Baby Knitting – This Tangled Skein

But is it a Sport?

February 20, 2010

6:30 pm

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Baby Knitting, Life of the Knitter, Stash Enhancement

My mother-in-law (who lives with us and cares for Little Miss during the day) announced yesterday that in 20 years, we should expect to see Little Miss on the US Olympic Curling Team, because they’ve been watching so much of it during the day, while K and I are at work. This fed into an ongoing discussion of whether curling is a sport. If a woman who is five months pregnant can still compete at something, is that something a sport? This led to other activities that could arguably be considered “not sports”: bowling, horseback riding, car racing, etc.

“What about knitting?” I asked. “Is that a sport?”

“No,” said K, without a moment’s hesitation.

“It is the way I do it!”

I made it to Unwind yesterday afternoon. It turns out that they weren’t closed on Thursday – the fellow who cleans the windows had turned the sign around, and I just didn’t push hard enough on the door. But it worked out well, since the size US7 circ I bought had just arrived in the meantime. In fact, I got to pluck it right out of the shipping box.

I bought some Merino VIII as well, because I’ve added the Olympic Reindeer Hat to my Olympic ambitions this year.

I’m not sure where I think I’m going to find all this extra time. I leave for Stitches West in about five and a half days now, I’m still working on my homework swatches for my Suitable Seams class, I’ve just managed to get a couple repeats of the cable/rib pattern on the body of Mr. Greenjeans done, I’m working on a test knit of a sock for Chrissy Gardiner’s next book (oh, yes, it’s coming, and it will be even better than Toe-Up!, I tell you), I have a book to read for my monthly book club, and, y’know, I have this full-time job.

Still, before I leave for 3 days of knitterly festivities, it would be nice to at least leave K with an Olympic hat to keep her head warm all weekend.

Hey, Look, Knitting!

by beth

June 12, 2009

10:11 am

1 Comment on Hey, Look, Knitting!

Yarn

Alphabet Blanket, Baby, Baby Knitting, Bibs, Blankets, Chicago Illusion, Debbie Bliss, Finished, In Progress, Knit Picks, Knitting, Sanguine Gryphon, Test Knitting, WIP

In my long blog silence, there has been knitting. Last night, I finished off a blankie for Little Miss.

Specs:
Pattern: Alphabet Blanket
Designer: Debbie Bliss
Source: The Baby Knits Book, courtesy of my library system
Yarn: Patons Grace, hot pink, 9 skeins
Needles: Addi Turbo Lace, sizes US 2 & 3
Comments: Bliss suggests her own (now discontinued) Wool/Cotton Blend for this pattern. I had this Patons Grace (originally intended for a pair of matching Reid sweaters for my niece and Little Miss) in my stash. Of course, using mercerized cotton for a lace blanket was not the best idea I ever had, but I think it turned out rather pretty, and I’m sure the various joints in my hands will stop aching really soon. I used Russian joins throughout, which are a little bit bulky in the DK weight cotton, but not noticeable unless you’re really looking for them. And since the Patons Grace had at least one knot in almost every skein, I did a LOT of joining.

I really need to make a second blocking board. I had to block the blanket folded in half.

I left it overnight and took it off this morning, spreading it over our coffee table, still slightly damp.

To celebrate completing the blanket, I cast on a new blankie, this time an illusion-knit one in Sanguine Gryphon Traveller. I’ve never done illusion knitting before.

Speaking of new-to-me techniques and finished objects, my most recent contribution to Knit Picks was in the May catalog.

The Fruity Bibs were my first go at intarsia in cotton. The Knit Picks Comfy, by the way, is incredibly soft. Just lovely, lovely stuff. The buttons are sweet little shell buttons I bought at Unwind, my fantastic LYS.

And speaking of Knit Picks, I ordered a batch of CotLin for Miss Honeychurch, about which I’ll have more to say on Monday.

WiP Wednesday: Baby Tart

by beth

February 6, 2008

9:21 pm

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Yarn

Baby, Baby Knitting, Baby Tart, In Progress, Knitting, WIP

I have a new method of tackling my stash. I’m working alphabetically. You see, Ravelry displays my stash alphabetically, so I decided to just start working at the beginning.

