Two more fo's fo' you: Jacques the Sea Turtle and some basic socks. As is usual, I don't get to keep either project. Nuts.

124: Jacques

Jacques is another amigurumi present for a small child, this time for the boy who once fit this sweater.

He is made of Plymouth Galway Worsted, Patons Classic Merino and love. I love him immensely.

125: Laura's socks

Laura asked me to knit some socks for her. So I did! I wish I had started them when she gave me the yarn, because putting the hammer down really spoiled what should have been a beautiful friendship with some gorgeous STR yarn. They're done and I'm happy.

Labels: crochet, fo, toy

Seems I missed my third anniversary as well as 6 fo's. Sigh. I need to think about the future of this project. Clearly I am not really as excited about it as I once was, and even though Ravelry is fun and super-easy, it's not quite the same. Maybe I should do the unthinkable and merge with my real diary - about half of my readers are knitters these days anyway, so it's not like I'll automatically bore them to tears.

118: say it with a fried egg

Blake's Valentine's Day present was an amigurumi-style fried egg from my go-to pattern set by Ana Paula Rimoli. It's made out of white Cascade 220 superwash & yellow Headwater Marupe (which you may recognize from the bee hat). Super quick and super fun. A lady at work asked if I made it in the shape of a heart. "No," I said, "I made it in the shape of an egg."

majesty

119: February is for bunny slippers

My first goal for this year's February is for Finishing was these long-suffering bunny slippers from the Happy Hooker. One has been made for a year and a half, just waiting for a mate. So here it is. It's made out of Naturally Yarns "Sensation" which is an angora/merino blend and plenty fuzzy without the mohair strand. I added extra rounds to the ankle piece and changed all single crochets to half-double crochets to get some very needed height. These slippers will not stay on my feet as originally written. The other weird thing was that the second slipper came out too big, so I had to rip back the upper and sole until it fit my foot.

I know the eyes are crooked. I don't care.

120: another hat for the Nic

This is Nic's birthday hat, Swell, a sturdy confection of Patons Classic Merino. After the first set of pics were taken and the hat was gifted, Nic complained that it was too small, so it was ripped to the crown and reknit with an extra 1 1/2" above the colour work. It fits! And it covers his ears! Yay! There's not a lot of contrast in the colour work, but this is what he wanted. And I kind of like the idea of this black wave sneaking up on everyone. As Arcade Fire likes to point out, "there's a big black wave in the middle of the sea." Alright.

I think he likes it

121: chocolate cookie

I think this pattern is a crutch. This is the second time this month that I've used it before a children's birthday party. So: Tiny Ami by Ana Paula Rimoli in Lily Sugar and Cream (brown) and CoolSpun Cotton (white) in honour of Hestia's third birthday party. I like the naturalness of this cookie compared to my grey attempt this summer.

tiptoeing through the kalanchoe

122: eternity cardi

I started this cardigan in March 2006, driven by a desire to take the edge off Sockapaloooza and a low price for Lana Gatto Ontario that promised a full cardigan for $30. It took maybe three months to knit the pieces - I seem to remember knitting and marking essays, and I definitely remember doing one of the fronts during a Meet the Teacher Night. Then, once it was done and summer arrived, it lingered. I put all the pieces in a bag for safe keeping. I got a new job. I bought a house. I moved. I sewed one whole seam right before a crazy-hot Thanksgiving that had me putting away the wool for awhile. And now, goaded by NaKniSewMo and my desire to CO for a Noro vest, I finally finished this simple little cardi.

Now that it's done, the collar kind of looks like a tumorous mass. I can't tell if it's my sewing or the fabric to blame. Also, I didn't put on the ribbon closures because it seemed dumb. for now, I'm using a 1" Bridesmaidmania 3 pin to close it, but will come up with something more dignified shortly. My knitsibs can't believe that I've never finished a sweater before. I'm just glad that I finished this one.

blurry but more-or-less accurate

pay no attention to the muffintop

123: loopy hemp pillow

When I asked Sister Silver what she would like me to knit her, she quickly decided on a loopy pillow. As it was beastly hot in the valley, I found a beautiful hemp (All Hemp 6) in the exact colour of her couch throw. What I didn't realize was that hemp is rough as hell on the hands, especially if you're fiddling with it to make loops. The knitting dragged. My hands chapped. I started to watch episodes of Lost while knitting it, thinking that an hour a week was enough. And then, once I got a square, I figured out that I didn't get gauge and my square didn't match the pillow form. Grr.

I ended up picking out the cast-off, knitting more rows, then binding off and picking up stitches along the side, log-cabin style to make this panel fit the pillow form. Exhausting. I threw it in the washer/dryer to soften it up, which it did, beautifully. It’s backed with fabric from Ikea because i couldn’t face the idea of buying a third skein. True to form, handstitching the back to the front took more than 6 months as it went hibernating for a long time.

