Hypothetical Knitting

I have a friend, Printer, who has a screen printing business, and has done a LOT of t-shirts for me and the residence hall this year. I fear he tends to cut me a better deal than he ought to occasionally. So, because we are friends, and because he is so generous...I wanted to give him a Christmas present. The problem is, he is a bit of a tricky fellow to shop for. He doesn't have a television, he makes his own t-shirts, he doesn't collect anything, he doesn't have any real hobbies to speak of...I decided to knit something for him. The problem was determining what to knit that he would actually wear or want. So, we had the following telephone conversation:

Me: So, hypothetically, if someone were to knit something for you, would you wear it?
Him: It depends on what it is.
Me: Lets say it was hypothetically a beanie.
Him: Possibly. Would it look...crafty?
Me: Not necessarily.
Him: Yeah. I would probably wear it.
Me: Hypothetically, what color would it need to be.
Him: Something dark like black or grey.
Me: Ok.

A few nights later, we had another telephone conversation:

Him: What are you up to tonight?
Me: I'm knitting.
Him: Knitting knitting, or hypothetically knitting?
Me: Hypothetically knitting.
Him: How is it coming? Hypothetically.
Me: Hypothetically, I am really liking the pattern design I came up with.
Him: Cool.

I, hypothetically, finished the beanie and mailed it to my sister in Kentucky. (Printer also lives there, too...I put it in the same box as SNCFan's hat and scarf to save on postage.)

She delivered it to Printer before she came up to the parents' house for the holidays. Hypothetically he can wear it frequently this winter as Bowling Green is having an appallingly cold and icy December.

Apparently, he liked it, as in an unprecedented move, he actually took a picture of himself and sent it to me.

He is pondering deep hypotheses.

And it looks much better on him than it did on me.

The pattern was really easy. It is a variation on a standard 2X2 ribbed beanie that ended up in a sort of waffle pattern. It was a little less boring than a standard beanie without being fussy or girly. Heaven forbid we knit anything less than masculine! I will write it up soon and post it.

Completions

I have been VERY productive this semester, as mentioned previously. Here are a few of the things I have finished. (This is not a complete rundown, since some of the projects were commissions, which I will talk about tomorrow, or are Christmas gifts, which I will show you after the holiday!)

Three Towers:
A few months ago I was ordering yarn from KnitPicks and needed to spend another $3 in order to get free shipping...so I ordered a ball of Swish DK Yarn in Merriwether...a color they don't seem to have anymore. When it arrived, I realized that it was almost the same color as Sister's eyes, and decided use it to make a beret for her. I had come across a stitch pattern that looked like the Eiffel Tower. Since Sister and I visited Paris together, I thought it would be fun to try and incorporate that into my standard beret. The result? The Three Towers.

Grimm Scarf:
I had initially hoped to submit the pattern for my blood and shadows scarf to KnitPicks. Who knows? I still might. In order to do so, I needed to knit a version of it out of one of their yarns. I bought a skein of the Imagination Hand Painted Sock Yarn in Wicked Witch. I also decided that the scarf pattern needed a new name. Since the original scarf was made as an homage to vampire literature, I knew I wanted a name that was dark. At the same time, I wanted to tie the name into the fantasy nature of the yarn colourways. How handy that some of the best fairy tales were written by the Brothers Grimm. I finished the scarf while I was in Kentucky a few weeks ago.

Shrug:
I made myself a shrug out of KnitPicks Shamrock yarn in Campbell. I LOVED working with this yarn. The color changes in it kept the knitting interesting, even though the pattern was the single most brainless project I think I have ever done! The pattern was the free Lion Brand Stockinette Shrug. I've linked to it, but it may require a membership to view. It is a REALLY easy pattern. You knit a really long rectangle with ribbing at each end, and then seam up the sides. It is crazy. And I think it is very flattering. (Also, it is very warm...being Shetland wool and all...)

Clementine Cardi:
I sort of almost finished this one. But I am still mad at it. No pictures until I get to Washington.

