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.

Philly Socks

I generally don't like to apologize to the readers of my blog because I generally do this for myself, and think of it as an perk is someone finds it useful or entertaining. Today, however, I'd like to say I'm sorry to anyone still following me and to myself. It has been far too long since I have shared anything at all, and I've been disappointed. Since my last post, I have moved to Brooklyn, made good friends out of old acquaintances, had a birthday and an anniversary, hosted Hubby's parents in our new home, gotten my new library card, and went on my first official business trip. That list is full of reasons to post, not reasons to neglect writing. My reason for not posting, is none of those. I haven't been active, because Hubby's computer died. For some reason, it did not make the move, so I have turned over my computer to him. Both of us have cut back on our computer usage, simply because we have to take turns now. I will continue to be absent until one of us has gotten a replacement.

At the beginning of this month I went to Philadelphia for a workshop on the fundamentals of Research Administration. I was excited for so many reasons. I don't travel by myself very often, this was my first time to Philly, and there was just something special about going on my first business trip. The workshop was fantastic, and I learned a lot. I meet some great people, specifically a couple of knitters from D.C. and Texas. We skipped one of the evening events and headed out to the LYS together where I picked up a little souvenir.

This is some Koigu Premium Merino (KPM) for socks. I showed up early for the workshop, and spent my extra time walking around the historic area and learning about our founding fathers all over again. I was inspired by all the brick and cobblestone, so for my souvenir yarn, I was looking for something in a burnt red/brown/orange color. What I ended up with is a bit orangier than actual bricks, and is such an incredible color.

It didn't take me long to find the perfect pattern. The Knotty or Knice Socks from the Fall 2008 Interweave Knits won out because, it is toe up, and the pattern details fit perfectly with my memories of the colonial buildings. They were all small, practical, brick buildings with embellishments masking their sensibility in the front. I liked the strong lines of the ribbing in these socks, and the cable repeats are just a touch of flair that keeps them from plain, practical socks.

I've had to make just a couple adjustments because my feet are larger than the one the pattern is make for. My gauge is just a touch different and I've added an extra half of a pattern repeat to the foot. I've also decided to work these one at a time since they are my first pair toe up and with short row heels.

My perfect yarn, and my perfect pattern are combining nicely to make my Philly Socks.

Hunting

The end of our lease (and probably some burnout on my part because of the job and the 3-4hours of daily commute) has inspired us to do some apartment hunting and move to Brooklyn. I must say I found the whole process very pressuring and stressful, but I believe it was the thought of moving (and soon) that kept me sane during the crazy deadline packed week I just finished. On Wednesday we saw an apartment that was wonderful, but the community was not quite what we were looking for.

On Friday we set up a meeting with a broker to look at a neighborhood right next to my college, but he never showed up. It was probably for the best though because he kept putting off showing us the apartment we wanted to see and was actually having us meet him in a different neighborhood all together.

Determined not to waste the time we had set aside for hunting, we called on an apartment that I found on Craigslist. There was no answer, but we decided to walk over and check out that neighborhood in case we could get an appointment for this weekend. we loved what we saw Friday night, and made an appointment with the broker for Saturday. I think we have a place picked out. Nothing is finalized because we have to do the credit checks and so forth, but the broker seems pretty confident that this one will be ours.

So let me share it with you....

View Larger Map

I don't have any pictures of the actual apartment. The residents were still living there when we went to see it, and I felt that Mike's measurements were enough. We didn't need to be intrusive by photographing their mid-packing chaos.

As you can see from the map the entrance is on the center of the block, so we have to walk down and around the corner to do anything. Let me show you what is down and around the corner...

If we go East and turn the corner there, we come to the subway stop that will take me right to work and
The Brooklyn Museum.

If we go West and around the corner we come to the entrance for the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and
Brooklyn Public Library. This picture is from Friday night. On Saturday this area was filled with umbrella covered tables for reading in the shade and a little coffee/ice cream stand.

