Grape Leaves
You can tell that school is over and I’m on vacation because I’ve started knitting again!
I’ve been wanting to make Peapod for ages, but never had the time or the right yarn coinciding with the appearance of a baby in my extended family/friends circle. I went through my yarn to find projects for the trip to France, and I found some Knit Picks Merino Style that Dell gave me a long time ago. It’s such a pretty purple, but it definitely makes my Peapod a girly Peapod. I don’t really have a baby girl coming to our lives any time soon, but I might as well plan ahead. The next little girl will be lucky enough to get something BEFORE she’s too old for what I knit. (I hope.)
Anyway, the project works up really fast (this is just since Thursday, and only done a bit at a time) and it’s very easy to follow so far. I had to give myself a quick refresher on reading charts, but this is really simple as far as charts go. The yarn is nice to work with too; I just hope that blocking the sweater will make the leaf lace pattern stand out more.
Baby knitting resources
Posting these up here for general resources … they’re a list that we’ve collected in a Yahoo group, but they might be helpful for others!
Also, try a del.icio.us search for baby knitting!
Cardi-duck … I mean, cardiGAN.
I finished another one! I’ve obviously decided that I can’t go this long without knitting, and I’m finally tying up loose ends on projects. This baby cardigan was incredibly easy but I did my usual “Hey, I’ve hit the sleeves and finishing stage … I think I’ll develop knitting amnesia right now” trick.
I was on a retreat this weekend and happily knit my way through the sleeves while I chatted with friends. The finishing was fast, too, and now it’s ready to send off to the baby who’ll wear it. Well, I hope he’ll wear it. He’s only about six weeks old, so hopefully it will still fit. I mean, it’s too big for my duck, so maybe? The duck is modeling because some people who shall remain nameless have laughed at me for putting sweaters on coffee canisters for modeling purposes. Spoilsports. :)
Raglan Baby Sweater with Collar
Okay, first up on the almost-finished projects: this baby sweater. It’s made using this pattern, size 7 needles, and Endless Summer Lara Print in Amazon (from elann.com).
I think I like it, but I’m not entirely sure. This one doesn’t have the flare for diaper allowance, so it’s a lot straighter through the body. I’m not sure how I like it. People keep calling this my faux-camo sweater, too, and I guess that’s okay for the parents. It’s certainly not what I was hoping to accomplish!
Couch o’ Knitting
The couch in my Houston apartment has the advantage of rarely seeing a cat around. Since it’s also where I park my rear after work every day, it’s turned into the designated knitting location for my time down here. I can’t tell you how many movies and tv series I’ve watched while sitting there and knitting away.
Since I do most of my knitting here, most of my yarn and needles have migrated here as well. The good thing about the traveling between cities and staying in a hotel was that I focused on one project and kept it with me until it got too big to travel. Now, though … well, look at that couch! I’ve gone from a mostly-finisher to a chronic starter!
You’ve got the blue, green, and purple Therapy Clapotis at the top left; I knit that one almost every night because the pattern is such a soothing repetition. That beautiful black wrap? It’s the long-awaited Cozy, finally getting close to completion. I started on the last ball of yarn this weekend and made the decision to bring the extra-large suitcase this week so I could transport it down here. (Yes, I packed based on my knitting. Lord.)
Top right corner is Samantha, and you can see that I’ve started unraveling the neck shaping so I can rework it … and then I got scared/frustrated/etc. and left it on the back of the couch. (That’s also Clive’s spot to sleep when he’s down here, so I’m glad he’s in Dallas. I would have to actually do something with Samantha if he were here.) I’m also not excited about Samantha because Kailyn is the size of many eight month old babies and she’s only three and a half months old. She’s VERY tall. Well, she started life at almost 9.5 pounds, so what did I expect?
So then we have, on the couch seat, Phillip’s sock, a new baby sweater for yet another baby, and a pile of KnitPicks self-striping sock yarn for — you guessed it — even more baby sweaters. Oh, and some Geranium sock yarn because I love it. There’s also a Rowan magazine hiding under that pile with the pattern for Audrey. The yarn for that is slowly making its way up here, too.
I just need to focus, I know, but I keep wanting to start new and fun things. Btw, I’m still waiting for the sock love to strike. My next ones might have to have a pattern to make me care about them.
Gauge on empty.
I didn’t have enough to do with Cozy and the socks for my brother, so I decided to go ahead and start something else. I was all set to knit Samantha (see sidebar for link) and had wonderful, beautiful yarn picked out for it. I got out my bamboo size 3 needles and my bamboo size 4 needles and prepared to start.
This is when I learned the valuable lesson that English “double knit” is not the same as U.S. “double knit” weight.
