Neophyte Knitter

Past the Busy Part

So i've been really busy lately.  July is traditionally a crazy time with me and this year was no different. 

It started with the baby shower for my college pal that I had been knitting for.  It was, hands down, the most beautiful shower I have ever been to.  It was at the Hotel Bel Air, in a private outdoor dining area.  We had a sit down lunch and an open bar.  Now this is not typical, even for LA, but my friend who hosted it is just insane.  In a good way.  :-)  Anyway, my gifts were mostly knitted (I couldn't resist a few outfits too) so in addition to the blanket, I mentioned in the last post, she also got this tiny hat & booties set (made from some sock leftovers) and the requested Ugg booties.  All very well received, especially the booties.

For the past few years, I have been having my nephew visit me in Los Angeles from Massachusetts in July.  This year was the first time I got him all to myself for a few days as he usually comes with my Mom or sister since he's still a bit young to handle a 6-hour flight by himself (he's 8 now).  But fortuitously my brother had a trip planned to Las Vegas with his pals for a few days of debauchery so my nephew got to fly out with him.  Then I picked him up in LV and took him back to my place.  After that we just did cool things - Wii, Legoland, the movies, the park and the beach.  It was lots of fun and I just adore my nephew.  He's such a smart, funny kid. 

Then literally the same day I flew back to Vegas to reunite him with brother for the trek back East, I flew to San Diego from my annual pilgrimage to Comic-Con.  It's a geekfest my bestest pal and I have been doing for a few years.  I got to do a quite few things like sneak peaks of the new Stargate show, see props from Burton's new Alice in Wonderland (those flowers are way cool), enjoy a cast reading of the never produced final episode of the Middleman (canceled before its time), feast on Michael Shanks hosting the Burn Notice panel (which was dominated by Bruce Campbell), visit an awesome arcade promoting the new Tron complete with light cycle, drool over Jim Parsons (who was a little overwhelmed by all the geek love) and lust after John Barrowman (if you don't watch Torchwood you soooo should).

Then I finally made it back to work where its been non-stop.  We are very close to the end of construction on my massive project and staff starts moving in a month.  There are lots of odds and ends to finish before then.  Then I have to start thinking of where to next whether it be a transfer or promotion. 

And on top of that, I have the house to myself for a few months.  My roommate is on a lecture tour in Florida for 3 weeks and then comes back for a few days before heading to Idaho to do a gig for 3-1/2 months.  I like living with someone so its going to get a bit lonely for me.   I'll have to make myself go out more and make a more of an effort to see friends or i'll get depressed.  The only ones happy about it are the cats who do little more than tolerate Jon.

I know this is already a long post but I couldn't resist leaving you with a picture of Gus and his new favorite sleeping place amid my purses atop my wardrobe.  Really, it doesn't look comfortable to me, and he has to shove my bags around to get his butt in there and usually knocks a few down, but it is cute.

I promise not to be quite the stranger here.  Especially since I have a few more knits to share!

A Whole Month?

Wow.  Time flies.  Guess its time for an update.

Well in the last month its been all about baby knitting.  I finished some booties.

And a baby blanket.  This is what my Starflower became and I an extremely pleased with it.  It's lacy and substantial thanks to the cables.  Extremely soft.  And washes like a champ. 

 

Plus I made an Elephant.

 

More baby knits to come.

A D'oh Moment

So i'm driving to work last week, ruminating on my knitting and I have a thought.  A serious thought.  An "Oh Shit" thought.  A true Homer Simpson "D'oh" moment.

My Starflower Estonian Lace Blanket that I have been working on for a month and finally finished the body on is intended as a baby blanket.  It will be a gift to a new mom.  And it will need to be blocked.  I don't want this to be an heirloom piece that will never be used.  Wtf was I thinking!! 

I got the washable part down.  And the yarn is soft.  But I guess the fact that's its lace and would need a bit more attention to always be its beautiful self just escaped me.  Or I ignored it after the first few repeats. 

So after wrestling with it a bit over the weekend, I came to one conclusion.....RIP!!!  Sigh. 

Now this is no dig on the pattern which is perfectly lovely.  Maybe if I hadn't substituted yarn, blocking would have been superfluous.  But I did and it's quite necessary.  So I picked out another pattern that's better suited for a new mother who will barely have time to launder the thing.

Icarus Dyed

So last week I finished up knitting my Icarus Shawl from Interweave - Summer 2006 or available at mimknits.  This is going to be a gift for a very special to me Mommy to be.  In addition to making things for the baby, I wanted to make something for her.  So I went with a shawl that had a hefty solidish section with the vague idea she could use it while nursing.  I'm very pleased with how it turned out.  I didn't even make any modifications!

A few weeks ago I found a hank of Knit Picks Lace in Bare that I had forgot I even had.  So after not being able to find lace yarn in the baby-duck yellow I wanted, I decided it was time to venture into dyeing again.  Well.  Almost for the first time since the only other time I did was in 2003and I used kool-aid.  This time I went more professional and bought the Jacquard starter kit from Knit Picks.

