Fairly Busy

I thought I would jump right in to being a Hoosier and enter some knitting in the upcoming State Fair. I don't expect to win anything but had a great time entering the Ventura County fair last year.Next weekend is the time to take in entries, and I've been working on several projects for the categories I am enrolled in.

The Eleanor socks I knit as the July pair for my personal sock club are my entry for Adult Accessory. The yarn is Knit Picks Bare that I dyed during my first attempt at hand-dyeing.



For Child Accessory, I made a mistake rib scarf, from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, for the Biscuit to wear this winter and added a corkscrew fringe.



I am done with knitting another Cabin Carry as a Felted Purse entry, but haven't felted it yet.



I am totally thrilled with how my Aubrey shawl came out (see previous post for pattern and more photos) and it will be my entry for Shawl/Scarf.



I also signed up for Adult Sweater - One Color, and knit an Amelia in some cream Cascade 220 Superwash. I just sewed the buttons on this afternoon. However, I cocked up the neckline something fierce and the fit is otherwise disastrous on me. It is currently stuffed into a bag in my room until it either mends its non-flattering ways or I think of someone else to give it to. Plan B is to enter my February Lady Sweater, shown here in a lovely ladies room shot.



Not all of my recent knitting has been for the fair. Friday evening I finished this baby gift for a co-worker of Greg's. The hat is Little Pumpkin from Itty Bitty Hats and the sockies are something I ginned up on the fly to go with.



And sometimes I do thing other than knit and work and care for my young. After the morning thunderstorms cleared up yesterday and we were back from running errands it was a lovely breezy day outside. There is a dead tree of some kind, let's call it an Indiana Thornbush, in the greenbelt behind our house, and I went after about half of it with a handsaw and lack of common sense. I had a good time pulling out branches and snapping off twigs and said "C'mon, you son of a bitch" more than is probably ladylike.

Ravelry Rocks!

Last week I received my Ravelry beta invitation. It is frickin' awesome. It is splendid. It ROXXOR. Other people who love what I love! Yarn and relational databases, together at last! I've added some of my past projects and a bit of my stash to my notebook and am inspired to catalog the remainder of my yarn. I'm finding photos and tips for projects I want to make, all in one place! Just this morning, the famous Kate Gilbert added me to her (extensive) roster of "friends"! I added some of my little patterns to their database, and someone added the flag bib to their queue! My punctuation repostitory isn't exhausted, I am actually this excited! I love it like Greg loves his iPhone.

Whew.


In other news, I started a Titled Duster from the Fall 2007 IK two nights ago, in the Cascade 200 navy wool that I bought a while ago to make the Equestrian Blazer (a pattern by Kate Gilbert, by the way). I halted work on the Blazer when I realized it wouldn't be a good shape for me, and I've had these nine balls of lovely wool kind of hanging over my head ever since. The Tilted Duster is just perfect for putting it to use.

I recently finished my clapotis (another design by my BFF Kate). This is the only photo I have so far, of me wearing it during my night out with Greg two weeks ago to celebrate our eighth anniversary. We went to a great restaurant in Hollywood called the Hungry Cat (where the photo was taken) and saw 3:10 to Yuma at the Cineramadome. In between we visited a huge record store filled with young people with skinny pants and questionable facial hair.



Last night we had rainy weather for the first time in living memory, just about, and after the girls went to bed I sat on the couch with my knitting, and my laptop, and a cup of warm tea that Greg made me and listened to the thunder. Mmmm, autumn.

Yesterday afternoon I cleaned out the basket of yarn and abandoned projects in the corner of my bedroom. I moved the yarn worth saving into my main stash, and even got rid of a few small balls. There was a felted bag and a completed hat in there that I put into the bag of garage sale stuff.

The works in progress from the basket came out front and moved into my red knitting caddy of current work. Haiku, which I made for Pumpkin, had been sitting there, only lacking five buttons, since April 2005. The ChildHood sweater, also for Pumpkin, has been dormant since May of 2005.

My log cabin blanket was taking up a lot of room in the caddy, and it's too hot to knit a big wool blanket right now, so I took the needle tips off and moved it into one of the drawers in my stash closet, and cleaned out yarn ball bands and other detritus that had collected in the caddy.

With the log cabin out of the way and the resurrected projects added to the basket, I decided that I want to finish all of my work in the caddy, except for the Snowdrop Shawl, before I cast on for anything new. I've done a lot of yarn shopping lately and I have plenty of things I want to begin.

As of yesterday afternoon, the caddy contents were:

Limeade dishcloth
Haiku, needing buttons
Childhood - need half of a front, sleeves, and neck/button bands, plus finishing
Yarn for second sock of current pair (Math #1) - need to cast on
Love Me Al plastic bag bag - need to make more bag yarn
Snowdrop Shawl - exempted!

Last night, I sewed on the buttons on Haiku. Amazingly, it fits Pumpkin and she'll be able to wear it this fall. I finished the half-done front piece of ChildHood last night and started the first sleeve today. I took Pumpkin to a matinee of Ratatouille this morning and finished the Limeade washcloth.

