Monica

Pattern: Monica by Christine Schwender
Yarn: Tahki Cotton Classic
Needles: US6(?) and 3
Notes: I knit this in the round instead of in pieces. I just subtracted out the four side seams. The three rows/rounds of garter at the bottom of the tank and the ruffle will not keep the curl in check. In the picture the piece is pretty aggressively steam-blocked. In real life this will curl a lot. I bound off the top and knit the straps on US3 needles. I had read that the straps were too stretchy and I didn't like the look of that whole area knit on the 6s. That is if I did use 6s. I think I may have accidentally knit this on 5s. It might be too small for the recipient. I have no idea though. I've only met her once and I didn't take her measurements.

Tailored Scallops

Pattern: Tailored Scallops by Pam Allen from Lace Style
Yarn: My handspun Cormo/Silk purchased at OFFF in '05 and spun for the Tour de Fleece '06
Needles: US9 and 10 Denises
Notes: This is a really simple, straightforward pattern. I think I dragged my heels on it because I hated the needles. I can't say why I didn't change needles. I guess I was worried it would change my gauge. There's something not quite right with the top of the sleeve cap. It comes out a little peaked which I see in other versions I've seen knit. It's very soft and comfortable. I'll need to find a good closure for it.

Soft Baby Cardigan

Pattern: Soft Baby Caridgan by Jennifer Hagan from The Knitter's Book of Yarn
Yarn: Henry's Attic Inca Cotton (impossible for me to photograph well)
Needles: US8 Addi Turbo
Notes: Another quick, simple knit. Check for errata.

Short Rows Wavy Hat

Pattern: short-rows wavy hat by Leethal
Yarn: Handspun merino spun from samples for a color blending class then Navajo-plied
Needles: US10 Clover Circulars
Notes: Instant knitification. Cast on in some crazy yarn, knit while listening to a few podcasts and you're done! A very fun knit which I highly recommend.

Making Waves Stole

Pattern: Making Waves from Vogue Accessorize
Yarn: Mountain Colors 4/8s Wool. Moguls, Mountain Mohair and Merino Ribbon all in Crazy Woman
Needles: US 15 Denise Interchangeables
Notes: About six feet long. A very easy, but boring, knit. I started this project for the shop in October 2006! It has sat, largely ignored, for a very long time. I finally made the decision last week to finish it. I was happy to get this off the needles that I did a little Mary Tyler Moore twirl and toss.

Maine Morning Mitts

Pattern: Maine Morning Mitts from Knitter's Book of Yarn (there is a free pdf of the pattern here)
Yarn: Rambouillet (possibly some mohair?) from Judith MacKenzie McCuin. She had tubes knit from the yarn at the mill then she hand-dyed the blanks. We were instructed to ravel them, skein the yarn, then wash and block it.
Needles: US7 Brittany dpns
Notes: This is a one-day project. I cast on for them last night as I headed out for dinner. I worked on them through the evening while watching some movies. I cast off before bed and wove in the ends this morning.
I knit as written except I made them slightly shorter for fear of running out of yarn. I ended up ripping back a few rows at the top of my first mitt to complete the second one. I ended up using every last bit of the yarn which always makes me extremely happy.

Go With the Flow

Click for humungous.

Pattern: Go With the Flow Socks by Evelyn A. Clark, IK Summer '05 and Favorite Socks
Yarn: Socks That Rock (Lightweight) in Chapman Springs
Needle: US1 Addi Lace
Notes: I made the leg ever so slightly shorter than the pattern called for but otherwise knit exactly as written. This pattern just, well, flows off the needles. A very satisfying, quick pair of socks to knit.

