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...

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? ;)

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.

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:

A couple of hats, and a scarf problem.

So, the babies have decided to stay in and bake a little longer, much to my discomfort. Not wanting to start anything new or difficult, I turned to an old favorite - the one-skein hat pattern from Simply Noro:





Pattern: Hareton by Jane Ellison [Ravelry link]
Yarn, etc.: Noro Kureyon, colorway 134 (top photo) / Noro Silk Garden, colorway 201 (bottom photo); Addi Turbo needles, size US 8 / 5.0 mm
Mods: Cast on an additional four stitches for the Silk Garden hat, knit to seven inches instead of six and a half before starting crown shaping; no mods on Kureyon hat

I think that this must be at least the tenth or eleventh time that I've knit this pattern, and I always find it to be quick and satisfying knit. Also, for whatever reason, just watching the colors change as I knit with Noro never fails to amuse me.

After I finished the hats, I dug out an old UFO:



That's My So Called Scarf, in a particularly gorgeous colorway of Manos. After I took this photo, I ripped it. I just was not happy with how sloppy the edges were looking, so I restarted it, increasing the stitch count and slipping the first stitch of every row. Unfortunately, it still looks sloppy, with big, loose loops on the edges. I love this yarn, but the pattern is driving me crazy. Anyone out there have any ideas on how to neaten up the edges?

Okay, done with the lace for a bit.

Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark [Ravelry link]
Yarn, etc.: Alpaca with a Twist Fino, Silver Belle (0098); KnitPicks Options needles, size US 4 / 3.5 mm
Mods: None

Once I got past the main chart of this shawl, I loved knitting it. For some reason, even though it was the easiest chart in the pattern, it gave me all kinds of trouble and I ended up tinking back many, many times. This was my first time knitting nupps, and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. Following the advice of others on Ravelry, I kept those yarn overs nice and loose and used sharp needles, and had no problems at all. I'm looking forward to knitting Clark's Baltic Blossoms shawl someday, another one including lots of nupps.

Since I know I could have these babies any day now and I feel like I'm in a holding pattern, I'm going to keep things nice and simple for a while - simple hats and socks, lots of stockinette, practicing my spinning. Also, I still have Wicked on the needles and may actually get back to that soon. When I put it down last, I wanted to rip and rework the waist shaping:



Since I won't be able to try it on for a couple more months at least, perhaps I will put the body on some waste yarn for now and start on the sleeves. Here's hoping that I actually get my waist back at all after the twins are born!

February Sweater for him.

Pattern: Baby Sweater on Two Needles (February) by Elizabeth Zimmermann [Ravelry link]
Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Superwash Sport in Lichen (SWS18), purchased at Natural Stitches; buttons purchased at JoAnn Fabrics
Mods: Used kf&b to increase in yoke (k1, kf&b, repeat across) instead of EZ’s suggested m1 to avoid holes; worked yoke to just before the sleeves before switching to stockinette instead of gull lace pattern; worked six buttonholes; knit sleeves in the round instead of flat, after completing the body; worked decreases for sleeves similar to bottom of body (k5, k2tog around)
Recipient: Baby B

Now that the baby sweaters are finished, I think it's high time that I get back to the lace!

Cutest. Sweater. Ever.

I probably say that all baby sweaters are the cutest sweaters ever, but I seriously mean it this time:





Pattern: Baby Sweater on Two Needles (February) by Elizabeth Zimmermann [Ravelry link]
Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Superwash Sport in Cinnamon Twist (SWS197), purchased at Natural Stitches; buttons purchased at Yarns By Design
Mods: Used kf&b to increase in yoke (k1, kf&b, repeat across) instead of EZ’s suggested M1 to avoid holes; worked only two buttonholes; knit sleeves in the round instead of flat, after completing the body; worked decreases for sleeves similar to bottom of body (about every seven sts)
Recipient: Baby A

Despite my trepidation over attempting an EZ pattern for the first time, I enjoyed this one so much that I headed back to Natural Stitches yesterday to pick up some more yarn to make a second February Sweater for Baby B:



For this one, I'll continue the garter section a little further than the pattern calls for, then knit the remainder of the body and sleeves in stockinette rather than the gull lace pattern. I think I'll also work buttonholes for the entire length of the sweater.

I'll probably be continuing to neglect Swallowtail until this sweater is finished. We're not sure if the twins will make an early appearance or not, but I'd like to have the second sweater finished before they arrive, since I know that my knitting time will be drastically reduced when they do. It's hard to believe that I "officially" have less than two months left to go until my due date!

Might as well face it. I'm addicted to lace.

Pattern: Shetland Triangle by Evelyn A. Clark [Ravelry link]
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy, Cloud Jungle colorway
Mods: Completed 10 repeats of the body chart; final blocked measurements: 55 x 28 inches

I'd like to send a huge shout out to Evelyn Clark for writing such a fabulous pattern. It was well written, easy to follow and enjoyable from start to finish. I know that I'll be making this one again in the future. In fact, I enjoyed this one so much that I did a little searching on Ravelry for Evelyn Clark's other shawl patterns, and into my queue went her Baltic Blossoms Lace Shawl Ravelry link], and her Swallowtail Shawl [Ravelry link]. Both of these shawl patterns include nupps (eeek!), and I'll be starting with the Swallowtail Shawl to try my hand at those for the very first time. I think that my lovely new Dream in Color laceweight will be perfect for the Baltic Blossoms shawl, but for the Swallowtail, I've chosen this gorgeous soft grey Alpaca with a Twist Fino from my stash:



I'm anxious to cast on, but have a list of chores that I need to complete before I can even think of starting, so I'm off to get those finished!

