MYOKB: Clothespin bag in progress

February 14, 2012January 2, 2014 KateLeave a comment

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

Here we have the “Clothespin Bag” in progress, from p. 48 of Debbie Bliss’s book The Knitter’s Year. The yarn I’ve chosen is Knit One Crochet Too Cotonade, color 832, “light moss.” It’s a sturdy, worsted-weight 100% cotton with a second, much thinner cotton thread intertwined with the main strand; this intertwining creates a kind of nubby “zig zag” effect that looks great with a simply textured stitch like this one.

By the way — just between you, me and the lamppost — Cotonade is exactly the same yarn as Cascade Luna and Suss Cotton. The latter is absolutely interchangeable with Cotonade; they even use some of the same color names. Off the record, on the QT, and very hush-hush…

The knitted pattern basically alternates between one row of seed stitch and one row of stockinette, so this is great, mindless zen knitting. There’s some minor shaping at the beginning and end of the piece to create the concave edges.

And here’s a close-up:

I’m making great progress and I expect to have this one done with time to spare.

MYOKB, Week One: “Booties Trio” Finished!

February 12, 2012January 2, 2014 KateLeave a comment

Again, at the very last minute, I have completed the “Booties Trio,” my first project in my series taken from Debbie Bliss’s A Knitter’s Year–“My Year of Knitting Blissfully” (from here on, referred to as MYOKB).

At first, I couldn’t decide if I was only “required” to do one pair of booties, or if I had to knit all three. Then I realized — duh! — I didn’t “have to” do anything. Like the line in Chariots of Fire says: “We are the committee.” In other words, I am in charge of deciding what counts, so I decided to go for it. And now that we’ve all got that theme song running through our heads…

Now to get these in the mail on the way to my sister-in-law who is expecting a little girl practically any day now. I’d personally like her to arrive on February 29th so she can be a leap-year baby, but my SIL is in the “dog days” of pregnancy and I think she’d like the baby to come as soon as possible. Either way, this will be one of the best-shod babies around town.

MYOKB: Booties Trio in Progress

February 10, 2012January 2, 2014 KateLeave a comment

The Knitter's Year Cover — Cover of Debbie Bliss’s *The Knitter’s Year*

Here’s my progress so far on the “Booties with Lacy Top” from the “Booties Trio” from Debbie Bliss’s The Knitter’s Year. This is my first project from my year-long project to knit all 52 projects in that book, a project otherwise known as “My Year of Knitting Blissfully” or “MYOKB” for short.

These are going to be a gift for my new niece who is expected to make her appearance at the end of this month. Personally, I’m hoping she’s born on February 29th so she will be a leap year baby. I’m just weird that way.

Basically, I’ve completed all the actual knitting (except for a small bit on the second “Bootie with Lacy Top”) and now I have to weave in all the ends and do the seaming and finishing:

Booties with Striped Instep, in progress, cuff unfolded

And here are both of them, still unseamed, but with the cuffs folded down:

Booties with Striped Instep 002 — Booties with Striped Instep, cuffs folded

And the final entry in the trio, “Booties with Striped Foot”:

Have I mentioned lately how much I hate seaming? Blurgh. And I have to make some “shoelaces” for the “Lacy Top” booties. Double blurgh.

The dark pink and light green are two different (discontinued) colors of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino (340042 and 340018 respectively), and the white in the “Striped Inset” and “Striped Foot” versions is Karabella Aurora 4. The white in the “Lacy Top” version is Suss Love in ivory.

Valentine’s Day Elf Hat for Ella

February 11, 2011September 29, 2014 KateLeave a comment

Sometimes the titles of books can be misleading, especially when they make promises like “these are the kinds of patterns you can make as last-minute gifts.” Yeah, right, I thought, as I eagerly plunked down money for Joelle Hoverson’s beautifully produced Last-Minute Knitted Gifts and then again for its equally gorgeous More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. Even though I felt an irresistible urge to own both books, I must admit I was skeptical about their titles’ promises: “You don’t know how last-minute I can get!” I dared them silently.