Except I’m not, really, since the first yarn listed is Austermann Step, and I keep changing my mind about what to do with it. Instead, I cast on the Berroco Cotton Twist for a Baby Tart.

The color in that picture is not at all true. The yarn is shiny, and the “crust” is a nice golden color, while the “filling” is a bluish-purple shade. It’s turning out to be really cute, but those bobble decreases are tough. I’m nervous about the Denises, since I broke the join the last time I tried to work cotton yarn on them. For most of the K3TOGs, I’m using a separate DPN with a nice sharp tip, and I’m having a lot of trouble pulling the loop through without splitting it. I have some of the golden yarn left, and I was thinking of trying to make the smallest size for a gift stash, but I don’t think so. I think I’ll use it for sock puppet hair or something instead.

FO Friday: Hooded Jacket

by beth

January 25, 2008

5:30 pm

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Yarn

Baby, Baby Knitting, Debbie Bliss, Finished, FO, Hooded Jacket, Knitting

Huzzah! The Debbie Bliss Hooded Jacket is done!

Pattern: Hooded Jacket from Simply Baby, by Debbie Bliss
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, 7 skeins
Needles: Size 9 Denise Interchangeable
Notions: One large plastic button, picked up at a garage sale
Comments: A pretty quick knit, and not too hard. I learned the backwards-loop cast-on to make the hood, and I got to practice my seaming. (That would be putting a positive spin on it there. I got to practice my seaming more than I might have expected, since I sewed the underarms the wrong way and had to pull it out and do it again.)

Now for the bad news. After all that worry about finishing the jacket so she could wear it this winter, it’s too big. I suspect that by next winter, it will be too small. Gah. Maybe it will be just right on a day we have strangely cold weather. One can hope.

FO Friday: Socks for K

by beth

January 18, 2008

2:21 pm

2 Comments on FO Friday: Socks for K

Yarn

Baby, Baby Knitting, Family, Favorite Socks, Finished, FO, Gift Knitting, Hooded Jacket, In Progress, Interweave, Knitting, Lime & Violet, Loopy Ewe, Retro Rib, Socks, WIP

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:

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.

WiP Wednesday: Hooded Jacket

by beth

January 9, 2008

5:54 am

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Yarn

Baby, Baby Knitting, Debbie Bliss, Hooded Jacket, In Progress, Knitting, WIP

Sometime early last year, the Black Sheep Knittery had a ridiculously big sale on their entire in-shop inventory. By the time I got there, a lot of stuff was gone, but I did manage to walk out with this:

Two bags of Cashmerino Aran in a pretty shade of gray. I wanted to make the Cardigan for Arwen, and I decided to make a hooded jacket for Little Miss to go with. There’s a cute pattern in Simply Baby for a hooded jacket with a single button closure, made from Cashmerino Aran. Perfect.

Of course, time passed, as it does. I realized I was not going to have enough yarn, so I managed to find 4 balls of the same dye lot from someone on Ravelry. More time passed. I realized that my baby, who at 9 months was the size of the average 18-month-old, was going to quite quickly be too big for the jacket.

So, I cast on.

I’m hoping to get this done with time for her to wear it before the weather gets too warm. I am not likely to finish Arwen anytime soon (especially since I haven’t started it), but at least the baby will get a cute hooded jacket.

FO Friday!

by beth

October 19, 2007

1:03 pm

1 Comment on FO Friday!

Yarn

Baby Knitting, Blankets, Donation Knitting, Finished, FO, In Progress, Knitting, Lace, Pinwheel Blanket, Secret of the Stole, WIP, Wraps

That’s the Colonial Williamsburg Pinwheel Baby Blanket, all done and washed and dried and laid out and sat upon by the cat and brushed off and taken away from the cat and laid out again.

I put a bit of a rush on it early in the week so I could take it to a meeting on Wednesday to show the folks who might want to purchase it at next month’s fundraiser.

