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knitting: commentary
29 april 2003 waste not, want not
finished the bath layette hat. it turned out to be the hat rather than the little bag, and look how perfectly everything worked out. i have exactly enough yarn left to work the ends in securely, and not an inch more. it might be a little big for a newborn, but at least they can get some use out of it later in the year.
i still can't find my copy of the pattern for the jumper and cardigan so i drove over to my mom's and snagged hers. here it is along with the barely started leg. so far i like this cotton ease quite well. it slips along the needles nicely and doesn't split too badly.
now, if i could only find the pattern for the rust cardigan. i put it down somewhere, along with the needles and absolutely cannot find it anywhere. i can always work from the book, or make a new copy if needs be, but i'd really like to find those needles...
27 april 2003 slow but sure
i'm not knitting as quickly, nor as often as i would like. now that the weather is a little better, and it is light longer in the evenings, we spend a lot more time out and about. if i start to think about all the things i need to knit, it starts to freak me out a little, so i keep chanting, "make like the tortoise, not the hare."
i finished the bath layette, complete with little bathrobe belt and everything. i love this bootie pattern, and the buttons i had lying around matched the yarn perfectly.
of course, i couldn't leave well enough alone. there was yarn left over, that means yarn to be knit. it will probably be a little hat, but might be a bag into which i tuck a little rubber duckie; we'll see how big it ends up before deciding.
this is what happens when you can't do math. the pattern called for a gauge of 28"/10cm. the yarn was 21"/10cm. i swatched, trying to knit more loosely than i normally do and thought i'd reached the yarn gauge. i adjusted the pattern accordingly and took off. then, in a moment of clarity, i realized the back didn't look so very big. not so very big at all. turned out i was knitting at the original pattern gauge so the back was 3/4 the size it should be. what to do? what to do? make it into the front of an asymmetrical sweater! no ripping out!
this week i need to knit the sleeves, then work a border to stop the front button edge from rolling. and put some buttonholes in. or maybe some sort of loop instead of a buttonhole. i just checked out nicky epstein's knitted embellishments, and there is something in there i might try.
i had a barnes and noble gift card burning a hole in my pocket. with such a good library system, i'm hard pressed to buy books from which i wouldn't make more than one or two sweaters. but both of these offered up five or more that are alraedy in queue, so it was a good buy.
and finally, the yarn for the next layette. it's lion cotton-ease. j's sister is due in july and lives in florida so i thought cotton a good choice. the pattern is from a recent anny blatt booklet. unfortunately, just at the moment, i can't find my photocopy of the pattern, and the book itself is over at my mom's. i may need to go retrieve it if all my frantic digging through piles of paper doesn't yield results pretty soon.
08 april 2003
chicago was nice, even if i didn't get to see much of the city what with all the meetings and conventions and cocktail parties and dinners. sounds rough, i know, but truly, it was beyond boring. i did manage to slip out for 90 minutes and practically ran my way through the art institute. i love museums, and i just couldn't bear the thought of being almost right across the street from one and not hopping in. and they had a bouguereau -- i do so love his work.
and those boring meetings? well, they gave me time to finish these, my first pair of toe-up socks and vicki's very late christmas present:
also time to knit the swatch i was thinking about. i'm thinking a dress for sophie with matched decreases easing into a 2x1 rib. this yarn was a little thick but it does look like i imagined it would. now to find the proper yarn and do some math to come up with a pattern.
but wait! there's more! i also seamed up half the baby bathrobe. the side seams worked rather well, but those arms seams are a pain in the rear. i don't want it so bulky that the poor baby can't move their arms about, but i want it secure. after three different tries, i finally found a seam i could live with. now to just make myself do the other side, knit up a little belt and some booties, maybe a matching washcloth and voila! all done.
the back, the left front and one sleeve are now done on jim's mother's cardigan. the yarn is so dark it is hard to take a decent picture that shows anything of note. on the left: untouched. on the right: brightened considerably to show some of the moss stitch detailing. i'm hoping to have it done in time for mother's day.
and why might the mother's day date be in peril? because people keep getting pregnant in my world! 7 babies due between now and october -- thank god tom and stacey had the decency to birth in january; that's one less to worry about. so far the count is 2 boys, 1 girl and 4 unknowns. so i decided i would just paw through the stash and find baby appropriate yarns and start knitting. i can sort out who gets what as the showers and births present themselves. first up, a cardigan from little badger knits in a bright rust.
i really should update more often, then these entries wouldn't be so long.
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