Argo-scarf, another Dishrag, Holy *#!@ I Can't Believe Some Lady Made This

Here's a very belated picture of my argosy/argonaut scarf that I made last winter. It was such a long time ago that I don't even remember what the real name is, but I do know that the pattern was on Knitty. You may notice some color differences between the two legs of the scarf. See, I used two skeins of Aruncana Alpaca that I bought at Uniquely Yours in Rolla. I probably should've done that "knit every other row with alternate balls of yarn" thing. Like that was gonna happen.

What can I say about the Ball Band Dishrag? I love knitting these guys. $3 for so much fun! If I named this one "tequila sunrise over the Pacific" I would make myself barf. But at least I'd have a nice reusable rag to clean up with.

And lastly, this is a very old cotton doily that my aunt sent me last year for my birthday. She said she paid $.10 for it at a church flea market. It's been sitting on my desk for the last 8 months, and I still can't get over it. Some person (some gal, probably, right?) made this thing. Out of thread. It's crazy.

Donezo!

Knitting Be Not Proud: After not being able to knit much the past week or two, I bit the bullet and finished two (2) projects today. I finished the i-cord edging on the Mary Jane house shoes and knitted the strap. Next time, I make a pair I'm definitely going to make sure that I bind off very loosely around the hole. It was a nightmare picking up stitches for the attached i-cord. The first shoe I did was a bit wonky. I kept shredding and piercing the stitches I had to slip over the picked up stitch on the i-cord.



All in all I like them, and since I'm no longer so puzzled about which end of the sole is the heel and which one is the toe, the next pair will be a snap.

In other finished news, I finally attached the handle to my Brea purse and wove in the ends. I still didn't crab stitch around the top and it does seem a bit saggy/floppy. I'm sure a lining would help to fix that but I'm not gonna hold my breath. It took me way too long to do the finishing on this as it is.



Oh, and I did finish my Fetching gauntlets. These too (like everything I knit) took too long for what they were. I ended up frogging the first one that was too loose and reknit it. So really, I make 1.5 pairs of these.



This isn't a finished picture but shows the first gauntlet on the left and it's floppiness. The finished pair are made out of alpaca and are nice and warm. I am contemplating putting a drawstring of ribbon around each wrist to keep them snug.

Bootylicious

Everyone seems to be spawning these days.

So far I would like to make a second green baby booty to match the one that I already have finished, as well as sew up the blue ones. Then, it would be nice if I could get around to making two more pink ones for friends who have not yet given birth. Plus, an extra set for J's baby, whatever gender it decides to be. I think that's five pairs total.

Upcoming Trip!

I am very excited about my spring break trip to San Francisco! Even though it's still 3 weeks away and during Holy Week (nothing says SPRING BREAK like the Passion of Christ), I have big plans of fun stuff to do.

So far my list of things to bring:

My set of KnitPicks Interchangeable Circular Needles
The Knitter's Book of Yarn by Clara Parkes

My New (almost finished) Mary Jane Slippers
Some airplane knitting which I haven't figured out yet.
Maybe a second pair of MJ Slippers, or a Hanami Shawl

The shawl might not be the best thing to start on a plane where mistakes would be disastrous. But I really want to knit it and am afraid if I don't start it over break I'll never have a chance to start it.

Any suggestions on additions to my list?

Socks for Marina

Here they are: Marina's belated Christmas socks, just in time for Spring. They are also my first stripes! However, I don't think I'll ever use Baby Ull for socks again. It's just not twisty enough. Or else, I'd use #2 needles instead of #3's. The non-stripey sock is already more felted than the stripey one 'cause I had to WEAR it while I was working on the second one.

Oh, Lavoiser, I Wish They Hadn't Guillotined You

As a side note: To attest to the greatness of Lavoiser, I would like to highlight additional evidence of the Law of Conservation of Matter.

Today in Boston, the windchill was negative 20 yet I saw way too many people walking around with a lack of warm knitted appreal. Today was not the day to wear the ballet flats without socks, or skits without leggings or legwarmers, or to go bareheaded.

The only rational explanation for this phenomenon is the Conservation of Matter: all those San Franciscans with the hat/glove/scarf sets have absorbed all the knitted matter leaving Bostonians without any.