I don’t generally swatch, see. I go ahead and start and do periodic checks and measure as I go. I hate swatch knitting, and you’d think that an experience like this would cure me, but probably not.
I thought, as I went along, that the casting on seemed to be awfully long for a baby sweater. (Clue 1.) I also thought that my size 3 bamboo needles seemed about to snap sometimes with pulling the yarn through. (Clue 2) I decided to continue for a few rows because I loved the yarn in question, Debblie Bliss Cotton DK. I then pulled out the tape measure, checked a 4 inch stretch, and counted the stitches in it. That count was the big, flaming neon sign indicating that everything was off.
I got online to do my research and found The Wool Shack, an online store based in Australia. I want to tell you right now how much I love this store. I love it so much that I really am tempted to pay the international shipping and buy things from them. Their site makes so much SENSE, is so handy, and is just generally helpful … other yarn store owners, please take note for when you try to build an electronic storefront.
First I went to the yarn section and decided to see what they had listed in their “yarns by weight” search options, and I could find out what the Debbie Bliss Cotton DK gauge was. Sure enough, all I had to do was pull down the drop box to see that a UK DK is a light worsted weight US yarn. It is not a sportweight yarn, which is what the pattern calls for. If I’d been more experienced (or just had a clue), I would’ve looked at the yarn in my hands and thought, “Huh. This doesn’t feel like a sportweight yarn,” and that would be that.
So I promptly ordered another yarn. (Not from Wool Shack, but I’m thinking about it.)
I left Samantha on the needles and immediately cast on a different baby sweater so I could get out my knitting frustration with something that I KNEW would work. Another friend just had a baby boy, and I’ve given blankets to his two older sisters. (This is one of them, actually … still one of my favorite patterns and end results.)
Anyway, another reason I loved Wool Shack is because I could turn my search around to find projects knit with the Debbie Bliss Cotton DK yarn. It popped up pictures of these projects, a link to buy the book, pictures of other patterns in the books, and I was able to be comforted that all would NOT be lost. Love them, love them, love them. I have no idea what they’re like to order from, but I’ve been using them more and more just to see what’s out there for a particular yarn.
So, moral of the story: have some common sense, Erin. :)
Model shot
How can you not love this face?
This is Fern — who is now known to the world as Samantha Joy — wearing her purple sweater with white bunny buttons.
I’m just so completely in love with this little girl! The only thing better than close friends is the child of those friends. :-)
Fern and a Twin Set
Wednesday nights are knitting nights in my world. Lost and West Wing air right after each other, so it’s two solid hours of sitting in front of the television.
Last Wednesday saw the finishing of Fern’s sweater. (Fern is the name my mother and I have given to Jake and Shelli’s little girl.) I haven’t posted any pictures of Fern’s sweater because her parents are more apt to use the computer, and this was a surprise. Since I gave the sweater to Shelli on Saturday, I’ll post a picture now. :-)
This is my favorite of the four sweaters I’ve knit. I like this pattern more than the others; I like the increases hidden on the side (for diaper “flare”) and the way the increases work for the raglan shaping. I changed the border and cuffs to seed stitch, and I just love how that looks. (Pardon the gapping … a coffee canister isn’t the best model.) The yarn is Bernat Softee, and it is just deliciously soft to touch. I love the little bunny buttons, too. (more pictures)
Last Wednesday and the beginning of the week saw more work on Billy’s sweater. Billy is the brother of Trixie, and I really need to get these done before they get too big to wear these!
Last night I finished most of the sleeves; there’s one sleeve left to do, weaving in for Billy, and then buttons for both.
I love this last picture because you can see the color contrast in the two. These were done in Sock it to Me Collection - Harlequin sock yarn from Elann.com. Can’t remember the name of the color, but Trixie’s (the greenish one) is color 79 and Billy’s is color 80. Yes, this is how you know you’ve spent too much time staring at the label on your yarn while knitting! (more pictures)
A sweater for Darci, too
Also this weekend …
The little pink sweater — which I am now revealing as being for little Miss Darci … I was too anxious about how it would turn out to say anything before — is finished! Seams sewn, ends woven, and buttons attached.
Speaking of the buttons …
Trixie’s sweater
Trixie’s sweater is (almost) finished! The sleeves are done, the seams have been sewn, and the ends have been woven. All it needs now are some cute little buttons that are girly and will still fit the sweater’s look.
The perfectionist side of me doesn’t like how the stripes don’t match across the front, but that’s all you can expect when you’re knitting a sweater with sock yarn, right? I do like how the yarn patterned itself on the sleeves, so that’s nice.
Now I need to get moving on the sweater for Trixie’s twin brother Billy. These babies were born on September 23 and are still in the hospital, so knitting their baby gifts has involved extra prayer for their health tucked into each stitch.
