Christina's Knitting

Baby stuff so far

2011-12-03T14:07:00.001-05:00

I’m expecting twins in April 2012 so I’ve done some knitting. The twins are boy/girl, so I’m knitting some generic things that will work for either/both.

Two Mason-Dixon kimonos out of Peaches n Creme. Don’t enjoy knitting with cotton, don’t enjoy garter stitch, didn’t really like the pattern!

First of what will be two 5-hour sweaters. I started with this version of the pattern, but it was hard to understand and I couldn’t get the stitch count right so then I saw that someone pointed to Fiber Gypsy’s version and that’s much better.I’ll use that for the second one of these.

I’m debating what to do after that sweater. Booties? I have some Sockotta so I was thinking about some socks and maybe some legwarmers.

Here are some things I made earlier. The bibs are from Mason-Dixon, too. Hats are just top down standard pattern.

FO: Raspberry Beret

2011-07-26T19:15:00.003-04:00

I just realized I never put this on here. It's the Baroness Beret by Susan Power. Pretty easy. Fits nicely. Keeps the head warm without smushing the hair too much

FO: Leaf Socks

2011-07-26T18:59:00.003-04:00

I just finished these this week. As I described on Ravelry, I needed a bigger size so I added a stitch each repeat. It worked quite well. This is a really nice superwash Merino Nylon blend (Miss Babs Windsor Sock Yarn). It is a real pleasure to work with. I have a lot left over - I'm not sure what I will use it for. I used size 1 Harmony DPN (I love these)

FO: Waffle Knit Socks

2010-10-23T12:21:00.001-04:00

These are from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. The yarn is Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in Spruce. They were knit on 5 dpn, size 1 (2.5mm)

I was trying to take a picture of them with Mark modeling them but this is what happened:

When we got her to move, I got this picture:

Here’s just the socks:

Test post

2010-01-23T21:36:00.001-05:00

Ignore. I’m just trying live writer and incorporating pictures more seamlessly.

Now I’m typing around the picture testing that. Seems to work.

And now I’m typing over here. Ok, that seems to work.

And still I’m typing. Ok, time to publish

FO: Trellis tank

2009-12-14T22:33:00.005-05:00

This is from Interweave Knits Summer 2009. I couldn't get gauge so I just knit the smallest size and got what is probably an XL. It fits beautifully. The yarn is Cotlin. The red is less obnoxious in real life. I added a few inches to the length and as you see, added on. I wish I had added on in 4 darts around instead of at the side seams but it looks ok on.

WIP: Trellis tank

2009-12-05T11:17:00.003-05:00

This is from Interweave knits. The yarn is KnitPicks cotlin. The color is really much prettier in real life. The first two skeins of cotlin had big issues - lots of poky crap, thin spots, knots... but the rest of the skeins have been perfect. You do get covered in small bits of fiber when you knit with it.

WIP: Peacock socks

2009-12-05T11:14:00.003-05:00

This is one of the reticulated 4 stitch repeat patterns from Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks. It's using essential/stroll in peacock and black. The colors are really much more vivid in real life, I can't take pictures worth a darn

FO: SFS Ugly colorway

2009-12-05T11:10:00.003-05:00

long time no post - I seem to be doing more tracking of my knitting on Ravelry, but it's worth keeping a second copy so I'll post some things here.

This is Regia Galaxy. The yarn is nice to knit with but I really do hate the color. I need to get these bad boys shipped off. I've had them for a while.

My new almighty reeling machine

2009-03-30T19:34:00.002-04:00

Aka swift

FO: Claudia Hat

2009-02-11T19:56:00.003-05:00

Great pattern, found using Ravelry. This is Wool of the Andes in Hyacinth. It's a really intense deep purple, but my photography leaves something to be desired. I'm going to see if my husband will take a picture of it on my head. Of course finishing it means we have a 70F hot spell in the middle of February!

FO: 2nd Buckskin socks

2009-02-11T19:54:00.001-05:00

boy do I hate this color!

FO: Laptop Case

2008-12-03T23:48:00.003-05:00

This uses Michael delVecchio's pattern. The yarn is Delly's Delights Farm (Trappe, MD) MAE, colorway #103. Using size 10 Denise Interchangeables

WIP: Print O' The Wave Stole

2008-10-06T17:50:00.001-04:00

100_1718
Originally uploaded by cpikas

From Eunny Jang using Raisin Gloss from Knit Picks. I think I already muffed up and will have to frog.

FO: Shaped Lace Tee

2008-10-06T17:48:00.001-04:00

100_1711
Originally uploaded by cpikas

From Knitting Lingerie Style using the cascade sierra. Easy pattern, pretty quick to knit. Looks good on - with appropriate undergarments.

FO: Ribbed Lace Socks

2008-08-31T11:48:00.002-04:00

Pattern from Schurch, Sensational Knitted Socks, knit from KP Essentials in Cocoa, using KP Harmony in size 2.25mm (1). Easy pattern, they fit great, this yarn is a joy to knit with as are these needles. This might be my favorite pattern, but in the future, I'd probably do a standard heel flap.

WIP: Shaped Lace Tee

2008-08-31T11:46:00.002-04:00

Ribbet, ribbet - frogged previous effort with this yarn (cascade sierra) and cast on the Shaped Lace Tee from Knitting Lingerie Style. So far so good.. fast and easy knit.

My socks for a soldier and a marine

2008-08-17T13:26:00.002-04:00

Socks for soldiers is really gratifying. Mostly because you know that what you make will be useful, because the leader of the group has such strict and well-tested requirements and also because there's so much feedback. My second pair of socks have been packaged and are now off to Iraq. The group leader (Kim) just sent us notification and a picture of them in the package. This pair is going to marines (ooh-rah Marine Corps!).

My first pair is going with my husband's cousin (Army - but I'll still support him :) ), who is activated and will go to training in a couple of days before heading to Iraq in October.

I wish I were more productive but life gets in the way.

WIP Ribbed Lace Socks

2008-08-10T13:12:00.001-04:00

WIP Ribbed Lace Socks
Originally uploaded by cpikas

from Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks using kp essentials in cocoa. I am so totally not going to do the eye of partridge heel again: it's a bit of a pain and when I do it, it doesn't look like anything - just like I knit unevenly.

