I was coming out of Chester subway station, as I always do at around 5pm, and I spotted a real live version of my Skull Scarf coming toward me. In an unusually bold gesture for me, I stopped the kid (he was a skinny teenager, with some seriously "edgy" clothing on, and lots of socially progressive buttons on his lapels) and remarked that I very much liked his scarf.
He was with his mother and indicated that she knit it. I then told her I designed it and told her it was very neat to see one of my designs in action and that she did a fantastic job on it (she did, it was done in a larger weight yarn and was really cool). We chatted knitting a bit, the son remarked that he was the envy of his friends and then she actually took our picture! I have already forgotten her name (silly woman that I am) so I'll just say thanks for knitting my pattern and giving me a nice pick me up at the end of the day.
Of course, that little ego boost made me stupid brazen. I picked up Urchin and finished it. I grafted it perfectly (boucle yarn makes that difficult to execute, but with nice results) and I completed another fetching hat for Emma. Shit.
My gauge was off, because the thing looked like a chef's hat--very poofy on the top. Not small and neat like the picture. I swatched so this shouldn't happen.
Oh well, the yarn was free and the time was minimal and I learned a few things. I then started my Frivol, and completed one row before I decided to graph the pattern because I like charts much more than written instructions. Finding a free charting pattern took some time (I used this one, and fudged the cable sts that it didn't have) but by then it was bed time. Tonight, it's me and beer and malabrigo.
I was feeling a bit better even though it was chilly today (with a wind chill even) and I was wishing I had a hat. Then I got knocked back on my ass again. On the subway, there was a teen-girl looking very smart in handknit fingerless gloves and a perfect urchin. Perfect, tiny, cute. Now, this does not mean that it would look as good on me, but it was correctly done. Shit.
No, I didn't tell her she had a nice hat. One bold talking to strangers thing every 24 hours only.
Now that I have the coat situation all figured out, it's time for accessories. I have leather gloves, and Earth Stripe is coming along (though slowly) so my neck will be warm. So it's time for a hat.
Hat's are tough when you have short hair. The cloche or beanie style (like my favourite Silk Garden Beanie) don't look so good on me at least. I find a hat that has something going on--a pompom, texture, a brim, an interesting top, a design feature that doesn't suck the hat to my head works the best.
But which design feature is best?
I started with a single ball of Manos and this pattern (Last minute purled beret by Knit and Tonic). It made a very nice hat. But not on me. Emma tried it on and after a bit of modification (I picked up the brim stitches and worked some decreases and then did a rolled edge) she had a fabulous kicky beret.
I know kids are supposed to be cute, but why do they have to look so cute in my handknits?
Since my first attempt didn't work, I'm trying another one. A less floppy beret--Urchin from the Fall Knitty. I'm a bit concerned that the stash yarn I'm using (Artful Yarns Circus colour 7, palm reader) is too... too wrong. Laura said it looked a bit like LB Homespun--ack! It's a wool boucle and I like the colour, but I see disaster looming. Since I'm using 8mm needles, it's not like I'm investing time in this project...Emma may have a drawer full of hats this winter.
With attempt two being questionable (so much so I forgot to take pictures) I decided new yarn was in order. This beautiful ball of Malabrigo followed me home last night. My plan is to make this (hooray for Ravelry). I'm going for both the bobbles and the pompom.
It's my first Malabrigo and I can't wait to go home and play with it.
Sherbie is almost done. All the seams are stitch, the ends are woven in and the zipper is bought. I've even basted the front pieces together so I can sew on the zipper. I wanted to get to it tonight, but things have kept me busy and I've learned over the years not to attempt difficult tasks at 10:32pm.
I'm going to re-read my zipper tutorial and get to it tomorrow night. There are only 5 more sleeps until Rhinebeck (all in my new bed--we got it today) and even though I started Sherbie in the Spring (well late Winter--I hadn't realized it was March) this is going to be my Rhinebeck sweater.
If I like it on me. I made the XS size because the finished measurements were 46.5" and then next size was 49" and that's a whole lot of ease. If I had made my usual medium/large we would be in the high 50" range and I learned my lesson with a beautiful kuryeon coat that looked like crap on me.
But when the ribbing is all scrunched up (as ribbing is wont to do) it looks a bit small. Nice and cozy, but small. I'm not a bit fan of allover body hugging ribbing so let's hope some steaming does the trick. (Sorry about the camera phone photos--my battery died in my real camera).
So for the rest of tonight (all 15 minutes of it before it's bed time) I'm going to keep working on this darling pumpkin hat kit I bought at Lettuce Knit. It's for a friend's baby and it's perfect for this time of year.