Pattern: Genia Planck’s Round or Pinwheel Baby Blanket, a KnitList pattern I found through Ravelry.
Yarn: Lion Brand Homespun in Colonial and Williamsburg, a bit less than one skein of each.
Needles: Denise Interchangeables, size US10.5, with a cord that just kept getting longer
Modifications: None
New Technique(s): I used the Lighter Circular Beginning (scroll down) to cast on.

Since I was pushing to finish the baby blanket, I thought I was going to fall way behind on Secret of the Stole, but I finished Clue 2 this morning while Little Miss was napping.

The picture quality isn’t very good. The sun was a little too bright for the light yarn on the white blanket. I’ll get a better one after I finish clue #3, which I’ve just printed out.

WiP Wednesday: Colonial Williamsburg

by beth

September 19, 2007

5:46 pm

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Yarn

Baby Knitting, Donation Knitting, In Progress, Knitting, Money Matters, Pinwheel Blanket, WIP

Yes, that’s what I’m going with. The Colonial Williamsburg Pinwheel Baby Blanket is on the needles. The plan is to donate this to a fundraising sale. Twice before, I have donated to this particular sale, and I was frustrated both times by the fact that the items were sold for less than half of what I paid for the materials. It seemed that it would be more practical to just donate the money. But this time, I am knitting out of my stash, from Lion Brand Homespun bought way back sometime in the first year or so I was knitting.

Doesn’t look like much, does it? I did the Lighter Circular Beginning after all, but I’m not entirely sure how I did it. And trying to get 5 stitches of Homespun to stay on 4 size 10.5 bamboo DPNs was an adventure. But I seem to have a circle, rather than a Klein Bottle, so I think I even managed to avoid twisting the stitches.

On the financial front, I’ve decided to go back to using my familiar Quicken 2004. I tried several different money program demos, and I didn’t find anything I liked better, although MoneyWell came close.

FO: Baby Shrug

by beth

July 15, 2007

8:28 pm

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Yarn

Baby, Baby Knitting, Baby Shrug, Debbie Bliss, Finished, FO, Knitting

Pattern: Baby Shrug
Source: Simply Baby, by Debbie Bliss
Size: 12-18 months
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, color 300601 (Lilac), about 5 skeins
Needles: 7 and 8 Denise Interchangeables
Modifications: None

This is a lovely little sweater, but I’m concerned that Little Miss is going to outgrow it before it gets cold here. Especially since my unfortunate row gauge seems to have resulted in a sweater a good three inches shorter than it was supposed to be. Love the yarn, though. Which is good, since I have two bags of it earmarked for a Hooded Jacket for Little Miss and a Cardigan for Arwen for me.

WiP Wednesday

by beth

July 11, 2007

9:30 pm

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Yarn

Baby, Baby Knitting, Baby Shrug, Debbie Bliss, In Progress, Knitting, Ravelry, WIP

Inspired by something I read on (where else?) Ravelry, I’ve decided to start doing WiP Wednesdays. So, of course, I’ve been having technical difficulties with this here blog all evening. But I’m here now, with three hours to spare.

Allow me to present the Baby Shrug, from Debbie Bliss’ Simply Baby.

The yarn is Cashmerino Aran in lilac, purchased from SuperCrafty a few months back. It’s very cute and oh-so-soft, but even though I made the 12-18 month size for Little Miss, who is now only 5 months old, I think she may outgrow it before it gets cold enough to wear it.

The pattern is fairly clear, although I didn’t see any need to switch from straights to circulars – I just used my Denises the entire time. And I ran into an issue in the sleeve shaping after the right front. If one starts with a right side row (as one does) and then works an odd number of rows, then when one reaches the instructions for the front shaping, one is on a wrong side row when the directions say one should be on a right side row. I think I solved this by knitting an extra row (or maybe one row short – I don’t remember), but I’m wondering if I missed something. Missing something would explain why the chest and sleeve measurements are right on, but I seem to have come up a couple of inches short in the length to the shoulder. Well, missing something and the fact that my row gauge is off.