This pattern is easy without being boring. It's going really fast, too, since I had some time in the waiting room for my dh (he's ok, but had some trips to the dr and for imaging this week)

FO sockotta replacement socks

2008-08-05T07:02:00.001-04:00

FO sockotta replacement socks
Originally uploaded by cpikas

I still don't like knitting with sockotta. These were to replace the ones lost by the airline but they're just not the same. sigh.

FO Socks for Soldiers

2008-08-04T07:34:00.001-04:00

FO Socks for Soldiers
Originally uploaded by cpikas

pretty easy, pretty straight forward - really did shrink in the wash... so these are a smaller size than i intended to make :(

FO: socks for soldiers on Mark

2008-06-07T14:18:00.001-04:00

socks for soldiers on Mark
Originally uploaded by cpikas

Tried the socks on my dh last night to see how they fit.

FO - Socks for soldiers

2008-06-07T14:17:00.001-04:00

Socks for soldiers
Originally uploaded by cpikas

Elegy for the first sockotta socks

2008-05-22T21:47:00.003-04:00

Found a picture of the ones that the airlines lost. If only they were stolen, I'd have a hope that someone was wearing them. But they probably ended up in the dump. So sad. Finished April 2004. Gone January 27, either Raleigh-Durham or BWI.

Socks for Soldiers

2008-05-22T20:38:00.004-04:00

I joined the yahoo group: socks for soldiers. Pretty cool thing they're doing, but I would just like to say for the record that the plethora of word documents makes it really annoying to try to find anything. It's easy to see how information can silt up over time. It's obvious, too, that people keep asking the same questions over and over. I guess you're supposed to buy the yarn from the founder/manager/sarge but I really didn't want to - for one thing, I do not want to commit to anything right now as far as getting things done. Another thing is that I have a particular soldier in mind for these. The next pair might go to him, too, or to the group. Not sure.

This yarn is on the approved list and I'm hoping it can be dyed or the person I have in mind will take them in white since he currently wears white cotton socks. This is Regia 4-ply.

Bwak, bok, bok

2008-05-22T20:08:00.002-04:00

How do you spell the sound a chicken makes? I'm ready to crochet and cut, but haven't yet. I will bite the bullet when I get a chance.

One for the frog pond

2008-05-22T20:01:00.002-04:00

I was trying to do something like the gray one that worked so well, but longer, and with a different neck for variety. I was going to make a square neck, but I'm out of yarn, sigh, and this is exactly like another sweater I made, I'm going to frog it.

WIP: Green-Orange-Blue Sockotta Socks

2008-05-22T19:22:00.002-04:00

My favorite blue sockotta socks were lost by southwest airlines (never check your favorite socks), so these were to be the replacement. I cast on at ASIST last fall but this is as far as I've gotten due to school work and stuff.

FO: Moebius Shrug

2008-05-22T19:14:00.003-04:00

This is using some of the indiecita alpaca, double stranded from the immaculate stash. Based in part on something from a catalog, but I just knit a 4ft long scarf, starting with a provisional cast on, and then did one twist, and a three needle bind off in pattern... crappy picture, but there you go. This was finished ~12/9/2007.

Butterfly Super 10 Gray Summer Sweater

2007-10-28T12:17:00.001-04:00

I finished this probably some time last fall, but I guess I never posted a picture of it. I really like how it turned out. I just made it with 0 ease and based on my measurements. I decreased twice in the front and twice in the back to make darts instead of just decreasing at the sides. The top front is a regular lace pattern from my stitch calendar. I used the sweater workshop guidelines to design it.

This is the yarn I bought in Toronto at SLA2005.

FO: Double Eyelet Rib Socks

2007-06-23T22:58:00.000-04:00

Trekking XXL yarn bought on a field trip from a conference in Charlotte, NC. The eyelet rib comes from the 365 Stitches a Year Calendar, June 14. These are for me -- I'll have to try to take a picture of them on during daylight.

Ball and chain socks

2007-03-25T15:26:00.000-04:00

I had some yarn to make my dh socks and couldn't figure out what to do so these are with afterthought heels (using Knitting Without Tears instructions) and the slip stitch chain pattern from the 6socks knitalong (sorry I totally can't keep up with that now... I've given up!)

I suggested naming these chains of love, but the old dh liked ball and chain better :)

Another dinosaur sweater

2007-03-25T15:23:00.000-04:00

I knitted this between semesters for my niece. I knit another one about 10 years ago for my other niece and swore I'd never knit another one. It's so cute, but I hate weaving in ends! This is out of Lion Brand Wool Ease. Not the best picture but the child wouldn't stay still :) Of course, we should have taken a picture before giving it away. The scales are 3-D, too.

Whipped up Tychus for my brother in law

2007-01-06T15:44:00.000-05:00

For Christmas. I made it about 2" shorter and only needed 4 sections. I used double stranded Plymouth Encore from the stash.
Update: I meant to include the link, oops. This is from Knitty. Find it at: http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer05/PATTtychus.html

Lazy... but still knitting...

2006-08-19T18:21:00.000-04:00

My Dad wore through the soles and toes of his merino fluted banister socks - despite the fact that I carried wooly nylon along... I think this is the second time I repaired them but last time was just the heel.

I didn't take any pictures, of course, but what I did was pretty elaborate. I first tried to just darn the hole but it wasn't working. So I...
- cut off the sock just at the end of the gusset and at the end of the leg (with scissors, of course)
- raveled back to have an even row, knitted back so that the measurement down the leg and down the foot was the same as what it was before
- joined the leg with the foot by doing a three needle bind off of the center 1/3 of the stitches
- did an afterthought heel (following Knitting Without Tears instructions) -- which is actually a toe
- measured again, and realized how long the foot was (oops), cut off and unraveled and made a new toe

I did the same thing for the second one, because it was worn through at the toe. I made them just a smidge longer so that he is less likely to wear through them again.

I then got some "dimensional" paint from the hobby store, and painted treads on the bottom.

Hopefully they'll be safer and last longer this way. Of course, the new heel will be much easier to replace -- when I need to!

This re-knitting bit was much better than darning. Less painstaking and more tricky to figure out. My cup of tea.

