Two more fo's fo' you: Jacques the Sea Turtle and some basic socks. As is usual, I don't get to keep either project. Nuts.

124: Jacques

Jacques is another amigurumi present for a small child, this time for the boy who once fit this sweater.

He is made of Plymouth Galway Worsted, Patons Classic Merino and love. I love him immensely.

125: Laura's socks

Laura asked me to knit some socks for her. So I did! I wish I had started them when she gave me the yarn, because putting the hammer down really spoiled what should have been a beautiful friendship with some gorgeous STR yarn. They're done and I'm happy.

Labels: crochet, fo, toy

Seems I missed my third anniversary as well as 6 fo's. Sigh. I need to think about the future of this project. Clearly I am not really as excited about it as I once was, and even though Ravelry is fun and super-easy, it's not quite the same. Maybe I should do the unthinkable and merge with my real diary - about half of my readers are knitters these days anyway, so it's not like I'll automatically bore them to tears.

118: say it with a fried egg

Blake's Valentine's Day present was an amigurumi-style fried egg from my go-to pattern set by Ana Paula Rimoli. It's made out of white Cascade 220 superwash & yellow Headwater Marupe (which you may recognize from the bee hat). Super quick and super fun. A lady at work asked if I made it in the shape of a heart. "No," I said, "I made it in the shape of an egg."

majesty

119: February is for bunny slippers

My first goal for this year's February is for Finishing was these long-suffering bunny slippers from the Happy Hooker. One has been made for a year and a half, just waiting for a mate. So here it is. It's made out of Naturally Yarns "Sensation" which is an angora/merino blend and plenty fuzzy without the mohair strand. I added extra rounds to the ankle piece and changed all single crochets to half-double crochets to get some very needed height. These slippers will not stay on my feet as originally written. The other weird thing was that the second slipper came out too big, so I had to rip back the upper and sole until it fit my foot.

I know the eyes are crooked. I don't care.

120: another hat for the Nic

This is Nic's birthday hat, Swell, a sturdy confection of Patons Classic Merino. After the first set of pics were taken and the hat was gifted, Nic complained that it was too small, so it was ripped to the crown and reknit with an extra 1 1/2" above the colour work. It fits! And it covers his ears! Yay! There's not a lot of contrast in the colour work, but this is what he wanted. And I kind of like the idea of this black wave sneaking up on everyone. As Arcade Fire likes to point out, "there's a big black wave in the middle of the sea." Alright.

I think he likes it

121: chocolate cookie

I think this pattern is a crutch. This is the second time this month that I've used it before a children's birthday party. So: Tiny Ami by Ana Paula Rimoli in Lily Sugar and Cream (brown) and CoolSpun Cotton (white) in honour of Hestia's third birthday party. I like the naturalness of this cookie compared to my grey attempt this summer.

tiptoeing through the kalanchoe

122: eternity cardi

I started this cardigan in March 2006, driven by a desire to take the edge off Sockapaloooza and a low price for Lana Gatto Ontario that promised a full cardigan for $30. It took maybe three months to knit the pieces - I seem to remember knitting and marking essays, and I definitely remember doing one of the fronts during a Meet the Teacher Night. Then, once it was done and summer arrived, it lingered. I put all the pieces in a bag for safe keeping. I got a new job. I bought a house. I moved. I sewed one whole seam right before a crazy-hot Thanksgiving that had me putting away the wool for awhile. And now, goaded by NaKniSewMo and my desire to CO for a Noro vest, I finally finished this simple little cardi.

Now that it's done, the collar kind of looks like a tumorous mass. I can't tell if it's my sewing or the fabric to blame. Also, I didn't put on the ribbon closures because it seemed dumb. for now, I'm using a 1" Bridesmaidmania 3 pin to close it, but will come up with something more dignified shortly. My knitsibs can't believe that I've never finished a sweater before. I'm just glad that I finished this one.

blurry but more-or-less accurate

pay no attention to the muffintop

123: loopy hemp pillow

When I asked Sister Silver what she would like me to knit her, she quickly decided on a loopy pillow. As it was beastly hot in the valley, I found a beautiful hemp (All Hemp 6) in the exact colour of her couch throw. What I didn't realize was that hemp is rough as hell on the hands, especially if you're fiddling with it to make loops. The knitting dragged. My hands chapped. I started to watch episodes of Lost while knitting it, thinking that an hour a week was enough. And then, once I got a square, I figured out that I didn't get gauge and my square didn't match the pillow form. Grr.