More wee things for the clothesline.

Pattern: hats - Hareton by Jane Ellison (from Simply Noro) [Ravelry link]; socks - regular sock recipe with 40 stitches cast on
Yarn: hers - Koigu KPPPM (lost the ballband, so I'm not sure of the colorway); his - Claudia Hand Painted Yarns Fingering (Blue Terra Cotta)

The hats and socks coordinate with the sweaters nicely:





And, Yvonne, the hats fit the grapefruits:



I was hoping that by the time I finished the hats and socks, I could start on the Shetland Triangle, but my books have still not arrived from the Interweave Hurt Book Sale. They said to allow up to four weeks to receive the books, and my credit card was just charged on August 1, so it looks like I may be waiting another week at least, depending on how they're shipping the orders. Grr.

While I am waiting on the books, I will be keeping myself busy finishing up some singles that have been sitting on the wheel since January or February:



I haven't spun since then, and I hope I can remember how!

Actual finished objects.

Pattern: Top Down Raglan Baby Sweater by Carole Barenys [Ravelry link]
Yarn: Dale of Norway Falk, color 4516 (pink) and 5813 (blue), buttons from Parker Button, South Side
Mods: knit button band in seed stitch instead of garter

Sadly, these did not really reignite my love for knitting, as I had originally hoped they would. It would seem that I am still in a knitting slump. That being said, I am continuing to persevere, and have started the first of two hats for the twins in some Koigu that's been lounging in the stash for as long as I can remember (actually, it was the very first Koigu that I ever bought, I think).

If the hats don't do the trick, I am hoping that some lace knitting might. I've long admired the Shetland Triangle pattern from Wrap Style, but after paging through the book several times in the past and finding nothing else of interest to me in it, couldn't justify its purchase just for that pattern. Enter the Interweave Hurt Book Sale. To my delight, I managed to snag a copy of Wrap Style for just $5.49. Assuming that the damage to the book isn't to the pages that contain the Shetland Triangle pattern (and assuming that the book ever gets to me because it seems they have the slowest shipping ever for the sale), I may actually be getting excited about knitting something again!

Let me sum up.

Whew. It's been such a long time since I last posted, so let me sum up. I do have an actual finished object(s) to share:



Pattern: Fetching by by Cheryl Niamath
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, color 300008
Mods: worked regular bind off instead of picot

These mitts were a Christmas gift for Lori, and doesn't she look just fetching in them? Hurricane Knitters, you will be glad to know that, true to my obsessive-compulsive nature, I had to rip out the first finished mitt and restart them so that the hand opening was bound off more tightly.

Speaking of Christmas, Santa was very good to me this year. I got some new pieces of my favorite cookware, some fabulous new cookbooks, and lots of other beautiful things that are too numerous to list here. We were able to spend time with both sides of our family and had a wonderful, if not exhausting, day all around. I am so lucky!

Why else am I lucky? There's this:



That was wrapped around this(!):





Isn't she just lovely? Thankfully, since I've never spun before, the wheel included a video on how to set up your wheel, and how to start spinning. Note the confused look on my face as I give the wheel a whirl and watch the video:





Oh dear. I think I am going to need some more practice!

I can knit lace after all!

Pattern: Forest Canopy Shawl by Susan Pierce Lawrence of I'm Knitting as Fast as I Can

Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy, Black Parade, one skein (29 grams left over)

Needles: Knit Picks Options circular needles, size 7

Mods: Knit 13 pattern repeats instead of 10 for a total of 243 sts before beginning border

I never thought I would be able to do it, but I've actually successfully completed a grown-up lace project. The designer is absolutely correct - this is the perfect beginning lace project. I made a couple of errors in the very beginning, and then at the very end (the errors were due to my own laziness in not paying attention, not due to the pattern, which is wonderfully written), but other than those minor stumbles, it was smooth sailing and an enjoyable knit! I'll definitely knit this one again.

In other fiber news, I paid a visit to Pittsburgh's newest yarn shop, Natural Stitches, on Friday. It's a marvelous store - huge and well organized. They have the largest selection of Malabrigo that I've ever seen in a shop, and they carry Dream in Color yarns, and what's not to love about that? I did a little shopping, of course, and brought home these goodies:


Two skeins of Dream in Color Classy (worsted) in "happy forest"


One skein of Malabrigo Lace Baby Merino in "bobby blue"


One skein of Trekking Hand Art in "tundra"

The Trekking has already been wound and cast on for a new pair of socks for Mark.

Wicked is also coming along, after I ripped and restarted the collar. The cables were looking a little wonky, so I re-knit the collar, this time loosely, and now the cables look better, but I am afraid that the collar will be too loose. I'm going to finish the raglan increases and try it on before I decide whether to rip and start again.