Using up stash

I finished another little blanket animal blanky yesterday. Yay! I'm intending to donate to LV Pints 'n Purls for the charity knitting we've been doing for local animal shelters. Problem is, I only have until next Tuesday to hand it in, and I don't know that I'll get it handed in on time. If I don't, I'll either keep it and let one of my own awesome kitties use it or I'll donate to a shelter myself.

Here's the pattern; I found this stitch browsing through my copy of The Harmony Guide to Knitting Stitches. And I got to use up more of the Babysoft Solid that I've had in stash for years. Good stuff!

Little Checked Blanket

650 yds Lion Brand Babysoft Solid, in Bluebell, held double throughout
Size 13 circular needle

Gauge: I didn't even bother with gauge on this one... it's a little blanky!

Finished size: 25 in x 26 in

K = knit
P = purl
rep = repeat

NOTE: Yarn is held double for this project.

Cast on 76 sts.
Row 1 - 4: *K4, P4, rep from * to end.
Row 5 - 8: *P4, K3, rep from & to end.

Repeat these 8 rows 12 times. Bind off. End yarn. Weave in ends.

Needless to say, this finished size of this can be easily adjusted by adding additional pattern repeats per row (multiples of 8).

Bohemian Rhapsody!

No, I haven't started cleaning yet, thanks for asking. Instead, I've been browsing some forums (fora?) on Ravelry and found one or two things I wanna post here.

First, a funny:

Second, one of coolest things I've ever seen. I wanna learn how to sing like this!

No Snow, But Rain

Well, my historic two-day-in-a-row posting earlier this week didn't result in snow. We are, though, now facing a number of days of rain. I can live with that.

I finished my Wicket vest... yay! So now I'm full force on my Spring socks. To be honest, I'm not crazy over the pattern. It's a 6-st, 4-row repeat, so it's not complicated, but it involves a lot of YOs, and some are YO clockwise and some are YO counter-clockwise, and there are SSKs and K2togs that have to be kept straight. I'm glad I'm using a variegated yarn because I'm sure I'm not being consistent... with a solid yarn it would show!

I also signed up for a KAL for the Barton sweater. The designer is going to lead classes on various techniques, so it seemed like a no-brainer to me. I order some relatively inexpensive wool (the cost is just under $40) in Forest Heather. The suggested yarn for the pattern costs something like $25 for 2 oz!

Today's goal is to clean my room. It's a mess, and I've let it go way too long. So I'm off to get started. Woo hoo!

Two Days in a Row... Hope It Doesn't Snow!

Who knows what karmic havoc my posting on two consecutive days might cause! Come to think of it, if there is any karmic havoc going on over this, we are in a lot of trouble. Sheesh!

I worked on the Encore Baby Cardi last night. Ugh, do I hate the finishing work that projects need to look really complete. (Yeah, it's called finishing work for a reason, right?)

• I wish I'd done the buttonholes differently. The pattern called for simple YO, K2tog. That definitely creates a hole, but it's not stable and not at all pretty. I should have thought to do something more elegant. So now I'm working blanket stitch around the holes, but OMG it's boring and causes even more ends to be woven in. Gah! I got 2 of 4 buttonholes finished.


• I decided on the buttons I'll use. Pattern calls for 1" buttons... how the heck big are the holes they wound up with? The buttons I'll be using are only 5/8". Granted, the hole comes together a bit with the blanket stitching, but even without, there's no way a 1" button was going through. Doesn't matter; I have more than enough buttons to choose from. But you know what? When you sew on a button, you get another end to be woven in. UGH!! I got one button sewn on.


• For some crazy reason, the two fronts don't line up. That is, if I match the bottom edges, one of the top edges is a bit short. Argh! I guess I must have lost track of row counting somewhere and have a couple more rows on one side than the other. I'm hoping I can fudge that with the button placement.

Why isn't this sweater done yet? ::whine::

On the plus side, I picked up the Wicket vest this morning. This is a test knit that I'm working, and I had some problems understanding the pattern. I'd posted my question on Sunday and so had put it aside for a bit. Today, I looked at the pattern again and had no problem understanding it. I guess I overthought the instructions and got myself all confused; by just going with the directions and trusting that I'd done things correctly so far, it was easy-peasy to move ahead. I finished the left side of the front; all that remains is the front right side, the neckline ribbing, the armhole ribbing, and sewing the side seams. My goal is to complete it this evening. Yay!

Whaddya Mean, It's May?

So where did the past 3 weeks go? I have no idea... zipped by like, um, a really fast thing passing by me. Easter's over, Mother's Day has passed, and we're well on our way to Memorial Day. I was going to put in some words about my weight issues making me not look forward to summer, but this is my knitting blog, so belay that, and let's talk yarn!

