Well, my knittiversary is again upon me. I can't believe it's been two years since I picked up the pointy sticks, but it has. And I can't help recalling how certain people, who shall remain nameless, thought that it would go by the wayside like so many other hobbies I began once upon a time. Phoo on you!
And I also can't help recalling how these same certain people have received knitted goods over the course of the past couple of years. Phoo on you again! Ingrates.
I have not been as prolific this year as I was last year, but my knitting sure has improved. Knitted goods since my 2008 knittiversary: Washcloths—2 Breadcloths—2 Mittens—2.5 adult pairs, 1 child pair Fingerless Mitts—1 pair Sweater—1 child, 1 baby Hats—4 baby, 2 adult Neckwarmer/Cowl—1 Scarf—1 Socks—2 pairs Baby Pants—1 pair Yarn Ball Cozies—2 And a partridge in a pear tree!
The first of three staff babies arrived on November 21, so I decided it was time to finally seam the jacket and get it to little Harper. It's a good thing I knit the 3-6 month size rather than the newborn size, because who knows how fast she's already grown.
Against my nature, I went for a contrasting button this time. I think it's one of those things that people will either love or hate, and I'm hoping Harper's mommy loves it. My thinking was that purple and yellow are opposites on the color wheel, but this yarn is more on the pink side of purple than the blue side, so I chose a lime green.
This photo is truer to color than the other two.
I loved working with this yarn. It's hand-dyed by Nancy, owner of Woven Art. It's plied, so I found it easier to work with than a single like Malabrigo, but it's much softer than most other plied yarns I have worked with. And I love the semisolid color. AND it comes in 560-yard skeins that are quite reasonably priced. I have enough yarn left over to make these mittens and a matching cowl.
I think my seaming skills have improved. I used mattress stitch to seam up the sides, of course. The jacket is knit all in one piece, so the underarms had to be seamed, and this presented a bit of a problem. I haven't taken a seaming class, and I didn't know the right technique. The underarm seams on my baby kimono turned out horribly, and I wanted to get it right this time. I consulted The Knitting Answer Book by Margaret Radcliffe. On page 311, it shows how to sew together the shoulder of a sweater. I used this same technique, since the stitches were laying the same way as they would be for a shoulder seam. This Berroco Knit Bits video shows the technique. It's a little bulky, but at least it's not wonky.
I'm almost done with the first part of the Christmas gift knitting, the part that has to be shipped out to Small Children. Shhh! Don't tell.
And in the spirit of Christmas, I leave you with another a capella performance, this time from the Spartan Dischords.
Yarn Woven Art Montana in Lavender
Needles Size 8, 5 mm and size 6, 4 mm (I-cord button loop)
The Amazing Technicolor Blanket has had all its ends (except the most recent row) woven in. Finally.
I made the mistake of not weaving them in as I went along—never again. I spent the entire afternoon yesterday listening to the Electric Sheep podcast and weaving in ends. I see that a new episode has been posted, which is good because my plans for the evening include seaming up the Ribbed Baby Jacket that I blocked a few weeks ago. Little Harper is already 15 days old, so I need to get the sweater to her mommy ASAP.
In other news, I have a confession to make. I fell of the sheep. I was doing so well… until I went to Mom's for Thanksgiving. I brought a pair of socks to work on and was finding that I did not like the fabric that was coming off the needle. I needed to go down a needle size, but alas, my size 1 needles were at home 70 miles away. So I purposely went out to purchase a single skein of worsted weight workhorse wool and pair of bamboo DPNs to knit a pair of plain footies with, knowing I would be breaking my cold sheeping rules. I figured, though, better to break the cold sheeping rules by one pretty cheap ball of yarn than not have anything to knit for the weekend. Went to Michael’s, bought a skein of Patons Classic Wool… but they didn’t have DPNs.
This is where it really went wrong.
I drove down the street to Stitching Memories and ran into Punta Yarns MeriSock Hand Paint, a yarn that I've never seen at any of my LYSs. It comes in gorgeous colors, and it's oh-so-soft, and two skeins came home with me. And the DPNs. I added three skeins of yarn to the stash. Damn.
One skein of the MeriSock is going to be for a present, but it still breaks the cold sheeping rules because I know I had other suitable yarns in my stash for the same gift. The other is going to be a Multnomah for me, but still, I know I have suitable yarns in my stash for a Multnomah already.
What did I learn from this?
When traveling to stay with family for the holidays, bring all your needles.
When traveling to stay with family for the holidays, take more than one project.
When traveling to stay with family for the holidays, avoid LYSs at all costs.
I’m climbing back up on the sheep now.
And finally, I leave you with this video, which I stumbled upon today. It's been ages since I've seen these guys perform, and they are fantastic.
I am still in the throes of Christmas gift knitting. It's not too bad this year, really, as I have promised myself that I will not stress about it. I am knitting for only four people, perhaps a fifth if I have time, and the gifts are relatively small and quick. All other projects are in hibernation mode until the Christmas gifts get finished, although I did knit a few squares on the neverending sock yarn blanket yesterday.
So in the meantime while you wait for a finished project post, I have stumbled across another knitting podcast I'd like to recommend, Electric Sheep by Hoxton Handmade. Love it. If her British accent alone isn't enough to keep you riveted, the content is. She does an essay at the beginning of every episode as well as the usual "what's on the needles" and review sections. Extremely well-written and thoughtful. And she also typically discusses a hilarious YouTube video, or a strange website, or a neat shop she has found. I'll leave you with one of my favorites.
Combine some crazy Welsh dudes, a flock of sheep, some extremely ambitious sheepdogs, LED lights, and time-lapse photography, and what do you get?
Just a random assortment of stuff going on around here...
I have been sick with the cough-congestion crud for over a week now. It needs to go away.
It's the end of the first quarter. Grades due Friday. Lots of papers to grade in between now and then. Blech.
Today is gorgeous. Why does it have to be gorgeous on a day in which I have many papers to grade? Not fair.
I have a lot of squash. And quite a few beans. I want to cook something with them, but I don't know what. Does anyone have any suggestions for me?
Gift knitting has commenced in earnest with Christmas right around the corner and three babies on the way. Still working on these socks...
... these mitts are almost done...
... as you can see, so is this baby jacket, as it's currently on the blocking board...
... and I am trying to swatch for a pair of socks in this yarn, but the yarn is tangled.
If I have yarn, it will tangle at some point. Trust me.
I just blocked six more squares for the Barn-Raising Quilt, but this project is in hibernation due to gift knitting.
Most projects are in hibernation due to gift knitting, but I have pledged that I will not kill myself. So if you get something handknit for Christmas this year, lucky you. If not, I am sorry in advance.
It's 1:23 and I really, really need shower, so off I go!
Knitter, Reader, Sometimes Gardener, Inexperienced Home Improver, Locavore, Liberal, Foodie, Michigander, Internet Addict, Auntie, and Junior High Teacher.
.png)
