FiberFish

NaKnitSweMo`

2011-11-02T09:51:00.003-04:00

This month is the yearly challenge to knit a sweater in the month of November. One of my facebook friends posted about Sylvi, and I remembered my INSTANT love of this sweater when I saw it at Rhinebeck. I bought the yarn the minute I got the pattern.

And I never started it. It has a lot of seed stitch, and I thought I would hate knitting it. But seeing it again, and with the challenge of NaKniSweMo, makes me think I should give it a whirl.

I've decided to upsize it a little, but I'm on my way!

Hats!

2011-10-28T09:31:00.003-04:00

I managed to finish hats for both kids before the first snowfall! Gotta love New England. I used an awesome Malabrigo for Cam that I got as a gift - and his hat turned out perfectly. Maggie's took me 3 tries.

I have some sort of defect when it comes to making hats. Its ridiculous. And her final hat still isn't right. I'm doing it again. I used a really fun Lorna's Laces color for hers and I think I have enough for another try.

For these hats I used the book Itty Bitty Hats, and did the Simple Baby Cap #2 for Maggie's Hat and the Simple Baby Cap #3 for Cam's.

So happy that my kids are loving wearing the hand knits this year.

Isle of Trucks

2011-10-25T15:15:00.004-04:00

This summer, I was on the KnitPicks site looking for yarn, and I saw, saved in my cart, this pattern. And I thought - I should totally make that for Cam!

He now has a stated preference for all things ORANGE, so I thought I would make an orange sweater ("Dat my favorite color, Mama!") and with the addition of TRUCKS it would be a huge hit.

Two weeks ago, sweater weather finally arrived. I excitedly pulled out the new, orange, truck sweater. This was the conversation:

Me: Cam! Look at this fun sweater Mommy made you! It's your favorite color! And look, here are some trucks.

Cam (after a looking at the sweater). Mama. Dat sweater no make me happy. Dat sweater make me sad. I no wear dat sweater.

What am I supposed to say to that?! So we just moved onto a different sweater, and I would try every few days - and yesterday he was distracted by a kazoo - and I got the sweater over his head. He looked at it and said - Hey! Dis my favorite color! And just moved on with his morning:

Without further ado, I present the Isle of Trucks:

I knit the 4 year size. The sleeves are nice and long (the designer makes a point of stating that the arms are long so the sweater can last more than one year), but the body isn't. If I knit this again, I would add another couple inches to the body. It fits perfectly now, but no room to grow. I used Berroco Comfort, which is my new go-to yarn for kids knits.

And now - he loves the sweater, so I'm a happy momma!

I'm back!!!

2011-10-06T15:52:00.004-04:00

Well. I haven't posted in 6 months. And honestly, I wasn't knitting all that much. I had a wonderful summer, played with my kids, took a trip to INDIA(!).... but as fall approached, I couldn't resist the call of the needles.

I've finished a few things for the kids recently.

First, a design by my buddy Jussi:

I don't think it's been released yet, but it's a great hoodie - nice easy pattern and I used cashmerino, so it's soft and wonderful. And Maggie loves it. Bonus.

This next one is a Pirate Sweater by Zoe Mellor. I made the biggest size, and used Berroco Comfort DK. I didn't get gauge (5.5 stitches to the inch instead of 5), but it's the exact size of one of Cam's 4T shirts, so it's the perfect size for him.

Now, to get him to actually wear it. I made him another sweater this summer, in orange (Dat my favorite color, Mama!) and with trucks in the yoke. I was all excited when it finally got cold enough so he could wear it - and when I tried to put it on him, he says "That sweater no make me happy. It make me sad." And he wouldn't wear it. Sigh.

But I will keep trying. If I've learned anything, it's that an almost 3 year old manages to change his mind from day to day.

With all these fun knits, I remembered the ladybug sweater that I started over 3 years ago. It's the perfect size for Maggie! I just need to finish it up! So I pulled that out and got back to it.

Hurrah for cute toddler sweaters! I'll try to get pictures of the kids actually wearing some of these - I may be biased, but I think the kids are pretty cute, so cute kids in cute sweaters? It's epic, the cuteness.

April is here

2011-04-07T10:41:00.003-04:00

And so is my sock pick. I'm kind of excited, as this is new to me yarn (Shibui Sock) in a fun color. The pattern is one from BMFA SOTM - and the yarn harlot thought it would be the next totally addictive pattern (Holidazed).

I'm only on the cuff, so I'll have to report back on the addictive nature... but I'm just enjoying knitting something pretty right now.

March Socks

2011-03-17T10:08:00.006-04:00

Done.

The pattern is Central Air from the very first STR sock club package. Years and years and years ago. I knit up some Opal Hand dyed that I got at Central Yarn in Portland, ME. I didn't mean to pull green yarn for March - but the combination of a really fun pattern, green for St Pat's day, and the hope of spring coming - these knit up really fast!

And because a post with pictures of my feet is boring... how about cute babies dressed in green for St Pat's day?

Handspun!

2011-03-01T10:00:00.003-05:00

I didn't finish my Feb socks - and that's ok. The bigger emergency was to get my knitting mojo back, and I did it in the form of some hand spun yarn. More than a few Cummingtons ago, I bought a fleece thinking that I would get a sweater out of it. I had it processed into pencil roving, thinking that would be something even I, a very, very, VERY novice spinner could make some good yarn out of it.

And then I had two babies.

And the fleece was sitting there. I organized my yarn room and had this plan to see if I could give some good spinner a bunch of my very nice fleece in return for spinning up this fleece. And I did! A wonderful woman from my spinning group volunteered, and did an amazing job. I'm knitting the pattern, Town and Country from the book A Fine Fleece:

I'm loving it.

Knitting Mojo lost.

2011-02-22T11:04:00.002-05:00

I sit in the living room, watching the kids play, or TV... and I don't knit.

WTF?

The socks I'm working on for Feb linger - I only pick them up because of my deadline to finish by the 28th.... the shawl for my mom is stalled, even though I have enough yarn....

I hate this! Knitting is my passion! I love planning projects and finishing things. What is happening! I don't even want to quilt - my other go to craft. Blech. I got the book A Fine Fleece to start a sweater for myself - maybe that will give me a kick start?

Ice, snowing and entrelac

2011-02-10T10:01:00.004-05:00

There has been a ridiculous amount of snow and ice around here! And this weekend, we had a mini-melt, so Aaron was out in the driveway chipping away at the 5 inch layer of ice we had on our driveway. I went out and helped once the kids went down for a nap. SO satisfying to have a nice, clear, dry driveway! But - it killed my hands! I totally couldn't knit at all for a few days. So I did some sewing - finished a couple quilt tops that have been in the works, and also made a shirt for Cam to wear on Valentines day...

Daycare is asking that everyone wear red on Valentine's Day - and of course, Cam looks awful in red with his red hair. I saw someone selling something similar on etsy, and knew I could easily make one myself. I think it's crazy cute.

After three full days without knitting, I was itching to do SOMETHING. I tried to knit on my Feb socks, but the needles were just too small for my sore hands. And then I remembered!

Before Christmas, I met my mom at Webs, and she mentioned that she wanted a little shawl to go over her shoulders. We looked around at different patterns, and came up with a few good, plain shawls. And then I saw a sample of Autumn knit up.

Pointed it out to my mom.

She feel in love. And I was excited about it, because I love entrelac - it's fun!It called for 11 balls of Jojoland Rhythm. Which isn't that expensive of a yarn, but I knew I had a bunch of Noro Silk Garden in my stash - and would love to use it up. So I left the store with just the pattern.

I thought I would maybe get this done for Christmas, but then just didn't. And then I was waylayed but other things (like dogs eating my Smitten Mitten Garland). I figured it was a perfect time to cast on for this shawl!

But, in my stash dive, I only found 6 balls of the Silk Garden - I really need double that. Onto Ravelry and made a trade with a very sweet woman (because of course, this color is discontinued) and I'm good to go!

My mom's birthday was on Feb 5th, and we had to cancel our trip to see her thanks to a sickness/bad weather combo. The next trip is scheduled for the 26th, and hoping I'll have this done by then!

Sweeties!

2011-02-03T12:15:00.004-05:00

I was reading Yarn Miracle yesterday, and saw she had posted the cutest pattern! Meet my sweeties:

I quickly cast on - and made the girl first... and then the boy. I fleetingly thought I would make 19 of these for the kids to give to their friends at school for Valentine's day.

And then I came to my senses.

Totally fiddly, but fun to see come together pattern. But I think I'm done at 2.

January Sock done!

2011-01-25T09:16:00.003-05:00

Finished these up last night! Good start to the sock club year - finished in plenty of time for the month, and already have someone they are going to.
Pattern: Slouch Socks from Not Just More Socks
Yarn:Sock Garden from Knit Picks
Needles: Size 0

This was a nice, well written, easy pattern. I loved the yarn too! Which is no longer available... but I wouldn't get more, at least for socks for me, as it's not machine washable. But the socks are SO soft and nice. They are going to be a perfect birthday present for my husband's best friend's fiance. Say that 3 times fast. She has been nagging at me for a pair of socks for a while, and her birthday is on January 29th. Perfect timing.

Last night, I pulled out the next month's socks - I was feeling a bit of startitis coming on... so hoping new socks are a good way to stave it off:

I've had this pattern in my stash since I started knitting socks over 10 years ago - for whatever reason I never made them. Now is the time! And the yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy. If you can believe it, I've never knitted socks out of this yarn!

Just Laugh

2011-01-20T12:32:00.003-05:00

Well. This is the best picture that I could get of Maggie in the sweater - today is PJ day at school, and she just had breakfast. So her belly is all huge and the sweater kind of looks crazy.

I think I need to block it. And either make the buttonholes smaller or get bigger buttons.

But that picture is a good summary of my morning. Abby the dog is hovering the background, hoping that some child will drop something delicious. Maggie has taken off a shoe. And you can't see - but Cameron is behind me blocking Maggie from opening and drawers, yelling NO BABY!

Baby Girl Sweater!

2011-01-19T16:17:00.003-05:00

I finished up the sweater for Maggie today! It obviously needs modeled pictures, but here it is for now:
Pattern: Tuckernuck, IK Winter 2010 - 2 year size

Yarn:Valley Superwash from Webs, 4 balls (pattern called for 6)

Needles, Size 4 and 6

Great knit! I would totally make this again. Nice easy pattern, but looks complicated. And it goes up to a 5 year size - so if this turns out to be something Maggie wears a lot, I would make it again.

