Fuzzy Love

Mistake Mittens

Most of what I'm knitting right now are gifts, so I'm afraid I don't have much I can show you here. Of course all will be on Ravelry. (If you really want a laugh, check out my queue (Rav link); I'd like to finish numbers one through nine before Christmas. Sob.)

But here's something I can show you: mittens for Olivia (Rav link).

I'm using the left over DIC Classy from her much-loved shrug. I gotta say, this yarn is like Malabrigo for me; every precious scrap will be used with pleasure. The colors are so pretty and, though it's not as soft, it's harder wearing. But I do think the mittens require some embroidery...some button flowers, maybe? Or one big snowflake... I don't know yet. But judging by how this mitten has gone so far, I don't suppose it will come easy. I tried so hard to screw it up.

First, this is worsted weight yarn and I began knitting it on size 7/4.5mm needles. Much too loose for a girl who spends much of her play time sucking snow off her mittens. Rrriiiiiiipppp. So I moved down to size 4/3.5mm. I probably could have gone down another size or even two, as I read somewhere that worsted on #2s makes a fine mitten, but perhaps only if you don't need to bend your fingers. We'll see how this version holds up when soggy.

Second, I knit a gauge swatch (!) and determined I had 5.5 stitches per inch. I thought I'd get a slightly bigger mitten by pretending I had 5 stitches per inch. See the flaw in that math? Plus that was knitting flat. In the round I had 6 stitches per inch. Good thing I went up a size for no reason. coughbymistakecough They fit.

Third, didn't check errata. Tink, tink, tink, tink, tink.

Clever, clever me. I can just hear people out there, "Ahhh, thanks but no thanks on those hand knit Christmas presents." ; )

Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot Piiiiiiieeeee*

First of all, I've discovered that little hats are addictive. Just please ignore the ratty pompoms. Tiny pompoms are tricky and the ones I made have the mange, so I improvised and those spiky things are what I ended up with. They also might have the mange.

I knit lots because this was our first fall weekend spent mostly inside. Although we were enjoying our Indian Summer while it lasted, it's now much chillier (with perhaps snow today) and we are happy to settle into some indoor activities: reading, knitting, making up stories, checkers, building with Lego.

We spent a lot of time in the kitchen too. I've been on a bread-making kick lately, and the process finally isn't as stressful as it was at first. And Liam has declared home-made bread "the best bread in the whole world" right after English Muffins; so nice. We also tried a recipe for Chocolate-Swirl Gingerbread with a little whipped cream: delicious!

But the best making of the weekend (closely beating out the mini hats on account of the pompoms) was this recipe for chicken pot pie. We subbed three chicken breasts and boxed broth for a whole chicken, but we did everything else as per the recipe. So we fed the kids....umm.....something else, put them to bed, and sat down to our own dinner at about nine. Well. I have never had such a delicious chicken pot pie. Honestly; I've craving it again right now. Really badly, actually.

So, what do make next? Olivia would like some purple mittens, Liam wants a red scarf, but I do have some undisclosable holiday knitting plans (well, of course they'll be on Ravelry) and time's a gettin' short. Yikes.

*The chicken pot pie song is probably something only Mark and I would find funny, but it's one of those things we sing from time to time: here's a link.

Mini Madness

I'm on a mini spree at the moment.

For heaven's sake why, you ask? Well, it all started when I saw projects like this baby sock advent calendar that was inspired by this Martha one and then there's this little mitten/hat advent calendar that also translates nicely into a knitting project. And I saw the clothesline project in Itty Bitty Nursery, and thought that would be adorable hanging in our playroom. So I had minis brewing in the back of my mind for a while and then someone on Ravelry had an idea for a mini swap and it sounded like so much fun, I signed up twice.

Just guess where this is going: I furiously knit minis for a few weeks, got burnt out, forgot about them, and now with the swap deadline looming, I'm furiously knitting minis again. I knew this would happen, but I did it anyway. What does that say about me, I wonder? (A bit too much, methinks.)

Anyway, they are fun little projects: they take virtually no yarn and no time. Who cares that they also have virtually no use? They're cute! And free patterns abound.

