Happy New Year!

mom's painting mitts, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

That's me, waving good bye to 2008, in one of the "painting mitts" I made for my mom. She saw my fingerless gloves and said "hey, those would be great for painting!", so I rifled through the left overs from my christmas knitting and improvised these (I only had straights in an appropriate size so I had to seam them...). They only took a couple hours for each one and she loves them. So much so that I didn't get a picture of the pair (and they were reveresed in colour and striping sequencing...), but I'm glad she likes them!

As I was thinking about this post earlier today, I almost wanted to title it "Good Riddance 2008"... but in reality, 2008 wasn't that bad of a year. It wasn't always great, but I learned a lot and I think I've grown a lot as a person. With that in mind, I have some New Year's resolutions that I really do hope to stick to.

1. Get back to hot yoga. I loved it all summer, and yes, it is expensive, but it's so very, very worth it. I was still going to the gym for part of the semester (until I got that horrendous cold in November and lost my voice, etc) but it's not the same.
2. Better eating habits. We (the roommate and I) were both tired and over-worked and didn't cook at home very much at all. So, less eating out, more cooking at home and choosing healthier options.
3. Better working habits. I'm an awful procrastinator. And by awful I mean I'm really good at it. REALLY good at it. But I'm going to try and get into the habit of working on a regular (i.e. daily!!) basis. Ok, maybe not on weekends.......
4. Become less clumsy. I know, this isn't necessarily something I can change about myself, but maybe it's just being more aware. This one came to me this morning when I was still half asleep and poured boiling hot coffee on my hand, instead of in my cup.

That's it for now. I don't usually go in for resolutions 'cause I figure most people break them by February... but if I sign up for (and pay the big $$) hot yoga I will go, 'cause after a week of feeling like death, you feel AMAZING and I found when I was doing that I was eating better 'cause it helps with the not feeling like garbage. And maybe, just maybe, it will also help me get into a routine so that I work every day too. The spilling of hot coffee on the hands is an entirely different story. I'll probably always be a bit of a klutz...

So, good bye 2008. You weren't always that good to me, but I learned from you and I'd like to think I'm a better person for it. But I'm still hoping 2009 will be an improvement on you!

Happy New Year everyone. May 2009 bring joy, happiness, health and prosperity to you all.

so now what?

twisted flowers, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Christmas knitting is over and done with, although I have been asked and will eventually put together a pattern for the mittens I made for my cousins. So back to selfish knitting for me!

Above are Cookie A's Twisted Flower Socks that I'm working on in Malabrigo's new sock yarn (deliciousness) in the colour Lettuce. This photo is a couple weeks old... I started them and then realized holiday knitting needed to take priority! By now they're another repeat ahead and I'm ready to start the heel. They're a bit fiddly and slow going and my hands actually hurt after a while on them 'cause I'm cabling without a cable needle (and that is rare for me), but I love them... they'll be beautiful when they're done but don't count on it being anytime soon!

Also on the needles (and waiting patiently for me to come back tomorrow... although they may need more patience then that...) are Boyfriend socks (for me, since there is no bf to give them to!) and the cleopatra wrap. I haven't touched either in months and I'm not sure I'm feeling them now either. What I reaaaaally want to do is turn some of the beautiful malabrigo I have into sweaters...

Merry Christmas to all...

Dickensian couple, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Or Chanukah / Kwanza / Festivus / Whatever you choose to celebrate.

These are the dickensian mice I made for my parents' tree. Upon inspection they appear to be a *bit* bigger than expected, but cute nonetheless. And the closeups:


Mrs. Dickens


Mr. Dickens

From Alan Dart's Dickensian Mice leaflet
Yarns: various scraps of dk/sport weight
Needles: US3 / 3.25mm

snowed in

Caitlin's first sock!, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

That's my little sister, making her first pair of socks! If you look closely, there is already a completed sock under her arm and she's working on the cuff of the second. Other than the grafting, it was a relatively painless process for both of us! And it fits relatively well! A little big on her but she plans to wear them under boots anyway. I think if I keep teaching socks at the store I might see if we can have them do worsted weight socks on size US 5s, like Caitlin is doing here... it just seemed like it was much less painful for her than it has been for previous students...

charlie brown hat

charlie brown hat, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Another fairly quick knit. Started Tuesday, finished last night. Knit in part in the very early morning yesterday while waiting for my ridiculously early flight home. Flying at 6am is cheaper... but getting up at 3:00 for the shuttle van is horrendous. But thank goodness my flight was yesterday 'cause today is what the news people are cutely calling "Snowmageddon". That's right. It's like Armageddon but instead of the fires of hell we're getting a repeat of the ice-age:


Yes, that's a house in the background. And yes, there is a street in between. No, it has not been plowed yet. They canceled school today, which around here is a huge deal. And the sky is only that grey because of the ridiculous amount of snow falling from the it.

