Baby shrugged

Finally a knit to show y'all: a baby shrug/bolero by Debbie Bliss (pattern here) out of my last ball of Classic Merino Wool in royal. Solid red trims.

Not much to say about this one. I'm not crazy about the color pooling, but I think it's cute anyway. It'd be even cuter with a baby inside.

I knit it in the 12-18-month-old size, but my gauge was so loose that I followed the 6-month old sizes. It seems a little big, still, but DB likes her baby knits loose, so I think that's why.

Not alot else to say. I'm very tired: I'm trying to write up and publish my research (and finish said research) so I can graduate in June. When not at work, I'm scrubbing down my house, because my parents are coming to visit at the end of the month, and I've gotta get it all done by next weekend. And, of course, I'm finishing Christmas gifts. Thankfully, this was one of only 3 knits I planned. Burridge is getting left until my BIL's birthday in April, so that's a bit less of my plate. So, yeah, very tired.

Well, that's not right

I started knitting that raglan cardigan for Big Niece a bit ago. I was basically winging it, sort of using the EZ percentage system, but not really, because I made the sleeves 40% instead of 33%. They just seemed too small at 33%. Everything was going fine.

The problem came in with doing the raglan decreases. How deep are a two-year-old's shoulders? I used the chart from the Incredible Custom-Fit Raglan for help. It said that a 2-year-old's raglan should measure 7 inches.

I looked down at my all-but-finished sweater. That was definitely NOT 7 inches!

Frog. Reknit. Still not 7. Frog. Reknit. Yes! Seven inches! Knit the collar, add the buttons, and huzzah, we're done.

But wait a minute. This doesn't look right, does it?



The way that sweater's knit, the sleeves start at her elbows. That can't be right!

Finally, a stroke of genius: the chart meant that the circumference of the raglan was 7", rather than measuring if you lay the sweater flat and go from armpit to neck.

You know what follows. Frog. Reknit. This time I listened to EZ: she suggests making the yoke depth as a quarter of the body measurement. In my case, for the 23 inch chest, that was about 5.5 inches.


That's much better, isn't it?

And check out these adorable buttons. I think they go great with the autumnally warm yarn!

In bloom

Just in time for my department's graduation party, I completed the Rona Lace shawl.

It may also be called my most favorite FO ever. It was wonderful to knit, and the constantly changing pattern kept me interested. In fact, one of the reasons I picked this pattern was that it combined various lace motifs. Y'all know how quickly I get bored. And this did not disappoint! I barely got the urge to knit something else at all, and, in fact, I had a very hard time putting it down!




The second reason I picked this particular pattern was that I thought that the flower motif would complement the bright, spring-green color of the yarn. See, I bought the yarn first -- an impulse buy. I apparently am completely incapable of resisting alpaca. It's just so soft! And the color was nice and springy (I bought this on my husband's birthday...in December). And it was on sale. So, yeah. In the end, I think that the pattern and yarn worked very, very nicely together.

Plus, the color of the yarn complements my favorite dress, which has embroidery of that exact shade of green in it. And, when folded in half, the shawl is the perfect size for me to wear, measuring a little over 5 feet in diameter, or just long enough to reach my hands and cover my whole back.



I love how it looks worn. And it's warm without being at all stuffy or sweaty. I should know -- I wore it last night :)

Of course, the specs:

Pattern: Rona Lace Shawl by Anna Marie Jensen, distributed by Knit Picks
Yarn: Misti Alpaca laceweight, colorway Maize
Needles: Boye Needlemaster size 5
Crochet hook: Susan Bates size H (the pattern didn't specify, so I just picked the size that seemed closest to the size of the needles)
Notes: There are apparently mistakes in the pattern, but I didn't notice. There is an errata page, and this has been covered on the Lace Shawl KAL blog.