Tangled Yoke Cardigan

Pattern: Tangled Yoke Cardigan by Eunny Jang, Fall '07 Interweave Knits
Yarn: Silky Wool
Needles: US2 and US0
Notes: Okay, so obviously this sweater has not been blocked. I hope to get some of the puckering out of the neckline with a vigorous blocking. Picking up the neckline stitches was nearly impossible. I could not see the purl bumps in the dark slubby yarn. It is also too small. I swatched many, many times for this sweater. I finally went down to size 2 needles (it called for 5s). I think my gauge must have tightened up as I knit. The fabric is very firm--not in a bad way. It looks all right unbuttoned but buttoned up it looks a little silly. I'm working on losing a bit of weight right now so I'm hopeful it will fit me well really soon.

Kureyon Sock Shawl

Pattern: My own.
Yarn: Kureyon Sock (just 1 skein)
Needles: US6 Addi Lace Needles
Notes: I made this shawl for a shop model and for a class. I wanted as simple a pattern as possible. I think I got it. The shawl starts at the center back neck like an Evelyn Clark shawl. It makes for great stripes. One skein made a petite shawl.

Gloves

Pattern: Class handout from Nancy Bush. A basic glove pattern with a two-strand double start cast on.
Yarn: Elemental Affects Shetland
Needles: US2 Crystal Palace circs and Brittany dpns
Notes: I managed to break three double points while knitting these. One needle got broken in two places. This pattern is pretty no-frills. One great feature are the mini gussets between all the fingers. By picking up lots of stitches between fingers then decreasing down the little holes, so annoying to glove knitters, are virtually eliminated.

Tulip, A Colorful Cardigan for Baby

Pattern: Tulip, A Colorful Cardigan for Baby by Lindsay Pekny
Yarn: Handspun from color and fiber blending class samples and llama/merino/tencel/silk for edging.
Needle: US7 and 5 Addi Turbos
Notes: I found it difficult to pick up an adequate number of stitches along the fronts with the slipped stitch edges. I might not slip the stitches if I knit this again. Otherwise it's a very fast pattern and easy to follow.

Prairie Mitts

Pattern: Prairie Handwarmers by Nancy Bush (class handout)
Yarn: Buffalo Gals Bison/Merino (about 2/3 skein)
Needles: US3s
Notes: Very basic garter stitch mitts with a buttonhole thumb. The yarn is so toasty I can barely wear them. But so soft and lovely.

Bayerische

Pattern: Bayerische by Eunny Jang
Yarn: Lorna's Lace Shepherd Sock in Pine
Needles: Addi Lace needles in US1
Notes: I didn't change a thing. They took a lot more time than your average pair of socks but I love them.

Endpaper Mitts

Pattern: Endpaper Mitts by Eunny Jang
Yarn: Koigu KPM
Needles: US2 and US0 Addi Turbos
Notes: I knit the pattern as written. I think it might have looked better if I had held the pink in my right hand and the black in my left. The black would have stood out a lot more. They are pretty snug. I know they'll stretch out when I wear them but on my left wrist, where I wear my watch, it looks rather like a python eating a gazelle.

Mittens

Matching ones for the little guy.


Mismatched for the big guy.

Pattern: Write, Mama, Write Fabric Mitten Tutorial
Fabric: Leftover polar fleece and quilting cotton just lying around the house
Notes: These are fast and super-duper easy. My stitching is pretty sloppy on these as I just did everything by eye. The boys both said they liked them because they "make good boxing gloves."

Kid Classic Kid Cap

Pattern: Improvised. I cast on a guesstimated number of stitches, knit the ribbing then increased about 8 stitches. I knit the stripes using Fibonacci numbers.
Yarn: Kid Classic leftovers from Poppy
Needles: US7 Clover circulars
Notes: I took out the original background of this photo. No one needs to see how messy my kitchen is!

Laila's Socks

Pattern: Laila's Socks from Folk Knitting in Estonia
Yarn: Nature's Palette Fingering (Light Teal) and Koigu (Brown)
Needles: US1 Addi Lace Needles
Notes: This pattern moves really quickly. Most rows are solid colors or alternating light and dark. If you are considering a first-time stranded colorwork project this would be a great choice.

