Eleven Stitches

Last and First

I have some of last year's FOs to show you, as well as the first FO of 2009.  Two of them were compelled by the loss of my Natalya Mitts.  I had worn them to school and left them in the classroom at the end of the day.  One of my co-teachers picked them up and left them for me in a spot where I would find them.  It turns out someone else found them first, and I was left fingerless gloveless.

I made these in one day, because I needed something to wear outside! 

They're knit with Rowan Felted Tweed on size 2.5 needles, I think I had 48 stitches.  I did some ribbing at the ends, and a simple stockinette tube in between.  I did make two thumb holes. One the allows me to use my fingers, and another that allows me to warm my fingers.

The look a little funny, and my thumb get a little cold, but they were functional and it only took a day to knit them.

After finishing up these, I knit up a Christmas gift for one of the teachers I work with.  We go outside a lot with the children, and having something to cover our hands is quite important!

Pattern: Juniper Mitts (Rav link)
Yarn: Briar Rose Fibers Abundance
Needles: US 7
Time to Knit: December 5-11
Modifications: I cast on fewer stitches than suggested and added a gusseted thumb instead.

I love these mitts and I totally thought about keeping them for myself.  Fortunately, this teacher has almost exactly the same taste as me (we have the same jacket, dress, and 2 different vests, all bought separately!) (they're all different colors, thank goodness), so I knew she would love them too.

And finally, since I needed a longer-term solution to the no-fingerless-gloves problem, I knit myself a pair of these.

Pattern: My own
Yarn: Tess Supersock & Baby (green), and Socks that Rock LIghtweight in Tanzanite
Needles: US 1
Time to Knit: Dec 23 - Jan 4

I do love colorwork, and so I made a little chart and set off.  They were fun to knit, and I think I have enough yarn left over to make a Selbu Modern (pdf) for me!

Sick Day

I've been home sick today.  It's no fun to be sick, but it's even less fun to be working while sick (like I used to feel forced to do in my old job), so I've been enjoying my day at home. 

In a day filled with sitting in my favorite chair, warm kitties, quilts, tea, and TV, I just wanted to knit on a pair of stockinette socks.

I found this Malabrigo Sock yarn (in the Persia colorway) at Imagiknit while we were in San Francisco for Thanksgiving. It's not a color I normally go for, but I was completely taken with this skein, and I have been distracting myself with these socks ever since.

This is a simple sock knit on US 1 needles, and I used the cuff from the Waving Lace Socks (Rav link) to add a tiny bit of interest.

I know this isn't the nicest sock photo shoot I've ever done, but it really ranks up there with most comfortable!  

Baby Cables and Big Ones Too

I've gotta say, the lack of sunlight has been killing my blogging recently.  I've thought about blogging almost every evening this week, but it's so hard to get a good indoor sweater picture!  I asked David to snap a few photos today, so I can now show you my finished NaKniSweMo sweater!

Pattern: Baby Cables and Big Ones Too (Ravelry link)
Yarn: Tess Designer Yarns Silk & Ivory, 1.5 skeins
Needles: US 6
Time to Knit: November 14- 30
Modifications: I left off the last cable on the sleeves, because it would have made the sleeves too long.

The yarn I chose for this sweater was a heavy fingering in 50/50 silk/wool.  I was worried that it was too thin to knit on size 6 needles, but the fabric I got is very nice.  It feels more like a store-bought sweater (you know, the machine-knit ones with impossibly thin threads) than a wooly handknit, and it's a nice change.  Since my gauge was a little tighter than recommended, I made the next-larger size and it fits very nicely.

The pattern was very straightforward and it was a nice knit.  I got a little tired of purling to make the garter stitch yoke, but by the time I was really sick of it the pattern switched to stockinette.  I do think the yardages listed are way more than you need.  The two skeins of yarn I got was 300 yards less than recommended for my size, but I still had about half a skein left over when I was done.  I'm glad I didn't buy a third skein to get me to the recommended yardage!

I wasn't sure if I would make the NaKniSweMo deadline since I got started so late, but I had a lot of time to knit over Thanksgiving break.  I ended up finishing it up on the evening of November 30th, and I wore it on December 1 when I was flying back home.

My daylight is waning, so I'm off to take some more pictures of knitting.  Perhaps I'll blog more than once this week!

