Two Days ’til Christmas…

… and the stocking is done!

K's Stocking - Done!

(Yes, I blurred K’s full name.)

Pattern: Candy Cane Santa Stocking by Donna Race
Source: Dimensions Gold Collection kit via Jo-Ann Fabric
Notes: This is the third (and final) family stocking, and it definitely took me the longest. It’s also the only one I actually did the final sewing on. (The first sewing I’ve done since I was 14!) Like the others, I lined the front with the white felt that came in the kit and used red felt to create the back of the stocking. It’s probably a good thing that Santa doesn’t stuff the grown-ups’ stockings in our house, since this one might be just a little bit fragile at the seams.

Science Doll

(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.

Marching to the Finish

Even though I didn’t make it by the Closing Ceremonies of the 2010 Olympics, I was determined to finish my Greenjeans sweater. I finished the last few rows and sewed on the button this morning.

Greenjeans

I am not in love with the button after all. I need to take it off and move it inward (away from the bound-off edge) anyway, so I might replace it entirely.

I decided to try out the timer setting on our camera, with mixed results:

Mr. Greenjeans

It’s an incredibly comfortable sweater, despite the sleeves being a teeny bit too long (which was completely my own doing).

Mr. Greenjeans

Pattern: Mr. Greenjeans, by Amy Swenson, from the Fall 2007 issue of Knitty
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, about 12 balls
Needles: US8 and US7
Notes: Thank you, Amy, for writing the instructions for picking up the neck-/buttonband the way you did. If I had realized ahead of time that I was about to pick up 262 stitches, it probably would have given me more pause. Since my row gauge was off, I did extra rounds on the sleeves in between decreases, and I made the sleeves full-length. I also made the body a little longer.

This was a really nice, clear, straightforward sweater pattern.  It’s been quite a while since I made a sweater for myself.  I should make some more.

Meet the Mantis

Now that the Knit Picks catalog for March has arrived, I can show you all my favorite recent knit for them, the Praying Mantis, from Amigurumi Knits.

Closer Shot of Mantis on a Wall

Clearly deep in contemplation, she’s a thoughtful one.

Also, being an outdoorsy sort, she can’t resist climbing a nice tree.

Mantis in a Tree

But she didn’t mind hanging out at work with me, either.

Checking out my Cubicle

She found that Piggie, who regularly appears as my Ravatar image, is a very good listener.

Mantis and Piggy

But then she seemed to be getting just a little bit too close for comfort, so it was time to send her off to Washington for her professional photo shoot.

Mantis and Piggy

Knit from Wool of the Andes in Green Tea Heather and Fairy Tale (which is a really nice shade of purple) with two sets of bamboo DPNs.  Chenille stems down the legs and in the thorax keep her upright, and fiberfill in her abdomen and head round her out (so to speak).

I really, really like knitting toys. I’m going to have to knit a Mantis for myself.  With the right colors, I could totally make myself a little N’Grath.

Not Another Hobby

Last night, while watching Night at the Museum II, I put the final touches on the not-a-surprise jackalope for K.

Jackalope!

Isn’t he cute? He’s so cute, in fact, that Little Miss keeps grabbing him and telling me that “the rabbit” is her “favorite animal”.  It’s a good thing I was already planning on making a second one.

Jackalope!

I love Hansi Singh’s wacky patterns from this book. They’re just so much fun! I think I found one tiny error – a line that reads “K1, K23” (actually, it’s not 23, but I don’t remember the number) instead of “Sl1, K23”, which would make a lot more sense.  There are a few fiddly bits in the pattern, but it’s so worth it. And, wow, these amigurumi knits really are a good way to practice things like various increases, picking up stitches, and kitchener.

Jackalope!

The Details:

Pattern: Jackalope, by Hansi Singh, from Amigurumi Knits, but she’s also had the pattern out separately in her Etsy shop.
Yarn: Cascade 220, something less than 2 skeins, plus scraps of NatureSpun Sport for the face embroidery. I dyed one skein of white Cascade 220 brown with tea, and a small amount red with strawberry Kool-Aid.
Needles: Crystal Palace bamboo DPNs, size 4, two sets.
Started: November 11, 2009
Finished: December 19, 2009

I’ve already started on a second one, actually, in thinner yarn and on smaller needles. A baby jackalope.

After doing the jackalope’s photo shoot in the back yard, I started tidying my desk. I decided to put some Disney pins that were hiding in my drawer out to be seen.

Pins

That’s a shot glass display case there, mostly housing my Tacky Shotglasses of the World collection, a collection I discontinued a few months after Little Miss was born. The Half Marathon pin is from when I ran the race in 2007. The other three pins belonged to my grandmother and came to me after she passed away. After I put them out, I started poking around eBay for other pins. I really don’t need to start collecting Disney pins, right? Right?

Maybe I should go knit another toy.

Victory is Mine!

Zig Zag Diamonds

I finished the Zig Zag Diamonds Socks while watching the Illini lose to Northwestern on Saturday. Well, at least one of us was successful.

