Holiday knitting

So what does 10+ hours in the car get you?

pattern: Tang from Custom Knits (this and all other links will be Ravelry links) by Wendy Bernard
yarn: Twist by Laines du Nord

I am loving this pattern. All the sweaters in this book are done from the top down. Some are yoke/raglan type sleeves and some are set-in sleeves but are done by picking up the stitches at the arm holes and knitting down. That’s right! No seaming!! There are so many beautiful sweaters in this book. Its been a LONG time since I have picked up a book and wanted to knit nearly everything in it NOW!! Tang was not going to be my first knit. This was not because I didn’t eventually want to do it but I was just in love with Ingenue (love the shape!), Jewel (yarn in stash), and Slinky Ribs (just love it!). A KAL was started on the Knit and Tonic Knitters Group so I thought this would be a great way to start knitting from this book.

So, I had casted on and gotten part of the back of the top of the sweater done (too much to try to explain here!). In the 10+ hour drive, I got the back and front finished to the armhole and the sweater joined in the round. I would have gotten more done but it got dark and I didn’t bring my reading/knitting light. I put the stitches on scrap yarn and tried it on. It is going to be a great fit! Since then I am now to the waist…finished the decreases and have chosen to add an extra inch to the waist (I’m a little long waisted). I can’t wait to get to the arms!! I am thinking that this technique that she uses might just work for my Minimalist Cardigan, too.

Also finished over the holidays:

pattern: Eyelet Yoke Cardigan by Lionbrand Yarn
yarn: Jeanne by Plymouth
This is the one for my 2 yo niece. I began another that will be identical except that it is ina 4yo size for my other niece.

I feel very productive!!

Wow, December already, huh?

Where did the month go?  Where did I go?  Well, I might not have met my goal to blog everyday, but I did blog more often which was really my goal!

I hope everyone had a terrific Turkey Day.  I was visiting family and had a fine time.  In my last post I showed you the gifts I finished at the last minute.  Well, here they are with their new owners…

My nephew’s new obsession is the lasso. Well, you can imagine the fun he had when his aunt and uncle handed him 2 gloves connected by a very long cord!

And T seemed to really love her blanket!

I got a good bit of knitting done while traveling. No pics right now but very soon!

I did hear from my SIL that she did get the package with my niece and nephew’s birthday gifts. Then I remembered that I never posted L2′s Wonderful Wallaby.

She said they were wearing them this weekend and really liked them.

And, when I got that picture off of my husband’s camera I was also able to get these:

These were the socks that I knitted for the 4th year I was in the Hogwarts Sock Swap. The pattern is Heather Colorwork Socks #347 by Rebecca Hatcher. I used Trekking Pro Natura. I really enjoyed making them for Angela.

Down to the wire…

But I made it across!! Last night I finished my niece’s blanket.

It was originally suppose to be a birthday present (**whispers** back in February). Oh, well. Its not as large as I had hoped but I think I was also being overambitious. She is only 6, anyway, so it doesn’t have to be huge. If I could wrestle it out from under Bonita I would measure it for you, but I would say it is about 3 1/2′ square. Good enough to throw over you while watching Hanna Montana, or whatever.

Also started and finished my nephew’s mittens.

I was going to do a hat, too, but the yarn shop where I bought this yarn is taking their time mailing me the rest of the yarn and I don’t have enough to do a hat, too. We’ll see what my SIL says and I will decide if I will make the hat then. I have not put the string on it yet.  BTW, I didn’t try to match up the striping on these…it just happened.  Cool, huh?

while knitting

What do you like to do while knitting? Chat with friends? Listen to music? Catch up on Tivo?

I find that I can get completely lost in a audiobook while knitting and, as long as the pattern isn’t too involved, I am amazed at how much I can get done. I just finished Mistress of the Art of Death:A Novel by Ariana Franklin and really enjoyed it. I’m currently listening to The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. That’s 40hrs of good knitting time!

I like to watch tv, too, but I am not one of those knitters that can look away from the knitting while watching. I sometimes get too distracted and end up not getting much done or not getting much out of the show. I like SciFi , “cop shows” and medical drama stuff the most which might explain why I get distracted. Oh, and I’ve really gotten into Lost now that SciFi Channel started showing it from the beginning. I don’t know why I didn’t get into it before.

I do enjoy a good Knit Night or just knitting with a friend and a cup of tea. We have a local Knit Night at my LYS once a week. My LYS, though, is one of those places that you can stop in anytime and sit and knit for hours. While my friend, Bethany, was over in England we would Skype and knit. That was nice, too, cause I didn’t have to get out of my pjs!

I am making progress…

I have been completing at least 3 squares a night on my niece’s blanket. I have completed 4 rows of the squares with, I think, only 5 more rows to go. Its turning out even better than I thought AND I’ve learned a new technique! I have found that turning the blanket to knit back on the wrong side is getting more difficult as I complete more rows, so I have taught myself to “purl back backwards.”

I also cast on for the Eyelet Yoke Cardigan from Lionbrand.com. Its a free pattern but you have to sign up to see it. I first saw it on twiceknit‘s blog and knew it would be perfect for my 2 nieces that are siblings.

One down!