There are adorable mini mittens, which I tried in some leftover Malabrigo; it made a mitten that is perfect advent-calendar sized. But I'd like to make some tiny sock scrap ones.

I have two favorite sock patterns: the one pictured above was knit in the round on #2s, which was a bit fiddly (of course), but still quick. I didn't bother with grafting the toe; I just did one round of K2T, drew the yarn through, and called it done. The other one I like is knit flat and has some adorable Christmas pattern possibilities. Flat does mean seaming, but it's only a little tiny bit. Each sock takes about an hour.

This one's perfect for Red Sox fans.

Berocco published a whole bunch of tiny sweater patterns: Minutia and Minutia '08. I think I'll try this little raglan  next. And don't forget hats! Love that the first step is pop your feet up with a cup of tea.

Too much fun. Does anyone know where I can get little tiny clothespins?

Good Thing We Stopped at Two Kids

I don't think I've mentioned that Olivia is a mother. Little Baby Kiki goes everywhere with Olivia; if we leave her home she cries for her mother. She sleeps in a cradle next to Olivia's bed, she has taken baths with Olivia (not the best idea for a soft-bodied doll, by the way), and eats every meal in a little high chair next to our kitchen table. Most mornings I actually prepare tiny prep bowls of Cheerios for her. We even go hours at a time where Olivia is not to be called Olivia, but Baby Kiki's Mommy.

But, even knowing all this, I caused a near disaster around here.

Last Friday, a week ago, I took the kids to a little local toy store to pick out a birthday present. Normally I don't encourage Kiki to come into stores with us, just because she is often put down while other things get investigated and...well...some days I'm surprised both of my kids make it back home with me. But last Friday I let Kiki come into the toy store. It was a long visit, mostly because I don't know the recipient very well, but also because there are many hands-on things to play with. But finally we were going through the usual extended process of leaving and then Olivia had an accident of the potty-training sort. After that we left pretty quickly and unfortunately I didn't give poor Baby Kiki a thought.

Then I completely erased the whole experience from my memory because a few days later, after much trauma and worry, and turning the whole house upside down looking for that doll, and tracing our steps over the last week and finding nothing, and after a few sleepless nights on my part, I was still swearing up and down that we didn't go anywhere last Friday. Finally, at six thirty this morning, thanks to some part of my brain that thinks it's pretty funny, I remembered where Baby Kiki was: the toy store! As soon as they opened we called, we raced down, and soon after Baby Kiki was back home where she belongs. "My baby! I was so wowried about her!" Olivia decided that Baby Kiki must have needed some time to play with the other baby dolls at the store but seemed irritated that no one had given Kiki a decent breakfast.

Now, can anyone help me remember when I put the second skein of DIC Classy so I can finish this sweater?

Little Bits of Making

Slowly but steadily, I have been knitting. I'm squeezing in a few more little projects (and it seems that all I do are little projects) before the holiday gift knitting must start in earnest. Right now I'm speeding through a little sweater for Olivia (I love knitting for size 4); it's the Children's Neck Down Bolero in Dream in Color Classy. Once again, as you can see, I've been drawn to the odd variegated purples for Olivia. I swear this shade - Pansy Golightly - is more subtle in real life. She's very impressed with the top-down option of trying it on and is happy to model it again and again.

So many changes going on with this little big girl. So grown up; so clever. Although I'm sorry to say those soothers are still around, but she only uses them at night now (and when we're in her room and she can sneak a fix). I might just be having trouble with the idea of her turning three next month.

Anyway, I also made a little somethin' for myself.

I needed a cowl. I just did. This one is the Chickadee Cowl, which is done in a simple linen stitch that shows off this Malabrigo Chucky beautifully, I think (the color is Ibiza, which I adore). One little tip, which perhaps no one would need but me: slip the slipped stitches straight off the needles. If you slip them knitwise they will be twisted and not pretty and you'll have to rip it all out and start over.

Since you guys are all creative types (yes, all of you, in your own ways), I thought you might enjoy this short film called The Beckoning of Lovely. I first saw it on the lovely Jana's blog and it actually made me tear up near the end (I think it's that sort of day for me). Okay, so it's seven minutes long, but wait! It's really good, I promise!

