Knitting Battlemaidens

Bad Blogger

M,

I'm pathetic, really...my last post was in OCTOBER.  But I have been busy since then: making a baby, puking, puking some more, knitting, more puking, and then not blocking or photographing anything I've knit.  I suppose I can't take photos of rumpled, unwashed projects, and the rain hasn't let up in Seattle since about...OCTOBER...so I haven't been able to spread out my bounty in the backyard for photo shoots like usual, but really there's no excuse for my absence from the internets. 

When I get my buns in gear (tomorrow, I promise!) I have the following to show you:

• a lilac-colored Debbie Bliss sweater I made for a friend's new baby girl
• the Tulip Cardigan (for your girl E as a very belated birthday present - not only am I a bad blogger, I'm a bad auntie)
• a non-Tulip Cardigan (for the bun in my oven, in boy colors)
• the Swallowtail Shawl with the Handmaiden SeaSilk you got me for Festivus
• and some non-knitting craftiness (fabric painted sweatpants for a friend's twins, and some pysanky for a charity auction).

-S

How can I slow down this groove?

M,

After doing basically no knitting for months, I am now back to my old M.O., having way too many projects going at once.  I just finished a third Knitty Trellis baby sweater for a friend's baby - I think I have that pattern memorized, and all the recipients have loved them.  A great, quick knit for a much-appreciated baby gift, and using KnitPicks' undyed Wool of the Andes means it is inexpensive to boot.

On to the new projects...A few days ago I went to Main Street Yarn to get some Rowan for the Moss Stitch Tunic and Hat from Debbie Bliss's Great Knits for Kids, but I was not paying attention and bought 25g balls of fingering weight, instead of the 50g balls of DK weight that are called for in the pattern.

Isn't it cute?  I think it makes this baby model look like a gnome.  Too adorable.  Anyway, so then I had an excuse to go to Weaving Works (having that place located a mere two blocks away from my office is going to be a problem - it's like having a crack dealer for a neighbor) to get the correct yarn.  While I was there, a skein of Colinette Jitterbug sock yarn in Mist jumped into my basket without my knowledge or consent.  I immediately started knitting the free sock pattern on the ball band, which has now disappeared (I suspect the cats, but I can't prove it), so I think I might rip back the few rows I've already done and instead try one of the patterns in Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks. 

My burst of activity doesn't stop there, oh, no.  Many balls of Elegance (baby alpaca/silk blend) in a light grey color (Ash, #23538) arrived by mail yesterday for the Knitpicks Kimono-Styled Sweater.  After my last gauge malfunction on my Aran sweater, I gave in and did a gauge swatch last night, which is sort of a first for me (I usually just start the pattern on the needles and measure it there - awful and ineffective, I know).  Before washing and blocking it seemed like I was getting too many stitches to the inch, so I bumped up a needle size and made a second swatch.  They are both almost dry and I'm about to go measure them.  I'm excited to figure out what needle to use, not just because it means I can start the cool cable pattern that makes up the bottom half of the sweater, but because I can use my new circular needles (Options from Knitpicks).  Yes, I broke down and got a set - I have no willpower when I see shiny things.  I'm so far behind the times that these needles have been reviewed many times already, so I won't say much about them except I love them!  I think they work great and I like the organizer system.  It had an interior zipped pocket so I moved my scissors, row counters, stitch markers, etc., into there, and now I have a self-contained organizer that holds both needles and notions. 

Also got you a little knitting treat, M, which I'll pop in the mail after I get back from camping in the boondocks this weekend.  Thank goodness you taught me how to knit, or else there's no way in hell I would be excited by a 10-hour round trip car drive to Eastern Washington.  I'm gladd my husband prefers to drive, leaving me free to knit and/or elbow him every five minutes so he can look at the fascinating bird, small mammal, plant, or building outside my car window. 

S

My Shame

M,

I'm still too embarassed to post a photo of the corpse of that sweater, but here's a photo of my crocheted potholders to tide you over until I gather the courage to face my lack of knitting skills (and/or common sense).