So the hat will probably be much needed and much appreciated for a boy from Paris who probably hasn't seen this much snow, potentially ever. I like the colours - reminds me of charlie brown. :)



Pattern: Heavily modified version of the Hot head pattern from the original Stitch n' Bitch book.
Yarn: Bouton D'or Laika (black) and 3 colours of Cascade Baby Alpaca Chunky
Needles: US 11
Mods: Knit in the round to avoid seaming, different striping sequence, different decreases, less rounds.

best idea ever

Uncle Charlie's Hat, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

So the bulky knit hats was pretty much the best idea ever for Christmas prezzies. This one is for my uncle, who is visiting us this Christmas. It's super big on me, thus the rolled brim, but I'm hoping it will fit him.

Pattern: Cabled Hat of Awesomeness (Rav link)
Yarn: Bouton d'Or Laika, slightly more than 2 skeins
Needles: US 11
Time: about 2.5 hours. For reals.

Help save handmade toys

This year I'm attempting to do it handmade. I've knitted a bunch of presents, as the last 4 days worth of posts shows, and those I haven't made myself have been purchased locally and are handmade, or on www.etsy.com, and, obviously, are handmade. Being someone who handmakes a lot of stuff, this is probably more important to me than most, but if you haven't before, please check out etsy, but don't blame me if your bank account is a lot smaller by the time you get back here! There's one exception to my handmade rule for this Christmas, but that's because I never know what to do for my dad! (Dad's are HARD to shop / knit for, right?!)

The US government, in an attempt to rectify the situation that happened about a year ago with all those toys from China that had ridiculously high lead levels, is working on legislation to make all toy manufacturers test their products for lead. Great, right? Well, for those large corporate toy manufacturers who save billions of dollars producing their toys in 3rd World Countries, sure. But what about the people who sell one or two toys a month on etsy or at county fairs? They cannot afford the $150 - $4000 it would take to test each product.

To learn more about this you can visit:
Help Save Handmade Toys from the CPSIA on facebook
The Handmade Toy Alliance
Or, Sign the Petition.

Here is a copy of the letter I wrote when I signed the petition. Please feel free to copy and paste it or write a version of your own.

I believe that it is important for North American governments to protect children from the dangers of lead poisoning, especially from large corporations importing cheaply made toys from countries that will manufacture large quantities under suspect conditions. However, handmade toys, especially those made in Canada and the US, from natural products such as wood and cotton and previous tested products such as yarn - for handknit or crocheted items - should be exempt from such costly procedures. Think of all the people who hand make one or two items to sell at county-fairs or on websites such as etsy.com who simply could not afford to test products for $150 - $4000 when they potentially only sell one or two items a month, usually for far less than $100. These are people who are trying to supplement their income or are working for the simple pleasure a hand made item brings to a child.

Please provide exemptions for items made at home, especially those using natural / pretested materials.

Thank you,
Your Name Here

And now back to your regularly, unpolitical, scheduled knitting.

chunky yarn + big needles = fast hats

Gigi's Hat, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

I should just quit school and knit full time. I just enjoy it so much more most days. I doubt it could compete to pay the bills though, even as meager as a grad student's stipend is. Le sigh.

Anyways, another quick hat to give as a Christmas present. Again, Cascade Baby Alpaca Chunky (less than one skein), to match the first pair of mittens.

