ooh...

Go check out the surprises for knitty.com


I'm digging the dragonfly sweater (but w/ 1 yarn).

H2O Bottle cozy II

I made another cozy. This time, I sorta kept track of the pattern.
1)Start with 8 stitches. Every other round increase in this series [k1, inc1, repeat to end of round...k round...k2, inc 1etc....k round...etc.] until bottom circle measures 7 inches. Stop increasing and knit in round (60 stitches) until 13 inches. knit bumper and bind off. I added a pocket for this cozy (eh hem, for my gym card) and the strap is 40 inches of not i-cord (5 stitches stockinette).

I had to 'experiment' (ripped it about 6 times, but who's counting?!) as I knitted because the first several times, there was massive pooling of colours, and that just won't do. I had to rip and reknit, trying to get that striped effect. I ended up just keeping track of the colours and making sure of the colour changes.

It ends up that for my loosey knitting style and US10 needles, I was able to knit the yarn such that it appears striped.

When I felted this, I started to worry because it was too large!. I had to do additional hand felting in the kitchen sink until it was the correct size. The edge I'm still not too happy about, I suppose I can try to spot felt this area, but then that may just be too much of a hassle.

Specifics:
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool in Harvest (less than 1 skein)
needles: 10dpn and US10 circs for magic loop
time: a couple of days?

Things to do differently:
1)Probably not put a lip on the cozy.
2)Figure out a way to change the pocket. Maybe do it in one of the solids.
3)Just make it a tad smaller so I don't have to over-full it.
4)Try to find a knitted swatch of the yarn before I make a whole cozy (altho' this is growing on me, I'm not that keen on the orangy bits).

Scharffen Berger good...

I'm done with the scarf for my favorite brother (okay, he's my only brother). I lived with him for a year between college and grad school, and he still talks to me (well, that would be sometimes talks, but he's great at answering emails). Anyway, it's his birthday in late February. As I mentioned, I opted for a mock cable pattern.

Here's the specifics:
started:Jan 10, 2007
finished: Jan 28, 2007 (I worked on a bunch of other stuff too)
yarn: Stag. 100% cashmere made by Todd & Duncan. These yarns are from 3 plies of their standard laceweight (2/28Nm) yarns. ColourmartUK yarn.
needle: US4 Clovers
Cast on: 44 stitches

I may have overblocked it. It looks more lacy than I originally wanted, but we'll see how it looks once it sprongs back. Even if it's a bit lacy, I'd say this is very 'manly' lace.

I love adore crave this yarn. When I received it from UK, I was so not impressed. But upon washing and drying, oh, my friggin gosh. Yep, it's better than chocolate...

kid's hats

I went to the San Leandro LYS last week to find yarn for a boy kid's hat, since I just had a lovely lunch at Luke's Grill with a good friend. Wait, that didn't come out right...I had a lovely lunch at LG, then, since I was in the neighborhood, I stopped by the LYS...yeah, that was it...I was in the neighborhood anyways... They are the mecca of Encore, btw. If you need any in any colour, they have it. I was originally looking for some exotic type yarn, or maybe some sort of brownish wool for a 1 year old's hat (his birthday),but I fell in love with this Encore colorway which results in subtle stripes.

I followed the directions from Weekend Knitting (or was that Last Minute Gifts?) and made this.

Specs:
yarn: Encore (less than half a skein)
needles: US6 because that's what I had handy
cast on:64 stitches (originally calculated that I needed to cast on 82 stitches, knit 2 inches of the yarn, realized that this had would fit my head)
followed the pattern for toddler exactly.

With what I had left, I made myself Calorimeter from Knitty. Again, I followed directions. Altho' at the end, I had a bit of yarn left, so I thought I'd knit another row or two (ended up being another inch). Figured, heh, not a big deal. bound off, put on button, THEN tried it on. Looked dumb...Ripped it back to where I should have bound off and bound off properly. Yes, should follow directions.

I had started off making Panta, but the striping looked funny, liked blocks of colour instead of stripes. So I ripped that one. I liked the look of Panta, so I shall make one (perhaps out of decadent cashmere). I'll post a pic another time.