Subtle Sock WIP

2006-07-29T18:15:00.000-04:00

This is from the Pattern-a-Day 2005 calendar. Using Invicta. I got so tired of avoiding knitting the ^&*( lucky wrap sweater that I gave up on it for now... I then spent a couple of days trying to figure out what to do with the Butterfly super 10 in ice gray and finally just started on some socks. I frogged the mosaic socks I started for the 6sox knitalong and started on these. I got the first sock done in about a week so I feel much better :)

The pattern calls for a longer leg but this length is better for me. It also didn't call for any pattern on the toe, but I thought they looked a bit too subtle. The one problem is that it calls for 64 stitches (fine) but it's a 6 stitch repeat -- ooops! So increased 2 after the last ribbing round and then decreased extra at the gusset. Of course I forgot that when I went to do the toe so it's a little wierd at the end of the row. They're already a little big so I didn't want to increase 2 again.

FO: Samus

2006-07-29T17:51:00.000-04:00

This is from the Chaco I got at Maryland Sheep & Wool 2005. I still haven't put the zipper in.

Been knitting (since the end of the semester)...

2006-07-01T13:16:00.000-04:00

But haven't been taking pictures. I finished Samus using Chaco 100% worsted weight. I'm now back to the #$%^ clover leaf wrap. It makes me not want to knit, but I'm going to try to finish the first sleeve before I give up, again!

Finished Dr. Who

2005-12-10T12:30:00.000-05:00

I finally finished this scarf... in plenty of time for Christmas. I used Knit Picks yarns and made the scarf for under $30. The colors aren't perfect, but close enough, I think. The yarn's worsted weight, so the scarf is really long. I only used 40 stitches across, though so it wouldn't be too wide. I used tomato, hyacinth, fern, pumpkin, snickerdoodle, chestnut, and mist. I think I'd use another red if I did it again.

I still want to knit as much but with the grad school class this fall there was no time. I'd like to make myself a sweater in the break before classes start again, but my immediate thing is to make myself wrist warmers for work.

Working... slowly....

2005-10-26T22:05:00.000-04:00

I.. must... knit... (in a William Shatner type of voice) aack. The world is conspiring against my knitting and my fingers itch to knit. I started to fantasize about hiding under my desk at work to sneak some knitting... So besides the wrap sweater I'll never finish, I've got two WIP. 1) is the socks from the 6sox...

The other is a Season 12 Dr. Who scarf (who knew there were so many different ones just worn by Tom Baker?). I went with the less expensive Knit Picks wool of the andes. It halved the cost, but the red and the yellow aren't really right. Everything else is fine. Here's the raw yarn, I'm about 2 feet in but I don't have a picture yet.
I did get an extra purple (hyacinth). I was less than $1 away from free shipping so... anyway, I figure I can make a hat or mittens.

A Prairie Home Companion Lives of the Cowboys (on knitting)

2005-10-07T12:13:00.000-04:00

pointed to on KR

ARGH!

2005-09-23T20:51:00.000-04:00

I wrote out all the instructions for the doggie toy and they're gone... and my template is still messed up. ARGH!

Anyway, I did actually finish the gray socks. I skipped the last of the 6 sox socks so I'm waiting to start the next socks until October 1 when they unveil the next pattern.

Finally a FO: EV's new toy

2005-09-17T16:31:00.000-04:00

I designed and knitted EV a little squeaky man. It's out of 100% lambs pride heavy worsted. I felted it (a lot). It's stuffed with fiber fill and has a squeaker in the tummy. You can buy packs of 4 at the pet store for $2. If I had to do this again, I would have made a smaller tummy and a bigger head. There's only one seam in this -- on the one arm. That's where I stuffed it. I went about this the hard way to avoid seams (and therefore weak points) but that's usually the way I do things -- over engineered and wierd.
Here are the pictures:

Note the blurred tail! That's so funny, she was wagging fast enough to show up as a blur :)

I will post the pattern but I'm not really recommending anyone do it this way!

Finished Chutes and Ladders, now what?

2005-07-23T16:40:00.000-04:00

So I hurried up and finished, now I have to wait for the next sock. I've got a 12 hour car ride next week... hmmm. Maybe the Computer socks? Or the Clover lace (still, sigh), or maybe some CnL socks for charity?

My knitting has gone to the dog...

2005-07-10T10:02:00.000-04:00

I have a new puppy So it seems like I have no time to sit and knit. Now my poor cat is sitting on the keyboard.... well maybe some progress to show next week.

I'm almost done the cuff of my second chutes and ladders sock.

Updates

2005-06-25T10:05:00.000-04:00

I finally got to see Knitty Gritty because we got cable and broadband!! (yipee) It was actually pretty cool.

It's not really cool that it's on at 10:30 at night... She was showing how to recycle sweaters. I think there are going to be more new shows but they show the show a lot during the day. I guess I could record... hmm now I need tivo...

I finished my first Chutes and Ladders sock...

So now I'm going to risk SSS by putting these down and rushing to work on a lap robe. My Grandmother (who never needs or asks for anything) has found that her knees get cold in the air conditioning. This is somewhat surprising to me because she is always too hot. Anyway, Mom asked me if I could make a lap robe, SURE! Dug into the stash and apologetically came back with a bright pink acrylic. No labels but it feels like the soft one from Caron. Turns out that she loves pink (knew that) and bright colors and she wants all acrylic for easy care. Voila!

I'm doing a simple feather and fan with a 4 stitch border of k1p1 on each side and a few rows of garter on the bottom and top. Using worsted and size 10 needles. Her b-day is coming SOON... As you can see, it's about 30" across without being really stretched. I've got 4 skeins and I'm probably 2/3 done the second, so I'll finish when I'm done with the 4th and that's how long it will be.

updated, date changed to when I actually posted this. ok, so that's annoying, it's leaving this huge space.

Socks in Progress

2005-06-16T19:45:00.000-04:00

I started the Chutes and Ladders for the SixSox Knitalong out of this gray self striping Lana Grossa whatever... it's pretty expensive yarn. I didn't take a picture before I frogged it -- it was so blotchy and yucky. So now I have computer socks; that is, socks I can knit while on the computer because they don't take any concentration. I think I'll try a new heel out of the Folk Socks Book since everything else is plain.