I ended up picking out the cast-off, knitting more rows, then binding off and picking up stitches along the side, log-cabin style to make this panel fit the pillow form. Exhausting. I threw it in the washer/dryer to soften it up, which it did, beautifully. It’s backed with fabric from Ikea because i couldn’t face the idea of buying a third skein. True to form, handstitching the back to the front took more than 6 months as it went hibernating for a long time.

Now that it’s done I have the damndest case of Stockholm Syndrome: it looks so good with my colour scheme that I may need to make another. But not of hemp, goddammit.

a front and side view of my new master

Labels: crochet, fo, knitty, naknisewmo, repeats, snb

Remember when I used to finish items one at a time? Yeah.

This latest Urchin is made from Manos del Uruguay for Alleen. I finished the knitting right before my dance class on Monday night. I grafted it over two nights, as I made a mistake with the first try and had to rip it all out. And just when I was congratulating myself on being able to kitchener stitch in hockey bleachers, too.

More news: soon there will be matching wristwarmers. Fun!

Labels: fo, friends, knitty, repeats

110: exotic urchin

I've been finishing hats like a woman possessed. The first was last Saturday, when I took time that I should have used to mark exams to knit furiously and joyfully through a handspun Urchin. Sophie gave me this Studio Loo skein called Violet Fiction for a housewarming/birthday present. You may remember the yarn when it used to be this:

Now it's this:

Reaction is mixed, by which I mean everyone loves it but my mom, who hates it with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. I think she's just jealous.

111: beanie redux

The second hat is part of my attempt to use my knitting for social good instead of just relaxation, practice, artistry, cheap gifts, etc. It's a Boy Beanie from the Happy Hooker in variegated Patons Classic Merino called Jungle. The contrasting green is the Lemongrass Lion's Brand Wool left over from my mittens. It's going to a local homeless shelter/soup kitchen, where it will hopefully clothe one of the visitors.

112: Queen Bee hat

The third hat was done before the second, but needed embellishment. It's a Bzzz Hat for Queen Bees out of Sn'B Nation. The yarn is Headwater Wool Marupe that I picked up at the DKC Knitter's Frolic last spring with the change I found in my pockets. I've been dreaming about this hat for a long time. I've got a bit of a thing for bees, and this will eventually be a set with a scarf and possible wristwarmers. The bee buttons aren't that great, but they get the job done. I found them at the local Michael's.

113: belly dance socklets

This isn't a hat, although I finished it in the midst of my binge. They're little socklets to wear during my belly dancing class for a bit of slippage on turns. Why buy ballet flats or (ugh) cut up other socks when you can spend a few hours making small colourful tubes? I knit these while marking exams, and finished them minutes before beginning class last week.

114: kara

Also not a hat. It's an amigurumi carrot that I decided to do after an argument with Blake, in which he insisted on orange hot chocolate for my in-process toy cup. Instead of such an abomination, I made a carrot. The pattern is my own, although it's way too simple to need one. All I did was make a circle, crochet a tube, and start decreasing. When I thought it was too short, I did a plain row, then kept decreasing. It took a bit of finagling to make the tip, and I don't know that I followed any recognized crochet technique other than "givin'r," but the end result is quite pleasing, with that purposely frayed end coming off there. The orange is Sugar n' Cream worsted cotton, and the green top is more Lemongrass Lion's Wool, which I attached and chained until I felt like stopping. Then I picked up the other end and chained that too. The result is marvellously eccentric, dready leaves. The mouth is the same yarn. They eyes are 8 mm safety eyes. Tremendously fun, tremendously simple. Her name is Kara, after a girl in Blake's class. Kara the carrot.

115 & 116: cupcake & chocolate cup

The reason that I had to make Kara was because I was in the midst of making these guys for the Jakaitis kids. It's K8rs' birthday party on Saturday, and we decided to make a cupcake and a cup of hot chocolate for her and her brother to play with. They are a mix of Sugar n' Cream cotton, Butterfly cotton, and Cool Spun cotton, with fun mail order safety eyes and beads from Michael's. Do they look like sprinkles to you?

There are still a few more pictures hanging around, but I am totally knackered, so they'll have to wait. And I'm almost done another urchin!

Labels: birthday, blake, crochet, drunken knitters, fo, friends, gifties, knitty, snb

Sorry about that, knittas. The husband told me that he was leaving in early December, which sent me into a funk so deep that I couldn't craft for awhile. Then, when I was finishing stuff like mad, my camera was missing. This is the first day that I've had pics and details for anything since November.

