Little Acorn

The Sweater

I didn't do much crafting for our second wee one, as I just didn't ever think there really would be a second, and I didn't know if we were waiting for a little sister or a little brother. Then once we found out about our girl, it was all so very "maybe" until the last minute when it was "now now NOW". But I did knit a couple of little sweaters, and I'm so happy that Vivian is still squeezing into this one. The weather has been GORGEOUS here lately, and the sweater isn't really needed, but she looks so adorable in it and she's happy to wear it since it has short sleeves - Vivian isn't a fan of long sleeves these days.

Seeing this really makes me itchy to get knitting again and make Vivi something that will fit her in the fall. I'm picturing the same sweater but in a gently variegated freshly-fallen-leaves palette. This is the "In Threes" baby cardigan pattern I found on Ravelry. I never buy patterns, but I was in such a frazzled state when I was looking for a project that I wanted something that I didn't have to think about and that was guaranteed to turn out right without any brain power from me. This pattern is perfect - easy, seamless, sleeveless (knitting sleeves is my least favourite part of any sweater project) and so very sweet. My front edges roll, which bugs me unendingly, but I don't think that's a flaw in the pattern. I think it's because I used some leftover acrylic-blend yarn from Adeline's rainbow blanket so I couldn't block it properly and it's also stretched pretty tight over Vivi's adorable toddler belly, which both contribute to the rolling, I'm sure. At the time I was getting started, I just wanted to get knitting and used the first yarn I came to that I had enough of, as I needed something to busy my hands and mind while we waited to finally bring home our one and complete our family.

Here's Vivian wearing the sweater last summer right after we got home from Vietnam...

Oh my has she grown! Well, not so much in the hair department, but everywhere else...I don't know why she's looking so serious in the pictures I took this afternoon and so gleeful in this picture from last June. Last June Vivi was crying pretty well every minute she wasn't touching her Mama when we were out in the garden and now being outside is Vivian's ultimate happy place and she loves to just explore and play as I putter around.

 

Sunglasses recommended

Fifty out of seventy squares are completed for Adeline's all-the-colours blanket. If I was a math person I'd figure out what percentage that is. It's way more than half, is all I know, and that feels pretty good. One percentage I can figure out is how many ends I've woven in and besides the ones that were crocheted over, the answer would be ZERO PERCENT. Yikes.




It's bright, happy, warm, LOUD and joyful - just like Adeline.

She's going to love it!

Bunny Hat

The world welcomed a brand new baby cousin for Adeline in January and of course what better excuse is there for me to knit my very favourite thing in the world - a super cute baby hat. Not just any hat, but a bunny hat, using the same pattern from "Itty Bitty Hats" that I used for Adeline's 2 years ago although this one I made with a much chunkier yarn, which made it a very fast project. It was about this time in 2010 that we were waiting anxiously to be invited back to Vietnam and my nerves were being (oh so slightly) calmed by knitting hat after hat for my baby girl. Adeline has outgrown all those baby hats now and certainly would have stretched this one all out of shape, so one of our balls had to model...

Adeline was excited that I was making a hat for "Baby Cousin Annie" and wanted to help. Every little while she would ask me if I needed any yarn unrolled and would take some off the ball for me. A few times Adeline stood in front of me and I put my hands over hers and talked her through making the stitches while she concentrated carefully on what she was doing. There were a lot of happy wishes knit into this wee hat.

Adeline wanted me to find her bunny hat when I told her that's what I was making for the baby, and she's been wearing it stretched tight over her ever growing head for the last few days. My sweet little bunny needs a bunny hat, so without even letting my needles get cold I've cast on for a "big girl" bunny hat.

Green Vest

I was right - the green vest is WAY cuter on a live human baby. You can see the post here from last August where I blogged about making this vest. At the time the newel post did a fine job standing in for our small person while I was attempting to knit away my anxiousness as we waited to find out who our little one was (or indeed if there was even a little one out there for us) but it's just so much better now that I've got Adeline to model! David thinks sweater vests are dorky, even on children, but I think they're totally awesome, and will be knitting more. This one is already a wee bit tight, but it's so cozy and Adeline likes to pat herself when she's wearing it, so she must like it!

The Cutest Little Jailbird!