Yeah, I know it's the easy way out--I call it a compromise

Last Friday I had this conversation with my hairdresser, Danielle, about the holidays and parents and not getting along with them and the ensuing, crushing guilt. We also discussed whether or not I'd ever go back to living in Missouri. I said that I didn't see myself living there because it's so conservative, and back water, but I also felt guilty that what Missouri needs are the idealistic young people and professionals to go back home and affect the communities.

So to allay my guilt, I found this yarn, Ozark Handspun.



It looks eclectic and squirrelly and like a lot of fun. I think I could embrace some of my Missouri-ness by combining it with a complimentary colored yarn that is more tame. I like the idea of these pillows. The important thing to keep in mind is to let the Ozark Handspun add interest but not take over the project like kudzu.

Apple Cozy and Friend

Emily made me this sweater for my produce:
The instructions are here.

Our Grandma made this for Emily:

I recently rediscovered her in my closet. I think I'll call her Heloise. Shy but sturdy.

New I Wanna Project

Elegant Gauntlets from The Purl Stitch by Sally Melville: I found them here, along with a Goreyesque/sweet story of sisterly love and a deceased kitty. This lady also has delicious sock yarn on etsy. (California poppy is my favorite, but maybe not for making gauntlets.)

These gauntlets could be the perfect article of clothing to San Francisco-ize any outfit. 'Cause, around here, it's perfectly normal to be wearing a tank top, but then cross the street and need a sweater. They're like instant sweater sleeves!

In other words, Emily, you might want to knit yourself up a pair in time for your annual visit.

Monster Mittens

Check out the posting on Subway Knitter about the Subway mittens being evil and a sign of the impending apocalypse. The discussion took place on a Ravelry forum. Honestly, I'm at a loss for words. I wish I could say it was a joke but the posters seem to be serious.

House Shoes

I think I found a use for all that cotton yarn.

The pattern can be found here.

Sweet Dreams?

How about the Sweet Dreams Throw as a joint knitting project?

Okay, it's obviously done in more than 3 panels, but still simple enough. The instructions are on the knitpicks site. I'd want to use fern green, jade, and sandstone.

2 Finished Objects and 2 WIPs

Finished: Two dishrags for Darlene that I've simply been needing to sew the ends in on...for months.


Marty's Grape Jelly Scarf: Done! The yarn is a beautiful, super-soft merino that Emily gave him for Christmas last year. Perfect softness for a scarf and in his favorite color(s).

Baby booties for two friends who recently gave birth. I gotta get the blue ones seamed up (5 minutes!), and the second green one started soon, or else those kids will have already outgrown them. The blue ones are Debbie Bliss cashmerino, the green is "baby cocoon 4 ply" (70% merino, 30% nylon--superwash) by Cleckheaton. I might want to get more of the baby cocoon for myself to make some socks. I'm kinda obsessed with trying to acquire more handknit wool socks. Emily's monkey socks have actually changed my life. They are SO MUCH better than regular socks, especially since it's been very rainy/windy/foggy here in San Francisco. I don't know how I managed to live here without wool socks before.

I Heart SSK

Slip-Slip-Knit, you are my favorite knitting stitch. You are my BFF of knitting stitches. : )

(What is your favorite knitting stitch? Discuss....)

Blanket Idea?

Aidan--

Have you thought about, as a blanket collaboration, the Knitted Garter Stitch Blandet in Sheepsdown from EZ's The Opinionated Knitter? The pattern is on page 52 and newsletter # 9.

New Year's Resolution: To be like everyone else?

So my New Year's Rez this year is to finish my UFO's that have been lurking in my knitting bags.

There are four of them: Fetching, Brea Purse, Lelah, Mom's earwarmer.

Fetching:

It might be almost done. I'm about 5 rounds from the end of the second one (not including the thumb) and am really torn about whether or not I should reknit the first one. The second one is a much better size that the floppy first one. The first one looks like a cast when you put it on, which would be fine if my wrist was swollen, but it's not. What do you think?



Brea Purse:

I need to bite the bullet and crab stitch the edges. I just don't wanna. I've decided not to line the purse because (1) it's too difficult; and (2) the stitches are tight enough not to let the big things fall out. Also, I don't have a purse handle yet. Hmmm...