104: tintinito mittens

Blake has these awesomely wacky shoes that Nic bought him last birthday. I started these matching mittens last winter, but put them aside for a really long while. It was only when I realized that I had nothing for Blake's birthday that I lit a fire under my butt and finished the embroidery. Yarn is Patons Classic Merino (except the red, which is Cascade 220 superwash) and the pattern is the basic mitten from Knitting for Peace.

blurry but fun

105: Nic's beanie

Last year I loved making his armwarmers so much that I decided to make him a beanie out of the same variegated Patons merino yarn. Then I ran out of yarn. So this became his Christmas present, and one of only two knit presents for the holiday (I was sad). Pattern is the Boy Beanie from The Happy Hooker. No picture yet.

106: Blake's Sleep Socks

Ever since Blake aged out of footie pj's (or more accurately, ever since he stopped wearing a diaper all night) he's wanted special sleep socks. I managed to crank out his pair in time for Christmas. He wears them every night, and has thanked me for them without prompting many times. (Love!) The pattern is based on the rotating rib from Traditional Knitted Socks, and they have no heel. The yarn is Patons Kroy.

107: Replacement Armwarmer

The Nic lost his left armwarmer. (He told me this when I gave him the beanie.) This is the new armwarmer. Patons Classic Merino variegated, my own pattern.

108: Last Minute Fetchings

I was lame enough to show up to Stacy's surprise birthday party with a loud kid and no gift. This was my week late/buck short attempt to make it up to her. The yarn is Dream in Colour "Classy" in a purple colourway that reminds me of Stacy's hair back in 2001. The pattern is Fetching, of course. They are quite possibly the most beautiful garments I have ever made. Sorry there's no picture.

that's the hair I remember!

109: Fluffy Cuff Mittens

I've always wanted knit mittens. I constantly extol their virtues. And yet I've never knit myself a pair. I've been planning these ones since the July Knitty Yarn tasting when I went home with a fantastic sample of pistachio coloured mohair boucle from a South African company called Be Sweet. Later that summer, I bought a ball of chartreuse Lion Brand Wool while we were on vacation in Watertown. This week was their moment, and I hardly stopped knitting them to teach, mark, eat, mother, etc. I remain insanely infatuated with them.

Pattern: Fluffy Cuff Mittens in Sn'B, mated with the Basic Mittens in Knitting for Peace (which uses worsted weight).

Labels: fo, knitting for peace, snb

My co-worker Maeve has two lovely boys, but she always wanted a girl. So she was delighted to find out that this latest pregnancy held a girl. And I, though I avoid gender stereotyping as much as I can, felt duty-bound to knit this little girl the pinkest laciest sweater ever pinked. Er, knit.

The pattern is the Jasmine Lace-edged Cardigan from Natural Knits for Moms and Babies. I used Butterfly mercerized cotton, which was smooth and shiny & soft. It was quick to knit (except for the long lace panel, which dragged on through all of 'Ray' and the special features) and although it took a rather long time to seam up, the seams were so short that I could always move on to something new before my brain entirely rotted away.

thanks to the photogenic logs at the humber arboretum!

Plus, the buttons are just Too Much Fun.

Extra Knitting Fun!

Here's a picture of my Punk Lolitas on Pixie:

the things you can find on flickr

Labels: baby, bat masterson, fo

I had a golden skein of Elspeth Lavold Silky Wool that was destined to become a scarf for my grandmother. It took more than a year to decide to be an Argosy. And it's birth was slow. Finished within days of her 82nd birthday, but delayed as it was in need of fierce blocking. This Thanksgiving weekend was the time to just giv'r.

my blocking partner

Labels: birthday, family, fo, knitty

One of my co-workers wanted to get back into knitting by making a simple toy. I showed her Knitty and she was off. Unfortunately, she couldn't quite get the hang of the pattern she picked: Bubby. So she bequeathed me the yarn and her pattern print out. Three months later, Bubby was born.

I'm not sure I like him - he's kind of floppy and awkward - but the Boy has taken to him as a stuffed bear representation of himself, so there's that. And I get to give him away - there's that too.

Bonus craftiness:

Today my mom was asking me when I was going to get a new lunchbag for my son, who started full-day school this year. I've been pretty frustrated with the ones I find at the various stores - so I decided to take my courage in my hands and make one.

The pattern is the tote bag from Bend the Rules Sewing. I like the result, but I found the instructions a bit complex for a total newbie like myself, and I had to pick out the lining seams twice. Also, there's a misprint in the fabric requirements, which caused me to cut out more for the straps than I needed. Still, it's an awesome bag. It even has his name tag in it, so no other fashionable kid can walk off with it. I'm happy.