Because I just can't get enough, here are some detail shots:






It certainly looks nice blocked (though I couldn't, for the life of me, pin it into a nice circle, and I ruined the peaks on the edges), but it didn't look TOO bad before blocking, either, though a bit too ruffly:



And speaking of things blooming, my husband and I had a lovely date last weekend at the Chicago Botanical Gardens.





Beautiful, no?

And here's my handsome husband:

Twinkle, twinkle

In my recent stash diving adventure, I found a UFO that I'd left to stagnate for a year or so. It was taking up most of a box, and I had been knitting it out of a baby sweater I'd started and was frogging.

So I pulled it out and finished it:



It's the Little Star afghan that was ubiquitous around the crochet community for a while. My mom found some fluffy yarn at Big Lots, and I couldn't think of anything else to make with it. That's the white and pink stuff you see here. Those two colors didn't give me a big enough blanket, so I added some Bernat Baby Boucle, from a baby sweater I became disillusioned with.

So, yeah. It's done. I'm not sure whom I'll give it to.

And I can't resist putting up this picture of Baby Niece wearing the the Trellis I made her:



I also tried to buy sock yarn today, but the store didn't carry any solid-colored sock yarn. I was sad.

Things you didn't know I was working on

Actually, these are things I didn't know I was working on, until I was done! That's how quick they were. So, to make up for my MIA-ness, I present you with not one, but THREE FOs.

All of them *gasp* crocheted!

I just haven't felt like knitting. Something really evil has been going on the last two weeks, you know? The shooting is the worst, but other, more minor things have been happening to just about everyone I know. People getting sick or hurt. People's kids getting sick or hurt. Everyone feeling out of sorts. You know. Everyone seems to be recovering ok, but I'm really hoping for a new streak with this coming week.

Anyway, I needed some soothing-type projects to work on at night, and for some reason, none of the things I have on the needles were appealing. At. All. In fact, knitting wasn't appealing at all.

Moreover, it had to be something for ME.

So I dug out this crazy square blanket I started a while back and started joining the squares. Once I ran out of yarn, I suddenly remembered that I have this enormous stash of mohair-blend yarn that my mom bought at a thrift store a while back. She bought every ball they had, so I have 18 balls of it.

It was just destined to become the Cold Shoulder Capelet from The Happy Hooker:



I made more repeats than the pattern called for to get this length, but, despite the fact that I did not swatch, this yarn worked perfectly for this project.



By the way, the yarn is Riviera Vichy, which, as far as I know, is discontinued. It's 26% mohair, 24% wool, 19% nylon, 18% acrylic, and 3% polyester, making it the most blended yarn in my collection. It's also not a terribly pleasant yarn to work with, but I like the color. The capelet took less than two balls; I've got to figure out what to do with the other 16.

When this was finished (and it took me about 4 hours), I just had to keep crocheting, so I started the Fat Bottom Bag, also from the same book, in Sugar'n'Cream (less than 2 balls):



I even had handles lying around.



The crocheted flower is also from a pattern in Happy Hooker.

Finally, digging around my stash for yarn to finish the blanket with (I just KNOW I have two more skeins of black acrylic. I just cannot find it), I found some more super-old yarn. This was a 60% acrylic/40% wool blend my parents brought me from Greece 7 years ago. I started out with four skeins each of green and navy, and kept thinking they needed to be used together, but hated that color combination. Over the years, I used half the navy, but almost none of the green.

Then I decided it would be perfect for the Knot Ugly shrug (also HH). And it was!



I shortened the sleeves, certain I'd run out of yarn. I didn't. I could have made longer sleeves, but I like it this way. I also made the neck too wide, so it's more of a boobholder than a shrug, and I'm not sure I like it that way. Even adding two rows of double crochet around the edges didn't make it more, um, covering.



I dig the cute button (a plastic daisy), and do like it with this yellow tank. And the crocheted bag!

So yes, lots of FOs for MEMEMEMEME. And some destashing, which makes me happy. It was humbling, though, to see how much my crochet skills have atrophied! Wow, I'm so used to being a decently good knitter that it's hard to remember that I'm only a mediocre crocheter!

