beautiful things

Mermaid gloves

Gotta keep posting these FOs.... seriously, this year I am going to keep so much more up to date!  Yes, even with a newborn!  (Yeah well, we'll see...)

I mean yes, with Ravelry, it's a little moot, but it's still nice to do a wrap-up of a project, especially if you don't wait a year before doing it...

Mermaid Gloves

Date:
April 29th - May 5th, 2008

Yarn:
1 skein of Alchemy Temple in vintage jade 72e

Needles:
US#4 circulars - probably Addi Turbo 40"

Pattern:
Mermaid Gloves (ravelry, pattern) adapted by Stephanie Degen from Pomatomus (ravelry, pattern), a sock pattern by Cookie A. 

The story:

Wrist warmers are popular!  A friend requested a pair of these but I decided to step things up a little and try a more challenging pattern.  These fit the bill as a) there isn't really a pattern, just some general directions for adapting a pattern and b) the stitch pattern it's adapted from is also relatively complex.  I managed to get the hang of it though, and it still ended up being a relatively quick knit. I enjoyed and highly recommend the yarn too.  However, I did not attempt to mirror the pattern for the second glove! 

It was a while ago, but I seem to remember sitting in the car at a freezing cold football game of my nephew's knitting these.  And that they were a fun and satisfying knit!  Of course, it then took several months for me to get around to mailing these to my friend...

For those of you not on Ravelry, here are my pattern notes that I posted there, which frankly are Greek to me now but I assume make sense if you are following the pattern:

48 stitches (4 pattern repeats) worked out well. I started with an 8 round cuff. I adapted the thumb from fetching - on round 12 of the second repeat I did k2togtbl, p then ktbl, p 4 times using waste yarn, then slipped the stitches back to the left needle and did ktbl, p 4 times again. After the second repeat I did 1 round of ktbl, p rib, then cast off in pattern. I picked up the 8 live stitches below the thumb opening and 7 live stitches above and picked up 1 stitch at one end and 2 stitches at the other for a total of 18 stitches for the thumb, also in ktbl, p rib. I did 5 rounds for the thumb binding off in pattern. Ta da!

Finished shots:







Flickr set is here.
Ravelry link is here.

Last minute wrist warmers II

Figured I should keep going with the FOs while I'm on a roll...

Last Minute Wrist Warmers II

Date:
February 6th - 15th, 2008

Yarn:
Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted in old rose 44ns

Needles:
US #7 Knitpicks Options circular needles

Pattern:
Hand/wrist warmers from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson

The story:

Actually, these were the third pair I knitted but the first pair were part of the Yankees set I made for my nephew but weren't numbered separately. I also knitted a pair for my sister, and most recently, a couple more pairs.  

Like the last two pairs, this pair was also requested to be "like" the first pair, this time by my sister-in-law who wanted to wear them while running.  I knit one on the plane ride out to Florida early last year and the other while out there.  This is a quick, simple, fun pattern that I can see myself knitting many more times.

In progress shots:





Finished shots:





Flickr set is here.
Ravelry link is here.

Brown suede baby hat and booties

Well, I'd better get a move on if I'm going to post all my 2008 FOs by the end of January...

Brown Suede Baby Hat and Booties

Baby Hat:

Date: 

Nov 17, 2007 - Feb 16, 2008

Yarn:

About 0.8 skeins of Berroco Suede in wild bill hickcock 3717

A small amount of Berroco Plush in crema 1901

Needles:

40" US #6 Addi Turbo Circulars

Baby Booties:

Date: 

Nov 17, 2007 - Jan 3, 2008

Yarn:

About 0.75 skeins of Berroco Suede in wild bill hickcock 3717

A small amount of Berroco Suede in dale evans 3727

A small amount of Berroco Plush in crema 1901

Needles:

40" US #5 and #6 Addi Turbo Circulars

Pattern:

"Suede" baby hat and "suede" baby booties by Candi Jenson from Knitty Gritty (a DIY network TV show)

The story:
This was so long ago, and I already knit two other sets of pink and white hats and booties that there's not really much more to say about this project.  I knit this set as a gift as well, for a baby born at the end of 2007.  Totally cute, relatively simple project, although there is quite a bit of finishing to add all the white trim.  I'm half tempted to make another set for our baby but I have more than enough baby knitting planned already...

