Twinkle cardigan

Twinkle Cardi sans one sleeve

So, back before I knew the baby was a boy or a girl, I started the Twinkle Cardigan (Ravelry link). This is a vintage pattern that was rewritten and is a free pdf download on Ravelry. I decided to go ahead and do the original eyelet pattern in the body and sleeves of the sweater (the knitter who rewrote the pattern uses stockinette for the body and arms but included the eyelet pattern in case we wanted it) because it would make the knitting more interesting and I didn't think it was too girly for a boy (which, at that time, I was convinced we were going to have). The yarn is Cascade Heritage Sock yarn which is a lovely sock yarn at a reasonable price and perfect for a baby sweater.

The pattern calls for a ribbon tie at the top as a closure, but I decided that buttons were more practical and safer so I added buttonholes.


Since I'm just a few knitting hours from being done with the knitting, I should start thinking about the buttons. Here are a couple options I'm considering:

Yellow polka dot buttons (from Super Buzzy)

Red apple buttons (from Super Buzzy)

I've been looking on etsy, too, in the vast, vast realm of "vintage buttons." Most of them are far too big, but every so often I find some smaller ones that might work. I'm probably going to have to bite the bullet and just buy a few different ones and then see which ones work the best.

Updates

So first, an update on the pregnancy. We are having a girl. We are very sure we are having a girl because we had amniocentesis done and chromosomes do not lie. The amnio was actually quite horrible due to the bedside manner of the doctor but, I'm glad we did it. I wish I could say that I was one of those women who seemed to glow and find inner peace through pregnancy, but the truth is I hate being pregnant. I love that we are going to have a baby, but I could do without this whole pregnancy business. I'm tired, cranky, emotional, uncomfortable and I pee a little when I sneeze. And I have several months to go. Also, I have been diagnosed with a low-lying placenta which is known as placenta previa. The condition may correct itself with the continuing expansion of my uterus but until then, I am on a sort of restricted movement. I don't have to stay in bed, but I can't exercise or lift anything heavy and I'm mostly supposed to be taking it easy. I've already had one incident of spotting, but that stopped when I stopped moving bookcases (this was before we knew about the placenta previa). If I have another, I could get put on bed rest. If the condition doesn't correct itself, then I will have to have a C-section. :6

So, that's the health report. Now, onto the craft report.

The craft goals I started out the year with pretty much got thrown out the window once I found out I was pregnant. First, because I was tired and miserable and spent most of the first trimester sleeping (for real, I'd have a 6 hour nap during the day and then sleep 12 hours at night). Then, because I started thinking about baby stuff and pretty much haven't stopped.* There's a lot to do in the apt. to get it ready for the baby and lots of stuff to research and buy and so on. But, I've started to remember why I love to craft so much and that is: it helps keep me sane (literally). I've been neglecting my knitting and sewing in favor of reading blogs about knitting and sewing which is really not the same thing at all (though they are inspirational). But, sitting in front of the computer is easier than paying attention to my knitting or figuring out what I'm going to sew, especially if I'm thinking about sewing for myself. Easier, but not as fulfilling. So, I'm slowly getting back into the habit of doing a little crafting every day and I decided I should put together a list of craft projects. I decided to do it on ye olde blog because it makes me feel a little more accountable and maybe that means I'll actually keep working on it, which (as I keep telling myself) is good for me. So, here's my list of craft projects I want to do:

*Twinkle baby cardigan. This is a free pattern on Ravelry which I started knitting in May. I modified it slightly to have three buttons in the top half instead of a tie closure at the neck and I decided to use the simple eyelet pattern from the original vintage pattern. I've knit the body and 3/4 of the first sleeve.

*Daisychain ABCs Sampler from Alicia Paulson of Posie gets Cozy. I purchased this as a limited edition embroidery kit (you can no longer buy the kit, but you can still buy the pattern). The kit came with all of the wool, two needles, instructions, and the pattern silk-screened onto some beautiful fabric. I got the kit a month or two ago, but I put off working on it because my embroidery skills were lacking. I've done a bit of practicing and now I'm ready to get started. This project will be put in the baby's room after being framed.

*Baby gowns. I bought this McCall's pattern at JoAnns a month or two ago along with some cute baby print fabric and I want to make a few of the items, starting with some gowns. I like the idea of baby gowns because I really see no need to go through the hassle of trying to get the baby's legs into the legs of a sleeper. Babies are squirmy. It's hard enough to get their clothes over their heads and their arms in the arms whatever you are putting them into. Why fight with the feet if you don't have to? I haven't started on this at all yet, but hope to sometime this week.

*Sorbetto top. Colette patterns put out a freebie top pattern called Sorbetto a couple months ago. It's not a maternity top, but I think it could easily be converted to one. It looks to be a very simple top. My plan is to do a Full Bust Adjustment** and then enlarge the waist to cover my belly. I'll be making a few muslins (practice garments) before I end up cutting into the fabric I really want to use (which I haven't bought yet, actually).

*Baby hats for my new nephew. My sister requested green baby hats for her baby due at the end of Oct. I guess that's only color she's missing! So, earlier this week, I went and bought some green yarn to whip up a couple of baby hats.

I have a bunch of other things I'd love to make, of course, but I'm trying to keep my list reasonable, so I'm going to concentrate on these for now. Hopefully, I'll have some progress shots to show soon!

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*This eventually made me batshit crazy, so I've decided to work on baby stuff only 4 days out of the week.

**So, something that I've learned (and has been very enlightening) is that tops and dresses (ready-to-wear or patterns) are drafted for a B cup. I am so, so very much not a B cup so that's why I have difficulty finding button-down shirts that fit me. Colette is unusual in that they draft for a C cup. I am also not a C cup. I'm a DD or E depending on the bra. The way to add room in the bust without increasing the size of the rest of the garment is to do a Full Bust Adjustment. I've never done one but it's about time I learned.