Now that the weather is cooling off Adeline is getting to wear some of her Mama's hand knits. This is probably the sweater I love the most - I loved every minute of making it and I love how cute it is on my sweet and sassy girl. I knit it last summer, before I knew who our Small Person was going to be or even if our Small Person was a boy or a girl. I certainly had no idea then that the World's Cutest Baby was going to be coming into our lives, but I knew that whoever he or she was, we would need to keep the chill off with some handmade sweaters!

I blogged about making the sweater here and the free pattern can be found here. It's the "Little Coffee Bean Sweater" from The Brown Stitch and this is a seriously awesome and well written pattern. No seaming! Stripes without a million ends to weave in! Cuteness for miles! I'm going to have to make Adeline a bigger version as she's likely to be out of this one before the winter is through.

Much cuter than the newel post...

Remember way back when the only model I had for my baby projects was the newel post? The Cupcake Hat was sweet on the newel post, but on Adeline? A total sugar rush! 

Oh, okay. One more picture! I just love when Adeline laughs so hard that it takes over her whole body! This is what she looks like when that happens...

I think David was barking like a big dog ("a-rrrooof, a-rrrooof") to get her belly laughing like this. It's not hard to get her laughing lately. That seems to be her new thing - finding everything HILARIOUS. Sometimes she'll just be playing quietly and will start giggling like a crazy girl. She's obviously finding something super funny, but I can never figure out what!

Happy Easter!

Our tropical little bunny is very displeased with the chilly Canadian spring. This is the face we see whenever we take our girl outside, even if she's bundled up and topped with a hand knit hat. It might be toasty for us, but Adeline is used to the heat and humidity of Vietnam and is finding this all very much NOT to her liking. This goes hand in hand with how we finally figured out how to make sure she doesn't wake herself (and us) up frequently - blast the heat in her room until it's a sweaty and sweltering 30 degrees. If it's way too hot for me, she's happy as can be and has nice long naps in the morning and afternoon and then sleeps for two five hour stretches at night with a quick bottle and cuddle in the middle. We've even managed to move bedtime to eight! Getting some regular naps and unbroken sleep at night is making it a very happy Easter for all!

I hope all of you have the happiest of Easter days. There may not be any chocolate bunnies to bite the ears off of this year, but it doesn't mean we aren't celebrating. Easter is a time of new beginnings and new hope. A time of rejoicing in the world coming back to life after a cold dark winter. It couldn't be a more appropriate first family holiday for us.

Flower Hat

Can't...stop...knitting...hats

But when the pattern is as cute as this, who can resist? And I rounded up a box of odd balls of yarn that needs to be put to good use, and what better use than a hat that looks like a large blossom has been dropped onto the head of your small one?

Like the bunny hat this on is from the book "Itty Bitty Hats". This is totally the book I wish I'd written. Fun and whimsical but never cheesy, lovely photography and really easy to follow instructions. My library doesn't have "Itty Bitty Nursery" or "Itty Bitty Toys" but I know I'd love those books too. Yes, I'm too cheap frugal to buy craft books and have to rely on my library to get me my fix. This awesome hat is the "Upside Down Daisy" and I worked it in a toddler size with a butter coloured soft organic cotton for the hat and a dusty pink cotton for the flower. Pink and yellow might just be my new favourite colour combination.

It's an addiction, I know, but no intervention is necessary. No baby can ever have enough hats and there are new babies being born every single day, all of them with chilly noggins.

David says...

...that if I want people who are reading my blog to cry, then I should show them this hat

 

I really hope you don't cry, but there is something particularly heartbreaking about this hat with no small, warm, good smelling head to wear it. This sweet-like-sugar bunny hat is from the book "Itty Bitty Hats" and I whipped it up over the last two days. I wasn't planning to make any more small person sized hats, but I found a tiny ball of  Patons Silk Bamboo during my studio clean up and really wanted to make something with it just so that I could have the pleasure of feeling that deliciously soft yarn slide through my fingers. After looking at many patterns, this wee hat was the only thing I wanted to knit.

In my heart I believe that Adeline will be wearing it at Easter time.

Keeping Busy

Here's the completed doll blanket that I was working on. It was very hard to photograph because it's been so dark and dreary lately. We've had nothing but ark building weather, the sun hasn't shone since Christmas and the lamps in the living room have to be on all day. I'm quite impressed with the scalloped edging I managed to finish the blanket with as I just started crocheting without a pattern and it turned out just the way I had imagined, which NEVER happens. It's waiting for Adeline in her room with the soft dolly that Santa brought and my rocking chair from when I was a little girl. I'm still keeping myself very busy in an effort to distract myself. Here's a partial list of some of the things I've done that really didn't need doing, but kept me off the sofa...