Pattern: Robin's Egg Blue Hat
Needles: US 10
Extras: Buttons left over from my Buttony Cardi... Finding the right button(s) for this was probably the hardest part of the whole thing. I went to a couple of antique stores near my house and picked up a few things but nothing was quite right. Fortunately I had these (and a few others...) at home and I tried a few combinations and the consensus - between myself and my roommate - was that these were the best.

another one bites the dust

toto's hat, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Another day, another present done! This is Urchin in Cascade Baby Alpaca Chunky. Matches the mittens made previously and going to the same recipient. I love this hat so much I want to keep it. Instead I think I'll probably end up making myself various versions of it. But definitely one in Baby Alpaca. Sooooo soooooft.

Pattern: Urchin, as previously mentioned.
Needles: 7mm (no US equivalent)
Yarn: Delicious Baby Alpaca...

Also recently knit but previously unblogged:



"Piernas Carísimas" - Super expensive legs in the English. Cascade Venezia Worsted (1 and 1/10 skein) + Trendsetter's Dune (2.5 skeins) made these somewhat pricey but oh so beautiful... and warm. Ridiculously warm. Wanna see more?



Yum.
Pattern: Modified version of leg warmers from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Needles: US 9
Yarn: Cascade Venezia Worsted and Trendsetter Dune

Booyeah Santa!

Toto's Mittens, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Mittens for the other cousin, started AND finished yesterday. How's that for knitting under pressure? However, I realized that these ones are a fair bit longer than the first pair and fit a lot better (see what happens when you don't bother to use patterns??) so I'm going to re-do the tops of the first pair later today.

Yarn: Cascade Baby Alpaca Chunky
Needles: US 8 DPNs
Pattern: From my brain

Yes, Virigina, I am Christmas knitting

mittens, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

So I started these mittens back in October (where has the time gone?!) and they were completely finished except for weaving in the ends, etc on the second one. They will be given to one of my cousins who is visiting from France. The pattern is my own, using a colourwork chart from the Vogue Stitchionaries. I'll be making a second pair and (time granting) matching hats. I haven't decided what colour work to do on the second pair, which will have the beige as the main colour and the white and orange as complimentary colours.

There has been other knitting, but it's all selfish, and that's not the spirit of the season... so from now until Christmas hopefully I'll be able to showcase all the other things I'm going to knit for people! (Yes, I know how many days there are left until Christmas... I have a slight case of knitters denial...)

Nakniswemo over!

Darcy Cardi, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Well, my goal for the NaKniSweMo was to finish up the two languishing sweaters that only needed sleeves... and, only a few hours before the end of November, I have succeeded! Go me! Darci is finished, complete with buttons! The sleeves do need to be blocked... they look icky compared to the already blocked body, but the knitting and finishing, is done. Fortunately I bought the buttons for this ages ago...

P.S. Sorry for the crappy picture... I need new batteries for my camera so I just used the maccam and the lighting is icky and dark!

swoosh!

fast socks, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

That's the sound the act of knitting these socks makes... they're so freakin' fast, it's kind of ridiculous. Made for my sis, who requested more after the first pair.

Notes:
Pattern:Easy Boot Socks
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash Paints (less than 1 skein!), purchased at Lovelyarns
Needles: US 5 / 3.75mm dpns
Mods: shorter cuff than called for, longer heel flap.

NaKniSweMo FO #1!

wicked, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Wicked is finally finished! This poor sweater has been on the needles since early May and due to a series of rather unfortunate event is finally finished. I ought to try and remember that sweater patterns, as written, are almost always too short for me. In the case of this sweater, this resulted in ripping back and adding several inches to the bottom, which, in turn, used up more yarn than expected and I ran out with about half a sleeve left to go. Check out the before and after lengths:



But through the generosity of friends and ravelers Tinypurls, Spacekitty and Crashintoewe I was able to finish. Thanks gals!

Pattern: Wicked by Zephyr Style
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Verde Adriana (4.25-ish skeins)
Needles: US 8
Mods: Lots of added length to the body!!

a pair of bears

Grandma Bear, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Two bears in two days! First up is "Grandma Bear". She's being sent to Africa via the Mother Bear Project. (Actually, via Lovelyarns to the MBP, to Africa...). I just thought she looked very grandmotherly... aside from the semi-florescent green yarn used for her head, hands and feet. It doesn't look it in this picture but under the bright lights at the store it looked like it would glow in the dark! Anywho....