Working on a big project

I've been thinking about this blog lately and whether I want to continue it considering I only seem to post about once every two months or so. Ultimately, though, I think it would make me sad to get rid of it since I've had it for so long. Actually, I've been wanting to write some posts for awhile now, because I have a lot going on craftwise, but I've been delaying that until I was ready to share my news.

I'm pregnant!

The baby is due around Thanksgiving and J and I are very happy. Or, rather, we are very happy that we will have a baby in Nov., right now I'm not so happy because I really don't enjoy being pregnant. Seriously, I don't understand what all of the fuss is about. It's not magical or anything. It's not like I'm the first woman to ever get knocked up. And it's pretty damn uncomfortable in a lot of ways. Frankly, the first trimester I was absolutely miserable. I'm feeling better now, but not "glowing."

So, this means that the craft projects I'm interested in all have something to do with the baby or being pregnant. As a knitter, I'm contractually obligated to knit my baby a sweater. I've started with the Twinkle sweater (Ravelry link). It's very cute, but I think the next one will be made with heavier weight yarn (this one calls for fingering weight) because it seems like it's been taking forever! I will, of course, have to make the Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket. I actually tried knitting one of these a couple months ago, but my head was in such a fog early in my pregnancy that I ripped it out four times before I got more than 30 rows in. Not because I found the pattern confusing (although some of it does seem rather confusing) but for pretty stupid mistakes. Such as casting on 20 fewer stitches than what was necessary. For real.

But, more than baby sweaters, my mind has been on maternity clothes. The selection in stores is fairly ridiculous. Limited, ugly and/or overpriced. So, I was thinking I'd sew some of them, but the maternity patterns available are also mostly ugly. Apparently, pattern designers think that pregnant women would like to wear plain, square sacks for several months. So, I've been looking at regular patterns and seeing if I can alter them to be suitable for pregnancy.

So, that's what I'm up to these days (and will be for the next 6 months). Incubating, knitting, and planning sewing projects.

Short update!

I've pretty much given up knitting for the moment. My brain does not seem to be in the right gear for it. Every time I start a project, I end up ripping it out due to some glaring error (most noticeably, casting 20 few stitches for a project). So, instead, I have been focusing on sewing. I've got some material for simple gathered skirts and I'm eager to try some of the new Lisette patterns and tackle a shirt or two (maybe Violet from Colette? we'll see). Nothing to show for now, though!

Girding my loins

I am about to embark on a quest fraught with peril. One that may take all of my strength and endurance. One that may push me to the brink of hard-won emotional stability. One that will potentially reduce me to tears.

I am going to The Mall.

I am going for Shirts. This is usually easier than the Quest for Pants which, like the quest for the Grail, usually ends in failure and makes good fodder for a Monty Python movie. The Quest for Shirts often goes well because I chicken out and buy knits. Today, however, I am looking for that mythical creature, the Button-Down Shirt that Fits My Waist But Still Buttons Over My Bust.

Evidently, in the fashion world, tops are designed for B cup breasts. My breasts are most decidedly not B cups. I'm not sure they were ever B cups. In my memory, I went directly from having no breasts at all to having C cup breasts. I am now a D cup. I was in denial of this fact for a long time, continuing to buy C cup bras. I have now accepted the truth and embraced my D cupness even though it makes it a little more difficult to buy bras.

My difficulty in finding off-the-rack shirts that fit me properly is one reason why I would like to be able to sew my own clothes. However, I am confounded by the fact that the sewing pattern industry takes its cues from the fashion industry and only offers patterns in B cup size. I have heard of this magical procedure known as The Full Bust Adjustment one can make to patterns but I am unschooled in this knowledge and online tutorials have not helped (I think they assume too much knowledge in how to construct garments).

So, off I go to find my Button-Down Shirt that Fits My Waist But Still Buttons Over My Bust. Have no fear, if I find myself in a precarious state, I will seek Sanctuary in The Land of Sweet Comfort.*

*Better known as the Godiva Chocolates store.

Quick Sewing Project

The other day at knitting, I reached into my knitting bag to pull out the second bootie to knit and instead pulled out a tangled mess of yarn and needles. I was able to get the bootie free and worked on it, but I knew I had to do something about the yarn monster in my bag when I got home.

After reading Jodi's post, I was inspired to make some drawstring project bags. I made four bags, one for each project that I've been carrying around in my knitting bag. I followed this tutorial at Skip to My Lou pretty faithfully except in terms of the size. I made several different sizes for differently sized projects. The sewing isn't perfect in some places, but overall, I think they turned out quite well and they suit my purpose.

Some thoughts:

• I used random bits of fabric from my rather small fabric stash, some leftover from other projects and some from projects that never got off of the ground. One thing I noticed is that the fabric I purchased from quilting shops (either online or locally) was sturdier and easier to sew with in places than fabric purchased from a big box store. I have yet to become a fabric snob, but I can see the advantages to purchasing higher quality fabric.
• If I was making these as gifts (and I might because I know a lot of knitters!), I would line them and maybe use decorator-weight fabric or interfacing to make them sturdier. My metal size 1 and 2 needles will be poking through the fabric for sure. I'm not too fussed about that for myself because the biggest reason to make them was to keep the yarn separate. Also, I usually use circulars instead of dpns so it's more difficult for the needles to completely escape after poking their way out of the project bag.
• I bought a pinking wheel for my rotary cutter for another project and I am looooving it! So much easier than pinking the seam allowances later after sewing the seams.

A little more realistic in February

I think I was a little too ambitious in January. You know how it is, the start of the new year, the urge to get things in order, set goals, stop procrastinating and find some way to make Christmas not be crazymaking this next year. What I always forget is that I have seasonal affective disorder and Jan. and Feb. are the hardest months of the year for me. While the days are getting longer, there are generally more clouds and precipitation than in other months. So, I need to decide what's most important to me and schedule a limited number of things to do. So, I'm re-evaluating what I want to do on a monthly basis.

