Category: knitting

New Toys

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Not for the kids, for me!

I’d been wanting to get a swift and ball winder for some time now, and saw a set on sale recently and bought it.  It’s a metal/plastic Laci’s Swift and ball winder, and while I love having them, I think if I could purchase over I’d spend a bit more and get a wooden swift.  For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, a swift is a contraption on which you put a hank of unwound yarn to keep it untangled while you wind it into a ball.

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Something called a ball winder should be self explanatory, though I bet those among you with baser inner workings could come up with an alternative meaning.  Basically, it rapidly winds up the yarn into a little yarn “cake” from which you can pull your working yarn from the center and work tangle-free without a pesky ball rolling all over the place. Here’s a pic of a triceratops tentatively checking out a finished cake.

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The boy loves helping me with winding, and it’s fun to do together.  I love having a craft that is all my own that the boy (and, hopefully, the girl when she’s a bit older) can share with me.  Sometimes the boy “knits” with me, and it’s really cute.  He’s a bit too young to teach for real yet, but he’ll get the hang of it quickly when he starts.  Or if he starts.

I saw a recent Ravelry post where someone was lamenting the fact that their children did not share in their knitting, and it made me a bit sad.  I mean, I’m completely aware that the kids aren’t going to be into everything I am, but I’d love it if the kids were into this with me.  I think it’s beautiful, creative, and you get such a sense of accomplishment when you finish something tangible and can actually wear it.

More importantly, it’s something unique that the kids and could I do together.  Some parents play sports with their children, some go shooting, I’d love to knit with them.

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When we were all done, we had a nice little pyramid of yarn, all ready to go for a secret project! Can you guess based on the colors? (Hint: they’re NOT the colors of a collegiate sports team)

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Squirrel Nut Zipper

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Remember that one-hit wonder band from the 90’s? No? Don’t worry–you’re not missing much.

The last step in the Steggie sweater is putting the zipper in.  This involves two things that traditionally do not like me much: needle and thread.  I’m much happier with sticks and yarn.  Realizing, however, that the sweater wouldn’t finish itself, I took a deep breath and threaded the needle.

It takes a few steps to get a zipper attached, and there are already some good tutorials out there which I used to teach myself.

First, you line up the zipper and pin it into place:

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Then you baste it into place and zip it up to make sure it looks okay.  Use a very contrasting yarn to make this easier to remove later. At this point, if you see anything wrong/not lining up, remove the basting line and repeat the above steps if you have the patience and need for that sort of perfection.  I am not so afflicted.

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That looked pretty good, except for the bottom part.  I figured I could just stretch the bottom and sew it over when I was done.  I can also see that the zipper I bought is actually a bit long–ideally it would end just at the neckline.  The tabs sticking up I didn’t worry about–I knew that they would be folded over and sewn in when I was done.

Remove the pins, and backstitch into place.  I used invisible yarn, which is probably not the best choice, but it was what I had around and I didn’t have the patience to wait until I could make it to the store to get a matching green.

All done!  It’s funny–I was really nervous about giving it to him.  I mean, I’ve been working on this on and off for over 3 months, and what if he didn’t really like it?  As it turns out, I didn’t have to worry.

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One happy stegosaur, proudly holding up his “tail.”

After he put it on, he kept walking around the house on all fours, roaring, and pretending to “spike” people.

Adultery

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I’ve had an affair.  With my knitting, that is.  I picked up a quick, instant gratification crochet project that is nearly done.  Don’t tell the needles I’ve been a hooker. (okay, okay, I can hear you groaning)

Back to the knits, though:

Here’s a sweater (ravelry link) that I’ve been working on for a while.  I’m using Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool which is, as you might guess, a silk/wool blend that is incredibly soft and also slightly tweedy at the same time.

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I’m knitting both front pieces at the same time, which keeps the decreases symmetrical and the lengths exactly the same.  It takes twice as long to get a finished piece but then, well, you’ve got two at once! As with the Steggie sweater, I pin them together in the middle so I don’t lose track of which side I’m working on.  It’s a adult sweater that I’m knitting out of DK wool, so it’s going to take me a while, I know, but it’s a simple project and really, it’s very soothing to work on a large stockinette project as opposed to a complicated lacy thing.