The other bear is Frankenbearina. Remember my attempts at crochet to keep my hands busy while staying in bed for 2 days? Well, it created this:



OK, so that picture makes her look extra scary... she's actually kind of cute, in a mismatched, Frankenstein-y kind of way:



It was a good learning process. I learned several different crochet stitches, I learned that it's a lot easier to miss stitches in crochet than in knitting (at least, without unraveling the whole thing!), and I learned that there is a reason that all the other crocheted mother bears don't use the various different stitches - they're too holey and now all her stuffing peaks through. So I used some of the plastic doll eyes I had left over from another project and gave her a stitched up mouth a-la Frankendeer - whom she reminds me of and who has been MIA since August. Well, not really MIA, I know where he is, but I probably won't be seeing him anytime soon. :( But I digress... She's too scary / fragile to be shipped off to Africa so she's sticking it out here with me. Hopefully the cats won't eat her....

sick days = lots of productive time...

mitered squares blanket, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

So I've come down with laryngitis and have no voice. No voice! I didn't realize how much I must talk until I couldn't. I mean, I sort of can... it's sort of whisper-y and squeaky, but I was cautioned to try not to speak as much as possible. So I spent 3 hours in the student health clinic yesterday waiting for my "walk in" turn and finished most of the mitered squares blanket. (And yes, I will wash it very well before giving it to a new born baby!) I wove in the ends last night and crocheted a border on it this morning.

Ah, crochet. The knitter's nemesis. Or is it? I mean, crochet borders can give definition and stability to the edges of many projects, right? So I decided that since I'm staying home today and mostly staying in bed, especially since every few hours when the sudafed starts to wear off I feel woozy and fever-y again, that I would teach myself how to crochet. Obviously I sort of know how... to the extent that I can single-crochet a border around a blanket. But as for other stitches, etc, I'm pretty lost. And I still probably couldn't read a crochet pattern anymore than a kitten can resist a paper bag, but I have accomplished this so far:



I'm not following a pattern but it's supposed to be a crocheted mother bear. I figured it was a good way to try out different stitches and have something with purpose to it at the end of the project. OK, more sudafed and ibuprofen and back to bed for me now...

NaKniSweMo

OK, so it's NaKniSweMo again... I sucked at this last year so I'm not sure I want to try again... BUT I have 2 sweaters (Wicked and Mrs. Darcy) that are both really ridiculously close to being finished. So my goal for the month is to finish both of these sweaters. Depending on how long it takes me to do that I will perhaps even try to find another to cast on... actually, I have the yarn for at least a couple more sweaters that I could use... and in fact should use, as my stash is starting to take over more of the living room than I'm comfortable with...

bonus: obligatory brooklyn tweed-like photo included!

mitred squares baby blanket, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

So, along with all the Christmas knitting I want to get done (note: want, not actually doing), a friend of the family, who was also my TA for Canadian History, is having a baby in early January. So I promised my mom I would make her something really cool... and I've been wanting to try out mitered squares for a while.

Here's a bird's eye view of the progress thus far:



Less artsy but more comprehensive!

Based on this pattern. I'd never done mitered squares before, but there's something satisfying about them. Garter stitch, getting progressively smaller... It feels like an accomplishment every time I finish one.

Yarn: 2 colours of Knit One Crochet Too Ty Dy Worsted weight.
Needles: size 7 circ.

FO: chinese lace pullover

chinese lace pullover, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

I finished the chinese lace pullover yesterday. I love it! It needs to be blocked still and I made some major modifications, but I think it's possibly the prettiest garment I've made myself so far. I'll try to post some post-blocking pictures soon.

Details:

Pattern: Chinese Lace Pullover by Angela Hahn: Ravelry link and Angela's blog link
Needles: US 6 for body, US 4 for sleeves
Yarn: Malabrigo Silky Merino 6 skeins (900 yards) exactly in colour "Rupestre"
Mods: Woah boy... there have been a lot... the most notable being the sleeves: I totally omitted the lace at the bottom of the sleeves. And I used needles 2 sizes smaller in order to not have huge bell sleeves. Also, I crocheted around the hem, sleeves and neckline to get them to lie flatter... they still need some work (aka blocking), but overall I'm happy with them.