Let's start with the Embroidery Sew-Along. I loved my project last month. I had forgotten how satisfying I found stitching. The project for this month is pillowcases. There are two types of pillowcase designs in the book; I'm going to do the satin-stitch initials. I'm going to make one pillowcase for me and one for J. My dilemma is figuring out what pillowcases to do them on. I want to get new pillowcases, but should I get ones that match my current bedding (which I'm not crazy about) so I can enjoy them now or should I buy ones that would go with my dream bedding, realizing that 1) my dream bedding may take a long time to materialize (since I want to make a queen sized quilt) and 2) I might change my mind about what my dream bedding will be before I ever get to use the pillowcases. I'm leaning toward the dream bedding and making that one step toward having a bedroom I really love.

Year of Stash Socks. I started this knit-along not because I have a large stash but because I wanted to have interesting sock patterns picked out for me. However, I'm not really sure I have the time for this knit-along right now. I didn't even finish last month's socks and this month we are doing mittens which I'm not so into making right now given I live in CA. Maybe I'll just put this on hold and see how I feel about it in March. I still would like to finish the Jan. socks, though.

Christmas. I still think it's a good idea to work on Christmas gifts throughout the year instead of cramming it all into Nov. and Dec. Especially since my family usually celebrates Christmas early and I often have to ship gifts, requiring me to be done by the beginning of Dec. But, I think I'm going to put it on hold for the next couple of months until I get more energy.

Stitch by Stitch. I still want to work my way through this book. But, again, I might put this off for another month or so. I do have material for the napkins which are one of the first few projects, though.

The thing is, while it's great to have a plan for what to make, I need to feel like I have enough flexibility to do whatever project I feel inspired to do. And then, there's non-Christmas gift-knitting. It seems like everyone is having babies. I'm really enjoying the baby booties I'm knitting, maybe I should knit a few pairs of those until they become boring and then I'll have a stash of baby gifts.

So, that's what the plan is for this month: embroider pillowcases, finish Jan. socks, knit baby booties, sew napkins.

January Round-up

I had a large number of goals for this month in terms of crafting. Here's what I actually got accomplished.

Goals:

The Year of Stash Socks knit-along on Ravelry--St. Brigid's Canomoyle Socks (Rav. link).

One half of one sock in Cascade 220

I'm about ready to start the heel. It's not that I don't like the sock or the pattern, I just get distracted by new, shiny things!

Embroidery Companion Sew Along--Days of the Week teatowels.

Saturday and Sunday pictured on my oven handle

These were pretty fun. The pattern wanted you to enlarge the template 161%, but I didn't want images that big. For the towels, I got plain white toweling from Moda, hemmed them, then sewed strips of gingham fabric to each one to make the checked stripe. I used two strands of DMC cotton embroidery floss (note to self: color #322). I only did Sat. and Sun. but I have enough toweling to do all of the days of the week if I get ambitious. I really like how these turned out, so I might do it. Very satisfying for my first embroidery project!

Then I made a few things that were not part of my goals for Jan. Last weekend I hosted a baby shower and made the decorations:

The honoree, E, is having twins (!) a boy and a girl, so I went with a gender neutral color scheme: orange, green, and yellow (hey, I just noticed most of the food fit into that scheme, totally not planned). I made the banner, little cupcake picks that said twins, some tissue paper flowers and some yarn pom-poms. E is in my knitting group and the party was for knitters, so for a shower activity, we made these:

Christine's Stay-on Baby Booties

I've got one done and the other just needs a cuff. Then I need to make the i-cord ties. I just used leftover sock yarn. They take a little over 20g of yarn.

I have very little handmade dishcloths. I've decided I need to fix that.

Finally, I made these wool soakers (pictured below on top of the afghan my mother made for my wedding gift) for another person in my knitting group who had her baby a couple of weeks ago and is using cloth diapers. It's the Curly Purly pattern. They knit up pretty quick in this beautiful yarn, Shepherd's Wool which is soft and dreamy. I knit the small size for both, one with butt shaping and one without. Hopefully she gets some good use out of them!

New Kitty!

Today, we adopted a new kitty!

We got him today at an adoption fair for Pets in Need held at our apt. complex. He's a youngster--8 months old. He came with the name Lorenzo. We're not sure if we'll be keeping the name or not. So far, he has started to get the idea he should use the scratching post (for which he got a treat) although he has also scratched at the carpet and he used the litter box so he's acclimating very well. Actually, he's been pretty laid back the whole day. He likes to lay on John on the couch which I find hilarious because J is not into pets. J studiously ignores him but Lorenzo doesn't seem to mind. :)

As for crafting, I think I'm going to have to re-evaluate how much I can get done in a month! This month, I had planned on doing the following:

• Year of Stash Socks knitalong: St. Brigid socks.
• Embroidering Companion Sew-along: Days of the week tea towels.
• Christmas: Pembroke Vest for nephew H.
• Stitch by Stitch: One project a month in order.

So far, I have:

• Gotten the yarn for the knitalong
• Gotten the book and the toweling for the sew-along
• Nothing on the vest
• Bought some onesies for the applique

So, um, I've got all of the materials, but haven't done any of the work on any of this, and, the month is half over. However, I have made 1.9 wool soakers for a knitting group friend who will be having a baby any moment now and is going to be using cloth diapers, so at least I have accomplished something, even if it has nothing to do with any of the goals I set for the month.

So, being realistic, I think I might be able to get one sock (worsted weight yarn), one teatowel and one onesie done.