- Re-arranged the deck furniture. In January. While wearing mittens.

- Finally organized all our wrapping paper/ribbons/bows/tags/cards/gift bags.

- Cooked a complete turkey dinner. Just for David and I. On a Tuesday.

- Laminated stuff. A lot of stuff.

- Tried to take pictures of the cats, but it was nearly dark and they weren't in the mood to pose.

- Re-arranged my freezers.

- Cleaned out the super high cupboard over the fridge.

- Spent a full afternoon looking up recipes for pasta with squash, pine nuts and sage and then decided in the end just to wing it.

- Raked very wet leaves. In January. While wearing mittens.

knitknitknitknitknit

Fresh off the needles this morning is this "Kaia Babydoll" knit from the pattern at Crafty Wee Wifey.

It was an easy, quick and mindless knit, and I love the lack of seaming. It took exactly 2 balls of Baby Cashmerino, which is a satisfyingly soft and squishy yarn to work with. The lace part at the bottom got nixed after my first attempt ended with me having to frog back 3 rows. Lesson: lace and television don't mix. I think it's one of those patterns that I'll make again and again, but there are definitely changes I'd like to make. In all the pictures that accompany the pattern the neckline definitely rolls and I can't say I like that. Mine is rolling a bit too, but I'm hoping once it's blocked it will straighten out. Why am I so delusional about things like that? It's not like I didn't notice the roll...I just thought mine wouldn't do that, which is just plain denial of the facts. Next time I'll work a few more rows of garter stitch or maybe moss stitch (my all time favourite) which will hopefully stop the rolling. I think I'll also try it in a smaller gauge as the bottom is just too loosely knit and drapey for my taste. I'd also like to try it with the whole skirt portion in a lace pattern, but with the increases every 5 rows, this might prove too tricky for me. All in all I'm happy enough with it, and of course once our small person is wearing it, no one will notice if the neckline rolls or if I forgot one of the increases.
Next I'm looking for a pattern for a 3-6 month sized shrug/bolero/short fitted cardigan, hopefully in a really easy lace pattern. And while I'm wishing I'd like it to be knit top down, with no seams. Is that too much to wish for? Or it could be a crochet pattern, but then I'll have to learn how to crochet more than granny squares. In Vietnam the ceremony at the government office where Vietnam's Lam becomes our daughter forever is called the "Giving and Receiving Ceremony" and of course we want her to be dressed beautifully to start her new life with us. These are clothes we will keep forever and hopefully someday they will be special to her too, so it feels really important to us to choose just the right thing. In my fantasies she is in beautiful handmade clothing from top to bottom, but although I have a rich imagination, I DO know my limitations, and sewing fancy baby clothes isn't within my skill set. I wish it was possible and I feel a touch guilty about having store bought clothes for such a momentous occasion, but I know I'm setting myself up for disappointment if I try and make her a special occasion dress. We have bought her a really lovely little jumper dress and blouse, and because it will be winter and cold in Northern Vietnam she needs to have at least a sweater to go over it for the ceremony, and that I know I can manage. Now just to find the right pattern...

That baby sure has a lot of hats...

Can't...stop...knitting...baby hats...

The Gnome Hat

Thanks so much for all the gnome love! I too can't wait to see it on our small person! For those interested in the pattern, I've figured out that it's probably from this book - SimpleChic by Jil Eaton.

I used all my Nancy Drew skills to try and figure this out for you. I looked at the library's online catalogue and this cover really jumped out at me and I remembered that the book the pattern came from also had dog sweaters in it. Then I remembered I also had a photocopy of the Christmas tree hat that's on the cover so that was another clue. When I found the tree hat pattern it's in exactly the same format/font/style as the one called "Elf Hat" which is what I used (it just looks more gnome than elf to me), so I'm thinking it has to be from this book. I put a hold on the book at the library, so I should be able to check by the weekend to see that it's there for sure. For those who might want to knit one for your own small person (or yourself - the pattern has sizes for babies, toddlers, children and adults) I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick 'n Quick yarn and 8 mm/ US 11 needles. That's not what the pattern calls for, but it gave me the gauge I needed. I often like my knitting in a smaller gauge than called for as I prefer a nice firm fabric. Besides the needle size, the only modification I made was to make braided ties instead of the crocheted ties in the pattern. I just thought they would be chunkier and cuter. For a cable needle I improvised and used a matching sized dpn. If you  haven't cabled before this is a great project to give it a try! This hat was such a satisfying project I'd love to make some more, so I would definitely be open to a trade if you'd just like me to knit you one!