First Christmas Gift

So to begin, if you happen to be 10 years and 10 days younger than me, look a lot like me, grew up in the same house I grew up in, and want to be surprised for Christmas, maybe you should stop reading this post.

OK, is it just me and my non-sisters now?

Pattern: Selbu Modern
Yarn: Miss Babs Yummy Superwash Sport in Peony and Obsidian
Needles: US3 and US4

This was a fun knit, and it was fast too!  I think my yarn choice was a little thick, so it's not as drapey as I hoped it would be.  Blocking did help a great deal, however.  My other problem is that I just barely ran out of yarn.

With the little snack-sized skein of the pink, I ran out with about four rows to go!  I knit the last two rows with a very similarly colored sock yarn, and then used the last remaining inches of yarn to duplicate stitch in the missing lines.  I still didn't have quite enough, so I also used some of the alternate sock yarn.  Running out of yarn really didn't bother me.  I like it that I was able to use the whole skein without leftovers, and the fix turned out well.

Working with this yarn was great!  There's some nice subtle color variation going on.  I am also quite impressed that the black yarn did not stain my fingers when I was knitting it.  Usually yarn this dark feels a little sticky, and I have to rinse it with vinegar before I continue.  Miss Babs' yarn was perfect right from the start!

I do hope my sister likes the hat.  She requested pink and black because it matches her coat. But if she doesn't like it I'll just knit her something else, and keep the hat for myself!

Long Overdue: Beet Sweater

So remember last February when I dyed yarn with beets?  And then I started knitting a sweater with it right away?  The sweater knitted up fairly quickly, but when the clocks sprang forward in March, I suddenly lost all interest.  It was too hot outside for a sweater like this!  Now that there's a definite chill in the air, this sweater has suddenly become interesting again. 

Pattern: My own, based on an EZ seamless set in sleeve (I think, it's been awhile!)
Yarn: Green Mountain Spinnery's Green Mountain Green, 9 skeins, dyed with beets
Needles: US 9

I was feeling a little unsure about the collar of this sweater when I knit it, but I really like it folded up like this.

The sleeves are extra long for extra snuggliness, and I like the twisted rib on the cuff.

I'm definitely happy to have this sweater for the cold weather!

Ayda's Gloves

Last week I finished up a wee tiny pair of gloves, and mailed them to a special little girl.

Pattern: My own, based on a tracing of Ayda's hands
Yarn: Dale Baby Ull, 1 skein pink and 1 skein white
Needles: US 0 (my first project with needles this tiny!)

I first talked about this project a couple of months ago. Ayda's mother found my blog and I decided to knit her a special pair of gloves. Ayda has Symbrachydactyly, and she was born with tiny little fingertips in place of the last three fingers on her left hand. Her mother wanted her to have a pair of winter gloves that fit her and looked nice.

I heard back from Ayda's mother over the weekend, and the gloves fit!  They're a little bit big, actually, which is perfect because we would like for them to last for the rest of this year and maybe next year. Ayda's mother said that she played on the playground with no problem of having gloves that were fit badly, and that they stayed on her hands the whole time. Ayda's message to me was: "I like stripes! I like pink!"

Me too, Ayda!

30

Today I turn 30. Whew. I used to think that I would meet this birthday with dread or sadness; it seems that so many people meet these milestones that way.  But you know what?  I feel 30.  I got married this year, found a job I like, resolved some old conflicts, cut off a bunch of my hair.... I feel like it was a perfect way to transition into a time where I'm supposed to enjoy the foundation I built for myself in my twenties. I remember me at 20, and boy, I'm glad I'm ten years older now :)

I thought it would be appropriate that I knit a Birthday Cowl.

Actually, that's not true.  I happened to knit a Birthday Cowl (with handspun from NJ Sheep & Fiber on size 8 needles with no mods), and then realized that I was finishing it on the day before my birthday, and thought, "Wow, that's a nice coincidence." But if I ran into my 20-year-old self and she asked, I would totally tell her that I planned it that way. Because us 30-somethings, we've got it together, or at least know how to fake it when we don't.

I'm excited to be where I am, and to see what I learn in the next ten years.

Rainbow Venezia

I'm so pleased to present my version of the Venezia Pullover. 