No more baby things!

Marathon baby knitting is over. I shipped the package off today after working on it for the last 2 weeks non-stop. I am seriously contemplating taking a break from knitting, if for no other reason but to give my poor hands a break. But we all know I won't.

This weekend I finished 3 more things to add to the pack. Here they are, starting with the most boring.

Obviously, my older niece needed wool socks, too. So I made her a pair. I used size 2 needles this time, and boy did they feel huge. The socks, however, came out to the same size as the blue baby socks I made! So they might be too small. Or the blue ones might be too big. I'm not sure!



(Knitpicks Palette, size 2 DPNs, 32 stitch socks with short-row heel and standard toe, because I was at a friend's house and didn't want to follow a pattern.)

Of course, Niece #2 needed a Trellis like her big sister has:



Please ignore the unevenly spaced buttons.

(Wool-Ease, size 8 needles, smallest size made.)

Finally, I thought another toy might be nice. Since monkeys are an inside joke in our family, and since my brother and sister-in-law got me Knitted Toys for my birthday (in Russian!), I thought that making the monkey from it would be kinda neat.





Altogether, the package included:

-The green hat for my surrogate grandmother
-Thujas for my sister-in-law
-Socks, mittens, and hat set for Niece #2
-Mary Janes for Niece #2
-Trellis for Niece #2
-Socks for Niece #1
-Duckling, monkey, and clown for the girls to share. (I made the clown a loooong time ago. It was the second toy I've ever made. I didn't have a recepient for it when I made it, so it just sat around my house.)

Altogether, 11 knits, 10 of them made in the last 3 weeks...

You know, I really do need to step back from the knitting and, oh, I dunno, clean. But...

By the way, I love the new Knitty! I must make Serrano, Sherwood, and Cablenet. I love Ivy, Diamante, and Red Herring.

If she doesn't like this one...

...she can knit one herself.

I redid this hat, which was returned to me by the recepient because she likes her hats with an upturned brim.



This has got to be the warmest hat EVER. It's basically two hats knit inside each other, giving it a double thickness throughout, plus the brim makes it quadruple thickness around the ears. She'd better like this hat, because I'm kinda tired of remaking them. I'm not crazy about the crown on this one, though, so I may need to redo it.

EDIT: Even though it's really not much of a pattern, I decided to post what I did in case anyone else needs World's Warmest Hat. As always, please do not use this pattern for commercial means (charity bazaars are ok), don't distribute the pattern (just send them to my blog -- it's free!), and let me know if you have any problems (my email is listed on my profile page) and send me pictures of your finished item!

WORLD’S WARMEST HAT

Yarn: Paton’s Classic Merino Wool (100% merino wool, 223 yd/205 m per 100g skein), 2 skeins. You will have a lot of the second skein left over. Hat shown is in Leaf Green.

Needles: US size 8 (5mm) double-pointed needles, set of 5.

Gauge:18 st/4 in in st st. I don't bother measuring row gauge for this, as it's all done in inches.

NOTE: The hat is knit in two steps. Basically, you knit one hat, then pick up stitches along the cast-on edge and knit another hat from that. The second hat folds up inside the first to give you double-thickness, and the brim, therefore, gives two MORE layers around the ears. Because there are two layers, each layer is knit longer than a hat would ordinarily be to accomodate the second layer. If you want your hat to only have one laywer, knit until it measures 7.5 inches before starting decreases (and, obviously, don't pick up for the second layer later).

Directions:

Outer side:Using long-tail method, CO 90 stitches. Divide them among 4 needles to have 30 st on the first needle and 20 on needles 2, 3, and 4.

Join, without twisting.

Work in st st until work measures 9.5 inches from CO edge.

Note: BE SURE TO COUNT ROUNDS, because you’ll need to work the same number of rounds for the lining. To keep track of rows, use a row counter and adjust it each time you come back to needle 1 (the one with 30 st).

