Books, Cats, Yarn & Other Vaguely Related Items

So the Rumors are True

2012-01-13T09:32:00.000-05:00

Hello. It's been thirteen days since I last purchased yarn.

My husband has "challenged" me to knit from stash in 2012. It's not like I don't have a lot of stash. It's not like my knitting time has decreased thanks to a certain adorable baby.

I am still in the Rockin' Sock Club as well as the Pro-Verbial Shawl Club, so small amounts of yarn will trickle in. I also have a layaway bag at the store that I last put yarn into on New Year's Eve, so as that gets paid off, that will come home with me as well.

But yeah, knitting from stash. Here we go.

Portraits

2011-12-30T06:40:00.000-05:00

One of the reasons I wanted a DSLR was to take portraits of the kids. The 35mm lens that came with my camera is perfectly good for everyday use, but the aperture settings don't go down low enough to achieve the "bokeh" look that is popular now. So with my Christmas money, I bought an inexpensive 50mm lens recommended by my family friend and wedding photographer and set out to experiment. We received a membership to the local Conservatory from my mother-in-law, which provided a great backdrop with natural light. I still need to work on white balance, but I think the composition is pretty decent, no?

Christmas Cables of Doom

2011-12-11T09:51:00.002-05:00

Apparently I needed over a week off to recover from National Blog Posting Month.

The next time I chirpily announce that I am going to knit the children matchy-matchy outfits for Christmas, ask if me it is July. If it is past July, tell me it is too late for this year. The plan was to make coordinating vests (the Pembroke pattern from Petite Purls) in Christmas colors.

Originally I envisioned the children wearing these for artfully posed photos to send out as Christmas cards. At this rate, I will be lucky to get them done by Christmas day.I have almost the back of Henry's completed. This means I have the front, the finishing, and all of Michael's to go. Michael is real small, so that should go quickly, right? Right?

Tomorrow is World AIDS Day

2011-11-30T05:23:00.000-05:00

And my friend Steven is having a fundraiser for the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force with amazing prizes, starting at midnight tonight. Check it out here.

I might need an intervention

2011-11-29T18:43:00.000-05:00

For the record, the first day of DEAR was a failure. I got into bed, opened the book, and fell asleep. This morning, I woke up with a migraine, so reading was out for that window of time as well.

This month, I finished two garments for Michael, a Beau by Cosy out of Malabrigo Worsted, and a Baby T-Shirt Vest out of Madelinetosh DK. The first is totally whimsical; the second is a project I made to fill a hole in his wardrobe. I love vests on babies: they add warmth without adding bulk and there are no sleeves to get sodden when babies stuff them in their mouths.

The problem is, of course, that babies outgrow these things quickly. I have a bunch of knits that I've already had to put away, and I think Michael may have reached capacity on his knitted wardrobe for now. I think it's time to focus on projects for bigger people...like myself! It's almost the time of year when we set knitting goals, and it will be interesting to see how mine shake out for 2012.

DEAR

2011-11-28T17:58:00.000-05:00

Remember in the Ramona Quimby books when Ramona had "Drop Everything and Read" and "Sustained Silent Reading" in school? That's my plan for this week. Since the time change, every time I get in bed with a book, I fall asleep instead. I've been trying to read The Night Circus for weeks! This week, my husband is off of work, and I should have a little bit more free time. Let's see how far I can get through the big stack of books on my nightstand.

Good Morning

2011-11-27T09:41:00.001-05:00

I get up pretty early with the baby, but in exchange, I get some quiet time with my coffee and my knitting after I get him back down.

And this morning, I got this.

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Help Me, Fashion Police

2011-11-26T18:54:00.000-05:00

Go look at these "upcycled" sweater skirts and tell me if I want one.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-25T09:22:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I took a day off from blogging, but it was a busy, bustling day.

I had intended for both kids to wear handknit vests to Thanksgiving, but they both had other plans. Henry has been experimenting with layered looks and ended up in this ensemble, which looked surprisingly hip.

Henry sang the "grace" for dinner that he'd learned that week in school:

Thank you for the food we eat.

Thank you for the world so sweet.

Thank you for the birds that sing.

Thank you for everything.

Ann Patchett on the Bookstore

2011-11-22T19:16:00.000-05:00

I have a lot thoughts swirling around in my head about this, but for now, here's what Ann Patchett, who I saw speak at Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures last night, has to say about her new bookstore:

"I actually think that this is really going to work. The day of the small independent bookstore has returned. It's the giant bookstore that can't be sustained," she said.

Quick post

2011-11-21T21:44:00.001-05:00

It's Monday, which means work and then "date night."

I had food with foam on it.

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I Stuck the Other One in the Leaves, Too

2011-11-20T07:33:00.000-05:00

Or rather, he stuck himself in the leaves.

Look! It's his Tomten, and it still fits!

These pictures are terribly over-exposed. I can't figure out how to set my camera on portrait AND turn off the flash. I need to suck it up and figure out how to shoot manually. I pinned some tutorials on Pinterest. If you know of any others that have helped you, I'd love to see them!

I Stuck Him in the Leaves Again

2011-11-19T05:10:00.000-05:00

Actually, if the light had been better, this would be a halfway decent shot.

Too Many Hand-Knits on One Baby, Part 2

2011-11-18T14:32:00.000-05:00

Really, the knitting can get out of hand. The adorable hat was made by my friend Karen. It's chilly this morning, so I stuffed Michael into his Baby Sophisticate as well, and tried to cover his kicking feet with his Zig Zag Pram Blanket.

Part One, in case you've forgotten, is his big brother five years ago:

Hat in Action

2011-11-17T09:06:00.001-05:00

We are to the point in NaPoBlMo that I feel a little like I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel, but here goes anyway. Butterbean sported Tubey by Wooly Wormhead while waiting for his brother at the bus stop yesterday. The weather has turned cold for real today after a strangely warm period, so it is hat time in earnest now.

How It Really Looks: Baby Albert

2011-11-16T13:43:00.001-05:00

Last winter, my mom decided she wanted to brush up on her in knitting, so we chose a project to make together, the Baby Albert (Einstein) coat from Sally Melville's The Knit Stitch.

I decided to liven up the plain garter stitch by using Noro Chirimen. Because the sweater is king of wild in color and made of a silk blend, I thought this was going to be a fun sweater to put on every once and awhile, but not very utilitarian. In reality, it has become Michael's fall jacket. He has worn it everywhere!

Pinning

2011-11-15T06:07:00.000-05:00

At first I thought Pinterest was an excellent time-waster, useful for looking at pretty pictures. Then I thought it was a tool designed specifically to make me feel bad about myself, featuring pictures of gleaming laundry rooms, cute crafts I will never make with my children, and perfectly organized organic pantries.

But now I've realized that it is a useful tool for helping me pull it together, particularly as I'm trying to get out of the cooking rut I'm in. I can use Pinterest to bookmark recipes! When I'm at the store, I can pull up the Pinterest app on my phone, click on my cooking board, and see if I have the ingredients I need! Brilliant!

Are you on Pinterest?

Tri-Terra Cardigan

2011-11-14T06:07:00.000-05:00

Last spring, I eagerly volunteered to test-knit the Tri-Terra Cardigan for Cosy. I knit almost the entire sweater before all heck broke loose and I was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia and the date of my c-section was moved up. I quickly wrote up my notes of what I'd done so far, sent them to Cosy, and handed off the sweater to Yvonne to finish the i-cord edging at her leisure, because she is awesome like that.

I finally blocked the sweater yesterday! The body is knit in Steadfast Fibers Wonderful Wool in Copper. I love this yarn a lot, and I'm sorry the store doesn't carry it any more (but I'm glad I have a sweater's worth in green in my stash!). The stripes are Cosy's Rainbow Chard. In retrospect, I think the top two stripes aren't contrasting enough, but the colors overall are fun, and I loved working with Cosy's hand-dyed yarn. Go see her this weekend at the Indie Knit and Spin!

Football

2011-11-13T06:06:00.000-05:00

I tried and tried to get pictures of Michael wearing his Steelers baby booties, but his little feet move too quickly for me to get a really good picture.

And honestly? The news coming out of Penn State is enough to put me off of football for life. As the mother of two little boys, it is really difficult for me to form any articulate thoughts at all, other than wanting to throw up. I love Pittsburgh. I love the Steelers. But I think it's time we question the culture of football, because, Penn State aside, we live in a city where we cheer on a rapist every Sunday. I thought I was okay with that if I focused on the rest of it, but I'm finding out that I'm not. I'm really not.

What my kids did today

2011-11-12T18:36:00.002-05:00

...while I was at work. What another gorgeous day in the city!

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Six Months!

2011-11-11T06:40:00.000-05:00

Michael turned six months old yesterday! We celebrated with carrots. And a hand-knit bib.