Finished shots:

Flickr set is here.
Ravelry links are here and here.

The giraffes move in

Today was a big day for the baby's room.  My husband finished painting yesterday and today cleared out all the drop cloths and painting stuff and put the crib together.  We're planning on having the baby in a bassinet in our room for the first few months but nevertheless, it's not a baby's room without a crib now is it?  

Also, the giraffes moved in.  This is what I had in mind when I first discovered Sundara all those months ago...

(These were quick shots in low level light so not the greatest... better photos to follow!)

Wrist warmers

See I told you my new camera would make me post FOs more quickly!

Last Minute Wrist Warmers III and IV

Date:

III: Dec 19-21, 2008

IV: Dec 21-25, 2008

Yarn: 

Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK

III: about 30 yards of chocolate 21 and taupe 03

IV: about 30 yards of purple 07 and taupe 03

Needles: 

US #4 Addi Turbo 40" circulars

Pattern: 

Hand/wrist warmers from Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoeverson (ravelry)

The story: 

I was pretty surprised when I heard that my sister-in-law's 4 year old daughter and her boyfriend's 5 year old daughter wanted wrist warmers I had made for our 9 year old nephew... I wasn't sure if the request had actually come from them, but when I saw our niece she reiterated her desires in no uncertain terms!  And who can resist a 4 year old's request for knitted items?  Not me!

I was even more surprised when I learned that the 5 year old's favorite colors are brown and cream in combination... but of course it turns out that those were actually her father's favorite colors and unbeknownst to me, she had actually requested blue.  Oh well.  The combo request resulted in a cute random striping design (with consistent cuffs and tops) and each pair only took a few hours.  And yes, I was finishing the last one on Christmas Day anyway, why do you ask?!!!  I was pretty proud of the fact that I had appropriate yarn on hand though.  

I totally guessed on size but they seemed to fit well and should last for a few years as even I could squeeze my hands in to them (although only just and I they wouldn't be comfortable to wear).  

These really are a good last minute knitted gift!  

Finished shots: 

The great thing about my camera is that even a relatively mundane and straightforward project like this one can be made to look scrumptious (possibly more scrumptious than in real life even). Of course, the "action shots" of two over-excited and giggly little girls was a little harder...

Flickr set is here. 

Ravelry links are here and here.

Oceanwind baby bells

So yes, I got tired of wrangling 4 balls of yarn, especially after finishing the back and starting on one of the front sides which is of course half as wide and therefore requires yarn wrangling twice as often...

I decided I needed to cast on something nice and simple and gratifying that most importantly used only ball of yarn at a time (never mind that I have many WIPs I could have picked up).  Having been recently reminded of my Oceanwind Knits stash, I decided it was time for the baby bell bottoms (ravelry, pattern) and it has been the perfect break from the baby sweater, not to mention that it also will match the baby sweater (well, not match, but go really well).

I have totally fallen in love with the Oceanwind Knits merino ii (sport weight), a little surprisingly so actually, as it's not a particularly hyped or much talked about yarn. I forget where I heard about it even.  I think it might have been a Ravelry ad actually... and I was really drawn to the colors.  And even though the colors are a little different to how my monitor shows them on the website, now that I am knitting it up, I can especially see how gorgeous at least this first colorway is.  The subtle variations are so pretty and somehow do have a beachy feel to them. They are somehow also not quite what I was expecting from seeing the yarn in a skein, but I totally love it!  

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I am also loving the tactile quality of the yarn, which is similar to 80/10/10 merino/cashmere/nylon blends that I love, although not quite as soft of course.  The twist is very tight, which I like, both to work with and for the firm fabric it gives.  The pants almost have a denim/cotton feel to them, but more springy, and stitch definition.