Now that it’s done I have the damndest case of Stockholm Syndrome: it looks so good with my colour scheme that I may need to make another. But not of hemp, goddammit.

a front and side view of my new master

Labels: crochet, fo, knitty, naknisewmo, repeats, snb

Remember when I used to finish items one at a time? Yeah.

This latest Urchin is made from Manos del Uruguay for Alleen. I finished the knitting right before my dance class on Monday night. I grafted it over two nights, as I made a mistake with the first try and had to rip it all out. And just when I was congratulating myself on being able to kitchener stitch in hockey bleachers, too.

More news: soon there will be matching wristwarmers. Fun!

Labels: fo, friends, knitty, repeats

110: exotic urchin

I've been finishing hats like a woman possessed. The first was last Saturday, when I took time that I should have used to mark exams to knit furiously and joyfully through a handspun Urchin. Sophie gave me this Studio Loo skein called Violet Fiction for a housewarming/birthday present. You may remember the yarn when it used to be this:

Now it's this:

Reaction is mixed, by which I mean everyone loves it but my mom, who hates it with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. I think she's just jealous.

111: beanie redux

The second hat is part of my attempt to use my knitting for social good instead of just relaxation, practice, artistry, cheap gifts, etc. It's a Boy Beanie from the Happy Hooker in variegated Patons Classic Merino called Jungle. The contrasting green is the Lemongrass Lion's Brand Wool left over from my mittens. It's going to a local homeless shelter/soup kitchen, where it will hopefully clothe one of the visitors.

112: Queen Bee hat

The third hat was done before the second, but needed embellishment. It's a Bzzz Hat for Queen Bees out of Sn'B Nation. The yarn is Headwater Wool Marupe that I picked up at the DKC Knitter's Frolic last spring with the change I found in my pockets. I've been dreaming about this hat for a long time. I've got a bit of a thing for bees, and this will eventually be a set with a scarf and possible wristwarmers. The bee buttons aren't that great, but they get the job done. I found them at the local Michael's.

113: belly dance socklets

This isn't a hat, although I finished it in the midst of my binge. They're little socklets to wear during my belly dancing class for a bit of slippage on turns. Why buy ballet flats or (ugh) cut up other socks when you can spend a few hours making small colourful tubes? I knit these while marking exams, and finished them minutes before beginning class last week.

114: kara

Also not a hat. It's an amigurumi carrot that I decided to do after an argument with Blake, in which he insisted on orange hot chocolate for my in-process toy cup. Instead of such an abomination, I made a carrot. The pattern is my own, although it's way too simple to need one. All I did was make a circle, crochet a tube, and start decreasing. When I thought it was too short, I did a plain row, then kept decreasing. It took a bit of finagling to make the tip, and I don't know that I followed any recognized crochet technique other than "givin'r," but the end result is quite pleasing, with that purposely frayed end coming off there. The orange is Sugar n' Cream worsted cotton, and the green top is more Lemongrass Lion's Wool, which I attached and chained until I felt like stopping. Then I picked up the other end and chained that too. The result is marvellously eccentric, dready leaves. The mouth is the same yarn. They eyes are 8 mm safety eyes. Tremendously fun, tremendously simple. Her name is Kara, after a girl in Blake's class. Kara the carrot.

115 & 116: cupcake & chocolate cup

The reason that I had to make Kara was because I was in the midst of making these guys for the Jakaitis kids. It's K8rs' birthday party on Saturday, and we decided to make a cupcake and a cup of hot chocolate for her and her brother to play with. They are a mix of Sugar n' Cream cotton, Butterfly cotton, and Cool Spun cotton, with fun mail order safety eyes and beads from Michael's. Do they look like sprinkles to you?

There are still a few more pictures hanging around, but I am totally knackered, so they'll have to wait. And I'm almost done another urchin!

Labels: birthday, blake, crochet, drunken knitters, fo, friends, gifties, knitty, snb

Sorry about that, knittas. The husband told me that he was leaving in early December, which sent me into a funk so deep that I couldn't craft for awhile. Then, when I was finishing stuff like mad, my camera was missing. This is the first day that I've had pics and details for anything since November.

104: tintinito mittens

Blake has these awesomely wacky shoes that Nic bought him last birthday. I started these matching mittens last winter, but put them aside for a really long while. It was only when I realized that I had nothing for Blake's birthday that I lit a fire under my butt and finished the embroidery. Yarn is Patons Classic Merino (except the red, which is Cascade 220 superwash) and the pattern is the basic mitten from Knitting for Peace.

blurry but fun

105: Nic's beanie

Last year I loved making his armwarmers so much that I decided to make him a beanie out of the same variegated Patons merino yarn. Then I ran out of yarn. So this became his Christmas present, and one of only two knit presents for the holiday (I was sad). Pattern is the Boy Beanie from The Happy Hooker. No picture yet.