Apologies again for the long period of blog static... to be honest, I've been in a bit of a funk lately. School is good, I have great students this semester... I even have lots of new wips to show... it's just been a bit of a rough time emotionally. I have good days and I have bad. The last couple have been bad, but hopefully things will start looking up soon. I've been looking for plane tickets to go home for Christmas... but with the fuel prices and the market, it's a ridiculous $200 or more to fly to Detroit now. That's almost double what it was when I first moved down here! I mean, it's only Detroit, right?!

firsts...

Despite being sick with a cold that seems to not want to go away, Virginia Beach was a lot of fun and full of firsts for me. One was the first sunrise over water. That same morning I also saw dolphins in the wild for the first time. (Sadly no pictures... silly me and my camnesia.)

But possibly the best first was the first highway / road sign I have ever taken a picture of:



Which made my roommate and I burst into a recitation of this:

BEDEVERE:
What also floats in water?
VILLAGER #1:
Bread!
VILLAGER #2:
Apples!
VILLAGER #3:
Uh, very small rocks!
VILLAGER #1:
Cider!
VILLAGER #2:
Uh, gra-- gravy!
VILLAGER #1:
Cherries!
VILLAGER #2:
Mud!
VILLAGER #3:
Uh, churches! Churches!
VILLAGER #2:
Lead! Lead!
ARTHUR:
A duck!
CROWD:
Oooh.
BEDEVERE:
Exactly. So, logically...
VILLAGER #1:
If... she... weighs... the same as a duck,... she's made of wood.
BEDEVERE:
And therefore?
VILLAGER #2:
A witch!
VILLAGER #1:
A witch!
CROWD:
A witch! A witch!...
VILLAGER #4:
Here is a duck. Use this duck.
[quack quack quack]
BEDEVERE:
Very good. We shall use my largest scales.

(for the transcription of the whole scene see this.)

It pays to get up early

My roommate wanted to head to Virginia Beach for his birthday, so we got here late last night. We have an awesome hotel room (ok the room itself isn't anything fantabulous buuut...) on the top floor of the Ramada with a direct view onto the beach. I, stupidly, forgot my camera and his is recharging it's batteries, but, MAC TO THE RESCUE! I still got some pictures of my first sunrise over water sighting:




Not the greatest pictures... but they'll have to do. It's a lot brighter and just before the sun came out from under the horizon there was an almost-rainbow-like line above it. From yellow right down to purple. I'll try and wake up again tomorrow around the same time to see if I can get a "real" picture!

finished!

cabled vest, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

So it's all done. Only that last cable is going the wrong way. As specified in the pattern, but not pictured in the magazine. Boo. Oh well, I'm going to see if I can ignore it and if not then I might try to fix it. I'm just worried the fixing will look worse than leaving it as is.

It's super sunny out so the colour should actually look a lot more like it does in this picture:



but I wanted to show the whole thing and since my roommate has already left for the day I had to find ways to take pictures of myself!

Notes:

Pattern: Debbie Bliss Cabled V-Neck Vest from the Fall 2008 Debbie Bliss Knitting Magazine
Size: 32-34 (S)
Yarn: Berroco Peruvia Quick
Needles: US 13 and 11 straights
Mods: Accidentally used the measurements for picking up sleeves from second size up, but it was a happy accident, I think. Grafted the collar at the back rather than binding off and sewing together.

All in all I'm really happy with this garment. I am mad at the magazine for very clearly (italics were used!) indicating the change in cables when, upon close inspection, the garment pictured does not change cable directions at all. But I'll get over it, and I do LOVE the hand and warmth of the Berroco Peruvia Quick. I would definitely recommend it for a bulky/super bulky project.

almost there...

cabled vest, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

OK, so it's been a lot longer than a day. But hey, I have to have a life and go to school too, right?

I have a few beefs with the pattern, namely that the cables don't match the picture. In the picture (Ravelry users can see it here, non-ravelers can try her site) all of the cables are going the same way. I.E. the one at the neckline crosses the same way as the rest of them. Not so for my sweater - which, as I was working the last cable I thought, hmmm... now why wouldn't they make them all cross the same way... but I followed the pattern blindly anyway. And yes, the pattern specifies very clearly that this cable IS different than the rest.