Crazy Colors

2011-11-10T07:04:00.000-05:00

I always gravitate toward semi-solids, but there is something about Tina's dye choices at Blue Moon Fiber Arts that makes me want the CRAZY stuff. Here are two crazytown colors that just arrived in the mail:

Frankenhen


Cattywampus

Photography FAIL

2011-11-09T13:24:00.001-05:00

I have been reading too many Mommy Blogs with photo tutorials, because on my walk this morning, I saw these lovely piles of leaves in the park, and my first thought was, "Oh! I'll stick my kid in the leaves and get a charming picture!"

Um, no.

Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

2011-11-08T18:33:00.001-05:00

Today was a gorgeous fall day that made me so happy and proud to live in Pittsburgh.

Anyone know what's up with the padlock installation piece on the bridge over Panther Hollow?

That Darn Vest

2011-11-07T09:17:00.001-05:00

After a complete restart and several time-outs, the Pepo Pie is finally completed! My little sartorialist requested a purple vest and declared this color on the Cascade 220 wall to be "perfect."

I love fall

2011-11-06T10:43:00.001-05:00

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A Walk in the Park

2011-11-05T18:34:00.000-05:00

Baby Sophisticate

2011-11-04T06:22:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting to knit this free pattern forever, and last year around this time when I found out that I was having another boy, I put this in the "babybrudder" tagged section of my Ravelry queue. Then I started reading that the pattern ran small, and I realized that the specified gauge of 15 stitches over 4 inches in aran weight would result in a loose fabric that I wouldn't be happy with.

I finally cast on for this sweater at the beginning of October and decided to try my luck with chunky yarn. I cast on for the 0-3 month size in Dream in Color Groovy in Cloud Jungle (one of my all-time favorite colorways), using 10.5 needles and 10.75 needles for the sleeves in the round.

After several false starts (I blame the sleep deprivation -- we're going through a really rough patch right now), this was a quick knit, and a well-written pattern. The only downside to using heavier yarn is that this will function more as a coat than a sweater.

Hexipuff Swap

2011-11-03T05:05:00.000-05:00

I've never participated in a swap before, but when the idea started brewing in the Socks that Rawk! group on Ravelry to do a swap to get mini-skeins for hexipuffs, I jumped in eagerly. For each skein of Socks that Rock Lightweight I sent, I would get six mini-skeins back. I sent in Gingerbread Dude and Henpecked, and yesterday, to my delight, I got this back in the mail:

Look at the detail on the labels the Swap Mom made! This package completely made my day.

New Camera!

2011-11-02T05:44:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting a DSLR seriously for at least two years now. Recently, I asked my father, an art professor and a crack bargain hunter, to keep an eye out for one he thought would work for me. He very generously bought me a Canon Rebel, and I just got it on Halloween.

It will take time to learn all the bells and whistles, and I want to learn how to work it manually, but for now, I'm having fun and getting decent results with the automatic portrait and macro settings.

Michael models his Baby Albert

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-01T13:33:00.000-05:00

My sister joined us for Halloween this year! Henry's costume is a wonderful hand-me-down from Yvonne, and Chrissy crocheted Michael's Mike Wazowski hat.

How It Really Looks: Sock Yarn Sweater and Gift Wrap Romper

2011-10-30T09:25:00.001-05:00

I've been wrestling, off and on for the past few months, with a paid pattern that is poorly written and full of mistakes. The pattern -- which will remain nameless, but I imagine you could figure it out -- has been updated a few times since I started knitting it, but really? The mistakes should have been caught in the test knitting and tech editing stage. I don't mind paying for patterns. I love to support the important work of designers. But when I pay for a pattern, I don't want to pay to be someone's tech editor. I'm only persevering with this project because it's important to my son to have the finished object

So with all that frustration swirling in my head, I thought I'd blog two patterns that were both well written and a joy to knit.

The Sock Yarn Sweater, by Hannah Fettig, knit in Malabrigo Sock in Indicita:

The Gift Wrap Romper, by Carina Spencer, knit in 1824 Cotton. If you remember, this was supposed to be the baby's coming home outfit, but the newborn size came out way too big in the cotton. It fit very nicely at the two month mark!

Clara Parkes Knows My Name

2011-10-26T10:00:00.002-05:00

My coworkers used to tease me that if there were the equivalent of US Weekly for knitters, I would be all over it. And I admit, I get all fluttery and tongue-tied in the presence of "knitting celebrities." (To writ: omg Jared Flood Touched My Hand!)

I always have been simultaneously fascinated and horrified, and okay, jealous, by the way Steven barges up to knitting celebrities and then manages to make friends with them. Jokingly, the last time he took a class with Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, I repeatedly texted him "Tell the Yarn Harlot my name!" And so "Tell [insert name of famous knitter here]" has become our running gag.

Still, imagine my surprise when Steven sent me this gift from Rhinebeck. It's an autographed copy of Clara Parkes' The Knitters Book of Socks.

Clara Parkes knows my name!

Thank you, Steven. I miss you lots, Work Brother.

How It Really Looks: Baby Eggplant

2011-10-16T09:13:00.003-05:00

It's hard to find time for knitting -- or for blogging -- with this cutie around.
I've been trying to get "after" shots, pictures of Michael wearing the things I knit for him while I was pregnant. Between his, um, "mercurial" temperament, the cloudy weather, and the limitations of my old point and shoot camera, it's been difficult. But I keep trying.
Here's the Baby Eggplant by Cosy I knit in Malabrigo Rios in Glazed Carrot and Lettuce.

And here are the action shots:

So This No Casting On Business...

2011-10-09T18:13:00.001-05:00

I should not have given myself the out of being able to cast on for hexipuffs. I got distracted by puffs, and I also have been in some serious denial about how little time I have to knit (and to blog). The month of no casting on was not really a great success.

I did finish two pairs of socks in my pile.

Cotty in madelinetosh tosh sock in the Foxglove color way, part of the Year of Stash Socks on Ravelry:

Breaking Hearts in Socks that Rock in Cozy Fierce Scummy Girl, part of the Socks that Rawk KAL on Ravelry:

Fall Cleaning

2011-09-02T09:05:00.000-05:00

I'm feeling...not anxious, but a little frustrated about the number of WIPs I have and my now-reduced knitting time, so I'm declaring the month of September to be FALL CLEANING TIME. That means I will not cast on for new things (except maybe, maybe a hexapuff or two) until October 1. I did some spring cleaning back in April 2010 and it worked out pretty well.

I have nine active WIPs and a bunch in hibernation. Let's see how I do.

HEXAPUFFS!

2011-08-31T08:18:00.002-05:00

Isn't everyone in the knitting universe making these addictive little puffs for the Beekeeper's Quilt by Tiny Owl Knits? I haven't seen a pattern go this viral since the February Lady Sweater.
Other folks seem to have elaborate themes and color schemes for their quilts. I'm just taking a mindless "knitter's life" approach and using up the scraps I have. It's the perfect knitting for the short spurts of knitting time I have while the baby naps.

I'm glad to have this cheerful project because my other main knitting has been chemo caps for a friend who was recently diagnosed with Very Bad Cancer. These are a Meret in Malabrigo Worsted and a Tretta in Vintage DK.

So, did you buy any yarn in Wyoming?

2011-08-28T10:34:00.001-05:00

Yes. Yes, I did.

I have to admit, when you work at a LYS, especially with a boss as generous as Martha, it's easy to get very spoiled by the employee discount. If I am in Jackson, I try to buy something each year from Knit on Pearl because I like the shop and feel it's important to support local businesses. But the discount at home makes me extremely choosy, so what I buy elsewhere has to be special.

Fortunately, that's easy to do at Knit on Pearl. I chose my crack, Manos Silk Blend, in this new spumoni color way because Manos is produced by a women's collective and it's not something we carry at home.

I also picked up some Brown Sheep Lanaloft to make longs for the Butterbean. Brown Sheep is "semi-local" in Wyoming, located in the beautiful panhandle of Nebraska.

Finally, I chose some truly local yarn from Lucy's Sheep Camp, a few hours east of Jackson in Thermopolis. This is a gorgeous single ply bulky yarn that I think will be mittens.

I've been busy with the Butterbean, and now my oldest, the former Toddler, is off to kindergarten! I hope to get back into blogging as things settle down and am considering some blog redesign as well. I've been using Blogsy for the past few entries, and am loving the drag and drop features!

The One Where We Tried to Go on a Date

2011-07-29T15:07:00.001-05:00

My mother came out to Wyoming on the plane with the Butterbean and me and stayed with us for the first part of our trip. At her urging, my husband and I were supposed to go out as much as possible while she watched the the children.

All right! We exclaimed, and at the end of the first full day in Jackson, I met my husband at the base of the gondola to go up to "The Deck" for happy hour. I was still stressed out from the flight with a screaming two month old and a clueless gate attendant who told me to put the stroller and car seat in the wrong place, which led to us arriving in the mountains while those crucial baby items sat on the jetway in Dallas. I needed a drink.