106: Blake's Sleep Socks

Ever since Blake aged out of footie pj's (or more accurately, ever since he stopped wearing a diaper all night) he's wanted special sleep socks. I managed to crank out his pair in time for Christmas. He wears them every night, and has thanked me for them without prompting many times. (Love!) The pattern is based on the rotating rib from Traditional Knitted Socks, and they have no heel. The yarn is Patons Kroy.

107: Replacement Armwarmer

The Nic lost his left armwarmer. (He told me this when I gave him the beanie.) This is the new armwarmer. Patons Classic Merino variegated, my own pattern.

108: Last Minute Fetchings

I was lame enough to show up to Stacy's surprise birthday party with a loud kid and no gift. This was my week late/buck short attempt to make it up to her. The yarn is Dream in Colour "Classy" in a purple colourway that reminds me of Stacy's hair back in 2001. The pattern is Fetching, of course. They are quite possibly the most beautiful garments I have ever made. Sorry there's no picture.

that's the hair I remember!

109: Fluffy Cuff Mittens

I've always wanted knit mittens. I constantly extol their virtues. And yet I've never knit myself a pair. I've been planning these ones since the July Knitty Yarn tasting when I went home with a fantastic sample of pistachio coloured mohair boucle from a South African company called Be Sweet. Later that summer, I bought a ball of chartreuse Lion Brand Wool while we were on vacation in Watertown. This week was their moment, and I hardly stopped knitting them to teach, mark, eat, mother, etc. I remain insanely infatuated with them.

Pattern: Fluffy Cuff Mittens in Sn'B, mated with the Basic Mittens in Knitting for Peace (which uses worsted weight).

Labels: fo, knitting for peace, snb

My co-worker Maeve has two lovely boys, but she always wanted a girl. So she was delighted to find out that this latest pregnancy held a girl. And I, though I avoid gender stereotyping as much as I can, felt duty-bound to knit this little girl the pinkest laciest sweater ever pinked. Er, knit.

The pattern is the Jasmine Lace-edged Cardigan from Natural Knits for Moms and Babies. I used Butterfly mercerized cotton, which was smooth and shiny & soft. It was quick to knit (except for the long lace panel, which dragged on through all of 'Ray' and the special features) and although it took a rather long time to seam up, the seams were so short that I could always move on to something new before my brain entirely rotted away.

thanks to the photogenic logs at the humber arboretum!

Plus, the buttons are just Too Much Fun.

Extra Knitting Fun!

Here's a picture of my Punk Lolitas on Pixie:

the things you can find on flickr

Labels: baby, bat masterson, fo

I had a golden skein of Elspeth Lavold Silky Wool that was destined to become a scarf for my grandmother. It took more than a year to decide to be an Argosy. And it's birth was slow. Finished within days of her 82nd birthday, but delayed as it was in need of fierce blocking. This Thanksgiving weekend was the time to just giv'r.

my blocking partner

Labels: birthday, family, fo, knitty

One of my co-workers wanted to get back into knitting by making a simple toy. I showed her Knitty and she was off. Unfortunately, she couldn't quite get the hang of the pattern she picked: Bubby. So she bequeathed me the yarn and her pattern print out. Three months later, Bubby was born.

I'm not sure I like him - he's kind of floppy and awkward - but the Boy has taken to him as a stuffed bear representation of himself, so there's that. And I get to give him away - there's that too.

Bonus craftiness:

Today my mom was asking me when I was going to get a new lunchbag for my son, who started full-day school this year. I've been pretty frustrated with the ones I find at the various stores - so I decided to take my courage in my hands and make one.

The pattern is the tote bag from Bend the Rules Sewing. I like the result, but I found the instructions a bit complex for a total newbie like myself, and I had to pick out the lining seams twice. Also, there's a misprint in the fabric requirements, which caused me to cut out more for the straps than I needed. Still, it's an awesome bag. It even has his name tag in it, so no other fashionable kid can walk off with it. I'm happy.

Labels: baby, blake, fo, sew, toy

I bought my house; thus I bought Mason-Dixon Knitting; thus I bought Cotton-Ease yarn in two colours & cast on for a baby kimono. I hear these things happen. I farmed out the second one to Mason and got the extra joy of double finishing! Hurray!

These will go to Poppy's twins, sort of as a consolation prize for not getting to work with us anymore. Sigh. Where's our consolation?