I'm now knitting the Chutes and Ladders out of a cream colored Invicta -- it does look like an Aran sweater

Yarn Touristing

2005-06-10T18:16:00.000-04:00

I was in Toronto, Canada, for a conference this past week so I polled KR folks to find good yarn shops. Unfortunately I only made it to the two in (somewhat) easy walking distance: Romney and Lewiscraft (which is actually more like a craft store).

They were both exactly like I had heard: Romney had a huge selection and pretty bad service, and Lewiscraft had some inexpensive sock yarn. By the time I got to Romney I was so overheated from walking I could barely look at the wool so I bought 4 hanks of this Butterfly cotton. I hope it's enough to make a t-shirt. It's a very nice silver gray. Very cool looking and it should go well with the black and navy that I have so much of.

At Lewiscraft I found that the Scheepjes Invicta Extra 4ply sock yarn was on sale for $3.79 Canadian -- about $3 US. I bought 4 50gm skeins, two in gray and two in cream. I frogged the self-striping gray yarn I had started the chutes and ladders in because it looked pretty ugly. I think the cream will look like a nice aran sweater in chutes and ladders. I also got packs of cheap 2.0mm and 3.0mm DPN. They're metal but nice. They were $3.65 Canadian.

Some progress on Lucky

2005-05-30T16:39:00.000-04:00

I'm probably 3 inches up the other front. It's going fine. Not very exciting except that I have to keep track of where I am (dec every 9 rows...). At least the pattern is well ingrained.

I'm off to a conference in Toronto next weekend so I'm hoping to have the yarn and be ready to cast on and knit the next of the increasingly inaccurately named six sox knitalong socks. I need something for travel that can be stuffed into a bag and doesn't require a lot of careful attention.

Check this out

2005-05-21T17:03:00.000-04:00

My DH saw this and begged it from the calendar's owner.

Finished one and a half cloverleaves

2005-05-21T13:17:00.000-04:00

I really like this pattern. As I'm waiting for my pictures to upload I'm now on the decreases after picking up around the heel. It's really going quickly.

Updated: I fixed the pictures. I have no idea what happened to the first ones.

Started the 1st of the 6Sox, Clover Leaf

2005-05-15T14:19:00.000-04:00

I never did these because I started the group late. I'm now doing them with some Paton's Kroy on DPN (homemade bamboo skewer dpn). They're going really great and look good on. I took this picture Friday and now I'm halfway down the foot. The yarn is a pleasure to work with and the pattern is easy to remember and really stretchy.

The picture's kind of fuzzy, but you can still see the pattern.

DH's camera bag (before felting)

2005-05-15T14:08:00.000-04:00

Doesn't look nearly floppy enough or big enough, I hope it is!

All but finished my fluffy beaded scarf

2005-05-15T13:55:00.000-04:00

As my dh says, just in time for warm weather! I didn't string the beads in advance, but added them using a v. v. small crochet hook (0.9mm) through the bead and pulled the loop of yarn through. All that's left to be done is to tie knots on the fringe so the beads don't fall off.

Spike Modeling her new socks

2005-05-15T13:45:00.000-04:00

They're actually none too big. She can still grow a little and wear them, but they're really not too big.

Made some socks for Spike

2005-05-09T18:21:00.000-04:00

Gosh, Spike's almost 4 months now. She's a big girl! Alas, I think she has small feet. No doubt these socks will go up to her hips! I used the measurements from the sock featured on the Interweave site this month. Anyway, when I get a chance I'll get her to model them.

Let me know if you want the pattern. I'll type it out and post it here.

FO: Lace Sockotta Socks

2005-05-06T12:21:00.000-04:00

And good riddance, too. Ugh. I'm glad to finally have these over and on my feet. They do look kind of cool, though, and I did learn a lot. 1) new toe (round, kind of like the top of a hat) 2) sewn bind-off with k2p2 ribbing 3) to pick lace patterns for socks more carefully so I don't have to concentrate so hard on them!

FO: Go Team Socks

2005-05-06T09:05:00.000-04:00

These socks were great. Maybe I'll make another pair someday.

Addicted to the Go Terps! Socks

2005-04-30T14:50:00.000-04:00

I have not done any of the other knitting I should be doing. I'm really, really enjoying the fair isle and spelling the words, and the knitting on dpn...

So, what's the problem? You see, tomorrow is Easter. I'm Ukrainian Catholic and we're on the other calendar. I spent all day baking yesterday with my dSIL and dMIL so that's all ready. But... I've been saving several cadbury eggs and have promised more little chickies to members of this side of my family. My family by blood has theirs already and I figured I had plenty of time to work on these. ARGH! All I want to knit are go team socks!

No progress on the lucky wrap sweater. The fuzzy beaded scarf is now at 56" but I have to figure out exactly how I want to do the beaded fringe. I started the ribbing on the sockotta lace socks, but I'm really not so thrilled with that.

Hmm, maybe it's the wool vs. cotton?

Comments

2005-04-30T12:41:00.000-04:00

I was using a free plug-in program for my comments. I started using this well before blogger offered comments and I decided to keep the plug-in after blogger added comments because it allowed smilies and other icons. Well, the plug-in web page has been down for a while, so I just decided to ditch it. I'm pretty sure that means that older comments are gone. Aack.

Anyway, you can still leave comments. It should ask you if you have a blogger account but you don't need one to comment. Just choose to comment anonymously.

Finished my Right sock of the Go Team Socks

2005-04-25T10:15:00.000-04:00

This is the 6th sock of the 6sox knitalong. Mine is in University of Maryland colors: yellow, black, red, and white. The first one says "Hell in a Shell!! UM" and the second one will just say Go Terps! twice. The first one is done. It's a little big but works ok. The majority of the wool is from the donations from the weaver friend and is Harrisville 2ply. The yellow is Nature Spun from my favorite LYS. I did these on my homemade bamboo DPN. I had forgotten how I like to knit on DPN. It seemed to go faster than knitting on 2circs. I guess it's good to mix things up a little.

It's funny because that one view looks like I'm saying UM Hell. Oh, well, I guess I should have thought of that before!

Fo: Wrist Warmers for my co-worker

2005-04-25T10:03:00.000-04:00

My dear co-worker, LP, has carpal tunnel and is in a lot of pain so I made her these spiffy wrist warmers. They're out of the same yarn as the fluted bannister socks I made for Dad. 100% Merino. When I was modeling them for the picture I almost didn't want to give them away. So soft and squishy!