This is the hardest thing I've knit so far, and I'm so, so proud of the result. This sweater came with a lot of challenges.  First I had to adjust to starting the wrong size, then I had to rip out the sleeves because I had knit them on the wrong needles, and finally I had to match the sleeve color to the body color.  In the end, I'm happy with all of those results.  The sleeves make me happy, and I'm glad the sweater is longer than usual.  It gives me more room to show off this awesome pattern.

Pattern: Venezia Pullover by Eunny Jang, from Interweave Knits Winter 2006
Yarn: Kauni Effektgarn EQ, 2 balls and Rowan Felted Tweed in Treacle, 6 balls
Needles: US 2 and US 4
Time to Knit: September 1 - October 17
Modifications: I knit the body longer, and did a raglan yoke instead of inset sleeves. I also changed the color a little bit!

I'm so glad that I was able to get this done in time for Rhinebeck.  The feedback there was incredible, and all of you who stopped me really made my day.

When I finally finished knitting Venezia, I felt a little at a loss for what to do next.  The project was so consuming that I felt like I'd been knitting it my whole life!  I'm so happy with the sweater, and I'm glad that I can now share it with you.

PS. Oops, I'd be remiss not to show you an inside-out shot!

Stockinette

Well, the first cold of the school year has left me without a speaking voice, so I thought I'd pour a few unspoken words into a blog post instead.  It turns out that using a whisper voice isn't a horrible thing for a kindergarden teacher, especially when there are two other teachers in the classroom who have their full speaking capacity.

I finished a pair of socks back before the Olympics started, and they've remained unblogged until now.  I love them.  I loved knitting them.  They're plain stockinette.

I said on this blog a while ago that I had never knitted a pair of stockinette socks, and I saw no reason to do it.  But for some reason I gave it a try, and wow I really liked it.  Sure, there's a ribbed cuff and a little bit of slip-stitching on the heel, but the rest is knit, knit, and knit again.

Thoughts about what I would say in this post were swirling around in my head as I took pictures of my feet, and they suddenly started melding with other thoughts I've been having today. When I first announced that I had a new job, I wasn't sure exactly which classroom would become mine.  Now I've had a few weeks with my three-to-six-year olds, and I'm really loving the work.  They're so independent at this age, and yet everything is brand new to them.

This is the mental conflict I'm running into: I'm very smart.  I'm not trying to say this in an elitist way, or make any judgments about anyone other than myself, but that's what I'm saying.  In the past I have been paid a lot of money to solve some very hard problems, and I was really good at it.  Now I'm being paid comparatively a lot less money, and I have two degrees more than what is necessary for my position.

I'm also very happy and no longer get depressed on Sunday knowing that Monday morning is coming.

And so I'm wondering: Is stockinette enough?  What if I tell you that it's a joyous colorway, the yarn feels delightful in my fingers, and there are only a few splitty stitches? Will the other knitters think I'm a bore, even though I've got an Argyle in my closet and a Venezia in the works?  It's my hope that some of them might agree that sometimes it's good to have a talented knitter get back to basics, if for nothing else than to inspire the next generation of sock knitters.

I think that with all things, time will give me my answers.  (I also think that not sleeping well last night and my husband being away on a business trip also make me much more introspective than normal.)  I'm off to knit some more on Venezia and then prepare for a delightful day of metaphorical stockinette.

Wear a Dress Day

According to Erin from Dress a Day, today is International Wear a Dress Day.  Of course, I had to participate.

This is the same pattern as my Olympic Dress, Butterick B5209 View B.  I wanted an easy success after the ugly dress, and I knew I would get it from this pattern!

I rarely wore dresses before this summer, but obviously I've become a total convert.  Here are five reasons I like to wear dresses.

1.  They're cool in the summer, and very comfortable in general.  Much comfier than that pair of jeans that's a little too tight.
2.  A dress is an easy outfit.  I can just pick a dress and a necklace, and I'm all set with what to wear.
3.  I get a lot more compliments when wearing dresses than I did wearing jeans.
4.  Dresses (when you make them yourself, anyway), are a reasonably cheap outfit.  Most of the dresses I make cost me $40 or less. 
5.  I feel pretty in them.

I have a few more summer dresses to show you.  After this warm weekend, however, I'm hoping that we'll soon be wearing fall clothes!