WIPs June 2009

Nick's Hap Blanket: Frustratingly, I knit on most of the border on the "private" side of the work and only just realized it last night. Nick, dear man, of course said he wouldn't care which way the border faced, but I do, so RIP! This may be in time-out for a little while. The CC stripes are so beautiful on the public side that they have to match, center and border.

Knit tie project for Dad: Yes, Father's Day presents are late this year. And I'm working this idea out to be a pattern, so it takes time. But I think it will turn out nicely.

My sweater in Schaeffer Nancy: All done but the neckline, and I think I've figured out what I want to do, so some Seed Stitch and picking up of stitches is in my near future. In the meantime I may wear the sweater today anyway - it is cosy and the weather is chill and damp.

Gerda Stole: I started this one for a friend as a "thank you" but our friendship is on the wane and I've messed up the current row, so there's not much motivation right now, though I like all the FOs I've seen. I think I prefer lace that repeats in much smaller doses so that I can knit without consulting the chart five times in a row.

My First Socks: Alright, I've finally gotten to the ribbing at the top on the second one. Embarassingly close, I know.

And then there are the projects for which I have yarn here. It's hard being away from the stash, but I'm surviving.

Matryoshka dolls for Isobel and someone else

Ishbel in Malabrigo Lace for me

OR Ishbel in Fleece Artist Suri Blue (not sure that is what the yarn wants to be, but I love that hank of yarn!)

Whisper Cardigan in some grey Super Due Merino

Shawl/Stole of my own devising in Alpaca Silk (still rolling the ideas around in my head on this but think I'm close)

Another Hap Blanket once I gain control of the first one in Encore

Guess all that will keep me busy. Man, I'm frustrated about the edging on the Hap Blanket. I can't believe I didn't notice before row 25 (of the 36-row edging). Sigh. Oh, well, that's the way the cookie crumbles. I'm off to read Eloise in Moscow with Isobel while Penelope naps. Enjoy your day!
P.S. Sorry there are no pictures! I couldn't bear to snap the incorrect Hap Blanket. Plus, I'm working on Nick's machine, since mine won't pick up the Wi-Fi signal. Sigh.

FO: Sassymetrical for MB

Pattern: Sassymetrical by Gay Schiff [Ravelry link]
Yarn: Romney Ridge Farm Hand-dyed 64% wool 36% mohair blend in Green, 360 yards, and I used just about every last one
Needle: US8

This one is for my sister. I gave the yarn to her for Christmas and told her she could knit something herself with it or have me knit something, though I could make no promises as to when any item would be complete. She opted for my making something, and here it is. The Sassymetrical pattern is fun and quick. I like the little puff to the sleeves. Sadly, it is too warm, even with it's little cap sleeves, for her to wear now, especially as she leaves for two months of research work in Afghanistan. But the wool/mohair blend will be ready to warm her up in Berlin this fall where she is working on her Ph.D.

Pardon the flash photography - it was rainy in New York, and it's rainy here. Some day we'll have bright daylight again and proper photography. But I've been meaning to blog about this one for a while and wanted to do so before MB leaves Wednesday morning. Hope you like this little sweater, sis!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my Dad. He's such a wonderful father, understanding, supportive, loving, generous, and I don't think my Mom could ask for a better partner. I wish I had a picture of him with his Hemlock Ring Blanket to show you all. I knit it for his birthday a few weeks ago (I know! What do you do for the man who "just wants his family around him" when his birthday and Father's Day are three weeks apart and whose daughters live halfway across the country and halfway around the world?). Apparently, he folds it in half and wears it like a shawl every night to fall asleep in watching the news. I love him so.

And Happy Father's Day to Nick. I am so lucky to have found a partner like him (again). He is a wonderful father to all three of our children, supportive, patient, loving, and generous. Heck, he even understands yarn stashing and supports that! He is such an involved parent that we really are partners in this raising kids game. I am so grateful that he sent me that email almost two years ago. I love him more than I can say, so I'm knitting him a Hap Blanket to bundle him up in some woolly love.

Unfortunately, it's raining (again), so no cookout tonight, but we did have pancakes for breakfast. I think naps and movies and pizza are on order for the rest of the day.

