FO's!

I have two FO's to share with you today.

First, the Blue Pea Pod Baby Set. It took me longer than I anticipated to get here. The knitting went by in a flash. Then the finishing and getting photos dragged out. I better deliver this gift tout de suite, before the little guy out-grows it!



Lace and button detail:



Yarn: Patons Supersoft, cotton blend
Needles: US 4

The next FO is the Ruffle Scarf! Believe me when I say, I was more surprised than anyone when I finished this last night. I had light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel motivation on the knitting but I feared the finishing would become interminable. Well darned if it didn't go by quickly and easily. I haven't blocked it, though. The pattern says, "block lightly." I'm going to interpret that as, "Don't block at all. Just be glad you're done."



Here's the gratuitous close up:



And how it looks on:



Yarn: Blue Sky Alpaca & Silk, Ecru color
Needles: US 6 and US 4
Pattern by Mac & Me

Last year, I knit the Lace-Up Shawl from AlterKnits. (Sorry, no pictures.) I purchased the exact amount of yarn recommended by the pattern. Turns out, it was way too much yarn. By double! In fairness, I didn't make the shawl as long as the pattern calls for (it would have swallowed its petite recipient whole, if I had). But nor did I make the shawl half as long as instructed. Did anyone else who made that shawl find the yarn estimations high, too?

I was annoyed by the wild over-estimation of yarn needed. This yarn is wonderful and worth it's price, but it ain't cheap. Oh, sure, I could have returned the unused yarn to the LYS for store credit. But returning yarn just seems so wrong. So when I found the pattern for this scarf, which called for about exactly the amount of yarn I had left over, I was thrilled.

I was doubly excited because I had recently seen this. I loved it but did not want to have to buy all the yarn (which you have to do with those Kim Hargreaves patterns). So this Ruffle Scarf pattern gave me a look I liked AND I already had the yarn. Oh happy day.

This scarf turned into a real test of endurance but it was definitely worth it in the end. Who knows, I may even block it someday.

Pea Pod Update

I finally bit the bullet and went to Toys R Us to look for a nerf ball to use as a round, hat-blocking surface. I felt a bit like Goldilocks. This ball is too big, this one is too small... Unlike Goldilocks, I didn't find one that was just right. But the too small one is working nonetheless and I didn't get chased by bears, so all is well.



I've got the ball resting in a large, green, plastic, drinking cup because the bottom of the hat comes down over the ball. This way it can hang down straight. (I don't know why, but that picture makes me think of ice cream cones.)

The matching sweater is all seamed up. Here's a sneak peak:



There aren't any shoulder seams because I grafted them. I'm so pleased with how that came out, I may never seam a shoulder again.



When everything is dry, I'll take pictures of the whole set.

Need to Finish the Finishing

I've been clicking along on my Pea Pod set. Here's my current status:



Body and sleeves have been blocking. They're dry and ready to be un-pinned I just haven't done it yet. I left the shoulder stitches live on holders so I can graft the shoulders instead of seaming them. I don't think it makes a great deal of difference on this sweater, but I'm trying to be a more diligent finisher in general and grafting shoulder stitches is something I want to do more often. I think it does make a difference on adult sweaters.

Another example of my being a more diligent finisher is all the pins. I used to use the barest minimum of pins. Pure laziness. This time, more pins!

All the knitting and weaving in of ends is done on the hat, but I need to block that little guy.

Now I just need to fight the urge to procrastinate the final finishing. The recipient of this sweater had a due date of this coming Monday. He arrived a little early and I felt bad I didn't have the set ready for him. So I'm going to give myself this weekend to finish the finishing. It might be cute to give him the gift on the day that was supposed to be his birthday.

Pea Pod Progress

I've cast on for the Pea Pod Baby Set using the light blue Paton's Supersoft.

Here's my progress so far:


See my cutie little red car buttons? I'm attatching them as I go to save sewing them on later.


I saw this tip on Knitty Gritty not too long ago. I thought it was a great idea and was really excited to give it a try. This technique can be used for incorporating beads into knitting. But it also works on shank style buttons.

First, you slide the button onto an itty bitty crochet hook. It's upside down here so it will be right side up when I slide it onto the knitting.