I did 3 buttons instead of 5, because I never button her sweaters to the bottom - and I had four of these cool duckie buttons. But 4 looked weird. I like this look! And thank god it's superwash so I can't shrink it.

Tuckernuck

2011-01-13T11:28:00.003-05:00

Both kids have kind of slowed down in growth, and I'm taking some time to make them both a new sweater. I'm making Maggie's first, because she barely has any sweaters! My friend Suzanne pointed out the Tuckernuck sweater in the latest Interweave, and I thought it was perfect.

I've learned, in my great 1 full year of baby girl knitting expereince, that I have to just give in to the pink. I have knit Maggie several sweaters, and was avoiding knitting pink - mostly to be different! And fun! Well, different and fun doesn't match with the majority of pink hand me down clothes that Maggie actually wears - so the sweaters didn't get worn much. What a waste. So, I have given in, and am knitting her this bubble gum pink sweater.

I love the simple knitting, but how it looks so complicated. It's a great pattern and I'm excited to have her wear it. Now, just to find the time to knit.

Lots of knitting!

2011-01-11T10:12:00.003-05:00

Well, I haven't had that much time to knit uninterrupted in, well, let's see, when was Cam born!? Over two years! Going down to NC for my father's funeral was fun, in some ways. I got to see my half-brother, uncles and some cousins that I very rarely get to see. We mostly sat around and reminisced, which made for LOTS of knitting time.

The big ticket item, was a finished a Hawthone Shawl for my stepmother to wear to the service.

This crappy iPhone picture was all I got... but it was a fun knit. The pattern called for 2 hanks of a 400 yard skein of worsted yarn, and the yarn I used was 100 yds a skein. I barely cracked into the 5th ball, if that helps anyone else knitting this. I want to make another one for my mother - it a perfect little shoulder warmer.

I finished one of my personal SOTM socks, and got a good start on the second one, AND I started a sweet sweater for Maggie. I'll get some good pictures of that and post it later.

But glad to be home, and getting ready to hole up for the huge snowstorm coming tomorrow!

News and socks

2011-01-01T15:21:00.004-05:00

It has been my goal for a while to set up a personal sock of the month club just like The Yarn Harlot. It works so well for her, and I know it would for me too. Plus, this year is the first year that I'm not signing up for the Socks that Rock sock club. Kind of sad, actually - I've been in that club since day one.

On a completely different and unrelated topic, my father passed away rather suddenly on Thursday - and my friend Suzanne, as usual, has swooped in to help. Actually, she was with Aaron and I when I got the phone call. We were on our way to the Webs end of year sale - and I have to admit - it was good retail therapy.

Suzanne is here hanging out and then getting up at the ass crack of dawn to drive me to the airport to head to NC for the service. I'll be there for the week, and I'm in the process of knitting my stepmother a Hawthorne shawl.

Suzanne brought all her sock yarn (enough for 17 socks. Novice) and I brought out my bins (we shall not discuss the actual amount of sock yarn I have). We dug through binders of patterns, magazines and books! I have a LOT of sock patterns. Ahem. Anyway, I put together 22 little sock kits (and a scarf and a pair of mittens). Here they all are in the bags, ready to go:

It's nice and high up on the shelf, so I can't pick and choose what I want to knit. I'll close my eyes and grab one each month. It's up to the fates what it may be.

As if the universe was giving me a break, the pair I pulled for this month is nice and easy. A simple ribbed pattern from Not Just Socks:

My goal is to cast on each sock on the first of the month, no matter what else is going on in my life (personal or knitting). And finish them by the end of the month. Seems doable. All the socks knit out yarn that I know will felt on my feet (I've got HOT feet) will go into a box for presents... and the others will be for me!

Final Handmade gift!

2010-12-22T12:37:00.003-05:00

I was thinking that I hadn't made too many handmade gifts this year, and then I was showing things off to friends....and I was totally wrong! I'm still working on that sweater, I made my mother a small punch needle piece, I finished that whole Smitten Mitten Garland (twice, thanks to the dogs) and the quilt for my grandmother. Well, when I was in the quilt store the other day, I saw this panel, and I knew I had to get it.

It's just an easy fabric 'sandwich' - I used decobond in the middle and a cute fabric from the same collection on the back, with some of that easy to use Wrights double fold bias tape quilt binding. I think it took me about 3 hours in total to make!

There is a back story to this too. A friend gave me some fun hand me down mats that held together like puzzle pieces, and it would make a little town for Cam to drive his trucks on. Well. It didn't stick together so well, so anytime Cam would play with it, he would run to me and say - Mama! Broke! And I would spend another 10 minutes putting it back together... only for it to come apart again. I tried to duck tape the pieces together, but that was a failure too. So, being the wonderful mom that I am, I threw it away. This panel will be the perfect replacement for that. Plus - totally machine washable, unlike those foam pads.

With the small amount of leftover backing, I made this little drawstring bag to hold some cars:

Hurrah!

Encompass

2010-12-17T10:50:00.004-05:00

When the Yarn Harlot posted this pattern, I stopped all Christmas knitting and made one.

This was the only chunky yarn I had in stash.... I do love it, but will be making another in a solid yarn. But this is going to be a great addition to my cold weather gear!

Small Adult knitting

2010-12-14T10:22:00.003-05:00

So. I finished the socks in time for my Uncle's birthday, which was yesterday.
They are soft and wonderful and I'm glad they are over with.

I'm in the process of knitting that same Uncle a sweater for Christmas. We do a pool for the family every year, and I pulled him. I'm making a plain zipper front sweater... and it's kind of cracking me up. His chest measurement is 38" (he is a little man) and I'm making the 41" size... It's like knitting a child's sweater!

The knitting is so. not. exciting.

2010-12-10T15:10:00.003-05:00

I'm knitting up these plain old socks for my uncle. His father died on Monday night, and his birthday is next Monday. I was already in the process of knitting these for his birthday, but am trying to get them done faster. Nothing says 'I'm thinking of you' like a pair of handknit cashmere socks.

But it's KILLING me to knit on them. knitknitknitknitknit. Sigh. But, he isn't the kind of guy for cabled socks or brightly colored socks, so we work with what we can!

Re-hung

2010-12-07T13:04:00.003-05:00

The mittens are re-hung, far out of the reach of the dogs, not in the color order I envisioned, stuffed with Hershey kisses instead of the combination of 4 different candies (one of each of our favorites for each day), and 5 mittens short of 24.

I'm still too mad to reknit them, but I'll get it done before the 19th. Damn dogs. And yes, they ate the chocolate too. And they are fine healthwise... which if they weren't, I would be upset... but I pretend like I wouldn't because I'm still mad at them. I was just SO excited to have such a fun thing made and done in time for Christmas.

Sigh.

A friend lost his father yesterday, so I'm working on finishing up a pair of cashmere socks to give him when he returns from the funeral.

There are no words.

2010-12-06T14:24:00.004-05:00

This happened yesterday. The advent mittens were torn off the wall and ripped to shreds by the dogs.

I can't speak about it yet.

Not done...

2010-12-02T11:54:00.002-05:00

But a teaser (and I had to get this up so we could start using it with Cam tonight!)

I need to devise a better way of hanging it - with chocolate in the mittens, it's pretty heavy. I still have two more mittens to go, and I'd like to have more strands across the top in different colors... but we needed to get it going! It's already Dec 2nd!

Mittens, Mittens, Mittens

2010-12-01T08:46:00.003-05:00

And not the mittens you think I'm talking about. I've been knitting this awesome mitten garland. She published this pattern weeks ago, and right during the perfect time - as I was totally obsessed with finding a cool Advent calender for the kids. I didn't want to do the paper ones, the pre-printed fabric panels also seemed lame and annoying to make. I had an idea to make a felted tree with little bags on it.... and then saw this!

At first I was knitting two mittens for each child for each day, but then I couldn't figure out how to hang them or how it would work. So - I'm close to being done, and I would be if I didn't want to mix the colors up in a certain way. 6 more to knit!

Crossword Quilt

2010-11-16T09:19:00.006-05:00

This weekend was my annual quilting get away - and two days before the weekend, a friend sent me this link. I quickly became obsessed with the idea of making this for Aaron's grandmother with the whole family on it.

At quilt weekend, we mostly just sew (And gossip. And drink.). We don't have access to computers or washing machines - so getting this ready to bring with me took quite a bit of prework.

I had to design the puzzle (getting all the names of her kids, the grandkids and the great-grandkids took a lot of finagling - thank god I found this site). Then, I had to figure out the letters - I finally decided to print them on special printer cloth paper. When I went to buy the paper, the store told me each sheet shrinks 1/2 inch after washing. In quilting that is a HUGE difference. So first, I figured out what font size to use (170 centered well in a 3 inch block). Then I made it so I could fit 6 on each page (each piece of paper was about $4, so I was all about maximizing usage, considering I needed 122 letters!). Then I cut them into 3.5 inch squares, pulled of the backing paper (a 5 hour chore in itself) and then washed them to rinse off any extra ink and get the shinkage over with. I then ironed each letter to set the ink. They DID shrink (but only lengthwise), so thank god I did that. Then I re-cut them to 3 inches square. Of course, with all that, I managed to forget an 'O' at home - so when you look at the picture, Aaron is missing an O.

I wasn't able to finish the quilt on the weekend because of the missing O... but I think the quilt is going to blow my Grandmother's mind. She is a quilter herself, and loves crossword puzzles. I couldn't imagine a more perfect gift for her! I finished it yesterday and it's off to the quilters! Can't wait to see what it looks like all quilted up!

The only other thing I worked on was felt food for my kids and presents for special kids in my life. These took easily 6 hours (I made 6 bags and sandwiches). But it was fun - and that is the point of the weekend!

The pattern was in this book - it also has cool sandwich wraps I want to make.

Fun pattern

2010-10-21T14:27:00.003-04:00

At Rhinebeck, I gave myself permission to buy whatever struck my fancy. Nothing crazy, mind you - but some kits that in the past I had seen and walked away from. One that I kept thinking about over and over again was a kit for the Spindrift Capelet from Shelridge Farms. I can't find it on their website - but the colors and the neat construction drew me in.