Colton Scarf:
After I finished the Baby^3 Blanket, I had odd amounts of the various yarns left over. What to do? What to do? And then it hit me...make a version of the scarf that goes with everything! I did a 2x2 ribbed scarf, changing yarns at random points throughout. It came out beautifully. I'm giving it to BFF for Christmas so that she can match the baby! (I'm pretty sure she doesn't read the blog, so I feel perfectly safe posting it here...)I think that this is a really great way to use up the stash as well. I have lots of little teeny tiny scrap balls that are just begging to be scarfed up!

Garfunkel in Green

I just finished a beta-tested Garfunkel scarf.

This time I used Knit One, Crochet Too's Ty-Dy Socks yarn in Panama, which I purchased while visiting Sister. I lengthened the design significantly, and changed the number and width of the ridges.

Actually, I probably made enough changes to warrant it being a new design.

I really like it. I like how the yarn knitted up. I like the ease/portability/brainlessness of the design. I like the color. I like the way it looks with my new haircut...

With the adjustments I made, Garfunkel Green can be worn like an elongated cowl...

Or it can easily be wrapped around the neck for added warmth...

Now I just need to decide if I want to write it up as a free pattern. It isn't really innovative/difficult enough to justify trying to publish it with anyone...but if I'm going to free pattern it, I really need to write up both versions, and that will take time.

If anyone REALLY wants to know the pattern before I get around to typing or formatting, just let me know. I can abbreviate/off-the-cuff it to you in an email.

Innovation on the Fly

I had some yarn left over from Jester's latest beret. Since it was Cascade 220, and therefore feltable, I thought about using it to crank out a couple of coffee cup cozies.

It was very pretty yarn, with various colored plies twisted together.

I got ready to cast on my coffee cup cozy, and then my mind wandered...

...what would happen if I cast on an oversized coffee cup cozy and made it into a hat?

And thus the Java Beanie was born.

Because the stitch pattern I use on the coffee cup cozies is an offset rib, it made the decreases on this hat, well, a wee bit interesting. I actually did quite a bit of tinking and frogging as I worked on it.

Also, that very pretty yarn didn't exactly show up the actual pattern at all.

Still, it is a nice hat. And it fits well. I may try again with a solid yarn and see if I can refine the decrease process a bit. The other option would be to *gasp* try a top down hat.

Misty Dawn Legwarmers

This is a pattern for very easy legwarmers. If you are a competent knitter, then they make great brain-free knitting. If you are a beginner, they are an easy way to practice knitting in the round and very simple shaping!



Misty Dawn Legwarmers

Finished Size: 20" long, and approximately 15" unstretched at widest point. (If you need to make them smaller or larger just make sure that your number of stitches cast on is divisible by 4.)

Approximately 350 yards of worsted weight yarn. Vanna's Choice, Lion Brand [100% Acrylic; 170 yd per 3.5 oz skein]; color: sapphire; 2 skeins
1 - 16" US size 8 circular needle

Gauge: 16 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

Cast on 48 stitches
Round 1: Place marker and join to work in the round, (K2,P2) to end of round
Round 2-10: (K2, P2) to end of round
Round 11: K to end of round
Round 12: (K1, Kfb, K2) to end of round
Round 13 on: continue working stockinette stitch in the round (knit all stitches) until legwarmer is approximately 18" from cast on edge, or 2" shorter than desired finished length.
Decrease Round 1: (K1, K2tog, K2) to end of round
Round 2: K to end of round
Round 3-13: (K2, P2) to end of round
Cast off.

Weave in ends, block if desired.

Dance like a Maniac, and don't let anyone put you in a corner!

Saw, Sold, Delivered

The Client read my blog.

The Client saw the beta version of the Australis scarf. (He owns the original version.)

The Client liked the beta version of the Australis scarf and thought the colors would be great for his sister.

The Client asked if I was planning on selling the scarf.

Since I had planned on listing it online, I said yes, and quoted a price for it.

He agreed.

I took it to Bible Study tonight.

He paid.

He took it home with him.

Saw. Sold. Delivered.

The Naming of a Cowl

I have always been fond of naming things.

Just ask my mother. One of my favorite books to read as a child was a name meaning book called The Name Game.

I named:

• All of my dolls (Soup Can Macaroni, Annabelle, Sasha...)