Gypsy Lace Shawl

Pattern: Gypsy Lace Shawl by Evelyn Clark from Fiber Trends
Yarn: Cashsoft 4-ply
Needles: US5 Addi Turbos
Notes: This is a pretty small shawl. As written it is only intended to be 36" square. Mine is an inch or two smaller. I used a slightly larger yarn than called for but it did not block out as much as the original yarn in the pattern (Zephyr or Dawn)I think due to the microfiber content. It would make a great baby blanket or lap warmer. This one is a shop model.

Crystalline Lattice

Pattern: Crystalline Lattice by Janice Kang
Yarn: 3-ply merino handspun by me from Ashland Bay top in the Cranberry colorway
Needle: US1 Addi Lace needle
Notes: I made the socks shorter to avoid running out of yarn. This pattern is beautiful and easy to knit. The text of the pattern is over-written with far too much needle by needle detail which I felt made it needlessly confusing.

Am Kamin Swatch Cap

Pattern: Am Kamin from New Style of Heirloom Knitting
Yarn: Cascade 220
Needles: US7 Crystal Palace circulars
Notes: I realized after I took the photo that I miscrossed one twist very close to the top making the entire cable pattern appear to veer to one side. I ran out of yarn at the very top and finished with a second color.

The chart was fairly easy to understand as were the decreases. I started with a tubular cast on which made a nice stretchy, clean looking edge.

Simply Lovely Lace Socks

Pattern: Simply Lovely Lace Socks by Karen Baumer from Interweave Knits Spring '06
Yarn: Elann Esprit
Needles: US2 Addi Turbos
Notes: Amazingly fast and easy socks. These are the sport-weight version. I used a slightly smaller needle due my ever loosening knitting.

Pomatomus

Pattern: Pomatomus by Cookie A.
Yarn: Socks That Rock, Lightweight, in Ms. LaRock colorway
Needles: US2 Addi Turbos
Notes: I tried to knit the socks as written with three leg pattern repeats but ran out of yarn for the second sock. I cut off the top of the first sock and knit the ribbing back up in the opposite direction. It's not too noticeable but the stitches do twist the wrong way back up the sock. I used that extra yarn to try to finish the second sock. It wasn't enough so I ripped out the first toe and knit it shorter (it was a little too long anyway) at the same time I knit the second sock. I then ran out of yarn at the same spot on both socks and finished the last smidgen with some Socks That Rock in the Mist colorway.
If I had to make these again I would a) knit them on US1s and b) only knit the leg repeat twice.

Broken Cable Rib Socks

Pattern: Broken Cable Rib Socks by Ann Budd, Interweave Knits Summer '05
Yarn: Regia Line Step Colors
Needles: US2 and 3 Addi Turbos
Notes: I made the leg slightly shorter as always. Very fast and easy sock pattern.

Platypus

Pattern: Duck-Billed Platypus from Kath Dalmeny's World of Knitted Toys
Yarn: Lamb's Pride Worsted in Onyx and Wild Oak
Needles: US8s
Notes: I converted several pieces to be knit in the round.

Spider Monkey

Pattern: Baby Spider Monkey from Kath Dalmeny's World of Knitted Toys
Yarn: Rambouillet dyed by me at Madrona and Lamb's Pride Worsted in Wild Oak
Needles: US8s
Notes: I used a much larger yarn than called for in the pattern. I knit paws following the gorilla pattern. I knit several pieces in the round instead of flat as called for in the book.

Stashbuster Spirals

Pattern: Stashbuster Spirals
Yarn: Odds and ends of Land Jawoll, Dale Baby Ull, Pingouin Laine nylon and Knitpicks Essential
Needles: US1 Addi Turbos
Notes: I made the woman's large size. I should have made a smaller size. These are kind of baggy. This is a great free pattern for using all those dribs and drabs of sock yarn.

Lunch Bag

Pattern: Lunch Bag Carryall from Knit One, Felt Too
Yarn: Lopi, Lopi Lite and Lamb's Pride Worsted
Needles: US 11 and 15
Notes: The yarn bled and bled and bled when I felted it. It turned my lingerie bags red. It is also super hairy. When I started this project in May '04 I was still into felted bags. No...not so much. But it's done!

