it's the same old circle going round, but

This hat is an amalgam of the Turn-A-Square pattern, which I've greatly enjoyed knitting before, the Purl Soho Simple Pleasures brim, and the Dessine-Moi Un Mouton sleeve stripe pattern.  I was concerned with fit, and my diagonally-upstairs neighbor suggested that I could knit in some flexibility by giving the recipient an option to wear the hat slouchy or to fold the brim and have a more fitted look.  She recommended a Purl Bee pattern with a long stretch of ribbing to start, which led me to the Simple Pleasures.

Because I was using fingering weight yarn (Plucky Knitter Bello in Pollen with stripes of Heartstrings, Old Copper, Fisherman's Wharf and Bastille), I cast on 140 stitches and then did almost three inches of 2 by 2 rib.  After that, I pretty much followed the Turn-a-Square pattern exactly, except that I used an idea for striping from the Dessine-Moi Un Mouton Pattern.  I'm in the midst of knitting a Dessine-Moi sweater and have loved the combo of stripes with blocks of the main color.  (I actually meant to follow the Dessine-Moi stripe pattern more closely, with some sections of 5 stripes and some sections of 3 stripes, but I forgot to switch to 3 when I started my second group of stripes and decided there were too few stripe sections to make it look intentional if I switched for the third group.)

All together, I'm pretty happy with how this turned out and the recipient seems to enjoy it as well, so I'll call the amalgam a success!

 To slouch or not to slouch?

Slouchy back view

Winter Knitting

My needles have been flying! I finished the Malabrigo Rios sweater (Indiecita) that I fell in love with in an ad in Interweave last fall. (It actually called for Silky Merino but I couldn't find any at the time) One thing I love about this sweater is that it is oversized and stretchy. Really comfy.




















I interupted work on that project to knit a hat and scarf for Emily's birthday. She found the pattern from a friend whose hat she admired and we picked out the yarn together online. It turned out oranger than expected but looks good. I designed the scarf from the hat pattern.




Then I finally found a pattern I liked for the Noro Silk Garden yarn I had bought when I was looking for the silky merino and decided not to use for that sweater. I am really pleased with the short sleeved cardigan even though there are only about two days a year that are right to wear it. Today was one. Thanks to a weekend train trip to New York, a flight to Texas, and a two day off-site meeting where I could knit while listening to presentations (honestly - less rude and distracting than checking a Blackberry constantly!), and the fact that it was mostly stockinette stitch, I finished in three weeks.

yes, I know it's pretty here

I know that, this week, many of you had worse weather than I did. But I also know that some of you still view the massive snowfall as wondrous and beautiful. And that was me about 50 inches ago. Maybe I'm more whiny (always a possibility) or maybe I've run by too many post office boxes buried with feet of snow on top of them or maybe I just live in a city that has decided that the best use of its rapidly-dwindling snow-removal budget is ONE "special snow melting truck" rather than actually plowing the streets when it snows. Whatever the cause, I've spent my spare time knitting this to avoid going totally crazy:

So, yes, the point of all that was that I've put aside all the things that I should be knitting to knit something that I don't need to knit but that makes me incredibly happy. And I don't even feel (that) guilty about it. Because, really, what's the point of knitting if you can't use it to stave off a potential nervous breakdown? Particularly when the cause is too much winter precipitation, knitting seems well-suited as a preventative measure. And my father wasn't the only one who wanted a hat like my grandpa's Christmas hat. So that's what I did: another turn-a-square, although absent the stripes, in a size more appropriate for my grandpa than me.
I don't have any modeled shots, but trust me that this hat is huge on me: it covers my forehead and most of my neck. It looks pretty ridiculous. I don't care. I love it and plan to wear it for the remainder of the winter. It's Plucky primo fingering, held doubled, in Nordic. I knit the whole thing on 3s and started with 108 stitches for the rib, increasing to 116 for the body of the hat. It's a very tight knit which means some of the decreases were very difficult to do, but that makes it all the better for facing the rest of the winter. (Rav details here.)

Another thing that has reminded me that we will survive this winter: sewing in the ends on spring break! socks:

Wamps told you about this project: I knit hers and she knit mine. (I asked her to block hers and she "asked" me to sew in the ends on mine.) But she didn't show you the freaky inspiration for the project, which I can do.
(Manicures done before stumbling into the yarn store and finding this yarn. How could we walk away from those skeins?)

Maybe the next time that you hear from me, I'll have some non-selfish knitting to show off. But I've been pretty glad for selfish knitting these last few weeks, just as I've been pretty thankful that my landlord takes care of most of our snow removal and even plows our street as a public service with his plow; that I have a car that might not be able to get over some of the snow but is still pretty likely to start each morning; that I've been able to go cross country skiing multiple times this winter; and that, unlike others in my state, so far, all the roofs that I've been under have held. Here's hoping that you all are staying safe and warm, wherever you are, and doing whatever you need to do to stay sane in this weather!

Rainy Day Posting

Been feeling contemplative and sleepy today, with the grey sky (there you are Bay Area winter!) and rainy, chilly air.  (Nothing like the winters the rest of you are facing, I know.)  So I thought I'd share a few things that have been going on with me. 