Here's the pattern if you're interested.
Using size 4 DPN and ~sport merino
CO 60 stitches
K2 P2 Rib for 2.5", decrease 4x evenly around
Continue until 3" from CO edge
BO 5 continue pattern around (you're now knitting back and forth)
BO1 at the beg of the next 2 rows
sl1 continue pattern around, each row until 5" from CO edge
CO 1 at each end of next row
CO 5 and rejoin around
Continue pattern until 7" from CO edge. BO.

And here's where I was a week ago on the socks

2005-04-10T19:50:00.000-04:00

Just catching up on posting. I've now turned the heel and am headed up the legs.

Here's a detail of the lace

Finished the back of the Lucky Wrap Sweater

2005-04-10T19:48:00.000-04:00

I actually finished it a week ago when I took this picture. I'm now about 6" up the right front.

New sock for 6sox

2005-04-01T20:31:00.000-05:00

They're team socks. I would have, like, never in a million years done these otherwise but I'm looking forward to them. This is what I'm going for

Here are my choices for officially trademarked UM slogans:

Go Terps!
Hell in a Shell (I kid you not, it's trademarked)
Fear the Turtle

Anyone have a graph of a terrapin? One that looks like Testudo?

This is crazy

2005-03-26T21:48:00.000-05:00

Normally I just talk about myself in this space, but I wanted to link to this article because it's so crazy. I might just have to try it. Knitting two socks at one time on 1 set (yes, that's right 1 set) of DPN! The link was up on socknitters. It's from a 1918 needlecraft magazine although I believe there's a more recent book. Hmm. Might be faster if you got the hang of it. Does anyone know why the second sock is done wrong side out? Just to keep them separate? Hmmm. Well, here's the link.

Darning Socks

2005-03-26T19:42:00.000-05:00

My cool striped socks developed this terrible hole in the foot. Not to mention that they're kind of fuzzing up. I have plenty of the yarn left so I decided to darn them. Searched online and found these very clear instructions from Holly Shaltz. I don't have a darning egg so I used what was handy -- a computer mouse. Not ideal but it seemed to work. I hope I get better at this with practice. On second thought, I hope I never have to do this again! Here are the pictures:

And now in other news...

2005-03-13T16:09:00.000-05:00

Huge flattery received today - my dear sister told me she wore HUGE holes in the socks I made her. Why is this flattery? She must have worn them a ton -- I have a pair of socks out of the same yarn just made maybe a month earlier and they're just fine. COOL! She's sending them back to me and I'm going to repair them. There might even be an extra pair in the package on the way back : )

The lucky cardigan is going well. I'm chugging along on the back, probably about 5" up. Pictures to come, eventually.

Bought some Cascade 220 from my favorite LYS, felted a swatch, ready to go on my dh's camera bag as soon as he figures out how big he wants it.

Working on the scarf with the beads - about 31" along, I'm going to go until I run out of yarn (or almost, then do fringe. I still have about 40% of the skein left.

Working on the sockotta socks -- I'm slacking on them because I have a conference next week and I figure they'll be good for the trip and down times.

Easter Chicks

2005-03-13T09:31:00.000-05:00

Walkersmom originally posted a link to a pattern on KR. Of course I had to make them better!

Here's the pattern I finally came up with:

Easter Chick Cadbury Egg Covers

Yellow cheap acrylic worsted weight yarn (I recommend the stuff that's about 88 cents)
4 DPN in size 6 (what gauge? if you have 7's, cool, 2 circs, cool, magic loop, fine...)
Plastic google eyes (huge pack at Michaels' for $2.99 -- should be available for less elsewhere)
Orange felt (about 20 cents)
Glue gun (or craft glue)
Scissors

Cast on 8 stitches evenly around the 3 needles
1) Join, Knit the first row increasing in every stitch by knitting in the front and back
2) Purl this row and all even rows (until you get to the ribbing)
3) Knit, increasing evenly 4 times around
5) Knit, increasing evenly 4 times around - total of 24 stitches
Continue on alternating K and P rounds until you've finished about 12 rounds total
13) *k1p1*
14)*k1p1*
Bind off in pattern (ok if it's tight).

Use the yarn left from your cast on to draw the top circle tight so there's no hole - darn over it if necessary. Weave the other end of the yarn.

Cut a small triangle out of felt. Use glue gun and attach eyes and beak to chick. Voila...

Getting Lucky!

2005-03-03T20:27:00.000-05:00

I just got my yarn yesterday and I'm working on the swatch. I wanted to knit this sweater anyway (hence my little design for spike) but it's the perfect time right now: KAL, RC selling Rowan 4-ply, ready for a new project, spring is coming...

This color is Fandango. Isn't it great?

The big green monster... is ... GASP....

2005-03-03T20:06:00.000-05:00

not wool?

nice little swatch before felting

after forever in the washer with 160degF water, dishwashing liquid, on "ultra heavy" cycle

eek. so then I lit it on fire a la Fran

bleep, bleep, bleep (the censors got to my blog), what the bleep? I distinctly remember buying wool and in the skein it looks just like lopi. What is this stuff? I'm guessing now that it's some funky wool-acrylic blend. When I held the flame close it melted and shrunk up. The wool caught fire and ashed but something melted and left a bump. I guess the old dh won't get a felted camera case out of this after all. Hmm. Maybe I'll have to go shopping at the lys this weekend...

Fuzzy Beaded Scarf

2005-02-28T10:24:00.000-05:00

I wanted to do something to demonstrate adding beads with a tiny crochet hook (size 13/14, 0.9mm). I was originally going to spell out "let it snow" or do snowflakes, but I guess I'll just stay with this nice pattern. Understated but very pretty. This way you get the contrast of the shiny glass beads with the fuzzy yarn without skinning the yarn by running the beads down it.

You take the crochet hook, put a bead on it, then pull the loop through ... either before or after you knit it. Somewhat time consuming but very cool. I think I'll do some beads on the fringe, too. Yes, this scarf will curl -- it's nothing but stockinette, but I don't think that will matter.

Snow Day!