However, this is the fourth project I’ve completed from the two books and so far they more than live up to their promise. When the pattern says it’ll take 2-4 hours, it takes 2-4 hours. I started yesterday afternoon and I was finished by evening. The other project I’ve done is the “Soft as a Cloud Cowl” (twice) from the second book and the “Airy Scarf” by Brenda Overstrom from the first. Muddy picture of said scarf below:

This most recent project, “Pointy Elf Hat,” was a snap. I knitted it with size 13 needles in Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick and Quick (my “go to” bulky yarn) in “blossom” and the heart was crocheted with a size I hook and one strand of Suss Coolaid (discontinued) and one strand of perle cotton. I found the heart pattern (free!) on Ravelry, of course. It’s from Kara Gunza’s blog “Petals to Picots” and it’s called “Valentine’s Day Heart Crochet Pattern.”

When I look at this hat, I’m reminded of Stephen Colbert’s running joke about George W. Bush: “Great president? Or, the greatest president?” Is this an adorable hat? Or, the most adorable hat?” It will, of course, look even more adorable (if that’s possible) on the world’s cutest niece, Ella.

This is the other hat I sent in my Valentine’s Day package:

I finished this years ago (2004?) and I guess I was just waiting for the perfect little girl to give it to. Soon she’ll have a little sister to share her hat with — or maybe Auntie Kate will have to make another one? The pattern is “Tri-Corner Hat” by Cathy Campbell for Crystal Palace. Happy Valentine’s Day to all!

Grin and Bear it

January 25, 2011April 14, 2013 KateLeave a comment

This has just come to my attention — a bit late, but still adorable and beyond cool. I used to live just three blocks away from this very statue.

Purl Dreams Finish!

October 3, 2009April 14, 2013 KateLeave a comment

I bought this pattern at my LYS–Unwind–just a couple weeks ago and I had to start it right away, even though I don’t really have any plans for it. I just love the idea of creating a square blanket in plain ol’ stockinette.

This blanket is an example of my favorite kind of project: it’s (relatively) easy to knit and yet the finished product looks elegant and complicated. It was perhaps a little tricky at the beginning to juggle the dpn’s and get into the “swing” of the pattern, but once you get going, it’s quite easy. This is a perfect “sit in front of the TV” project.

This is “Purl Dreams” in a slightly less complete state:

The only difficulty I had was deciding how to join one skein to the next. Since the piece is seamless and knitted as one piece in the round (or, I guess, technically, in the square), there are no edges or seams to hide the loose ends in. I used a variation of the “Russian Join” so the joins would be very secure and stand up to all the wear and tear it’s bound to be subjected to by an active toddler. My final photos were taken pre-blocking, but it’s still difficult to tell (especially on the front side) where one skein ends and the other begins.

Although the pattern called for ivory, I chose a pretty mauve/pink with a chocolate brown border because those are such popular colors right now for girls. I would gladly do this pattern again, however I would probably arrange to do all my joins in the diagonal furrows of the yarn-over increases. I think that would hide them better and probably create a smoother final product.

Overall, though, I think this is adorable and I can’t wait to do more patterns like this square shape–next time with stripes?

Li’l Monkey Blanket WIP, Part II: Monkey Faces

July 28, 2009November 6, 2013 KateLeave a comment

Here’s the Li’l Monkey in its completed state, all seamed up and featuring three monkey faces (one boy, one girl, and one unisex/transgender, a.k.a. “Sock Monkey Classic”).

Here’s a close-up of the girl monkey face (note the badly executed black and white “ribbon” near her right ear — because she’s fancy):

Here’s a close-up of the boy monkey face (note the bow tie). Apparently, he’s dressed for the Sock Monkey Ball (or about to get beaten up at Sock Monkey Elementary):

And here’s my unisex monkey face (a.k.a. “Sock Monkey Classic”):

Believe me, these faces are not as creepy in person as they are in these photos. You’ll just have to take my word for it since the photography gods are not working in my favor today. This is actually quite a cute blanket.

For this project, I used Rowan Cashsoft Chunky (red, color 709), two strands of Suss Love (ivory) and two strands of Schachenmayr Punto (marled gray, color 90). Unfortunately, the Suss Love, although usually a wonderful yarn, does not work very well in granny squares; it unravelled when I laundered it and I had to recreate the white centers of a couple of the granny squares. An interesting experiment in crochet repair, especially given my limited crochet experience. But I think I made it work — fingers crossed!