Labels: baby, blake, fo, sew, toy

I bought my house; thus I bought Mason-Dixon Knitting; thus I bought Cotton-Ease yarn in two colours & cast on for a baby kimono. I hear these things happen. I farmed out the second one to Mason and got the extra joy of double finishing! Hurray!

These will go to Poppy's twins, sort of as a consolation prize for not getting to work with us anymore. Sigh. Where's our consolation?

Labels: baby, bat masterson, fo, mdk

I made these three amigurumi - one a day - for the three pregnant ladies at the Lettuce Knit sn'b: Jendricks, Craftygrrrl & tapeheads

They're made, as the author of the pattern suggests, with oddments of worsted yarn. In order, we have beige merino from King Cole (bunny hat); pink Phentex (Jumblie); blue and green Lamb's Pride (robot parade); and white Cascade 220 (skull socks o' fury). The eyes are felt, the smiles are embroidery thread, and there is a ribbon on the cactus. The Boy feels that they are BFF - so maybe the babies will be, too.

Bonus knitted thing: if you look at this photo you can see the three squares I knit in less than 24 hours. They're all in the lace wings pattern, and because they're all in the same colour, they all ended up on tapehead's blanket. Fun!

Labels: crochet, fo, friends, lk ladies, toy

Thanks to the gals at MDK, I was so deeply smitten with the ballband washcloths that I tried the 9-patch as well. It's definitely my weirdest washcloth, but very beautiful. I very slowly worked away at the ends for awhile, forgot about it for a few months when I moved, then finished it in a burst. What can I say: with no deadline, I'm lazy.

It's made up of leftovers from all over: turquoise cotton bought for Stacy's cellphone cozy, white cotton bought (but not used) for the Henry Rollins doll, variegated cotton from the Boy's "I will only buy yarn for 3 dollars or less" knitting phase and what remains of the green cotton for Pixie's pixie hat. It's rather lovely.

Labels: fo, house, mdk

Consumed with the cuteness of amigurumi crochet, I used some of my honourarium from Knitty to buy a set of tiny ami patterns. This was a big step for me; I tend to be comically cheap about patterns (more so than for other knitting gear) and I've paid for maybe 6 patterns in my entire crafty career. But I figured that since the money was virtual, why not spend it virtually?

I ordered the pattern in late afternoon, and it arrived after Blake fell asleep. As soon as he woke up, he wanted to see the picture. I showed him the pattern.

"Make that cookie for me," he demanded. And I, feeling the close of summer vacation hot on my heels, decided to indulge him while I could. So we rummaged through my stash, finding brown and white and pink but no vanilla-type colour. Blake refused to consider the possibility of a chocolate cookie. He picked up some leftover grey yarn and, despite my pleas for a more edible colour, his cookie colour scheme was chosen.

He sat down to watch me. "Find something else to do," I ordered. "This is going to take a while." He ignored me, watching my hands slowly crochet the cookie into being. He got into my lap. He played with my stash of safety eyes. He lay on the floor and kicked my chair. Finally, he left to play a few rounds of Toy Story Memory.

And thus a weird amigurami cookie was born of a morning. Blake is completely, totally smitten. It hasn't left his hand since I finished it. Now he's demanding more from the set. Secretly I can't wait.

Labels: blake, crochet, embroidery, fo, toy

A delicious lacy confection in mouth-wateringly juicy shades of orange. I wish I didn't have to send these socks away. The yarn is the Koigu I bought during the fall TTC Knitalong, and though I wanted to keep it, no other sock plans worked out for this round of the 'palooza. Thus I gave in, grabbed the yummy orange and the trusty pattern (I hear the designer thinks just like me) and got to work. My housewarming party derailed my progress the week before the deadline, and so these socks are more than a week late going out. I hope the recipient thinks that they're worth it.

this is why I didn't take the pictures when I submitted the pattern.

Labels: design, fo, kal, socks, swap

finished: June 11

More booties, because Poppy's twins aren't going to be able to knit for a while. I finished the blue pair by raiding every left-over scrap from every skein of Koigu I've ever bought, including the wee bit leftover from when Annie Modesitt came to Drunken Knitters without yarn or needles.

(Nota Bene: They are blue and orange because I like those colours, hear? I will not hear any bullshit about gender colour coding, thankyouVERYmuch. Mama don't play that.)

These were done for a long time, awaiting for notions and finishing. Once they were done, I popped them in a brown paper bag and took them to school. "Hey, Poppy," I said, barging into her office first thing in the morning, "I made some extra lunch, ya want it??"

"You're so sweet, I --oooohhhh."