A Gnome Hat

In red, of course.  Okay, I am SERIOUSLY in love with everything about this hat.
I enjoyed every minute of the approximately 3 hours it took me to make, including the knitting, sewing up, fabricating that ludicrously large tassel and braiding the straps.
And cute? It squeezes my heart when I think about it - that's how cute it is. The giant cable. The floppy tail. That huge tassel. It all just works for me. I wish I could point you towards the pattern, but I photocopied the instructions out of a library book a few years ago and of course have no idea what the book was. If anyone knows, I'd love to find out and give credit where credit is due to the designer of this awesome hat.
 
Yes, I have been doing all sorts of other things besides knitting, but you wouldn't know it from my posts lately. I've even been working on a large sewing project that may or may not be my first patchwork quilt - hopefully I'll share news of my triumph with you soon.

Cable Baby Hat

 
A so-very-soft cable hat in Patons Bamboo Silk using the 10 cable baby hat pattern from Hey Julie.
My only modification was to make a longer folded brim. The cables make it a nice stretchy hat, so I think the folded brim makes for a hat that can be worn for longer. Nothing sillier on a baby than a too short hat perched on their wee noggin! I made a similar one in different colours as a gift last week (but I forgot to photograph it), but this one is for our very own small person, whoever he or she may be.

Green Vest

Ah, much better. 5 mm needles and worsted weight yarn knit up into a 4 to 6 month size baby vest. Once again I used this pattern - Pebble, from The Thrifty Knitter. Since I did both shoulders with the buttons it had no seaming, which you know I'm a fan of. Next time (oh yes, there will be a next time) I think I'll try the 3 needle bind-off instead of the seamed shoulder and maybe moss stitch instead of the garter and I may size it up (using the powers of mathematics and maybe even a gauge swatch) into something appropriate for the 6 to 12 month set. The brown vest was knit as written in the pattern with DK weight yarn and it ended up barely a newborn size for me, so I'm happy that the second attempt came out to a size that's going to be just right for the small person who should be 4 to 6 months old when we arrive in Vietnam to complete the adoption. The newel post does a decent job modeling the wee knitwear, but I just know this vest is going to be way cuter on a baby. I just love a sweater vest. Good looking AND practical. I wear them a lot in the cooler months. They keep me warm but keep my arms free for action. I think they look good on anyone - babies, children, women and especially men. I have yet to convince David that he would be ultra-sexy in a dork-tastic kind of way in a sweater vest.

Baby Hat #2

I can't say I'm loving how the striping turned out on this hat, but it was a nice small monotonous heat-wave-and-no-air-conditioning friendly knitting project for this week. It's sock yarn from my collection (no, I don't knit socks, but I do have a LOT of sock yarn - don't ask) and tiny needles. I just cast on 144 stitches (after measuring my gauge on my one and only handknit sock) and then I knit in the round until I though it was tall enough. I never did any decreases, just finished off the top with a 3-needle bind off and added some tassel-y thingamabobs on the corners and declared it a baby hat.

Brown

A brown vest with mismatched buttons, knit for the small person, but unfortunately too wee in the end. Oh well, it will either be a doll sweater or it will find a brand new baby that needs a toasty vest. It was supposed to be about a 4 to 6 month size, but it ended up measuring more in the newborn range. Yes, gauge issues and a lack of a swatch can definitely be blamed. I admit it - for small projects I almost never swatch. I work a couple of inches and then I measure and rip it out if I have to. This time I measured and I KNEW it was probably too small, but I kept knitting anyway. I was hoping for some sort of last minute miracle at the blocking stage, but it didn't happen. I used this pattern, and it turned out super cute and once again there was almost no seaming - just the one shoulder. That was enough though. I think my seamed shoulder is lumpier than it should be and I'm probably going to go for buttons on both shoulders for my next one to make it a zero-seaming pattern. Yes, I've already started another, with chunkier yarn and bigger needles. Once again, no swatch was made, so it will be a surprise what size it will end up. You would think I'd learn, wouldn't you?