Thing was, their booth was so packed I couldn't even get into that year (I was pregnant with Cam). But when I decided to go to Rhinebeck this year, that was one of the first things I thought of.

Marti and I went to their booth very near the end of our trip, and Marti agreed it was a fun pattern - but that I would never ever wear it. And pointed me to the same idea, but in a scarf pattern.

I can't stop knitting this thing! I love it! I'm totally knitting more. This is the Spaun of Braun colorway in heavyweight from BMFA... I'm hoping their will be enough leftover to make a Yulie Hat to match.

Ahhhh.

2010-10-20T12:42:00.002-04:00

Well. This morning, I dropped Marti off at the train station. A few months ago she sent me a message that she was coming to Rhinebeck... and I was excited and a little nervous. I wasn't sure that we would have as much fun as we have had in the past (which was at Sock Camp). Sock Camp is a special place - no outside world, just knitters - certainly no toddlers yelling NO MAMA and no husbands! Also - I wasn't really sure what she would want to see. But I decided I would just give her a little Boston Area sampler, and we both had a blast! I am so sad that my little staycation is over.

The highlights:

Lunch at Quincy Market
Walking the Public Gardens
My first visit to the Boston Public Library!
Webs
Rhinebeck!!!!!!
Found a new crepe place in Maynard
Showed off my LYS
Walked around Walden Pond
Took her to knitting night
Let her explore Lowell while I went to the doctors (yuck)
Hub Mill Factory Store (where I bought Aran Knits. We shall revisit this item later)

Each night we had a fun dinner at home (except Saturday), the kids LOVED her (Cam woke up Monday morning asking for Marti) and I already miss her. Sigh.

Fun knitting will be shown soon!

The beauty of a knitting friend visiting....

2010-10-13T11:26:00.003-04:00

Besides the obvious...

Is that you can block out stuff on the bed she'll be sleeping on without having to worry of a lingering wet wool smell bothering her!

The fronts of Eileen are finished and blocking. They look pretty awesome to me.... I'm really excited about this sweater! I cast on for the back, and will continue to solider on in fading hopes of finishing this for Rhinebeck.... but at the least, I'll have a new sweater in the near future.

Not gonna make it

2010-10-12T10:56:00.004-04:00

Unless there is some kind knitting miracle, I don't think I'm going to make it to Rhinebeck wearing a new sweater. I basically took the whole weekend off of knitting and played hard with the kids! Which was fun and totally worth it. But here is my current progress:

Each night this week I was so tired from the days fun that I knit a few rows and then called it quits. It's probably smart I did it that way - as my wrists were getting a little sore from the constant knitting on smallish needles.

I think that after this sweater is done, I'm going to dub this the winter of socks and baby stuff. Going through my sock drawer, I'm realizing I'm low on non-felted socks. I wear hand knit socks daily, and I have sweaty feet. So much of the machine washable stuff felts for me. Especially the hand dyed. Sigh. My plan is to knit up a bunch of Opal and Regia - because those wear like iron, and then I can save my STR and others for 'special' occasions.

Soul Sucking Sleeves

2010-10-05T16:13:00.003-04:00

Well. The sleeves of my Rhinebeck sweater are done. I haven't made a cap sleeved sweater in forever, and I forgot the pain and agony that they induce. I'm SO thankful that I decided to do the sleeves first, as this would have done me in if I was knitting them last. Each sleeve is 26 inches long. I know this happens to everyone else too, we all know that sleeves are at least 1/3 of the sweater knitting.... but seriously!

This is a super crappy picture - the color is so far off. This yarn is awesome. I don't know how they did it, but the yarn color seems to change as you look at it - from a beautiful rich blue to a pretty light purple.

Still excited about this sweater - but I'm curious to see if it'll really be worn at Rhinebeck. 11 knitting days to go, but I'm alone with the kids all day Monday (Aaron is going to hang out with his friends on Columbus Day).... it'll be close!

Rhinebeck Sweater?

2010-09-30T14:02:00.002-04:00

Am I crazy to be thinking of making a new sweater for Rhinebeck?

I just was on the new Knitty and fell in love with Eileen.

I think I'll cast on tonight.

ETA:
So I did a little math. Not including the collar, and doing a bit of rounding... this sweater takes 90,196 stitches to knit, in total. If I knit at 1 stitch per second.... that is 25 hours of knitting. That is pretty doable! I will commence tonight! I'm going to use some Blackwater Abby yarn that has been in the stash for ages - I think it will be perfect!

Shark mitts!

2010-09-29T11:43:00.003-04:00

As fall approaches, I realized that Cam doesn't have any mittens. Last year I made him fingerless mittens, which he loved... but they are way too small for this fall. I waded into the stash to find yarn for another pair, and found the SharkMitts kit from Morehouse that I got the year Cam was born.

Looked like a fun, quick knit - and they were!

I would love to show a picture of Cam wearing them, but he cries hysterically every time I try to get him to wear them. So these may never serve the purpose for which they were intended. Sigh. I'll try again later.

I was a little leery of making these because I thought attaching the teeth would be annoying, but it was easy. I hope Cam changes his mind on these!

Rhinebeck

2010-09-17T15:47:00.004-04:00

Well. It's set. I'm doing a yarn crawl to Rhinebeck with two of my old tribe buddies - Amysue and Marti! Marti is coming all the way from the west coast, and I have to show her a good time! We are going to start at Webs, move onto Colorful Stitches, and finish at Wonderful Things. We'll sleep at the cabin, and then off to Rhinebeck Sunday morning!

Add to this excitement, Aaron told me that I should just go. He'll take the kids for the weekend. So - it's my first time away from both kids. Ever. How will I pee without Cam handing me my toilet paper? How will I eat my dinner without Maggie 'helping?'. Who will make my coffee?

Somehow, I'll figure it out.

Babies in handknits

2010-09-15T09:22:00.003-04:00

Not much to report today, but I did take a huge amount of pictures of the gang in their handknits. Enjoy!

Here is Cam wearing a pair of his handknit socks:

Both kids in handknit sweaters. Cam is in the one I just finished, Maggie is in a hand-me-down that I knitted a long time back and gave to a friend:

A few more shots of the new Cam sweater in action:

"Tell me more Mama, I'm taking notes!"

I'm a winner!

2010-09-10T10:32:00.003-04:00

On Tuesday, I made a stop into my favorite yarn store's new location! I met a few friends there, and got myself some buttons, and entered the raffle. When I heard that the Woolpack was moving to Acton, I had mixed feelings. The old place was so cute - and if you can believe it - I have such good memories of that store! I even remember how much fun they were when I first stopped by - the first yarn I bought (some purple and green yarn for a sweater for my niece), Cam crawling up their ramp, bringing Maggie to meet her fan club... But, I must admit, although resistant to change - I do like the new store a lot. It's nice and open, plenty of space, good parking and 5 minutes closer to my house.

Yesterday I had a pretty shitty day. I was sad in general (as happens sometimes), but I also managed to get a flat tire. And realized that I needed to spend $500+ on a whole new set of tires. My phone rang, and it's Janet telling me I won the raffle! A new Namaste bag!

It's the Namaste Hip Holster:It comes in two colors, this blue and also black. I decided to get the black one (I sorely wanted the blue, but I know I will use the black more). This is something I would have never bought myself - and I find it may just be the perfect bag! It's small, but easily fits a small knitting project + iPhone + wallet + keys. Nice long strap, and if I need the diaper bag, it'll fit in there well.

Thanks Janet for making my shitty day better.

Silk for babies?

2010-09-08T12:43:00.000-04:00

It is now that I will admit that every sweater I've knit for Maggie for this fall/winter... all NOT machine washable. I don't know what the heck I was thinking... but there it is. This is the next one in my queue - Birdi from the Mirasol Collection 3.

It's not a perfect photograph (like any of mine are) but the yarn, Tupa, is a silk/wool blend that is so soft and beautiful. The colors are wonderful. And the pattern is an easy slip stitch pattern that is fun. Hurrah for baby girl sweaters!

Machi

2010-09-07T14:17:00.003-04:00

Well, I finished up that sweater for Maggie! It's really pretty, if I do say so myself.

I actually used the wrong yarn - the pattern calls for Chirapa, and I used Mirasol Hacho - which is a little heavier. I went down a needle size, and also cast on for 12 sts less than the pattern called for - I think it's great. This is another pattern (Machi) from that book I'm obsessed with - Book Three from the Mirasol Collection. I like these patterns - they have shorter sleeves, which makes sense for babies - and I love using the sport/fingering weight yarn for baby sweaters too.

This pattern is a pretty cable - which has the sweater take a neat flare that looks likes pleats at the end of the st st bit. My only annoyance is that the picture in the book isn't great at showing the actual cable pattern so I had that trouble in the beginning (which could have been avoided by just reading the pattern more closely). But - I will say it's hard to even see the cable pattern when you are holding the finished sweater in your hands. Normally I would have found this aspect annoying (I rarely do cabling with a variegated yarn)- but for this sweater, I think the cables are more for shaping than anything else.

Now I'm onto my next sweater for Maggie! Another from the same book!

Wrong and right

2010-09-01T09:59:00.004-04:00

I've actually made 2 sweaters this past month - one for Maggie and one for Cam... but they require crochet finishing that I had to outsource....so let me move onto my tale of woe.

My latest knit is an interesting study in what happens when you are 'too smart' to need to carry the pattern with you:

This is what I thought the cable pattern was (quickly reading from the book before embarking on a car ride - which is one of the few times I can knit):

It's pretty, and the picture in the book doesn't show the cabling pattern up close... so I knit and knit and knit.

Then, I went on vacation, and brought the back with me, and the directions (because of course I would finish a whole sweater knit at 8 sts to the inch on my vacation with a toddler HAHAHAHA). When I got to the patterned section of the front, I realized I did the whole back wrong.

And the correct pattern is MUCH prettier. So I'm ripping out the back and redoing it.

In other news, I had taken out one ball of this yarn to swatch. Now, I can not find this ball. And I'm going to need it for the sleeves. This is a hand painted yarn, too. I'm now fully committed to finishing this sweater - I can't run out of yarn! I tossed most of the house this morning looking for it... I'm going to have to do a full scale attack now. Sigh.