If we continue West past the library there is Prospect Park and a Saturday farmer's market that is year round, and
Grand Army Plaza. The area is also full of restaurants, shops, and incredibly beautiful brownstones.

Congratulations Chris and Katy!

I would like to take a moment to welcome Charlie ...

Aleita Again

Pattern: Aleita Shell by Bonne Marie Burns (Interweave Knits Spring 2008)
Yarn: Renyolds Saucy Sport
Needles: US 6 (4.0 mm)
Notes: As I mentioned earlier, I made a slew of changes in this top. First, I adjusted the measurements of the bottom slightly so it fit closer to my waistline. I also added about an inch to the length of the stockinette section so it would fall where I wanted it to on my hip. I decided that I wanted the pattern to start below my bust line and fit like an empire cut. I tried to do that with my first Aleita, but even though I had the proper length measurements it didn't fit like that. To try to fix those fit issues, I took about half of the increases out of the stockinette section and decided to put them in as bust darts at the beginning of the pattern section.

I have never done bust darts before, and the only tutorial I've read about it was for a simple top down, stockinette, raglan sweater. I had to rework some of the numbers and figure out how I wanted to make it a part of the pattern. I decided to start with three of the knit stitches of the pattern right next to each other, and increase in the purls in between them. I am really happy with how my first bust darts work out.

The final change I made was to the shoulders. I didn't really like the I-cord cover for the shoulder seams. Instead, I connected the shoulders with kitchner and left the I-cord off. It is not perfect because it doesn't follow the pattern, but I am still pretty happy with it.

Meet My Brompton

I would like to introduce you to my Brompton. Hubby and I recently bought these, and they are the reason I've not been near my computer at all for the past few weeks. (Mine is the bright yellow one.)
After a lot of research, we decided that our situation called for folding bikes. We live in New Jersey, but we are a quick bus ride from Manhattan and we spend most of our free time over there. We knew that we were going to want to take the bikes across the river with us so we could ride around Central Park and the other beautiful green spaces in New York. Once we decided on folding bikes, we talked with the guys at bfold and they helped us pick out the right one. Since we wanted our bikes to fold up as small as possible for toting on the bus, and sturdy enough for the pot holes of the NYC streets, the Brompton was the bike for us. Here is what it looks like almost completely folded up.
The handle bars are open in this picture, but they fold down and the whole bike becomes a compact little square. I love my new bike! Not only has it been on the bus and to Central Park, but we've ridden along the Hudson river on both the NJ and NY sides, ridden though Times Square, Union Square, and Columbus Circle. We've also folded them up and taken them with us in restaurants, the grocery store, the movie theater, subway, and on the ferry. It is one of the most empowering purchases I have ever made.
Since May is Bike Month in New York City, we've got big plans for these bikes. I'm not going to be biking to work on the 15th, but we are planing on checking out the small wheel races next weekend, and the folding bike ride though Brooklyn and Manhattan. As you can see by the sweater I'm wearing, the bikes haven't cut into my knitting time too much.

If Mrs. Obama wants a healty lunch...

Elmo wants a healthy lunch too!

Happy Earth Day!

Hug a tree today.

Art

Shared with me by Cast-On

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.

Happy Easter!

Don't Make Me Pull Over!

A couple weeks ago, Hubby decided to join me for SnB, but when we got there, everyone was a no-show so we took the opportunity to check out some neighborhoods in Brooklyn and walk across the bridge. In DUMBO we came across this adorable covered wagon.

I was very caught up in its cuteness. It is hard not to be, because it is adorable.
Then I started to wonder why it was in Brooklyn. I usually associated covered wagons with long voyages to the West. Then I saw the rest of the story...
Then, like an echo from all those years ago, I could hear the animated pioneer mom yell, "If you two don't stop, I'm turning the wagon around!"

Martha!