Work decreases (be sure to write down how many rounds you worked until the decreases):

Round 1: (k2tog, k8) to end of round. 81 st remaining.
Round 2: (k2tog, k7) to end of round. 72 st remaining.
Round 3: (k2tog, k6) to end of round. 63 st remaining.
Round 4: (k2tog, k5) to end of round. 54 st remaining.
Round 5: (k2tog, k4) to end of round 45 st remaining.
Round 6: (k2tog, k3) to end of round. 36 st remaining.
Round 7: (k2tog, k2) to end of round. 27 st remaining.
Round 8: (k2tog, k1) to end of round. 18 st remaining.

Break off yarn, leaving about 12” tail. Thread through remaining 18 st and pull tightly to gather.

Lining:

With RS of Outer Side facing, pick up and knit 90 st along the CO edge of Outer Side.

Work Cable and Rib pattern (multiple of 10 st):

Round 1: (k2, p2, k4, p2) to end of round.
Round 2: (k2, p2, sl 2 st to cable needle and hold in FRONT of work, k next 2 st, k 2 st from cable needle, p2) to end of round.
Rounds 3-6: Repeat Round 1.

Repeat these 6 rounds until Lining measures 2.5 inches from CO edge. (It took 3 repeats for me, but may take more or fewer depending on your row gauge.) KEEP TRACK of how many rounds you’ve knit.

Switch to st st and work until same number of rounds has been worked for lining as for outer side.

Work Decrease rounds 1-8. Break off yarn, leaving 12” tail. Thread through remaining 18 st and pull tightly to gather.

Finishing: Fold hat so that the lining is on the inside. Thread yarn tails at top of hat through tapestry needle, line up tops of lining and inside, and sew them together with a couple of stitches. Turn hat inside out (lining facing) and weave in all ends and trim (if you plan on blocking the hat, wait until after blocking to trim the ends). Turn hat outside out and fold up brim.

Nina's scarf -- now with pattern!

So I finished the scarf for my surrogate grandmother. Yes, in June. Yes, it's wool. No, I didn't like working on it :) Yes, I still have to make a matching hat!

It's a basic cabled keyhole scarf. I made it a bit longer than most keyhole scarves I've seen, because I wanted the ends to keep the chest warm. I also slipped the LAST stitch in each row, as I read Charlene Schurch does in Sensational Knitted Socks, because that way the slipped stitch is picked up and worked right away, preventing it from stretching out. I'm pretty pleased with it -- it's thick from the cables, warm and soft from the wool, nice and even, and a gorgeous color (I have a thing for green).

So here's me, wearing a T-shirt, skirt, and a THICK WOOL SCARF in the backyard, where it's like 90 degrees. My neighbors musta thought I was nuts, especially with my husband taking pictures.


All folded and benign on the picnic table:



So anyway, I made it up as I went along, and it's really self-explanatory, but I thought I'd write up the pattern for practice. Let me know if you make it, and send pictures! ...I'm sure there are mistakes.

Oh, and copyright stuff -- the design is mine, don't steak it to pass off as your own. If you make it, give me credit. Feel free to sell a couple of the FINISHED scarves for "pin money" or for charity auctions, just don't make a business out of mass-producing and selling them, and be sure to give me credit. Feel free to make as many scarves as you want for yourself and as gifts. Feel free to photocopy this pattern for your own convenience, but if someone else wants a copy, send them to my site -- it is, after all, free.