If Your Brain Hurts and You Know It, Knit a Hat

It's too much of the election. Have you seen the bumper sticker that says, "If you aren't outraged, you aren't paying attention"? I need a vacation from paying attention.

On the other hand, I did find some red yarn.

I touched every red worsted winterish yarn in the store, and came home with some Berroco Ultra Alpaca in color 6234; Superman red in sunlight and in the dim. It's no Malabrigo on the softness meter, but it's kid-friendly, I think. So I'm an inch into a new Seaman's Cap with it. And at only $8.50 for 215 yarns, I should have enough left over for a flock of little origami birds (I'm fancying a mobile full of them).

Have you noticed the huge numbers of great free hat patterns out there? That Ravelry search is GREAT! I've been working quite a bit on my massive Moderne Baby Blanket (Halleluja! Just the border left!) and I'm using hats to break up the monotony. First up: the Windy City Hat, designed by the lovely Jodi.

I totally bribed Olivia with that cracker so she'd stay still for just a fraction of a second. Anyway, I love this hat! The lace pattern reminds me of cathedrals. I emsmallened it by one pattern repeat to size this for a toddler, but it should fit kids five and up as written. Quick, easy, with a lovely spiral top. I do love interesting hat tops (and that's probably only something a knitter would say, huh?).

Then, with the remaining yarn (Malabrigo Worsted in Torero), I made another Foliage. This is the....fourth? time I've made this pattern and I think I've nailed it with 2.5 repeats. Three, which is what the pattern calls for, is huge even on my massive noggin, but 2.5 fits Olivia and me (gotta love lace for that).

Then I found a bevy of watch caps, such as the Seaman's Cap I'm making now, but I also love the Jacques Couteau Hat (in DK) and the Samaras Hat (worsted). And then the Inga Hat for colorwork and Frivol for cables. But I decided upon a little cap called That Chocolate's Gone Right to your Ribs Hat; it's a perfect boy hat in DK. In worsted there's The Boy Hat.

(Liam agreed to pose and quickly gave me that face, then turned to the right - pause - turned to the left - pause - and then turned his back to me - pause again. Poor kid has spent his whole life as my model and clearly he knows the routine.)

So that's what's going on around here. But today is a beautiful day. I'm going to walk away from the computer and the headlines, and take the kids to the park. We'll need those hats before we know it, after all.

Grrrr!

I am about to throw my knitting out the window. I was knitting a hat. A quick hat: a lovely little seaman's cap with a free pattern available here. The trouble is in the yarn. All I want is a soft worsted yarn in a true fire-engine red, but I can't seem to find it.

It is terribly difficult to photograph reds, so you'll just have to trust me that none of those yarns pictured are a true red. They are, starting from the right and going clockwise: Malabrigo Worsted in Sealing Wax (really an autumn, brownish-red), the same yarn in Torero (crazy-bright pink), and leftover Fleece Artist Blue Face Leicester Aran in some unknown colorway (I assumed it was red to black but is actually pink to deep burgundy).

Since reds are hard to photograph accurately, red yarns are difficult to purchase online. I didn't let that stop me, however, since there is a whole thread on Ravelry about Malabrigo reds, which is how I got those two skeins that aren't really red. Humph, I say, to dye lots.

Okay, then; I decided to dig deep into the stash and put together two strands of fingering to make the hat. I've had some Rowan 4ply Soft in 374 Honk (whatever) that has had no purpose for a long time, especially since I decided Liam was too big to have a whole sweater made in fingering weight yarn. Last night, in my basement, it looked like a lovely red with just a touch of blue undertones. Doubled = great red hat, right?

NO. I took the hat to Liam's soccer game and Mark said, "That's pink, you know." Heh. Yup.

So tell me, does Cascade 220 make a nice, non-itchy hat? And a real red? Because this stuff has all been balled up and tossed into the closet while I take a few deep breaths.