Here's the view of the back of the crochet hook. You can see the red shank of this button against the white back.


You knit to the stitch where you want the button to sit. The next stitch up on my LH needle is where this button is going to go.


Using your crochet hook, you remove the stitch from the needle onto the hook.


You then slide the button down the hook and right over the loop of the stitch.


Then place the stitch back onto the LH needle.


Knit the stitch as you normally would. This might be a little tight and fiddly because the button is there now, but just press on.


Now I have four buttons.


This technique works really well on this pattern because the seed stitch button bands are built right in and also because the fronts and back are knit as one piece. So I'm just attaching the buttons on the other end of each button hole row. It should all line up perfectly at the end.

Monday Blues

It's the yarn that's blue. Not me. I feel great today, why thank you.

I'm about to start my next project. I'm going to make the
Pea Pod Baby Set again. I made it last month in green with pink heart buttons for a brand new baby girl (see yesterday's post for picture). I used Classic Elite Inspiration which is 50% Cotton, 50% Cashmere. It's spectacular yarn, especially for a baby because it's so smooth and soft. It's delightful to work with and has fantastic stitch definition.

This time I'm making the set for a brand new baby boy. The yarn will be blue. Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not one of these uber-traditionalists who insists on pink for girls and blue for boys. I think lots of colors can be completely adorable for all children. So it's not that this set must be blue for the sake of blue. Instead it just happens that the two good yarn options I have for this sweater are blue. And the blue really will be a very cute foil for the leaf lace pattern.

My problem is that I'm struggling to decide which yarn to use.

Option #1, Patons Supersoft, 62.5% Cotton, 37.5% Acrylic:



This was my original plan. I scored this yarn off my mom who admitted she was never going to use it and did I want it? (Did I want it? Uh, yeah. Free yarn? Gee twist my arm.) So anyway, I swatched with this yarn (washed the swatch and everything) and decided it would be perfect. But then I recieved as a Christmas gift (also from Mom. I have a great mom.)...

Option #2, Classic Elite Inspiration, 50% Cotton, 50% Cashmere



And well, as I may have mentioned (ahem) I love this yarn. Plus I love that deeper blue. It's a less traditional baby blue (not that there's anything wrong with traditional, of course.)

Here they are, competing for attention. Naughty, naughty boys, turning me all around, confusing me with their pros and trying to distract me from their cons.



The Classic Elite is a color that pleases me and a yarn that delights me. High quality yarn makes for a high quality gift. And I don't have to be the one who hand washes it after the baby pukes on it.

The Patons is a cute color. It's fine to work with. It's machine washable.

Do you see where I'm going here? The Classic Elite is the selfish choice. The Patons is the considerate choice. Brand new parents will appreciate machine washable. Their not knitters. They don't know from "drape" and "stitch definition".

I really should use the Patons. And hey, at least I got to make the green one in the Classic Elite.

First Post

Well helloooo there blogosphere. Yes, yes this is yet another knitting blog. There are tons of them, right? I mean, really, you simply can't keep up with all of them. So why am I starting one? 'Cause I wanna, that's why. Well, that, and also it seems to me like the internet knitting community is one of the nicest places to be. Everybody is so friendly and supportive and helpful. Knitters are some of the kindest and most generous people in the world. A quick perusal of the knitting blogs and that comes through loud and clear. It's beautiful. So, basically, I want in on the fun. Take out your knitting and stay won't you? I'll try to make it worth your while.

Now. Let's get down to the good stuff: FO's! Here's me, happy to have finished my red sweater for the Red Sweater KAL. The design is my own. The yarn was Lanna Gatto Feeling which is so yummy and wonderful.



I want to continue to improve my design skills. But I also love following patterns. Especially when the designer is someone as genious as Kate Gilbert. Here is my Pea Pod Baby Set. I used Classic Elite Inspiration. Wonderful pattern. Wonderful yarn. Okay, I'm gushing and since I don't think I'm capable of toning down the awe, I'm just gonna stop talking about it now.



In future posts, I'll discuss other FOs, WIPs, plans, all of it.

I leave you now with a wonderful alternative to the Super Bowl: The Puppy Bowl