Labels: baby, bat masterson, fo, mdk

I made these three amigurumi - one a day - for the three pregnant ladies at the Lettuce Knit sn'b: Jendricks, Craftygrrrl & tapeheads

They're made, as the author of the pattern suggests, with oddments of worsted yarn. In order, we have beige merino from King Cole (bunny hat); pink Phentex (Jumblie); blue and green Lamb's Pride (robot parade); and white Cascade 220 (skull socks o' fury). The eyes are felt, the smiles are embroidery thread, and there is a ribbon on the cactus. The Boy feels that they are BFF - so maybe the babies will be, too.

Bonus knitted thing: if you look at this photo you can see the three squares I knit in less than 24 hours. They're all in the lace wings pattern, and because they're all in the same colour, they all ended up on tapehead's blanket. Fun!

Labels: crochet, fo, friends, lk ladies, toy

Thanks to the gals at MDK, I was so deeply smitten with the ballband washcloths that I tried the 9-patch as well. It's definitely my weirdest washcloth, but very beautiful. I very slowly worked away at the ends for awhile, forgot about it for a few months when I moved, then finished it in a burst. What can I say: with no deadline, I'm lazy.

It's made up of leftovers from all over: turquoise cotton bought for Stacy's cellphone cozy, white cotton bought (but not used) for the Henry Rollins doll, variegated cotton from the Boy's "I will only buy yarn for 3 dollars or less" knitting phase and what remains of the green cotton for Pixie's pixie hat. It's rather lovely.

Labels: fo, house, mdk

Consumed with the cuteness of amigurumi crochet, I used some of my honourarium from Knitty to buy a set of tiny ami patterns. This was a big step for me; I tend to be comically cheap about patterns (more so than for other knitting gear) and I've paid for maybe 6 patterns in my entire crafty career. But I figured that since the money was virtual, why not spend it virtually?

I ordered the pattern in late afternoon, and it arrived after Blake fell asleep. As soon as he woke up, he wanted to see the picture. I showed him the pattern.

"Make that cookie for me," he demanded. And I, feeling the close of summer vacation hot on my heels, decided to indulge him while I could. So we rummaged through my stash, finding brown and white and pink but no vanilla-type colour. Blake refused to consider the possibility of a chocolate cookie. He picked up some leftover grey yarn and, despite my pleas for a more edible colour, his cookie colour scheme was chosen.

He sat down to watch me. "Find something else to do," I ordered. "This is going to take a while." He ignored me, watching my hands slowly crochet the cookie into being. He got into my lap. He played with my stash of safety eyes. He lay on the floor and kicked my chair. Finally, he left to play a few rounds of Toy Story Memory.

And thus a weird amigurami cookie was born of a morning. Blake is completely, totally smitten. It hasn't left his hand since I finished it. Now he's demanding more from the set. Secretly I can't wait.

Labels: blake, crochet, embroidery, fo, toy

A delicious lacy confection in mouth-wateringly juicy shades of orange. I wish I didn't have to send these socks away. The yarn is the Koigu I bought during the fall TTC Knitalong, and though I wanted to keep it, no other sock plans worked out for this round of the 'palooza. Thus I gave in, grabbed the yummy orange and the trusty pattern (I hear the designer thinks just like me) and got to work. My housewarming party derailed my progress the week before the deadline, and so these socks are more than a week late going out. I hope the recipient thinks that they're worth it.

this is why I didn't take the pictures when I submitted the pattern.

Labels: design, fo, kal, socks, swap

finished: June 11

More booties, because Poppy's twins aren't going to be able to knit for a while. I finished the blue pair by raiding every left-over scrap from every skein of Koigu I've ever bought, including the wee bit leftover from when Annie Modesitt came to Drunken Knitters without yarn or needles.

(Nota Bene: They are blue and orange because I like those colours, hear? I will not hear any bullshit about gender colour coding, thankyouVERYmuch. Mama don't play that.)

These were done for a long time, awaiting for notions and finishing. Once they were done, I popped them in a brown paper bag and took them to school. "Hey, Poppy," I said, barging into her office first thing in the morning, "I made some extra lunch, ya want it??"

"You're so sweet, I --oooohhhh."

Quite possibly the best reaction ever.

now to get them on the twins...

Labels: baby, fo, repeats

finished on August 27, 2006.

Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

For my 30th birthday, my mom took me out to see Hair. It was an exciting event for me: I was basically unfamiliar with the so-called storyline, but I loved some of the songs and wanted to see it all unfold. So my mom, being the theatre push-over she is, bought us some tickets and I got me an early birthday present.

In addition to the play, which was pretty awesome, we also indulged in one of our other theatre-going vices: clothes shopping (a third vice is eating, but we won’t go into that). There’s a store near the theatre called Timbuktu that’s run by an ex-hippie and filled with gorgeous exotic fabrics. Last time we were there (“Urinetown”), my mom bought a traveling suit. This time we both bought dresses. Hers was red with a flower pattern; so perfect for her that we both felt strongly that she already owned it. Mine was a blue & white layer cake of a dress, a floor-length sundress blockprinted in shades of Delft blue. Air currents want to frolic with this dress, and it’s long enough so that the world is not surprised by my nudity when the wind gets whimsical.