I'm using Sugar 'n Cream (the punctuation in that brand name gives me hives) 100% cotton that I found in the sale bin at Michael's.  What have I become?

Here is the write-up about the potholders in our gallery, including a link to the pattern and the colorways.  Photos of the rest of our recent projects are in the gallery too.

I can't wait to see what you do with the swanky Colinette you showed me during our visit this weekend.  I am envious (of both your yarn and your mad knitting skillz).

S.

S.'s shame

Sorry S.- I couldn't resist.

The following is an actual email message from my sister.

Love your latest entries.  How did you know that Jake G. is my secret love?

The reason I haven't been blogging is very shameful - I committed knitting murder.  I finished that oversized Aran sweater, and it was gorgeous, AND about the perfect size for [professional football-playing friend]'s larger, bigger brother.  HUGE.  I don't know what sort of spell came over me while I knit this beast for...three?...years, but I was in denial.  There was no gauge malfunction, but I don't know why I picked a pattern for my 5'3" body that was designed to be oversized on a willowly model.  So, in a burst of madness, I decided I'd just try to felt it a *little bit* in the wash machine.  It's now in hiding in my closet, shrunk down vertically but not horizontally, into an Andre the Giant-sized cropped super-thick felt monstrosity.

Anyway....so I decided to go on a self-imposed knitting fast to atone for my grevious sin.  I've been crocheting pot holders instead.  After such a collosal screw-up, I should have my needles confiscated!

I'm still trying to talk her into a photo shoot for the blog!

M. 

Sweet Sassy Molassy!

Wow, M.  WOW.  You need to be doing this for a living - I can't believe you can created all those patterns from scratch.  The shawl is gorgeous, but you need to promise that the next one you do will be for yourself.  And the hats on those girls make them look like hobbits - adorable!

To the left is the only thing I've accomplished lately, a crocheted scarf for a charity auction.  It's a free pattern I found online, and it was so quick to make.  I did it in about an hour.  I haven't crocheted anything for a long time so it was a surprise to be reminded of how much faster it is for me than knitting.  I guess since I've been on a baby sweater kick lately with tiny yarn and tiny needles, it was good to work with something labeled "chunky" for a change.  I used a little more than a ball of Jamieson's of Shetland chunky marl wool in the "wildflower" colorway, #2105.  The yarn is made from one strand of blue, one strand of purple, and one of a muted yellowish color.

Not much else going on here.  I have been so busy starting my new job this fall that I've been slacking off in the knitting department.  I did start a pair of socks yesterday, though - the Pomatomus pattern from Knitty, using some  camouflage-colored yarn I got from A Swell Yarn Shop (a local online company based in Redmond or Kirkland - somewhere on the Eastside.  They have cute stuff).

S.

Lovely sweater, sis!

M,

I got to see the Noro sweater hanging in the back of your car not long ago and thought it rocked then, but it looks even more beautiful when it's surrounded by cherry blossoms!   You're inspiring me to take some photos elsewhere besides on top of my kitchen table.   And check out that crocheted border!  Next thing you know you'll be making ponchos!

Here's a pic of a little hat I started during my plane ride back and forth from San Jose this weekend:

It's the We Call Them Pirates hat from Hello Yarn's free pattern.   Who knew that you could make menacing skulls and bones in Fair Isle?   Only one problem I've run into so far - the pattern calls for a 16" cable needle, but I needed to bump up to a 24".  I'm using Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride (85% wool and 15% mohair) and am getting gauge, but the stitches were so crowded that they were falling off the Addi Turbo and I had to get a longer needle.  The hat is adult size, and I'm going to felt it in the dryer per the instructions until it fits your son's little head (so could you let me know the circumference of his noggin?).  I'm intending to make the hat and matching mittens (which will need some modification to fit his hands and to remove the "2006" part of the pattern, so please send me the length and width measurements of his hands too) for a birthday present this fall, because I'm the best aunt ever.  E's quilted bedspread will have to wait until we're done doing our hardwood floors, because the table I had my sewing machine on is covered with staple guns and tools at the moment.

