-Skein Wonders. Instead of the milk yarn, I chose a luscious cotton/Tensel yarn from my stash. It is wonderfully soft and I'm so happy with the f/o. Cables. Gotta love 'em.


Below is the finished Baby's Pure and Simple Pullover from Weekend Knitting. This is a garter stitch sweater, but is constructed from side to side. In order to create the rolled edges, the pattern switches to a smaller needle and the last 4 stitches on the rs are purled. I found it a bit awkward to switch to the smaller needle every single row. I often forgot and damned if I could keep the smaller needle from sliding out all of the time. The effort was worth it though, as the effect is quite nice. Unfortunately, there is seaming involved in this sweater, but I really enjoyed the design otherwise, so I will overlook it. Oh, and lest I forget to mention it, the yarn used in the sweater is from my birthday gift stash. I almost went with the Hemp for Knitting yarn called for in the pattern. I had it in my hands and it was a lovely blue similar to the yarn I ended up with. Alas, it just didn't feel right. I know from all of those macrame hemp bracelets and necklaces I used to make "back in the day" that hemp gets much softer after repeated washes. And I wanted to use hemp, really I did. But I'm not going to wash this sweater 20 times before I give it as a gift this Saturday. I just can't imagine knitting something as a gift for someone else's baby that doesn't feel soft. So, regrettably, I put the hemp yarn down and found instead Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo DK, which is a cotton bamboo blend. It's a good color, knit up nicely, and most importantly, feels soft to the touch.

Hopefully, once Anna's baby makes his way into the world, and grows a bit, I'll be able to post a picture of him wearing this outfit.

One baby down...three more to go!