But as I am the type of personality that I can never be satisfied, a problem arose. To whit: I hate hate hate hate current sandal styles. So this pretty pretty dress, clearly a summer dress, would be matched with my grody flip flops, my 8-holes, or my ‘vogs. I loves my ‘vogs, but they really need socks. Therefore, I decided to knit some. All of the lacy socks I saw were way too substantial for my purpose, which was to match this confection of a dress. So I picked up a couple of skeins of my favourite Koigu PPPM, found a lace stitch on-line, and swirled in as many girly touches as I could manage.

Specs: these socks were to be super-feminine, super comfy in summer as I defied sandal fashion and stomped around in my 'vogs. I combined a picot cast-on with a simple 7-stitch, 4-row lace pattern (called Lace Wings), added an Eye of Partridge heel for the birdy implications, and then named it after my shoes. (I also watched Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy obsessively while knitting the first sock, so there's a little bit of Vogon in there too.)

I took the first one to a Drunken Knitter’s Night in July, where it was much beloved. Since drinking was involved, there came a point when I messed up the lace. I pondered tinking, but the people around me told me it didn’t matter.

”But what if I want to submit this pattern to Knitty?” I half-joked to Amy, who was sitting beside me.

”I’m sure I won’t notice,” she replied graciously.

Holy shit, I wondered, did I just pitch a design to Amy, Editrix of Knitty? Did she just say something nice instead of rejecting my lame ideas and incompetent design-work out of hand? Will I actually go through with this crazy idea? This requires much pondering.

From that point on in the summer, these were my submission socks, kept under wraps. I approached a few of my knitting friends for help with the photos, but nothing was resolved until the September Drunken Knitter’s Night, when Jacquie B. offered her sharp artistic eye and her ginchy new camera in service of the submission socks. Thrilled to be doing something before all the leaves turned, we settled on the following weekend.

The shoot itself was great fun. I’ve always wanted the glory of modelling (I am, at least technically, a Leo) but lack the traditional attributes to realize this goal (such as grace, poise, passion and beauty). Jacquie was patient with my lack of experience, and made the shoot into a big romp through Kew Gardens. If these socks look good, it’s because Jacquie made them look good.

Jacquie B's fantabulous vog on gallery

The next part of this story took place months after, as the completed socks were waiting for a seasonal submission date. Widdershins had been out there for awhile, and I found myself wondering if I had a toe-up version in me. When Michelle offered to test-knit, I knew I had to try. So I did the math, bought her some co-ordinating Koigu PPM in fire colours, and asked her if she could make my bird rise from the ashes (in this case, ashes = toes). Then we spilled tequila on the yarn. Hee!

She did a terrific job, knit them longer just for fun, and then used her mannequin feet to model. I can't help but think that her clutch-knitting is what sent us over the edge. And now, I'm a published knitwear designer! I'll try to let it go to my feet, rather than my head.

the pattern

Labels: design, drunken knitters, fo, friends, knitty, socks

completed june 3.

The house insanity continues with the newest addition to the washcloth family! I love the nubby feel of these washcloths, so I made another one to match the Blake's bathroom. Leftover cottons were "carefully" selected for only the finest decor-matching schmatta. But seriously, folks...I shouldn't find it odd that all these colours were hanging around my stash; of course I'm going to buy colours that I like. The Boy gets credit for the pastel variegated and for pressing the completed cloth into service immediately, Mason-Dixon Knitting gets credit for the pattern, and I get credit for making it in the first place.

action shot!

Labels: fo, house, mdk, repeats

From the girls at MDK: a ballband dishcloth in stash cotton. I'm stashbusting and decorating my new house all at the same time! This must be heaven.

the countdown to the end of basement shots starts now!

The base colour is what remained after Pixie's pixie hat. (Next time I make a shaped hat I'll be sure to use a lighter fiber than cotton!) The varied cotton was purchased by the Boy last year; he went through a knitting phase in which he decided he would only spend a few bucks for a ball of yarn. Hence, worsted dishcloth-type cotton. He soon decided that he hated knitting cotton, and was happy to let me use this as my first dishcloth experiment.

My bathroom is green...this may end up in the shower. Yee!

Labels: fo, mdk, stash

finished April 13, 2007.

These guys were really last minute: although I knit them in 2 days out of well-marinated maroon 1824 wool, they were done on the last night I would ever need them.

Now we wait for fall.

