Minor Miracles

Miracle #1: I actually managed to post on the blog TWICE in one month! I may be getting the hang of this after all.

Miracle #2: I finished off a sweater that I thought would be my first incomplete knit object in my adult knitting life. I was so excited that I had to share before blocking. :o)



It sure took a long time and provided plenty of challenge. The first challenge was not liking the colors. My husband helpfully nicknamed this sweater the "Beach Blanket." I don't think it was a compliment. The second challenge was that the wool is very fine and that takes a long time to knit and sew up seams. And finally, all those stripes and my 2006 rookie knowledge provided endless sewing in of ends. I should have carried more of the color up the sides and knit in the round. There are plenty of visible mistakes. Like how I didn't know how to pick up stitches around the collar. (I have learned the proper way to do such a thing since then.)

The yarn was left over from a previous jacket project for two nieces in which I knit all three colors together. Knit together the colors looked a lot more cohesive, especially modeled by these cuties!



The facts:
Pattern - From an Anny Blatt book for kids
Size - 9-12 months
Yarn - Knit Picks Pallette, cream, hot pink, gray
Needles - size 3, metal circular
Begin - December 27, 2006
End - February 26, 2009



Originally I thought that I would donate this sweater, but recent pregnancy announcements amongst siblings and cousins make me think that I might want to hang on to it for a while and gift it... Here are Nephews #3 & 4 "helping" Auntie E knit the sleeves last summer. Perhaps a little sister would like to wear this in a few months??

Finishing objects... and a hat obsession

Recently, my unfinished objects and my stash have been calling my name. Loudly. Obsessively. Or maybe I am heeding their call obsessively. At any rate, I am slowly working my way through some overdue items.

But before I share my knitting, allow me to introduce another crafty item. In 2007 I took a class called "Teaching Creativity." During a group invention project, we were asked to come up with an invention to help our life flow more smoothly. I found a great apron pattern by McCall's (I think). I then added some plastic pockets in front of the cloth pockets as my "innovation" to have a place to display flashcards to start a lesson plan. The plastic pockets ended up being way too fussy for me, so I reverted back to the plain old pattern version. The apron holds all of my teaching materials in one place on my person and has made my life in the classroom much easier. My student teachers last year also thought they were great, and so I made one for both of them as well. I also stocked it with a few "teacher-ly" items... very fun gift! I wear my apron daily.



Our head night custodian caught sight of this item and "threatened" to steal it one night. She felt that it would be perfect for her job cleaning. And I agree. So this year for her birthday, I made her one too! Here is the fourth organizer apron that I have made. Each one took me just under 3 hours, not including time to get the supplies at the fabric store.



Thanks for all you do, EW!



I have to confess that I have been annoyed with one of my favorite knit blog designers the past few months. It seems like every new post is of a new hat. I am not a big hat fan, and feel like knitting a hat is way too simple, fast, easy. If I am not laboring for a month or more, the knitting pattern is not really a project for me. (I have to do everything the hard way!) Imagine my surprise when I noticed the other day that I have made nothing but hats this year! I think the combination of very cold weather and high stress days allowed me to succumb to these quick and easy little knitting treats.



Besides intarsia hearts, the rest weren't that difficult. I followed the basic directions for the beanie from "Charmed Knits" and kind of experimented with stripes and decreases. I had enough Plymouth Encore wool from the Gryffindor scarf project left over to make two additional hats! One was made to match my husband's Gryffindor scarf.



Here is a poem he wrote me:

Ode to Scarf
Ah, how I love my Gryffindor House Scarf,
Whether I am chasing bludgers through the winter air,
Walking to class on frigid morning,
Sneaking up a drafty tower carrying a dragon,
Walking around DG house properties,
It always keeps me warm, toasty, comforted, and loved.
Also stylish.

I especially enjoy the last line!



The intarsia hearts were inspired by a motif I found in "Traditional Scandinavian Knitting" by Sheila McGregor, page 52. I repeated the pattern five times, using 110 stitches.



The hat, made of Encore worsted weight yarn, verges on size extra large, but I was afraid that four repeats (88 stitches) might be a little too small for an adult. I will probably try this pattern again, because it was fun to knit. I may try four repeats for the sake fun and experimentation.



I also found two other remnant hats that I made last year with the same pattern. I used leftover Cascade yarn that I used for the Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin Harry Potter scarves with (see June 2008 post).



Finally, I found some little "quilt squares" designed to be affixed to note cards. Unfortunately, my choice of "fall colors" looked more like "Revenge of the 1970's" when knit together. The Hempathy yarn by Elsebeth Lavold knit up to a texture more like a washcloth than a charming quilt square. Each square took a surprising amount of time. Think 3+ hours. The thicker yarn combined with size 000 needles was cumbersome at best. The pattern is promising, though: http://www.interweave.com/needle/projects/quilt_blocks.pdf



The end result could have been worse. I'm sure some crafty or artsy friend of mine will enjoy receiving one for their next birthday!