2005-02-28T10:08:00.000-05:00

(aack. lost this post the first time, trying to remember it)

Don't get me wrong -- I absolutely love my job -- it's just that it's nice to have an unexpected day off now and then. My whole place of work is closed today because we're supposed to get 6-10" os snow. It's snowing right now. Here's my plan for the day: knit, take a long soak in bubble bath in the soaking tub, knit, make beef stew in the crock pot, make some bread, knit... maybe clean the house if I get energetic.

I just got Folk Socks by Nancy Bush (Interweave, 1994) from the library via ILL. I'm going to have to buy this because it's really wonderful. The front cover shows Uke socks that my dh says are like the style the Kiev Rus guys wore ~1000 AD. I'm definitely going to try some of the different heels and toes and maybe the Mamluke socks which are really beautiful.

I'm also really excited because I'll be able to get the Rowan 4-ply cotton in Fandango to make myself the wrap sweater our of SnB Nation by Stoller (2004). RC listed that she had it to offer on KR and I'm going to buy it with the money I made teaching the sweater class at my LYS.

Here are my works in progress: finally some socks out of the sockotta I bought ages ago, a fuzzy scarf as a trial of putting beads on as you knitt with a crochet hook (pictures to come), and a camera case for my dh out of the big green monster left over yarn based on Lucia's pattern. These are mostly in the beginning stages since I finshed the baby sweater and socks really quickly.

Finished Stashbuster Spirals

2005-02-26T14:46:00.000-05:00

These are the 5th of the 6sox knitalong patterns. I can't believe I'm the 7th person done. In the past I've been in the 200s. Here they are. The colors really don't come through in the picture, but you can get the gist.

Infant Tulip Wrap Sweater, the pattern

2005-02-24T21:14:00.000-05:00

Feel free to use this print this, make changes. If you redistribute, please give me credit. Please do not sell this or any derivative works.

I've done the best I can to type these instructions clearly. Comment if you see a typo or if something could be better clarified.

Infant Tulip Wrap Sweater

Fits 0-6 months (perhaps more?)

I was inspired by the garter stitch wrap top in Erika Knight, Simple Knits for Cherished Babies, New York: Collins & Brown, 2001, p. 61. But I didn’t really want to do garter stitch or even one piece construction and didn’t have yarn the right size so I decided to make up my own pattern. For some of the dimensions and the shape of the sleeves and armholes I referred to Kate Buller, Style Your Own Kids’ Knits, New York: Collins & Brown, 2002.

100gm double knitting yarn (I used Paton’s Pearl Double Knitting)

(with absolutely no extra, you may feel more comfortable with 125gm or so)

Size 4 needles (either a circ or also have 2 dpn in the same size) or size to get gauge

3 stitch holders

Tulip Stitch (from 365 Knitting Stitches a Year, Woodinville, WA: Martingale, 2002, May 1)

Multiple of 8+7

Row 1 (right side) Knit

Row 2 (and every even row) Purl

Row 3 k3 *yo sl1 k1 psso k6* to last 4 stitches yo sl1 k1 psso k2

Row 5 k1 *k2tog yo k1 yo sl1 k1 psso k3* to last 6 k2tog yo k1 yo sl1 k1 psso k1

Row 7 (same as 3)

Row 9 Knit

Row 11 k7 *yo sl1 k1 psso k6*

Row 13 k5 *k2tog yo k1 yo sl1 k1 psso k3* to last 2 st k2

Row 15 (same as 11)

Row 16 Purl

Gauge – row gauge, unfortunately, matters. Take my dimensions and do the math if you need to.

Over Tulip Pattern: 5.5st and 8 rows to the inch. Any time I needed a little more I snuck a stitch or two at either end, not in the middle of the pattern.

Back

Cast on 55 stitches using a cable cast on.

Rows 1-4, seed stitch

Rows 5-on maintain pattern.

At 6” from cast-on edge, bo2 stitches

Next row bo2 stitches

Next 6 rows bind of 1 stitch at the beginning of each row. You should have bound off 5 stitches each side for a total of 45 stitches across.

Knit even until you’re 9.5” from cast-on edge. Knit 12, put the next 21 on to a stitch holder. Turn. P2 tog. Purl back. Put these 11 stitches onto a holder. Attach yarn to the other side. K2 together, purl back. Put these 11 stitches onto a holder.

Fronts

Are the same, but mirror images. I will save time and not repeat.

Cast on 50 stitches using cable cast on.

Knit 4 rows in seed stitch.

Rows 5- maintain pattern. 50 is not divisible by 8+7, I k2 did pattern k1 for the left hand side when you’re looking at it. K1 pattern k2 for right hand side.

Knit even for 3”.

Start neck edge decrease – this will go on for ~5.75”. On neck edge k1, dec 1, maintain pattern across. Purl rows, purl to 3 stitches from the end dec purl 1.

At 6” (remember to keep on doing the neck decreases, you’ll have to pat your head and rub your tummy to do all this and make the pattern pretty at the same time), bo2 at side edge. Next three purl rows bo1 at the side edge (this should be the same as you did for the back).

When you have 12 stitches left, knit even until you’re at ~9.75”. Do a three needle bind off with the back. Fudge the extra stitch on the front.
Sleeves

Make 2 the same.

Cast on 31 stitches using the cable cast-on. (yes, I could abbreviate what I have below, but that always confuses people)

Rows 1-4 seed stitch

Rows 5-10 31 stitches in pattern (pattern from now on)

Row 11 increase beginning and end of row (like 1 stitch in, invisible or bar, either is ok)

Rows 12-14 even, 33 stitches

Row 15 inc beg & end

Rows 16-18 even 35 stitches

Row 19 inc beg & end

Rows 20-22 even 37 stitches

Row 23 inc beg & end

Rows 24-26 even 39 stitches

Row 27 inc beg & end

Rows 28-30 even 41 stitches

Row 31 inc beg & end

Row 32 even 43 stitches

Row 33 inc beg & end 45 stitches

Row 34 inc beg & end 47 stitches

Row 35 even

Row 36 bo2 continue on across 45 stitches

Row 37 bo2 continue on across 43 stitches

Row 38 dec 1 beg & end 41 stitches

Bind Off.

Ties

Make 2 the same.