Here's the view from the top of the gondola:

So we had a drink each and some sliders and started on an enormous dish of edaname. Some clouds kicked up, which is common in the late afternoon in the mountains. Our waitress stopped by and mentioned that it might start raining in 15 minutes or so. Then suddenly BANG! A black cloud rolled directly on top of us. The wind kicked up and plates and glassware started flying off of the tables.

We ran for the empty deli that operates during the ski season. The wind whipped around so hard that the gondola shut down and the outdoor grill kitchen had to close. However, the bar was still functioning, and everyone got a second round on the house. To summarize: many people, stuck on a mountaintop, no food, much alcohol.

Husband and I gamely plowed through that edaname and a third round of drinks, because, hey, why not. We watched planes land at the airport and exclaimed, hey, there's our car seat and giggled. The people next to us started falling off of their stools. The waitresses started to look a little tearful.

Finally, though, the storm stopped. Look, a rainbow!

I'm still here

2011-07-25T10:38:00.001-05:00

Well, actually I'm in Wyoming. Here, look at some pictures while I figure out where my blog mojo has gone.

The Birthday Hat is still going strong

2011-06-05T05:54:00.001-05:00

My "big baby" turned five (yes, FIVE, I can hardly believe it) yesterday, and of course we marked the day by the traditional wearing of the Birthday Hat.

See here for the Birthday Hat in years past.

Pin It

Baby, It's Hot Out There

2011-06-01T09:50:00.000-05:00

It's too hot to knit. There, I said it. I managed to do a few repeats on The Mountain Chickadee Baby Blanket I started in some Bebe Cotsoy (knitting from stash! go me!) but became overwhelmed by the heat, and of course, sleep deprivation.

Michael is, though, actually sleeping about as well as can be expected. He's doing a couple three hour stretches at night, and has done a rare four hour stretch from time to time. Unlike his older brother, he is a big snuggler, and we're finding he prefers to be held for naps.

The heat means, naturally, that modeling knitwear is pretty much out of the question. I did manage to put him in a modified Milo Soaker from Vintage Baby Knits. I adapted the pattern for a newborn by using a DK yarn (Berroco Comfort DK, which means that it's useless as a real soaker, but super cute for a diaper cover) and shortening the torso. Still, I'm finding that "newborn" means these gigantic eight and nine pounders that everyone else seems to have. Michael was 6 pounds, 12 ounces at birth, and at two weeks, was up to 7 pounds, 4 ounces. So lots of growing going on, but I still had to fold down the waist of the diaper cover.

Michael also modeled this garment in my attempt to take a family portrait. Here's the "good" picture:

And here's how I suspect Henry really feels about his brother:

Meet Michael Francis

2011-05-22T06:52:00.001-05:00

On May 10, I went to the hospital for my scheduled c-section. Because of the pre-eclampsia, the birthdate had been moved up from May 24. The only cure for pre-eclampsia is to deliver the baby, so it made sense that any potential risk of being born three weeks early -- and 37 weeks gestation is considered "term," not premature -- would be outweighed by eliminating the very serious consequences of full-blown pre-eclampsia.

The surgery went really well. My OB is a family friend who actually delivered my sister 28 years ago. The only hitch in the pre-op period was that I was too swollen for an IV, so the anesthesiologist had to come in and do it. While the spinal block was much scarier than the epidural I'd had with Henry, my blood pressure was low enough that I didn't need the magnesium drip I'd also had at Henry's birth. (The mag drip is to keep a pre-eclamptic patient from seizing and going into organ failure; it makes you nauseated, sleepy, and completely out of it, and I was glad to avoid it this time and be more present at the birth.)

Michael Francis was born at 2:21 PM. He weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces, and was 19 inches long. He started crying right away and my thought was "Well, there's nothing wrong with his lungs."

But there was something wrong with his lungs. When we got back to the PACU, the nurses remarked that the baby was wheezing and grunting as I tried to get him to latch on to initiate breastfeeding. I didn't think anything of it, as I thought babies wheezed and grunted. I made the nurse tell me what was happening. He was making those noises because he couldn't get air into his lungs quickly enough. He couldn't latch on because it interfered with breathing. After two visits from a resident from the NICU, they made the decision to take him to the NICU for evaluation.

At the same time, I started to bleed heavily, so what happened after that is still foggy. I'm so glad that before they took him to the NICU, we all got to hold him and be with him.

Later than evening, the nurses got me in a wheelchair and we went down to the NICU. Michael was in triage, on a ventilator, which was very hard to see. They treated him with surfactant, and took a culture and x-ray to check for pneumonia. I won't go into all the details -- I'm not sure that I'm ready to talk about the details -- but in summary, he did have pneumonia and spent seven days in the NICU on antibiotics.

The NICU is a scary place, but it's full of amazing nurses who I'm pretty sure are angels in disguise. If the Rapture HAD happened yesterday, I know they would have been taken instantly. While Michael had some setbacks (for example, we walked in on Thursday to find he was put on a feeding tube when he'd been taking a bottle just fine the night before), he improved almost every day, and I knew that we were much, much better off than pretty much every other family in that NICU. Slowly, I got better as well, after a frightening incident on Wednesday where I almost fainted in the NICU as a result of my heavy blood loss.

We brought Michael home a week later. Because this is a knitting blog, I have to show you that he came home in not the romper I'd knit (too big!) but with the sock yarn scrap blanket I made.

Pin It

Pants

2011-05-08T07:42:00.000-05:00

I had another "We may have to send you back to the hospital" incident this week. I'm 36.5 weeks pregnant. The baby has dropped and it hurts to walk. I'm tired. My back aches. And my brain power seems to have gone bye-bye.

In summary, all I can manage is to sprawl out on the couch, watch Glee, and knit baby pants.

A soaker from local friend Maggie Broderick's Knitting Wool Diaper Covers from Start to Finish, knit from scraps of Malabrigo Worsted.

Bad iPhone picture of Elizabeth Zimmermann's February Baby Pants, knit out of half a skein of Brooks Farm Solo.

Two days left!

Under the Porch

2011-05-03T14:20:00.000-05:00


Some kittens from under the porch

My mother had this tough old broad of a Manx cat named Feather. Feather was our Cat Matriarch. Every few years, she'd give birth to a litter of kittens (please, no Bob Barker Flames; this was a barn cat in the 1970s). Before she went into labor, she'd disappear, usually under the porch, and then emerge a few days later with the kittens.

That's the way I'm feeling. Nature is telling me to get under the porch.

But there's only so much hiding one can do with a family to take care of. Henry and I have been watching Dancing with the Stars, and I've been sitting on the couch casting on for every sock pattern imaginable while he explains the complexities of Lightning McQueen to me.

Sometimes, though, he's at school, or it's the middle of the night and I can't sleep.

I've discovered Glee:

I found a boxed set of the 80s mini-series, North and South, starring Mr. Patrick Swayze. Please note the 1860s Confederate Mullet.

And, thanks to the magic of Kindle, I'm reading Rob Lowe's autobiography.

Well, this was unexpected

2011-05-02T13:22:00.000-05:00

So about two weeks ago, I went in for a routine OB visit and mentioned that I had a headache and that my hands had swollen up to the point where I looked like I was wearing Minnie Mouse gloves. Because I'd had pre-eclampsia with my son, the midwife took one look at me and ordered a barrage of tests. Suffice it to say that I took a day off work and spent it voiding into receptacles. I stopped by the hospital on Good Friday to get more tests done and then I went off to work, only to be called back to the hospital two hours later. I spent Friday, Saturday, and half of Easter Sunday in the hospital under observation for pre-eclampsia.

Pre-eclampsia can be some pretty scary stuff. Fortunately, the doctors determined that my case is mild -- so far -- and sent me home to rest, while moving up the date of my c-section. I'm being monitored pretty closely, and with a few exceptions, I've basically moved back and forth from my couch to the hospital for the last ten days.

This leaves a lot of time for knitting, which you'd think would be great! My first response to the new due date for the baby was to panic, not because the baby was coming early or because I couldn't get the room ready, but because I had no hat for the baby to wear. Hey, we knitters can compartmentalize like nobody's business. So I made a Sweet Baby Cap out of Baby Ull and some sock yarn scraps:

Then I had to finish a bunch of other stuff. Ordinarily, I think this would manifest itself by scrubbing out some cabinets, but since I'm not allowed to do that kind of thing, I have to sublimate the nesting instinct into knitting.

I'm almost done with a test knit for Cosy:

I finished another In Threes for my friend's daughter's birthday:

I put buttons on the Rhino Romper I made for Malabrigo March:

And I finished the knitting portion of the Baby Albert KAL I'm doing with my mom:

No, I'm not freaking out or anything. Nope.

The winner is....

2011-04-05T11:43:00.000-05:00

Diane, chosen by the random number generator.

Diane wins a skein of Schaefer Yarn Anne, a merino/mohair/nylon blend with a whopping 560 yards in the put-up. Diane, let me know how you'd like me to get the yarn to you.

The voters unanimously declared that the romper was the way to go! Thanks, everyone.

Talk Amongst Yourselves

2011-04-03T09:59:00.000-05:00

I'll give you a topic. Does winding sock yarn help take the edge of Startitis or does it make the dread condition worse?