Oh, and I got my shoes. They're awesome. My heel slips a bit in them, but I guess that's what's supposed to happen with Danskos. They're very comfie. For those who wanted to know, the style is Mira and the colour is Kimberlite. I got mine via ebay.
I took the leap and went with the intarsia. I had already casted on and was pretty sure I would stick with it, but after talking to Kirk at the daycare skating party (it's nice to have another parent to talk knitting with at lessons and stuff), I was committed. If you saw what he was making, you would never complain about ends again. Stunning.
That being said, I've only done two rows. I needed to get the computer area in the basement set up so I could scan and enlarge the charts and that led to a lot of boxes being opened and well, time just got sucked away. But at least I can print again. Come to think of it, I never actually did get the chart scanned...
I did borrow this nifty crayola bag to keep it all together.
Good thing, because there are lots of ends.
By Saturday night my brain was too tired so I decided to tackle a tea cozy instead. I went for the traditional pattern with a not-so-traditional pairing of Knitpicks Merino style in Blueberry (rejected as the Lizard Ridge border) with a ball of Kureyon leftover from that same afghan--I guess I can call it my reject-Lizard tea cozy.
The pattern is really neat and creates a very dense fabric. But it is also stranded and garter stitch so it's going really slow. My alpaca hat will have to stand in for a tea cozy for a bit longer I'm afraid.
I haven't had much time to blog. And not much inclination either. As they said on the much-edited TBS version of Forrest Gump last night, It Happens.
Alexander now has heat, and we have a new hole in the kitchen. I'm over the hole angst. Though for tomorrow I'm developing "will my new dryer fit down the stairs (that I measured many times)" angst.
I have a new hat:
The Lady Detective Hat from the Knit 2 Together book. It still needs a buckle. I'll get one when I get my yarn for Lizard Ridge...
I also knit a sock:
And, started the second one. Sock knitting makes me happy right now. It is simple and predictable.
Though I have a big case of startitis. I want a pair of felted clogs to keep my feet warm on the ceramic tile floors (see Steph's here-they're nifty).
And I really want to start this.
Collette from Rowan's Vintage Style. I've had the yarn and book since the Fall and just haven't found the time. I'm too tired to start swatching tonight. And I don't know where the book is (yes, in a box, but more specifics are required). I'll stick with the sock.
Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code A good distraction courtesy of Jacquie. There's lots of good stuff going on right now, and I have a post in waiting. So this is just filler for now.
Poor Mermaid has been cast aside again in my lust for something quick to knit.
I made myself one of Kate Gilbert's Shining Star hats using Noro Cash Iroha. It's a nifty pattern, knit from the top down, and was really fun.
The yarn is also lovely, but didn't behave quite the way I wanted it to. After a wash it grew--a lot. So I had to toss it in the dryer (it's silk, wool and cashmere) until is was completely dry to get it back down to the correct size.
I didn't swatch first, because a hat is a swatch in my books. But now I'm really leery about making a sweater from this yarn because I can't imagine how big it would be when I was finished.
I love the hat though. Very soft. Very pink.
I finally remembered to take a picture of Craig in his new hat and socks. The hat is a remake of this one which he lost in November. It's not exactly the same, but I like it better.
Next time I will remember to do a few less rows on the top so it will fit a bit better (I'll remember because I'm writing it here!). I used Paton's Classic Wool and an old Paton's pattern from a book entitled Where'd you get that hat! The hat isn't meant to be felted. I doubled the yarn and needles and just made it as written--except the bull's eye top, that's my creation. It shouldn't work, but it does and Craig is happy for it.
The socks were made with Confetti yarn and some Elann grey sock stuff because I ran out of the MC.
I love seeing his feet walking around in socks I made him. He finds the yarn a bit itchy so I may have to spring for some Koigu or something equally soft. Anyone know any soft sock yarns with really generous yardage? He's got big feet so I'll need the equivalent of three skeins of Koigu.
Exams and paperwork--DONE!
Pirate Hat--DONE!
Cute eh? I think I overdid it with the steam blocking, so I'll probably wash it to get it back to size. I would probably go down a needle size next time. I used Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino and I love this yarn. Lovely stitch definition and really really soft. Here's a shot of the top:
Now what to do with the rest of my holiday? Well, I really should start coding some data for my next paper and work on my CV for "almost-dream job" application (I don't think I have a dream job, but this one fills most of what I want) and I could clean up the post-Christmas disaster left by four lazy folks (ie my family) but instead I'm thinking some beers with friends and some knitting are in order. I'm in the mood to finish things, I think the Daisy Shawl is next on my list.
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