*I'm not sure if I mentioned it on the blog, but Ghiradelli died before I left Chicago. I still miss big guy. :(

Dusting off the old blog

I've been thinking about blogging a lot lately (as in, "Maybe I should get back into blogging"), but wasn't sure I wanted to make a commitment to it. And then, I wrote a couple of notes on Facebook (one about seeing Harry Potter 7.1 and another about books I read in 2010) and I realized I miss having an outlet for my thoughts. So, here I am dusting off the blog after a year of dormancy. I don't know how long it will take me to get back into the swing of things, but my goal is to post at least twice a week.

I should probably catch people up on what I've been doing (assuming there's anyone out there who still has my blog in their feed reader and sees I suddenly have a new post).

I finished my PhD and graduated in June. Can we get a Hallelujah? It took 10 years, but I am finally, finally Dr. Montegna! However, despite having this advanced degree, I still have no idea what I want to do with my life. I'm currently considering teaching and doing some exploration into that. Secretly, I hope I get pregnant and become a stay at home mom for awhile. In the meantime, I'm relaxing at home, teaching catechism on the weekend, reading, and crafting. It's a hard life.

I continue to go to my knitting group as often as it meets (usually 2 days a week, but we've cut back to one day a week over the holidays). I have done plenty of knitting but haven't taken many pictures of my projects nor have I really been keeping track of them on Ravelry. That's something I'm hoping to improve upon this year. I've also been working on sewing projects for myself and my gaggle of nephews. My new favorite medium is felt. So. easy. to. work. with.

I knitted gifts for nearly everyone this Christmas. Socks for my mom and MIL, hats for BIL, FIL, UIL (uncle-in-law) and a scarf for my SIL. My FIL still wears the scarf I made for him 10 years ago! Such dedication to a handknit should be rewarded so I need to find the perfect gift to make him next year. Socks, maybe? Or even...a sweater????

I had planned to knit sweater vests for three of my nephews and a sweater for the fourth but ran out of time. I have actually knit all of the pieces for the sweater, but I want to redo the tops of the sleeves. I had blocked them and realized they were different sizes as I did so. I frogged back both of the tops (since they were both wrong) and reknit using the same yarn. There is a very, very clear demarkation between the original knitting and the reknit stuff. The original knitting looks beautiful and perfect and the reknit portion looks wonky with ugly stitches. I had thought blocking would even them out but I was wrong. So, I'll be frogging them yet again and knitting with fresh yarn. I know I could use the frogged yarn if I made it into a hank and then washed it and dried it to straighten it back out but I don't have the patience to do that. I do have more than enough extra yarn, though, so that's the route I'm going.

I've signed up for some craft-alongs for the new year and set myself some schedules I'm hoping to follow. They are:

• The Year of Stash Socks knit-along on Ravelry. The organizers pick two patterns per month and we knit from our stashes. Alternatively, you can knit a plain vanilla sock if you so choose. I don't have that big of a stash that it needs to get under control (in fact, I had to buy yarn for the first month because I didn't have a superwash worsted weight yarn for the pattern), I just wanted to join a sock club. For Jan., I am doing St. Brigid's Canomoyle Socks (Rav. link).
• 2011 Christmas Once a Month. This is a schedule of my own devising. I'm working on one Christmas present a month this year in the hopes that I will not be frantically working on Christmas presents in November and December. First up, the Pembroke Vest for nephew H.
• Embroidery Companion Sew Along. This is based on the book Embroidery Companion by Alicia Paulson. The first project is the Days of the Week teatowels. I've done a fair bit of cross-stitch but almost no straight up embroidery and have always wanted to try it. This seemed like a good opportunity to start.
• Stitch by Stitch. This is my own thing. I received the book Stitch by Stitch by Deborah Moebes for Christmas and am going to try to do at least one project from it a month. The book is a real learn-to-sew book. It assumes you know absolutely nothing. It even gives you patterns for paper templates to practice sewing curves. The projects are meant to be done in order as each one is building a new skill and taking advantage of skills you have built from previous projects. Having sewn a few skirts, I'm not a complete newbie, but I think doing these projects will teach me a lot about how to sew with more polish. It comes with patterns for the garments (which are towards the end of the book), but I'm a little concerned about them, because I would need to lose something like 30 or 40 pounds to fit into the largest size. While I would like to lose that much weight I'm really hoping to be pregnant by the time I reach those projects. Maybe I'll sew them for someone else? (Like my mom who is thin.)

That's a lot of crafting! And, I confess, the only thing I've started is the vest. I don't even have the book for the embroidery one! (Note to self: buy embroidery book tomorrow.) Also, I have some friends with babies due so I want to knit for them, too. I guess I'd better get started!

Christmas tree

My friend, R, requested some pix of my Christmas tree, so here they are:


I like to collect Christmas ornaments and have gotten many of them while traveling or to celebrate some particular milestone. Our tree was a little smaller than what we've had in the past (real Christmas trees are so much more expensive out here than they were in Chicago!), so we couldn't put all of our ornaments on the tree. Here's a sampling of what we had:


Here is a Las Vegas ornament at the top to commemorate driving from Chicago to Pasadena when John moved there, the one with the Eiffel Tower is from when John and I went to France, the blue ball is one I got at the Christkindl Market in Chicago, the white one with the blue tip in the lower left is one I got in Genoa, Italy when John and I went there. The British phone booth on the right was a gift from me to John because he likes Dr. Who.


In this one, you can see some of the ornaments from the previous picture, plus a green and white ornament toward the top that I got at Disneyland when I visited this year, a green and silver one that is a car from the T, the subway in Boston (BU, where John and I went to school, was on the Green line). Just above the red one with the gold half moon (which I got for John for Christmas one year) is a little San Franscisco trolley I got when I went to the American Society for Cell Biology for the first time (it was in SF). At the bottom is a green one you can't see the logo on, but it is from the observatory John goes to in Hawaii.


In this one, you can see a teddy bear with a blue coat that I gave John one year, a Hawaiian Santa that John gave me one year, an M&M guy that John got me one year and a gold ornament from Disneyland.