But all in all I'm loving this sweater. this picture was taken about 1/2 an hour ago and I already have one little cap sleeve finished since then. Now I just have to finish the second sleeve and seam up the sides. Too bad that whole pesky school thing has to go and get in the way...

one day sweater

Como back, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

In all seriousness, I thought I could get this sweater done in one day. I was compelled around 6am to make it but I had to wait until the store opened at 11 to get the yarn. And if I had worked from dawn til dusk, I probably could have finished. Super bulky wool + super huge needles = super fast knitting. So my bragging was for naught, but I did get the back done. Not the best picture, but it was taken last night in the dark and rain.

Another new addition to the knitting supplies is my new robot pencil case:



LOVE. I found it on etsy in Rohmcraft's store.

I heart this sweater

Chinese lace, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Have I mentioned that I've wanted to make this sweater FOREVER. And now that it's getting close to being done (ok, so I'm on the first sleeve and we all know how me and second sleeves go...) I'm loving it even more. I actually want it to be cold out so that I can wear it. Seriously, in love.

The sleeves, however, are not so much in love with me. I spent most of Sunday afternoon attempting to cast on the first sleeve. I had wanted to do both at once, but that just wasn't going to happen. First I tried casting on for the lace portion. HUGE. I mean, 5 times the size of my arm huge. I know they're supposed to be bell sleeves, but this was ridiculous. So we looked at a bunch of the pictures of finished Chinese Lace Pullovers on Ravelry and I actually decided that I wasn't in love with the lacey bell sleeve. So then I tried casting on the # of stitches for the decreased ribbing. Not as huge, but still way too big for my taste. So I ripped that back and finally decided to cast on to smaller needles, but only for the ribbing. I didn't want to mess too much with the numbers... I was afraid it wouldn't work out for the sleeve caps. I may switch to larger needles as I get closer to the top too, just to see how that goes.

fell off the blog-wagon...

chinese lace pullover, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

So I was doing really well there, posting almost every day... but I had a lot of quick projects to finish up and then I had nothing. OK, so I still have those two sweaters (wicked and Mrs. Darcy. Although in my defense I'm still waiting for a friend to bring me some yarn to finish up that last 1/2 a sleeve on Wicked) but I really really wanted to start something new after finishing all that socky stuff.

SOOOOO.... this is the Chinese Lace Pullover by Angela Hahn. Ravelry page and purchase via blog page. I have been wanting to make this sweater for about a year. In fact, I attempted it once, in a different, handpainted yarn, and it just looked like Rainbow Brite threw up yarn into a sweater form. I think this is much better in a solid colour / semi-solid like the Malabrigo Silky Merino here. Which, by the way, is to DIE for so far. So soft, and silky... I cannot wait to wear this. Although I may have to the way the summers drag on down here.

So that's what I've been working on. I'm about 10 inches into it. Another 4 to go before possibly splitting off for the sleeve holes. I say possibly because it seems that sweater patterns are too short for me. I'm hoping this one is ok 'cause I really don't have even a yard of extra yardage.... Although I'm going to do the sleeves at the same time and if I start running out I'll adjust the length accordingly.

Sorry there isn't a better picture of the lace, I'm going to try it on when I split for the front/back and hopefully it will be easier to photograph then.

Another FO!

entrelac socks, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Wohoo! I finally finished the entrelac socks. It took exactly 4 months to the day (according to my Raverly page I started April 3 and finished yesterday, Sept 3) but they're finally done! And, if I might say so, very pretty. And far too warm to wear right now.

Pattern: Entrelac Socks by Eunny Jang, from Interweave Knits Spring 2007

Yarn: Crystal Palace Yarns Panda Silk in green and pink (In reality I used a LOT less than called for, but I didn't make tassels)

Needles: Size 1 dpns

Mods: None, except for yarn substitution. If I were to make these again, however, I would definitely increase a bit earlier and a second time in order to make them fit my calves better. As it is they're fine, but it takes some convincing to get them on. Also, the cuff and especially bind off is a bit fussy but definitely looks very good and is a nice finish to the socks.

FO: Pomatomus

Pomatomus, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

yay! another FO. And more socks. Have I mentioned how sick I am of socks? Silly me only took sock yarn home to Canada with me this summer and wow am I ever tired of making socks. Good thing I'm teaching an intro to socks class next week...