Somebody Say Hallelujah, We're Having a Revival!

The long lost felted bag is felted and nearly dry. It still has lots of sewing of straps and bits to do. So only 3+ years to wrap that one up. But it got me thinking about what else was way back there deep in the closet. I reached in and grabbed something. The shrug I knit for my appearance on the Knitty Gritty three years ago. I was stunned to see that not only was it completely knit but also seamed with the ends woven in. All that was needed was to sew on the collar. I even had a length of yarn cut and ready for the sewing!


Done. Still horrendously ugly. But done. Now to find someone who would want it. I'm thinking maybe I know some girls who might like it for dress up.

So what else is back there? Oh, Spider Monkey! You need hands and feet.


Behold the monkey's paw. Some kind soul on Ravelry sent me a message with her solution to all the monkey fingers. Don't knit them! Instead knit a big paw and stitch on finger lines. I knocked out four paws today. Monkey now needs to be assembled (I already stitched up all the long seams) and get a face.

If I'm working on the Spider Monkey than what about the Platypus? No point waiting for my son to knit it. He (Platypus, not son) has all his feet now and I'm working on his bill.



Damn, it feels good to get this stuff out of here. Can I get an amen?

Seamless Hybrid

Wonky photo by ill seven year old photographer


A peek inside the cuff

Pattern: Seamless Hybrid by Elizabeth Zimmnermann's Knitting Workshop
Yarn: Cotton-ease in Ice Blue, Cotton Patiné in green for hem facings
Needles: Crystal Palace US7s
Notes: I added waist shaping (just three sets of decreases and increases). I wanted a relaxed fit on the sleeves and increased to 40%. This left the top of the sleeve a little too roomy. Otherwise I followed EZ's percentages and this sweater was a snap.

September Doll Quilt Challenge

Pattern: Fresh Tradition Doll Quilt
Fabric: Peas and Carrots, Aunt Grace 15th Anniversary and assorted reproduction fabrics.
Size: 23.5" x 20"
Machine-pieced and quilted.

It's Like the Karl Rove of Sewing Projects

It turns out I'm more persistent than I thought. I took the stupid desk organizer apart for the third or fourth (fifth?) time, trimmed the Timtex and sewed the whole thing back together. I got it to a point where it was still a total mess but I felt I could live with it. Time to sew on the handles. While sewing on the last handle I broke a needle. I replaced it and promptly broke another needle this time getting hit in the face with needle shrapnel just missing my left eye.





Meet the face of evil.

I stuffed it full of fabric (my original inspiration to pick this project back up was this) to create a rectangular-ish appearance.

The sick thing is I keep trying to think of how to do it better the next time. Next time? What am I? Fucking nuts?*

Fabric: Nature's Whimsy by Northcott and Flea Market Fancy by Denyse Schmidt

*Seriously, if you've sewn one of these devil-boxes please email me and tell me your secrets. I'm feeling pretty defeated.

Lotus Charm Quilt

32" x 40"

Fabric: Amy Butler Lotus Collection
Notes: I had a set of charm pack squares which I made into half-square triangles, then added 5" borders and bias-binding. I like the barber-pole effect of the stripes on the bias. The border, backing and binding is also from the Lotus Collection. I did simple stitch in the ditch quilting with triangles on the border.

Baby Quilt

The center squares were foundation-pieced using the "Peter's Quilt" block from Quilt Block Bonanza. The fabrics are from Peas and Carrots by American Jane and Aunt Grace 15th Anniversary Collection.
Machine-pieced and quilted.
19" square.

Quick Report

I just finished up the Baby Russian Prime from camp this morning. It's not blocked yet.



A lot of my time this week has been spent with my new sewing machine.

I got the borders on my Lotus quilt and did all the quilting. I just need to add the binding (which will take me days, I'm sure).