I also made the cupcake hat for my lil cupcake. Instead of casting on 80 stitches, I casted on 64. When I switched to pink, I added an additional 8 stitches so that it would be pouffier. All I can say is that those little frosting things, a pain to do. I opted not to put the red cherry on top because I can see lots of chewing swallowing issues with a mommy-made pompom...I don't want to find red yarn poop in her diapers...

Faux Cable with Real Cashmere

I'm knitting with the fingering cashmere. Oh, my...so lovely...It's a scarf for my brother who's birthday is at the end of February. Did I mention it's lovely? Since he lives in SoCal, he's not in dire need for anything heavy and bulky, so I didn't really want to make him something thick and overly warm. I'm a tad hesitant on giving him a gift that doesn't go away (he loves getting consumables since then he's not left with 'stuff'), but I figure he'll like it. It's made from the yarn I just hanked out and washed, then rewound.

I chose a faux cable pattern I saw on some, then proceeded to tweek it. Here's my version. Cast on 44 stitches
knit 3, purl 2, start pattern: (YO, knit3,ssk, knit5, purl 2)X3, knit 3
knit 3, knit 2, pattern: (purl4, purl 2 tog, purl 3, YO, purl 1, knit 2)X3, knit 3
knit 3, purl 2, pattern (knit 3, YO, knit3, ssk, knit2, purl 2)X3, knit 3
knit 3, knit 2, pattern: (purl2, purl 2 tog, purl 3, YO, purl 3, knit 2)X3, knit 3
knit 3, purl 2, pattern (knit 1, YO, knit3, ssk, knit4, purl 2)X3, knit 3
knit 3, knit 2, pattern: (purl 2 tog, purl 3, YO, purl 5, knit 2)X3, knit 3

that's the pattern.

I'll do a beauty shot when it's done.

Niddy Noddy

I'm going to see how much of a hassle it is to prewash the cashmere from colourmart before handknitting.

But I'm without a niddy noddy and the thought of winding around a chair doesn't hold much appeal--what's a girl to do? I bought PVC pipe, 2X T connectors and end caps(and a PVC pipecutter, because I needed one) and made the niddy noddy in less than 5 minutes with directions found here

I did have to read instructions and watch a video(several times) as to how to use a niddy noddy--the first couple of times I wrapped the wrong way and had to de-niddy noddy
or is that noddy niddy or yddin yddon?!

And yes, that is a paper towel holder I'm using to steady the cone.

The rhyme goes like this:
Niddy noddy, niddy noddy.
Two heads, one body.
'Tis one, 'tain't two,
'Twill be two by and by.
'Tis two, 'tain't three,
'Twill be three by and by, etc.

I was going to try this ditty, but then couldn't figure out what constitutes a complete line vs. wrapping...so I just kept saying niddy noddy, niddy noddy...(z thought that this is a funny word and kept repeating it too.

I want to be an after...

Wait, was I going to make any more scarves? Why, yes I am. I've actually purchased a bunch of (insert expensive) yarn for the sole purpose of knitting scarves...

As an aside, I cannot do this. I can try, but I'd be setting myself up to fail. That's like going on a super strict diet, starving for 3 days, then blowing it by eating a box of chocolates...then beating myself up... Oh, wait, that's what happened, I wasn't starving myself, but I've managed to consume almost a whole container of lovely chocolates. Anyway, I'll try to do it the slow and true way, try my best with yarn I have, and if I have to have something? well, I won't buy the sweater's worth, I'll buy enough for a scarf, or socks or something small...moderation. See, I'll count points. I want to be an 'after'...

I did see a blog where for every 15lbs the blogger lost, she gives herself $30 for yarn (I forget where, I'll look it up tomorrow if anyone's really interested), and if she doesn't lose, no yarn. See, that doesn't work for me either, since I (now) have enough yarn to keep me busy for a really long time. That just isn't incentive for me...but hey, whatever gets you motivated.

Anyway, I found this pattern for the scarf on this site and it called for the gauge/amount yarn I had available. So I had to knit this sucker up. She's got a free pattern for a chemo cap with the same pattern and a smoke ring too, but I figured which would I (or whoever I gave this to) wear more frequently...yep, scarf.