Saturday was dye day but before I could start I had to go buy a new pot.  I have little to no culinary skills and my meager assortment of pots and pans reflect that.  Luckily a new Goodwill opened up down the street and I was able to score a brand new stainless steel pot of sufficient size for $15.   One that will forever now be the "dye pot".

I didn't exactly get the pale yellow I envisionedbecause I am impatient cuss to whom multiple experiments sounded like torture.  So I went with half the recommended dose for yellow and hoped for the best.

 

So it's a bit brighter than I wanted.  But I still love it.  I did learn that I need one more set of blocking pads from Knitpicks.  My rectangular board is on the thick side so I have to stack the pads to be the same height.  You can't tell from the picture but there is some floating going on up top.  I had to power dry it (full fan directly on it) so I could get it off the floor before my cats came back in for the night.  My friend is powerfully allergic to cats and I didn't want them to sleep on as they definitely would have. 

Here are some more pictures after it was dry the next day.  I am storing it in a big zip-lock to keep beastly dander out (hence the minor fold creases).

I'm really pleased with how it turned out and hope she likes it.  Next up to finish is the baby blanket which is half way done.  And i've decided the new TV knitting is baby booties!

Calvert Present!

My latest FO.....Calvert!

This is Calvert from Norah Gaughan, Vol. 3 from Berroco.   It's knit in Valley Yarns Northfield (about 10-1/2 skeins)

Overall, i'm pleased.  I saw a sample of this cardigan at Stitches West and after seeing it I immediately bought the pattern and yarn.  I just loved the little detail on the front as well as the rolled sleeves.  It wasn't until afterward while looking at the pattern a bit closer and surfing Ravelry that I realized that it had a quite bit more ease than I liked in my clothes.  Still, I decided to solider on by knitting a smaller size.  

Which I did but because I am a not diligent gauge checker it's a wee bit roomier than I intended, especially in the front, but it fits well enough.  And it's comfortable and warm which goes far in my book for a cardigan.  I didn't make any other modifications.

I'll count it a success!   Well until I ruin it washing it like I did my last sweater!  :-)

BBB

BBB - Beautiful Blue Baby Surprise Jacket

Another great baby FO to add to my gift pile.  This one is for a future baby boy.   This is the infamous Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Jacketor BSG.  The yarn is Blue Moon Fiber Arts - Socks That Rock Lightweight in My Blue Heaven - the first special colorway for 2009 Rockin Sock Club.  Although the sock pattern with it was nice, it was beaded which just isn't my thing, so I decided to use the fiber for something else. 

This is my first time working with Socks That Rock and it does live up to the hype.  I'm pretty happy I have a few more skeins heading my way this year.

    

I was worried when I was finishing this because the neck opening was really small but I undid my first attempt of seaming on the sleeve and adjusted it a bit.  It's still small but based on my google search that's the way it's supposed to be because newborns have small necks.  I really hope that is the case.

Redoing the sleeve to make the neck opening wider also let me modify the grafting a bit too.  My first try I picked up a full stitch from both the sides which made a pretty bulky inside seam, so when I redid it, I only picked up half a stitch on one of the sides which really made a big difference inside and looked neat on the outside.

I did an I-Cord Bind Off and a matching I-Cord around the neck opening and was super pleased with how polished it made the little cardigan look.  I'll definitely be using these techniques again. The buttons were some I picked up in NYC at MJ Trimmings.  They had a great selection of buttons if a little pricey.  I bought 20 small buttons and it was over $20.  Still I was on vacation and I really wanted these starry buttons for this sweater.

Next up is a project for the baby girl I know is coming in August.  And i'm soooooo close to finishing up Calvert.  Just a few more ends to weave in and buttons to add so I should have another FO this weekend!

Socks, Toys and a Little SEX

So I finally got around to taking pictures of my recent acquisitions this past weekend including my Knit Picks order of toys tools and the goods from my SEX at Lion Brand Studio while I was in NYC

My Knit Picks order was needed due to the Icarus ShawlI am knitting.  Really!  Needed!  How else was I going to properly block it without their new blocks (totally awesome) and dye it baby duck yellow without dye!  It was a totally justified expense. :-)  Of course I added a few other things that I just wanted like another KnowKnits pouch, some different stitch markers and the new double sided crochet hooks.

And at the LB Studio I picked up some yarns I have been meaning to try (Sock-Ease, LB Collection Superwash Merino & Recycled Cotton).  I don't really have any projects in mind for them yet.

It was also FO time.  I realized that I had finished two pairs of socks in the past few months that I haven't shared.

The first are my Nutkins which I wrapped up way back in early February.  I really enjoyed working the Cascade Heritage Paintsyarn and think they turned out great.  The in progress shot shows the details and colors better (side note - my picture taking skills bite!).

 

My more recent socks, done in ShibuiKnits Sock, were completed just before I headed to NYC.  They were Brainless. Tee Hee.  

These I was not as pleased with.  I loved the pattern with it's simple cable up the side but the pooling is quite annoying.  Still, like all my socks, I will wear them. 

I finished another FO this weekend too but I think I will save that for another post.  It's so beautiful it deserves it's own place.  I'm off to enjoy the SoCal heat wave....we hit 100 today in downtown LA!  My kind of weather!