Detour

I have this friend, see. A couple of years ago we took a crochet class together and, while I retained the minimum knowledge required to put an edge on a sweater, Tiffany took to it like a duck to water and started churning out baby blankets like there was no tomorrow. It wasn't long before she ran out of babies she knew and started making them for babies she didn't know. Soooo, even though I'd been knitting for years without giving much of a thought to charity knitting, all Summer long (and most of Spring too) I've been plugging away on a blanket for Project Linus. That organization gives blankets to kids going through difficult times (like every single student at Columbine High School that year).

I decided on the Moderne Baby Blanket in Cotton-Ease. It's a big blanket. I had hoped I would have finished two blankets by now (I have enough C-E for two) but this monster is taking forever, not entirely un-due to the miles of garter stitch. But then I had read somewhere that they get fewer blankets for older boys, so that's what I had wanted to do.

Some of you non-knitters (assuming you made it this far into the post) may be wondering why anyone would bother spending a season and a half knitting a huge blanket for a teenaged boy, when clearly I could buy several blankets at Target for the same price in about half an hour. That did occur to me too, so I looked into it. Apparently the recipients of donated hand-knits understand the value of our time (ETA Not that others don't. I just didn't think it was that important). But a handknit is special. Someone made it. Just for him. And lord knows that, when people are going through difficult times, they can't get too many bits of love coming to them.

But other than having a blanket on the needles, and giving some thoughts to maybe Warm Woolies afterwards, I was content with the small amount of chairty knitting I was doing.

And then I talked to Tiffany* again. A friend of hers is a professional photographer who just started volunteering with Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. That means that she is on call for several area hospitals. When someone's baby is in intensive care and the time comes to let the baby go, or if their baby is still born, she will come at any time of day or night and take some beautiful pictures the parents can keep. It's a scary thing to do, don't you think? I think she's very brave. And she thought it might help to have a few handmade hats and blankets to take with her. Often the parents aren't at all prepared for any of this, after all, and a soft special little handmade item in the right size would be the sort of thing to wrap up a baby in a portrait, right? I looked into that too and it seems that blue and pink things are the most-requested, I think because it seems more like the item was made just for their baby. So how could I not help?

I started with a hat. They're so small that I can get five from one ball of Sirdar Snuggly. This one is sort of big, as it is sitting on top of a ball of Cotton-Ease.

Next I'll do a little blanket.

I know there's a little bit of me that sees this knitting as a bargain with a universe, but that doesn't matter, right? As long as I'm helping?

* Tiffany is that sort who is first at a person's door with a cassarole (a really good one) in any sort of crisis. She'd be at your door too, if she had your address.

Boldly Going Where I've Never Gone Before

There it is. Everything I need to knit Seascape. I still haven't cast on yet though, because my last foray into Kidsilk Haze didn't go very well (actually, I got out the scissors and it went right into the garbage). In anticipation of this project I've listened to a couple of podcasts (#59 - Lace Tips and Tricks by Knit Picks was helpful), read the whole KAL on Ravelry, and poured over the charts again and again. I realize that much of that excessive prep is fear-based (plus I want to finish up a gift* I'm working on), but I have learned a few things. Like casting on with big needles: it calls for #4 (3.5 mm), but I'll cast on with 10.5 (7 mm). That those needles should be wood or bamboo and that straights are preferable to circulars (to some). And, of course, that both my children should either be out of the house or asleep whenever I work on it.

ETA: I've also been told to knit from the outside of a ball of KSH or it will collapse into itself at some point like a fluffy black hole. And to maybe choose a different yarn.

I've been craving other new (to me) things as well, like stranded mittens. I got a kit for the Blackberry Mittens that I've been itchin' to cast on for, but, again, this stranding stuff is pretty new to me, plus it has some braided bits. I've only ever done one stranded project, and that was a hat I cast on for in 1999. It went pretty well until I got to the top and required DPNs; I didn't know what those were, so into long-term hibernation it went. I just dug it out for the Ravelypics but didn't quite get to it. I will soon though.