Today has been an excellent yarn day. My bestest yarn buddy, Mad Science Yarns herself, gave me some yarn today. Yes... gave me some yarn. And not just any yarn. Super scrumptious gorgeous yarn. Two skeins, no less! One is some Munchkin Knitworks Fingerpaints sock in Purpleberry; the other is Mad Science Beryllium in a colorway I'm calling "Spring Fantasy" (sorry no photo yet on that one!). They're both lovely, but seriously, I want to cuddle and hug the Beryllium and sleep with it at night. I'm going to use it for a pair of socks called Spring that I'm doing as a test knit. They are going to be gorgeous, and you are going to be jealous of them! And all she wants in return is for me to buy her dinner a couple times at our Monday night Pints 'n Purls gatherings. That is a done deal!

I have a few projects on the needles right now.

• A baby sweater vest called Wicket (a test knit)


• A baby sweater that I started cause I've been dying to see how the yarn knits up and I couldn't think of anything else I wanted to knit


• The aforementioned Spring socks


• A blanket out of some old acrylic to be donated to a local animal shelter

I've also committed to doing a few projects for friends, including a Fat Cat in Temple colors (cherry red and white) and one or two Steampunk petal chokers.

Happy knitting!

Internetz, forgive me for I have sinned...

It has been over a month since my last blog post...

And I have no excuse other than I just haven't taken the time to update.

I've done a lot of knitting, went to a number of knit nights, and got a number of projects complete. Woo hoo!

I knitted a little blanky yesterday to donate to the LV Pints 'n Purls charity knitting for animals in May. Washable fiber required, so I used some acrylic from stash. Here's the pattern; stitch is the Stocking Stitch Triangles from The Harmony Guide to Knitting Stitches.

Little Blanky

198 yds Loops & Threads Snuggle Wuggly Baby Sport, in Soft Yellow
Size 8 circular needle
Crochet hook size F

Gauge: I didn't even bother with gauge on this one... it's a little blanky!

Finished size: 13 in x 16-1/2 in

K = knit
P = purl
rep = repeat
SC = single crochet

Cast on 70 sts.
Row 1 [right side]: K across.
Row 2: *K1, P4, rep from * to end.
Row 3: *K3, P2, rep from * to end.
Row 4: Rep row 3.
Row 5: Rep row 2.
Row 6: Rep row 1.

Repeat these 6 rows 19 times. Bind off. Crochet a SC border around, putting 4 SC in each corner. End yarn. Weave in ends.

Needless to say, this finished size of this can be easily adjusted by adding additional pattern repeats per row (muli

Another Rainy Day in March

Wow, it's raining again. Quelle suprise.

On the other hand, it's Thursday, so that counts for something. And I got a free hibachi lunch, and I'm currently enjoying a Starbucks caramel macchiato and a piece of pumpkin cheesecake. I have no right to complain about anything.

The other day I felt like I was between projects, but I've managed to fill up the needles again. Currently cast on are

• Mardi Gras Chat. I cast him on last night: a nice big fat kitty cat that I'm striping in Mardi Gras purple, gold, and green. I'll probably rename him "Mardi Gras Fat Cat" since, well, I'm not knitting a chat, I'm knitting un chat.
• Corny Menswear Socks. This is not my first time at the sock rodeo, but it's my first using magic loop and doing two at a time. And it's with very splitty yarn on size 1s. I'm guessing that once I get past the the toes I'll be good; I just have to get there. On the other hand, I bought this yarn in 2007 with the intention of making myself a pair of socks, and the time is now!
• March 2011 Mystery KAL project. Not sure if this is going to turn out. I'm definitely off gauge (I measure 2-3/4 inches where by gauge I should measure 3 inches). Plus I found out what it's going to be (although I won't tell here!), and I'm meh. But for now I'm up to date with the clues, so I can let it rest until next Tuesday when the next clue is posted.
• Padraig Cap. This is pattern testing. It's off the needles now. There is some pick-up knitting to be done and then assembly (building out the brim, etc.) and blocking. Also, I want to write up my suggestions for wording improvement and get that to the designer. My goal is to have cap and feedback complete by end of the weekend at the very latest; end of Saturday would be better.
• Pesto Dotty Bag. This is another pattern test. I'm about half done and so far don't have any suggestions for improving the pattern; the designer's done a good job writing it up. It's a cute little bag, although there are two things slowing my progress:
  1. The 16" circular I'm using is too small; the 32" I also own is too big. I need a 20"!
  2. Every other row is K1P1 (or P1K1)... slow going! But the overall pattern is lovely.
• Shamrock with bling, which is just a silly little pattern for a Ravelry contest. The shamrock itself is knitted; I just have to "bling it up" and submit my entry. I'll probably just sew in some of the seed beads I have from Mom's counted cross stitch supplies. (postjack/ Why do I still think of things as Mom's? She's been gone for 5-1/2 years. If it's in my house, it's mine. I know that, but why don't I know it? /postjack)

Most of these are close to done, so I'll have to be on the lookout for my next projects. There was a lovely cardigan in the Spring 2011 issue of Interweave Knits that caught my eye. Also, I know I have a lot of favorites on Rav I can contemplate. Counting Crows sweater? Easter eggs? Catfish? So many possibilites... fun, fun, fun!