• All of my stuffed animals (Coco, Gunther, Sigfried, Melville...)


• Plants (Roy, Fairfax, Bertram...)


• Imaginary friends (Zonya Pasgetti...which was how I said Lasagne Spaghetti)


• Pets (Saxon, Cleopatra, Kanini, Duchess)


• EVERYTHING!!!

Yes. I am strange.

So when I knit this cowl, I knew it needed a killer name.



I looked at it. It had ridges.

Ridges was not a great name.

The ridges reminded me of ruts in a road.

Ruts is DEFINITELY not a good name.

The synonyms for ruts included grooves.

Grooves was getting closer.

Grooves morphed into groovy.

Thinking about groovy got the classic rock song "Feelin' Groovy" stuck in my head.

"Feelin' Groovy" is sung by Simon and Garfunkel.

Simon is a boring name for a handknit.

Thus...the cowl is named the Garfunkel.

Cupertino

The adult services librarian at the other branch recently accepted a job as a branch manager in another library system.

He is a nice guy, and we will miss him.

So I expressed my good wishes and fond farewell in my usual way...

I knit him a hat.

Since he is a classy/put together/fashion conscious sort of guy, I knew that his hat needed to be more sleek than rugged. So, for the Cupertino, I used a silk/merino blend in a finer gauge, and a wider rib pattern that would have the non-rolling advantage of a rib, but the smoother finish of stockinette.

Since I am planning on being out of town when they are throwing his good bye shindig, I delivered the hat this weekend. (And then made him model it!)

I really like the way the pattern came out...and since I wrote it down, I think I'll do some testing on it to make sure the end result wasn't a fluke.

Australis: Beta Tested

Some of you may recall that the Client commissioned me to make him a scarf.

I made the scarf.

He wore the scarf.

The scarf went to Antarctica.

However...due to the dark and masculine coloring of the yarn, I could not for the life of me get a proper picture of the stitch pattern that actually showed the detailing.

Did I try to find a better camera? No.

Did I try different lighting? No.

Did I ask someone with better photography skills to attempt a picture? No.

I am a knitter.

I knit a whole new scarf.

This one photographs beautifully!

[The yarn was Deborah Norville's 100% micro fiber Serenity Garden in "Earth". It is a self striping yarn which really showed up the pattern. Also, compared to other micro fibers I have used, it had very little splittage!]

Cable Car

Wednesday was Furlough Fun Day! (All the county libraries were closed due to budgeting...) And so, as usual, my friends and I celebrated our lack of being paid by spending money.

We met at the San Francisco Public Library to get library cards, walked over to the Asian Art Museum and its Shanghai exhibit, and then ate lunch at Francis Ford Coppolla's Cafe Zoetrope. (Which is, by the way, the COOLEST restaurant ever!)

It was still chilly and blustery in the Bay Area...but I was prepared!

I wore my new Cable Car hat!

The yarn is a DK Merino from KnitPicks, and the color is called "fog"...which I thought was perfect for a San Francisco inspired hat!

The pattern is a SuperKnits original...and is being submitted to KnitPicks for inclusion in their Independent Designer Pattern program. We'll see how that goes!

Free Pattern: (Fort) Knox Beanie

The (Fort) Knox Beanie was designed on the fly for a good friend to wear on her morning walks. The color she requested, combined with the faux cables, reminded me of gold bullion…hence the pattern name. The pattern is simple, versatile, and suitable for both men and women.



(Fort) Knox Beanie

Finished Size: approx. 22” circumference (one size fits most adult heads)

Approximately110 yds of worsted weight yarn [I used Cascade Yarns 220; 100% wool; Color 7828 for Perky, Color 9459 for Fatigue. 1 skein yields 2 beanies]
1 - US size 6 circular needle, 16” long
1 – additional US size 6 circular needle, 16” long or set of US size 6 double pointed needles

Gauge: 22 stitches = 4 inches in garter stitch

Special Abbreviation:
C2- Cross two (this is achieved by knitting into the second stitch on the left hand needle, then the first, and sliding both stitches off together.)

Cast on 96 stitches
Join for working in the round, being careful not to twist cast on stitches. Place a marker for the start of round.