Anywho, the details:

Pattern: Pomatomus
Needles: US 2 dpns
Yarn: Zitron Trekking XXL (with TONS left over)
Mods: Accidentally worked all decreases as k2tog rather than k2togtbl, continued the knits and purls across the toes and only decreased toes to 24sts instead of 12.
My ravelry page: here.

so close to wicked

so close to wicked, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

ack. I literally have 1/2 a sleeve left and NO MORE YARN. And because malabrigo had a huge fire a couple of months ago, the beautiful, beautiful yarn is in short supply. I've sent out the call around ravelry to see if anyone has any left overs... I really only need about 1/2 a skein to finish it, maybe even less. If I had followed the directions exactly to specifications then I would probably not need any more yarn but remember the first time I bound off the bottom?



Waaaaay too short. So, I added several inches (like, close to 10 I think) to the body, which would explain why I ran so short on yarn. Booo. Anyways, hopefully my search on ravelry will bring me an extra 1/2 skein, otherwise I'll have to troll the internet, hoping that one of the online stores has it in stock. (It's worsted weight, colour "Verde Adriana" if anyone has any...)

Fastest. Socks. Ever.

Ok, seriously, these don't even count in the "I'm not going to cast on anything new" category. I started them Wed. night, and here we are on Friday morning, with two, yes, TWO completed socks. Too bad that I wouldn't wear worsted weight socks very often, or I'd make all my socks this way.

Pattern: Easy Boot Socks
Needles: US 5 dpns
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash Paints in colour 9862
Mods: I worked the pattern on size 5s rather than size 6 - I wanted to make sure that the knit was tight. Also, worked on 5 dpns rather than 4 - the math just make more sense to me this way. The pattern is rather loosely written, I had to scratch my head and think hard about a couple of things, so if you try this pattern out and are having a hard time, shoot me an email or a comment here and I'll try to help you work it out.

If I were to knit these again (which I might, since they were a request and if the recipient likes them I will probably be making her more at Christmas time) I would definitely make the heel-flap longer.

More details on my ravelry page: Fastest Socks.

Mother Bear Project

I've made a bunch of bears for the Mother Bear Project and the latest, Georgie, has been stuffed and sewn together:



I finished him yesterday and went back to the store today to get a picture of him. Not the greatest picture, but it will do.

I also got a picture of "Nathanial", another bear that I made a while ago (before I went to Canada for the summer) but never got a picture of. He's in the latest batch of bears that will soon be sent off to Africa, 'cause the "bear wall" at the store is pretty full:



I also might have started a new project last night, but only because it's not for me and there is a deadline (aka birthday) coming up soon:



I swear, these are the fastest socks ever. I started yesterday evening and already have one completed sock and the cuff of a second. Details to come soon...

WIPs round-up

OK, so I'm back state-side and it's time to take an inventory of all the WIPs - those coming back from Canada with me and those left to hibernate over the summer, waiting for my return. My goal is to finish up at least 3/4s of these before starting on something new...

First up: Mrs. Darcy



This is the last WIP photo taken of her, back in February. Since then she has been seamed and one sleeve has been completed. She needs 1 more sleeve and some buttons to be finished.

Next: Wicked



Wicked came out short the first time round (as seen here), but has since been ripped back and made longer - to a non-navel-gazing level. It also has 1 (almost) complete sleeve. (Seriously, what is with me getting bored with the second sleeve? Unless something dire happens to me I'm going to need a second sleeve to keep my other arm warm...)

Cleopatra Wrap:



Sadly I didn't even get through one repeat of the chart with this. But it is very pretty and I will go back to it eventually...

Entrelac Socks:



These are so close to completion it's almost ridiculous. I ran out of the contrast yarn with 3 squares (not TIERS, SQUARES) to go. I have more, but it's been sitting here, patiently waiting for me.

Pomatomus socks:



This is the completed first sock. I'm now past the heel on the second sock and decreasing along the gusset.

Last, but certainly not least: Georgie



Georgie is all but finished. All he requires is some stuffing, a face, and perhaps a jaunty scarf. As soon as I can get my hands on the polyfil he'll be done.

So, it's looks like I've got some serious knitting ahead of me! Good thing I'm meeting up with some local knitters for some drinks and stitching on Thursday!