The Harlot Strikes Again

I just assume that if you are reading my blog, you are also reading the Yarn Harlot's blog. In case you aren't, then you are really missing out. Please go there now. I will wait, and not be at all surprised when you never return here. She has fabulous knitting, witty commentary, and more than a year of archives for you to go through. No matter what time it is when you start reading, you will be up far too late. Enjoy!

If you made it back, then you've likely seen the astonishing total raised for Doctors without Borders. I am so amazed at the generosity of the knitting community. I am doing my own part by foregoing wants this week in order to donate as much as possible. I hope you will find your own way to support the people who sacrifice so much to help others in parts of the world we would never dare visit.

Perhaps you also noticed the Harlot's Thrum Along? I finally decided to join in (unofficially), and have made some good progress. The pattern is easy to follow (and even better, it's free), and these mittens are so cute:

More yarn, more projects

Janine and I left the toddlers with their dads and took a trip to see the boys in Lansing. I highly recommend a visit to Threadbear for anyone in the Michigan area. The place is spacious, friendly, comfortable, and filled to the brim with beautiful yarn, roving, knitting notions and books, snacks, coffee, and fellow knitters. Janine and I spent 3 hours there without realizing it; it's like Vegas, in that there are no clocks and you lose touch with reality - is it night or day? The selection is really fantastic. I don't think they are missing anything, and they are always getting new stuff in. Here's my haul:


What you see in that shot are some lovely koigu KPPPM - a set for new socks and a set for some Fiesta Mittens by Lucy Neatby (Pattern from Threadbare also. The pattern is complicated - there's something called a flying swallows pattern??!!? - but the sample was gorgeous.); some Lorna's Laces sock yarn in denim blue and a coordinating variegated; and a huge stack of Dale Tiur in khaki, natural, and pearl grey. I fell in love with the Dale of Norway cardigan display at Threadbear and I AM GOING TO MAKE IT FOR MYSELF. It contains a lot of colorwork and some neat diamond patterns, and will likely be most most-challenging project to date. Here's a shot from their catalog:


I am having so much fun choosing knitting projects lately. There are some babies on the way, and it's so fun to think of things to knit for them. I recently started, and nearly finished the same weekend, this sweater with a Lorna's Laces pattern:


It's knit with a nice chunky wool and nearly flew off my needles, it knit so quickly. It's in the round til you reach the armholes, with the sleeves knit separately. I love that there will be minimal seaming.

I have made lots of progress on Rob's basketweave sweater. He got most of the back, still on the needles, for Christmas. Since I am no longer knitting it in secret, it's going much more quickly. The back is complete, and the front is at least 4" tall (considering it's 28" wide, that's a lot!). I am irritated that the shoulders have that ledged shaping built in, and I wish they were just straight shoulders with a 3-needle bind off. Hopefully as I become more confident as a knitter I will just ignore the directions I don't like and substitute them with my own. As it is now, I begrudgingly follow them and complain about it the whole time. Anyway, here's the completed back (click on it for a closeup of the basketweave pattern):



Well the baby is still napping, which means I have time to knit.

Happy New Year!

What's more satisfying than casting off something cool? Why, seeing the recipient wearing the knitted item, of course! How about two people together, both wearing your knitted goods? Top it off with both people being cute toddlers, and here's what you get:


I was finally able to retreive the shot of my dad trying on his new hat, which I knit with a lovely Manos wool - the color name is thrush.

Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful holiday around here, which included the giving of many knitted items. Here is my brother wearing the hat I made him, previously modeled by Marty:


A camera error is preventing me from retreiving my dad's hat. But here's what I made for my mom:


Accompanying the above item was this note:

Dear Mom,

This unfortunate, incomplete, ill-fitting gift is really an example. It’s an example of:

1. How important it is to do a gauge swatch
2. What you might have received for Christmas, had daughter #1 followed example #1
3. A bolero jacket for a very small person
4. What a one-armed elf might wear
5. My intention to hand-knit something special for you
6. My overly-ambitious knitting schedule (ask Rob what he got this morning)
7. Proof of the saying, “It’s the thought that counts” (hopefully)
8. Your opportunity to choose an item, any item, to be hand-knit in YOUR SIZE (I promise to do a gauge swatch this time) (you can take as much time as you like to choose. I know how you like to browse extensively before you commit to anything)

I received some truly thoughtful and fantastic gifts. The most exciting part is that someone is knitting something for me!!! My mom is making me the Touch Me Scarf out of the wonderful Meunch chenille that is unlike any other. It is a true red and was given to me on the needles - so nice to know that I am not the only one to do that this year! I also got some great knitting books and a check written out to my LYS. Perfect! My sister-in-law gave me a photo printer and my husband got me all kinds of fun stuff - books, wine glasses, silpats, a remote weather station, and the Jeopardy! game. We had a great time with family and friends and look forward to a happy new year.