Lelah:

the snag here is trying to figure out what to do with the upper part of the shirt. Should it be a tube top? A tank top? Or a short-sleeved top? Probably not the tube. I at least need to get this done so I can wear it this summer. That's not asking too much, is it?




Earwarmer:

Yeah, this has turned into a labor of guilt instead of a labor of love. I was trying to get it done so that it wouldn't be hanging over my head as the neglected Xmas gift that never made it into Mom's hands, but I'd rather knit my other UFO's first.

UFOs

I took a long hard look at the UFOs hiding around in my apt. Here are a "few" of the ones I found.


The Medusa Dishrag

The Grape Jelly Scarf for Marty

Socks for Dad on #2 needles

Xmas Knits

Finals are finally over and my backlog of knitting is getting my full attention (well, what isn't taken up by the second season of Rome). I just finished my Amelia Earhart Aviator Cap. It is currently blocking on a mannequin head that my roommate happened to have. Just to finish something is exhilarating.



Fiona before the blocking. (Please ignore the sideways-ness of the pics. Blogger is not letting me re-orient them.)

Dad's Hunting Cap has a few inches of the ribbing done after all the false starts. For such an easy project it has given me a lot of headaches. May be those headaches make up for the crappy acrylic yard that I'm holding together with some crappy wool yarn. The first version of the hat was HUGE. I didn't have a measurement of Dad's head so I measured mine and added a few inches. When I tried it on my head when it was mostly finished, it fit like a bucket. So I frogged the entire thing, reconfigured the gauge and started knitting again. After a few rows, WHOOPS!, I saw that I had neglected to calculate for an even number of ribs. Frogged that and started again with a new recalculation. This time I was using some beautiful stitch markers to mark the ribs that NB gave me; however, they started some awful ladders in the transitions from the knit rib to the purl rib. So, I frogged it and started knitting again with contrasting stitch markers made of yarn. Same problem, so I frogged yet again. Now I'm not the last (I hope!) version and have a few inches. Knitting with my fingers crossed is kinda difficult, but I really can't start this over again.

The earwarmer/headband that I want to knit for Mom hasn't had the best of luck either. I had some yarn leftover from the scarf I made for her for Xmas (or St. Paddy's Day) and wanted to make for an earwarmer with the same yarn and stitch pattern. The pattern will have to be scratched though since the wavy nature of the pattern would make it difficult to get good ear coverage. Plus, the yarnover holes aren't conducive to warmth either. I'm thinking of doing a double moss stitch pattern. Easy and textured is the preferred way to go.

After, these get done, then I can return to those socks from Socktober fest. Sigh. It's a good thing I didn't do the NaKniSweMo (National Knit a Sweater in a Month).

Oh! I'm leaving for Missouri on Tuesday and am trying to get ready for that too. I'll keep you updated as much as possible for the wild Mid-West, but my access to the internet will be limited to the hours that I spend at Panera Bread (which I here has free WiFi). I will also get some pictures up of the finished projects, promise!

Sad Farewell, #4 dpn

Today, as I was riding the #49 Muni bus through the Mission and knitting a sock (Baby Ull, turqoise), a sad thing happened. I dropped my free dpn in between the seat and the side of the bus. It landed on a little shelf of gum wrappers, sunflower seed hulls, and general filth. Muni is not one of the cleaner facets of San Francisco, and the #49 is not one of the cleaner facets of Muni. But I stuck my finger down in there anyway, and got a fingernail-ful of shmutz for my efforts. No luck. I tried using a pen, no luck. My stop was coming up, and the dpn only managed to get buried farther down in the good inch of yuckiness in that crack. Now my dpn is riding around town next to god-knows how, talking about about god-knows what.

Retro Throw

A possibility for a joint-knitting effort?


The instructions are at knitpicks....


This even seems like a good color combination; although, I think I'm wanting something in shades of ugly green, to replace the original "ugly blanket". It's acrylic, and someone (?) dried it in the dryer, and it sort of felted, er...melted, itself. Not crazy about blankets that have a right and a wrong side to them though.