Not much progress on the matching sweaters for my friend's twin fetuses.  I finished the two fronts for the green one and just need to seam and add the collar.  Then I need two fronts for the blue one.  But I put them on hold for now because two more babies are on the way for two dear friends/former co-workers, so of course that means I have to immediately begin two more baby sweaters.  One friend is of Norwegian heritage, so he's getting a Dale of Norway (the light blue/white set from the Baby 162 book, at right).   It will be my first adventure in steeking.  I got the yarn at the Weaving Works already.  The other friend's wife is Irish, so they will get the Aran cable baby sweater that has been working its way out of the back of my mind for the past few weeks.  I have tons of cream-colored worsted weight from KnitPicks and just need to chart the patterns for a sweater, hat, and matching mittens.  Maybe I should get a job with Baby Gap, given my excessive love for baby clothes!

S

The Best Sister Ever

Well, this is a belated post but I wanted to brag about what M made me for my birthday.  You'll recall her cryptic hints and a tanatalizing photo here.  Well, here it is:

 

She actually dyed some yarn for me using homemade plant dyes.  Too clever.  If you can't read the tags, the bright green/yellow was made with the roots of the Oregon grape plant, and the orange is  made with yellow onion skins.  Now I have to decide what to make with them.   I have some leftover green, brighter orange, and red from making those kids' fruit caps, so maybe I'll try my hand at charting a Fair Isle baby cap or something.  Thanks, M!  You're my favorite sister.

S

New Knitty is Up

M,

If only I had the patience to chart this (Reid from the new Knitty) in a bigger size for your little gal.  So cute!  Guess I'll have to knit her a chambered nautilus instead. 

S

Ooooh, I can't wait!

M, I'm so excited to see what you're cooking up with the lichens! 

Remember my vow not long ago to finish my various works-in-progress before starting anything new?  I broke it almost immediately.  A friend is pregnant with twins and I found a Debbie Bliss pattern for a seed stitch/cable baby cardigan from The Baby Knits Book that the twins MUST have. Twelve balls of cashmerino and half a paycheck later, I'm ready to rock.  Let's hope I can get them done before the twins leave for college.

S

M. returns!

Excuse my quarter long absence; full time school plus two preschoolers doesn't leave much time for blogging (or knitting). But this week is spring break and I'm going to cram in as much fiber arts as I can.  Tomorrow I will give an update on my current project, but tonight I am going to wish my sister a very splendid birthday and a happy anniversary!  The week of her birthday and her anniversary, she sends me the newly published Yarn Harlot book, gift-wrapped no less, for no particular reason.  What an amazing big sister!  To reciprocate, here are some pictures of the Cabbage Patch kids and a sneak peak at your birthday present.

Here is wonderboy L. (only 5 yrs. old by the way) working on his very first knitting project, a scarf.  He initiated all color changes.  I've only knit around 10-20% of it so far, and have been helping less and less as he goes along.  He tried to talk me into showing him yo's and K2tog's (yeah, he knew what those were) but I told he needs to complete a few more inches first.  I never really believed it when I would read in knitting books about children this young knitting socks for their families, so I figured he was old enough to try an experiment.  He caught on faster than any adult I have taught (including myself).  And he has almost perfect tension.  Now I'm just bragging.

And here is more of the free child labor that I employ at my knitting sweatshop.  She's been warned against stopping suddenly and tangling the swift, so she watches it like a hawk now.  Occasionally she breaks to eat pollen from my spring-blooming Christmas cactus (it's not poisonous, is it?), but usually she works tirelessly until the skein is done.  It seems like a fair trade for all the fetching hand-knitted clothes she wears!  E. is only 3, but I bet we can have her knitting socks by next winter!

And finally, here is your present in progress!  I can't guarantee any results here, as I have only two previous experiences with natural dyes.  But I know you'll be so enamored with the idea of it that you'd wear a puke-colored scarf around town!  By the way, don't freak out about the huge quantity of hypogymnia lichen- it's all windfall that just rots on the ground if you leave it.  Only in western Washington can you go for a 10 min walk and collect a shopping bag full of lichens detached from their substrate!  Next time you have a vacation, I'm making an indigo vat for us!       -M.