Migrated

My flock is finally finished. Weaving in all of the ends was a daunting task

While I tackled those, Hubby sewed them onto the branches and arranged the birds. It took both of us the better part of an afternoon, but it was a lovely result.




Here is a baby's eye view!




I love it! Hubby was having trouble letting it go. He had it hanging in our living room right up until I packed it up to ship out. Eventually they migrated south (a bit late but all in one piece) to our friends and their new baby. I hope he enjoys those adorable tummy stripes as much as I do.

WIP: Growing Flock

My flock hasn't gotten much attention lately but my time table has been pushed way up. Fortunately these birds are quick little knits. I only have two more before I start the branches and leaves. I've found the best way to get work done on these is to carry all of my supplies for the project around in one bag. It really is more than I need for any bit of knitting, but these work up so quickly that it is only a bit of knitting before I am changing colors or sewing up a new piece. I feel like I'm carrying around an ridiculous amount, but I am not getting stuck with nothing to do after 10 minutes of knitting. No hangups means progress continues. Now on to the next one, with a green tail, and maybe yellow stripes.

Not a Flock Yet

I am burnt out on secret knitting, so there is nothing secret about this project. Friends are having a baby, so I've decided to make them a mobile. I confess that a mobile was not really my idea. Meg Bakewell planted the idea in my head before  I even knew my friends were expecting. Her pattern Flock, from the Spring 09 Knitty, instantly won my heart.

I have already finished the first bird, and I am in love with this pattern. Meg did a fantastic job designing these birds. The shape of them is perfect and they knit up quickly in just three pieces. I am excited about the other four.

Bonus!

Since I finished Owen's blanket in the middle of all that snow excitement, I had a few days before I was going to get it out in the mail. I also had some extra yarn. On an earlier project this winter, I had decided that Comfy might make a good toy yarn. Do you see where this is going?

A bonus for Owen! Before he was born, Owen's parents were keeping his name a surprise so he was "Monkey" to those of us not in the know.

Pattern: Alfonso the Monkey by Cara Key (Rav Link)

Yarn: Knit Picks Comfy Worsted in Honey Dew, Creme Brulee and Ivory

Needles: US 3 (3.25 mm)

Notes: Let me just start by saying that Cara's pattern is fantastic and completely adorable. I couldn't resist making this money the moment I saw him.

I made one alteration and really it was based in a silly misconception. I thought that I was getting smarter, and the next step for me as a knitter was to start adjusting patterns to make them fit my fit my needs and preferences. So, while I was reading though Cara's pattern I read how the body and belly of the monkey were knit separately, then the monkey was stuffed though the belly and pieces were seamed together. I, of course, thought I was super cool and could skip the seaming. Instead of waiting to seam the two together I picked up the belly piece as I knit up the body by using some SSKs and P2togs. When I got to the neck, I stuffed the body before closing it up. This worked just fine, except my monkey has a pot belly that Cara's doesn't. There's no need to be polite, you can tell he's got a bit of a pooch. I think it is kinda cute on the monkey, but when I make Cara's otter, (Rav Link) I want it to be perfect. I will be extremely obedient with that pattern.

Owen's Blanket: Part 3

The Photo Shoot

I finished the blanket just in time for NYC's last big snow. For the first day of our winter wonderland, Hubby and I went to Prospect Park and met the snowmen. For the second day, we took the blanket to Central Park to see just how many statues we could keep warm.

I think my favorite was the Mad Hatter. Not only was he knee deep in snow and in need of some warmth, but I think the blanket made a dashing cape.

Owen's Blanket: Part 2

Process

Pattern: Mitered Blanket by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne

Yarn: Knit Picks Comfy Worsted in Creme Brulee, Honey Dew, and Ivory

Needles: US 5 (3.75 m) and US 7 (4.5 mm)

Notes: I have to admit, I am pretty proud of myself. I seamed up each square and wove in all the ends as I went along with this project. I am so glad that I did because it was daunting to just cut off all of the ends when I finished. These little squares made for great subway knitting, so it knit up relatively quickly.

As far as modifications go, I decreased the number of stripes in each square. The meant that I couldn't carry the yarn up the side, so I had to cut the yarn for each stripe. This of course meant more ends to weave in. It also made it difficult to judge how much yarn I needed. I ended up determining how much yarn was needed per square, what percentage of the square each color made up and calculating the yardage from that. My calculations were far from perfect, but fortunately I have a bit of extra yarn instead of running out.

It is not in these pictures, but I also put an I-cord border on the blanket. It wasn't as fun as the I-cord border on my Op-Art, but I still love the look of it.

Owen's Blanket: Part 1

The Plan

When I decide I want to give a hand knit gift to someone, Hubby gets involved in the planning stage. Usually this means helping pick out the pattern or choosing colors. This time he had a much bigger job.