Jailbird Sweater

Okay, some of you may say it looks like a zebra sweater to you, but I totally get a classic prison stripes vibe when I look at this black and white short sleeved baby sweater and hat I knit last week.
I suppose if the Small Person HAS to get a tattoo a classic "Mom" is the one I'd want him to get...

The pattern is the Little Coffee Bean Sweater and it was a JOY to knit from start to finish. A top down raglan with NO SEAMING. Oh how I hate seaming. Oh how all my seaming always looks lumpy and weird. We won't discuss the many couple of projects I've got tucked away, all knit but languishing in a box because I just can't face the sewing up. Top down seamless raglan anything is a friend to me. This is now my go-to pattern for baby cardigans.
Ahhhh, I just love stripes. These ones are just two colours and only two rows each so the yarn is just carried up the side, which means it also doesn't have a million ends to weave in. I'm kinda in love with the jailbird sweater. Thanks to Elizabeth at the Brown Stitch for the free pattern! I'm also really grooving on her Concetta Cardigan and might need to take a break from knitting tiny things, buy the pattern and make something Lisa-sized.

Baby Hat #1

Baby hats are undoubtedly my favourite knitting projects. This is the first of many I'm planning to complete before the small person comes home. Wee ones can't have too many hats, can they? They're a great project for me because they're super quick and satisfying and when they're done? Nothing cuter. I'm definitely an instant gratification knitter, so stuff for a small person is just perfect for me. I have a theory that all babies should wear goofy hats. Then everyone that baby meets won't be able to stop themselves from grinning and baby will get the impression that the world is a joyful and fundamentally good place. I believe that about the world, so I think it's an important lesson. Does anyone remember the turkey viking hat by Chile con Yarne? Oh how I wish I'd printed that pattern before it left the web. David has some Norwegian ancestry so a Viking hat would be very, very cool. Of course we suspect that David's family would have been in the "burned and pillaged" demographic, but still... Other hats I have plans for? Mohawk hat. Squid hat. Hats depicting various produce. Yoda hat. Kitty hat. Totoro hat. Can you think of any other must knits? For the cupcake hat I looked at this pattern but I just went ahead and winged it and this was probably a mistake. I don't think the top is plump  enough and when I had finished my row of icing blobs I had half as many stitches as I expected, so I had to do some quick thinking and cast on a bunch of stitches on the next row. Not too bad all in all though. Modeling the cupcake hat is our newel post -until the small person comes home this will have to do. Luckily it has a diameter about the same as a 6 month old baby noggin, so it works out.

Sick, but productive

Yes, I'm still sick. Really sick. So sick that even though David had planned an entire weekend of birthday fun and a special evening on Monday (my actual birthday) I couldn't enjoy any of it. That led to me feeling sick AND sorry for myself. The worst part is that I'm not sleeping more than a couple of hours a night so I'm a total mess each and every day. Today I might be feeling a bit better, but it's hard to tell since I'm so tired. If I can just get a decent  sleep then I think things will really look up. It's been 7 days now. At 10 I guess I'll go see the doctor if things haven't improved. I'm continuing to be productive though. I'm one of those people that always needs to have busy hands so I've been crocheting granny squares for the past few days. Granny squares have always been one of my favourite craft projects because they're just so repetitive and soothing. Sewing all those ends in is less fun, but once you find your rhythm it can be pretty trance-inducing as well.
 

Lost Long Weekend

It was the Victoria Day long weekend here. Most of our friends and neighbours celebrated by getting outside to play, having barbecues, enjoying the parade, soaking up the sun and other generally pleasant pastimes. How did David and I spend our weekend and every day since? Taking turns being sick. REALLY SICK. Not swine flu sick, but still SICK. I won't go into details - they're too horrible. David started it all by coming home with a sore throat on Friday and I took good care of him through the weekend, until on Tuesday when I succumbed. For a couple of hours I insisted that I was only really thirsty and that I didn't have a sore throat, but by dinner time on Tuesday I admitted I was sick and I've been getting sicker ever since. Hopefully today is my worst day and by tomorrow I'll be feeling a little better. The one good thing about being stuck inside on the sofa watching movies for days on end is that there is a lot of time for knitting. I could only work on a super mindless project so I made this wee kimono-style sweater. The pattern is here on the lion brand website - you might need to sign up to see it, I'm not sure. I modified it so that the edges wouldn't roll, but other than that kept the pattern as written. Super easy and a very satisfying quick knit with yarn like rope and super huge needles. Endless stockinette was just what my jelly-like brain craved. I think it turned out pretty cute.  