So as of right now, the status is:
Limeade dishcloth - DONE!
Haiku, needing buttons - DONE!
Childhood, needing half of a front, sleeves, and neck/button bands, plus finishing - Front Done! Sleeve #1 in progress
Yarn for second sock of current pair (Math #1) - Will probably cast on tomorrow, as I'll be carpooling all week and socks are perfect traveling knits
Love Me Al plastic bag bag - need to make more bag yarn

I think I can be strong. Wish me luck!

Limeade Bib and Dishcloth Patterns

It was really hot today, and the color of this yarn made me think of cool summertime beverages. I made a bib, but I think the stripes of stockinette and reverse stockinette created by the odd number of rows in the pattern would also be great for a scrubby kitchen cloth, and I’ve included instructions for a dishcloth variation.



Materials:
1 skein Sugar ‘n’ Cream cotton – Hot Green
Size 8 straight or circular needles
One 3/8 inch button (bib only)
Two stitch markers (optional)
Tapestry needle

Instructions:
Seed stitch (over an odd number of stitches): *K1, P1*, repeat to end of row.
When you turn the work to the other side, the pattern remains the same. You will be knitting the purl stitches and purling the knit stitches from the previous row to create the seed stitch pattern.

Seed Border (SB): K1, P1, K1, P1, K1

Limeade Bib

Cast on 33 stitches.
Work 3 rows seed stitch.
Row 4: Work 5 stitches seed stitch, place marker, work seed stitch until 5 stitches remain on left needle, place marker, work last 5 stitches in seed stitch. The markers separate the border stitches from the body of the bib. If you’re comfortable with keeping track of 5 stitches on either side as you work, you can omit the markers.

Row 5: SB to marker, knit to second marker, SB to end of row
Row 6: SB to marker, purl to second marker, SB to end of row
Row 7: SB to marker, knit to second marker, SB to end of row

Repeat rows 5-7 twelve times.

Work 4 rows seed stitch.
For straps, work seed stitch to first marker, remove marker, work two more stitches seed stitch. Bind off, in pattern, until two stitches before second marker. Work two stitches in seed stitch, remove marker, and work remaining stitches in seed stitch.

Work straps separately.

Strap A: Work in seed stitch until strap measures 5 inches. Bind off in pattern.
Strap B: Work in seed stitch until strap measures 4.5 inches.
Create buttonhole – Work 3 in seed stitch, bind off 2, work 2 in seed stitch. On next row, work 3, cast on 2, work 2
Work in seed stitch until strap measures 5 inches. Bind off in pattern.

Sew on button. Weave in ends.

Limeade Dishcloth Variation

Cast on 45 stitches.
Work rows 1-4 as for bib.
Work rows 5-7, as for bib.
Repeat rows 5-7 eighteen times.
Work 4 rows seed stitch.
Bind off in pattern.
Weave in ends.

Red, White, and Bib - Flag Bib Pattern

Perfect for a summer picnic, a Yankee Doodle baby born on the Fourth of July, or being kissed by politicians any time of year. The garter stitch baby bib pattern in Mason-Dixon Knitting inspired the basic structure of this bib.




Materials:
Sugar ‘n’ Cream cotton, 1 partial skein each of Red, White, and Bright Navy.
1 ¾ inch button – sample in photo uses a red star
Tapestry needle
Size 8 straight needles

Gauge: 4.5 stitches and 8 rows per inch in garter stitch

Instructions:

You will be joining new colors when working the public side of the piece. When working stripes, carry the color not in use up the back of the work, wrapping around the active color on the wrong side. Bring the new color up from under the previous color when changing yarns.

With Red, cast on 33 stitches.

Stripes:
Rows 1-8: Knit with Red
Rows 9-16: Knit with White
Rows 17-24: Knit with Red
Rows 25-32: Knit with White

Add field for stars, and continue stripe pattern

Row 33: K20 with Red. Join Bright Navy and knit 13.
Row 34, 36, 38, 40: K13 with Bright Navy, K20 with Red
Row 35, 37, 39: K20 with Red, K13 with Bright Navy
Row 41, 43, 45, 47: K20 with White, K13 with Bright Navy
Row 42, 44, 46, 48: K13 with Bright Navy, K20 with White
Rows 49-56: Repeat rows 33-40.

Begin straps.

Row 57: Knit 8 with White. With Red, bind off the next 12 stitches. With Bright Navy, bind off 5 stitches, then knit to end.

Buttonhole strap:
With Bright Navy, knit these 8 stitches back and forth for 30 rows.
Create buttonhole: Knit 3, bind off 2, knit 3. On next row, knit 3, cast on 3, knit 3.
Work 4 more rows with Bright Navy.
Bind off all stitches.

Button strap:
Return to the 8 active white stitches on the other side of the work.
With White, knit 29 rows.
Bind off all stitches.
Sew button on to right side of this strap.

Embroider stars on to the field of Bright Navy with a length of White threaded on to a tapestry needle. Each star is composed of five short straight stitches radiating from a central point: one vertical, two horizontal, and two angled down and out from the center point.