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I’m realizing that picture is a bit suggestive.  Who says knitting can’t be sexy?

The Steggie sweater is coming along as well.

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All random parts in the first and a closeup of the sleeve in the second with the spikes on top.  If you click on the picture and zoom into the cuff, you can see the advantage of the invisible cast on.  The ribbing looks like it just ends without a definitive cast on row and looks very cool.

I’m halfway through the second sleeve and then all I have to do is sew (yuck) them all together and knit the hood.  The boy keeps bugging me about this–he really wants to wear it, and now that the weather is beginning to change I suppose I’d better hurry up so he can wear it for the fall and winter.

Feeling extinct

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Lest you think that I have been neglecting my knitting, rest assured that is not the case.  I’ve got two projects on the  needles these days.  The Steggie sweater is proving to be more challenging than I initially thought it would be and the sleeves are giving me paroxysms.  I’ve ripped out and redone the sleeve no less than six times at this point, and am getting pretty frustrated with them.  The issue comes with the spikes on the edges and finding out that I’ve wrapped the stitches wrong, but of course I only discover this about 4 rows up and then it’s hopeless.  Technically you should be able to rip out the border without involving the main body stitches, but as they’re all wrapped together my puny little brain can’t discern which stitch to put where and it becomes a royal mess.  If you know how to do this, tell me, please.

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What you see here has been ripped and redone as I had done the increases on the wrong rows, but really I was initially happy about it since I got to redo the cast on as an invisible cast on, which looks awesome and professional.  This for a sweater that will be destroyed by a 4 year old.

In good news, the back and fronts are done.  I knitted both fronts at the same time using a helpful tip to pin the fronts together.  This way they are exactly the same size.

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I’m also working on a more portable sweater, a daunting enterprise consisting of a sweater for myself knit out of DK yarn.  That might take a while…

Moo Baa Lalala

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The knitting dork that I am, the thing that I was most excited about was that our trip to Estes Park coincided with the Annual Estes Park Wool Market.  A whole day of sheepy fun! When we got there, it was even cooler than I initially thought.  On the schedule was sheep judging, alpaca judging, a whole tent of paco-vicuñas, sheep shearing, and sheepdog herding!  And, of course, a whole tent of yarny goodness.

The boy communed with the sheep:

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We all watched, fascinated, with the sheep shearing:

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There was a children’s tent where you could try out a few different fiber arts.  The boy loved the spinning and the weaving, and did pretty good! He later saw a spinning wheel for sale and wanted me to buy it for him to take home.

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Then it was off to the paco-vicuñas.  I was so enthralled by these creatures I forgot to take a picture, so here’s  a stock shot of them (no pun intended).

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These critters are really cute in person, and make some very soft (and expensive, I might add) yarn.

Then the sheepdog demonstrations, in which we watched how they train a sheepdog to herd sheep, largely by watching a somewhat spastic dog run circles around a quartet of, well, sheepish sheep who obeyed his every command. It was amazing to watch the animals interact with each other and see creatures doing what they are meant to do.  (After hundreds of years of breeding and domesticity, that is.  If the creatures were in their wild form, I suppose the dog would have eaten the sheep.)

Then off to the yarn tent, where I purchased a hole in the head some amazing handspun and hand dyed one-of-a-kind yarn.  This time, I swear, there are projects attached to each piece.  I think.  I’ll take some pics and post them later.

That afternoon we went for another hike, this time to Fern Lake. Our number one hiker was in top form yet again.

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By the end of the hike he had lost a bit of weight, completing the journey shirtless and pack-less.

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In the middle of the hike he announced, as 3 year olds will, “Mommy, I have to go poopy.”  Note how he did not say, “Daddy, I have to go poopy.” After a bit of stalling, we realized he meant it and found a spot to go.  I will spare you the details, but suffice it to say that we only left footprints, and took only pictures. I will at some point use those pictures to either blackmail him or embarrass him at his wedding reception.

