March 2009 goals

Posted on 01 March 2009 by Kris

Unfortunately, my February goals were full of fail.

  1. Finish at least one pair of socks – Not done.
  2. Finish Kipling – Done!
  3. Work on either Tubey or Mountain Peaks – Not done.
  4. Start and finish at least one convertible mitten for Mom – Not done.
  5. Start Eleanora Socks – Not done.

On the plus side, I do have some FOs to show you. So keep an eye out for at least two FO posts this month. (Most likely three – I’m actually not that far from finishing my Mock Wave Cable Socks.) I also have Stitches West purchases to show off.

In the meantime, March goals:

  1. Work on Mountain Peaks
  2. Finish Mom’s convertible mittens
  3. Start and finish at least one Eleanora sock
  4. Start a sweater

In theory, these aren’t very challenging, but we’ll see about that.

I’m also trying to decide what to do about Tubey, as I’ve gained a few pounds since I started it and I’m not sure how well it’ll fit when it’s done. (See, this is what I get for being a slacker!) So I may or may not work on that this month too.

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Itty bitty knits!

Posted on 11 February 2009 by Kris

At the end of January and beginning of this month, I whipped up a few items for a very special baby. (No, not mine!) Unfortunately, the pictures aren’t great. I’d forgotten to take some earlier, so these are last-minute shots – taken at my parents’ house, just before the gift-giving event. But hopefully you get an idea of just how cute these are.

First, we have the Easy Baby Cardigan by Diane Soucy, which was very easy indeed:

Next, a pair of Ruth’s Perfect Baby Booties by Ruth Bennett. Not the most well-written pattern in the world, but still fairly straightforward, and the result is just too adorable:

And finally, a pair of Slip-Ons by Zoe Mellor (published in 50 Baby Bootees to Knit):

The tools and yarns for all three were the same:

Needles:
US3 / 3.25mm Addi Natura circulars
US3 / 3.25mm Plymouth bamboo DPNs (for the cardigan sleeves only)

Yarn:
Lion Brand Cotton-Ease in Azalea

 
The two pairs of booties are currently a bit too large for the little one, but in this case, too big is better than too small, right?

All three of these projects were very well received and much appreciated, so more handknits are in my niece’s future! Ruth’s Perfect Baby Booties were a particular favorite, and I may even knit my sister a larger version to match.

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February 2009 goals

Posted on 02 February 2009 by Kris

Unfortunately, I failed at most of my January goals:

  1. Complete at least three repeats of the Mountain Peaks Shawl edging – Not done
  2. Complete at least two inches of Tubey – Not done
  3. Start and finish at least one convertible mitten for Mom – Not done
  4. Finish Cleopatra Wrap – Done!
  5. Finish at least one pair of socks – Not done

I did actually make progress toward most of these, at least. But then other project deadlines loomed faster than expected, and, well, you know how that goes, right?

So, new goals!

  1. Finish at least one pair of socks
  2. Finish Kipling
  3. Work on either Tubey or Mountain Peaks
  4. Start and finish at least one convertible mitten for Mom
  5. Start Eleanora Socks
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Cleopatra Wrap completed!

Posted on 26 January 2009 by Kris

The Cleopatra Wrap took me longer than I’d originally intended, but I’m really glad I decided to take my time with it. It was a lot more enjoyable that way, and now I can look at this without remembering the rush and stress of meeting an unrealistic deadline.

Instead, I just break out into a big grin whenever I look at my new wrap. Because how can I not love this?

Pattern:
Cleopatra Wrap by Miriam L. Felton (published in Sensual Knits)

Yarn:
RedFish Dye Works 20/2 silk, unspecified color

Needles:
US2 / 2.75mm Knitpicks nickel-plated circulars

 
Believe me when I say that pictures don’t totally do the wrap justice – I love the color so much more in person, it’s all silver and shine. And the finished product is nice and drapey.

The yarn itself is really lovely, and I enjoyed working with it! In fact, I’m planning on buying more at Stitches West. If you get a chance to pick some up, do, because all the colors are gorgeous! (I was even tempted by some of the pinks, which is amazing considering how much I normally dislike pink.)

I don’t think I mentioned the construction before, but basically, it starts by knitting one end and placing it on a spare needle. Then you knit the other end and continue on to the main repeat. Finally, you graft the two pieces together. Pretty cool, no? The grafting did get a bit tedious about halfway through, but it was totally worth it in the end.

I’m super happy with this wrap!

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Convertible mittens

Posted on 13 January 2009 by Kris

For the past few months, I’ve been trying not to add to my stash. Which actually hasn’t been too hard! (Although I’m sure my break from knitting made this easier…)

Then I bought a skein of yarn in mid-December. It was for immediate use, though, so my stash level didn’t change. I bought the yarn for two reasons. One is that I found a few weak spots in my seed stitch rib socks. Of course, I had the leftovers from every project except that one, and all of my other yarn was too fine or too heavy. Also, almost everything was completely the wrong color.

The other reason? I wanted convertible mittens.

(Not exactly true to color, at least on my work monitor – the color is a bit more subdued in person. I may try tweaking the photos a bit to fix this…)

Yarn:
Lorna’s Laces Swirl DK in Aqua

Needles:
US0 / 2.0mm Inox DPNs for cuff
US2 / 2.5mm Inox DPNs for hand, fingers, and mitten flap
 

I didn’t really use an existing pattern for this. Though thanks to the “Progressive Gloves” and “Thumb Gussets” articles from Interweave Knits Winter 2003, it was easy to come up with the glove portion.

Also, asymmetric gussets make me happy.

Actually, these mittens in general make me happy, even though the thumbs are a little large. My hands get cold pretty easily, and these will be especially perfect at, say, 6:30 AM on a rainy day.

These mittens are also the most functional hand coverings in my possession. I still use my Endpaper Mitts a lot, but they’re not as warm as my Anemoi Mittens. Which are not as useful as the Endpaper Mitts, since my fingers are confined. As for the fingertip-less gloves I made a few years back, I’ve since lost them, so they’re obviously not very helpful now.

So these mittens? Best of all worlds.

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