Enjoy your Father's Day, everyone!

FO: Matryoshka Japonais (New Pattern)

Pattern: Matryoshka Japonais by Kathleen Dames (me!) [Ravelry link]
Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Buscando Azul, Shocking Pink, Natural, and Paris Night
Needle: US8/5.0mm
Notions: Stuffing - I used poly-fill for this one but plan to use wool roving for the next kajillion of these

Honestly? I'm just tickled pink with myself here. These little cuties came out very much the way I imagined them, and I mastered a couple of techniques (intarsia, as well as actually finishing a stranded colorwork project - some Endpaper Mitts are languishing somewhere) in the process.

Penelope gets all agitated whenever she sees them and crawls to where they have been sitting. I had to wait for the sun to finally come out yesterday to photograph them before letting her have them as her own. And Isobel wants her own set, too, or at least "the baby one, Mama", so I'll have to figure out another color combination.

This pattern is for sale on Ravelry here. If you are interested in a copy and are not on Ravelry yet, what are you waiting for? But while you're waiting, if you can't live without the pattern, please contact me at kathleendames at gmail dot com.

Designer

It's official. I'm now a Ravelry designer. You can find my first pattern here. It's a full write-up of the EZ as Pi Beret pattern I blogged about back in April. It's still free, but now it comes in a nicely formatted PDF with a proper chart and notes and whatnot. You can download the nicely formatted PDF from this link directly (in case you're not a Raveler yet, and if that is the case go sign up!).

I'm finalizing my next pattern, which will be a "for sale" one, since I hope my cleverness is clever enough that some people might want to buy it. Ellen of Purl Diva fame saw the prototype and got me thinking about various clever directions to head in next. I hope to have it formatted tomorrow.

I hope there is more cleverness to come and will keep you posted.

FO: Triangle Shawl

Pattern: Basic Bottom-up Triangle Shawl [Ravelry link]
Yarn: Farmhouse Yarns Silk Blend (34% Silk, 33% Cotton, 33% Lamb’s Wool) in Brilliant Violet from Sit & Knit in New Buffalo, Michigan*
Needle: US10/6.0mm
Recipient: Barbara (Daniel's wife)

This yarn has been sitting in my stash for a little while, and I couldn't quite figure out what it wanted to be. I'd tried to cast on with it once before but had not enjoyed the knitting then. I even considered selling the yarn. Am I glad I didn't!

After attending a shawl knitting class with THE Joan Schrouder I was inspired to try different kinds of shawl construction. This one is knit from the bottom up until I'd just about run out of yarn, which is pretty much what you have to do when you have just one skein of the stuff.

I used a yarn-over increase to start each row and am pretty sure the last time I YO-ed at the beginning of a row it was a mistake. Hehe But we used this increase in Joan's class, and it makes for a nice little bit of laciness at the edge, as well as a stretchy edge. I didn't want to get into a lace pattern with this yarn because I think it shows off best in simple garter stitch.

The yarn is really neat, a little bit thick and thin, a little barber pole-esque with the strands of wool, silk, and cotton, as the cotton doesn't take the dye. It is truly "brilliant violet" - a beautiful shade of purple. It is not very elastic, what with all that silk and cotton, but the garter stitch makes the fabric elastic, so it blocked out nicely. I also think this blend will make for a good year-round shawl; Barbara and Daniel live much of the year in Burlington, Vermont, but spend the winter in Florida, so I didn't want to knit her something woolly but wanted it to have some wool. I think this turned out just right as Goldilocks would say.

And Barbara really likes it, saying it's her favorite color.

*I found Sit & Knit while visiting my BFF's 2007 summer rental, which is where I told her and her husband that Nick and I had gotten back together. Ah, memories.

FO: Yarmulke

Pattern: Yarmulke by Jenny White from Greetings from Knit Cafe
Yarn: Madeline Tosh Sock in Lapis from Yarns in the Farms
Needle: US2/2.75mm
Made for: Daniel (Peter's father)

This was a quickie, but a goodie. Be sure to check the errata, if you have the first printing of the book.

And the yarn! Love the semi-solid colorway. Such a jewel-like radiance. Since this project took about 40 yards, I can use the yarn for another project, too!