First up: a belated christmas/something present that's almost done.  I need to figure out pom poms, and then wrap it up and send it off. 

Made with more of the lovely Shelter yarn.  I really wish there were a few more colors. I think I've hit pause on my dream of a giant scarf for now--I just can't settle on any of the colors.  Maaaybe the red.  But no rush. 

I know this should go on another blog, but I'm going to wait till I have a prettier picture.  This was the first trial of my new baking stone.  Way to break it in, right?  Since then, I've used tons of cornmeal, and everything has been beautiful, but too beautiful to not eat quickly.

These aren't knitting either, but they do fall under the other craftiness category.  Pillows!  I think this will be more impressive once I have a bunch more, which hopefully will happen tomorrow.  Just need to get some pillows to actually cover first.

And finally, the thing I couldn't stop myself from starting, even though I have other knitting commitments that I should focus on first. I had to do a  bunch of trial runs before I could settle down for the real thing, but I think I'm nearly ready to go.  So pretty!  So exciting!

elf! and baby elf!

I don't have a better picture of these hats, but it's still fair to say that they were my most successful Christmas knitting, both for the reaction they inspired and because I actually finished them on time. It's the Pointy Elf Hat, from More Last Minute Knitted Gifts, a pattern that I can't recommend enough. I used Blue Sky Cotton held doubled and added the stripe, but otherwise knit as instructed for the toddler and baby sizes. I wish I had film to share with you of my nephew's reaction but it went something like this:

T: "Elf! And baby elf! On parade!" [marching, while urging his sister to crawl along behind him]

He then proceeded to wear the hat for the rest of the evening, despite the fact that he seems to usually be too hot and want to wear less clothing. My niece, who couldn't express herself quite so verbally, seemed equally delighted upon seeing herself in a mirror with a pointy thing on the top of her head and burst into laughter each time she was held up to a mirror. Considering that each hat took me about 2 hours, I thought that the pattern's time-spent-knitting-to-amusement-of-recipient-children ratio was pretty good.

running out of yarn hasn't stopped me yet

I actually finished some of my Christmas gifts by Epiphany this year, largely because I didn't put as many on my list as last year. (We'll see about some of those last-year-gifts getting done by Valentine's Day, okay? Okay?) But I didn't manage to finish these two in time to gift them in person, which really disappointed me. Luckily, the recipients didn't mind as much.

For my grandma, I was so inspired by this cowl that I forgot that I have a really hard time finishing garter stitch log cabin squares.
Albers Cowl, knit in various colors of Plucky MCN fingering. Ravelry details here. I ran out of several colors of yarn, leading to interesting (and time-consuming) modifications. I am glad that my grandma likes it as much as she does, because that was the only thought that got me through it.

For my grandpa, I knit the popular Turn A Square pattern out of Plucky Cashmere fingering. (Ravelry details here) I had to modify the pattern for the thinner yarn and then had to modify again when it became clear that I was going to run out of Rustica, the brown yarn. But every grandpa loves an ombre, right?
(And thanks to both my parents for modeling these before they were mailed off. After my dad modeled the hat, it was strongly suggested that he probably needed a similar one to line his Christmas hat from last year... I accepted this as the price for asking someone to model cashmere and did knit a liner out of the leftover blue yarn, but got no pictures before sewing it in the old hat and returning it to my dad.)

knitting and other happy-making things

I've sent off a few handknits in the last week or so, so I figured I should also post them to the blog. The first package included this hat: Foliage, in Plucky Knitter cashmere fingering weight in Rustica.
I worked the hat with two strands of the yarn on US 6s. Hat mods here. The matching wristwarmers were knit with one strand on US 4s. (Details here on adapting the hat pattern to wristwarmers.)
As with many lovely yarns, I struggled to capture its color but think that the first shot of the wristwarmers probably gets it the best. As far as cashmere yarns go, I think this one is a great value, since this whole set used less than 1.5 skeins (hat: less than 1 skein; wristwarmers: less than 0.5 skeins).

On EW's orders, I am posting two non-knitting, but happy-making things to the blog. First up: flannel pajama pants that my mom made me. The fabric is Amy Butler flannel from Stitchers Crossing. She was working off a pattern, but, apparently, they were turning out odd so she basically winged it. I am so happy for cool nights when I can wear these. (They have shrunk a little in the wash since this photo, but that's all for the best.)
And my new fall bag, which is what came of having too many lovely birthday gifts.
I hope you all have time for knitting and other happy-making things!

Blizzard 2010

I was working on a lightweight white lace linen cardigan for spring when the great Northeast Blizzard of 2010 struck Washington, DC, and somehow in all that white it just didn't feel right.
I had lots of time on my hands but needed to be working on something cozy. So I continued with the hats. I found some leftover yarn from the sweater I happened to be wearing and tried the sideways grande hat again with much better results (I deleted 9 stitches from the cast on strip).

Then I decided I had enough leftover yarn from the first sideways grande attempt to make a tam from the same pattern book.