Nina's Scarf

Materials: Paton's Classic Merino Wool, 3 skeins (although I barely used the 3rd skein). Shown in Leaf
Needles: US size 8 (5mm)
Notions: Cable needle
Tapestry needle

Dimensions: 7.5 inches wide, 48 inches long

Gauge: Not terribly important, but 32st and 27 rows = n in cable-and-rib pattern, completely unstretched (16st/4in stretched)

Cable-and-Rib pattern: (multiples of 10 + 4sts)

Row 1 (right side): k1, (k2, p2, k4, p2) to last 3 stitches, k2, sl1 as if to purl
Row 2: p1, (p2, k2, p4, k2) to last 3 stitches, p2, sl1
Row 3: Repeat Row 1
Row 4: Repeat Row 2
Row 5: k1, (k2, p2, slip next 2 sts to cable needle and hold in FRONT of work, knit next 2 sts, then knit 2 st from cable needle, p2)
Row 6: Repeat Row 2

Repeat rows 1-6 to desired length

Directions:

CO 64 sts

Work 14 repeats of Cable-and-Rib pattern, ending with Row 6 (scarf measures about 12 inches from CO edge)

Work right side of keyhole:

Row 1 (right side): K1, (k2, p2, k4, p2) 3 times, sl1, TURN leaving the rest of the stitches unworked (you can place them on a holder)
You now have 32 stitches on a needle, and 32 unworked stitches on a holder
Row 2: p1, (p2, k2, p4, k2) 3 times, k2, sl1
Row 3: Repeat Row 1
Row 4: Repeat Row 2
Row 5: k1, (k2, p2, slip next 2 sts to cable needle and hold in FRONT of work, knit next 2 sts, then knit 2 st from cable needle, p2) 3 times, sl1
Row 6: Repeat Row 4

Repeat rows 1-6 on the 32 sts of the right side of keyhole 4 times, then rows 1-5 once more (scarf measures approximately 17 in from CO edge)

Place stitches on holder and break off yarn.

Work left side of keyhole:

Starting from the center of the scarf, join yarn and work the left 32 sts of the scarf as follows:

Row 1 (right side): k1, (p2, k4, p2, k2) 3 times, sl1
Row 2: p1, (p2, k2, p4, k2) 3 times, sl1
Row 3: Repeat Row 1
Row 4: Repeat Row 2
Row 5: k1, (p2, slip next 2 sts to cable needle and hold in FRONT of work, knit next 2 sts, then knit 2 st from cable needle, p2, k2) 3 times, sl1
Row 6: Repeat Row 2

Continue working left side of keyhole pattern as described, repeating rows 1-6 4 times, and then rows 1-5 once more (left side is same length as right side of keyhole)

Join the two sides of the keyhole:

Work Row 6 of the Cable-and-Rib pattern across the 32 sts of the left side of keyhole, then work across the 32 sts of the right side from the holder. 64 sts.

Repeat Rows 1-6 of Cable-and-Rib pattern 33 times more, ending on Row 4 (scarf measures 48 in).

Bind off in pattern.

Weave in ends and block if desired.

When we say it, we mean it

See, I finished Short'n'Sweet, and it really was short and sweet. Easy pattern, NO seams, and took a weekend and a few hours to finish.

Here it is, all sunlit and stuff. I didn't block it, so it's a touch lumpy, especially thrown onto a chair.



Here's a nice look at the stitch itself. The color here is also very true to life -- so nice and rich and brown, mmm. I think it's also the only item of brown clothing that I own that isn't pants/skirt.



This is the most accurate shot I could get of it being worn. Of course, I was trying to take the pic of myself while wearing it (Husband was sleeping, and I was impatient), so it's still not great.



As always, the specs:

Pattern: Short'n'Sweet, by Angela "Lavonne" Best, from The Happy Hooker.
Yarn: KnitPicks Main Line, 80% cotton, 20% wool. About 7 skeins.
Size: Medium.
Modifications: Almost none. I made it a touch longer (half a pattern repeat).

By the way, I loved working with Main Line. Very soft and smooth and easy on the hands. Which i good, because I have another shrug to make with it.

Still no progress on anything else. I ripped out and restarted the scarf. But otherwise, I've been too tired and depressed to knit much...and if you know me, that's probably a cause for concern! Nah, not really.

Jaywalkers!

Completed in Milwaukee while hanging out with my good friend (who liked her kitty, btw).