(From top left, Cozy Fierce Scummy Girl Socks that Rock for the Breaking Hearts KAL in the Socks that Rawk group on Ravelry, Dream in Color Smooshy in Tea Party for the Eiki Japanese Relief shawl, and the current Rockin' Sock Club colorway.)

Discuss.

Don't forget to comment on my Bringing Home Baby issue to win a skein of sock yarn. Leave a comment by 6:00 PM Eastern, and I'll pick the number via random generator on Tuesday.

Bringing Home Baby

2011-03-30T09:14:00.000-05:00

I need opinions.

When I first got pregnant, I envisioned making the Yarn Harlot's Baby Mine or Baby Yours (see her blog here for pictures of both). The sweaters are so sweet and cry out to be put on a brand new baby for newborn pictures and coming home from the hospital.

But my baby is going to be a late May baby. And I have less than eight weeks to go and I haven't even watched for this sweater. Plus I made this:

The Gift Wrap Romper in the now sadly out-of-business Mission Falls 1824 Cotton.

A few Wednesdays ago, I was sick with that creeping crud that was going around, so I took to my bed with yarn and Downton Abbey. Despite the pain that knitting with cotton causes, I finished this in less than a week. I think it is so cute, but is it special enough for the Coming Home Outfit?

Tell me what you would do. In exchange, I'll pick a random commenter to win a skein of sock yarn from my stash.

More Deep Stash Diving and Malabrigo March

2011-03-24T05:52:00.000-05:00

I bought three skeins of this Amaroso Malabrigo at least three years ago in the first flush of my love affair with Malabrigo.

It tried to be a Juliet, but after three false starts, it went back into the stash.

When Blogless Brooke found out she was having a second little girl, the Malabrigo cried out to become two In Threes. I never get to knit little girl patterns, and the match between pattern and yarn was undeniable.

I made a 0-6 month size and an 18-24 month size (which looks like it could fit up to a three year old). I used two and a half skeins, and both sweaters took under a week.

Happy Malabrigo March!

Deepest Stash

2011-03-20T06:06:00.000-05:00

I have, inadvertently, been knitting from my deepest, darkest stash lately. I bought one solitary skein of Brooks Farm Four Play, a wool and silk blend, at the Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet Festival at least three years ago. The put-up at 270 yards per skein is generous, but the "perfect" project never came along, and it's been languishing ever since. The yarn has a delicate sheen from the silk, and the tonal dye is beautiful and subtle.

On Oscar night, I decided that I was just going to use this yarn, and I cast on for 198 Yards of Heaven. Because I had extra yardage, I did an extra pattern repeat, but ran out halfway through the edging. I also realized one row into the edging, that the pattern made no sense, and when I checked Ravelry, I saw that the pattern I'd printed out a year ago had been revised with a completely different edge. So much for printing and organizing patterns when I see them. I ran out of yarn halfway through the edging, but I like the final results better than the original edging, which looks heavy and takes away from the main motif.


iPhone photo


The whole thing

Obligatory Hipstamatic Shot

Unfortunately, because it's only 270 yards, it doesn't count for 11 Shawls in 2011. Still, other than the pattern discrepancy, it was a quick and easy project and an excellent match of Deepest Stash to pattern.

In the Waiting Room

2011-03-10T10:11:00.000-05:00

No, this isn't an analysis of the Elizabeth Bishop poem. Pregnancy is accompanied by more waiting room time than I ever imagined, and I guess I'm glad that I have more than Elizabeth Bishop's one copy of National Geographic to look at, although with all the electronic diversions we have, there's little chance of the introspective epiphany offered in the poem.

Anyway, I've spent a lot of time waiting. In the past five days alone, I've

waited over an hour for my OB/GYN to get out of surgery.
endured a three hour glucose test (at which I FORGOT my iPhone at home, which made me all twitchy. Who knew I had such a need to check Facebook at all times?
and coincidentally, had two totally pregnancy unrelated doctor's appointments.

The upside is that's a lot of knitting time. The product so far is a "Waiting Room Sock," a plain vanilla top down 64 stitch deal, knit in Hazel Knits sockyarn. I'm trying out Kollage square needles and liking them pretty well so far.

More for that Poor Second Baby

2011-03-06T11:05:00.000-05:00

Really, the poor dear. My mother and I started to go through the newborn clothes I'd saved from Henry and we found sleepers with the tags still on them. Still, with twelve weeks to go, I feel like time is running out. I made a huge list of things I wanted to knit for the new baby, and I haven't gotten to so many of them. I'm also feeling like I want to do some complex lace work before Newborn Sleep Deprivation takes over.

But so far, this is my favorite thing I've made for the new baby: Cosy's Baby Eggplant, in the 6 month size, from Malabrigo Worsted in Glazed Carrot and Lettuce.

The Plight of the Poor Second Baby

2011-03-01T10:55:00.000-05:00

Poor Second Baby. Traditionally doomed to wearing elder siblings' hand-me-downs and playing with gently used baby toys, they have nothing to call their own.

Except knitwear.

I seem to have managed the fantastic feat of having children of the same gender at the same time of the year, and because I am a ~~hoarder~~ saver, Happyface Hello doesn't need a single stitch of clothing. I went up to our attic the other day to sort through Henry's baby clothes, and it was an embarrassment of riches, thanks to my Gymboree and Hanna Andersson addiction and my mother's exuberance over being a first-time grandma.

But where this kid is going to win out is in the knitwear department. My knitting when Henry was born was embarrassingly basic. I made him a blanket, some simple hats and sweaters, and of course, all of those Mason Dixon Baby Bibs. Happyface Hello is already reaping the benefits of a much more experienced knitter for a mother.

First, pants. My husband has run away screaming from the idea of cloth diapering, but I have been avidly stalking all kinds of patterns for diaper covers, soakers, and longies. Neither of these two projects would actually work for cloth diapering, which requires non-superwash wool, but who can resist knitted pants?

A newborn adaptation of the Milo Soaker, from Vintage Baby Knits, knit in Berroco Comfort DK:

February Baby Leggings, from Elizabeth Zimmermann's A Knitter's Almanac in Malabrigo Rios. I shortened the torso and ended the leg after decreasing to 48 inches. I have no idea if these proportions will actually work on a baby, but the end result is still pretty cute:

Next, sweaters. I bought three skeins of Cumberland Sport at the Miss Babs booth ("Where did Anna go? She's at the Miss Babs booth AGAIN?") at Maryland Sheep and Wool with the express purpose of knitting the Harvey Kimono from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms by Louisa Harding, and I'm proud to say, I actually followed through! Check out the cute turtle buttons:

More to come!

Finishing Frenzy

2011-02-08T10:56:00.000-05:00

Recently, The Yarn Harlot wrote about contracting the most wished-for syndrome available to knitters, Finishitis, or the desire to clear out the cavalcade of UFOs from the knitting basket. I have to say, while I am not doing "spring cleaning" again, where I didn't cast on for a month, I am trying to clear the decks before the new baby comes. We'll call it the knitters' version of nesting.

I'm pleased to say that I have used stash yarn for its intended purpose. When I walked into the Brooks Farm booth last May at Maryland Sheep and Wool, I saw two skeins of their Solana that I thought would be perfect for a sweater for Henry. Solana is a heavy worsted superwash, that, amazingly, doesn't feel like a superwash. It has spring and bounce and energy, unlike so many superwash yarns.

After some questioning of the recipient ("Do you want this sweater to go over your head or button up the front?"), I cast on using Ann Norling's Top Down Sweater for Children. I can say without reservation that this is a terrible pattern, and I'm embarrassed, having recommended Ann Norling patterns for years to customers. I've knit others before with no problem, but this one is a dud. The proportions are completely off, and the sleeve directions in particular make absolutely no sense, and, in fact, are apt to make someone new to top-down construction or seamless knitting run screaming back to her pieced Debbie Bliss patterns. It makes the construction of the sweater much harder than it needs to be, and after I realized how screwy the pattern was, I simply knit a top-down sweater, thankful that I knew the basic principle.

I am not crazy about the flashing down the front, but the recipient actually likes it and asked to wear it to school the day after I finished it. So despite a shaky process, I call this project a success.

Pregnancy and Knitting, Part 2

2011-01-24T06:41:00.000-05:00

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a common side-effect of pregnancy as fluid retention increases and nerves are compressed. Repetitive hand-movements aggravate the problem. Guess what is characterized by repetitive hand-movements? Knitting!

And for me, specifically knitting with the shorter needle tips found on 16 inch circulars. I started a hat that my mother had requested on Saturday and knit on it all that day and part of yesterday. By halftime of the Packers-Bears game, I realized I couldn't go on. My wrists ached and the pain was starting to shoot up my arm. I did not knit at all during the Steelers game. (Superbowl, yeah!!!)

The pain is only marginally better this morning, and of course, I'm not helping matters by typing on the computer. I think this is the end of hat-mania for awhile.

