Thursday, October 22, 2009

Because my buddies needed new hats.

Since the last time I wrote, I've started far too many projects and knit on them and the ones that I already had in progress far too little. But when the weather turned earlier than expected, I found myself with no hats to keep the twins' still mostly hairless little heads warm. Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap to the rescue!















Pattern: Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap by Gro; 131 stitches cast on
Yarn, etc.: Koigu KPPPM; Addi Turbo circular needles (size 2.5mm and 3mm), and Knit Picks double pointed needles (size 3mm)
Mods: Added a couple of extra garter rows in beginning and completed 15 increase/decrease rows instead of the 11 rows the pattern called for; picked up 5 stitches on each side and knitted 10 inches of i-cord for ties

I just love this pattern. Each hat took me only about two days to knit, and really, could they be any cuter? Now to get back to that pile of UFOs...

Labels: ,

Monday, July 20, 2009

Not much knitting, and some gardening.

It's a little sad that I last updated the blog back in April, so here goes. I haven't been getting a lot of knitting done as of late, as the kids have been crawling for a month or so. Most of my days are spent entertaining them, breaking up fights, or chasing after them. By the end of the day when they're in bed, I am completely wiped out. Ergo, not much knitting to show. But I have been working on a few things, off and on. The first is Evelyn Clark's Forget Me Not shawl:



That's about as far along as I am on that. It's a gift for someone with a January birthday, so my goal is to finish it by Christmas or the birthday. It's a fairly easy pattern, so it just requires some time to sit down and devote to it.

The second is a February Lady Sweater for me:



I've just finished the "eyelet increase row" on that one, though I've opted to use a knit front and back increase instead of the eyelets to avoid the holes. In a few more rows, I will separate the sleeves from the body. So far, I love knitting this one.

I have been doing a fair amount of gardening this summer, and this is the first year that I've tried growing tomatoes. In the spring, I bought four heirloom tomato seedlings from Mildred's Daughters Urban Farm in Stanton Heights. Here are two of the plants:



That's Paul Robeson on the left and Pruden's Purple on the right. Dog for scale. Please ignore the terrible grass, we have a dog. Paul was the first plant to bear fruit:



Paul is a "black" variety with a "distinctive smoky flavor". It also seems to be a very prolific producer, with it's many clusters of fruit. I'm excited to see how much it yields in the end.

Pruden's has no actual fruit yet, but we've got lots of flowers that are quite pretty:



Pruden's is a "pink" "potato leaf" variety, and supposedly does quite well in our growing region. All of my plants are organically grown, using natural fertilizers including bone meal and fish emulsion. The dog has an unfortunate habit of trying to eat the dirt after I feed them.

I planted the other two seedlings - Jubilee and Green Zebra - in upside-down planters and am having less luck with those. I thought I would give it a try, but am now convinced that plants need to grow right-side-up! Here's Jubilee:



And Green Zebra:



The plants get morning and evening sun, so I thought they would do great. Jubilee has been a good grower, but has very few flowers on it, so I don't think I'll get much fruit. As you can see, Green Zebra's been kind of a dud so far. Next year, I'll be planting everything the way nature intended!

In addition to the tomatoes, I'm growing my usual herbs:



Front to back, that's French tarragon, rosemary, thyme, oregano and flat-leaf parsley. I've also got two large pots of basil that are living next to the tomatoes. Also next to the tomatoes are peppers:



That's Jupiter on the left and Lady Bell on the right. Here's to a summer of good eating!

Labels: ,

Saturday, April 25, 2009

380

The number of lovely, gorgeous nupps on my latest FO:









Pattern: Baltic Blossoms Lace Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark [Raveled]
Yarn, etc.: Dream in Color Baby, colorway "Blue Lagoon"; Knit Picks circular needles (size 5US)
Mods: None

I am utterly, hopelessly in love with this shawl. Does it show? ;)

Labels: ,

Monday, March 02, 2009

Hooray for tubes.

Tubes seem to be just about the only thing that I am able to finish these days. Observe:



Pattern: Plain vanilla socks in a 4x2 rib pattern
Yarn, etc.: Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Silk Color, colorway 0188; Knit Picks double pointed needles (size 1US)





Pattern: Wicked (Worsted Weight Version) by Sarah & Rachel from Zephyr Style
Yarn, etc.: Cascade Yarns 220 Heathers, colorway "Irelande"; Knit Picks circular needles (size 7US)
Mods: No pocket; short sleeves; cast on 4 extra sts under arms and picked up 8 extra sts to enlarge sleeves; knit 2x2 ribbing for waistband instead of seed stitch; used paired increases and decreases for waist shaping

According to my Ravelry project page, I started this sweater in October 2007. Why it took me so long to knit such a simple sweater, I do not know, but I am very glad to have finished it. By the time I hit the waist, I was so over it. I think that a lot of that has to do with the fact that I now only really want to knit with Dream in Color yarns because I love them so much.

Therefore, I have decided to give in to the siren song of the February Lady Sweater, which I will, of course, knit in Classy. SJ, who knitted a gorgeous version of the FLS last summer, was kind enough to let me try hers on for size recently, and I hope to buy the yarn and start my own this week. Here's hoping that I'll be able to make some fast progress on it, even though it's not a tube.

As for Loppem? On the way to the frog pond, I'm afraid.

Labels: , ,

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Cutest. Hat. Ever.







Pattern: Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap by Gro
Yarn, etc.: Koigu KPPPM, colorway P201; Knit Picks circular needles (size 0US and 1US), and Knit Picks double pointed needles (size 1US)
Mods: Added a couple of extra garter rows in beginning and completed 13 increase/decrease rows instead of the 9 rows the pattern called for; picked up 5 stitches on each side and knitted 10 inches of i-cord for ties

Although I knitted a baby cap for each of the twins already, I've found that they don't really stay on their heads - particularly on Leia's head since she's a squirmer. I intended to pick up stitches on their hats and knit earflaps/chin straps to keep them on, and searched Ravelry for ideas on how to do that. During my search, I came across the Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap by Gro on Ravelry, and just had to make it. This will definitely be one of my go-to patterns for baby gift knitting in the future. It was quick to knit, took less than one skein of Koigu and ohmygosh, have you seen how cute it is? Best of all, I think it is baby-approved:

Labels: ,

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Crazy? Me? Yes, thanks.

As soon as I saw Norah Gaughan's Loppem, I had to have it. The bummer is that the pattern has a lot of errata, and definitely requires more concentration than I think I can actually muster at present, thanks to the twins. Also, some days, I don't even have the time to bathe. So, what's a girl to do?



I'm not sure what I am thinking, especially since I have many simple projects already on the needles that I haven't touched in months. It's taken me about two days to knit those 15 or so rows that you see there, sneaking in some knitting time between feedings, baths, diaper changes, screaming, etc. I want to wear this thing now, but I'll be lucky if I get it finished before next summer at the rate I'm going. Happily, the husband has agreed to stay at home with the twins tomorrow night so I can spend some quality time with Loppem and the Hurricane Knitters. Hurrah!

Labels:

Sunday, November 02, 2008

Wrapped in knitted love.



These two wonderful blankets arrived by mail last week, courtesy of the wonderful Hurricane Knitters! From all of us, thank you Amy, Dana, Jenn, Melissa, Sarah and Yvonne. The blankets are beautiful and you guys are the best!