2008 Christmas Reveal Post

I didn't have nearly as many finished projects as I had for Christmas 2007, but when I look at the projects all in one place, the number is still fairly significant. So here's the fruit of the labor!

First, I was doing a bit of stash busting and found some blue and white nubby wool that I had made nephew #3 a birthday sweater with in 2007. I decided to make a scarf for the custodian who cleans my room at school every day. She and I have some great conversations and I definitely felt like I needed to kick my appreciation up a notch this year. Our building custodial staff is understaffed and overworked. Hey look, it's the Colts colors! (She loves the Colts). Merry Christmas JM!!



DETAILS:
Pattern: knit 15 stitches with garter stitch till yarn (held double) runs out.
Needles: Cheap plastic brand in size 17
Started: October 22
Finished: October 22
Notes: It was a fun road trip to NYC with the husband!



I had the extreme pleasure of spending some quality time with my youngest cousin during the summer of '08. Upon showing her my knitting photo book she "ordered" a "headband in 'ice-blue' with a reindeer motif," a motif that I used in several hats. I nearly forgot about this and I don't have a picture of her modeling it yet, but it turned out comfortable and pretty. I hope she enjoys it for many years!



DETAILS:
Pattern: My own + reindeer design from "Traditional Scandinavian Knitting" by Sheila McGregor
Needles: Bamboo 16" circulars size 4
Yarn: Lion Brand Microspun in Lilac and Lily White, 1 skein each
Started: December 1
Finished: December 11
Notes: I loved this yarn for the color work knitting. It was easy to manage both strands as it was being knitted together.



The third project was the big one this fall. My sister in law expressed an interest in a new afghan for her couch. So I sent her a pattern book and asked her to visit a yarn store to pick out the color and the yarn. This is the fabulous result. Great choices!



DETAILS:
Pattern: "Done By Monday Afghans" pattern #13
Yarn: Cascade Superwash color #904, 12 skeins held double
Needles: Addi Turbos size 13
Started: November 4
Finished: December 20

I adjusted the pattern so that it had 8 cables across instead of 7. The substitute yarn was just a WEE bit thinner than the yarn recommended. I also used 12 balls of yarn instead of 10 so that it would be longer. It was a fun and pretty fast project, but it was not "done by Monday!" The lady at the yarn store suggested I should start knitting on a Tuesday. Another person's blog suggested it would be done by "some" Monday!

Here is the lucky sister in law wearing it inside out at the Christmas reveal.



My #4 nephew still did not have a hand-knit sweater from me, so I whipped one up with a number of patterns and past projects inspiring the size and shaping.



He loves cars and so I applied one using duplicate stitch. I made a similar sweater a few years back for nephew #2 and knitted the car with the intarsia method. I decided both ways were quite a bit of extra work. The wheels are buttons and always a tactile hit with the little ones. He loved it and couldn't stop talking about how it had a car on it!



DETAILS:
Pattern: Conglomeration of several including Hogwarts Sweater from "Charmed Knits" and a free Bernat pattern that I got on some Bernat wool; the car was inspired by something I found in a knitting magazine that has been gone and buried for a few years - sorry! The blue stripes on the sleeves... I was running out of red yarn!
Yarn: Encore Worsted weight in red and royal blue
Needles: Bamboo size 8 circular, metal double pointed size 8 for sleeves and collar.
Started: October 23
Finished: December 31 (Our get-together was late this year - WHEW!)



Finally, these hand warmers were an experiment with my new cable needle necklace and another stash busting idea. It turned out that my mother loved the design (though it is quite retro and 80's!) and so I surprised her with a little extra package at our late Christmas celebration. This is actually the first official knit product of 2009, but it was a Christmas gift, so I am including it in this post.



DETAILS:
Pattern: Mine - 42 stitches in the round. K2, (P2, K4 repeat)... and K last 2. Cable the K stitches every 5 rows. Knit back and forth when you wish to have and thumb opening and rejoin into a circle when opening is large enough. Cabling every 5 rows was a problem only on the thumb opening rows. Just a little cumbersome to cable while purling.
Yarn: Encore worsted weight in cream, dusty rose, and maroon
Needles: size 8 double pointed, new cable needle necklace
Started: January 1
Finished: January 3



HAPPY NEW KNITTING YEAR TO ALL!!

A First Pair of Socks

In which a first time Sock Knitter knits a pair of socks:

a. Without knitting a gauge swatch.

b. With no pattern.

c. With no clue of how to turn a heel.

d. And insists on learning from her mistakes by making an uneven pair... You know, it took too long to knit the first sock to unravel it again.



OK, so the part about no pattern was an exaggeration. I did use a pair of hand knit socks I received for my birthday (made by my mother). And I felt confident enough that I could figure out how to turn the heel by looking at my model. Some day I will actually try and read a pattern to see if I did it "right." The socks turned out so that's right enough for now. The thing about the gauge swatch though... it would have helped to knit one. Note the part about the uneven pair of socks. I also wasn't paying attention to the toe decrease, resulting in somewhat pointy toes. My mother used a different thickness of yarn and size 2.5 needles. Minor details, ha ha!