The specs:

Pattern: Jaywalkers from Magknits, by Grumperina
Yarn: Knitpicks Sock Memories in Grandma

Trellis

I was ready to leave for work at 9:15 this morning, and then I thought, "Hey, I only have the side seams to finish on the Trellis."

So I sat down and finished and was late for work...again. Well, not really, because we don't have a set time to come in.

Anyway, here it is:



And the back:



I modified the pattern to be symmetrical down the center. I also knit the smallest size, but since my gauge was big, it measures 24 inches in the chest, so it should fit a 12-18 month-old.

And, of course, the buttons:



I think the wooden buttons look really great with the rich wool and cables.

Anyway, the specs:

Pattern: Trellis from Knitty
Yarn: Merino wool my parents got in Greece 6 years ago.
Started: Early May, 2006
Completed: May 24, 2006

Sleepy knitty kitty

Aaahh, just napping in the sunshine. I wish I was doing the same.



Pattern: Jean Greenhowe's Knitted Animals
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease scraps
Needles: Boye US3
Start date: May 22, 2006
Completion date: May 22, 2006

She took about two hours to make. Which is good, because that was all the time I had to work on her! I had an oh-crap moment when I realized I'd be seeing my friend on Thursday for the first time since last July, and I had no present for her. Sooo...she's a cat lover, and likes small gifts rather than large ones, so here we are.

I am also most of the way done with Trellis's collar, and I haven't even picked up any of the others. I'm so tired today. Last night, I decided dicking around online was more important than sleeping, so...

Limey

The completed crochet baby jacket. I actually finished it within a week of starting it. Amazing what happens when you make yourself work on only one project until it's done.


(That's my favorite childhood cookie...a Russian almond cookie. It was in the yarny care package my mom sent.)

The plastic heart buttons left over from the stripey sweater:



Pattern: V-neck crochet jacket from Gifts from Heaven: Baby Sweaters to Knit and Crochet
Yarn: Red Heart Baby in lime. Because mint green is just not my thang, although I have used it.
Hook: Susan Bates aluminum Size F
Started: May 13th, 2006
Completed: May 20th, 2006

I'm not crazy about it. It might turn back into yarn. I never thought I'd be a yarn snob, but having worked with mostly natural fibers the last few months, things made in acrylic just seem fakey. Although I still maintain that acrylic is good for baby items. It's washable, and since the kids grow so fast, it doesn't need to be expensive. Ah well. The other sweater I'm making, the Trellis, is in nice merino, and the stripey sweater is a washable wool blend. So I guess I broke my own rule :)

Guess what I finally finished!

Why, it's the striped baby sweater! Here it is in all its stripey, sweatery glory!



Pattern: Last-Minute Pullover from KnitPicks
Yarn: KnitPicks Simple Stripes in Autumn. I used a little over two skeins.
Start date: December 2005
Completion date: May 12 (12:30 am), 2006

It's not a particularly cutesy sweater, what with the colorway and all, so it needed cheesy cutesy plastic heart buttons!



I love buttons. The cheesier, the better.

I also need a digital camera that doesn't suck, but that's a diferent story.

Let's see, so yeah, last night I convinced myself to put down the Jaywalker and sew up the sweater. Until last night, I had one sleeve set in and seamed up to the armpit. Last night, I set in the other sleeve, sewed up the side seams, picked up and knit the neckband (which I changed to be ribbed, because the stockinette neckband just didn't go with the rest of the sweater), and sewed in buttons. There are tons of little yarn ends sticking out on the reverse side where I wove them in and trimmed them.

In my haste to sew everything up, I sewed the button hole band under the button band and had to snip the yarn and resew it.

I also forgot that I like seaming. It was fun. The finishing took a while, though, and I was up way too late.

And here is the interrupted Jaywalker, in KnitPicks Sock Memories, Grandma colorway:



I must admit, I didn't even look twice at Jaywalkers when it first was published. I didn't even notice the zigzag pattern due to weird contrast of my monitor, and so couldn't understand why suddenly EVERYONE wanted to make a pair of Jaywalkers. Then I saw someone's pair that were a deep orange and yellow and the zigzagging was very obvious, and I was in love. Now I understand. I love how this yarn makes the zigzags look so crisp, and of course I love the colors themselves. Plus, it's merino. Love. LOVE.