We had a starting point though: colors. I was a bridesmaid in my friend's wedding. When I saw my beautiful mint green dress with golden sash, I just thought about how great it was going to look with my red hair. It wasn't until we were tossing around a football outside the Packer hall of fame in our formal wear that it really sunk in that I was wearing green and gold. Since they had decided to theme their big day with the wedding versions of Packer colors, I decided that this blanket needed the baby version.

So, Hubby and I sat down with Ravelry and looked for some blanket patterns that would work well with two (green and yellow) or three (green, yellow, and white) colors. Our honorable mentions were: Curve of Pursuit, Ribbons Baby Blanket, Carseat Blanket, Baby Shane Blanket, Mirbeau Slip Stitch Baby Blanket, Pathways Blanket (Rav Link), Apple Core Blanket (Rav Link), Amazement and Spinning a Yarn. The winner was Mitered Square Blanket (Rav Link) from Mason Dixon Knitting. It was the beautiful blankets made by ShinKitten (Rav Link) and Fuzzynoddleknits that really inspired our final decision.

We had a pattern and colors picked out; now it was time for the design. The plan was for Hubby to design the blanket, but I wanted to set him up so it would be as easy as possible for him to both create the design and convey the design to me. I made him some little tiles that looked like the squares I could make and asked him to have at it.

We both felt it was too busy, so Hubby decided to do things his way and hopped on the computer. Doing what he does best, he came up with these designs.

Happy Halloween!

My biggest treat this year, is getting to see one of FOs be part of the fun!

Happy Halloween Charlie!

Sydeny's Leg Warmers

"I'm at that age." That is what I tell the ladies at work. My current 'that age' is the one that comes right after the 'that age' where everyone I know is getting married. You guessed it! Everyone I know is having babies!

The babies started trickling in before I left Arkansas. (It is probably not accurate to consider twins a trickle, but we can't blame them for that). But I believe this is the year of the flood. I currently have 3 baby projects in one stage or another. The first of which is out for delivery.

Hubby and I met our friends Steve & Liz through our master's program. Steve was in our cohort, and Liz is his awesome life. It is completely honest to say that the only regret that I have from grad school is not spending more time with Liz. Hubby and I were hoping that they would visit good ol' NYC before having a baby, but things don't always work out the way we want. They are expecting beautiful baby Sydney in December.

Since Steve and Liz love Halloween, I thought about making Sydney a cute little outfit like I did for Charlie. Honestly though, I am intimidated about making something for a baby to wear at a certain point in time. I don't have a baby, so I don' t have any practical grasp on their sizing. Instead, inspired by one of Kelly's podcasts, I decided to knit her some leg warmers. According to the moms Kelly interviewed they are one of the most useful hand knit gifts. There is no problem of trying to make them fit with the diaper (in fact, if it is chilly, they don't even have to come off to change the diaper), and they continue to fit for a long time rather than just a couple months. My goal was to knit something that would be loved and used to shreds, so here they are Sydney's Leg Warmers.

Pattern: Legwarmies by Alana Dakos
Yarn: Knit Picks Felici in Gelato

Needles: US 2 (2.75 mm)
Notes: I loved making these. They knit up super quick (about a week of sporadic knitting). While working on these, the only time that I even paused was to point out to Hubby just how cute they were going to look on chubby baby legs.

There were a lot of comments in Ravelry about them being too big. I went down a needle size, but other than that, I pretty much ignored them. Seeing as Sydney hasn't been born yet, I have no idea what size her legs are. Even if they are too big, I imagine she'll work her way into them. Though if Mom and Dad find themselves thinking, "Man, I wish we had a smaller set of these fantabulous leg warmers," all they have to do is ask (/wink).

This was my first project with self striping yarn, and it was fantastic. I was completely obsessed with getting to the next color. I knit these two at a time and started them both at the beginning of the same color. I don't know why it amazed me so much, but I was just delighted that kept matching up.

While I was focusing on these one color at a time, I kept trying to tell myself that these colors really weren't that girly, and I could have just as easily given them to a boy. Green. Yellow. Brown. Blue. There is absolutely no stereotypical female biases in there at all. And the pink? Meh! That is just one stripe per repeat, and they are intended for a baby. What baby boy is going to mind one pink stripe. But, now that they are done, and I can see them as a whole, I know that I just couldn't give these to a little boy. Why? I don't think that colors are really gendered or that any baby would be scarred from mixing it up a little. I finally realized that it is because of my relationship with the parents. My friends are all in different states. I'm not really a close part of this baby experience for any of them. It is bad enough that I can't provide the support that I would like to. I would hate for them to think that I forgot the sex of their baby because my busy city mouse lifestyle.

Enough chatter, I have to get knitting. There is another baby gift due before December, and I don' t have enough socks to make it through November.