Little Birds

2010-08-03T15:49:00.003-04:00

I spent a good portion of last week organizing baby clothes. I sorted through all of Maggie's clothes, getting rid of anything that didn't fit (and got it out of the house! Our best friend had a baby girl 2 weeks ago, and now we have a perfect hand me down recipient... thank god). But I noticed that my sweet Maggie only has one sweater for the fall! I needed to start knitting.

When my friend Tarsha and I went to Patternworks months ago - I saw this sweet sweater - Little Birds - and brought the pattern and exact same color yarn as the sample. I finally started it this week:

It's a fun pattern, easy quick knit. The yarn (Bretton) is nice too - and a much prettier purple color than this crappy iPhone picture shows. I'm sure I'll be done this week - and then starting another baby sweater... unless I can't resist casting on for something for myself out of the new Twist.

Sewing!

2010-07-19T15:34:00.003-04:00

I've been knitting toddler socks, mostly - and would love to share pictures... but my card reader is dead. So if you forgive the crappy iPhone pictures - I'll share a little bit of sewing it did this weekend. I all of a sudden was inspired to sew a few cute things for Maggie! She even came with me to the fabric store - but wasn't much help in picking out fabrics. Maybe in a few years?

The first is hopefully re sized to fit her now - I'm going to try it on tonight. I finished it after she went to bed last night:The pattern is from Making Children's Clothes by Emma Harding. To size it for Maggie (who is in 6 -9 month sizes) I made it 4 inches less around. It's called the "Smock Top" and I think when I make it again - I'll space out the elastic a little more on the top. I really hope this fits! But if it doesn't, it isn't a huge fail - maybe $2 in fabric, and I can just try again!

These are the corduroy pants that I was envisioning to go with this sweater I made her. Did I even show the sweater on here? It's from that Mirsol book I'm obsessed with - made out of NON MACHINE WASHABLE Koigu Kristi Merino Crepe (note to self - read label before knitting from stash). I think it will be adorable on her, but I felt she needed maroon cords to go with it.

Buying them? $40. Sewing them myself? Again, $4 in fabric and another $4 for the pattern (which I'll use again if these fit right). They seem a bit large in the diaper area... but I guess that is a good thing. I still need to hem them and finish the waistband, but I'll wait until we are closer to the fall for that.

Toddler Socks = the potato chips of knitting

2010-06-29T15:15:00.003-04:00

About a month ago, I decided that Cam needed wool socks for the fall. So I knit a pair. After I tried them on him, and saw the amazing cuteness of my son in hand knit socks....I can't stop.

I'm on pair 5. I love these. I love watching how my sock scraps knit up into a smaller sock. And they are the most perfect summer knitting. Even MORE perfect than lace or adult socks! My card reader seems to be dead on my computer, but I promise to show you the whole toddler sock herd (along with a bunch of other things I've taken pictures of but are trapped on the camera), and I'll even try to get a picture of them on Cam. You won't be able to stand the cuteness.

Because we know I'm obsessive...

2010-06-01T13:24:00.005-04:00

I bought this book, The Mirasol Collection, Book Three while I was on my extended maternity leave. The first time I paged through it - I fell in love, but it was $22. So I put it back. On a separate trip to the same yarn store, I paged through it again, and realized that this book had something like 6 child sized sweaters I totally wanted to knit... and the sizing goes all the way up to 7 years! I could totally justify the price (I do statistics for a living, so I'm well versed in making the numbers work the way I want them to). I went home, and couldn't stop looking at the sweaters. I figured I had yarn in the stash to make a few of them....

I then took a trip to Webs, and the yarn called for in the book fell into my basket. I justified it this time with the argument that the proceeds from buying this yarn go to a good cause. I bought enough for 4 sweaters. One for Cam (Pani Turi) and three for Maggie (Birdi, Machi and Illapa). I'm also planning on making Hapi for Cam out of yarn I have in the stash....

I started the Pani Turi for Cam when I went to sock camp, and it was really comforting to be knitting something for him when I was missing him SO much. I just finished knitting it last night.
The sleeves looked a little small, but I tried it on Cam this morning, and it fits great. Maybe a little TOO great - I'm nervous about it fitting in the fall... but we'll just have to wait and see. I have another skein of the yarn - so I could lengthen if need be. Tonight I'll stop and get a zipper to finish it up.

So, I've decided that this will be the Mirasol summer - I'll work my way through the 5 more sweaters I want to make from this book. Thank god the patterns are well written and not annoying, because that would have sucked. I didn't even think of that when I brought all the yarn. That's happened to me before - love the picture, love the yarn, but then HATE the way the patterns are written? I have that problem with Inspired Cable Knits. I love almost all the patterns in there, but it seems like any pattern I've knit has had different cable charts and they don't line up so they are a PITA to knit. Anyway, next in line is a sweater for Maggie - don't know which one yet.

Knitting content.

2010-05-30T14:20:00.004-04:00

Shocking, I know! But after what seemed like miles and miles of seed stitch... Fickle Fingers is done!

This was a bit of a slog to knit, but kept remembering how much I LOVED Mainse's - it was all out coveting, actually... so I kept knitting. And knitting. And when I thought I was done, I knit more, because I didn't want it to suck for being too short. And it's just perfect.

And the edges are fun!

Hurrah for FO's!

Quilt Obsession

2010-05-27T15:54:00.003-04:00

I mentioned a little here that I was obsessively quilting at one point. Aaron and I eased Maggie into daycare - before I was going back to work, she was in daycare one day a week. I was freaking out when she wasn't with me. So I would quilt. A lot. I made a quilt each day she was in daycare.

That is 4 kaleidoscope quilts. I made one, and couldn't stop. They are going to people who were truly wonderful to us after Nora died (and there are so many people who were SO great, don't feel bad if you aren't getting one. I finally got sick of making them).

Then, I made Maggie a quilt:

This was out of a jelly roll I bought and started sewing together before the twins were born. I never ended up making anything out of the sewn up strips - and a friend of mine had this great pattern. I love it!

And when I decided to bite the bullet and send those off to be quilted, I added in this one that I finished two summers ago. It was to be for Cameron if he was a girl.

I didn't have any backing fabric for it - so my friend that did the quilting picked it out - how cute are those owls!?!? I'm not sure where this one is going, I have a few close friends that are having babies, so it may be for them, but I like it a lot. While I decide, it'll go in Maggie's room.

Phew! I sent these off figuring I would get them back one at a time over the course of the summer! She sent them all yesterday! It's wonderful, but really, also reinforcing my quilting obsession.

: )

2010-05-06T10:29:00.004-04:00

Time for my monthly post!

Just kidding... I should be able to start posting more often as things are slowly swinging back to normal. I have always been knitting, just didn't have the time for pictures and posting. But now, Maggie is starting to almost sleep all night, I'm back at work, and everyone is in daycare - so I'm regaining a little bit of 'me' time.

Since I've last posted, I've knit about 4 baby girl sweaters (because seriously, what is more fun than knitting baby sweaters?), attended sock camp with Maggie (and had a blast!) and got taken away from knitting from a mild quilting obsession. I did want to share the scarf I'm knitting on:

This is a scarf that my friend Mainse is always wearing. I always covet it. I started knitting it in a different colorway - but there wasn't enough different colors in that one to make it fun. This is the special sock camp colorway - Cattywampus. And the pattern is called Fickle Fingers... and it's nice and fun and easy. Just the kind of knitting that I can handle.

The yarn I'm using is BMFA Twisted, which comes in 560 yard skeins. I don't have a winder big enough, so I needed to put it in a ball. Which is usually really annoying - as the ball tends to run away from me. But, I remembered that last year we got this thing called a Fibersphere in the Woolly Girl Sock Club. At the time, I thought it was stupid and I'd never use it. I was wrong.

It's awesome and making it MUCH easier to knit on this scarf. Of course, it is rare that would need it, but it's a nice to have tool.

Cool blocking

2010-03-13T17:55:00.003-05:00

I finished the Rhea Lace Stole a few days ago - and the directions say the best method for blocking is to use a wooden frame and whip stitch the stole to it. I decided to give it a try, since Aaron's hobby is woodworking, it wasn't all that hard to get the frame:

Took a while to get it all stitched on - but it looks pretty cool, huh? This is for my Aunt who is coming home from a trip on Tuesday - so it'll be fun to have it done to hand over to her.

Little bit of sewing

2010-03-09T09:39:00.003-05:00

I've been knitting, but the only exciting thing to show involves getting a picture of a 15 months old's hands. Ahem.

Moving on.

I've been working on some blankets for Maggie - as we keep our house pretty cold. Aaron is convinced that she is cold all the time, so she'll be in a onsie, footed PJs, a sleep sack and then swaddled - and he still wraps her up in a minky/flannel blanket. I think that's a bit excessive (especially when I unwrap her and she's sweaty!) so I started making these in January as another option. They should have taken a day - but they've taken months. So it goes....

They are basically cotton on one side, and flannel on the other, with a little pocket for the head.

I just LOVE the fabrics, and Maggie seems to like them too.

Just in time...

2010-02-11T14:41:00.003-05:00

To begin the Knitting Olympics - I finished my Obsession Mittens (AKA Swedish Fish). These are my first 'real' pair of fairisle mittens. I did do those Bird in Hand Mittens, which I loved knitting, but I never wore. I have this issue that I need mittens because my hands get cold, but anything too thick, and they get too hot.

Hopefully these will be a good fit for me. I certainly loved knitting them:

I used stash yarn to knit these! A random non-washable grey sock yarn (mistake purchase, as a can't knit socks for myself out of non-washable wool - they will felt on my feet), and the multicolor yarn is stolen from my Tsock Tsuspense project that I didn't do a few years ago when I was in the Tsock Tsarina's sock of the month club. I've learned I'm not a fan of 'surprise' projects. I like to know what the final results will be- and her patterns are so challenging to begin with, I didn't want to go through all the work for something I didn't like. Anyway - the yarn was perfect for these mittens, so I'm happy.

I did alter the pattern a little. I made the cuff twice as long as called for, and I needed to add 2 more rows of fish before I started decreasing, as I have large hands. Oh, and both mittens have pretty major chart reading mistake, but I decided to leave them in. Adds to the charm, I say.