Weave in all ends.

How I Spent My Mother's Day

I mentioned it at the time, but now I have photos of my Mother's Day introduction to hand dyeing. A while back, I ordered some Bare yarn in sock and worsted weights and the starter kit of Jaquard acid dye from KnitPicks, and part of my lovely Mother's Day was the indulgence of my family allowing me to mess around with it.



The first step (according to the directions and some information I cobbled together from the world wide interwebs) was to soak the yarn. I decided to do two skeins of sock yarn in different colorways.



Next, I assembled my crack team of assistants.



I set up an incredibly high-class dyeing area in the side yard using the deconstructed box from our new kitchen chairs, a stepstool, a few plastic baby clothes hangers, three binder clips, several clear plastic cups, Saran Wrap, and a Swiffer handle. The masking tape, also pictured, was not used. The side yard had many advantages to it, the primary one being its inaccessability to preschoolers and small dogs.



This is the part where you'll have to imagine me actually applying the dye, because I didn't want to get any dye on my camera. Pumpkin watched me work from behind the gate.

Next step, steaming for 45 minutes. Nothing like the smell of hot wool to make your tastebuds perk up.



At many points in this narrative, imagine me going in to the kitchen to eat sushi.


After cooking, cooling, and a quick rinse in a very dilute vinegar solution, I hung them up to dry. Drying time began outside.



Pumpkin chose names for the colors - Fire and Blues. Here's a slightly blurry closeup of Fire drying outside.




Later in the evening, I moved them in to the garage to continue drying overnight. Mini Cooper included for scale.



When they were completely dry the next day, I skeined them up and took their picture again. I love them! Not bad for a first attempt.



They're also pretty wound into center pull balls.



I made myself wait to cast on until I finished the pair of socks already in progress. When I did begin, I finished the first sock in about a week, which is far and away a speed record for me. So I have dubbed them my Rapid Fire socks. We'll see how quickly the second sock comes along.

It's hard to self-portrait the foot.



All in all, I had a complete and total blast dyeing yarn. I already have several ideas for what colors I'd like to try next.

Rapid Update

I can't believe a whole month has gone by; here is the briefest of updates while I wait for some data to load:

Rainbow socks are finished.
The first of a ridged feather sock for me is finished.
I bought lots of dyeable yarn from KnitPicks and can't wait to try it out.
I am working on a skirt of my own design for Ellie - it is pink and purple (my current Project Spectrum project)
I didn't like the way the triangle shaw was coming so I tore it out.
Our trip to San Diego included a half-day yarn crawl which I will detail later, but it included my first Lorna's Laces purchases.

Data done, need to run!

Sweetheart Hat

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Originally uploaded by gldyas.

Modeled by my sweetheart. She chose this red and white Cotton Ease from my stash, and I made up a little two-color pattern as I went along. I thought the row of single red stitches in the white band looked like little hearts, hence the name.

Fair Isle Feature

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Originally uploaded by gldyas.

I added in two pony holes at the crown to accomodate one of her mainstay hairstyles.

Daisy Hat, top view

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Originally uploaded by gldyas.

From Itty Bitty Hats, in Lion Cotton and Sugar 'n' Cream.

Bea in Daisy Hat

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Originally uploaded by gldyas.

Playing in the front yard this afternoon.

Marley Hat

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Originally uploaded by gldyas.

Adapted from Itty Bitty Hats, in blue and light purple Cotton Tots. I gave this to the daughter of one of Greg's co-workers.

Completed Shell

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Originally uploaded by gldyas.

Seat of my pants design, in white and teal Wool-Ease.

Warm Up America Blocks

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Originally uploaded by gldyas.

In Project Spectrum blue and white.

Happy Birthday, Me!

The Itty Bitty Hats book by Susan Anderson has several cute ideas in it. I made my second hat from it for Bea over the last few days. It's the upside-down daisy hat, in dusty rose and white. I used some Lion Cotton that I bought on Saturday afternoon, at the local Hancock Fabrics going out of business sale. That's the second local craft chain store to go under in the last few months. I picked up the cotton, some Magic Stripes sock yarn, a pair of purse handles, many buttons, and some ribbon yarn for trim. It's the first yarn purchase I've made since New Year's Eve - I've been knitting from my stash these past few months.

A few of my work friends and I went out to lunch today to celebrate my birthday, and while we were waiting for our order I finished turning the heel and picked up the gusset on Ellie's rainbow sock. It's turning out pretty cute.

Over the weekend I finished Ellie's sweater. I decided to skip any sleeve worries by making it a shell-style tank. The 90+ weather this weekend was a contributing factor in that decision.

I need to take some photos of all this!

Basketweave sock

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Originally uploaded by gldyas.

Completed man-sock! Next to it is what will eventually become the matching sock.

Basketweave detail

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Originally uploaded by gldyas.

Lullaby Sweater

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Originally uploaded by gldyas.

B modeling the "Julie's Itchy Fingers" sweater I made for her while I was pregnant. It's still a little big, but it's a good outer layer on chilly days.