Round 1-6: (K2, P2) repeat to end of round
Round 7: (C2, P2, K2, P2) repeat to end of round
Round 8-10: (K2, P2) repeat to end of round
Round 11: (K2, P2, C2, P2) repeat to end of round
Round 12-14: (K2, P2) repeat to end of round
Repeat Rounds 7-14 until beanie measures approx. 7” from cast on. End with a Round 8.

Decrease as Follows, switching to two circulars or double points when necessary:
Round 1: (K2, P2, K2, P2tog) repeat to end of round
Round 2: (K2, P2, K2, P1) repeat to end of round
Round 3: (K2, P2, K2tog, P1) repeat to end of round
Round 4: (K2, P2, K1, P1) repeat to end of round
Round 5: (K2, P2tog, K1, P1) repeat to end of round
Round 6: (K2, P1, K1, P1) repeat to end of round
Round 7: (K2tog, P1, K1, P1) repeat to end of round
Round 8: (K1, P1) repeat to end of round
Round 9: (K2tog, P2 tog) repeat to end of round
Repeat decrease rounds 8 and 9 until there are 6 stitches left on the needles.
Cut yarn, leaving a 6” tail. Thread tail through the live stitches and pull tight.

Weave in ends, wear with pride.

Spoken For

I was working at an after hours event at the library Friday night. Ya-Ya, Boss Lady, and I found ourselves with some down time. We were all sitting in the back taking our breaks and eating. Naturally, I pulled out some knitting. I happened to have the fatigue (Fort)Knox beanie in my purse.

Ya-Ya, my enthusiastic co-worker, has been on a roll since the Get Knittin' program she came to. She has made several afghans, more purses, and recently started in-the-round hat projects. She was intrigued by the crossed stitches/faux cables I was doing. I demonstrated how to do them, and told her I would write up the pattern for her. (I have...I will post it on Wednesday or Thursday...)

While we were engrossed in our knit-chit-chat, Boss Lady looked over. She really liked the color of the (Fort) Knox beanie. I pulled out my i-phone and showed her the blog entry with Perky's picture so she could see what the finished product would look like. Then I went back to my knitting, and she went back to her cheeseburger. A few minutes passed. Boss Lady commented again on how much she liked the beanie. I laughed and said I had been planning on selling it on my Etsy Site (coming soon...I promise!). I told her what I had charged Perky for her version, and said if she wanted it she could have it.

The break ended. We went back to work. I didn't think anymore about it.

I went in to work at the Other Branch this morning. It was Boss Lady's day up there as well. I popped my head into her office to say hello, and let her know I was there to cover lapsit storytime. She asked if I had finished the beanie yet. I said, yes. She said, great. Bring it to work tomorrow, and I will bring you the money.

Go Figure! I guess she was serious about buying it.

So there goes another one of my meant-to-be-etsy items...

...but never fear, I cast on a replacement on my lunch break!

What do Berets and Breasts Have in Common?

I finished the Avignon beret last night...sort of.

I was watching Project Runway again last week, and inspiration hit. So rather than work on the plethora of started or planned projects I have piling up, I decided to freelance through my stash!

Unfortunately, once I had cast off, I noticed that the beret had developed a bit of...well...a nipple. Where the ribbing joined in the decreases, a lovely little peak had formed. Not exactly an attractive feature in a hat.

Frustrated, I set it aside. I have often found it helpful to sleep on this sort of problem rather than immediately starting to freak out. (Freaking out seems to be my first and natural inclination! Dreaming Me came up with two solutions:

• frog it back to where the bulge begins and tinker with the decreases
• try to block it out

Blocking wins. Blocking is, ostensibly, an easier solution. I tried to use a dinner plate...but that wasn't working, so I switched the beret over to an upside down mixing bowl. Now I am waiting for it to dry. If this doesn't work, we'll move on to the more work intensive and obnoxious solution of frogging. Ugh.

(On the plus side, I used up the rest of the yarn from Twilight's birthday beret. I feel a little twinge of satisfaction every time I use stash yarn instead of making a purchase. Its like my own personal Knitters' DARE program...just say no to non-essential yarn shopping!)