One cool thing I found, which I'm sure you all know... I was nervous for the final result, as doing fairisle over 4 needles, you could totally see where I changed from needle to needle. I just did a quick steam block with my iron, and they look awesome!

I now feel brave enough to make more mittens like this!

Sweet

2010-02-09T10:43:00.002-05:00

I'm loving these fish mittens! I have made many mistakes and have ripped out many times, but finally finished mitten number 1:

It shows how much I love these by the fact that I keep knitting even though I'm a sleep deprived idiot and have made a huge amount of mistakes. I knit that first row of green fish 5 times. The fish switch directions, and I didn't notice. Sigh. And then I couldn't get it right - mostly because I was knitting while both babies were napping and I was freaking out they would wake up and I wouldn't have made any progress. God. Damn. It.

And then, I finished the chart, and decreased and kitchnered the top only to find out that they were WAY too small. I made the thumb, thinking it would maybe be OK (you know, that the mitten would grow a few inches once I added the thumb somehow?). When that didn't happen, I had to undo the kitchner (Again - God. Damn. It.) and add on INCHES.

And I'm still loving knitting these. So that tells you a lot.

I'm joining in on the Knitting Olympics. I'm planning on finishing my Mondo Cable sweater and a pair of STR Sock Club socks. I was going to start a whole new sweater, but I'm thinking that I need to be somewhat realistic and just try and finish something that I started months and months ago.

Ah.... obsession

2010-02-04T07:17:00.005-05:00

It's been a while since I've been obsessed with a knitting project.

Swedish fish, how I love you. I could knit these all day long. And I tried yesterday, but I was interrupted every once in a while by babies. I guess that is acceptable.

Finally big enough for her handknits!

2010-01-20T11:10:00.003-05:00

Maggie is just about 10 pounds now, and FINALLY some of the sweaters that we've gotten as gifts are fitting. This one is from my friend Frieda from sock camp:

See that little smile? We are (fingers crossed) doing much better here. Maggie had a bunch f stomach issues, and we using a new formula and have her on meds, and she is a different, happier baby! Woot!

Update

2009-12-31T16:17:00.002-05:00

I feel like I've left this blog hanging. I've mostly been posting at my other blog - don't have the energy for both right now, and knitting is sparse. If you don't follow my non-knitting blog - go here for an announcement on the twins birth, and here for the tragedy that followed.

We are holding up well as can be expected, and little Maggie is a tough nut. She is pretty gassy, and pretty much wants to be held all the time which I'm happy to try to accommodate, but a girl has to sleep sometimes. I did try to go without sleep for about 2 weeks, trust me, it's not doable. We have switched to soy formula, gripe water and mylicon drops... but any other tips on gassy babies is appreciated. She seems fine during the day when it's possible to hold her, or at least the crying is tolerable, but at night, when everyone is sleeping... it's rough. Last night she was up from about 10:30 - 2:30 on and off. My doc doesn't think it's reflux or colic - and we have been having her sleep on an incline too.

I mostly popped over here to bitch that in the craziness that has been the last month of my life, I seem to have lost all of my needles, and my Baby Mine pattern. I went to Webs and I have 2 things to knit that I'm pretty excited about - the first is a larger sized Baby Mine for Maggie's naming ceremony (she will be wearing my baptismal dress which has short sleeves) and the other is the Rhea Lace Stole for my aunt who has really helped us out over the past month.

I have a lot of needles so it just doesn't make sense that they can ALL disappear. Grrr.

Cutie Pie!

2009-11-28T08:33:00.007-05:00

Ok... as you can see, I have been knitting, even if I haven't been blogging!

These are what I was thinking I would bring the girls home from the hospital in, but they are just a little big. Don't you love the colors though!?

Pattern: Sweetie Pie by Jill Eaton

Yarn: Manos Del Uruguay Cotton Stria, on size 4 needles

The button is really supposed to be the back of the sweater - but I can see it being worn both ways. Their is also a matching hat that I have finished for the pink sweater, but not done with the orange one yet!

When I looked at other versions of this sweater on Ravelry, many people commented on how silly it was that this was knit in pieces (and the hat is seamed in the back - wtf?). If I didn't have the majority of my brain power being sucked out my uterus, I probably would have knit them in one piece.... but I just blindly followed the directions and it wasn't all that bad.

Phew. 3 more sweaters (and even a finished scarf) to show off. One of them the Fishling has already grown out of! Let's see if I can manage to blog them all between now and the time I have the girls... 3 more sleeps until we are a family of 5. Not as if I'm counting or anything.

Finishing touches

2009-11-27T13:34:00.003-05:00

You've all seen this sweater before, but it's Baby B's coming home sweater. I finished the knitting back in July, but hadn't seamed it or found buttons. Finally, 4 days away for their delivery, I finished it up.

It's a February Baby sweater - and I only ended up putting on 2 buttons instead of the 7(!) it calls for in the pattern. I thought 7 buttons was a bit excessive.

And here is the set together. If you remember, the lighter purple sweater is a Baby Mine which I had knit to bring the Fishling home in if he was a girl:
Next time you see these, they will be filled with babies!

Wee Cabled Sweater

2009-11-25T13:45:00.007-05:00

Another 'girl' sweater to show off - the Aran Pullover from Blossom 12 Designs for Baby. It's a Nashua Handknits book I got from my birthday... and I had plans to make three of these. I've done one so far, and have the yarn for one for the Fishling. We shall see.

Pattern: Aran Pullover, 6 - 12 month size

Yarn: Cotton TLC

The pattern was straightforward, and I like how it's good for both girls and boys. The TLC yarn was surprisingly 'ok' to work with. I bought Berroco Comfort for the Fishlings version, but will probably get more of the TLC in another color for the second girl one. I have plenty of the green to make a totally matching one, but I don't think I can bring myself to make them exactly matching sweaters. We will see!

Lucky Girls

2009-11-23T14:36:00.003-05:00

I was already a lucky girl, because I have a wonderful group of friends that surround me that also share my interests. I've met many in my area by taking classes, and of course have totally lucked out with 4 of us on my street that like to knit and sew! But I've also met some wonderful pals through my crazy long distance knitting adventures. The one thing I miss the most is going to Sock Camp. I went the first two years, and it was truly wonderful. I've made some very close friendships there... and my girls are lucky enough to be on the receiving end of some hand knits!

Frieda mentioned that a package was on it's way for the twins - and looked what arrived the next day!

Of course Frieda knew the perfect colors for my babies... and she also included some very sweet baby dolls for the girls.

Thanks again, Frieda!

Next up - more 'Made By Momma' sweaters.

On vacation

2009-11-20T12:52:00.003-05:00

Over a month since I last posted here? Insane. I don't think I've ever gone that long. I'm less than two weeks away from adding two more babies to our family (they are scheduled to arrive on 12/2!), and am on 'vacation'. I decided to take two weeks off work before the twins arrive to get things organized and relax. My blood pressure was starting the creep up (that was why I got induced with the Fishling) and interestingly enough, it's stayed totally fine this week now that I'm not working!

I've been getting little chores done so I've got nothing to worry about when the girls are here except for baby care - like finishing up Christmas shopping, getting my car inspected and my oil changed... silly chores that were almost impossible to do while working full time, taking care of an 11 month old and being heavily pregnant with twins. But I've also been knitting up a storm, as I'm not really mobile or able to move around much. I have finished 3 sweaters for the Fishling that I have yet to show off, and 2 for the twins. Since only one is downstairs, and waddling upstairs is not a pretty sight.... today I will show you the Drive Thru:

Pattern: Drive Thru, smallest size
Yarn: Encore Worsted on size 5 needles. Little more than one skein of the light grey, bits of the other colors.

This is the 4th time I've knit this pattern, and I'll totally knit it again. A GREAT sweater for a girl or boy, and knits up super fast. Awesome awesome awesome.

And yes, I know handknits are cuter on the actual baby. So here is the Fishling walking with Dad at Costco (and yes. He was officially walking at 11 months. A blessing and a curse, lol)

This sweater is perfect in length and width in the 2 year size - but I'm nervous that the arms are going to be too tight too quickly. And I think this is SUCH a cute sweater - I try to have him wear it as much as possible.

Lots and lots of knitting. Minimal Blogging.

2009-10-06T09:41:00.002-04:00

I have time for limited things - playing with and caring for a sweet baby boy. Working full time. Gestating two MORE babies. Caring for house and home. Knitting in stolen minutes. Blogging about my pregnancy/the Fishling over here.

I really owe you guys pictures and reports of knitting! I quickly finished a Traveling Woman Shawl for a friend's 50th birthday using some STR - and I want to make another for myself. What a fun pattern! But trying to block lace? At 30 weeks pregnant with twins? Bending over is not often an option. I'm planning on roping in Aaron to assist - but haven't tried yet - thankfully the birthday party isn't until the 17th!

I've made one baby girl sweater, and 2 hats and a sweater for the Fishling. And I have another in process for the big guy. Capturing hand knits on a baby who only wants to MOVE is really difficult.

So that will be my goal this week/weekend - get some pictures of all the new stuff and show it off! Because it's all super cute.

THE sweater

2009-09-15T09:29:00.004-04:00

About 3 years ago, when I was in the throes of fertility treatments, I was visiting my mother. We were at the cabin, and made a day trip to Lenox. Mom wanted a blue sweater - she was going to buy the yarn, I was going to knit it. So we went to Colorful Stitches. I distinctly remember seeing this little baby hat and sweater set, and having my heart ache a little. I was kind of at the point where I wasn't sure we'd have a baby. It was a crappy time.

Once I got pregnant, I would think back to that sweater set, and I just couldn't remember the name of the pattern. I even went back to the store - but it wasn't on display again. But Saturday last week I was at The Woolpack, and I was sitting down and flipping through their stash of Minnowknits patterns while the Fishling crawled around the store (ask me if I thought that would be happening 3 years ago?). And I found it. THE baby sweater. It's Green Bean by minnowknits - and I don't know what it is that makes it seem so perfect to me... but I love it.

The color in this crappy iPhone picture is off - it's a wonderful green. I'm using Comfort worsted weight by Berroco.

Hurrah for awesome baby sweaters! And it's going to look so cute on the Fishling with his red hair. AND the matching hat has i-cord ties... so maybe it has a chance at staying on. Maybe.