Conclusions: This is a lovely yarn to work with. If you've got the $$, spend it at my new favorite yarn vendor (Colourmart.com). Yes, he's got an intarweb store and it's got some lovelies. And it's cheaper than the ebay site. As for the scarf pattern: I was able to complete the repeats, and I think I did half more than the pattern. The only modification to this pattern is that I didn't do the 6 rows of garter, I only did 3. Given how the bottom is a tad wonky, mayhaps I should have done the extra rows. I really like this pattern, I think I'll do another one, but as a wrap.

Here's the scarf. The specifications:
Pattern: Wavy Feathers Qiviut Scarf from site above
Started: 01/05/07
Blocked: 01/08/07
Yarn: 100% fingering weight cashmere
yds: 250yds --that little bit is what's left
needle: US7 Susan Bates plastic circulars
Final length: ~60 inches

What was I thinking?!

A highway patrolman pulled alongside a speeding car on the freeway. Glancing at the car, he was astounded to see that the lady behind the wheel was knitting!
Realizing that she was oblivious to his flashing lights and siren, the trooper cranked down his window, turned on his bullhorn and yells, "PULLOVER!"
"NO," she yelled back over the sound of the siren, "It's a SCARF!"

Har Har Har!

Here's the scarves in all their glory...

Individually, they look like this:

Purply kerchief ala old pattern (knitlist?). It's knit only w/ rib at the place the hole is for the other side. I had to make this up as I went since it was too bulky.


This scarf is a red farrows rib. Knit by (3k1p)Xn last stitch knit. I casted on 33 stitches.
Red flora w/o stamins. From Knitty. Didn't like the stamins for this. Also, the red flower itself was huge and floppy.



Red zigzag scarf. Cast on 18. K 1 row, next row Increase at start and decrease at end. All done in knit stitch.



Blue kerchief. Like the purply one.


Maroon 3X2 rib: Cast on gee I don't remember.



Green diagnal. Cast on 32 stitches. Knit 2 then pattern knit 2.


Another flora, this time w/ small crochet flower.


Blue feather/fan. Cast on 28 stitches and 2 knit stitches on sides. This is a 4Ktog,8YO,4Ktog pattern.


Red swirly scarf. Done lengthwise, feather/fan style with knit front/back instead of YO.


If you really want any of the patterns, I can make it up for you (maybe). Leave a comment if intersted. (I know, bad blogger knitter for not keeping better track of the scarves, but hey, I was under strict time constraints.

Back from SoCal vacation

Just got back from socal visit. Didn't stop at the funky yarn shop in HB (California Yarn Sales). I've gotten some feltable wool from Miki as well as some brown mohair yarn that I planned on using to make a shawl. Maybe next trip I 'll swing by there... no, I haven't made a felted something, nor have I made a shawl, but that's on 'the list'. That shop's so cool. They've got stuff piled high and in nooks and crannies. I love that type of shop. (Not to say that I don't like well-organized LYS either, it's just that I feel that I'll be able to find some sort of gem in a store like that). And I like dealing with folks that have been in business for a long while.

So, it was a good trip. Got to see all my sibs (4 of them) and their progeny. That would be 6 nephews. Yes, we have THE girl. One thing is that the boys are super well behaved. Dinner out was very amusing. The boys range from age 10 down to 1 and they were able to sit through dinner out at a pretty nice restaurant and keeping the adults entertained. Well, actually, mine ate alittle, and seriously fell asleep in his chair until we were done.(sigh)

The only really sucky thing was that the car died on the way back. Thank goodness z&a's dad figured it out when we lost electricity on 580...in Pleasanton(oh, and not in the middle of nowhere I5). btw, if your cruise control goes out mysteriously, followed by various warning indicator lights coming on, followed by your headlights going dim, you may want to pull over. So, New Year's Eve was spent our wonderful friends home. The car? It got towed to a dealer's service station. We're awaiting (with bated breath) how much it's going to cost...

But other than that, it was a good trip. An update. The car's problem was the alternator.