There are lots more, too, and of course there are the ones that didn't even make it on the tree this year. John has a whole host of ornaments that are ships from Star Wars and Star Trek that plug into the light string or have batteries and light up or say something when you press a button that didn't make it on the tree this year (for example, there's one that's a shuttle from Star Trek that has the voice of Leonard Nimoy saying Happy Holidays). Maybe next year we'll get a really big fake tree and be able to put all of the ornaments on it. Or maybe I should put the ornaments on a rotation so that they are on a schedule for getting on the tree every other year or so.

Red scarf and gifts

I have a slight backlog of finished objects to show off.

First up, the Red Scarf:


Specs:

Pattern: A simple pattern from the depths of my brain. Seed stitch with a simple 8 stitch cable in the middle.

Yarn: Cascade 200, 100% wool.

This was a charity project for the Red Scarf Project run by the Orphan Foundation of America. The OFA puts together care packages for kids who were previously foster-children who are now in college. The scarves go in the Feb. care packages, hence the preference for red. I like how it looks, but I find it a tad itchy. I think this is a product of the yarn, the fact that I did seed stitch instead of something smoother, and the fact that I am a delicate flower. It wouldn't preclude me from wearing it, though, so I decided it was worthy of being sent to the OFA. I apologize for the glare of the flash obscuring some things. In the picture is a card with a few words of encouragement and an iTunes gift card that I sent along with the scarf. They like you to put a little something extra in with your scarf. What college student wouldn't like some $ to spend at iTunes? Also not really recognizable is the tag I attached to the scarf.


I printed up some of these to put with the gifts I made this year. This particular one has washing instructions on the back.


Next up are two little stuffed toys I made for my nephews:


I included a marker for scale. This was a Burda pattern that I sort of followed. That is, I eliminated the machine embroidery applique and hand-stitched the patches on the belly, ears, hands, nose and eye. I also hand-stitched the mouth and used plastic safety eyes. Considering how difficult it was to get those damn things in, I don't think they'll be pulled loose anytime soon. The main body is fleece and the patches are quilting cotton. I used embroidery floss for the stitching on the patches. I also used double-sided applique bond stuff (don't actually know what that stuff is called) so the patches are stuck on there in addition to being stitched on. Again, not coming off anytime soon. There really should be three toys because there's another little nephew of mine I was planning on making one for, but I had to get two of them done super quick because my family does Christmas the weekend before and I wanted to get everything to them on time. Now, I'm running out of steam on making Christmas gifts, so nephew H may get some NASA onesies or something like that (there's a gift shop at the NASA center) to go with his Mickey Mouse (I got one of those for each nephew at Disneyland).

Next up, a bath gift set for my SIL:



Specs:

Pattern (bag): I made it up. I knit in the round for around 8 inches, then did yo, k2tog around, then knit in the round for a couple more inches, bound off, then sewed the bottom of the bag together.

Pattern (washcloth): Dapper Dab from a leaflet called Color-Splash Discloths.

Yarn: Cascade Cotton Club, a cotton/acrylic blend

I originally was just going to make a couple of washcloths and pair them with some nice soaps, but then decided to make it look more complete by making a bag to put a washcloth and soap in (the soaps were from Cost Plus World Market). The bag is lined with the material it is laying on in the picture which I hand-stitched in:


Finally, a scarf for my MIL (seen here under the tree with the completed bath set):


Specs:

Pattern: Also made up. Very similar to the red scarf except that I made a 12-stitch braided cable up the center.

Yarn: Crystal Palace Merino 5, 100% superwash wool

I was planning on making my MIL a bath puff and giving her soap to go with it, but I didn't like how the bath puff came out. The red scarf worked up surprisingly quickly, so I decided to make a similar one for my MIL. I did the bulk of the knitting while at knitting group or while listening to an audio book (I'm making my way through the Dresden Files series) so the fact that in the last couple weeks I have knit 10 feet of seed stitch plus cable didn't drive me insane.

So, that's it for the Christmas gifts. I need to wrap the bath set and scarf and get the NASA thingie and wrap it then everything will be set for the in-laws and I can send the stuff out (FIL got a mug from the observatory J goes to and coffee and BIL got a t-shirt from the observatory so they are all taken care of as well).

A waste of perfectly good panic

After completely freaking out about the Christmas deadline, I went and finished a couple of gifts lickety-split. I feel a little silly now for panicking.

Mom's socks:


Pattern: On-Hold from Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy Johnson with two stitches removed from either side of the central pattern for fit.

Yarn: Socks that Rock lightweight, Jasper colorway

Needles: Addi Turbo size 0

These were not as much fun to knit as my sister's socks. I think because the yarn was so stiff and I was knitting them on smaller needles. They feel great as socks, though, and they're slightly small for me which means they'll be perfect for Mom. I've decided I'm not a huge fan of Socks that Rock, though, which I think might be sacrilege in some circles.

For nephew B:


Pattern: Oh Balls! from Ravelry

Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease in Lime, Maize, and Cherry

Needles: US size 5 dpns

These knit up so quick I could see that they could become addictive. It was a really satisfying project and I have decided that I really like working with Cotton-Ease. These balls will be just the right size for a toddler to throw and since they are stuffed with poly fiberfill, they're not going to do any damage. Conceivably, they could knock over something very lightweight but that's about it. These will be going with the braided ball I made and a stuffed Mickey Mouse from Disneyland. So, I'm all finished with my gift for nephew B.

AND, I started a Red Scarf!


The guilt got to me. I really felt I should do a charity project for the holidays and they really need scarves for this charity so I sucked it up and started a scarf. I'm using Cascade 220 and just winged the pattern--seed stitch with an 8 stitch cable in the middle. I'm cabling every 8 rows. It's been going pretty fast, I've got 46 inches so far. With just 14 more inches to go to meet the suggested length, I think I'll be able to send it out on time. I'm really liking the Cascade 220--so much better than the wool-ease!

