Queued: Boyfriend Sock

From Slipped Stitch

Hubby is not a big fan of socks. He loves his pair of hand-knit socks, but they don't make up for his general dislike of socks. You'd think this would be great. If he doesn't want socks that means more socks for me right? Well, it turns out if you don't want to knit full sweaters and your man doesn't want socks, you have drastically reduced the types of things you can make him that he needs multiples of. He's got a hat and a scarf and says he doesn't need another. He has a couple pair of gloves that he doesn't wear. (Which is for the best because the velcro in his jacket is awful to them.)  Since his outer gear is set, I keep turning back to socks as something to knit for him. These Boyfriend Socks by Alice Bell would be a great pair. The cables look like they would be just enough for keeping my attention and combating the effects of whatever 'manly' color my yarn will inevitably be, and they look great on the finished sock. If Hubby is not in love with them, I'm sure Dad or Grandpa would appreciate another pair.

Queued: BYOB

From Knitty

Who doesn't need more bags? When I lived in Arkansas reusable bags weren't too hard because I could just keep them in my trunk. Since moving to NYC they have become a bit harder to remember to bring along but also vital. I don't need to tell you all the green and eco-friendly reasons why reusable bags are great. the reason I love think they are vital is because of pain of plastic. I walk home from the grocery store, but even those of you who just walk to the parking lot know how quickly that plastic bag starts cutting into your hand. It becomes miserable really fast. Hand knit or not, reusable bags are so much nicer to carry.

Knitty, in its infinite awesomeness, has this great BYOB pattern by Moira Ravenscroft. I think this bag is cute. I can see it being great for both shopping and the beach. A couple times I've even considered making it as a gift for the loved ones in my life who don't appreciate actually wearing my knit goods.

Queued: Baudelaire

From Krentu

When I started my sock knitting I was in awe of Cookie A but I wasn't understanding the fanaticism* of Monkey. I decided I needed a Cookie A pattern to try. Reliable as ever, Knitty brought me Baudelaire. These socks are beautiful and I look forward to them. It has been too long since I've cast on a pair of socks. I should do some digging in the stash once I get caught up from vacation.




*If my experience from knitting Clapotis has taught me anything, it is that I should trust the excitement and be confident that I will love knitting Monkeys.

Queued: Stripe Study Shawl

From Veera Välimäki

I love the asymmetrical stripes on Veera's pattern, Stripe Study Shawl. It looks like the is also askew which makes me extremely curious about the construction. The knitting is all garter stitch (and whatever tricks are hidden in the pattern) so it should make for great tv and movie knitting.

I am so excited about this project that I've pushed it up to the top of my queue. Not only does it look great, but I need a new shawl. I fell in love with my first triangular shawl, but so did a lady at work, so I handed it off to her. My last one, was a bit disappointing so I am still without one. In true Goldilocks fashion, I am trusting this one to be just right. I've already found some beautiful yarn on sale. (It is a very promising start!)

Queued: Honeycomb Vest

From Knitty

Sarah Castor's vest pattern is available on Knitty. I am drawn to this vest for the same reason that Sarah originally created the pattern. I like the idea of knitting things that I can wear in the office. Since knitting my second Aleita, however, I've been putting off knitting another vest. Despite this dropping down on my needed garment priority list, it still stays pretty high in my queue. I look at it every time I am thinking about buying yarn. 5 to 6 skeins of yarn is pretty tempting compared to the 8 to 12 projects in my queue. I think I want a nice brick red color. I also think I want to make it in some nice cozy wool. Aleita is knit in cotton, so this would be a completely different garment if I knit it in wool. Maybe this fall, when my Myrtle is done, I'll make this a WIP.

Queued: Monterey Sea Otter

From Cara Key

I have another toy pattern in my queue. This one is unique because I am determined to make not one but two Monterey Sea Otters for me. Generally, I make toys to give away. I currently don't have much need for toys, but I won't be sharing these.