The Ankle Cozies

Oh alright, they're legwarmers. Glorious, wonderful legwarmers! I've been converted. I finished knitting these awhile back but the sun has refused to shine since then so David wasn't able to snap a picture for me until this weekend. How many people can say, when asked what they did on Sunday, "We did a legwarmer photo shoot "? David took his job as photographer very seriously and I have pictures of me wearing my legwarmers skipping on rock walls, standing in tall grass, sitting on the back stairs and lounging on a bench, among others. In the end I thought a simple picture of me standing on a chair in the kitchen really shows off my toasty legs best.

The specs:
Yarn: Fleece Artist Woolie Silk 3 ply, 125 grams from an 180 gram hank (enough left for some baby legwarmers maybe?)
The pattern: My own, based on measuring my legs and hoping my gauge would be close to what was on the ball band. I could come up with a pattern if anyone is interested. I'm already thinking about another pair. Maybe with cables this time, even though I hate knitting cables.
The method: Knit in the round on two  4 mm circular needles. I want to use this technique for all my knitting. I love not having to wrestle with double pointed needles or sew up seams.

And the answer is...

Cricket was right, but they are so so much cuter than the ones in this picture and they are absolutely NOT legwarmers. Calf cozies? Footless socks? Leg tubes? Something else, something fashionable and totally 2009, but they're certainly not legwarmers, which I have sworn again and again that I would never wear, never mind knit. I was around in the '80s and old enough to know what's what. I remember legwarmers and yes, I'll even admit to owning and proudly wearing a pair. At the time they were totally awesome and I must say my choice of all wool beige and pink fair isle was so much cooler than all the girls who were warming their legs with squeaky polyester neon. I remember I paid 16 dollars of my own 1982 money for those legwarmers, which was a fortune, but I loved them just that much. No modeled pictures of my new footless socks, but soon, I promise. Trying to take pictures of your own toasty calves is nearly impossible, will possibly lead to me injuring myself and it's bad for my ego as I have to wrestle with the thought that it might NOT be camera distortion and my legs might actually be that ginormous. I'll have to get David to take some pictures soon though, because my new accessory is seriously cute. And yes, the bottom of my legs DO get cold and they DO appreciate something to keep them warm, thank you very much.

Speaking of Cricket - did you see the Totoro jumper she made? So very awesome and I want one in my size!

And to those who guessed cat sweater: Oh yeah, I've thought about it...

What's Lisa Knitting?

Any guesses?

Hint: It's something I said I would NEVER knit.

Are radioactive acorns to blame?

A lot of bloggers like to pretend they're perfect and that everything they attempt turns out just right. I'm not one of those bloggers, so I'm willing to show you the hideously mutated squirrels I attempted on the back of this wee sweater. That's right - those pointy blobs with the scarily big jaggedy eyes are supposed to be sweet little squirrels. Ha! It was cute on the graph paper, and it might be cute in a finer gauge, but these squirrels? Things went terribly wrong and they are so not cute. These squirrels are really rather terrifying in their mutated horribleness. I tried to convince myself that they were kind of cute...a little folk art-y...fine from a distance or some such thing, but really? UGLY. Creepily ugly. Immediately after photographing I ripped this back and it will now be a plainer but less hilariously horrifying striped sweater.

Sock in Progress

I think I'm working on the gusset? I've acaccomplished the heel (with step by step instruction from my teacher) and once I get through the gusset I think we're heading straight to the toe and towards being finished. I've never been happier to have tiny feet. My poor finger hurt for the first couple of days from those pointy little needles and now it's just plain numb. I can't say socks are my favourite things to knit, but I'm determined to at least get through this pair and I'm glad I'm taking the class. Knitting in the round on two circular needles is definitely a technique I'll use again.