Labels: fo, lmkg

I wanted to finish my mystery knit for Blake this Easter, but it's not going to happen. Instead I put the boots to myself and did the final bit of sewing required to make this hood functional. Dinosaurs laid eggs; eggs are an important part of Easter celebrations (on the pagan side); therefore this is logical. Kinda.

you may notice that blake is not the model in this pic

It's a dinosaur hood from a pattern at Moth Heaven. This one was done up in the Peace Fleece left over from Blake's Accordion Sweater: yummy hemlock & shaba greens. My friend Esther made Blake some shaba green mittens much earlier in the season, so this hood completes his reptile ensemble.

And why is the Boy wearing it? Because Blake hates all my handknits for a few days. I've come to accept it.

Labels: blake, easter, fo

I always need a pair of socks on the go. Last summer I finally started some Falling Leaves socks in the pinky variegated Patons Kroy I've been staring at since the previous winter, and these have proven to be anything but a quick fix. 8 months from CO to BO. Whoa.

They feature a Magic Toe and a sewn bind-off. I'm pretty darn proud of them.

Labels: fo, socks

More stashbusting, this time for Hugs for Homeless Animals. In the course of making this blanket I finished my last ball of blue Patons chunky acrylic from my first project and had to raid the "teach other people to knit" stash I have at Bat Masterson High (a.k.a. work) just so I can have a square instead of a strip. But half-way through we had a crisis, and so...

...with the other end of the ball, I started a top-down hat with the navy, modeled on a hat knit for my brother in the 70's and in heavy rotation on Blake's head until it was lost a few weeks ago at the grocery store. This took very little time, yet it stalled when I had to raid the work stash again for some powder blue...

...that allowed me to finish the blanket, since I used up so much navy on the hat! Phew!

meet the new hat, same as the old hat

I should also mention that Drea very kindly crocheted an edging around the finished blankie at the March Knit Night Out. It gives the square a finished look, rather than a "random crap from my stash" look. She ended up granny squarin' the powder blue, so she took it home at the end of the night. You don't say no to the Queen of the Grannies.

they're more fraternal than identical

Labels: bat masterson, blake, fo, knitting for peace, stash

I bet Preacher never knew he wanted an Sn'B Nation Rockstar Doll, Palaver style!

palaver with gasmask, c. 1997

preacher, palaver & poet, c. 1997

This doll is largely improvised, but I love a challenge. I passed the deadline for Preachtoberfest, but I was determined to do this one right, no matter how many times I had to knit the head. The embroidery was damned finicky as well. Fun.

my apologies for this garbage picture

Yarn Specs: the grey yarn is Lamb's Pride worsted from the robot knitting of the summer. The white, black & medium brown are all Paton's Classic Merino - white for the Boy's mittens (never used), black for Nic's anarchy cap and brown for Hank Rollins' pants (my first Rockstar Doll!). The beige head & hands are DK King Cole yarn from Blake's bunny hat. The black outline for the suit is Patons Kroy, purchased for Little Spider's no-zombie wristband. The blue tie & flower are my last little bits from my sea silk shawl. Safety eyes & embroidery floss complete our ensemble.

This guy is coming with us to his new home NY this March Break. Good thing I managed to finish him in the last gasp of NaKniSewMo!

Labels: birthday, embroidery, fo, naknisewmo, snb, toy

I finally knit up the Cotswold Handspun I bought at GVF this summer. It is an absolute dream - single-ply undyed goodness, with wee bits of twigs every once in awhile for perspective. While I was in the store, the boys were outside, making friends with the livestock. I love that I'll be wearing a hat made of yarn that came from a sheep Blake met.

This hat was cast on at the Brampton Indie Arts Festival, and ribbed to the soothing sounds of Ultra Magnus, Raised By Swans, the Diableros & Geoff Berner. The main body was worked during other days of the fest, and carries fond memories of Laura Barrett, The Nihilist Spasm Band and Giant Killer Shark (the Musical).

The pattern is the store freebie, a simple combo of ribs and cables that I've already done twice to some unsuspecting balls of Noro Kureyon. I think I may even have enough in the second skein for mittens, if I'm really careful!

Labels: fo, repeats

A hat for Hestia! I clearly like knitting for this family. This is made out of yarn given to me by her mother and with inspiration from Vogue Quick Knits & a d6. The Vogue hat was alternating bands of purls & knits, so I decided to geek out and use a die to determine the number of rows. The picot hem on the brim didn't turn out quite the way I wanted it to, but that's ok. At least Hestia likes it.

she loves wearing hats, she's just not into being held in place

Despite swatching beforehand, it's a bit looser than I wanted it, which really makes it look like a flapper lid. Neat!