I Won!

2011-01-23T11:35:00.000-05:00

I never win anything. I'm the person who sits at the prize drawings at Maryland Sheep and Wool, breathless with anticipation and then bitter at going home empty-handed. One year, Yvonne and I got so excited and then disappointed over a Lexie Barnes bag that we ended up bruising each other.

So imagine my surprise when I was one of the prize-winners for the 10 Shawls in 2010 group on Ravelry. I won my choice of Wolle's Yarn Creations Color Changing Cotton. It's a three-ply, fingering weight, 100% cotton yarn. Looking at pictures on Ravelry, it blocks surprisingly well in lace patterns and looks fantastic in patterns like Citron. My choice was Desert Clay:

Steelers Fan in Training

2011-01-16T11:28:00.001-05:00

When I found out I was pregnant, I had the same urge I imagine knitters all around the world have: CAST ON SOMETHING SMALL AND CUTE. But, having been through pregnancy loss, I was superstitious and cautious. I allowed myself to make one thing and one thing only, telling myself and my coworkers that it was a shop sample.

Who can resist booties? These adorable things are the classic pattern, Christine's Stay-On Baby Booties. Knit on US size 1.5 Addi circulars, they took under half a skein of Lorna's Laces Steelers Pride, available exclusively at Natural Stitches.

I indoctrinate the new members of the Steelers Nation at a very young age. I'm calling this the obligatory belly shot, at the halfway point of 20 weeks. Please note that Steelers gear comes in maternity sizes! We have our priorities straight in Pittsburgh.

No Knitting at Disney World

2011-01-13T07:50:00.000-05:00

I took a short knitting hiatus to go here:

I packed two projects to work on while we were there, but they saw precious little light of day. I was pleased that I got through airport security with my Addis, but when I pulled out my sock to work on while waiting to board the plane, a man across from me started grumbling loudly about how he couldn't believe that was allowed. He also said unkind things about Kate Middleton, so I gave him the stinkeye, but put my knitting away and got out my shiny new Kindle.

One of the projects I brought, I can't talk about yet, but the other is the first in an attempt to deal with my almost-SABLE sized sock yard stash. I joined the Year of Stash Socks group on Ravelry: each month, they choose two patterns or the option to knit a plain vanilla sock. The only rule is that the yarn must be from stash; no running out and buying more. I chose the plain vanilla option, using the Yarn Harlot's sock recipe. The yarn is Autumn House Specks that I bought on our visit to the farm last year.

Again, I don't know how far I'll get with a newborn in the house, but I figure at even my most sleep-deprived, I can manage plain vanilla socks. I hope.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-02T10:52:00.000-05:00

It's time to sum up the year in knitting.

In 2010, I took part in Natural Stitches' "Expand Your Fiber Comfort Zone" and worked on these new skills: I knit a toe-up sock using Cat Bordhi's Personal Footprints method.I successfully made a picot edging on a sock. In addition, I've learned, under Yvonne's watchful eye, how to block my own lace shawls. I also feel much more confident in reading my own knitting and correcting my own mistakes, particularly when it comes to lace. Finally, I took a Beginning Wheel Spinning class with Nora, which I would recommend to any knitter. Even if I never become adept at spinning, I have a much better understanding of how yarn is constructed.

I finished the Yarn Harlot's Knitting Olympics and completed the 10 Shawls in 2010 Challenge. I came in second place in the employee Double Threat category of Summer of Socks and Lace at the store. Overall, I completed SIXTY projects!

Eighteen shawls
Seven hats
Sixteen pairs of socks and booties
Two pairs of felted slippers
Two scarves
Nine children's garments

Whew! I have some resolutions about how I'd like to structure my 2011 knitting, but we'll see how things go with a newborn and a preschooler heading off to kindergarten!

Happy New Year!

On the Third Day of Christmas

2010-12-29T10:07:00.001-05:00

I finished the Christmas knitting! Truly, it's a new record for me. My father's World War II Watch Cap was actually completed on Christmas Eve.

I finished knitting my mother's Traveling Woman on December 26. This meant I actually handed my mother a gift bag with the project still on the needles on Christmas Day. Oh well. After a few days of tearing apart my so-called "yarn room," I finally found my blocking pins. With The Preschooler at Bubba's, I had some peace and quiet this morning to block out the shawl.

Finally, yesterday, I went to the jeweler's, with moral support from Steven, to have my rings cut off. I haven't been able to get them reliably on and off for over a year, and with last weekend's Christmas basically serving as a Festival of Ham and Salty Snax, my fingers swelled up to painful proportions. Because I'm pregnant, I knew it would get worse before it got better, so off they came. Steven insists I show you a picture of the immediate aftermath.

It is Hat Time of Year

2010-12-19T11:55:00.000-05:00

I've been seeing a lot of people having really difficult times with their mothers lately, and while I don't claim to be the perfect daughter, I've been thinking about my own mother and feeling a lot of gratitude for all she does for me, particularly what a fantastic grandmother she is. So of course, this translates into The Knitting Crazy because I decide, one week before Christmas, to make her a shawl to show my appreciation. We won't talk about how far I've gotten with that crazy idea so far.

What I have finished for Christmas is a heck of a lot of hats.

From top left, a Lollipop Hat from Cosy's Knit One, Embellish Two in Malabrigo Worsted; a Baby Jester Hat, also in Malabrigo; a detail of a Windschief Hat in Malabrigo Worsted Vaa; another Cosy pattern, a Root Vegetable Hat in Malabrigo Chunky; another Lollipop, and finally, a Grace Lace Beret in Malabrigo Silky Merino.

Other than the shawl, I have two hats left to go. How is your holiday knitting coming along?

In Praise of the Second Trimester...or How I Continue To *%_#_ Up My Knitting

2010-12-08T10:25:00.000-05:00

So I've rediscovered that the first trimester of pregnancy, at least this pregnancy, is not conducive to knitting. It wasn't that the smell of wool or dye made me sick, or the motion of the knitting needles made me dizzy; it was just that the act of knitting, of picking up needles, moving the yarn around the needles, having to think about what I was doing, was absolutely exhausting. I would knit a row or two and put my needles down and sigh resignedly, like I was Beth on her deathbed in Little Women.

The second trimester is proving to be better -- even though this morning I find myself lurching about the house looking for something to eat like a zombie on The Walking Dead, even though I've already eaten a bowl of cereal, my Thai leftovers, and my son's Thai leftovers. Anyway, I felt so much better that I embarked on the Crazy Town that is Christmas Knitting. (If you haven't seen the video linked, please do so. It is funny because it is true.)

However, I am going to rue the day I made the decision to go to Crazy Town. For example, I intended to make these Fuzzy Feet for my father, and I thought I cleverly adapted the pattern to fit his wide, men's size 10.5 feet. See, here they are unfelted:

And here they are, felted. I don't have a picture showing the scale, but let's just say that my four-year-old has a new pair of slippers.

Remember kids: felting is an art and not a science. It's probably not a good idea to felt on a deadline, either.

On a brighter note, at least the handknits from last year are being used and enjoyed, and even accessorized.

Not too many finished objects around here....

2010-11-23T09:44:00.000-05:00

...but there is one major WIP (work in progress), which accounts for my lack of productivity! Henry's Baby Brudder is due in May!

"Mom, you're a really good knitter"

2010-10-28T10:53:00.000-05:00

For any mom who knits, this is music to her ears. The Tomten continues to be Henry's favorite sweater.

I love this Hipstamatic app that makes any crummy old cell phone picture look good!

Stash!

2010-10-24T09:55:00.000-05:00

I've been lucky to obtain some really interesting non-commercial yarn lately.

I couldn't go to Rhinebeck this year, but I sent Yvonne off as my personal shopper, and she came back with this gorgeous skein of Sanguine Gryphon Bugga!, a yarn I've been wanting to try for ages, and this super-cute Jessa Lu box bag.

Lisa also went to Rhinebeck and brought back a skein of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Geisha in Manly But I Like It Too. Geisha is a light fingeringweight blend of mohair and silk.

This year, I joined the A Verb For Keeping Warm's Pro-Verbial Club; the club is dedicated to unique fibers accompanied by triangular shawl patterns. The yarn for October is Luster, an indigo-dyed blend of tussah silk and BFL fibers.

My September Rockin' Sock Club from Blue Moon Fiber Arts arrived. It's the most gorgeous shading of olive greens.

Finally, I jumped on the bandwagon and ordered some of Brooklyn Tweed's new Shelter. I have three skeins of Sweatshirt that I'm thinking will make lovely mittens.

Sunday morning

2010-10-03T09:08:00.001-05:00

On Sunday mornings, my husband teaches violin lessons, and the Preschooler and I hang out on the second and third floor of our house. Right now, the Preschooler is watching Sesame Street upstairs while I putter around in my bedroom. So far, I have

gone through a pile of books to loan to friends
chosen the my yarn for the staff Stash Epiphany Gift exchange
knit a few rows on my Clockwork, and
I'm having a Jane Austen film festival! Persuasion -- the 1995 BBC version, the best one, of course -- is on now, and Sense and Sensibility (Emma Thompson!) is next.