One of the women working on Martha's show is from Hoboken, so when she was preparing for the special Yarn episode, and she discovered the Hoboken SnB, she made sure we were invited.  I wasn't going to pass up such a unique opportunity, so I took the day off and headed into Hoboken to meet up with the group.  

We all wanted good seats, so we headed in early, really early.  We made it to the studio with no problems, so we had about an hour and half to wait in line before they would let us in.  The weather was great, there was free coffee, coco and breakfast foods, the company was wonderful, 

and of course, we were surrounded by knitting, so standing in line was actually great fun.  

Once inside the studio, we waited in a nice seating area for further instructions.  There, we were taught how to clap, cheer, aww, yumm, and laugh. We waited for a bit more, chatted with other knitters, and admired all of the incredible projects that people brought along.

Shortly before the taping started, they herded us into the room where all the magic was going to happen, and we waited some more.  None of us minded.  We all had our knitting, and the music was fun.  The crew were constantly complimenting us on what a great audience we were since we all had out WIPs to keep us occupied.  After a refresher course on how to fade out our clapping, they let us take pictures of the set (from our seats).  

Yarn balls hanging in the windows

Yarn Baskets sitting on all of the shelves

And yarn creations on display (yes that deer is yarn)

The actual taping was fun, but it was hard to hear much of what was going on.  What we did hear was the snide comments Martha made, and Mo Rocca giving it right back to her.  When the taping was over, Martha said something (I don't remember what, but it was pleasant), and slowly, we filed back out into the street.

Martha in her lovely yellow sweater (that was not hand knit)

Yep, that's a crocheted urinal that she's standing next to.

Why don't I remember what Martha said?  Well because I like most of my group was a little shocked at our audience gift.  Now, I don't feel like I am entitled to a free gift because I showed up to do something that I wanted to do anyway, but this gift just didn't seem appropriate.  It was a fun fur scarf kit.  I believe this product has its place in the knitting world, and I have already found some great uses for fun fur, but as a gift to a group of talented knitters who value quality yarn, it is disappointing.  Margaux, speaks for the yarn snob in all of us with her post on the event, but I think it is all summed up in Chris's picture.

Seem Familiar?

So, the super secret project has been sent out, and I am just waiting to hear back that it has been received.

With that completed, I cast on my next big project. If you are thinking that this yarn looks familiar, you may be remembering the vest I started making way back last July.  This particular cotton, was just not loving the long stretches of stockinette.  (My gauge inconsistencies were not helping much either.)  if you remember back that far, you may also remember that this is the yarn I had originally intended to use for my Aleita Shell, but it was discouraged as a substitute yarn by someone on Ravelry because it didn't have any linen.  (I still find yarn substitution entirely intimidating.)  

So, I've been holding on to this yarn waiting for the perfect project I've spent months and months of cruising through Ravelry and looking at potential patterns, but I just kept coming back to Aleita.  I love the style of the pattern, and I think that the strong stitch definition of this yarn would really make the lines on the top half pop.  Despite the advice I was so graciously given.  I am going to press on an make another one.  

The other reason I was really wanting a new Aleita is because the last one is not really living up to my expectations.  I was hoping for a sweater that I could wear over a blouse with slacks for work.  I've tried to do that with my blue Aleita, but after the first washing the yarn really softened in appearance.  That, along with the color, just lends itself to a comfy pair of jeans.  When I put it on with slacks, I feel like I am making it be more than it really is.  It also doesn't fit me like I wish it would.  I followed the directions to the letter, and failed to make any adjustments to suit me.  Despite all this, I still love it. 

I am a little braver now, so I've made a slew of adjustments to the pattern, and so far, I am extremely pleased with the results.  

 

So pleased in fact, that I took this project along to knit on as I sat in the audience of the Martha Stewart Show. I could have picked anything to work on and declare my pride for on my first syndicated debut, but if you tuned in yesterday, this is what you would have seen me holding.  Stay tuned for more on Martha.