I love how the decreases and alternating bands turn the crown into a rosette

Labels: baby, fo, kal, stash

Nic's birthday present = custom-designed arm-warmers for road hockey, with special re-enforced palm. I must like him more than I let on, because I even swatched for this - and I swatch for no man. Or maybe I just love the yarn, a brand-new Patons Classic Merino variegated in greens and browns. My knitting is so camo, I can't find it on the couch!

the new warmers in action

These were designed to stretch a lot so they could be worn over thick black gloves.

the re-enforced palm

I made notes as I went, but I'll wait until someone expresses an interest in it before I post the pattern. I like them very much regardless!

Labels: birthday, crochet, fo

This is why I need deadlines. As soon as I decided to give Blake his robot for Valentine's Day, it went from completely knit, no finishing to completely finished in 2 nights.

check out the love between boy & robot!

It's the Jess Hutch pattern in Lamb's Pride Worsted. I had a brainwave during finishing, and instead of knitting, felting & attaching appliqués to the front, I dug through my buttons to find some excellent remnants. The heart button is my absolute fave - the Boy used the name Heart Shaped Robots for a music project once, and I knew that our robot would have to have a heart on it somewhere. I also used some of the safety eyes I ordered a few months ago, since Blake is past the swallowing everything phase (I hope).

His name, Ro-Bert (or more formally, the title of this entry 81:Ro-Bert), is a reference to our imaginary second son, Bert.

This was such a satisfying project to finish. When the Boy saw it for the first time he said, "our family is complete." Hee.

bert watches the snow day develop

Labels: blake, embroidery, fo, naknisewmo, repeats, toy

My first Dulaan 2007 hat, knit from a Caps for Kids pattern in Knitting for Peace and my leftover Plymouth Galway worsted from the marsupial bag. Now, with pompom! I wonder if it will be warm enough for the little Mongolians - I'll solicit more opinions before I take up space in the shipping box.

Isn't it cool that I finished my eightieth project on my second knitversary? Another victory for NaKniSewMo!

Labels: dulaan, fo, knitting for peace, naknisewmo

I'm done! Another victory for NaKniSewMo!

This was supposed to be for Blake's birthday (cough*mutter*cough), but I had trouble working up the nerve to install the zipper. I did it the way I do anything pesky: pin the crap out of it, go very slow, and check progress all the time. And lo! It turned out okay.

It's an Accordion, knit from Peace Fleece in three colours (hemlock, shaba, ancient fern). The main knitting was done in time for his birthday, as was the sewing up. If not for the zipper, he'd have been wearing it long since. And plus, since it's comically oversized, he'll be wearing it for some time to come!

And no, he doesn't always look like he's been caught out by paperazzi. Just when I'm trying to get him still for a pic.

Labels: birthday, blake, fo, naknisewmo

The Boy's Christmas mittens (2005) sped toward completion once I had some sick time to deal with them. One mitten has been done since February of last year, but the second was delayed. I finished the body of the second mitten only to discover that the first mitten is at least an inch too short. W. T. F?? Rip & re-knit complete in time for yard duty!

look at how happy he is to wear double-stranded mittens during our arctic cold snap

They're made out of Mission Falls 1824 wool. One of the problems I had in finishing them was that I didn't buy enough yarn, then the company went out of business, then the company was back in business but not all the colours came back right away, then it was summer, then my regular YS didn't have any more white, then it was Christmas (again) and I was busy with other gifts. Then I ran out of excuses and finished the damn mittens, just in time for the bitter cold. I received many compliments on them whilst knitting them, and now I'm dreaming of a version that uses Noro and a neutral.

Labels: christmas, fo

A little cotton bear out of left-over Sugar n' Cream for the Mother Bear Project. The Boy got me Knitting for Peace for Christmas and this was my first foray into the charity knitting therein. I had trouble with the facial embroidery (this is the third draft of that nose/mouth combo) and one of the seams is kind of gross. Other than that, I couldn't be more pleased at the way this little girl has turned out.

I finished her on Saturday night and took her to church the next morning so I could collect some good vibes for whomever will get her. While I was there I got many, many compliments; I'm playing with the idea of organizing a drive in which some parishioners will knit bears along with me, and we'll offer them for sponsorship to the rest of the congregation. The hard part is convincing a notoriously frugal congregation to pay $8 for a bear they don't even get to take home. Maybe it'll go over better if I read the article about the AIDS orphans in K4P from the pulpit.

Labels: embroidery, fo, knitting for peace, stash, toy

Because my Mom ignores my knitting as much as she possibly can, when I was asked to "whip up" an eyelash scarf for my grandmother I had little choice. (Guess I'm looking for approval still.) Fortunately for my stash-busting ways, I just so happen to have some black eyelash that Stacy gave me when she decided that she hated knitting. And with this yarn, no f'ing wonder she came to that conclusion. I used to think that experienced knitters who honked on about how painful it was to knit eyelash were just full of themselves. And now I am one.

Yarn is Bernat Boa in black. That's about the last definite fact I can attach to this project...I cast on 20+ stitches (I was in the middle of greeting parishioners at church when I cast on, so I can't be more specific than that. It prolly wasn't as many as 30 and I never bothered to count.) I dropped a stitch in the second row, picked up a stitch and kept going. I knit both balls to threads and called it done. And I cheated on the ends - double knotted them & trimmed. That might bite me in the ass later.

My general impetus in knitting it was concentrating on the people involved. Otherwise, I couldn't give a button, couldn't give a fig for this scarf.

Labels: fo, stash

...it could be bunnies.

Waddaya know, it's a baby present that isn't booties! It's a bunny from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, knit out of super-great Blue Sky Alpaca that I picked up from Gaspereau Valley Fibres in Wolfvegas last summer. I couldn't get two skeins of the shade I wanted, so after much soul searching, I bought two adjoining colours. The result was a lovely subtle mottled look. This is my first time knitting alpaca and I was/am in love. I'm not quite as happy with the acrylic blend pink fuzzy ear lining; the yarn may be called Candy Floss, but it doesn't knit up too sweetly.

This took me about a week in November to knit up, but lacking a deadline, the pieces just sat about until now. The only real snag was the finishing; once I'd started it, I was reacquainted with my limits in the field of embroidery. The eyes started out as French knots, then became Continental knots, then Forbidden Knots, then I threw up my hands and did the damn satin stitch. And the second arm placement was murder - when I arrived at LK last night, the bunny had only one arm because I'd given up after two unsuccessful attempts. I finally got it right, thanks to a lot of painstaking checking and rechecking (and some liberal use of the Queen's English). And then I didn't get to give it away after all, so s/he came home with me.

I figured out something cool with this pattern, and I post it here because I haven't seen it written up anywhere: when one is to join two or more pieces in the round, one can avoid that sloppy first join by knitting the stitches out of order (do a mini-cable for one round, in other words). The result is a strong, non-sloppy join. I'm pretty proud of myself for figuring this out, although I'm certain about a thousand knitters have done this before me.

p.s. there were a lot of bunnies out at the LK sn'b last night...

Labels: baby, birthday, embroidery, fo, lmkg, toy

As part of my stash-busting resolution for 2007, I've been digging deep & knitting remnants of other projects. This hat came from my desperation and boredom with the amount of marking before me, plus an honest desire to use up the bulky acrylic yarn that was the first purchase in my life as a knitter, plus a deep-seated need to get something warm on my head.

This is a Scarf Rescue Hat, inspired by the Yarn Harlot but largely improvised from the basic concept as my copy of her book has disappeared of late. As it was to match the first scarf I completed, I obviously used the same yarn. I did not swatch, merely cast on a goodly number of stitches on my first pair of needles (plastic on plastic - yum) and rolled the dice for colour changes. I knit at church, I knit while marking in the library. The grey disappeared first, then the blue-grey 2-ply. There's still a half-ball of medium blue and enough navy for a border should I get off my bum and knit a blanket for a shelter animal.

That I finished this hat so quickly is a testament to my dislike of both marking and frostbite.

u of t jacket, u of t scarf, u of t hat. could i be more collegiate?

Labels: fo, stash

Knucks!

I finally finished a pair of gloves for the Boy, right in time for Christmas. I even clothes-pinned them to the tree (I'm such a Martha). They're Knucks, made out of Rowan Felted Tweed (the pattern yarn, no less!) and embroidered with the name of the Boy's tutoring affiliation.

the boy poses outside my school

I'm very proud of myself.

Labels: christmas, embroidery, fo, knitty

After more than a year of having the yarn in my stash (and knitting it into a Peruvian, which I hated & frogged), I finally made good on my promise to Opera Sarah and knit her a gnome hat for Big Girls. The best part is that I did it in a week once it was started. Hee.

Pattern is the now-thoroughly-tested blend of Kim's Hat from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, Garter brim flavour (for CO numbers, measurements before decreases, and ear flaps) and Hello Yarn's Gnomey baby hat, which has excellent pointy decreases. My only real mods other than the pattern blend itself is to knock about 1/2 to 1 inch off the body of the hat and maybe add in an extra decrease set right at the end before BO because of the larger CO numbers.

Yarn is Manos del Urugay, in a colour called (I believe) Fire. Worth every penny and more. Photo to come when Opera Sarah gets it!

Labels: fo, repeats

The third in a three-part series. (How many buttonhole bags can I knit & give away??) Like my mom's striped bag, this was knit during professional development out of Elann.com Peruvian bulky wool. But as I wasn't happy with the shrinking on the last one, I took this one out of the wash earlier. Result: a roomier bag. I like it very much.

merry christmas, grandma cate

Labels: christmas, felt, fo