Never Say Never

I've said many times that I would never knit a pair of socks. NEVER. Tiny needles. Tiny yarn. Gussets? I don't even know what that word really means and it doesn't sound very friendly. Short rows? Heel turning? The stores are full of socks and even though few of them actually fit me because of my tiny hoof-like feet, I didn't think I'd ever want to MAKE socks. I'm a lazy knitter, I admit it. I can do most of the fancy stuff, but my favourite project is something with miles of stocking stitch in the round where you just knit knit knit and don't think at all. I've tried just about everything - lace, cables, intarsia, fair isle, textures, felting, straight, circular and in the round, but usually only once before I go back to a tube or rectangle of stocking stitch or ribbing. So this makes it seem very unlikely that I would sign up for a "socks on circulars" class at my local yarn shop. I told myself it was so that I could get out of the house and meet some creative people and learn to knit small things like softies and the tops of hats without the porcupine effect of usingdouble pointeds, but it's a SOCK CLASS after all, and what I'll be making is a pair of socks. With tiny yarn. On tiny needles. In front of other people. I've never knit in front of another knitter before - I have this fear that the class will be full of snooty super-knitters who already know how to do everything and will tell me that the way my Grandma taught me is all wrong and there will be eye-rolling and stifled laughter at how slow I am. Okay, I really know that all of that is extremely far-fetched and that none of it will actually happen, but I'm a person who always fantasizes about worst case scenarios before everything. I'm sure it will be good. I'm a confident (though admittedly slow) knitter who has knit with yarn and needles smaller than this before (on the neverending lace stole project which is stalled again), I'm usually good at learning new things and I like to meet new people.

Update: Some of those knitters are FAST, but none of them are snooty, I'm in the middle as far as skills go and the "knitting something round on 2 circulars" is an interesting and useful technique. I'll never make a hat with double pointed needles again. I need to finish the whole 7 inch shank of my sock for the next class and already my finger hurts from that pointy little needle...

Autumn Scarf

  Back in July my local yarn shop had a big sale and I bought an excessive amount of sock yarn for someone who doesn't knit socks. But it was all just so PRETTY and such a great price. I'm not the kind of knitter with a huge stash. I like to have projects lined up for my yarn and I like to move things through so that I can buy more yarn. I've got a few "too special to just knit any-old-thing" yarns, but these sock yarns didn't fall into that category, so I needed to find patterns that used just one skein of sock yarn. I searched online for patterns, but didn't really come up with anything. Then I thought of the old standby - Feather and Fan or Old Shale. There are a lot of Feather and Fan haters out there, but it's a great basic lace pattern which will teach the beginner some solid skills or for the more advanced (or lazy) it's an easy to memorize television watching project that turns out looking more complicated than it is. I think it looks best  in variegated yarns and in the fine gauge of sock yarn I think it's very elegent. My finished scarf is about 6 feet long and about 6 inches wide and the colours and pattern together make me think of sun dappling through autumn leaves. In the photo it's wound around many times and what looks like pooling in the yarn is just shadows. I was lucky enough to find a charming model, although she was a little shy about posing. I don't claim to have invented this scarf pattern, I'm sure it's been done by generations of knitters before me, so we'll just call this a scarf recipe.

Feather and Fan Sock Yarn Scarf

You Need : one skein Fleece Artist Merino 2/6, or sock yarn of your choice.                

               : one pair straight needles, I used 3.25 mm.

Gauge: it's a scarf  

Instructions:

Cast on 42 stitches

Knit 5 rows

From this point on the first and last 3 stitches of every row will be knit to form a border. The 36 stitches in the middle are your Feather and Fan. Feather and Fan is knit in multiples of 18, so if you would like your scarf to be wider and shorter you can add 18 stitches to this pattern and no less. You will still have your 3 stitch border on each side and your lace in the middle.  

Row 1: Knit

Row 2: Purl

Row 3: Knit 3, *[K2 tog] 3 times, [yo, k1] 6 times, [k2 tog] 3 times, rep from * to last 3 stitches, Knit 3

Row 4: Knit

Continue these 4 rows until you're almost out of yarn. End with 5 knit rows, cast off, block and there's your scarf! Do take the time to block it. It will stop the curling, even out the stitches and just make it look so much better.

How Do You Spell Procrastination?

C-R-O-C-H-E-T

It's much bigger than this now. A project AND a blankie that keeps me pinned to the sofa - perfect for cold days when I just feel like letting my brain get soft and doughy.