Pattern: Mom's Birthday Sock
Material: Kiogu handpainted merino sock wool
Amount: Two skeins
Needles: Size 1 bamboo
Started: June 11, 2008
Finished: September 27, 2008



One of the most enjoyable aspects of these socks? They were knitted mostly on my Europe vacation last summer. Nothing is quite as civilized as riding through the countryside in a train while knitting.



Ahhhhhh!

Why I Don't Knit Socks

Yes, this picture shows TWO DOZEN HAND KNIT socks, lovingly knitted for me by my mother and by my grandmother.



My sock drawer floweth over. The sock drawers of my brothers, husband, and sisters in law are equally stocked. Why would I ever knit a sock for myself and those same loved ones with all this wealth? Especially when I have so many maroon socks that I haven't bothered finishing all of them yet?



That was then. This is now... Yea... I found this delightful Kiogu yarn...



Maybe I'll try just one pair...



Hello Lovely! Come here and let me knit you...

A 30th Anniversary

Today is a special anniversary for me: the 30th anniversary of beginning my knitting career. I received a "Strickliesl," AKA Knitting Nancy similar to the one pictured above, for my birthday 30 years ago from my cousin who is also my Godmother. More on the special role of Godmothers and knitting in a later post. Sadly, my original Knitting Nancy is currently MIA, but I did find the results of my youthful labor.

I think all that snakey product was supposed to become a pot holder. Thank goodness for the maturity of age that now allows me to finish my knitting products.

Oh yes, and Happy 35th Birthday to me!

Memories of Last Summer, or Long Live Harry Potter

As the first day of this blessed new summer vacation draws to a close, I find myself sifting through some photos from last year.

Last summer at this time, my family and I were eagerly awaiting the 7th Harry Potter book and discovered (with horror) that the book would come out on the first day of our big annual family reunion vacation. The emails flew thick and fast to establish "the rules" about reading, sharing the books, not divulging, etc.

In the mean time, I stopped by my LYS and found a stack of "Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter" by Alison Hansel right next to a large selection of yarns that were recommended in the book. Halleluia, a store that understands my need for straightforward yarn choices right next to the new pattern book. I still obsessed about the "most perfect" color choices for a Ravenclaw scarf (requested by my sister-in-law) for at least an hour... Had I needed to roam the store to find the appropriate yarn brand, weight, etc., AND COLOR, it would have taken me a half day deciding... The upside is that I love hanging around the yarn store. But you knew that!

Of course, I was also taken by those most seductive Gryffindor colors and thought to myself that my husband might just adore it. I also had a venue in which to knit it in secret - a trip to the Grand Tetons with a friend - later in the summer. Turns out, I spent two days getting from Philadelphia to Jackson Hole... and another two days in reverse. The traveling was a very, very ugly affair, but the upside was a finished Gryffindor scarf.

With two scarves down, a thought of making my brother-in-law a scarf germinated somewhere in the back of my mind. When asked, he joked that he was certainly a Slytherin type. Perfect. New colors to maintain knitting interest. Back at the yarn store I decided that I couldn't just make three of four house scarves, so I also purchased the Hufflepuff colors for me. The lucky upside of those two scarves is that the Slytherin scarf also shares the same color scheme as the Philadelphia Eagles (brother in law's favorite sports team) and the Hufflepuff colors are the same as my alma mater (University of Colorado, Boulder) and the current school that employs me. Win, win, WIN!

The big reveal was Christmas and I didn't want to let on that I was knitting Hufflepuff for me (three out of four scarf scenario, husband could get suspicious, etc, etc...), I also had to knit the Hufflepuff in secret. It was very tricky, since I usually drive or watch a movie WITH my husband while also knitting. There were many sneaky moments and near misses in this process. Lying too. Not comfortable. The final product was barely finished and wrapped in the late afternoon of Christmas Eve. All is well that ends well... Note the unfinished Hufflepuff scarf below.



The Reveal:
Each scarf was given to its recipient by at least one member of each Hogwarts house.
Ravenclaw scarf: from Luna Lovegood and Cho Chang
Slytherin scarf: from Crabbe, Goyle, and Brian Dawkins (check the Eagles roster in case you were looking in the HP books for that last name...)
Hufflepuff: Cedric Diggory. I wish I had a picture of my husband's confused and amazed face when this was announced and opened! Worth the price of knitting time, hands down! ("You made and gave yourself scarf?? I am so confused!")
Gryffindor: from the ghost Sir Nicholas de Mimsey-Porpington!!

Needless to say, the whole event was a smashing success! Ah, the happy memories of summer, a completed book series and matching scarves!

And here we all are in our be-scarfed glory!
Left to right: Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff