FO - Steggie

This deserves its own  post.

Nick's dino sweater is finally finished. I had originally cast on for a size larger than him but he grew during the knitting process. Balls.  It fits him, still. Perfectly. SO, it'll be a sweater for this fall and I plan to put him in it everyday.

Yarn: Berrocco Weekend

Here are some pictures:

Cake!

I didn't make this but I think it's pretty cool.

FO - Tempting

Well, I finished this sweater late last night. I was almost tragically disappointed in it at the end because of a shortsighted mistake... but innovation fixed it.

Here is a list of the changes I made:

I opted for a size of sweater between M and L so I cast on 176 instead of 180.
I worked in 2x2 rib  until the piece measured 17 inches, as I have a long torso and like a longer sweater.
When I placed 16 sts on waste yarn, the adjusted number of sts between the next waste yarn sts was 72 (instead of 74).
When I made the sleeves I cast on 64 and began immediately with the cable pattern to give the sleeves a decorative touch.
I worked in 2x2 rib until the sleeves measured 5 inches instead of 3.
I joined the sleeves to the body immediately because it was easier to knit.
When sleeves were joined, I worked across 48 sts of sleeve, followed by 72 sts of body (instead of 52 sts of sleeve and 74 of body).
The total number of sts around the garment once the sleeves were attached was 240 (instead of 252).
For the Yoke, I continued in 2x2 until I was 3 " from the end, then worked the cable pattern.
I bound off in k2tog bindoff instead of as in pattern.

Now, the tragic mistake was that I didn't switch to smaller needles for the neckline cables. Luckily, this was a fairly easy remedied problem. Instead of ripping out the work, (Who wants to rip out rows of 240 sts? Not I!) I opted to take a darning needle and thread a very long strand through the neckline and pull it tight.

In hindsight, it probably would've been smarter to do a few decreases but too little too late. I am very happy with how it looks. I'll take some better pictures outside in better light to show off the proper colours. I still have to wash it but I'll do so after my Stitch 'n Bitch on Monday.

WIP - Tempting with cables

Well, the knitting of the tempting sweater continues. 2x2 rib is mind numbing but there is finally light at the end of the tunnel.

I actually completed quite a bit of the sweater last weekend when we were in Ottawa: I finished the body and both sleeves and began the yoke.

After another day of knitting after coming home and recovering from the looooooong drive, I'm happy to say that I'm finally on the final cables of the project.

I've made quite a few modifications to the original pattern (the Large size) and I'll post them here when I'm finished with a note on my Ravelry page.

Here is a picture of my progress as of Sunday.

FOs, almost-FOs, WIPs, and stash!

I've been fairly busy with my knitting lately. Still, it's nothing to brag about, unlike before.

I made a pair of monkeys for my mother.

I finished a drop stitch scarf for my hairdresser

I knitted a Steggie for my son (but the zipper still needs to be sewn on)

I started knitting a blanket for my brawlin' grandma:

And I started a Tempting sweater for myself, on which I'll be adding the cables modification.

I also went to the Knitters Fair in Kitchener, which is the largest knitting festival in the country. Over 70 vendors, and all knitting related. I picked up some yarn from my friend Cindy, and from Shall We Knit.

Here's some yarn porn:

FO - Mixology

After over a year of work and procrastinating, I have finally finished the Mixology sweater for my father in law.   Yarn used: Noro Silk Garden and Asian Trends Del Cerro, 100% Merino

I hope it fits him.  It fits me, pregnant, so it should fit him.

Hope, hope, hope.

More FOs

I finished a couple more projects.

FO - Grumpasaurus

I had some yarn left over from the armwarmers I made a couple weeks ago, so I decided to make a Grumpasaurus for the guy who dyed the yarn and sold it to me.  He goes to my SnB and he's pretty fun... plus he collects little dinosaur figures at his work desk. Why not? it's a few hours to do and I'll probably have nothing other to do with the leftovers than make mitred squares.

 

WIP - Froggy Sweater

I was looking through my Ravelry queue and found a project I had won a kit for. Not wanting to knit another shopping bag, I immediately decided to work on a quick knit for the baby to be.

I had already finished knitting a blanket for the baby but I had yet to do a sweater or any other article of clothing for him.  It was then that I finally found a very nice sweater: offset opening with buttons and applique.