New Hat

2009-09-11T09:19:00.003-04:00

The Fishling's got a new hat. I figured I would 'wing' it with the pattern - I was getting 8 sts to the inch, and his head is 18 inches around... so I cast on 140 sts and knit and knit. I did about 2 inches of 2X2 ribbing and 5 inches of body (so I could fold over the ribbing or put it over his ears). But then at the end, I followed The Yarn Harlot's advice, and started decreasing every 8 sts, then 7 then 6... and I'm not sure if I like the top. It's not as smooth as I was envisioning.

It's cute nonetheless!

Or is it the baby that is cute? I can never decide. I used Ty-Dy sock yarn, and I really liked it! Nice and soft and I have a huge amount left. I'm considering mittens to match.
The Fishling has a new 'word' - he says 'Uh oh'! And I've learned that it is said a lot when I try to actually get him to WEAR the hat. I put it on, he pulls it off and says 'Uh oh!'.

Now that I've learned how to make a decent hat, I need to learn how to keep a hat on a baby. Double stick tape perhaps?

What's up with all this crazy blogging!?!?

2009-08-28T14:41:00.002-04:00

Wow. I guess I'm back on the blogging bandwagon. I know I sucked for a while there, but energy was low. It was either knitting OR blogging. Not both.

I've been working on my Mondo Cable Pulli, and wanted to share:

This is going to be such a nice, soft sweater. The cotton/silk yarn is turning out to be really nice to work with. I first got this yarn YEARS ago to make a Mariah - so that would be 2004?!? Anyway, I made one sleeve, gave up, and stuck it back in the stash. When I see a new sweater that I want to make, this yarn will will pop in (and out of) my head - mostly because I feel like I won't wear a cotton sweater. I never knew what to make with it. I'm hoping that the silk content will make this a nice, wearable sweater - as pullovers out of wool rarely get worn by me. We shall see. The color is certainly crazy!

I've been buying yarn....

2009-08-27T09:48:00.002-04:00

After over a year of no major yarn purchases (I think my last BIG yarn purchase was at the JCA sale last Sept) I've made three separate yarn purchases this past week! First, and perhaps the cutest, was 4 skeins of Manos cotton stria to make Sweetie Pie from Minnow Knits. I'm making one in hot pink and one in bright orange (colors 205 and 206 - I tried to take a picture but the colors aren't working), and I think these are the sweaters that the girls will come home from the hospital in. Of course now I have to find super cute outfits to match. Oh - and wait until you see the buttons I got!

Then, I was looking around at different yarn options for my Tempest (which I've decided is to be my birthday present to myself) and called Colorsong just to see if the colors I liked would look good together. Well, the woman on the phone was so nice.. I ended up just buying the yarn. I got Mahogany and Ruby Red. And they arrived in the mail the other day, and they ARE beautiful. But, I've already started a different sweater - have you seen the new patterns from ChickKnits!? I feel in love with the Mondo Cable Pulli, and had the perfect yarn in my stash (Cascade Pima Silk), so cast on for it right away. I'm forcing myself to wait to cast on for Tempest until I'm done with The Mondo Cable. It seems like it's a quick knit though, I'm already past the armholes (it's a top down sweater).

And yes, all of my knitting is plain stockinette. It's what I can do now. But I'm loving knitting again. I hadn't made an adult sized sweater in a long time, and the success had with the Beautiful Bohus (pictures when I can wrangle in Aaron to take some) has buoyed my desire to knit and have a few fun things to wear for when this pregnancy is over.

And the final stash enhancement? Some Goth Sock yarn! I logged in just in time for the 3 PM update yesterday. I had 3 skeins in my cart, but 2 sold out before I could click buy! I really wanted Hot Flash but I did manage to get a skein in Business Time (grey and black). I'll just have to try again at the next shop update.

I forgot how fun it is to get new yarn. I need to stop having fun with buying it and go back to stash knitting now!

It has been done. And it is good.

2009-08-25T10:48:00.003-04:00

I called the yarn store on Monday. And we made an 'appointment' for 4:30 PM for the steeking to occur. I don't know why I was so nervous - but a lot of it had to do with the fact, I think, that this is the first adult sized sweater I've knit in about a year. I had a lot of time invested - time that is at a premium. I used to knock off socks or sweaters in no time at all, and if they failed.. no biggie. I had fun with the knitting, and would just make something else. But now? I'm only knitting things that I'm sure I'll wear - and they are taking a heck of a lot longer to complete.

Look how great this looked before we began the cutting:

Nice colorwork at the top, love the body shaping and the bell sleeves.... but it had to be cut. So Janet showed me how to sew the steeks (which was no big deal) and then I forced her to do the first cut:

Once I watched her do that first cut... I was good. I took over and cut it right up the middle. And last night, I picked up the buttonband and I think it looks wonderful:

I even tried it on, and it fit really nicely! At lunch today, I'm heading back to Woolpack and picking out the buttons and having them help me figure out the placement. I think I'll have a finished sweater by the end of the week. <== proof of how my life has changed! Last year? I would have said I'd have a new sweater by the end of the day. Doubt it. The Fishling and I are going to the lake for a swim after work - trying to get as much as we can out of this summer!

Bracing myself

2009-08-20T10:07:00.002-04:00

I finished the body of the Beautiful Bohus sweater yesterday. It IS beautiful. I was worried for a bit about the sizing, because I tried it on and it fits. As I hope to not be '24 weeks pregnant with twins sized' for long, I was nervous. But I showed Aaron, and he said that it went up a bit on my belly (the bottom of my belly is an area I haven't seen in a while), so it would be perfect later.

Thing is. I still need to steek it. I'm actually considering taking a day off work to go to the Woolpack and have them hold my hand as I do it. I've put so much time into knitting this, and I really love how it looks so far, I'm going to be pretty devastated if I ruin it. I called this morning, and the one woman who I thought could do anything knitting-wise is scared to steek! So that just makes it all even worse. I'm going to call back on Monday when the shop's owner gets back from vacation and we'll make a plan. I think it's funny that after 20 years of knitting, I'm being such a freaking wimp about this.

In the meantime, I'm going to be knitting on baby booties. I haven't even finished a pair yet, and wanted a bunch ready for when the girls arrive. I only had 2 pairs for the Fishling and daily I wished I had more and in a wider array of colors. Especially on the days that he spit up right ON the booties. So that is my next knitting project. Oh, and finally seaming up the February Baby sweater. Geez.

My birthday is less than a month away, and I find that every year around my birthday, I have a sweater that I'm dreaming of. Last year it was the Susie Hoodie, the year before the Kauni cardi (which, no I never finished) and this year it is Tempest that came to my attention from Zeneedle. It seems like such a wearable sweater! I'm planning on ordering that yarn this week. And next week? I'm totally getting some yarn from Goth Socks when they have their shop update on the 26th. I saw their yarn in person (Amanda got to go to the Sock Summit and brought some home) and besides being an AWESOME color, it's cashmere. Blessed, wonderful, soft cashmere. I needs it.

Hurrah for Baby Girl Sweaters!

2009-08-14T11:01:00.004-04:00

The wonderful support at Lettuce Knit sent me a tiny ball of yarn to finish up my i-cord tie, so I now have a finished Tulip sweater to show off!

Details:
Pattern: Tulips by Lindsay Pekney
Dream in Color yarn classy, in a kit from Lettuce Knits
I used a size 5 and size 3 needle to complete this... the knitting is crazy fast. The color changes make it a bit of a pain in the ass for finishing (all those ends to weave in) but it's totally worth it. Such a sweet little sweater.

And look, matchy without being too matchy-matchy!

I'm going to get new, girly buttons for the rocketry sweater but I think both are adorable!

Knitting for me!

2009-08-05T09:41:00.003-04:00

I ran out of yarn on the Tulips sweater (I forgot - the 'boy' version is Rocketry, the 'girl' is Tulips). I maybe need like an ounce more for the i-cord around the neck, and it's on it's way. But, instead of starting ANOTHER baby sweater (because now I have 6 newborn girl sweaters), I thought I would pick up on a sweater a started for myself about a month ago. I never even posted about it on here.... such a bad blogger.

One of the advantages of moving the yarn room was to find yarn I had bought for sweaters that I really wanted to make, but never started for whatever reason. Such is the case with the Bountiful Bohus from More Big Girl Knits:

This is a great cardigan, and I know I will wear it a lot. It has a nice cabled edging, and then loads and loads and loads of stockinette. I've finished the boring body knitting, and got a good start on the first sleeve. The fun will come with the colorwork in the yoke. The start was a bit rocky, I think I cast on the almost 300 sts 4 times, each time twisting the god damn thing. See, it's knit in the round and then steeked (eek! not thinking about that now). At the last cast on, when I discovered it was twisted AGAIN (fuck fuckity fuck fuck) I just cut it on the steek stitches and continued knitting. Let's hope that doesn't bite me in the ass later.

Aaron and I are on vacation this week, so we are having fun hanging out together, working on the house, and taking the Fishling to the lake to play in the water. Tomorrow he is having minor surgery - so think good thoughts for the little guy. I'm assured he will be fine, but I doubt I'm going to be sleeping very well tonight. I'll be glad for some mindless knitting in the waiting room, I'm sure.

Good God do I love this sweater

2009-07-31T13:40:00.005-04:00

Does everyone remember the Yarn Harlot's obsession with the kits at Lettuce Knit for a sweet baby sweater? I loved them just as much as she did, and bought a girl and boy kit. I knit the first sweater in a day. The one I knit was technically the 'baby boy' color - because the baby girl one was on back order. Good thing I knit the boy one first - because we all know the Fishling looked adorable in it:

So, when I started listing out all the baby girl sweaters I was thinking of knitting, of course the second in the pair was on the top of the list! And yep - it's got me obsessing on knitting it just like the first one. I cast on for this Tuesday night, and this is where I am now:

I don't regret that I waited to find out what gender the Fishling was.... but I do have to admit that the flip side is a LOT of fun!

Impossibly Small

2009-07-30T14:56:00.003-04:00

I made 2 pairs of Christine's Baby Booties for the Fishling... so I know that they fit on a newborn.... but I finished one today, and it seems SO small!