Unveiling

One of my favorite people in the whole world is (predictably) a complete goofball. One of the things that I absolutely love about him, is that he still loves to dress up in costumes for Halloween (or really any occasion he can use). Off the top of my head, I can recall seeing him as Jason, James Bond, Indiana Jones, Darth Vader, and a Jedi (because it is no fun to always be on the same side). I've seen him come up with his own super heroes to dress as, and most recently he was a Ghostbuster. So, when I saw this pattern, I knew that I had to make it, and Chris had to have it.

When he and his wife Katy announced that they were having a baby, I got to work right away. I wanted to make them something beautiful and practical and filled with my love for the two of them. I dug into my stash for the most beautiful colors I could find, and made them a diaper pad/seat cover. As soon as I had it finished, they let me know they were having a boy. I immediately took this as a sign that I need to break my yarn diet and get everything necessary to make their son a Yoda costume.

Here you can see it being modeled by one of my teddy bears since Charlie Edward Tripp has arrived yet. (Though if my count is correct, the big day should be coming soon.) This set was so much fun to make, and very simple. The only thing I am worried about, is that I don't really have any baby around for size references. I really have no idea if the hat and the robe are going to fit him at the same time. I am completely relying on the 'wrap' structure of the robe to allow it to be worn for a big enough range of time that it will fit whenever the hat does. If it doesn't I could always make another one in a better size, but for that, I'll have to wait for the time to come.

Since my friend is a great photographer, I am hoping for some cute shots of this FO on Charlie when it fits (HINT*HINT*). And finally, I have to say this: Katy, I'm very sorry if you were not wanting to be Princess Leia for Halloween this year, but please let me know if you need some help with the costume.

Ears are not stiffened in this picture
Pattern: Felted Baby Yoda Hat by Sunshyne Leland
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Avacado
Needles: US 11 (8.0mm)
Notes: No alterations or changes

Pattern: Baby Yoda Sweater by Cari Luna (PDF)
Yarn: Knit Picks Comfy Cashew
Needles: US 7 (4.5 mm)
Notes: No alterations or changes.

A little something that is already frogged...

A frogging seems like a sad way to begin, but I'm not giving up hope for this little project.This pattern is the Toddler Tunic(pdf), and I started it in some wisteria KP Swish Worsted that I had unclaimed in my stash. I started it in the middle of our LOTR marathon because I had finished all of my Kitchener stitch and Hubby's socks (which I'm trying to get a modeled picture of before I blog). I frogged it already because it looks off center to me. It is not, it is actually centered just fine, but all of the raglan sleeve increases are facing the same direction. I think that is what makes it look a little off. It would probably fit just fine, but since Francis was a top down raglan, it will be a great guide for which two rows of stitches need to be leaning the other way.

You may also notice that there is a band right under the armpits and where the collar joins that is much tighter than the rest of the sweater. I wouldn't have frogged it just for that, but it is nice to know I'll be fixing it. It looks like I went down a needle size or two for that section, but the truth is that was just the huge battle scene in Return of the King. I couldn't remember who lived and who died in the trilogy so I guess I was a little tense during the fighting.

Baby Stuff

I finished the I-cord border on the log-cabin-like diaper pad. So it is officially finished and I'm going to send it out the expecting parents who just found out that it's a boy!
I'm thinking it will be useful despite its smaller size. A diaper pad now, and a metal bleacher cover in a couple years at the little league games.

I also quickly whipped up a Baby Feet dishcloth for a friend's sister. She just had a beautiful little girl. While, we (the sister and I) are not very close, I know that if I had lived in Florida for more than just a few months we would have been like family. I wanted to do just a little something to congratulate her.
This was a fun knit with my first ever bobbles. I'm generally not a fan of bobbles. (I think it has to do with a bobbled sweater that I was given as a young girl that had horribly placed bobbles and lead to lots of ridicule the one scarring day that I wore it.) This sweater is the only other bobble pattern that I have ever considered making, and it still hasn't made it all the way to my Ravelry queue. For this pattern however, I think they are absolutely adorable as little baby toes and I will probably make it again.

I finished it at the knitting group last night, and I was asked why I knit dishcloths. I was the wrong person to ask because I've only knit three of them to date. I can see some of the appeal though. They are useful, and cute. They are super quick so they make instant gratification projects. Beyond that, there are so many dishcloth patterns out there, that I can't imagine them ever becoming boring. I can also see them making fantastically specialized gifts. On the other hand, I am starting to have my fill of cotton. When I am working with cotton, I miss the give and forgiveness of wool. Do you knit dishcloths? What do you like or dislike about them?