So, I set to work.

The project took only two days to actually knit up, and once I was nearly finished, I hit the local craft store for felt and buttons.

I have since traced and cut out the frog for the front applique and it will be up to hubby to help me with the sewing, as I am the world's worst sewer. I can seam edges of a knitted sweater, but forget thread and needle. I think I'll have him use that little sewing machine we have in the closet to get'er done.

Here are some progress pics:

FOs!

The knitting train continues to chug along.

I've finished knitting up with the Untastic yarn I picked up: I had to buy the Heartbreaker colourway. I call it early labour yarn because the exciting colours will probably trigger early labour when I look at them.

Intermission

After a strong month of knitting I'm sort of assessing the stash. There is a lot of yarn to be used and so many projects to do, but I am hesitant to really do anything for myself until after the baby arrives.  Still, if I can manage to start something and follow my pre-pregnancy measurements, I might have something super nice for winter in a size that I'll fit into.

The beautiful thing about Peruvia that it can and will stretch to what size I want to be in, for the most part.  I've had my eyes on the Tempting pattern from Knitty for sometime (with cable mods). It's amazingly difficult to find a reasonably sized sweater for large boobed women. Tempting, however, looks like it's friendly to us chesty types.

Anyway, I'm still working on that sweater for Phil and I suppose I should really pick it up and really giver. Plus, I have that drop stitch scarf for my hairdresser. I'll probably work on it at knitting group... but after finishing some items for myself I'm feeling a little bit greedy. I always knit for others;  I'm allowed to knit for myself, right?

Additionally, I'm tempted to start projects for my 2 year old (who turns 3 soon) and for the unborn Russellbun. We'll see, I guess.  I do have a couple lovely skeins of Malabrigo worsted. Maybe they'll knit up into something fun.

On a final note, I finally washed those Monkey socks I made. I wore them without washing and blocking them because I was away from home without my soak or my sock blockers... and they turned my feet yellow XD  Didn't stop me from wearing them, though :P So, I put them in the sink with the soak, drained out the yellow water, and am letting them dry on the blockers for a few days before I dare wear them again.  I have a feeling, however, that my feet might still end up yellow.

Socks!

April 30th was the DKC Knitters Frolic in downtown Toronto.  I arrived late and didn't bring a lot of cash and was actually very frugal with my spending.

I bought 12 hand made stitch markers for $10 and a skein of this super yummy merino/cashmere/nylon sock yarn spun by a local dude. Yep. By a dude.  The colour was really tempting and I couldn't resist, but unlike when I usually buy sock yarn and try to knit socks, I started and finished the project in a week. (instead of within months or years)

The socks? Monkey. No purl monkey to be specific.  They turned out really nicely but had a bit more yellow than I anticipated. In spite of this, they're super comfortable and super bright. I absolutely love the striping and am pleased with the softness of the yarn. Definitely a new around the house footwear thing.

Makeover!

Aaaaaand after a morning of fighting with Blogger coding and layouts, I've decided on a new design for the blog.  Enjoy :)

A parade of FOs

I must admit: I've been slacking off with my knitting until just recently.  Over the past month I've started and finished new projects, and just plain finished old projects. Out of an old queue of several WIPs I'm down to just one more WIP. I feel like I can take on another new project, and with the Frolic tomorrow, I'll be jumping for joy with the prospect of being able to start a new project.

So, here are some pictures of my FOs. I'll be adding one more tomorrow, likely, when I'm wearing it. (It still needs to dry)

Booties for my neighbour's newborn

Running armband for my phone/mp3 player

I had taken up running all summer long and needed a good solution for my phone. This was meant for an iPod but it fit my phone at the time very nicely. Did the job!

Pauper Gloves

Stash busting at its best. I used some of a skein of Naturally for these. Tweed works very well for fingerless gloves.

Organic wool baby sweater

I knitted this for my cousin who had a baby early this year. It took about a half to 3/4 of a skein of Cascade Eco wool.  It was soft and adorable. Very very fast knit, too. Recommended if you have little time to knit for a little one.

Fetching gloves and Montana scarf

My friend, Talen, who lives in Australia was really hoping to get a hand-knit item from me. It was his birthday just a couple of days ago, so I started early in the year to diligently knit him a scarf. A nice, long, scarf. Before blocking, this sucker was seven feet long, and after, it measured a whopping eight feet. Because I had a whole skein left over after making the scarf, I also made a pair of fingerless gloves for him.  Sadly, the parcel didn't make it in time for his birthday. We're still waiting for it to arrive.

10 stitch zig zag blanket

This was the original project for my cousin's baby but I realised that I didn't have time to finish it, and am also expecting, myself, so I decided to turn it into something for my own little one while I opted to make the little sweater for her baby.  It's a fair size for a stroller, which is what I'm aiming for, and is made of organic cotton.

Striped Baby Sweater II

My lifelong friend and his wife had a baby not long after my cousin. I just couldn't decide what to knit, so even though their son is almost three months old, I made something, anyway. Better late than never. I'll be seeing his wife next month when we both go to our hometown (She lives in Ottawa and I live in Toronto) and I'll hand it off, there.  This is made of leftover yarn from the zig zag plus two extra skeins of the same brand of yarn that I had in my stash (which I bought to knit for them, incidentally) It was a really fast knit. I made this same sweater two years ago and it sure as hell didn't take a week to make.

So,  that's that for my FOs. Quite a few, but not as many as a fast knitter would have made :P  I am all set for the knitters frolic and have my options open, as the only thing I have left to finish is a sweater (I started 2 years ago) for my father in law. It's April and I have till the fall to finish it. Sounds like a familiar mentality, as I thought the same things last spring and the spring before, but I think I'm in good shape to finish it, provided I do so before I have the new baby.

Toddler Hoodie

This is a pattern that I actually found on Ravelry a long time ago but because it was hosted on Geocities is no longer available.  I was disappointed in that I was looking for the pattern again to make it and it wasn't until my toddler dumped over all my printed patterns that I found the pattern!

So, without further adieu, I will repost this FREE pattern with credit given to Jenn Belcher

Basic Toddler Hoodie

Materials:

2 - 3.5 oz skeins of Bernat Softee Chunky (or similar gauge yarn)
Size US 10.5 DPN (set of 4)
Size US 8 DPN (Set of 4)
Stitch Markers
Crochet Hook

Abbrieviations:

CO - cast on
k - knit
p - purl
k2tog - knit two together
pm - place marker
sts - stitches
st st - stockinette stitch
* - repeat until end of row
PU - pick up
BO - bind off

Shoulders

With larger needles CO 56 sts. Join in the round and knit one round.

Found 2: Place stitch marker, k 8 sts, pm, k 20 sts, pm, k 8 sts, pm, k 20 sts (this marks the sleeves)

Round 3: Increase on both sides of each stitch marker.  You will have 10 in the sleeve portions and 22 across back and front portions.

Round 4: Knit

Repeat rounds 3 and 4 until there are 34 sts between stitch markers for the sleeves.   On the final "Round 4": * k first 34 sts and place on stitch holder, k 46

Work even in st st for approximately 7.5 inches (or adjust according to the height of the child)

Switch to smaller needles and work in k2p2 rib for 7 rows. BO in k2p2 pattern.

Sleeves

Round 1: k the 34 sts on first holder and PU 2 sts in the underarm.
Round 2: Knit
Round 3: k2tog, k 30, k2tog
Rounds 4 - 6: Knit
Repeat last 4 rounds until 22 sts remain
Next Round:  Decrease each end of round one more time (20 sts)
Switch to smaller needles, work in k2p2 ribbing for 6 rows
BO in k2p2 pattern

Repeat for other arm

Hood

Find the center of the front and mark off center 6 sts
Using crochet hook, PU remaining 50 sts around neckline on larger needles
Knit 1 round
Increase 6 sts evenly spaced across next row
Knit in st st until hood measures approx 8.5" (or measured according to size of the child)
Divide sts evenly on 2 needles and fold hood so right sides are touching
Work 3 needle bind off across.

PU sts along front edge of the hood with smaller needles and work 4 rows in k2p2 ribbing
BO in k2p2 pattern
Sew to unworked sts on neckline.

Once again, I'd like to enphasize that this is NOT my pattern and that I am simply posting it back on the interbutts for anyone who might be interested in making it.