I made that February Baby Sweater (still not blocked) out of Dream in Color Smooshy - and have a HUGE amount of yarn left over from that ball. I'm going to probably be able to make 2 pairs of booties out of this color!

I'll let you guess...

2009-07-28T14:12:00.002-04:00

I found out last week the sexes of the twins. Which prompted me to do some knitting. I'll let you all guess what I have baking:

It's a crappy iPhone picture, and I'm not done weaving in the ends or putting buttons on yet... but I finished the knitting on the February Baby Sweater today and wanted to share my news ASAP!

Fish for the Fishling!

2009-07-06T09:09:00.004-04:00

This weekend, Aaron was away on a trip to see college buddies. I stayed home and a local college buddy visited me! She is the Fishling's godmother - and thank god she was here. The little guy was sick pretty much all day Saturday with some stomach issues...I was more than grateful to have her here as an extra set of hands.

Not only did she help with the sick baby, she also helped me get about 99% of the yarn stuff into the guest room, and that stuff is about 80% organized! Amazing!

AND! I even had time to finish a sweater!

This is a pattern from Roo Designs, Child's Roll-Neck with Fish (pretty original name, huh?), in Encore chunky. When I was emptying out my yarn shelves last week, I saw this project all ready to go, still in the bag I brought it home in. It was in chunky yarn, so I thought it would be fun. And it was! I made the 2 year size, hoping it'll fit my little hunk this winter. I love the little fishies.

My little helper

2009-07-01T19:19:00.001-04:00

It has begun. All of the yarn is on the floor, and the shelving has been moved to the guest room. The Fishling was helping:

It's a hell of a lot of yarn.

The dismantling of the yarn room and lilies!

2009-06-29T10:44:00.005-04:00

The twins will be living in the yarn room when they make their appearance in December. There is a HUGE amount of work to do to make that room 'livable'. It's the only room that we haven't done any work on - and it needs new flooring, wallpaper removal, painting and new windows. My stash has happily lived there and expanded over the past 5 years. In order to begin demo/renovations, the stash needs to move OUT. I started moving things into the guest room this weekend - and it was a bit daunting. Daunting, but doable. My goal is to make major progress by the end of the upcoming weekend. I'm doubtful -but trying to remain optimistic.

In the meantime, even though we have had minimal sun over the past month, my lily gardens are starting to show signs of life:

I planted hundreds of Asiatic lilies in one garden:

And then a huge amount of day lilies in a side yard:

I just love lilies, and I'm so glad they are starting to bloom.

She lives! And knits!

2009-06-23T19:50:00.003-04:00

So. Yeah. This blog kind of sucks now, I know. But the reality of working full time, a 6 month old and a twin pregnancy has curtailed my knitting. And, when I'm knitting, I'm only knitting one thing. Which does not lend for much blog excitement. And for a long time, that one thing was a stockinette sock. Yup.

One shivers with excitement.

BUT! I was considering starting something new, when the Yarn Harlot posted about her Moderne Log Cabin blanket - and I realized, I never finished mine! Perfect knitting for the cold, rainy weather we've been having lately. And nice and mindless, which is important when you brain is being sucked out your uterus. I've made a lot of progress, but still have a long way to go:

The final bits are supposed to be 2 side by side blocks of grey and purple (it'll actually be on the top of this picture - purple on the left hand side and grey on the right). I'm not loving the grey, so I'm thinking I'm going to do orange instead of grey.

Thoughts?

Success!

2009-05-30T16:39:00.003-04:00

I finished putting the buttons on this dress last night - just in time for the baby shower today:

The pattern is Little Sister's Dress and I did the 6 month size. It certainly wouldn't fit MY 6 month old... but I'm guessing he is not the norm (nor would he be wearing a pink dress). I used size 1 needles and Regia Cotton. I think it's super cute! I used the magic loop method, and I think if I made this again, I'd just get a small circular. Changing the cord all the time slowed me down.

It was well received!

He likes it

2009-05-27T10:07:00.002-04:00

A New Sweater for the Fishling

2009-05-18T10:55:00.003-04:00

Since my girth is growing yet again - I'm focusing on knitting a few sweaters for the Fishling for the fall. I'm thinking that these may be his last hand knit sweaters for a while....

I brought the yarn for this sweater a while back at a Webs sale. I really like the look of the fingering/sock weight yarn for baby sweaters - although it's a bit of torture to knit sweaters on size 1 needles. Good news, is that the Fishling is still small(ish - he is over 20 pounds at 5 months)

This is Devon from Knitty. I've knit it before (back in 2005!). I did the 1 - 2 year size this time, hoping it would be a good fit this fall. I'll try it on the Fishling when he gets home from daycare tonight - to me it's looking a bit wide and short.... I hope it wearable after all the time I invested.

The back looks great too:

I'm currently knitting another baby item in sock yarn - this one is a dress for a baby that is coming in June (not my own!). I found the pattern on a blog I read - she said it took her 2 days to knit it. Sigh. It's not going quite as quickly for me. Maybe something to do with the current baby and the babies on the way taking time and energy from their mumma!

A 3 year in the making FO

2009-05-06T11:05:00.003-04:00

Phew. I have been knitting, but nothing finished yet. Mostly, I want to sleep. Deja vu, anyone?

But - I did get back a quilt I've been working on for AGES. I think I started this about 3 years ago, back when we had a queen sized bed. I was about 50% done with it, when Aaron and I got a new bedroom set. As we drove home (I was all excited about my new furniture) I realized that I needed to double the size of the quilt. It took another full year to finish up the piecing.

Totally worth the pain, I must admit:

This is the most 'arty' quilt I've ever made. I based it on a kit from Keepsake quilting (which isn't available anymore) but I needed to triple the number of squares to get this size.

Now I'm going to need to get new curtains (the ones I have now are Roman shades I made myself and let's just say it wasn't a great effort).

This is the biggest and most fabulous quilt I've ever made! When I put it on the bed last night, I just couldn't stop looking at it.

Coming clean...

2009-04-27T09:07:00.003-04:00

The reason I haven't posted in AGES is because I'm pregnant again! Due 12/14. (and yes, the Fishling's 1st birthday is 12/5).

The kicker? It's twins.

I'm very tired and mildly freaking out but excited all at the same time. I really need to post pictures of my knitting, but the time that I usually spend on that is now spent sleeping. 4 more weeks and I'm into the 2nd trimester where I hopefully feel human again.

Easter Socks!

2009-04-12T19:16:00.002-04:00

Carole posted about her Easter socks - I'm wearing new socks today too!

These are my finished Majestic socks from the Woolgirl SOTM club.... and what a joy to knit. There is a tiny bit of errata - but I'm sure it will be fixed by the time the pattern is public. I must admit, I rarely knit with anything but STR for my own socks - but this Zen yarn? It's heaven. Soft and wonderful on my feet, and a real pleasure to knit. Now - we just need to see if they can manage to stay a size 11 after a few wearings.

I finished something else this weekend - but will save it for another post, since FO's are somewhat rare around here! Poor Fishling is really sick with RSV )but thankfully NOT so sick they his needs anything more than a lot of fluids, cuddling and sleeping upright) - while I feel bad for the little guy - I can get a lot of knitting done while he is napping and trying to get better.

More Monkey's

2009-04-09T15:09:00.005-04:00

I think this is my third pair of Monkey's? This time I used Schaefer Anne.

I have a few skeins of this in my stash. Beautiful, beautiful yarn.... felts like a mo'fo when I use it for my sweaty feet. It's all about the mohair for me.

These are a present for the Fishling's daycare teacher. The infant room is a 'shoefree homebase' - so each day, as I drop off the little guy, they comment on my socks. I finally had to explain that I only wear handknit socks, and yes - I knit them all. I joked around that I would knit them each a pair for their birthday's, only to find that Trish (his primary caregiver) had a birthday coming up on April 10th. I then decided that I would knit her a pair if I had yarn of her favorite color in my stash. Her favorites? Blues, purples, and greens. Since that is basically 90% of my socks yarn stash... I started knitting.

I'm also about 10 rows away from finishing my Majestic socks! Next up, maybe a non-sock project? I'm not sure.

Rain rain rain

2009-04-03T15:10:00.004-04:00

I usually love rain. I still love the SOUND of rain - but rain most days of the week? Not so much. I do love that the 50 degree weather + the rain has many of my bulbs peeking up! I'm knitting. Knitting socks. Totally not even interesting enough for a picture. But I did finish 3 quilts in the last month! I should put up picture of those.... but did I mention the rain?

How's about a quiz:

Your rainbow is strongly shaded indigo and yellow.

What is says about you: You are a joyful person. You appreciate cities, technology, and other great things people have created. You're good at getting people to like you. Friends count on you for being honest and insightful.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

Wow.

2009-03-24T14:22:00.003-04:00

So, juggling motherhood (of both baby AND dogs), working, upkeep of a house and upkeep of myself (aka exercising) - I'm finding the knitting blog is getting ignored! I haven't given up on knitting though. When I have time to concentrate, I'm working on those beautiful Majestic socks from my last post (which, by the way, has errata that I found - the fix is up on the Raverly Woolgirl Sock Club group if you need it). I finished one sock and am at the heel of the second.

All socks should be cashmere.

But since my budget/stash is not built that way - I started yet another sock this weekend:

I think it is a testament to my state of mind that I am very entertained watching the stripes form while I'm knitting. This is Austermann Step (the one with the Aloe Vera and Jojoba oil in the yarn?) and I'm really loving it. I was more than thankful that I started this new carry around sock when I found myself at the doctors' today for an ear infection. That's right - I have an ear infection. I thought that was something that babies deal with! Although I'll happily take the ear infection so the Fishling doesn't have too.

OMG and WTF

2009-03-09T14:12:00.005-04:00

First. I've started the socks from the February Wool Girl Sock club, and I'm in love. Head over heels in love with the yarn - Zen Serenity merino/cashmere sock yarn. It is a thousand kinds of wonderful. And I also love the cabled sock pattern. With some obsessive knitting this weekend, I finished the leg of the first sock:

So nice. So very very nice.

The reason I started these, is that I finished the 'I'm sorry your father died' socks:

I wrote a nice note telling her that I was sorry for her loss and explaining why I knit her socks... only to bring them to church and have her not be there. I think I will send them in the mail instead of waiting for another week.