So, I've got two Christmas gifts completed and a charity project almost done. Not bad for the first of December!

Braided ball

Specs:

Pattern: Braided ball from Ravelry

Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-ease in maize, lime, and cherry; probably about 1/4 to 1/3 of each skein, maybe less.

Needles: US size 3 bamboo

I made this braided ball for my nephew, B, for Christmas. He is 2 years old. I have feeling he will have the ball for about 2 minutes before he pulls it all out of shape, but I hope he will have fun with it, regardless. Also, if you pull the braids apart a little, you can put something inside it which I think might be a fun thing for a toddler. I think I might make several little regular balls to go with it and those, plus the Mickey Mouse stuffed animal I got him from Disneyland will make up his Christmas present.

I'm making a lot of Christmas presents this year and it makes me a little bit nervous that I might not get them all done. I've got the socks for Mom, these balls for B, and several little stuffed animals that I am sewing for my three other nephews, L, G, and H. And, if I get all of those done, I might knit little purses for my step-nieces. I started one purse and then never finished it and now I'm not sure I'm going to get those done. I have other stuff for them for Christmas so they might not get something handmade this year. Also, I'm crocheting a bath puff for my MIL and a washcloth for SIL both of which will be paired with some fancy bath soap/shower gel.

The deadline for Christmas is looming. I know it's not even Dec. yet, but my family celebrates Christmas the weekend before and since I'm not going there, I need to ship it all in time to get there by Dec. 19. We're not going to the in-law's either, so those gifts also need to be shipped, although they can be shipped a little later.

With all of the handmade stuff I'm doing for my family, I don't have much time for other handknits. I wanted to make something for charity, specifically, the red scarf project since they are in such need of scarves, but the deadline for it is Dec. 15, and when I started a scarf for that, I completely freaked out about not meeting any of my deadlines and I had an actual panic attack and spent half the night in bed feeling like I was going to puke which was terribly unproductive. I even bought some wool-ease for the project and now I'm going to have to return it. Even if I somehow get everything done superquick and still have time to knit a scarf, I have decided I hate wool-ease. I have knit with it in the past and not had a problem with it but this time it seemed really cheap and, I don't know, acrylicky (new word). I don't know if they have changed it recently or if I have become more of a yarn snob. Anyway, I feel bad about not making anything for charity, but I don't want to risk another panic attack, so I'm going to let it go.

Mom's socks: first sock complete

One sock down, one to go!

On-hold socks, now off-hold

Sometime in Oct., I started my Mom's Christmas present, a pair of socks using the On-Hold pattern from Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy Johnson. I got a little over one pattern repeat done and then stalled. The socks were coming out too big. *sigh*

So, I kinda stopped working on them. The On-Hold socks were on hold. It didn't help that the pattern wasn't something I could work on at knitting group because I had to do too much counting and would keep getting distracted.

Last weekend, it occurred to me that Christmas was approaching (this is, of course, exactly what the stores want you to think with all of the Christmas decorations hanging from their ceilings). I really didn't want to get down to the wire with the knitting (or worse, miss Christmas entirely) and given that I was going to have ship these babies since I'm not going home for Christmas this year AND the fact that my family celebrates Christmas the weekend before Christmas, I knew I had to get working on these socks again.

So, I got out the size zero needles and started over. Unfortunately, there wasn't much difference in size (read almost none at all) between the first sock I started and the second sock. I almost gave up and started a new pattern, but I realized I could remove a few knit stitches on each side of the central pattern (and off the sole, then, too, of course) so that's what I did. Now, I've done four pattern repeats and am about to start the heel of the first sock. Still a ways to go, but I'm getting there!

While knitting, I've been listening to the first Dresden Files book, Storm Front, by Jim Butcher. I've only read (listened to) three or four chapters but I'm finding it entertaining so far. I download audio books from audible.com and I'm pretty pleased with audible. When I first started downloading books from them, you couldn't listen to a clip of the book (you just had to go on the reviews and there would be some where people both loved and hated the narrator) and I ended up getting one or two books that I never listened to past the first few minutes because I hated the narrator. These days, you can listen to a clip and that makes me very happy.

You're probably wondering what I've been knitting on at knitting group if I haven't been knitting on Mom's socks. Another pair of socks, of course. This pair is for me. I have no idea when I started the first sock, but I had gotten it all the way to the point of kitchnering the toe and then stopped, letting it languish for months. I finally picked it back up when I needed something mindless for knitting group and now I've completed the leg and the heel of the second sock (in addition to stitching up the toe of the first sock, of course)! The yarn is a bamboo blend from Regia and the needles are size 2 so it's zooming along. Pretty soon, I'll need to find some other mindless knitting for knitting group.

I'll get pictures of Mom's socks and my socks up one of these days.

Random anecdote: Today, I was at Starbucks and I ordered a chai latte. The person at the register asked me if I wanted a shot of expresso in it. Um, no.

M's Socks Christmas 2008: Done

Last night (Monday), I wove in the ends* for M's 2008 Christmas socks! Hurray!


For some reason, the second sock had more pooling than the first sock...


...but I'm not complaining.

I even found the perfect card to go with them at the LYS:


Specs:

Pattern: Diagonal Lace Socks from Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy Johnson

Yarn: TOFUtsies in the Feet First colorway (I think that's the right colorway, I seem to have lost the ball band

Needles: 2.25mm INOX Express circular--magic loop method. I really like the INOX Express needles. They are pointier than regular Addi Turbos and slicker than the Addi lace needles. I wish more stores carried them. I've considered trying the Knitpicks needles in the same size because I bet they'd be pointy and slick enough for me, but I've heard not great things about the joins. I feel like they'd be more likely to give out when you're doing magic loop, but maybe that's just my perception.

