FO: Cap Sleeve Spring Shirt

Another little-ish knit for my 4 yo. 




















This is the girl's cap sleeved spring shirt, by Shellee Floyd, size 6.  It's knit up in a soft, cuddly alpaca/wool blend  which makes about the cutest spring layer in my girls' wardrobe.  I love the way this fits, wears and looks when layered with a long sleeve tee and pants.  Simple, feminine and bold all-in-one.  It does violate one of my own preferences for kid knits though - it's not machine washable.

An interesting note on construction for this tee is that I started out the yoke with a size 6 needle, but changed to an 8 about about 6 inches, and then to a 10 at about 11 inches.  I like that it created a slight flare without having to figure out increasing stitch counts.  The pattern did not call for this much needle changing, but I am happy with the result.




















The baby liked the soft alpaca yarn too!

I am really excited to start on a(nother) cardigan for myself - but am having a hard time committing to a pattern.  I feel a little overwhelmed by all the knitting pattern goodness out there.  Ravelry can be a huge help, however, and I find myself analyzing photos of individual projects - once there's a pattern that catches my eye - to see if I can find one that looks like one I'd knit (color, sizing, etc.).  It's quite helpful for searching out yarn alternatives too.  You'll have to stay tuned to what I pick out for myself next...

In the meantime I've started on Versa, the tunic style, for the older girls and plan to use yarn from the stash.  I have a true rainbow of yarn left overs and there's no better way to use them then in a yoke or as trim!

FO: 100th project for my 1yo

I just entered my 100th project on ravelry!  I find this to be a surprisingly delightful milestone.  I know that I've knit more than 100 items, but seeing that number - and all those projects - in one place really gives me a sense of accomplishment.  And it is amazing to look back at some of my earlier work and see how far I have come in my craft.

For my 100th project I knit up a little cardigan for my wee girl.  She turned 1yo last week.  I can hardly believe how quickly the months flew by, and find it even harder to remember a time in our family before she was with us. 

The pattern is in threes, and I knit this up in a Coed Mawr (a small scale fiber company in Cambria, WI) worsted weight; size 18 mos.  The buttons are from Jennie the Potter.  Next on my needles is a little shrug to help this cruising babe's wardrobe transition from spring to summer.

Favorite Things

I recently participated in a swap on ravelry. This was my third virtual swap (see others here) and I am really happy that I did it. This one was called the Favorite Things Swap and the point was to send someone else a bunch of your favorite things.

Here's a photo of the items that my partner, from Montreal, Canada, sent to me. She included two skeins of 100% alpaca yarn, some lavender shower gel (made with local Canadian lavender), dark chocolate infused with pear, a wonderful book on healthy living, some indulgent teas and a handmade hair clip. She is also an incredible knitter and has made a pair of lined fiddlehead mittens - for a charity auction - that would make anyone envious (and hopefully made someone bid a lot)!

For those of you that know me IRL, you might know that DH and I went on our honeymoon to Montreal. Aside from Annie's package being lovely it also brought on a trip down memory lane. Dan and I took out the photo album and had a good time remembering our trip.

Bird in Hand

Happy Valentine's Day! Let me present some red mittens in honor of this day of love.

I first spied these mittens on the hands of a fellow knitter here in town. Do you see the bird?(Photo credit: Kate Gilbert, 2007) I was instantly in love and quickly added them to my ravelry queue. Last weekend I decided to give them a try as I have now frogged my forest mittens, again. Third time is a charm, right?

These are knitting up like a dream. I even learned a two new techniques from this pattern: picot edging and braids. Let me just say that picot edging is so cute and easy! You'll be seeing more of it in the future from me.

I also had a light bulb moment and finally figured out how to wrap - or carry - the yarn while doing two color knitting. I had been trying to do it a bunch of different ways with no success. Then I realized that I really just needed to twist the yarns around each other - not actually knit the color I was carrying - to make it work. Viola.

The picture below is actually of the second mitten I made. I knit up the first one on size 3 needles and they came out way too big. They would have fit a giant. I ripped it apart and dropped down to a size 1 needle. Now it fits me perfectly. I also added the gold color as an accent. Adding that third yarn sparingly was a good choice on my part. Going from two yarns to three yarns is difficult. More difficult than, I dare say, going from two kids to three :)

The mittens are pictured with some cool mitten blockers handmade by maudawoodworks. I showed him this DIY tutorial (these sisters have lovely blog too) then traced my hand for him. A short time later he presented me with a pair of these. Besides being lovely, who can resist a detachable thumb?!

I still have the thumb of the right mitten to finish, but I have already cast on for the left mitten. I'm pretty excited to finish these off and use them. Even though the weather has been at record-breaking temps (50 degrees!) lately I know more cold weather is on it's way.

In reflecting on my other pair of mittens, I've decided to re-work them with the same yarn/needles I'm knitting these up with. The patterns don't match up exactly, but they sure are close. So, with some help from a lovely friend a solution has been proposed. Modify the pattern (slightly). Unfortunately this does mean monkeying a bit with the tree design, but really not too much. I like to think of it as sustainable forestry of sorts.

"I hope this isn't too forward, but..."

My husband's co-worker stopped him on his way out of the office last week. He said, "I hope this isn't too forward, but do you think your wife would knit me a hat? I lost mine last week."

When my husband relayed this story I wasn't sure how I felt. At first I was flattered. Then I wondered how this guy knew I knit. I thought back to the first and only time I met him - at my husbands holiday party. He's younger then I am, but not by much. He seemed nice enough. He is the assistant to the office librarian.

In the end I decided to go ahead and knit him a hat. I guess I felt a little maternal about it. "His ears must be cold," I thought. Besides, I needed a knitting break from my mittens. The trouble was that I didn't have any measurements for his head. I also have no idea what he might like in a hat. So I just went with my imagination, and used my husband as a model.

I pretended that I had a teenage son. Then imagined what I would knit for him. I found a pattern that matched my vision on ravelry. It's called The Boy Hat. Perfect.

Ravelry

So I just found ravelry. I signed up for an account (username: attheendofthisrow) a couple of months ago, but really got into it the other night. It is a computer-loving knitters dream! I have entered a few projects so far, but I can see this becoming an obsession for years to come. I haven't started entering my stash yarn yet, but that might actually be a really helpful tool for keeping my yarn purchases in check, and those skeins that literally fall to the back of the closet front-and-center in my thoughts. The queue for 'to do' projects in brilliant too. I used to keep track of my ideas on a paper on my bulletin board, but I never kept enough info.; I always forgot a blog address, or pattern name and so just kept adding new projects. This queue keeps track of it all and the best part is you can link directly to other knitters that have finished projects with that same pattern to keep you motivated!

I also love having the instant feedback from other knitters, including designers. As an example, I posted a message on the pattern forum re: the mystery baby bonnet. Within the day I had received 5 responses that directed me where to go to get a copy of the pattern. I couldn't believe the rapid, and helpful response, I got to my question.