Bad Guesstimator

Apparently I am VERY bad about guesstimating head sizes.

I took the on-the-fly Nordic style beanie to Brother's house with me. The one I was sure would be way too big for Nephew...and while it is a little roomy, it actually fit him!

So, guess who has yet another hat from his Auntie?

Knox

There is a very nice lady at my church, Perky, who likes to walk in the mornings.

When she walks her ears get cold.

A properly knit cap could solve this issue, so she commissioned me to make one. She wanted, in her words, a "sunshine yellow" toque. (She is married to a Canadian. She says toque, I say beanie...to-may-to, to-mah-to.)

The dilemma here was in the definition of "sunshine yellow". Yellows cover a broad range...so, I asked her to go through her son's crayon box, find a crayon that was the yellow she wanted, and tell me the color name. (I have a gazillion crayola crayons...out of childhood habit, I buy a new box of 64 or 96 every fall...) However, it seems her son's crayons were not Crayolas. She solved this by sending the actual crayon to bible study, care of her husband, the Canadian.

I took the crayon to the yarn shop, and literally passed it in front of every Cascade 220 yellow till I found a perfect match. (It was a good thing I had the crayon, because the color was a little greenier than I had imagined.)

The beanie itself is being called the (Fort) Knox, as in Fort Knox where all the gold is kept. (Partially because the color reminded me of gold bullion...partially because I was serendipitously watching Goldfinger while I knit it.) I carried the "bullion" theme into the stitch pattern by working elongated cables into the ribbing, like little bricks! I am actually very pleased with the design, and think that I will write it up...I can see it looking very manly in a fatigue green...

I delivered the beanie on Sunday. Perky was astonished that I got the beanie finished as quickly as I did. She gladly plopped it on her head, despite having Sunday morning pretty hair, and posed for a picture.

Now when she walks in the morning, people will definitely see her coming! And hopefully her ears will be warm.

Celebrating Sis-In-Law with 80's Dance

Sis-in-Law just had her birthday on Monday...and since I was seeing her last night, I decided that a day-late-gift-delivery was perfectly warranted. (I did call her on the actual day, and left her a message and everything. I even let her know that her present was arriving with me last night. I did my due diligence.)

But back to the subject at hand. She just had her birthday. And I have known for forever what I was going to give her, since she had asked me flat out several months ago if I could make legwarmers for her sometime.

Certainly.

I love knitting for people. And I especially love knitting things I know that they want!

So I made her:

The Misty Dawn Legwarmers!

For inspiration, before and during knitting, I watched:

Dirty Dancing, Flashdance, Footloose, Fame, and Center Stage (which isn't 80's, but is very legwarmer friendly).

Gotta love the library's great DVD collection!

I also did a lot of knitting at the movie theater during Edge of Darkness, the new Mel Gibson movie. Since the Misty Dawns are in-the-round stockinette, they made for perfect knitting in the dark. Also, the action and pacing of the film made me knit faster...heart rate up, needles flashing!

I was thinking about writing up the pattern, but I think I'll wait and see how they work out for Sis-in-Law fit-wise...since I totally knit them on the fly...that way I can make any necessary adjustments before posting it.

It Always Fits Baby Burp Rag

I love giving burp rags as baby gifts because they are useful, can be gender neutral, and no matter what size the baby turns out to be...they ALWAYS fit! I have a new "standard" burp rag that I have been making of late, which has become very popular with my child-rearing friends. I decided to share the pattern here.



It Always Fits Baby Burp Rag

Finished Size: 8"x14"

Approximately 150 yards of 100% cotton or cotton blend worsted weight.I recommend avoiding any yarn with acrylic...it will not absorb. And, after all, isn't absorbency the whole point of a burp rag?
My favorite yarns to use are:
Bernat's "Cottontots" (very soft and very absorbant(
Lion Brand "Organic Cotton" (also very absorbant...and eco-friendly!)
Debbie Bliss "Pure Cotton"
Queensland Yarns "Hyacinth" (great stitch definition.)
1 - pair US size 7 straight needles

Gauge: 20 stitches = 4 inches in garter stitch

Cast on 50 stitches

Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Knit
Row 3: K3, P to last three stitches, K3
Row 4: Knit
Row 5: K3, K2 tog* to last three stitches, K3
Row 6: K3, Kfb to last three stitches, K3
Repeat Rows 3-6 till burp rag is approximately 11.5" long, ending with Row 4.
(In general, I knit 20 "ridges" in the pattern.)