Ravelry link: here

Other Notes:

• Turkish Cast-on
• Russian Bind-off
• After doing the increases for the toe, I knit seven rounds even so that the toe would be a little longer
• Started in August 2009. Ripped out the first sock twice (!) so I could get a good size

I'm slightly nervous these may be a smidge too small for my sister because they seem to fit me perfectly and her feet are a little bit bigger than mine. However, I've got leftover yarn and am prepared to rip out the toes and make them longer if necessary.

So, what is my next project?


Another pair of toe-up socks, this time for my mom for Christmas 2009 (trying to get a head start here, maybe I'll actually have them done in time!).

Pattern: On-hold Socks from Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy Johnson (can you tell I like this book?)

Yarn: Socks that Rock-lightweight in the Jasper colorway. On my screen, the color is looking more purply, but in real-life, it's more maroon. This is my first time using STR yarn and when I bought it, I was surprised at how overspun it seemed. The yarn curls up on itself in places which I haven't seen in other yarns. It's a nice, firm yarn, though, and gives beautiful stitch definition. The lace pattern is really going to stand out. I think a lighter color would be really great for a cool knit-purl design.

Needles: 2.25mm INOX Express circular--magic loop method.

I did the Turkish Cast-on for this one since it went so well for M's socks. Other than that, there's not much to say about these socks--I've barely gotten them started!


*I couldn't find my thinner yarn needles (I swear there is a green Chibi around here somewhere with two needles perfect for weaving in the ends for fingering weight yarn), so I went to my new LYS to pick some up, thinking I'd get a new Chibi and they didn't have Chibis! What kind of LYS doesn't have Chibis??? Fortunately, they did have yarn needles in the size I was looking for, but I am flabbergasted at the lack of Chibis!

One down, one to go

Well I finished one of M's Christmas '08 socks.


This sock fits me so well, I'd be tempted to keep the pair for myself except that this is a seriously late Christmas gift. If they were this year's Christmas gift, I don't think they'd stand a chance of making it all the way to Iowa when it would be so easy to put them in my own sock drawer instead.

I really like how the diagonal lace pattern turned out and I like the stripiness of the yarn. This is my first good toe up sock (I tried it once in the past and while I wear those socks from time to time, the leg is really loose and floppy and the yarn is too thick to make the socks comfortable with regular shoes--I have to wear my Crocs). I learned a couple of new techniques: the Turkish cast-on (lots easier than I thought it would be) and the Russian bind-off (also easy).

I tried the Turkish cast-on because when I've tried doing a short-row toe in the past you could see where the provisional cast-on had been. Maybe this would have gone away in the wash, I don't know (since I never took those socks to completion except the pair I already mentioned which are too loose to really tell anything on), but I thought it would be worth trying a new technique to avoid that potential complication.

As for the bind-off, I first tried my regular bind-off (knit 1, knit a 2nd stitch, slip the first stitch over the 2nd stitch), but it was too, well, binding. So, I decided to try one of the bind-offs suggested in Wendy's book (from whence the pattern came) and the Russian bind-off looked easiest. I did the bind-off as loosely as possible and while it looks a little ruffled off the foot:


When the sock is on my foot, however, it lays nice and flat and is non-binding which is everything you want a bind-off to be in a toe-up sock.

So, now all I need to do is knit the 2nd sock which is easier said than done as most people know. I think if I cast-on (Turkishly) for the sock right away (like, as soon as I finish this post) I might stand a chance actually getting the sock done. Also, I am resisting starting the socks for my mom's Christmas '09 present until I get this pair of socks done. I really want to get Mom's socks done to avoid another situation like the one I have for M's socks so that'll push me to get the 2nd sock done. I think.

Off to cast-on, now (Turkishly).

Dusting off the old blog

I'm probably not on anyone's blogroll anymore, so I'm not sure why I'm bothering, but it suddenly seems like a good idea to dust off ye old knitting blog and talk about knitting.

First, a little bit about what I've been doing. I finally finished all of my research and am in the middle of (slowly) writing my thesis. After almost 3 years of living apart from DH, John, (he was in CA and I was in Chicago) I moved to Pasadena because there was no reason for me to stay in Chicago while writing. Then, John started a job at the NASA lab, Ames (coincidentally the name of the town in Iowa next to the town I grew up in), and so we moved to the SF Bay area a couple weeks ago.

So, here I am with time on my hands (because I'm having trouble keeping myself working on my thesis because it is boring as hell) so I figured, "Hey, I could write on the knitting blog again." So, here I am.

I've been keeping track of some of my knitting projects on Ravelry (my rav name is e-beth in case you want to look). My current project is a pair of socks for my sister, M. They're a Christmas present. Last year's Christmas present. I bought Wendy Johnson's Socks from the Toe Up and I'm doing the Diagonal Lace Socks (Ravelry link) pattern using TOFUtsies. According to Ravelry, I started on them in August, but it doesn't seem like it was that long ago. Probably because I got most of the first sock done, decided it was far too loose, and started over with smaller needles (size 1).* I've been working on that sock for about a week and I've already got the foot and part of the leg done. Now, I'm slightly worried that the foot could be too small. M's feet are slightly bigger than mine and these socks fit me pretty nicely, but I think there is room for stretching (if not, I'll get them back from her, take out the toe and extend it, but I think it's going to be okay). I haven't decided how tall to make them, yet. I divided the yarn into two halves before I started so I can keep knitting until I run out of yarn if I want, but I probably won't do that since I don't like very tall socks (and neither does M, I think).

At any rate, here are a couple pix from this weekend:


And the Ravelry project notes are here.

I'm also working on a purse for a little girl, but I don't have any pix for that, so I think I'll save it for later.

So, that's it for now. No guarantees I'm going to be particularly regular about blogging, but I'm feeling the urge to talk about my knitting these days, so I'll probably keep it up for a little while anyway.