In fact, I love this yarn so much, I'm now planning on a matching baby beanie (ravelry) and Elijah (ravelry, pattern).  I love the idea of a soft toy that matches an outfit, and I think the firm fabric this yarn creates will be perfect for soft toys.

The baby bell bottom pattern itself is simple, quick and fun - I've joined the two legs now and am knitting the butt/hips/waist section.  I should be done by the end of the weekend, apart from the elastic waist band (as I don't have any elastic).  I'm adding some short rows for diaper shaping... don't you love it when people casually mention that they threw in some short rows?  That has always sounded very advanced to me, but having recently followed EZ's instructions for short row shaping in tomten jacket, I was a little less intimated and as I read that at least a couple of other people did that with the baby bell bottoms, I decided to give it a try.  Doing the short row shaping itself is not a big deal, it's deciding where to add the rows, how many to add, and how long they should be that is a bit more of a mystery.  I'll see how it comes out.

I'm hoping that creating my own knitting photography eye candy will a) fulfill my need for knitting eye candy gratification and make me less likely to covet new yarn based on the eye candy of others and b) will make me more likely to post FOs sooner.  Of course, I have a whole bunch of 2008 FOs that I still haven't written up, and I think it is in large part because I have in the past been frustrated with the photos.  Last year, I didn't have my 2007 recap up until March 1st.  I'm going to try for Feb 1st this year... which means I had better get a move on as I have a total of 11 FOs to write up.

Happy New Year!

May your 2009 be awesome and filled with beautiful things!

Wow!!!!

Ok, more eye candy... 

Yup, it's Seasons FSM (which arrived a few weeks ago), taken with my new DSLR on my new desk at home, in it's new location by a window!  It's a pretty grey day today but the sun was peeking in for a short while earlier this afternoon and I figured I'd take advantage of it.

The set up is not completely ideal as it's more back lit than side lit - I took a few side lit shots but there's not much space to get in at that angle, and my zoom lens requires me to be 3 feet away.

But wow, yeah.  Gorgeous yarn, gorgeous camera, and a better set up than before.  What more could a girl ask for?!  (Maybe actually knitting with some of this yarn?!.... shhhh....!)

First the basics, here are the four seasons:

From left to right: flaming flamingo (summer), sugar plum (spring), life aquatic (winter) and carmel apple (autumn).  I ordered an extra skein of spring, hoping that would be my favorite, and it is!  I'm thinking of a lovely spring tempest (ravelry, pattern) without the stripes.  Carmel apple seems to be the least popular on the ravelry boards and I can see why.  It's a beautiful color but I think you need a certain skin tone for it to look good.  Not sure yet what I'm going to do with it or the others but I've been abstaining from the flurry of trading that followed the recent Sundara shipments.  If I do trade, I want to be looking for something specific, for a specific project, which I'm not right now, otherwise it's just too hard to figure out I think.

The straight stash shots (ie for ravelry) are definitely an improvement but not particularly exciting.  One of the things I've really wanted a DSLR for is to get those lovely depth of field shots I'm always so envious of where only things at a particular distance are in focus and everything else is blurry.  Today I broke out the manual (which I have been carefully reading through) and broke out of auto mode to play with depth of field settings.  For example, here on the left we have f5.6 and on the right, f36.0. (I don't know if you can really tell the difference at a small size but when they are large, it's a lot more obvious.)

That last photo on the right had a shutter speed of 8 seconds!

Those last two were also shot using the extra lens my husband got me (have I mentioned again how impressed I am with the research he did?!)  I had to step way back to get 3' away so that it would even focus but to me, this is where the fun really is!

And finally, it's pretty similar to some of the ones above but this is one of my favorites...



Love the yarn, love the camera! Can't wait to get more familiar and better with the camera either...

I've got the blues...