Finally, I decided to try the two at a time method for knitting socks on two cable needles. So far, so good. If you try this, I recommend finding needles that are a different color. It makes it much easier to keep it straight which row you are on. Mine are green aluminum (from an ancient stache) and bamboo. A trick to remember if you use self striping yarn - not all balls are wound in the same direction. If you want your socks to match, you may need to rewind one skein. I didn't bother so my stripes will be upside down o one sock.

Happy winter. I'm not sure I'll ever want to go back to work after this unexpected knitting break.

Still another Hat

This yarn was from the stash I acquired at Stitches East last year in Baltimore. The night I got home, I sat down and knit this yarn into an original designed-as-I-knit hat - but I was never happy with it. It was too big. So I finally frogged it this fall and dug out the Odessa pattern I had admired on Hannah's postings. Unfortunately I overcompensated a little and this one is a little too snug. I reduced the number of stitches cast on to 80 and I also used smaller needles for the ribbing than the rest of the hat. I enjoyed the yarn, though, and it was a quick project, and I can wear it if I'm willing to suffer the hat hair syndrome. The yarn was called Santa Fe or something southwestern like that and the colors really made me feel warmer on a dreary winter day.

build me a sailboat, something made of wood

It's only a little melodramatic to say that I've been broken by knitting today but I am definitely still too fragile to blog about it. (Here I used to say that it was just yarn...) Instead, I'll give you details on some successful Christmas gifts, many of which have appeared in other forms on the blog. First up: mittens that match those of KZ's niece, the flannel sheet mittens. You've seen these before here and here. For my grandma, these are Grove mittens by Brooklyn Tweed, knit out of Plucky Knitter Cashmere Fingering Weight in Elegant Flannel. I loved knitting this pattern and knitting with this yarn. I'm planning a pair for myself in the new year, although not in the same yarn. The pattern calls for DK weight knit on 6s, but I originally planned to knit these mittens with worsted weight yarn since I had a skein that I thought my grandma would love. However, even on 4s, I couldn't get gauge with worsted yarn and it was incredibly painful to knit worsted on needles so small. Miraculously, I managed to get gauge with 4s and this fingering weight yarn. (EW has already demanded an explanation for how this worked. I don't have one. I'm sorry.)

Second on line: the cleft hat for my grandpa.

Seen here before, I definitely prefer the finished product over the process of knitting this one. But I think that's more a fault of my own impatience with cabling, rather than a fault of the pattern or the yarn. For the record, it's a Brooklyn Tweed koolhaas in Plucky Knitter MCN Fingering in Rock of Ages (Fascination Series #1).

Third up: the bioenergy hat for my father.
It's an improvised pattern in Plucky Knitter MCN Fingering (held doubled) in Moody Broody Blue. I couldn't bring myself to knit another koolhaas so soon, but wanted a similar look for this hat. I used a trellis stitch from a new-to-me stitch dictionary, Super Stitches Knitting and knit for about 7 inches before starting decreases. I think it turned out well, although I would do the decreases more gently if I knit a similar hat again. At the recent Bon House reunion, Daria captured some of my work process on this hat. Since I was holding the yarn doubled, it was getting tangled in my pocket as I pulled it. As she often does with tangled yarn, Meg jumped to the rescue to keep my yarn in line.

Last but not least: the day before the fall hat for the Iowan.
I never got a good picture of this one, despite forcing EW to model it for me. (It's not that she wasn't plenty photogenic, as usual. The lighting was off, though.) However, I pretty much loved it and can't wait to knit one of these for me. It's a Quincy hat from Plucky Knitter MCN Worsted in Rock of Ages (Fascination Series #2). The picture here is probably more true to color.

Here's to only successful knitting in 2010!

handknits in action (Christmas day edition)

Child's Placket Neck Pullover from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, in Plucky MCN Fingering, held doubled. Only mods were to add the stripe and to leave off the buttons. Since I wasn't doing the buttons, I sewed about an inch and a half of the placket closed. And, yes, that is the 4-to-6 year-old size on my 3-and-a-half-year-old nephew.
Umbilical Cord hat from S'n'B, in Rowan Cotton Glace. No mods, except that I was working from memory so I ended up making the newborn size a little long.

Group Shot

Happy Christmas!

thinking about leaving town

I had thought that I had packed all the knitting I could possibly need over Thanksgiving, but I found myself longing for something super simple and gratifying. Thank goodness for the lovely Lakeside Fibers and KZ's help picking colors for a quick baby hat.

I sewed in the ends as we drove to the airport for my flight back to the East Coast, so I could leave this cutie there just in case it's needed before I return.

For those of you who are traveling soon, what are your knitting plans?

The Day After Thankgiving

Jellyroll is helping me knit.



An elderly friend asked me to help her with a hat she was knitting (La Parisienne beret) and she had gone so far astray I decided I had to knit the hat first myself to see what the pattern was supposed to be doing. It will serve for my Secret Santa gift to take to my office holiday party.

And here's the beret, after I steam blocked it over a dinner plate.