Quite possibly the best reaction ever.

now to get them on the twins...

Labels: baby, fo, repeats

finished on August 27, 2006.

Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

For my 30th birthday, my mom took me out to see Hair. It was an exciting event for me: I was basically unfamiliar with the so-called storyline, but I loved some of the songs and wanted to see it all unfold. So my mom, being the theatre push-over she is, bought us some tickets and I got me an early birthday present.

In addition to the play, which was pretty awesome, we also indulged in one of our other theatre-going vices: clothes shopping (a third vice is eating, but we won’t go into that). There’s a store near the theatre called Timbuktu that’s run by an ex-hippie and filled with gorgeous exotic fabrics. Last time we were there (“Urinetown”), my mom bought a traveling suit. This time we both bought dresses. Hers was red with a flower pattern; so perfect for her that we both felt strongly that she already owned it. Mine was a blue & white layer cake of a dress, a floor-length sundress blockprinted in shades of Delft blue. Air currents want to frolic with this dress, and it’s long enough so that the world is not surprised by my nudity when the wind gets whimsical.

But as I am the type of personality that I can never be satisfied, a problem arose. To whit: I hate hate hate hate current sandal styles. So this pretty pretty dress, clearly a summer dress, would be matched with my grody flip flops, my 8-holes, or my ‘vogs. I loves my ‘vogs, but they really need socks. Therefore, I decided to knit some. All of the lacy socks I saw were way too substantial for my purpose, which was to match this confection of a dress. So I picked up a couple of skeins of my favourite Koigu PPPM, found a lace stitch on-line, and swirled in as many girly touches as I could manage.

Specs: these socks were to be super-feminine, super comfy in summer as I defied sandal fashion and stomped around in my 'vogs. I combined a picot cast-on with a simple 7-stitch, 4-row lace pattern (called Lace Wings), added an Eye of Partridge heel for the birdy implications, and then named it after my shoes. (I also watched Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy obsessively while knitting the first sock, so there's a little bit of Vogon in there too.)

I took the first one to a Drunken Knitter’s Night in July, where it was much beloved. Since drinking was involved, there came a point when I messed up the lace. I pondered tinking, but the people around me told me it didn’t matter.

”But what if I want to submit this pattern to Knitty?” I half-joked to Amy, who was sitting beside me.

”I’m sure I won’t notice,” she replied graciously.

Holy shit, I wondered, did I just pitch a design to Amy, Editrix of Knitty? Did she just say something nice instead of rejecting my lame ideas and incompetent design-work out of hand? Will I actually go through with this crazy idea? This requires much pondering.

From that point on in the summer, these were my submission socks, kept under wraps. I approached a few of my knitting friends for help with the photos, but nothing was resolved until the September Drunken Knitter’s Night, when Jacquie B. offered her sharp artistic eye and her ginchy new camera in service of the submission socks. Thrilled to be doing something before all the leaves turned, we settled on the following weekend.

The shoot itself was great fun. I’ve always wanted the glory of modelling (I am, at least technically, a Leo) but lack the traditional attributes to realize this goal (such as grace, poise, passion and beauty). Jacquie was patient with my lack of experience, and made the shoot into a big romp through Kew Gardens. If these socks look good, it’s because Jacquie made them look good.

Jacquie B's fantabulous vog on gallery

The next part of this story took place months after, as the completed socks were waiting for a seasonal submission date. Widdershins had been out there for awhile, and I found myself wondering if I had a toe-up version in me. When Michelle offered to test-knit, I knew I had to try. So I did the math, bought her some co-ordinating Koigu PPM in fire colours, and asked her if she could make my bird rise from the ashes (in this case, ashes = toes). Then we spilled tequila on the yarn. Hee!

She did a terrific job, knit them longer just for fun, and then used her mannequin feet to model. I can't help but think that her clutch-knitting is what sent us over the edge. And now, I'm a published knitwear designer! I'll try to let it go to my feet, rather than my head.

the pattern

Labels: design, drunken knitters, fo, friends, knitty, socks

completed june 3.

The house insanity continues with the newest addition to the washcloth family! I love the nubby feel of these washcloths, so I made another one to match the Blake's bathroom. Leftover cottons were "carefully" selected for only the finest decor-matching schmatta. But seriously, folks...I shouldn't find it odd that all these colours were hanging around my stash; of course I'm going to buy colours that I like. The Boy gets credit for the pastel variegated and for pressing the completed cloth into service immediately, Mason-Dixon Knitting gets credit for the pattern, and I get credit for making it in the first place.

action shot!

Labels: fo, house, mdk, repeats