The End

I am finished with OpArt. All the ends are sewn in and it is soaking right now. Normally, with baby stuff, I just throw it in the washer and dryer and present it in the same state as it should be in coming out of the mom's dryer. This particular blanket is special though. I knew when I started, that it was going to need wet blocking after I finished, so instead of doing the norm, I am soaking it and blocking it.This picture is what it looks like unblocked. I don't mind blocking at all, I'm just a little worried that the corners might start curling up again after it gets washed. The plan is to be firm with it and show it how happy it can be as a square.

I'm also finished with Treasure Island, and I haven't decided what book to listen to next. I seem to be hit or miss lately with how much I like the books I pick. I was disappointed with both The Life of Pi and The Alchemist despite all of their positive reviews. I've been wondering if I didn't enjoy them as much as the critics because of the fact that I listened instead of reading. Audio books inspire a fairly different relationship, because I am always multi-tasking when I listen to them. I could be doing the dishes, riding the train, or just knitting garter stitch. Either way, I am not quite as committed. On the other hand, when I listened to A Connecticut Yankee in King Aurthur's Court and found it absolutely hilarious and entertaining. I've also had great luck with Twilight, Dracula, and American Gods.

So here are the books I'm thinking about:
Eve's Diary
The Prince and the Pauper (clearly I've gotten excited about Twain's humor)
The Cricket on the Hearth (in hopes that I continue to have luck with the classics)
Anansi Boys (I love Neil Gaiman, but I'm starting to worry that if I work though his stuff too fast, I'll have nothing left)
New Moon (The first one was light and entertaining. I enjoyed it just fine as an audio book)
One For the Money (a friend of mine has been recommending this series to me for over a year. I have no idea if I'll like it, because I haven't read a mystery novel since The Boxcar Children)

What do you think? Is there something else that I should definitely be listening too instead?

Big on Blankets

Because of a time crunch I am working exclusively and almost constantly on the baby blanket. As I predicted it has slowed way down now that it is over 200 stitches per round. It is no worry though because this pattern is a ton of fun to watch grow. Even though I am less than half way done with it, I've already noticed a lack of the 'is there enough yarn' pressure that I find a little bit of in every project I do. No matter how many extra balls I have, every time I finish one ball and add another, there is a little voice in my head sharing with me how much time I will have wasted if I run out of yarn. This blanket is going to be a square. It started out as a square and it is currently a square. If I run out of yarn I can just stop and no one will be the wiser. The voice is still there a little bit, but I'm not worried because I have a plan. Even if I completely messed up on my yardage and I don't have enough to cover a baby, I could just add a quirky band of color in the middle while reinforcements arrive. (Don't worry. I have plenty of yarn and I'm not going to need any more to get the project done. The voice just keeps me awake at night sometimes so plans have to be made to prove to her that I know what I'm doing. ;) )

In other blanket news, almost a year ago I received a blanket in the mail. Well, it was the beginning of a blanket anyway. I added my little part and sent it on. Now it has made its way back to the original knitter and is almost finished! You can still see my part, it is that light yellow bit on the left side. She is going to add on one last section and maybe a border. Then, off to charity it will go. When it is done, I'll update with where we sent it.

Help!

My first post in this new location and a knitting emergency!

The Backstory:
I just found out that a friend I worked at Disney with is pregnant and due in a couple months. I of course wanted to knit her a blanket and decided that black and white was definitely the way to go for her.

Well to be honest a full color work Nightmare Before Christmas blanket that looked something like this would be most appropriate, but I'm on a bit of a time crunch. I wanted a blanket ment for two colors and pretty gender neutral. I spent some time searching Ravelry and I decided instead on the Curve of Pursuit Afghan. I've bought the pattern, ordered the yarn, and done some practice pieces. I am ready to go as soon as the yarn shows up, and it should be here any day.

The Dilemma:
The new Knitty is out, and of course it is always an exciting and inspiring thing. This time however, it has stepped right in on my emergency baby blanket plans. Despite my decisiveness and organization about this project, I am now torn because of the new OpArt pattern. It calls for the same type of yarn that I ordered, but a different weight. Though a blanket is a blanket, and yarn weight shouldn't be that big of a deal. So I now have to decide between these two blankets.

Curve of Pursuit
Pros:
-I've praticed and planned for this one.
-All knit stitches
-Worked in small sections so my needle only has to hold one side.

Cons:
-Tons of ends to weave in
-Despite my practice I'm still getting little holes at the end of each square that I will have to make sure I close up with the ends that I weave in.







OpArt
Pros:
-Fewer ends to weave in.
-Seems simpler than the other
-Knitting in the round to make a square just sounds fun.

Cons:
-Requires blocking. This isn't a big con, I just generally like to have baby stuff to come ready out of the dryer.
-Requires two long circular needles. I don't have them but I can make it work with what I have by either using two different brand needles or switching tips around.


So help me out. Should I go with the one I've practiced and planned for, or the one that has magically appeared as if I had asked for it?