*Actually, the first time I started the sock, I started the large size and that was WAY too big so I ripped it out and sized down to the medium. To get gauge, I needed to use size 2 needles, but those turned out to be too big. It was one of those situations where you got gauge but somehow it was coming out the wrong size. That's when I switched to the size 1 needles and started over again.

Christmas approacheth

Okay, you guys know it's only a few months until Christmas, right? A few months seems like a long time, but it's really not. I know because I make the same mistake every year and put off starting Christmas presents until way too late because I keep thinking that there's plenty of time. What I forget is that time passes quickly (what's up with that? I swear it's passing more quickly now that I'm older).

So, I give you....

One sock for my husband:


The pattern is Whitby from Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road (sorry, I'm not feeling up to putting in the links today. Maybe I'll add them later). I'm working on the leg of the second sock. These are knitting up pretty fast. I usually knit socks on size 1 or 0 needles, and these were on size 3. I feel like I'm flying through them! It helps that my husband's feet are only slightly larger than mine so it's not like I need to make a humongous pair of socks.

I've also been working on some sewing projects. I've made some coasters from Amy Karol's Bend the Rules Sewing book.

These are for John's grandmother who used to be a French teacher:



These are for my grandmother:


I went to Loopy yarn store today and got these:


On the left is Euroflax with which I'll be making a pair of handtowels for my mother-in-law, a la Mason-Dixon Knitting (the first book). I've never worked with linen before--should be interesting. On the right are two balls of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock which are destined to be a pair of socks for my mother who has enjoyed the socks I've given her the last couple of years.

Not shown: a set of coasters for my step-grandmother. They are next on my list of sewing projects.

Finally, I give you my cat's new favorite sleeping spot:


I knew there was a reason I was keeping a box of yarn lying around the apartment.

Little Purple Shrug

I started this shrug from Lace Style earlier in the month and finished it today. I'm going to wear it to a wedding I'm going to in Sept. Here are a few pix of the completed shrug. In the photos, I'm wearing the dress I'll be wearing to the wedding.


Specs

Pattern: Little Lace Shrug from Lace Style
Yarn: Tapestry by Rowan
Colorway: Highland (SH179)
Fiber: 70% wool, 30% soy

It was pretty fun to knit although the lace pattern did start to get boring after awhile. Still, it was easy and turned out well and that's what I really needed right now in a knitting project (who doesn't need a project that turns out well?!)

In other news, I'm having an okay Labor Day weekend even though I've been into lab a couple times now. I think I'm going to take a half day off tomorrow (yeah, I'm wild like that). The yeast are behaving in one experiment and totally misbehaving in another. Oh well.

Dusting off the blog

Well, I've been silent for awhile now and while I'm getting lots of work done in lab, I miss the blogging community a lot. So, I'm dusting off the blog and sweeping the cobwebs out of the corners. I'm not going crazy with it, though. My current goal is one post a week. If I can manage that then I'll feel like I'm doing okay.

So, what have I been up to? Lab. That's pretty much it. Oh, every once in awhile I do necessary things like laundry and washing dishes, but mostly, I'm just in lab. It's enough to drive anyone crazy. So far, I'm holding on to my sanity by the skin of my teeth, but I am still holding on to it! Last weekend (Aug 16 and 17) I was in Iowa for my nephew's first birthday. I cannot believe it's been a year already. I still remember the seemingly endless waiting for the phone call from my mom to tell me my sister had gone to the hospital. Where does all the time go? Well, we celebrated his birthday with a cookout at a park and then the next day went to the Iowa State Fair and saw all manner of farm animals (and even petted a few--hey, does anyone out there know why they shave llamas to look like poodles?) and prize-winning dahlias and ears of corn. I ate a footlong corn dog, a funnel cake, some ice cream, a honey stick, a hard-boiled egg on a stick (given away for free at some booth), a real lemonade, and a strawberry smoothie. Yum! We saw the butter cow (life-sized cow carved out of butter) and the butter Shawn Johnson (she's from Iowa) and an ice-sculpture carving demonstration. And contrary to normal state fair weather it was actually pleasant out and we didn't go home hot and sweaty and on the verge of a heat stroke. I wish John could have been with me. I think it would be fun to drag his city boy ass all over the state fair and make him look at 1200 pound pigs.

Speaking of John, right now, I'm sitting on my balcony in California. I came here just as soon as I got back from Iowa. I needed a break from lab in the worst way (I believe I told my advisor, "I need a break or I'm going to shoot someone.") so I decided to take a total of 10 days and go to Iowa and then California. I'm hoping it's my last big break before the final push to get everything done in lab. We'll see how it goes. My labwork has been giving me fits and I've spent the last three months troubleshooting an experiment that used to work before the Powers That Be took away one of my resources and turned the space into an office. I'd like to find the bureaucrat who thought that was a good idea and tell him a thing or two.

So, I've spent the last several days in California knitting and shopping and going to craft stores and swimming the pool at the apartment complex. Can't wait until I get to do this full-time!

Still alive

Just not blogging. Or reading blogs (I'm so far behind in my blog-reading, I may just skip all of the back posts. Maybe.). Or knitting. So, not much to talk about on my knitting blog--that's for sure. But, I thought I'd better check in so that people don't think I've been eaten by a giant mutant yeast or spilled a bottle of acid on myself and ended up dissolved in the drain by the safety shower in lab or anything else untoward. I had a spot of depression, but thanks to some new meds, that cleared right up except that now I can't make my legs sit still.

I really am barely doing any knitting at all. I've made a few plain, square washcloths--knit on the bias with a yarn-over border--you know, the classic. That's been about all I can handle lately. I'm feeling a little brain-dead from the lab stuff. I'm spending a lot of time in lab (it's 9:30pm on a Friday and I'm still in lab--that tell you anything?).

Also, I'm crocheting a granny square afghan for the couch in the conference room because it's chilly in there when I take a nap.

That's it. That's my life for the moment. Boring as hell. Don't worry, I'll let you know if something exciting ever happens.