Cast on 4 stitches. Knit back and forth in seed stitch until it’s 10”. That is plenty long because they will really stretch and you’re tying them behind anyway.

Finishing

The shoulders are already done. Use mattress stitch. Sew on the sleeves matching up the center of the sleeve with the shoulder seam. Sew up the right hand (when looking at the sweater from the front) seam. Sew the left hand seam from the sleeve down to 3” from cast off edge. Leave about a 1” hole, and sew the rest of the way down.

Bind off the stitches on the holder (21) using a two stitch I-cord. Do a single crochet down both neck sides to stiffen, and make less likely to curl. Reinforce the hole in the left side seam with a single crochet, chain stitch, or buttonhole stitch. Sew the ties on to the neck edges at the top of the straight part, before the neck decreases. Weave in all ends. Voila.

Finished the Tulip Wrap Sweater for Spike

2005-02-22T23:01:00.000-05:00

First, here are the sleeves (awww, they are so cute)

I will write up the pattern, but here it is done and then modeled.

New Design and Work in Progress

2005-02-19T11:59:00.000-05:00

I wanted to make a little wrap sweater for Spike (she's 1 month old today) so I looked through all of the library books and just really didn't see what I wanted. There were a couple that were ok, but nothing just right. I decided to design my own. It's using Paton's Pearl DK (I only have 2 skeins, so I'm thinking that I'll be short) in a nice purple (color on the screen isn't just right). I'll type out the whole pattern when I get finished, but it's using the tulip pattern from May 1 on the stitch-a-day calendar. So far I've finished the fronts and the back and am about a third of the way up both sleeves. I'm doing them both at the same time to see how the yarn runs out. I figure this sweater will work for spring, summer, and early fall. Specifically, I think it will be nice for Easter.

Progress on the spiral stashbuster socks

2005-02-12T18:14:00.000-05:00

These are great. I had to re-knit the heel, but when I settled down and followed instructions it actually came out pretty well. I like the figure 8 cast on but Queen Kahuna's is so much easier I'm not sure I'll ever do it again. Just another weapon in the armory (trick up my sleeve? tool in the toolshed?). Next socks are going to have a Pharoh toe...hmm.
Here's a close up of the heel:

Another cute thing from the dh

2005-02-05T13:58:00.000-05:00

So there I was tinking away because I forgot to pick up the new color on the spiral socks... my statement was "I tink therefore I am."

My dh, with an absolutely straight face replied,"we'll just call you tinkerbell"

I AM tinkerbell.

Next 6 Sox Knitalong Sock: Spiral

2005-02-05T13:49:00.000-05:00

This is such a cool pattern. She has us going toe up (with figure 8 cast on, I've previously done the Queen Kahuna and the Short Row, so now I'm trying something different), with a modified short row heel (modified by adding a mini gusset)... The spiral stripes are really quite smart because you don't have to count or weave or whatever.

I chose from the stash which may have been a bad call. These are Harrisville singles. The blueberry color has chunks of teal, yellow, and purple in it. I had other Harrisville hanks in yellow and purple so that's what I'm doing. I increased up to 68 which may be too much, so maybe I'll make the sock a little short so it pulls up some of the slack. I used my dh and the power ball winder to wind center pull balls but they just aren't working because the yarn really, really sticks to itself. I gave up any hope of doing two at the same time.

Instructions for the Spiral Rib Hat

2005-02-04T09:55:00.000-05:00

I had a couple of requests for the pattern. It's made of of several other patterns so I'll just rehash it here. If you would prefer to look at the original patterns that inspired me check here and here. You can also buy a similar Anne Norling pattern at your favorite LYS.

Cast on 8 stitches over 2 circs or 3 dpn.
row 1) knit into the front and back of each stitch, 16 stitches (join)
row 2) knit even
row 3) *inc1 k1 inc1 k1*, 24 stitches
row 4) and even rows, knit even
row 5) *inc1 k2* around, 32 stitches
row 7) and odd rows, increase 8 times evenly around

Continue like this until the circumference of the circle approximately matches the baby's head. In this case, for a young baby, 15-16.5"
Start Ribbing
row 1-3) k3 p3 k3 p3
rows 4-6) p1 *k3 p3 * k3 p3
rows 7-9) p2 *k3 p3* k3 p1
rows 10-12) p3 *k3 p3* k3
rows 13-15) k1 *p3 k3* p3 k2
and continue on like this until the hat is approx 2" longer than the distance (measured with a tape measure) from the top of the baby's head to the bottom of the ears.
Bind off LOOSELY (like on needles 2 sizes bigger), in pattern. voila.

Here's Spike Modeling the Tomten and Booties

2005-01-30T19:05:00.000-05:00

Name and face obscured to protect privacy ;) . Actually, we (my DH and I) are calling the new niece Spike.

FO: Hat for Baby Spike (the new niece)

2005-01-30T19:02:00.000-05:00

Baby hats are such a joy to knit. I finished this one in only hours and it's so pretty. It's long enough that it can be rolled up.

Finished the Beaded Socks

2005-01-24T22:39:00.000-05:00

I don't know but I'm glad to be done these. They were really the problem children. First they were too big (ribbet). Then I was not paying attention and messed up the bead pattern (left it). Then I decreased down a lot so they fit better and they were too tight (left it, I can get them on and it makes the saggy beads stay up :( ) ...

I liked the actual beading -- I'll do that again. I did try the star toe for the first time and kind of like it. I didn't read all the way through the instructions though so I don't know if I did a standard one... Turns out I didn't need to use the navy for the heel, I have plenty of yarn left. Oh, well, see for yourself.

The new niece is here, her sweater and booties are done

2005-01-22T13:58:00.000-05:00

That all works out well. My new niece came on Wednesday -- all healthy and happy. I've finished the sweater and made some booties from the Falick book.

A sweater for my niece to be

2005-01-15T01:07:00.000-05:00

My BIL and SIL are expecting (any time now actually)... so I decided to make the baby sweater from Knitting Without Tears. I'm too lazy to run downstairs to check the name of the sweater ... it's something like Toten? Ah well. Here are pictures. Incidentally, I did run out of the light pink but EZ says that it's good to use a contrast to show off the cool sleeves -- so there.