Sorry, that's a horribly corny post title but look, I really do have the blues...

Well, I am having a boy after all!

(I used to hate gender stereotyping by color but in the past few years, I have been re-embracing my roots as a little girl fan of red and pink. I read a good explanation once that a mother gave to a child - it's hard to tell whether a baby is a boy or girl so we use colors to make it more obvious.  In the end though you can wear whatever color you want!)

So anyway, blues, yes.  Back in September, as our pregnancy progressed into safer territory, I went on a yarn buying binge with the baby as an excuse!  

Above left to right you have Sundara Sock in Cerulean Seas and Beach Glass, Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in Laguna, Squoosh Bamboo Sock in Big Blue and Shadow, and Sunnyside Ellen Hand Dyed Superwash Merino in Laguna and Dragonfly.  

But of course, that wasn't all!

From Hazel Knits:

Artisan Sock in Alki Reflection and Laguna.  I was expecting these to be brighter (see here and here) but I love them all the same.

From Squoosh:

From left to right: Celery Colonial Sock, Rusted Merino Sock, Shadow, Brick and Big Blue Bamboo Sock.  I love these colors too, a little more muted yet still rich and vibrant.

I also got some Squoosh handspun that I originally planned to use for the baby tomten jacket but it also ended up being darker than I was expecting (is this a mac/pc thing I wonder?)

From Sunnyside Ellen:

From left to right: Laguna, Dragonfly, Gerbera (all superwash merino sock) and Pretty in Pink Silk Lace.  I know, I couldn't resist some pink.

I haven't quite figured out what to do with all this yarn yet.  The color combination possibilities are endless, especially with the Squoosh sock yarn.  I had vague plans for a BSJ and a sock giraffe - but which colors to use?!!!

Speaking of blues, I also ordered some Oceanwind Knits merino:

From left to right: Slate (worsted), Amber, Vancouver Island and Galvanized (sport).  The difference between Vancouver Island and Galvanized is more prominent in the photo than in real life... I was going for a subtle difference but not that subtle as I did want some contrast for Angle (ravelry, pattern). I'm thinking of getting a green instead, maybe thyme, and using one of the blues for some baby bell bottoms (ravelry, pattern).

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it!) there have been a teensy few purchases more recently as well, but I'll save that for another post.  I feel like I'm hoarding yarn for when we become a one income family, even though at the moment the plan is for that to only be for three months!

Last minute holiday knitting

I decided a while ago that I was not going to do much holiday gift knitting this year, and as my speed or lack of speed in baby knitting became apparent, I pretty much settled on being selfish and not doing any holiday gift knitting at all. However, my sister-in-law requested fingerless gloves for both her daughter (4) and her boyfriend's daughter (5), similar to those I made for her older son.  In fact, it kind of sounded like the girls themselves requested them... although I'm not really sure if that is true, but either way, how could I say no?!  

Of course then the dilemma was - what yarn?!  And do I knit them both pairs in the same colors so there is no fighting or color envy... or will that cause more fighting because then how will they tell whose is whose?

I pretty much decided on different colors so they could tell them apart, and figured that would be ok if they were in each of their favorite colors ie limited chance for color envy.  Yesterday I was e-mailing back and forth with my sister-in-law's boyfriend to find out what colors his daughter likes and was quite surprised to get the response "brown/cream combo."  I mean, I was kind of impressed actually - I don't know that many five year old girls but to have such a sophisticated "combo" as your favorite colors?!!!

Not only that, but look what I was able to instantly pull together...

 

How's that for service?!!  And how pleased with myself am I?!!!!  Ok, so it's more of a taupe than a cream but still, yay for stash!  Machine-washable stash even (it's Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK).  And I even have purple, one of my niece's favorite colors, so she'll get a purple and taupe pair.  I'm going to knit different stripes on each one, and each takes about three hours so I should be done in time without too much problem.  

Here's another teaser... this is the baby tomten jacket...

I may add buttons or a zipper later but I'm calling it done for now!