Merry Christmas!

Activity!

Hey some stuff is being knitted around here! I can tell because my needle case is filled to overflowing. On the way to Chicago last weekend, I finished this hat for my brother, Mike:



Then on the way home from Chicago, I finally finished the blue baby hat that matches the cardigan that goes with the pink cardi and hat set for the Kreiman twins, who were born around Thanksgiving. It makes me so happy to have this set finished and I hope they love it. Here's the whole set together:



Not done yet! Look what else got finished:


Gee, I'm not sure if that's big enough. Hold it up so I can see:



Ah yes, almost as big as the child it's for. Perfect!

How many days til...

Would you think Christmas is just around the corner, if that hat were the only thing I've cast off in a week? Well, it is, and it is.

Life has been so hectic lately and I feel I haven't had any time to knit.

Our good friend Justin visited us for the weekend. When my husband picked him up from the airport, Justin asked to be taken to a place to get his haircut and to buy a hat. Rob said, "Oh, let Tracy make you a hat!" I was thrilled to make Justin something, even if he did insist on black and nothing but black. And it made me feel so great that Rob thought of my knitting as a superior option to a store-bought hat (I am quite confidant that this was the case, rather than he was trying to save Justin a few bucks.)

The hat was knit with Rowan's kid class, a blend of 70% lambswool, 26% kid mohair, and 4% nylon. It has a nice fuzz to it. I invented my own pattern by making a gauge swatch and measuring Justin's head - a wopping 23.5"! I wanted the hat to be a bit smaller than his head, so 22.5" is what I was going for. My gauge gave me 3.5 stitches=1" on a size US10 needle holding both strands together. Here's the pattern that I made up:

Using a US10 (16") circular needle and holding both strands together, cast on 76 stitches. Work k2, p2 rib for 4.5 inches. Knit 1 row, increasing 1 stitch every 19, for a total of 80 stitches (I did this to avoid using a smaller size needle, as I did not have a size 9 handy. If you do, you could cast all 80 onto a sz 9 and skip the increasing).

Work stockinette stitch (knit every round) until piece measures 9" (less if you want a hat that fits closer to the head, like a skull cap. I prefer mine a bit taller so it can be really pulled down on cold days, or worn a bit higher up, as the wearer prefers.)

Begin decreasing:
Round 1: (k5, k2tog), repeat to end of round, k 3 remaining stitches.
Round 2: knit round
Round 3: (k4, k2tog), repeat to end of round, k 3 remaining stitches.
Round 4: knit round
Round 5: (k3, k2tog), repeat to end of round, k 3 remaining stitches.
Round 6: knit round
Round 7: (k2, k2tog), repeat to end of round, k 3 remaining stitches.
Round 8: knit round
Round 9: (k1, k2tog), repeat to end of round.
Round 10: knit round
Round 11: (k2tog), repeat to end of round.

Cut yarn, leaving and 8" tail. Weave tail through remaining live stitches and then weave tail end into wrong side of hat. Presto!

Marty Pants

Really, my blog title should be Marty Pants. This was our nickname for Marty, because he was so smart and we didn't want to refer to him as a smarty pants. Making pants, or longies, was my original motivation to learn to knit: 100% wool can be waterproofed with a bit of lanolin and water and creates the perfect cover for a cloth diaper - all natural, breathable, all seasons, environmentally friendly, perfect. Some people knit a lot of socks, some a lot of scarves. I knit a lot of pants. Here's the pair just finished for Mary:

Sporty and cute, just like Mary. Hopefully we will get a pic of her wearing them soon. Why didn't I take one today, when she tried them on and I had my camera? Same reason I haven't taken the picture for our Christmas cards, either, I suppose. A little know secret concerning havin gchildren: your brain functions at 50% capacity from the moment you get pregnant until your child is older - no idea how old, but past 2 for sure. I will keep you posted if it ever comes back to full functionality.

Now my needles are free to start some Christmas knitting!