Debbie Bliss – This Tangled Skein

Hey, Look, Knitting!

June 12, 2009

10:11 am

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.

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.

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: 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.