The last Cara Key pattern that I made was fantastic. I made Alfonso the Monkey and I cannot gush enough. The pattern was fantastic and the outcome was adorable. I really had a hard time parting with it. The sad part of this story though is that to date (and I check back every month or so) Cara and I are the only ones who have posted pictures of this cute cute CUTE monkey. I want other people to make this pattern. I want to see more Alfonso and all of the adorable versions that are just waiting to be made. Make this toy! Don't wait! You will love him as I did.

But back to the otters. I am making two of these. Why two? Because I am going to knit myself up this sweetness.

Queued: Ramona Sweater

From Sensual Knits

Ramona Sweater is published in Sensual Knits: Luxurious Yarns, Alluring Designs and is written by Jared Young. There are absolutely no surprises about why I want to make this sweater. I love Jared, I love sweaters, I love v-necks, and I love Ramona. Of course all of my previous comments about Jared's patterns being elegant and sophisticated apply again, but the simple truth is that I want to look like that. I want to wear that outfit to work and feel the confidence of wearing something I knit and the confidence that I look good. Everyone who has made this sweater looks good in it. It may be the perfect sweater.

This pattern is the reason I first looked at Sensual Knits and I picked it up because the entire book is full of beautiful patterns that are just as classy as this one. I haven't done nearly enough knitting from the books that I own. I've become reluctant to buy new books because I haven't used the ones I currently own enough. I think I need to prioritize some of the book patterns in my queue to alleviate that guilt.

Queued: Strangling Vine Lace Scarf

From Nicole Hindes

Strangling Vine Lace Scarf is designed by Nicole Hindes. She has made an absolutely beautiful scarf.  Unlike most of what you've seen from my queue I have the yarn picked out and in my stash to make this project. I have a wool silk blend that I hoped would make a nice gift scarf. I made one of Nicole's patterns before, and it was written well, but I had bad gauge.  I ended up giving the socks to a girlfriend with smaller feet than me. I expect this pattern to be just as good, and I think the new rule might be working. I'm already thinking about keeping this scarf for myself. We'll just have to see how much I fall in love with the yarn.

Queued: Vinnland

From Becca Compton

Vinnland, designed by Becca Compton, is a beautiful sock pattern. I added these to my queue because I was excited to learn toe up and short row heels.  The leaf motif is a simple knit/purl pattern and I thought it would be great for learning new things.  I have since made some toe up socks and short row heels, but I'm still keeping this queued. The socks look great, and I think that now I'm confident in all the techniques, they should be a quick knit. My grandma was clearly jealous of my grandpa's Christmas socks so I've been thinking a pair of these would be great for her.

If the sock pattern wasn't great enough, this one comes with some suggested listening.

Queued: Cabled Swing Cardi

From The Knitter's Book of Yarn

Norah Gaughan is one of my favorite designers. I find myself uniquely drawn to her patterns. She always seems to have just enough detail and never overwhelms the garment. I think her Cabled Swing Cardi in The Knitter's Book of Yarn is no exception.

I wanted to knit up this cardigan as soon as I saw it, but I've been torn about if I should knit it for me.  I think the length and the way the bottom panels will hang, will not flatter my pear shape. I think this would make a fantastic fall jacket, and I have a girlfriend who lives in a climate who will never need more than just that.  I've kept this in my queue because I think it could be a perfect gift for her. There are plenty of other Norah patterns that I'll be able to make for myself.

Queued: Cobblestone

From Brooklyn Tweed

Cobblestone, designed by Jared Flood,  was the very first project that I ever added to my queue. Despite that, I have not risked the sweater curse yet. I've been wanting to make Hubby a sweater for awhile, but he hasn't been 100% about wanting a sweater. It wasn't until this winter that started to enjoy wearing sweaters.

I had planned to make this as my first sweater. I thought it would be a good project for learning sweaters and getting over my apprehension.  The lack of shaping and the elegant simplicity of the look alleviated all of my worries. Since hubby wasn't interested, I kept putting it off, up until, I no longer needed it to be my first sweater.