So I popped into the knitting section of the library yesterday to see what might be there that could help me out and, indeed, something was:

What a great book! I may be the last person on earth to realize this, but this book is a treasure. Patterns and techniques, for sure, but also the history of Fair Isle, how to translate one's inspiration (such as fall leaves) into a color scheme, and gobs of stitch patterns. Lovely. Of course this is one of the discontinued, sells-for-big-money-on-Ebay books, so I feel lucky to be able to absorb some of its info before I have to give it back. And yes, it has occurred to me that I could just "loose" the book before someone else does, but I won't. I'll just renew it forever. ; )

But before I get into any Starmore-ish sweaters (whoa nelly) I've got a bunch of mittens in my system. As part of the Books and More swap I got the book Folk Mittens (Rav link), and it is chock full of beautiful projects, like the pair on the cover. Plus I have some yarn around that will become those cute snail mittens. And did anyone pick up this fall's Vogue Knitting? Oh yes, our hands will be warm this winter.

And then there's socks.

Damn gussets! Can I ever knit you without holes?

I did NOT knit those. I got that beautiful pair of handknit socks in that swap and I am literaly swooning over them. They're almost too nice to wear, since I know the effort that has gone into them. So I'd like more. A lot more. Not to mention I have way too much sock yarn for someone who has never knit a successful pair of adult socks. A nice lady on Ravelry suggested I check out New Pathways for Sock Knitters (Rav link) for an abundance of heels that won't have holes and luckily it was at the library yesterday too. There are some really interesting patterns (with ususual constructions) in there as well that I'm ready to cast on for right now.

So enough prep, right? Just jump into the pool already. Olivia should go to bed early tonight (horrible nap), and then Seascape is getting on the needles. Wish me luck, okay? I hate to ask for advice two days in a row (thank you guys, by the way), but if you have any lace/KSH tricks, I could certainly use them. 

* It's another one of those things that I was the last person in the whole world to make. It's in Ravelry if you want to see it before it is gifted.

Byes and BSJs

My brother James was here for a little over a week. We had a nice visit, full of sports events (because that's what James does), but lots of just sitting around hanging out too, which was nice. I haven't had a lot of time just hanging out with my brother over the last few years; our visits to Halifax are just too busy. But I have spent a lot of time worrying about my brother (some justified, some just because I tend to do that), so it was great to have him sitting around on my sofa for a while, drinking soda and asking me to make cookies so he could eat the dough.

See that picture? He's a bit of a goof. But lots of fun to have around.

But, whenever we have house guests, we are inevitably tempted to change the kids' schedules. First thing that happens is Olivia is allowed to skip her nap so that we can extend our sight-seeing sessions. Then Liam is allowed to stay up late a night or two to experience something special. For example: we took him to a baseball game that started at seven. Can someone please explain to me how I decided to take a kid who is usually in bed at 7:45 to a game that ended at 10? He was good for about three innings (James would argue two), then he was totally wired, and finally he started begging to go home to bed. FUN. And after three days of no naps Olivia thought she was a hummingbird. (Remember on The Simpsons? when Apu thought he was a hummingbird? No?)

James wasn't all that psyched about having children before he came.

Anyway, James and Mark went to a Broncos game on Saturday and drank beer and oogled at cheerleaders, so I suppose that was fun. I sat at home and knitted and watched Michael Phelps, and that certainly was.

So I actually finished a knitting project this week.

No babies in sight; I just had to knit this pattern. And lord knows I have enough sock yarn stashed for an army of babies (oh yes). I cast on for this dang thing over a year ago, but I kept screwing it up. It's not even difficult, and then it's made even easier by a plethora of spreadsheets that account for every stitch, but I just couldn't get it. That's not quite right; I got it, I just couldn't DO it. I suppose, in retrospect, I should have used stitch markers, but this pattern calls for the kind that stick right into the stitch and I was worried they'd stretch out. Not a good call.

But now that it is done, I am excessively pleased with myself. It's still sitting out on the kitchen counter just so I can admire it (not that it has anywhere to go). If you are unfamiliar with the Baby Surprise Jacket (or BSJ), it is knit in one piece flat and then folded up like so much fabric origami and seamed. It's quite the trick, and I'm sure that has a lot to do with my smugness: I guess I really didn't think it would turn out until it already had. Plus I think the buttons look like candy.

So there will probably be another someday. Now, are any more babies coming? Anyone?