Not a bad way to spend a dreary, rainy Sunday morning.

Baby Boys

2010-09-29T09:59:00.000-05:00

It's baby boy season around here. Everyone I know is having a boy this fall, and of course, these boys must be outfitted in handknits.

Baby Boy #1 is the son of my sister-in-law's sister (did you follow that?). SIL's Sister is pretty conservative, so I went for a traditional baby shape and color. This is the Garter Yoke Baby Cardigan (sort of, as lately I catch myself casting on according to the instructions but then just going off in another direction) in Socks that Rock Mediumweight in My Little Color Brain. The slight variations of the yellow shading is about as wild as I felt I could get. The sweater went off to the baby's Christening party before I could get a picture with the buttons on.

Baby #2 is the baby brother of The Preschooler's betrothed (we have arranged their marriage and have already planned out the cookie table). #2's mother is a knitter, and I knew I could get crazy with the color. I chose three colors of the brand new Malabrigo Rios, a superwash yarn. I'm generally not crazy about superwash worsted, but the Malabrigo broke the stereotype of lifeless superwash: it's crazy soft and springy and still has all the depth of color of regular Malabrigo worsted. The pattern is Cosy's Baby Beau, with a smidge of Super-Natural Stripes thrown in.

Finally, Baby #3 is a serious matter. My good friend from high school went on vacation over Labor Day at 30 weeks pregnant. Apparently her body took the "Labor Day" concept seriously, and her water broke as she stepped off the plane. She's been in a hospital over 1000 miles from home for almost a month in the hopes that Baby Boy will stay in a little longer. He's set to arrive this Friday at 34 weeks, and I started a Baby Surprise Jacket in the fingering weight Mini Mochi, hoping it will be a good size for him to wear in the chilly fall to come. I also thought it was appropriate because I made my very first Baby Surprise for his big sister.

Jesus Take the Wheel

2010-09-19T10:31:00.000-05:00

Spinning is hard, y'all.

Yesterday, I had the privilege of taking Nora's Intro to Wheel Spinning class at the shop. Nora really went the extra mile for me, fixing up my mother's wheel back into a usable condition. I ended up taking the class on a shop wheel, and after several false starts, I ended up with 25 yards of this:

Nora, and then later, Steven, said it was really good for the first try. I don't know. It was a lot of fun, and I look forward to practicing more.

Not that I'm bitter or anything

2010-09-14T08:57:00.000-05:00

A customer and friend once asked, after looking at my Goodreads feed on Facebook, asked me how I have time to read so much and knit so much. Here's the secret: I neglect my child. No, seriously, and I don't know how this happened, but The Preschooler has always been remarkably self-entertaining. Right now, he's lined up his Toy Story figures on the windowsill to watch the landscapers and is having his Buzz Lightyear, Tickle Me Elmo, and two baby dolls act out this elaborate game based on something he saw on Dinosaur Train. I am not allowed to play. I know how lucky I am.

So, Summer of Socks and Lace. I lost. I'm okay with that. Really. Steven is a worthy competitor. I finished eighteen projects:

Six shawls
Nine pairs of socks
One pair of baby booties
One lacy baby cardigan
One semi-lacy scarf
9539 yards total

My mistake? I knit from stash, which wasn't always Natural Stitches yarn, which counts for double.

I did, however, get through at least some of my Socks that Rock stash. I finished my Ten Shawls in 2010! Overall, it was a pretty good summer, knitting-wise. Now on to knitting something in plain stockinette!

No promises

2010-09-10T15:41:00.001-05:00

Mom's wheel, originally uploaded by bookscatsyarn.

But this is what I came home with from my mother's house over Labor Day weekend. It's her old Ashford. I'm really excited!

What is up with that?

2010-09-02T07:32:00.000-05:00

I posted this on my Twitter, but I'll pose the question here, too, because it baffles me.

In the past 24 hours, I've seen two knitters publicly berate other knitters for not having a life.

What gives, people?

Another Reason for Second Sock Syndrome

2010-08-25T08:05:00.001-05:00

The scene: Maryland Sheep and Wool. The Tess booth gleams in the sunlight and I can't resist. It's hot, and we're all sweaty and dirty. The booth is crowded, and Tess herself (the owner's daughter) is shockingly surly for someone in a retail position. I can't stay away. I get separated from my group. Where's Anna? someone asks. Oh, she's back in the Tess booth. Again. Steven remarks that these colors are really girly. And then I see this:

I love it. I have to have it.

Three months later, when I'm packing for my trip, I see this again and wind it up, and then toss it in my bag. On a windy day, when it's too windy for the wind-phobic Preschooler to hike (seriously, ask him how he feels about wind), I start a pair of Sunday Swing Socks.

And they are perfect. The colors align to spiral gently down the leg. This sock has no ugly pooling, no blotches of color. I don't have to think about strategies to make this beautiful skein of yarn continue to be beautiful in knitted form. Even in the gusset, where cuff-down socks tend to look their worst, this looks great.

How can I possibly risk making another?

Things I Learned On the Way Home

2010-08-24T13:38:00.001-05:00

Not all Holiday Inn Express locations are created the same. Enough said about that, other than does anyone have a reliable but nice chain that they use while traveling?
A preschooler can watch Monsters, Inc. once, twice, even three times a day and not get tired of it.
I don't think I like this Zauberball sock yarn. I'm totally copying the Yarn Harlot because I'd tucked a skein of Zauberball Crazy in my travel knitting bag and thought "why not?" But the yarn, although interestingly plied and sturdy, is way too thin and rough. I guess I really do like my sock yarn with some "squoosh" factor.
It's good to be home.

Traveling Sock

2010-08-12T09:16:00.003-05:00

This plain sock -- Miss Babs in Jingle Jingle B -- has been tucked in my bag and worked on in idle moments here in Wyoming.

Here it is on the road in southwestern Wyoming:

Here it is poolside at the condo complex (and really, I am watching my child, really):

Here we are at the Rockefeller Preserve (seriously, it's good to be a Rockefeller. This was their private land until 2000):

And finally, at Inspiration Point, above Jenny Lake:

Wyoming Tradition

2010-08-05T08:56:00.001-05:00

Wyoming Tradition, originally uploaded by bookscatsyarn.

Every year, we take a photo at the entrance to Jenny Lake. It's not even the most scenic view here, but it marks the beginning of our vacation. We didn't come in 2008, but otherwise the growth of our family is documented from our honeymoon in 2005 to now.

We're Here

2010-08-04T08:42:00.000-05:00

So we’ve been coming out to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for the Grand Teton Summer Music Festival almost every year since our honeymoon (by the way, we’re celebrating five years of marriage on Friday!). Jackson is located in the northwestern corner of Wyoming, south of the Yellowstone Plateau, and surrounded by the Grand Teton National Park and several National Forests. It’s kind of hard to get to. The first year we flew to Denver and drove up, ending up going over non-existent roads in the dark. The second year we flew (did you know that the Jackson Airport is the only commercial airport to operate in a national park?) with newborn Henry. The third year, I flew with barely a toddler Henry while my husband drove our car. Then we skipped a year, and last year, we all drove, breaking the trip with a visit with family in Oklahoma.

This year, my husband declared we were going to make the trip in three days, not four, which would require ten hours of driving per day. Okay. I can get a lot of knitting done. The Preschooler is generally pretty agreeable in the car, as long as he has his dvd player. We should have been fine.

That is, until we blew out a tire somewhere in Iowa. Fifty miles east of Omaha, we heard a dreadful noise. Thankfully, my husband was able to pull halfway up an exit ramp before the tire completely gave way. It was still a dangerous situation as he struggled to put on the spare tire while avoiding exiting trucks, but it beat the alternative. I was able to walk Henry up to a truck stop – because of course at the moment of crisis, he pipes up “I have to go potty!” – while my husband worked on the tire. He put the spare on…and then the car wouldn’t start. The car repair place by the truck stop did not have the tire we needed and moreover, didn’t have time to come out and jump our car. Mercifully, the car insurance has roadside assistance and within half an hour, someone had come to jump the car and locate a tire.

Three hours and a pretty scary tire shop later, we were back on the road. I feel lucky; it could have been so much worse, but we still had to drive for another six hours to make our deadline. We made it through severe lightning storms in the plains of Nebraska before we reached our hotel in Ogallala at midnight. Henry slept a little in the car but woke up crying and distressed to still be in his car seat. My husband was bummed out that he didn’t get his Runza, apparently a staple of his Nebraska childhood.

And to top it all off – since this is a knitting blog after all – this year is the year that I get carsick if I knit. Carsick! I completed Kelli’s Sunday Swing Socks and listlessly did a few rounds on a plain sock, but this was not to be the year I speed through projects as we drive through the Midwest. Co-workers, I cede the Summer of Socks and Lace to you.

Has anyone seen my sock mojo?