FO: Mom's lace scarf

I finished and blocked it last night!

Whole thing, draped over that damn chair on my porch:



And a detail shot:



Yarn: Knitpicks Shadow in Jewels
Needles: US size 6
Pattern: Thistle Leaf Lace pattern from Barbara Walker's 2nd Treasury, with garter stitch borders
Start date: April 29th, 2006
Finish date: May 4th, 2006

This was my first completed project in lace-weight yarn, and my first experience blocking lace. It's also the gift for my mom for Mother's Day, and it's ready to be shipped on Monday!

In other news, I've gotten alot of progress done on the shawl, which now measures 2 ft down the center line. I want it to be just short of 3 ft, and then I'll cast off and do the border. I'm guessing that 3 ft down the center means that it'll be about 6 feet in wingspan. We're going out of town tonight, so I'll be in the car for 12 hours this weekend, and guess what's coming with me.

Yarn porn, progress, and an FO (!)

Today was Christmas, people. The mail carrier showed up with 5 packages! Four were the Husband's Amazon book orders, and the last -- and biggest -- was my Knitpicks yarn!

This is what it looked like:



The brown stuff was 15 balls of Main Line, and the rest was sock yarn:


On the left: two balls of Essential in Navy, with two balls of Simple Stripes Snapdragon to make Fair Isle socks from KnitPicks. Then come two balls of Essential in Grass. Two balls of Sock Garden in Daffodil, and two skeins of Sock Memories in Grandma. I've never worked with Garden or Memories, but they feel so soft. Main Line feels quite wonderful, too, and I hope it gives nice fabric.

I provided the links for what I'm going to make with this yarn earlier, so I'm not gonna do it again.

Anyway, I've made quite a bit of progress on Trellis:



This is the completed fronts and most of one sleeve. I'm still maintaining central symmetry and reversing cables, and I'm doing the same on the sleeves. It's such a quick knit! Each front took maybe an hour-ninety minutes. Unfortunately, it's coming out a bit small. Blocking will stretch it, and it is a stretchy fabric, but it might not fit my niece. Which is ok, because my brother and his wife have another on the way, and it's a pretty unisex sweater!

Moving on.

I started a lacy scarf for my mom for Mother's Day. That means I need to have the sucker knit, finished, blocked, and sent by next Wednesday. Yes, I'm insane, and yes, I'm looking into other gifts.


It's the thistle leaf pattern from Barbara Walker's Second Treasury. Have I mentioned how much I love that book? I love that book. The yarn is Knitpicks Shadow in Jewels, and I love Shadow yarn.

And finally, sort of a FO:



It's a little baggie/clutch made with my handpainted yarn. It still needs buttons, but it's pretty darn completed otherwise. I didn't count on the seed stitch border to spread out quite so much, but, whatever. The stitch pattern is from the Second Treasury, of course. Basically, it's going to be a little baggie to carry tampons in, so that instead of pulling out tampons and carrying them to the bathroom in hopes that no one sees, I can pull out a cute little bag and carry THAT to the bathroom, and hope that no one stops me to ask, "Did you make this? Lemme see!"

FO: Sleepy bear in bunny suit

Here he is, in all his glory (despite the pink, I maintain that he is a he):



He's supposed to have buttons that button up the suit, making it removable. But I made him for my 8-month-old niece, and was afraid that buttons would be a choking hazard. So the suit is basially sewn on him.

I didn't get a picture of the bear himself, sans suit, but here is one with the hood off:



Pattern: Debbie Bliss's Teddy Bears, "Sleepy Bear in Rabbit Suit"
Yarn: Bear: Bernat Satin; Suit: Caron Simply Soft
Started: April 1, 2006
Completed: April 16, 2006