I bought some super-cheapie pre-printed panels from the clearance section of Joann's and am practicing free-motion quilting on them.




Super fun! Like doodling with thread.

My County Lines quilt is all ready for the outer border.



Now I need to finish my second Unst sock and get cracking on my Giant Latvian-Mitten Cardigan. I've also been thinking of knitting a Pi shawl with some of the angora yarn I got at camp. Seems fitting.

Must run. Whiny children abound.

Hiiumaa (Extremely) Mismatched Mates

Pattern: Hiiumaa from Knitting on the Road
Yarn: Pingouin laine oddball skeins
Needles: US1 Addi Lace needles
Notes: These ended up a lot more mismatched than I originally intended. Super simple pattern with a lovely eye of partridge heel.

"Knitting Lace Triangles" Shawl

Pattern: Based on Evelyn A. Clark's new book "Knitting Lace Triangles"
Yarn: 2 skeins Artyarns Silk Rhapsody
Needle: US9 Addi Turbos
Note: I spoke with Bev Gelaskas today, by coincidence, and she assures me that Evelyn's new book will be available in about two weeks.
For this shawl I knit 40 rows of Ripple, 20 of Medallion, 20 of Flower, 40 of Ripple, 20 of Medallion then the edging pattern. This will make more sense once the book comes out.

Welsh Stockings

Pattern: Welsh Stockings from Folk Socks by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Knitpicks Essential
Needles: US1 Addi Lace needles
Notes: I hated this yarn. It's stringy, splitty and irregular. I made my socks an inch of two shorter than the pattern called for. I don't need 10" high socks.

Estonian Socks

Pattern: Estonian Socks from Folk Socks
Yarn: Naturespun Sport in Natural, Beet Red, Nordic Blue and Storm
Needles: US0 Addi Turbos
Notes: My longest WIP ever. I don't know why these took so long. The yarn is not ideal for twisted stitches as it splits easily. Just very grateful to have them done.

Poppy

Pattern: Poppy from Yarnplay
Yarn: Rowan Kid Classic oddballs
Needles: US8 Addi Turbos and Brittany birch double points
Notes: I used the random stripe generator to help with the yoke and sleeve patterning. I choose to make the sleeves matching. I knit the sleeves several inches shorter than the in the pattern. Mine are about 19" from the cuff to the armhole decreases. I also made the sleeves less bell-shaped. The original pattern has you cast on a large number of stitches then decrease down. I started with the smaller number of stitches and knit straight until the sleeve increases started. It still gives a slightly bell-shaped appearance without the bulk and potential of dragging my sleeves through everything I eat or drink. I also knit the garter edges of the cuff flat instead of in the round then joined for the stockinette portion. I was going to sew up the seam but decided to leave the slit in the cuff. I like the way it looks so long as it doesn't start to curl. I'm concerned that the neckline and bottom edge will still curl madly even with the crocheted edging. I may have to add a second row of single crochet along those edges.

Poppy is a really quick knit. I highly recommend it for a stylish, simple to knit sweater.

Lacy Child's Top

Sorry for the fuzzy photo.

Pattern: Lacy Child's Top (free but registration required)
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease in Strawberry Cream (exactly one skein)
Hook: J
Notes: I didn't come close to getting the right gauge so the sweater is pretty small, more like a 9-12 month size instead of 2T.

Spriral Baby Blanket

The baby hasn't arrived yet but my gift has. So now I get to share it with you.





Recipient: Molly (how about updating that blog, lady?)
Pattern: Pinwheel Baby Blanket
Yarn: Approximately 12 oz of Henry's Attic Kona Superwash hand-dyed by me
Needle: US5 Addi Turbo
Notes: This is the project that broke my US5 Denise needles. Don't use 'em. They're too small for the cord. This is also the project where I ran out of yarn on the edging. I originally was knitting the Twining Elm pattern from Knitting on the Edge. It used too much yarn so I had to rip it out. Then I chose a pattern called Molly's Lace. Why didn't I pick that in the first place?