Knit two rows
Cast off loosely.

Weave in ends, block if desired, burp baby.

(Prior to developing this pattern, I almost exclusively used the "Genius" pattern in the first Mason-Dixon book. I highly recommend it as well.)

Nephew's Baby Shower

I drove to Brother and Sis-in-Law's house on Tuesday to attend Nephew's baby shower. In a fairly predictable and possibly boring move, I took burp rags.

Seeing as how Nephew is family...he got 3 burp rags instead of my standard 2. (I had every intention of making 4, but can't seem to find the skein of blue yarn anywhere...and since I know I bought it, I refuse to just buy another. I guess I will just owe him one till it shows up.)

Also, I gave him the off-the-top-of-my-head-no-fore-thought toy. It is a baby block. Sort of. Once I stuffed it it morphed into more of a ball.

I had actually seen patterns for baby blocks, but they all seemed to involve knitting the 6 sides separately, and then seaming them up. I hate seaming up.

Then I remembered back to my elementary school days, when I used to make paper dice with my friends by cutting cross shapes out of construction paper. So, I knit a cross, and then seamed and stuffed it. (Yes, seaming up was required, but not nearly to the same extent.)

It came out pretty cute. Maybe I will type up the pattern and post it. (And maybe if I used foam instead of stuffing it would stay a cube...)

NEPHEW!!!

My NEPHEW WAS BORN YESTERDAY!!!!!!!!

Words cannot express my excitement!

There are not enough exclamation points in the world!

I already have quite a little pile of baby gifts ready and waiting...

And I still have some Christmas queue to work on...

But, I needed to knit for Nephew!

I will celebrate his entrance into the world in stockinette!

(I am hopefully making a baby toy...no pattern, figuring it out on the fly as I go...we'll see what happens!)

Pumpkin Toilet Paper Cozy

Nothing is sadder than a naked roll of toilet paper sitting on the toilet tank. To solve this problem, dress your TP in it's autumnal best! The ribs in the cozy imitate the ridges in a standard pumpkin.

Pumpkin Toilet Paper Cozy Pattern


Finished Size: Fits Standard Toilet Paper Roll

1 - 2 oz ball of orange 100% cotton worsted weight [MC]
Small amount of green worsted weight [CC]
1 - 16" circular US size 6 needle
1 - 16" circular US size 6 needle, or 1 set of double points when needed.

Gauge: 20 stitches = 4 inches in garter stitch

Cast on 70 stitches onto circular needle, join for working in the round
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: Knit
Row 4: Purl
Row 5: Knit
Row 6: K5, P2* (Repeat to end of round)
Repeat Row 6 until cozy measures 4.75" from cast on edge, or try it on a roll of toilet paper, knitting should equal the roll width

Begin decreases, switching to two circulars or double points when necessary

Row 1: K2tog, K3, P2* Repeat to end of round
Row 2: K4, P2* Repeat to end of round
Row 3: K2, SSK, P2* Repeat to end of round
Row 4: K3, P2* Repeat to end of round
Row 5: K2tog, K1, P2* Repeat to end of round
Row 6: K2, P2* Repeat to end of round
Row 7: K2, P2tog* Repeat to end of round
Row 8: K2, P1* Repeat to end of round
Row 9: K2tog, P1* Repeat to end of round (14 Stitches remain)
Change to CC
Knit even for 6 rows
Decrease Row: K2tog* Repeat to end of round (7 stitches)
Decrease Row: K1, K2tog, K1, K2 tog, K1 (5 stitches)

Cut off yarn, and use a darning needle to thread tail through live stitches, pull tight.

Weave in ends. Block on roll of toilet paper overnight to acheive proper shape.

Enjoy!

Colors: I used Peaches & Creme #11 Sunburst and #53 Verde Green