Details:
Pattern: Zig Zag Diamonds, by Jeannie Cartmel
Yarn: Wollmeise Sockenwolle 100% Superwash, in “Guide to Galaxy”
Needles: Addi Turbos, size US 1, 2 circs
Started: October 15, 2009
Completed: November 14, 2009
Comments: This would have been a quicker knit if I hadn’t messed up the pattern on the second sock. It was nice to have plenty of yarn for that 3rd sock, though. I’m not loving the way the pattern starts straightaway after the cast-on, even though it’s a 1×1 ribbed stitch pattern. The pattern and yarn were the September shipment for the Loopy Ewe sock club. It also happened to fit the theme for the Sock Knitters Anonymous Sockdown! for October, which is the main reason they got cast on and done so soon.

Zig Zag Diamonds

They are cozy socks. Now, what to do with that extra one?

Sad Sock

One day, I will learn to look carefully at a sock before weaving in the ends. Yesterday, it seems, was not that day.

Zig Zag Diamonds

I had just finished watching Glee while doing the toe decreases and grafting the final seam. I neatly wove in the ends, turned the sock right side out, and put on my snazzy pair of socks.

Zig Zag Diamonds

Something didn’t look right. It took a minute to figure out what it was (and move past the Denial stage). The patterning didn’t match.

Oops

Somehow, on the second sock, I zigged when I should have zagged after the heel turn.

Wollmeise comes in a extra-large skein: 150g instead of the usual 100. My finished sock weighs 42g, and I have over 70g left. I would rather knit a whole third sock than rip out that woven in end, frog, and reknit the entire foot with the kinked-up yarn. I’m just not quite ready to cast on yet.

Scarf Weather

When my first installment of the Loopy Ewe Sock Club arrived, I knew there was no way that beautiful skein of cashmere blend was going to become socks.  It was so soft and lovely that I just kept the hank on my desk for weeks, regularly gazing at it and every now and then giving it just a little squeeze.

Handmaiden Casbah

Gorgeous blue and green, and so very squooshy. I decided right away that it was going to be a scarf of some sort, but I needed to find the perfect pattern.

And then came an email from Chrissy, looking for a few testers for upcoming patterns. I was assigned a scarf with lace and cables, designed for Handmaiden’s Swiss Mountain Cashmere & Silk. And I knew exactly what my Casbah was destined to become.

Midnight Lace Scarf

Project Specs:
Pattern: Midnight Lace Scarf, by Chrissy Gardiner. Available at many retailers.
Yarn: Handmaiden Casbah, “Ocean Currents” Colorway. Used as much of the skein as possible.
Needles: Size US 6
Dimensions: 6″ x 64″ – about an inch narrower and shorter than the pattern.
Notes: I blocked this really aggressively, because I knew I had less yardage than the pattern called for. While this works for the lace, the cables are a little bit more stretched out than I would like. Still, the scarf is incredibly soft and cozy. I found the pattern easy to follow and easy to memorize, but with just enough action to keep me interested.

I finished the scarf in early May, just in time for temperatures to hit the 90s around here. This autumn, I’m going to be hard-pressed to decide between this and my green Bugga! Clapotis. I can hardly wait.

The Deadliest… Finger Puppets?

I finished Crabby Crawl for Little Miss over the weekend, but I couldn’t resist playing with the pieces before sewing them up.

The Deadliest Finger Puppet

Creepy, aren’t they? I tried to get a picture of them curling around a door frame, but I couldn’t quite contort myself enough to get a photo of my own hand in that position. And the other members of my household may have had enough of my crab-leg-fingers after I put them on and waved them around eerily in the semi-darkness as we watched The X-Files: I Want to Believe.

Once they were stuffed and sewn onto Mr. Crabby Crawl, though, they were downright cute.

Deadliest Crab

Project Specs

Pattern: The Deadliest Crab, by Amber Allison, in the Summer ’09 issue of Knitty

Yarn: Cascade 220. The white is from a batch I bought at Stitches West a few years back; the orange is from The Loopy Ewe. It took just over half a skein of orange and about a quarter skein of the white.

Needles: Size US4 Crystal Palace DPNs. I went down to 4s, and you can still see stuffing through the stitches in some places.

Notes: The pattern is pretty easy to follow, especially now that the decrease error has been corrected. I also picked up the stitches for the bottom shell in the wrong direction – watch out for that, or you end up with a reverse stockinette belly! I don’t trust “safety eyes” in knitted fabric for the under-3 set, so I cut circles out of black and white felt and sewed them on with matching embroidery floss.

Deadliest Crab

Little Miss found him in the den on Monday morning and immediately exclaimed, “Crabby Crawl!” She proceeded to carry him around by one leg for quite a while. Ah, a girl and her crustacean. Is there a sweeter sight?

Hey, Look, Knitting!

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

Alphabet Blanket

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.

Clearly, I Need A Bigger Blocking Board

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.

Bibs for Knit Picks

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.