2010-07-04T09:37:00.000-05:00

Socks used to be a pretty reliable project for me. I could cast on 64 stitches on a size 1.5 Addi and away I would go. But this summer, I've had a devil of a time with socks.

It started with the Yarn Harlot's Lenore, which calls for Socks that Rock Lightweight, casting on 60 stitches on a size 1.5 needle. If anything, I thought they'd be too tight. But no! Too loose! I ended up going down to a 1.

Then, my March Rockin' Sock Club Socks, Slip Jig. Socks that Rock Mediumweight on a size 1.5. Okay. My gauge has been loose lately, so this should work. No. The sock was huge and the fabric stiff enough to walk away on its own. So I went back to my usual Mediumweight needle, an Addi 2 (2.75 mm) and cast on for the smallest size. I can barely get it over my ankle, but it worked.

Next project, Cottys, by the same designer of Slip Jig. Same process: Mediumweight (the color here is Valenscummy, which I love), 60 stitches on size 1.5, as the pattern calls for, way too big. Finally cast on 48 stitches on a 2, but I'm not happy.

And it's not just Socks that Rock or Sock Club patterns. Everything is turning out too loose or too big. I don't know what has changed. Here, let's look at my finished Kai Meis, in Dream in Color Smooshy in Lipstick Lava, from Cookie A's Sock Innovation. It took a year to finish the first sock; a week to finish the second. But they turned out fine!

Campaign of Intimidation

2010-06-20T11:29:00.000-05:00

So it's Summer of Socks and Lace again over at the store. Last year I got kind of....competitive and ended up wiping the floor with my co-workers, one of whom got pregnant and the movement of her knitting needles made her sick, so that wasn't exactly fair. This year, I said I wasn't going to be that way. But I am. I persuaded Martha and Kelli to make a new category called "Doublethreat" so I wouldn't have to choose between socks and working on my 10 Shawls in 2010. In my defense, this has proven to be a really popular category, and I think everyone is really enjoying it. Then I vowed that I was going to WIN, and in a really twisted move, my two main competitors, Steven and Yvonne, and I started making things for each other. Steven made me a new February Lady Sweater. I made my new go-to pattern, a Traveling Woman, for Yvonne, out of Pagewood Farm Alyeska:

What else have I finished that I haven't shown?

A slightly modified Helena for a dear grad school friend's new baby:

After many, many, many false starts and a nasty tangle, my March 2010 Rockin' Sock Club Slip Jigs:

In the Land of Oz shawl, out of Malabrigo Sock in Rayon Vert. I'm calling it my "Wine and Thunderstorms" Shawl because I made it mostly during a spate of bad thunderstorms around here recently. It's also so simple that you can drink a lot of wine and watch chick flicks while you knit it.

And finally, these baby booties out of leftover STR Garden Daze from last year's sock club. I keep telling myself I made them to test out the Signature Needles DPNs that I got at Maryland Sheep and Wool, but really, I have to confess, I am building up a little hope chest. It's been over two years since my miscarriage, and I'm hoping for something good soon.

The birthday hat lives!

2010-06-04T06:30:00.002-05:00

The birthday hat: year four,
originally uploaded by bookscatsyarn.

I made this hat for Henry for his first birthday. It was a little large at the time, but little did I realize just how very large it has turned out to be. The hat is the Wooderson of knitwear: Henry keeps getting older and the hat stays the same size. All right.

Why I Won't Win Summer of Socks and Lace

2010-06-02T11:30:00.000-05:00

I was feeling all kinds of smug about finishing these Lenore Socks in Socks that Rock Lightweight in ST-2.

After several false starts, I was able to get some momentum going on my March Rockin' Sock Club Slip Jigs. Then this happened:

Bowls

2010-05-20T13:40:00.000-05:00

Like much of the knitting world, I've jumped on the yarn bowl bandwagon. You'd think that as the daughter of two potters, I would have been all over this a long time ago. But yet, although my mother and I have sketched out several prototypes, we've never gotten around to making one. The bowls I've been using aren't made by my mother nor are they Jennie the Potter models; they are a small tea bowl from Pottery Barn and a handmade bowl that The Preschooler chose at the Empty Bowls Chili Cookoff at the Braddock Library.

Imagine my surprise when I left the room for a minute and came back to this. Peek-a-boo!

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T16:34:00.000-05:00

This is what I made my mother: a Shetland Triangle in Madeline Tosh Sock in Oxblood.

This is what The Preschooler made for me. I love the "mixed-media" piece.

Sheep and Wool Haul

2010-05-05T06:37:00.000-05:00

From left to right, first row: Tess Laceweight, Three Irish Girls Glenhaven, Tess SuperSock and Baby, Miss Babs Sport.

Second Row: More Miss Babs Sport, two Socks that Rock Mediumweight, Miss Babs Sock.

Third Row: More Miss Babs Sock, Autumn House Bamboo Tweed (this is my precious), Miss Babs Tweed, Brooks Farm Solana (bought specifically for a sweater for The Preschooler).

Sheep and Wool

2010-05-04T11:55:00.000-05:00

So I have, like, degrees in Women's Studies. Yet I think they will be revoked because I wore this to Maryland Sheep and Wool this year, as part of Steven's groupies.

It was ridiculously hot this year, to the point where I was standing in line for The Fold at not even 9:00 am, and I realized that it was just going to be too hot and I was not going to make it through the day. Unfortunately, that's come to be just part of life with a semi-chronic (according to the headache doctor) pain condition, and some of us were back at the hotel by 2:00 for a nap.

Fortunately, it did cool off enough for me to wear my completed Tappan Zee Cardigan to the after-party.

(Oof, I should have sucked my stomach in more!)

I got a terrific haul this year, and I'm so excited to cast on because Spring Cleaning is OVER! I finished four pairs of socks, a child's vest, and the Tappan Zee. It's so time to cast on like a crazed weasel again.

I Drool Black and Gold

2010-04-20T11:45:00.000-05:00

Dear Elizabeth Zimmermann, forgive me, for I have cast on.

It had been fifteen days since my last cast-on.

But a baby has been born, and he's so cute. I just want to knit him ponies and such, but I figured some black and gold bibs are a good beginning for a Pittsburgh Baby. These are based on the basic Mason-Dixon Baby Bib O' Love. The striped bib uses the slip stitch pattern from the Baby Genius Burp Cloth. The color block bib uses the same log-cabin-ing idea found on the Purl Bee blog's Log Cabin Washcloths. I restrained myself and knit only two.

Singing My Leg Song

2010-04-18T06:57:00.000-05:00

Last fall I cast on for my first ever toe-up sock, the Discovery Sock from Cat Bordhi's Personal Footprints for Insouciant Sock Knitters. The method is intriguing: in a nutshell, to make a sock for yourself, you make a cardboard tracing of your foot. The measurements and stitch counts you record on that foot serve as your pattern after after for that particular yarn and needle size. Essentially, you knit a tube for your foot and cut into the ankle line to create an "afterthought leg."

I cast on my toe stitches and increased to the number that fit over my toenails comfortably.

Then I tried on the sock as I knit and increased sole stitches whenever the sock felt tight. When I got to the ankle bone -- or the leg line as Cat Bordhi calls it -- I threaded two lifelines in and started on the heel decreases.

Then OMG, with moral support from Yvonne, we put the lifeline stitches back on the circular needles and cut and unraveled the stitches in between, leaving an opening for the leg.

It fits!

Halfway through...and feeling twitchy

2010-04-15T10:10:00.000-05:00

I stopped casting on sometime in the last week of March, with a quick break to cast on one final Malabrigo March project on March 31, the Little Girl's Shrug from Knitting Pure and Simple. I had a good portion of a skein of Pollen left over after Frankie's "Lellow Hat," and I used some Lettuce for the trim.

I finished my second pair of Ampersands, which is such a simple and fun pattern that it almost felt like cheating on the "cleaning" aspect of this project. These are in Socks that Rock Mediumweight in Vine Maple.

However, remember in the Little House books, when Ma and Pa took Mary to the School for the Blind and Laura and Carrie decided to do the fall cleaning? And they made it look so much worse before it got any better? Going through knitting projects is kind of like that. I dug out my "Discovery Socks" from the new-ish Cat Bordhi book. I threaded my lifelines and am about to do the heel decreases and then I have to CUT MY KNITTING. If that isn't the equivalent of Grace spilling the stove blacking, I don't know what is.

Just because I'm not acting like a crazed weasel...

2010-04-11T11:39:00.000-05:00

...doesn't mean I'm not thinking like one. I may not be casting on, but I sure do have the itch to start new projects.

Yesterday my mother came in to Natural Stitches with The Preschooler in tow. (And to those who were in the store, I'm so sorry if you weren't amused by Steven and a small child playing KABOOM! in the chunky yarn section. They are apparently BFFs now.) She'd asked me last year for a small black shawl, but we both agreed that we didn't want to do it in a "flat" solid black color. We'd originally planned on Socks that Rock Rauen, but when she saw my finished Hederas, she thought the color was too brown. After much consultation, she chose Madeline Tosh Sock in Oxblood for a small Shetland Triangle. It's a Mother's Day present. Surely I can cast on for a Mother's Day present?