Now that Hubby is starting to wear sweaters, I am starting to be inspired by all of the incredible women's versions in ravelry. One of us is going to have to wait our turn.

Queued: Nouveau Bohemia

From Photo.Knit.Dog

My new friend Lina released her Nouveau Bohemia pattern just last week. I only know a couple designers, and I admire them all.  Lina came to our last knit group right after the full pattern and the different versions were all done. I got to admire the beanie version up close.

It is a beautiful hat. I love the lace and cable combination. I think my favorite is the beanie, but I may change my mind once I see a couple versions in a solid color. I've got some left over Andean Silk that I've been thinking about making a hat with. It is a solid purple, but it has a lot of bloom. This pattern might also be the perfect excuse to pick up some madelinetosh.

There are only a few projects on Ravelry right now. This is the moment to get ahead of the knitting fad. By next winter everybody is going to have one.

Queued: Cirque

From Drop Box

Cirque was designed by Sarah Wilson. I had originally found these socks when I was looking to design my own cowl. I wanted a textured cowl, but I wasn't really in love with any of the ones I found online. I decided to make up my own, but I didn't have any stitch patterns. I decided to hunt down some great sock patterns. I thought that they would have stitches already worked out for knitting in the round.  I would just need to scale it up to a size that would fit over my head instead of my ankle.

As always, Knitty was a great resource, and I found these great socks. I don't think I want this pattern to be a cowl. I like the cable cowls, but I was imagining something with more knit stitches and fewer purls. I never got around to making that cowl, but I'm keeping these socks in the queue because I'm still working on my collection.

Queued: Bird on a Wire

From Vogue Knitting

I keep telling myself that the next time I buy yarn, it is going to be for this hat. Bird on a Wire was designed by Elli Stubenrauch and published in the Fall 2009 Vogue Knitting. That issue is full of great hats, but this pattern is the reason I bought the magazine. I don't know what my style is, but this hat fits into it perfectly. I like the large bold image but I think it is the perfect size and doesn't overwhelm the hat. I love the cute bird that looks animated, but not goofy. The very best part of it all, is that it is reversible! If that model needs to brighten up her day, she can just flip that hat inside out and it will be sunny yellow with an adorable blue bird. When I look at this hat, I imagine myself wearing it in the park and spinning with joy.

I honestly cannot give you a good reason for why I have not made this hat yet, but I can offer three flimsy excuses. 1) It keeps getting pushed down the queue by gifts that I am knitting for other people. Now that I've instituted the rule, hopefully it won't be quite as big of a problem. 2) I don't know how to double knit. I am certainly not against learning, but I feel like I should do a practice piece before I dive into a hat that would devastate me if I messed it up. I have a hard enough time gauge swatching, so I haven't been feeling like doing a practice piece. 3) I don't have the yarn. I have decided that I am going to buy something special just for this hat. I want it to be perfect in every way so I am not sacrificing on the colors to make it work with whatever is in my stash. That means I have to commit to a color combination. I just cant decide. Wouldn't it be great with red and grey, or cream and blue, or yellow and brown. Really you could just toss any of those colors into a hat and pull out a combination I'd swoon over like yellow and grey, red and cream, or blue and brown. When I make that decision, then I'll make this hat.

Queued: Zozo

From P. Wickens

You are probably not surprised to learn that I like toys. They simply make me smile and I appreciate that. This adorable little alien, Zozo, is no exception. Pauline did an incredible job on this pattern. If those smiles are some how resistible to you, check out the cute little fingers. If you follow the link, you'll find extra cuteness in their tails.

Toys are great because you can use left over yarn, you don't need to gauge, and they are great gifts for everyone. I have just made a few toys so far, and but most of my pattern books are for toys. I find it a little difficult to knit at the tighter gauge especially when I knit with cotton. The real challenge is also the most fun: the faces. Every time I finish a toy, I have a great time working out the different expressions that can come from embroidery or buttons. I am just starting to get the hang of sewing on a face, and I'm amazed at how much just a couple stitches can give a whole personality.