Li’l Monkey Blanket WIP

July 26, 2009November 6, 2013 KateLeave a comment

Well, I’ve struggled through making what seemed like 100 million granny squares of different descriptions, and the blanket’s building blocks are now complete. Ellen Bloom of L.A. is my Beat calls granny squares “the building blocks of the universe” — who am I to quibble with such wisdom? Now I’m fixated on arranging them in the absolute perfect way in order to better showcase the sock monkey faces I’m going to attach when I finish them. Phew.

I must admit that, while I love the simplicity and speed of making granny squares, I absolutely dread seaming them all together. My distaste for seaming (and I know I’m not the only one) goes so far as avoiding certain patterns if they involve too much seaming or involve coming up with elaborate non-seaming alternatives. For the most part, I’ve managed to avoid having to do a lot of seaming and still feel like I’m living a fulfilled life as a knitter.

I probably wouldn’t have done this pattern either if it hadn’t been that my brother and sister-in-law are going with a monkey theme for the bedroom of the soon-to-be Cutest Niece in the World. Now I’m glad I did.

More pictures tomorrow after I make some monkey faces (you know what I mean).

A Finish!: “Absorba the Great Bathmat”

July 17, 2009February 5, 2012 KateLeave a comment

I am Absorba, the Great Bathmat! Bow before my moisture-extracting powers!

Although this is my first project from the first Mason-Dixon Knitting book, I have been head over heels in love with their aesthetic ever since it came out. Their second book, Mason Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines, only reinforced my eternal love and devotion.

Obviously, the knitted log cabin quilt pattern is one of their trademarks and although I am far from the first to jump on this bandwagon, I am definitely one of the most enthusiastic. In fact, I realize I’m probably the last blogger in the Western Hemisphere to extol the virtues of log cabin knitting, but here goes… It’s very soothing to work solely in garter stitch. It’s almost mindless (and I mean that in the best possible way) and kind of zen. And the way the log cabin pattern works, there’s hardly any counting of rows or stitches involved. Not to mention the fact that the design possibilities–color, texture, fiber mixtures, striping, size, shape, fancy/everyday–are endless.

On a personal note, my grandmother was an avid quilter who loved to make log cabin quilts for everyone in the family. Although I have not inherited her quilting skills (or patience), I like to think that log cabin knitting keeps alive the tradition she loved so much.

For this project, I used size 15 needles and four strands of either Lily Sugar & Cream and Suss Bomull in ivory, chocolate and olive. The two yarns are, IMHO, completely interchangeable. The olive and chocolate bands (which are a little hard to see in this photo) match the colors in my bathroom decor (and I use the term “decor” loosely). You’ll have to trust me that those colors work. Really.

Two Sweaters for Niece-to-be

June 20, 2009July 5, 2015 KateLeave a comment

I’ve just finished the “Cabled Raglan Baby Sweater” by Rebecca L. Daniels, a gift for the niece-to-be (the first photo is here). Because there are no seams — it’s worked from the neck downwards — it’s quite easy to finish. I had to make a quick trip to the local sewing store to get a snap since the button is only decorative. I chose a plastic, translucent white button to match the button from the baby kimono I also made for the niece to be. The yarn I used to make this, the heather Suss Love, is the same yarn I used to crochet the edges of the Kristin Spurkland “Baby Kimono.” Even though the sweaters are very different in appearance, I think the use of same yarn ties the two sweaters together and makes them a kind of matching set. Here’s a close-up of the crochet edging and buttons:

And here’s a close-up of the button and collar area of the “Cabled Raglan Baby Sweater”:

I chose to work the collar and buttonhole band edging in seed stitch instead of garter stitch which is what the pattern calls for. No particular reason–I just like the look of seed stitch better.

Update 07/05/15: I’ve been informed that the link to the free pattern for the “Cabled Raglan Baby Sweater” doesn’t work anymore and I’ve searched all over Ravelry and the Interweave Knits sites and couldn’t find a copy. Click here for a pdf copy of “7 Free Baby Knitting Patterns from Interweave Knits” that includes this pattern.