Tag: Gift Knitting

Science Doll

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December 24, 2010

7:00 am

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(Or, Hey, Look, There’s Some Knitting on the Supposed Knitting Blog!)

This is my friend, Sarah:

Well, a toonified representation of her alter ego, Science Doll, anyway. She’s smart as a whip, and you can follow her at her her site or her twitter feed.

I’d wanted to make something for her for quite a while, but I wasn’t sure what to make. And then I heard about the Stitched Selves that went on display in London last summer. How could I not make her her very own Sci Doll doll?

Sci Doll

Project Specs:
Pattern: Stitch Yourself (Knit) by Whodunnknit
Yarn: Cascade 220 in Natural for the body; Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight in Thraven for the shoes, and a bit of some alpaca blend for the hair.
Needles: Size US4 bamboo DPNs for the body, size US1 bamboo DPNs for the shoes

I made her a little skeleton of chenille stems (what we used to call “pipe cleaners” when I was a kid) so the arms and legs are poseable and attach to a spine that keeps the head from just flopping over. Her skirt is made of wide wired Christmas ribbon that I folded in half before bending it into the pleats. It’s sewn in place, right onto the body. The shirt is made of white felt, cut and sewn on. I made the hair by looping a length of yarn around and around a little toy beeper (it was the right size), sewing through the middle, and cutting the loops on either side, then sewing it to the top of the head. Finally, I embroidered the face.

The knitting itself was super quick. The clothing was a little trickier. I would have liked to give her some knee socks, but couldn’t quite get them scaled right.

When I handed it to her, she said, “It’s a little me!” The best reaction I could have asked for, really.

Lil Miss also really liked the doll, so I’m going to have to knit up a mini-Lil-Miss for her.

FO Friday: Socks for K

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January 18, 2008

2:21 pm

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I was catching up on one of my mailing lists yesterday, and I realized that I’ve pretty much managed to avoid a problem that seems to plague knitters everywhere.

Unappreciated Gift Giver Syndrome.

Those of you who have experienced the UGGS know the symptoms all too well. Aching hands and tired eyes (from hours of knitting), only to have your beautiful gift insulted, abused, or sent off to the local thrift shop, leading to sore throats (from screaming about the unfairness of it all) and strange bruises (from kicking walls, curbs, or other stationary objects in an effort to relieve the frustration).

In these post-holiday weeks, scores of tales of knitters (and crocheters) suffering from the UGGS have appeared on mailing lists and blogs and Ravelry boards.

I have avoided this by protecting myself from the sole disease vector: I very rarely knit for other people. I knit for myself, and if I don’t like it when it’s done, well, I’m not insulted. And I knit for the Little Miss, who, being pre-verbal, can’t complain about what I give her. From time to time, I’ve knit for K, who reminded me several times before the holidays that I still hadn’t knit her a pair of socks.

How could I refuse a wish for handknit socks, I ask you?

So, I cast on in mid-December, and before midnight on New Year’s Eve I was able to present these to K:

 

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  • Pattern: Retro Rib socks, from Favorite Socks
  • Yarn: Lime & Violet Sasquatch Superwash in Connect 4, from the Loopy Ewe
  • Needles: Set of 5 Brittany Birch size US1.5 dpns, one of which snapped just rows from the end of the toe of the second sock.  They’re sending a replacement, because they are spiffy that way.
  • Comments: I really liked this yarn, and I really liked this pattern, although I always wonder if ribbing is easier for those who knit Continental.  I’ll have to try it sometime.  I liked the yarn and the pattern so much that I’m working up a matching scarf for K, using the pattern from the ribbing at the cuff, on US3 needles.  That may be ready for next winter.

I haven’t cast on a new pair of socks yet.  I’m still hard at work on the Hooded Jacket – all the way up to the beginning of the hood now.

A Jacket!

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October 8, 2006

2:41 pm

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061007c

Behold! The “Hello” Sweater! Or, as our niece exclaimed when she opened her birthday present, “A jacket!”

It’s a pattern from an old issue of Workbasket magazine. I don’t know which issue, because I got the pattern as a photocopy from a knitting store in Encino. It’s supposed to have the word “Hello” worked in intarsia across the back, but (a) I thought that looked a little silly, and (b) I’ve never done intarsia.

I’d never done a crocheted edge before, either, but there it is. And you know what doing a crocheted edge means? It means more ends to weave in! Just thought I’d mention that.

There were a few issues in the making of this sweater. The original pattern has two colors in the ribbing – the first two rows in one color, the rest of the ribbing in a second color, and then the body of the sweater in the main color. The sample sweater in the store was only worked in two colors – one for the ribbing and edging, and one for the main body. I ended up doing two rows of the contrast color and then switching the main color, rather than doing all the ribbing in the contrast color, for reasons even I can’t explain. Also, on the advice of the nice lady at the store, we bought one skein of the contrast color and two of the main color.

You know what happened next, right?

Of course, I ran out of the main color early in the yoke. Five days before the birthday. We called the shop, and they had 5 skeins of the right color… from a different dye lot. I tried to call around, but I had no luck. We drove out to Encino and took all five skeins out into the sunlight and took the closest match.

It came out pretty close. And the sweater is darn cute on the recipient.

Deadline Knitting

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October 5, 2006

12:46 pm

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Work continues on the Seekrit Gift Project. Last night’s festivities including weaving in about 56 yarn tails and sewing seams. It was Part II of the sewing, actually, since I did about half of the weaving and seaming Tuesday night.

At least last night’s fun also included the season premiere of Lost.

Tonight, I attempt to crochet an edging. And buttonholes. Wish me luck.

Knit a Little

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September 11, 2006

3:29 pm

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Hey, yeah, remember knitting?

I remember it, too!  I’ve even been doing some of it.  I started working on a sweater for the baby while we were in Alaska, which then got pushed aside when I started working on a Secret Gift-Type Project.  And those Retro Rib Socks are still in my bag, waiting for me to work on them now that I have a second set of the needles.

Maybe for my next entry, I’ll even have pictures.

In the meantime, let’s go look at some pretty pictures in the new Knitty, shall we?

Let us start with Sherwood, which is so darn cute.  And then let us contemplate Serrano, which is lovely.  And, really, lacy cardigans might just be one of the few practical knitting items here in sunny Southern California.  And Diamante intrigues me with its promise of a heel turn that doesn’t result in a hole in the knitting.

There we go, three new projects to ponder until I manage to get some actual pictures of actual knitting progress up here.

Needle, Needle, Who’s Got the Needle?

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May 23, 2006

5:51 pm

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Last Friday, we had tickets to see The Da Vinci Code. Despite the fact that I was sick, I headed over to theater extra early to get us some good seats, since K would be cutting it close getting there.

I brought the Retro Rib sock, tucked in my small knitting bag, tucked in my Kitchensink bag.

I found great seats. Up high, right in the center. I pulled out the sock.

Why, exactly, must they keep the lights so low before the previews even start? And have you ever tried knitting a navy blue sock in the dark?

I did one round, then stashed the sock in the bag.

Can you see where this is going?

I did not manage to stash it in the knitting bag. I stashed it in the Kitchensink bag, which is an expandable mesh pattern.

A couple of nights ago, I pulled out the sock to work on during the Desperate Housewives finale, and I discovered my fifth needle is missing.

Grrr.