Pattern: Incredible Custom-Fit Raglan
Yarn: Plymouth Jeanne #001
needles: US8 and US7 (on cuffs, etc)
mods: really, nothing you do on this is a mod because it is pretty much up to you. However, I will tell you that I must have knitted and frogged the collar 3 or 4 times cause I couldn’t get it to be stretchy enough. What I ended up doing is on every other bind-off I knitted into the front and back of the stitch and then bound them off…does that make sense? And the “ribbing” is a 2×1 with the 2 done in a faux cable (knit into second st on left needle, do not pull off, then knit into first stitch on left needle and pull them both off at the same time).

2 more sweaters to go, along with one blanket and a pair of mittens. But I feel good with one under the belt.

Nearly forgot…

Well, I had a post all ready to go and then it was lost. No, really!

Here is the project I was reporting on…

Design C – Snuggly Baby Bamboo #1730 Baby/Child Eyelet Cardigans With Daisies by Sirdar Spinning
Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo
Colorway 142

Cute buttons, right?

Time to get serious!

Christmas and, more importantly, Thanksgiving are just around the corner. This year we are doing Christmas with my family AT Thanksgiving so I need to have gifts for my 6yo niece, T, and 2yo nephew, E, done very, very soon.

I am giving T the blanket that was suppose to be her birthday present.

I’m a little further along than that now but still! I think I calculated that I need to do no less than 3 diamonds a day to get it done on time. Ugh!

And I think I am going to do mittens out of yarn on the right for E.

We’ll see. Anyone have a measurement for the “stupid” string that runs from one mitten to the other under the coat for a 2-3yo? Thanks!

I am so tired. After shopping for yarn all day yesterday and being at the shop all day today…I need a glass of wine and a good movie!

In situ

Its always the best to get pictures of things you have knitted for another on the person that it is intended for. Let me tell you, the ultimate thank you note that you can give a knitter is a picture of the knitted item on or near your baby/child. Nothing makes me happier!

So here are a couple of my recently finished and gifted items on their recipients:

pattern: Girlfriend Shrug by Wendy Bernard
yarn: Sockotta (forgot the #)
This is a really great pattern. Its always a hit.

I think she likes it!!

And this is the cardi and booties that I made her new baby brother.

Unfortunately, I made it on the small size so I am not sure how long he will be wearing it. He has grown so much!!!

How did I get so lucky?

A little over a week ago I was getting ready for a trip to Vegas (business for J) and I received a package in the mail. My first thought? I must be sleep-buying because I don’t have any memory of what this could be. Inside I found a beautifully handknit pair of socks, a thing called a Furochic (a reusable cloth gift wrap inspired by Furoshiki, a traditional Japanese wrapping cloth) and a sock washing bag for a washing machine. Next thought? What sock swap did I forget that I was signed up for? And then I opened the note inside. It was from my Sockapalooza 4 sockpal… Sockergirl! Can you believe that completely out of the blue and out of the kindness of her heart she sent me a pair of socks! What a PAL!

I apologize for the worn look of the socks…I put them on the day we left and haven’t had a chance to wash them yet.

In other news, I have been knitting…just not photographing or blogging.  Ugh!  Here are some of the things I have finished:

Cardigan for Baby Boy

pattern: Tulips by Lindsay Pekny with modifications
yarn: Jeanne by Plymouth
mods: ribbing all the way around (to make it more “masculine” and 4 buttons instead of 5).
I hope to get pics from the mom (hint, hint) soon.

Matching Booties

pattern: Christine’s Stay-On Baby Booties by Christine Bourquin
yarn: Jeanne by Plymouth
no mods

And I finished Bellatrix

Pattern: Bellatrix by Monkeytoes (free download on Ravelry)
yarn: Lang Jawoll Cotton

Monica for my niece

pattern: Monica by Christine Schwender
yarn: Cascade Sierra
no mods

Wonderful Wallaby for niece’s 2nd birthday

pattern: Wonderful Wallaby by Carol A. Anderson
yarn: Cascade Sierra
mods: used seed stitch around hood and pocket

Pictures of WIPs to come.

Newest member of the family

Meet my in-laws’ newest baby…uh, I mean, boat. I am definitely feeling like we need to upsize soon. We look way too small next to them now. We had fun, however, visiting them on their way to Maine. We hope to visit them while they are up there, too!!

I really do intend to continue the “Sweden Experience” and am only waiting to use my husband’s computer to do a few tricks with the pictures. In the meantime….

Its been hot! This is how the day begins…

and a little later…

always one step ahead of the sun…

That’s LK (black and grey–mom to the kittens) and Curly (short for Curlique).

Gosh, I just realized that our back deck looks terrible! That’s not completely true…I’ve realized.  ANYWAY!

Let’s see…what else?

Oh, there has been knitting. Just finished a b-day present for my soon-to-be 4 yo niece.

Monica
Cascade Sierra #3 and #16
4mm and 3.75mm needles.
mods:I did knit it in pieces, which wasn’t terrible but wasn’t necessary. Next time…in the round. I switched to 3.75mm needles for the ruffle and the rest of the top. I made tieable icord instead of the fixed garter stitch straps.
Hope she likes it.

I also lost my mind and started this yesterday…

Sea Urchin by Ilga Leja
Tahki Daphne (FROM STASH!!!)  The color is actually more champagne than the picture shows.
4.5mm needles (did a swatch on 4mm and it was slightly off in gauge so I’m going up to 4.5 without swatching again. Hope that doesn’t bite me in the rear! RIGHT!).

That’s all for now. Hopefully I’ll get to use J’s computer software soon!