Knitting: The Dark Side

Deceit, addiction. Two things that tend to go hand in hand. Well in this case hand and hat:

My preliminary armwarmer. Kinda nice eh? Sort of an indigo color as per request. See that cable along the center? Subtle. Best part? This is my own pattern produced from an actual swatch I made! It could use delinting but over all it’s a success!

Right? Not so much. This is where I’m lying to you:

Behold! The abysmal laddering and shoddy join for the thumb casing. I have a terrible time with DPNs greater than U.S. size 2 - fabric ladders no matter how tightly I pull. I think it’s time to journey to the land of the Magic Loop. Well, I have no excuse for that thumb except that it was early Monday morning and I was still bleary eyed from living.

And behind the deception lurks the addiction:

Two little hats to boost my knitterly mood. Just something to take the edge off you know? Get me through the day.

A quick note about the second hat: it’s knit for a child whose initials are “S.A.I.L” so I went with a nautical theme. This hat reminds me of wooden lobster bouys or the Nautical Flag Echo (I am directing my course to starboard) This makes me glad in a big ole geeky way.

And Lia? If I ever get these armwarmers working I’ll be happy to make you a pair

Next up: a bit of sweater action. A very wee bit.

 

bootieful

I have finally succumbed to the addiction that is sock knitting.  Or rather, bootie knitting since I have neither the time nor the patience for socks, or anything requiring a <#9 needle.

I thought these would make some good last-minute (last-minute for knitted stuff anyway) gift items.

Thanks to Cassandra for the beautiful handspun yarn, I would give it a shout-out but I think I threw away the tag! …the color was called Sundress.

The twin toes are Needful Yarns Joy #312.

Thanks also goes to this lady… I’m just sorry I didn’t discover her page sooner!  I am still terrified of DP needles and so I jumped head first into the magic loop.

 

Blanket Statement

I think all doilies are reminiscent of ancient ladies and too heinous to make in the contemporary knitting scene.

ha, just kidding! I’m totally addicted to knitting this giant blanket sized doily! Here is my swatch for the Hemlock Ring Blanket based on a 1942 pattern. Who knew doily knitting could be so fun?

size is about 12″ Proof of swatch!

 

A little too adult?

Baby hat in progress:

I don’t have any children, but I’m pretty sure this will be too large for a newborn. However, my co-workers with kids say that babies have huge heads (since it’s almost Halloween that fills my scary quotient for the day).

Maybe I’ll make some bootees to match. Hopefully she won’t go into labor before I’m done…

Happy Friday!

 

procrastknitation

It’s done!  Just in time for the birthday that started… about 45 minutes ago.

The blanket stitch was not as scary as I thought, but I don’t know if I was even doing it right.  It was a little wonky at first until I got the hang of it.

The problem with the fleece is that it’s not stretchy like the garter stitch so I was afraid it would be rumply in places but it’s not really too bad.

I think this project turned out pretty well, considering that I’ve been working on it for the past two entire evenings and now my hand is about to fall off.  (It’s not easy doing surprise knitting presents for someone you see just about every damn day.)  I think now I’m going to take a hiatus from knitting for a while… unless someone wants something SIMPLE like Space Invaders or something for Christmas.

 

Bootie Cutie

The booties made it to their giftee!

Aw. I think the next pair will be knit on a size larger needle, these just fit this little guy ; ). Sorry I don’t have a close up.

 

Cat got your tongue?

if so she ain’t using it:

In addition to the holiday knits there’s some ‘oops I got pregnant’ knitting going on (not me, I’m not pregnant, but friends. oh so many knocked up friends). These friends didn’t get pregnant by knitting though either.

Baby knits are fast, and if I could just figure out this embroidery thing the cat would be done and some little girl would have a warm noggin and Halloween costume all in one!! For the record this year I am going as Lakitu from Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros.

Maybe more on that later since it’s not knitting but is crafty!

Couple Notes: This Cat Hat pattern is the simple rolled hat in DK weight from “Itty-Bitty Hats” The ears are based on Hello Yarn’s Top Down Bonnet With Anime Character we’ll see what ends up on the face. Maybe it will be a faceless cat. Would that be freaky?

 

ceci (n’)est (pas) une pipe

The long-awaited, many-times-frogged pipe component of the mario scarf is now complete.  CHECK IT.

It is being knit with a combo of intarsia and stranding.  Sometimes I get confused as 
when to do which method, so I pretty much always cross the colors whenever it’s time to change.

I’m not going to take a photo of the other side yet because it is really scary back there.  I used five colors of yarn in what amounted to about 8 separate bobbins. I found that the clothespins help a lot because not only do they keep things from unwinding and getting totally out of control, but they have a tiny heft to them that anchors the strands in place a little nicer than the freeform yarn balls.

The finished product will hopefully look something like this.  The top will just be plain navy until it gets long enough to function as an actual functional outerwear accessory.  I’m aiming to have it finished on or around the birthday on October 24.  But I might even be done in time for the CHIPTUNE BOAT RIDE who knows.  It might be chilly?  But then again I might have to knit a solid blue reverse for it because like I said the strings are kind of a knitemare– ha-ha!

 

Felt Good?

I feel it’s important to point out that I am a process knitter with a solid objective. I say solid because it seems like some process knitters knit for the fun and the new technique and don’t really have a plan for the final knit product. I knit for those reasons and additionally to release knits into the wild!

Which isn’t always a welcome thing. Fortunately my friends are willing to be experimented on. For her birthday my oldest pal received a fulled bag, my very first. Not a huge deal, just a little felting. The experimenting comes into play when the bag is loaded up with various girly accoutrements. Can my worsted virgin wool handle the bounty of uber girliness? Or will I be saddled with sag related guilt? Good thing there are 2 more skeins in the stash just in case the bag crashes and burns. I may just have to reinforce the handles…

A couple notes about the project:
this was based on a pattern by Jana Trent published by Interweave Spin-Off. Click here for a pdf.
Yarn used: Lamb’s Pride, one skein
The pattern was modified slightly to feature seed stitch on the top third of the bag.

 

25 days ’til mom’s Mother’s Day throw-down

That’s right people. I HAVE A PROJECT. Not to go overboard on the puns, but it is the MOTHER of all projects.

My mom asked me to make her a “summery” throw, as the one I made a few years ago is lovely but rather dark. It is made up of various shades of dark red. This one will be lighter sage-y colors plus some variegated Manos for that “pop.” It should be good. Check back here again soon for a progress report.

I don’t think it will be done by mother’s day (the last one took me the entire length of Twin Peaks to finish, however many hours that is) but it’s the thought that counts.

Clockwise from 10 o’clock:
Galler Yarns FLORE II Mohair/Wool/Nylon #104
Debbie Bliss cashmerino aran Merino/Microfibre/Cashmere #300502
Manos Cotton Stria #204
Lamb’s Pride Bulky Wool/Mohair Avocado
Frog Tree Merino #46
Manos del Uruguay #109