The WTF part of this post is twofold. First - I HATE daylight savings time. Now, it not only messes ME up, but throws off the Fishling and his sleep schedule. He was sleeping 8 hours a night... and now he is back to 5. Sigh. And the other thing I'm pissed off at!? SNOW!!! It's snowing here AGAIN. Why won't this winter end already!?!?

All I knit is socks.

2009-03-04T12:24:00.004-05:00

I'm knitting another pair of plain socks. I'm using Swizzle, which I've never used before, but it is nice enough. I'm not even sure about the recipient. See, I was at church on Sunday (we go to a Unitarian Univeralist Church). A big part of the service is where we share our joys and sorrows with everyone else. This woman who I don't really know got up and shared that her father committed suicide the week before. She looked so sad - I just felt compelled to knit her some socks:

But - the farther away I get from the service, the more insecure I feel about giving these. Is it strange to get a pair of hand knit socks from a random person? I can't decide.

In other sock news, this year, I joined the Woolgirl Sock Club - and WOW! What an amazing package. We got CASHMERE sock yarn. I've never made a pair of cashmere socks before. And loads of other treats (chocolate, hand cream, a silk knitting bag). I think the color is wonderful for me - I'm so done with winter!

I'm going to cast on for these the second I finish those plain socks.

OR. I may cast on for Primrose Path from the new spring Twist. I freaking LOVE this pattern. But am I capable of knitting anything other than socks anymore? We shall see.

My knittting is boring

2009-02-24T16:29:00.003-05:00

Well. I'm almost done with my last Christmas present! Here is my current knitting:

Since that is super boring (the yarn is nice though - Spunky Eclectic).. I thought I would pay it forward a bit.

I'm always trying out tasty recipes that people post on their blogs, and I've found some really good ones. Today, I'm making my Mom's meatloaf, and thought I'd share. It isn't anything super fancy. Just good comfort food.

Mom's Meatloaf:

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 cup tomato juice (she tells me to get those little V8 cans, and add in 2 oz water to make it to a cup)
3/4 oats
1 egg
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Combine in a bowl with your hands. Put in a loaf pan and cook for an hour at 350.

YUM!

I made my own freaking english muffins.

2009-02-20T19:32:00.003-05:00

I saw the recipe over on Super Eggplant (go to Jan 11th entry), and figured I would give it a try.

Success! And they taste great!

Hurrah!

Knit Blogger Class of 2005

2009-02-13T13:16:00.001-05:00

Hey - check this out!

I've been blogging about knitting since August 2004! Crazy.

2 weeks

2009-02-12T10:09:00.004-05:00

That's right. 2 weeks until I'm back at work. God save me. I'm easing into it - 3 days a week for two weeks, and then 4 days for a week...but still! It's been a while.. but at the same time - I can't believe that my little Fishling is almost 10 weeks old! It's going to be strange to be at my computer without my little office mate:

He is very helpful. Right now - he is telling me how WONDERFUL it is to put his thumb in his mouth. Like that bumbo seat? My stepmother got it for him. He loves it, and she is still hoping he'll magically turn into a girl.

I've been trying to finish up the few projects I started before my little man arrived. I'm very close to finishing the chevron scarf I started in the hospital:
And these are socks that I started when I got put on modified bed rest:
This is the second sock! I'm hoping to have these done by Saturday to give to my friend. She is babysitting the Fishling while we go out to a romantic Valentine's dinner! Where I'm sure all we'll talk about it is baby poop, but hey - we need to try, right?

Spawn of Braun Boatneck

2009-02-02T21:47:00.006-05:00

A while back, I got my very own Spawn of Braun heavy weight yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. I wanted to make the Fishling something..... but what sort of something I wasn't sure. I decided that I would start out with just a plain old sweater. I looked around on Ravelry, and found a simple boat neck sweater pattern in Itty Bitty Nursery. The pattern calls for a bunch of stripes and embellishments - but I really just wanted to show off the yarn.

Here is the plain, finished sweater:

I liked it well enough. But I was nervous that it was a bit too pink for my little guy. I did add stripes of turquoise on the sleeves.... I asked Aaron if it looked too 'girly' and he said he didn't think so. "And even if it does, babe - it isn't like he cares!". But I figured I would just crochet around the neck in the turquoise. When I finished with that, I thought I'd add the little patch on the front. And then a little starburst. And then a few on the sleeves....

I don't know if it's more 'manly' - but I think it's cute!

Ta-da!

2009-01-26T16:02:00.007-05:00

I finished the Ripple Sweater for the Fishling yesterday. He likes it:

OK - that is one of those pictures - sweet baby, but not a great one of the knitted item. Here is the better picture for those who care about the knitting:

Details:
Pattern - Ripples from Inspired Cable Knits
Yarn - Baby Ull
Needles Size 1

This is a beautiful sweater. I won't suggest it for a fast knit, or one that you cast on for in the first weeks of your baby's life! But the finished product is worth the effort. I would make this again for an impressive baby shower gift.

Mittens!

2009-01-22T16:31:00.003-05:00

I've started taking the Fishling for walks. I've usually done it in a wrap, so he's all close and warm, and I haven't really worried about a snowsuit or mittens. But today, we walked with him in the stroller, and he wore his mittens from our Australian friend Anne:

Pretty cute, right? Thanks Anne!

Snug as a bug in a rug

2009-01-21T14:54:00.002-05:00

The Fishling and I just got back from a walk with the dogs. It's 23 degrees out - but the two of us were just fine. He was wrapped up in my Moby wrap and buttoned up under my coat. The only part exposed? His head. But that was wrapped in handmade love:

An awesome new hat from Leslie - another Sock Camp pal! There are matching booties too - but I can't even tell you how many shots I had to take to get this one! Does this woman know my color palette or what - my moby wrap is orange, and the blue in the hat is the same as the walls of my living room!

Thanks for that hat and the rest of the wonderful package!

Proof

2009-01-16T11:54:00.005-05:00

Proof of two things.

1: That the awesome hat that Cathy-Cate knit for the Fishling fits perfectly:

It's the only hat he wears now, FYI!

2: That I still knit:
This is the sweater I'm making for the little guy - why I ever chose to knit a complicated (by complicated I mean that there are two charts that have different row counts. I hate that) sweater on size 1 needles with fingering weight yarn is beyond me. The pattern is from Inspired Cable Knits, "Ripples in Time" - I think it's looks great. Kind of wish I'd started it BEFORE I actually had the baby...But - I've finished the back and am almost done with the arms. There is hope that he will wear this one.

Baby knitwear parade continues

2009-01-08T19:17:00.004-05:00

The Fishling got an awesome hand knit present in the mail yesterday (thanks Cathy, and I'm still obviously post-partum - the card made me cry). I don't have a picture of those items - as the weather here sucks and I can't get a decent picture with the flash. But! Do not fear! I have my Main Man modeling a few of the things that I knit him.

Remember My Precious? The sweater that was so much fun to knit? I'm happy to report that it is also super cute on a baby:

Today we went to our first 'mommy group' (side note - some of those women are a wee bit crazy) - so he had to look cool. I realized that the rollneck sweater hadn't been worn yet.
Of course, it was way too hot in the store to wear the sweater for more than 2 minutes, but I did get a picture of him wearing it!

I finished something!!!!

2009-01-04T10:40:00.003-05:00

HA!

I thought it would never happen again, but I have finally got things on the baby front decently under control... so I've been able to knit a bit. Not like the old, pre-baby days, but I finished those socks for my friend with the size 12 feet (baby included for scale):

And since the baby wasn't super cute in the 'for scale' picture - another not so great picture of the socks, but cute one of my son:
I have obviously not lost my blogging mojo, because I've managed to save the ball band to report on the yarn! I started these in October! Damn, I rock. I used Lana Grossa Meilenweit Multiringle, in color 5040 - and size 0 needles. I just did a vanilla sock pattern with 64 stitches (Darrin has long skinny feet). He put them on and said - 'Hey! Socks that fit!' So obviously he needs to be in my hand knit sock rotation.

Cute Baby Hat!

2008-12-27T17:31:00.003-05:00

Well - Aaron took the late shift last night, and I blessedly got 6 hours of sleep ALL IN A ROW last night. It was awesome. And my mom is still visiting - so there was an extra set of hands today. I got to sit and knit today. I found this Cabled Baby Hat pattern on Ravelry - and it worked out perfectly.

Of course, I finished it at night - so the pictures aren't perfect... but I hope the baby cuteness makes up for the flash pictures:
I used Goddess Yarns Emmanuela - a super soft Aran weight merino...
It's a nice easy pattern, and fits him really well! Now he has a cool 'boy' hat to wear in the cold weather! Now I'm moving onto some blue booties.

Minimal Knitting.

2008-12-26T15:09:00.003-05:00

Well - I have to admit that barely any knitting is getting done here. I can't really even envision a time when I could actually sit and knit anything substantial again! I know that will change, but doubtful it will change in the near future. I am really glad that I had those 2 blue sweaters - he wears those often - but is almost to big for the Baby Mine! I want to make a couple 3 month sized sweaters for him to make it through the rest of the winter, but not sure which I want to make. For sure, a Baby Surprise using the Spawn of Braun... but I don't want to place my order for that yarn until I know how many skeins I need! One is surely not enough.

Guess I'll figure that out in my free time. Ha. Ha. Ha.

Oh, and a hat. I want to make him a super cool baby boy hat, but need to find the right pattern and the time!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T09:28:00.002-05:00

Santa Rocks

2008-12-19T14:00:00.003-05:00

Soon, enough, I'll get back to posting about knitting. But I still have sweaters that you need to see modeled on my little guy - so you will have to suffer through more baby pictures. Today we had a big outing - 2 week checkups for both of us. He is up to 9.5 pounds, I'm down 20 and my incision is healing really well.

Anyway - we wanted to wear our cool shirt and jeans:

And topped off with the Baby Surprise jacket!
I don't think it's the hand knits that are making him cry....

Annoucing....

2008-12-14T09:35:00.006-05:00

The Fishling's very own colorway!

Blue Moon Fiber Arts introduced the Spawn of Braun on Dec 5th!

Image lifted from their site - I haven't gotten any of my own yet.... but first I need to decide what to make with it! Suggestions welcome.

Isn't it awesome! Thanks so much Tina.