I need to study!

These came in the mail today: Sweater Workshop (I paid the extra $2 for the spiral-bound edition.) and Scandinavian Knitting.


I bought the Sweater Workshop because it is supposed to explain the Elizabeth Zimmerman Percentage System in a more user-friendly way. The fact is, I have sweater phobia. Of the two adult-sized sweaters I've knit, the first one was a total Frankenstein, and the second one, although wearable, was made with Lamb's Pride Bulky. It has mohair. Turns out that stuff sheds a ton, which is great if you consider mohair to be a necessary part of your dietary fiber because you will undoubtedly swallow lots of it as it flies into your mouth. *yuck*

Aside from some beautiful charts and patterns, the Scandinavian Knitting book had this one really cute picture of this girl knitting socks on a mountain top. Isn't her expression great?
(...and check out those clogs!)

I got an email from Sweet Georgia saying no new yarn will be produced for 6 months to a year due to travelling. I freaked out and scored this stuff here and here.

Eye Candy Friday

I got a new toy: a Darning Egg! It's made of spalted maple, which is a kind of petrified mold which causes those cool black lines. This will definitely make knit repair easier. (FYI: I got mine here.)

Bootie Call!

But first, the finished February Baby Sweater from Knitter's Almanac:

Yarn: Misti Baby Alpaca Worsted in "Tangerine", less than 3 skeins
Needles: size 7
Aim to fit baby 5 months old. (looked at sizings on my Debbie Bliss Baby Books for reference, and also crossed my fingers real hard)

What I wish I knew first...E.Z. mentions button holes after the yoke section is finished (sweater is knit top down). I looked at that wee itty bitty picture on the cover, and that black and white pic on pg. 16, and what do I see: there are buttons on the yoke. I had to frog. I was unhappy. I know, I should've studied more carefully. But, I figure, I learned my lesson.

I'm happy with how the seam and armpit section turned out (no bulk).


The button holes were a bit loose, so I reinforced them by slip stitch crochetting around the holes. (yes, it's a button hole, not a belly button....) I also single crochetted around the entire sweater, including the sleeve openings.

I also finished 2 pairs of bootees from 50 Baby Booties to Knit. These are my (and the mom's) fave. Yarn used is Dale Baby Ull (machine washable):

I seamed these guys up too. They're a bit bigger. Yarn is Pear Tree Alpaca.

A HUGE THANK YOU for all of you who gave nice comments about my bf's yarn shopping. He was very excited and happy, and is looking forward to the next time he gets to buy yarn for me. Thanks again all!!!!!

Better than chocolate!

Last week, my bf was playing in an orchestra in Ottawa (conducted by his former teacher, "Pinky", for those in the know), and so here are the lovely Valentine's presents he brought back for me from Yarn Forward:

3 skeins of Fleece Artist sock yarn in very drool-worthy colors, a yarn-gasmic Lady of the Lake sweater kit...
...with matching brooch!

And of course, because it's not Valentine's without a little sexxxxinesssss...
He got me this book as well! Woohoo! He chose all these things himself so I'm quite proud of him!

Don't worry, it's not all PRON in this post...here is a preview of my almost finished February baby sweater from E.Z.'s Knitter's Almanac. I tried blocking before seaming this time...

Recycling

Following the instructions for recycling at the back of Montse Stanley's Knitters Handbook, I embarked upon my most major frogging experience ever.

One of my earliest projects: a hat and scarf for the bf. The hat didn't fit him so well, and the scarf was too wide, so they weren't worn. Also, the yarn was full of twigs and splinters, and I naively thought back then that such things would fall out with washing (they don't).


Then I found a half of a vest meant for my Dad that I had abandoned because it was too small. (Gauge? What's that?)

All tied off and looking like moss green ramen noodles...

Washed and hung to dry in the shower...

What I used for weights...

Yeah, I know, more hats...

...but the thing is, the bf's father was visiting from out of the country, and it turned out both my bf's dad and mom wanted me to knit them hats. I understood this to be the case 2 days before the end of the visit...hahaha...

Knitting at every opportunity: on the icky subway despite getting acosted by a deranged homeless guy (yep, Kate, I got me a GoKnit pouch! Thanks for the idea!), through concert intermissions and the piano concerto I didn't have to play in, and into the wee hours of the night when SSK and PSSO and all those things blur in the mind to create lovely little frogs that totally mess with my knitting rhythm...

...I was able to finish the Aran Watch Cap from Charlene Schurch's Hats On!
Oh, and if any of you ever want to make this hat, there is a MISTAKE in the pattern. It only gives you the cable instruction for one set of cables (the second set), although in the illustrations, it clearly shows the cables going in opposite directions. I actually reversed my cables because I wasn't paying attention. My concentration got totally spent on the yarn-over tubular cast-on.

I also just finished (like, 15 minutes ago) Grumperina's Odessa hat. One of my most fave free knitting patterns ever.

Eye Candy Friday

Okay, this is a belated Eye Candy Friday post, but here it is:

"Birds Suspicious of Camera"

Still busy...

Okay...! I have one free hour before my matinee concert at 2:00, so I'm scurrying to update my poor neglected blog. It's been a whirlwind of work lately, which is great, but I have less time to knit :(

I suppose I could knit in the subway, but the fact is, the floors of those cars are sooooo disgusting with all the sticky spilled remnants of peoples' coffee, booze and leftover takeout (and I'm leaving out the worst stuff), that I know dropping a WIP would mean instant RIP for the poor knitted item. And of course, no amount of anger or cursing or applying of bleach would bring it back to life.

I finished the Trickey Dickeys from E.Z.'s Knitting Around. I didn't do the shaping in the front bottom portion because a) I was in a hurry to finish and b) the square bottom makes it harder for the dickey to jump out of the front of a jacket (figured this out from experience).


This is the Dickey von Beethoven from the same book. I made this about a year ago, and I think it's a better design overall because it sits flat and covers more. I used a laceweight silk/mohair blend yarn for this. Sorry it's a bit wrinkly, but I wanted to include this here for comparison.

I made some booties for a friend a while back, and she has asked me to make another pair. I've decided on the Herringbone Bootees from 50 Baby Bootees to Knit. Tons of cute patterns in this book, but I wish I could figure a successful way of converting these to knit in the round. I'm not too excited about the seams, but oh well.

I also made this crochetted pair from a free pattern here. She also has patterns for knit booties; both toe up and heel down, in the round. I think I'll try that next. I used Jaeger Alpaca fingering weight yarn.