A few weeks ago, my mother, mother-in-law, and I went to Phipps Conservatory to see the Spring Flower Show, where I fell in love with this color.

I've been thinking about making a "Wandering the Moors" shawl in this gorgeous Road to China Light for awhile, and when we got in this new pink colorway, it seemed like the perfect match to the flowers that had been dancing in my mind. The sheen and halo of the fiber seems appropriately textured while the dusty pink acts as a homage to the early Victorian sensibilities of Jane Eyre. But I'm not going to cast on. Nope.

Then just this week, we got this new color of Dream in Color Smooshy in. I have pink on the brain. But no, I won't cast on.

This is what happens when you don't cast on like a crazed weasel

2010-04-10T07:58:00.001-05:00

Projects actually get finished. Note my use of the passive voice, like I have no control over the matter. But seriously, I have been hauling out some long-forgotten projects and getting them done and out of the way.

Thuja-eque Socks, in KnitPicks Risata.

Start Date: May 2008
Reason project was cast aside in disdain: Let's face it, the pattern is boring. I started them on KnitPicks Harmony circulars, which I just don't like anymore because they're too slow. They're Man Socks, so the foot is mind-numbingly long.
Solution: Switch to Addi Circulars to speed up the project, despite risk of changing gauge.

Hedera Socks, in Socks that Rock Mediumweight, Rauen colorway

Start Date: September 2008
Reason project was cast aside: Lace pattern in black yarn. Uncharted lace pattern in black yarn (for some reason, I can't do lace without a chart. I just can't make my mind work that way). Thicker mediumweight Socks that Rock on size 1 needles; these socks could walk away on their own.
Solution: Just get on with it, already.

In other news, I am almost finished with the yoke on my Tappanzee Cardigan, which I hope to wear to Maryland Sheep and Wool this year. I have also applied the "just get on with it" approach to my Baby Moderne blanket, done in Dream in Color Smooshy. I finished two of the larger blocks and started the intarsia -- a completely new technique for me, so I am still Expanding My Comfort Zone. I will finish it. I will.

When I started this "Spring Cleaning" project, I had eleven WIPs on my Ravelry projects page. I now have eight!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T12:55:00.001-05:00

Henry did some modeling of finished projects for me today.

Kirsten Kapur's Pembroke Vest, from the original issue of Petite Purls. The vest is made from Brown Sheep Superwash.

Henry also offered to model my Olatz Shawl, made for Malabrigo March in Malabrigo Worsted in Sealing Wax.

However, I think my mother did a more accurate modeling job.

Spring Cleaning

2010-03-24T10:22:00.000-05:00

I posted a little about this on the store blog, but I am taking April to finish projects. As of today, I have eleven WIPs in my Ravelry projects and um, a lot of projects in hibernation. My two main goals are to finish the Tappan Zee Cardigan I started the other day from the new Knitty in time to wear to Maryland Sheep and Wool and to finish the Baby Moderne blanket I started over a year ago. How many projects can I finish before MDSW?

Malabrigo But Not March: Textured Shawl

2010-03-17T14:34:00.001-05:00

Yarn trends may cycle in and out, but at least for 2010, I'm turning back to my old friend Malabrigo. I mentioned during snOMGpgh that Malabrigo Silky Merino was turning into my drug of choice: so soft, so shiny, such depth of color, and such great value for the price. With just two skeins of Silky Merino in Indicieta, I made a version of Orlane's Textured Shawl. I used the garter tab set-up for Feministy's Yvaine, then knit sixteen rows of stockinette, sixteen rows of the texture pattern, eight rows of stockinette, four rows of garter stitch, eight rows of stockinette, another sixteen rows of the texture pattern, eight rows of stockinette, four of the texture pattern again, and then garter stitch for four rows (or, in other words, until I ran out of yarn and the gold medal hockey game was over). The finished project is now on display at Natural Stitches for the Show Us Your Shawl Extravaganza this weekend.

A Monogamous (and Ruffle-y) Malabrigo March

2010-03-14T14:29:00.001-05:00

An odd thing has happened. In the past few weeks, I've become, mostly, a monogamous knitter. It started with the Knitting Olympics, but I have been pleasantly surprised by how I've been able to stay on track with projects. Yet truth be told, the two projects I've completed so far for Malabrigo March have been done because I hesitated to put them down, fearful that I might not be able to bring myself to pick them back up again. These projects feature an awful lot of stockinette, and an awful lot of, well, stitches.

Laura Chau's Just Enough Ruffles, in Malabrigo Worsted in Velvet Grapes:

Citron from Knitty, in Malabrigo Sock in Boticelli Red:

Twelve Years Ago Today...

2010-03-08T06:36:00.000-05:00

My grandmother passed away, as she lost her second battle with cancer. She would have been ninety years old this year. My grandmother is the woman who taught me to knit when I was seven years old, so with every stitch I make, I hope, in my own way, that I honor her. She was a wonderfully accomplished knitter and had a gift with intarsia in particular. She knit for me, and I hope that when I knit for my son, I pass down some of her love to him.

Ulmus

2010-03-07T12:56:00.000-05:00

Technical difficulties -- meaning my camera and my laptop both basically chose the same time to give up the ghost -- have made me a bad blogger. But it's about time I recorded my Knitting Olympics Project. I wasn't going to do the Ravelympics: too complicated, too many rules, too many teams, etc. But when The Yarn Harlot posted that she was going back to the original Knitting Olympics, I was in, along with my teammates at Natural Stitches.

The Knitting Olympics ask you to challenge yourself, trusting that you know what you can accomplish in 17 days. For this goal, I challenged myself to "get on with it already." I've loved Kirsten Kapur's Ulmus from the minute the pattern was released. I fantasized about what two colors of Malabrigo Sock I'd choose for my own Ulmus. I bought the pattern. I looked longingly at the other Ulmuses (Ulmii?) on Ravelry. But I could never bring myself to start. The Knitting Olympics seemed like the perfect kick in the pants.

I chose Malabrigo Sock in my all-time favorite Malabrigo colorway, Stonechat, and paired it with Turner, a green that goes from acid to muddy and back again.

Once I figured out how to count to three, the garter and slip-stitch body went fairly quickly.

The lace portion flew! I cast-off on Saturday, one day before the torch went out. Yvonne kindly blocked it for me, and here's a picture of the lace detail.

Here's my medal!

I'm rather amazed at how quickly the project came together. Perhaps these monogamous knitters are on to something? When you don't flit from project to project, you actually...finish. Go figure!

Snow Day!

2010-02-07T07:05:00.000-05:00

You'd think snow days would be great for knitting, but I found myself so excited about the snow that I found it hard to settle down to knitting. We, unlike many others in the region, we fortunate that we had heat, power, and water. We had plenty to eat and nowhere to be (although the symphony, I have to say, took a shamefully long time to decide to cancel last night's concert). We had a Wii, good books, and Netflix. The worst thing that happened was that we lost our local HD channels, and that was remedied with a quick brush off of the dish once the snow stopped.

Once I did settle down, I worked on this, The Textured Shawl Recipe, in my new drug, Malabrigo Silky Merino. I find that two skeins can really take the edge off any craving to buy new yarn.

Here's another two-skein project using Malabrigo Silky Merino, Saroyan, by Liz Abinante:

And here's another one of Liz's free and most excellently-written patterns (seriously, I have paid for patterns that aren't anywhere near the quality of these free ones), the Traveling Woman Shawl. This one is knit in Dream in Color Smooshy in Gothic Rose; the deep, almost black red of the colorway is impossible to capture on film. Since my Shetland Triangle and Multnomah were WIPS on January 1, this is my first office entry for 10 Shawls in 2010.

Multnomah

2010-01-28T10:37:00.000-05:00

Although yesterday's "Creative Time" was abbreviated due to massive piles of laundry, I did manage to block out my Multnomah Shawl. This doesn't count for the 10 Shawls in 2010 because I started it way back in September. It had been in time out because, in spite of it being the stitch pattern that new knitters cut their teeth on, I cannot manage to do Feather and Fan to save my life. Apparently, I cannot count to six with any kind of consistency.

The yarn is Creatively Dyed Tradewinds, a superwash fingering yarn in the Sour Orange colorway. I blocked it a little too severely, and the scallops look more like points; I've softened the edges somewhat since taking it off the blocking wires. Blocked, it looks like a Cylon Raider, doesn't it?

Shetland Triangle

2010-01-26T10:36:00.000-05:00

Although these weren't on my original list of things to do to Expand My Fiber Comfort Zone in 2010, I think completing a lace shawl and blocking it myself certainly count as developing new skills. This is the Shetland Triangle I cast on for the Once in a Blue Moon Cast On in Socks that Rock Mediumweight, colorway Winter Solstice.

Unblocked:

On the blocking wires:

Finished!