When I started knitting toys, I thought I hated them. (That is completely because I was knitting dishcloth cotton on a set of US3 DPNs. I thought that I was going to break my fingers.) Now, I am completely addicted. I am drawn in by their great shapes and cute faces. My queue is full of them.

Queued: Shur'tugal

From Alice Yu/Socktopus

Shur'tugal was in line to be my next pair of socks right up until a friend gifted me the Viper Pilot pattern. That was right before Christmas 2009, and the Viper Pilots were just finished this month. I haven't started these yet, but it sounds like they have something in common with the Viper Pilots other than just their timing in my queue.  The Ravelry comments mention some crazy twisted stitches. It sounds like I was destined to be learning to twist in 2010.

I am still enamored with these socks.  I think the pattern and the texture are fantastic.  I plan to make them in a solid or semi-solid. I'm sure I have something in my stash that will match up with them well, but none of it was calling to me during my last stash perusal, so this pattern may need to be patient for a bit longer

Queued: Boys Can Wear Pink

From Kate Oates

This is a crazy week at work, so I haven't been knitting at all. Fortunately, these are just the occasions the Queued idea was created for. There may be a couple more this week.

Boys Can Wear Pink was designed by Kate Oats. This is such a cute sweater and that little boy is melting my heart.  Don't be confused by the fact that I have queued this boy's sweater or that I am making Reid.  I do not have any children.  I love kids and I love little things, so I am drawn to kids clothes despite the lack of people to wear them.  

Really, look at him.  Look at that cute tie. How could I resist that? Here are some others that I also think are fantastic. (Rav Links) To be fair, I think the charismatic young men in those photos might have a lot to do with promoting this pattern.

Queued: Rag Bathmat

From Julie Weisenberger

Rag Bathmat was designed by Julie Weisenberger. She has a lot of great patterns.  There is so much to like about this one.

First of all it looks great.  I cannot think of a better way to mark your home as a knitter's domain than with a chunky cabled bath mat. (Ok maybe a beautiful display for your stash would work too.)

Another thing that I love is that it is made out of scrap fabrics. The one in the picture is made of a couple cut up sheets.  Julie even includes a great tutorial on rag knitting. It is up-cycling and eco-friendly at their best.  I had a pile of old white t-shirts that I was going to cut up to make this, but they were accidentally swept up and taken away in a donation trip. Now I'm waiting to collect a few more to rip up and knit together.

The final part of this that I love is the texture.  Just the thought of these bumps and cables made out of soft cotton under my feet, makes my toes happy.

Queued: Knitted Kaleidocycles

When I decided to start blogging every day, I new I would run out of catching up on FOs and WIPs.  All along I've had a plan.  I am starting reoccurring feature called Queued.  Unlike Follow Friday, I don't have a set schedule for these posts. To be completely honest, I am going to write one of these when I don't have anything else I want to update about.  Today for example, I am still wrapped up in secret knitting and I cant tell you anything about it. As I mentioned my goal is to just write regularly, so I am introducing Queued.  In these posts, I will be showing off a pattern from my Ravelry queue.  I'll write about why I like it and hopefully feature some other knitter's projects that I find inspiring.  My queue currently has 960 projects and it's growing.  Let the project parade begin!

From Brent Annable

Knitted Kaleidocycles was designed by Brent Annable. This is a fantastic little toy that I am certain could mesmerize me for hours.  Hubby has already requested one (or more) for his desk.  I think it could be soothing to have on hand at work.  I also think that Dad would enjoy one as well.  Really anyone who likes to fiddle with things would probably enjoy one of these.  Fiddly toys are rarely as soft and cuddly as hand knits so this one this one gets extra points.

If you haven't seen this pattern before, you are probably wondering why I am using words like mesmerizing and soothing and talking about fiddling.  Well, you will just have to see them in action. This video is from the designer and it will show you how great these really are.






What do you think?  Are you hooked?  I agree with Brent, I'd like to pick one up and just give it a turn.