FO: My MIL's Poncho

2005-01-15T01:01:00.000-05:00

It was supposed to be done in November for her birthday but we were finally able to give it to her on the 2nd after church. It really looks great on, but you'll have to take my word for it. The proportions are just fine. The individual rectangles are 17"x34". Here's a picture of it:

Here's a detail:

Made a mousie for Diana ("goddess of the hunt")

2004-12-26T11:10:00.000-05:00

My DC (dear cat) has a nasty old muslin mouse I made her last year that she's slobbered on so much it's really gross. My DH and I decided to make her a new one for this year. I hunted up Wendy's pattern and used the "Lydia R. Haile's Nose-Down" version. We dumped some catnip directly in, and then wrapped more in some cotton jersey and tucked it inside. The yarn is 100% wool worsted weight. It's really scratchy and I wish I had washed it before stuffing but we were in a hurry to give it to my DC. I used size 5 metal DPN. It took me about 1.5 hours.

Here she is playing with it:

In case you're wondering, I didn't do anything special to get the tail to curl up, it seems to be doing that on it's own!

Progress on the beaded socks

2004-12-26T11:07:00.000-05:00

These are the correct size around and I'm now on the foot. This picture was as of 12/18, too, but I haven't really worked on this recently because I've been trying to get the poncho done. I did the heel in dark blue so that I can get most of the foot done in the light blue before I run out. There's a couple of mistakes on the beads, I don't really mind, but they are more obvious than my usual mistakes.

Still working on the poncho

2004-12-26T11:04:00.000-05:00

I'm working on the second rectangle and it's really taking a while with breaks to make cookies, go to work, go shopping, do Christmasy things.

Here's where it was as of 12/18:

I'm now at 29", going to 34".

Update on beaded socks

2004-12-07T22:42:00.000-05:00

I lied, the beads do have the size on them. Here's what the package looks like. They're 6/0.

The socks were huge.

So I put one on and threaded the needle through.

Wow.

Then I frogged, and cast on 64 instead of the original 84. I'm now done 1.5 rows of beads. BTW - I'm knitting a row between each row of beads. With the size of the beads and the size of the yarn it just looks better.

v. v. excited about the beaded socks

2004-12-04T18:11:00.000-05:00

They're probably going to be a little big, but so cool. I made quite a bit of progress today. On the knitalong list, they mention a few ways to place the beads:

knit the stitch like normal with the bead there and adjust the bead so that it's vertical on a leg of the stitch
purl the stitch and have the bead go across horizontally
slip the stitch with bead over both legs (not threaded on in advance)
knit the stitch with the bead over both legs (not threaded on in advance)
sew the beads on later (not threaded on in advance)

I did #2 after #1 didn't really show up. I think I'm really getting the hang of it. Maybe I'll make a little beaded purse? Oh, oh, how about the hem of a poncho for dressy instead of using fringe. Hmm, maybe I saw this on knitty already?

So here's my progress:

Ribbing prior to adding the beads

The beads about halfway done, then minutes later:

Cool new pattern from SixSoxKnitalong

2004-12-02T19:53:00.000-05:00

It's beaded! I just returned a book to the library on that and so wanted to try it. Luckily, last night was the SnB and my favorite LYS owner had a cool little package of cobalt blue glass beads that go perfectly with the leftover flame yarn. She let me take them to try them out and I've already threaded about 300. For my legs and gauge I need to do the pattern 17 times around... ah well. It's been fun so far. Take a look at these perfect beads and be jealous, very jealous.

BTW- my sweater class will now start in early January - so if you are in Maryland and do want to learn to knit a basic sweater... let me know.

First half of the poncho

2004-11-27T14:21:00.000-05:00

Overall, showing the lace better:

closeup, showing the cables:

Finished Fluted Bannisters

2004-11-27T13:59:00.000-05:00

SIG-KNIT?

2004-11-22T13:20:00.000-05:00

Hi any and all. I've been away presenting at a conference and knitting away. Unfortunately I then got home and frogged all I had done because it was too wide : ( . I was traveling without any measuring devices because of airline issues (plus, they would probably break my yardstick in my luggage, LOL).

My notes from the sessions I knit through are so much better - I paid much closer attention.

The title of this post comes from another knitter at the conference. This particular organization has Special Interest Groups so she wants to start up a new one: SIG-Knit! I'm in. Actually a very nice British gentleman stopped to ask if it helped me concentrate. He was a knitter as a child but now leaves it to his wife and mother. Now that he saw me do it, he might start back up.

To come soon: finished fluted bannisters (just have to graft tonight), 1st rectangle of the poncho.

Completed flames

2004-11-06T13:02:00.000-05:00

I had to wait until this morning until I had a "willing" model. My dh is such a man. While that frequently comes in handy... he is completely unable to follow such simple directions as "flex your feet" or "put your feet closer together" or "turn to the left." These are the best pictures I could get, but at least you get an idea of how they look on.

The flames graph

2004-11-02T12:46:00.000-05:00

If you like, you may print out the graph for the flames sockshere. If it looks like it's missing a few lines, then mouse over and click on the little orange picture with the 4 blue arrows pointing out. It should print landscape on 1 8.5x11 sheet.

For the German KAL

2004-10-30T22:56:00.000-04:00

I picked up this Sockotta:

It's colorway 502. The people on KR all thought that all of the Sockotta colorways splotched, pooled, or "sparkled", but this one is supposed to stripe. I'm not into the striping, but we'll see what happens. I need to get busy on my other projects first, but I can't wait to swatch this.

I did another pair of socks from Sockotta and at first I wasn't very impressed with the yarn. But, it is much less expensive than others, and they wear great and feel good on. One skein makes two socks.

Almost there!

2004-10-30T22:21:00.000-04:00

The flame socks are almost done. It's funny Carole commented on how she's going to miss them... after all I knit them every SnB I go to! Here they are modeled by the handsome end user (with the furry legs... don't worry, it's not me, it's my dh).


Instep	Bottom

They're actually a little farther than that now. The first one is completely done and I just need to weave some threads and do the duplicate stitch on the second one. They are going to be kind of like fred flinstone toes because they were within an inch of the final length when I got done the pattern. I did have to buy another skein of the Navy. Luckily, another knitter at the SnB was able to give up one that she had picked out (thanks Judy!) because the LYS ran out of that color.