Today happened to be my birthday as well, and for the occasion the boy came up with a list of 10 things he loves about Mama.  I’ll leave you with that list.  Number 8 is my favorite:

1. Takes me to the Dinosaur Museum.

2. Takes me to the Art Museum.

3. Takes me to school.

4. Helps us clean up.

5. Makes us dinner.

6. Reads books to us.

7. Helps me spell.

8. How she cuts up watermelons.

9. She drives the car well.

10. When we stay in the house and play with me and my sister.

Best. Birthday. Ever.

A Hike in the Woods

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Okay, this isn’t the best picture, and there are few things that need to be changed, but I’m too excited about this not to post it anyway:

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To get a better picture, I would have to be home on a sunny day with my husband and no kids around to have a decent photo session.  Thus, the timer-assisted photo is all you get.  

Here’s one with flash that’s a bit brighter, but the color is truer in the above pic:

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Obviously, the second from the bottom button is a bit too low and has been fixed.  Despite knitting a few gauge swatches, it’s still just a touch bigger around than I’d like so I only knitted 5 rows of the button bands to compensate  a bit.  I did knit it a bit longer in the body as I like my sweaters to hit around the top of my hips.  I love how the color turned out.  The yarn pooled a bit on the back but not much and overall the variegation is subtle.

Choosing buttons is hard–I mean, it can really change the look of a whole piece depending on what you get.  Imagine if I had gone with, say, teapot shaped buttons.  You would then describe it as “whimsical,” and I hate things that are whimsical.

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I ended up going with these shell buttons that have a touch of a green shimmer to them. I think they add to the look of the whole piece.  Really, I’m pretty proud of myself–not bad for a first sweater!

Next up, for the dinosaur obsessed toddler:

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Just add cute baby and stir

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BSJ all done! Found these little pink flower buttons that work perfectly.  Since it’s for a baby girl, I didn’t want the whole thing to be pink because, god knows, every single gift you get is pink.  At the same time, I thought a little pink would be nice to coordinate with the piles of pink clothes that she has certainly received.

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Still, I think this might look better in a non-cotton yarn as the cotton just shows too many of the little flaws.  Admittedly, I used Michael’s yarn to make this, but Cotton-Ease is just great for baby stuff as it machine washes and dries wonderfully.  Before I had kids of my own I think I gave a few presents that were hand wash only, and I now know that for sleep deprived parents the likelihood of this happening is essentially zero and the zombie that you are mechanically picks up piles of unwashed clothes and stuffs them into the washing machine without carefully sorting through everything.  Ask me how I know how to remove exploded diaper gel from the inside of a washing machine (wash a load with 1/2 cup or so of salt, if you’re ever in need). 

There is an exception for people who are knitters, but even then their non-knitting spouses may try to be “helpful” and do the laundry with disastrous results.

But back to the pattern which is fun and looks so cute, I’ll have to make one for my own baby, if  I can get her to sit still long enough to put it on:

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Knitting cliche

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The knitting cliche of taking a picture of the amoeba-like BSJ and then one of it all folded up continues here:

before:IMGP1723after a few deft flicks of the wrist:

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Made for a friend who recently had a baby girl.  I first made her  a few little hats, but then decided that they were fugly. I had a dream the other night where another friend of mine saw the hats and drew in air through her teeth when she saw them.  They really are that ugly.   Now, a trip to the button store to find some tulip or otherwise flower shaped buttons for the front, and then off in the mail!

A walk in the woods

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Making progress on my first adult sweater.  Just realized that name makes it seem like an X-rated knitting project. Need better name.

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I love how the colors are coming out in this sweater, hence the title of the blog post.  It reminds me of hiking in the California redwood forests as a kid. And I’m loving knitting with bulky yarns–it goes so quickly and falls into instant gratification knitting.  I think I’ll be done with this just in time for the weather to be warm enough to make it completely unwearable.  Ah well, Autumn will come again.

Stripey dress, redux

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I decided that the dress was indeed too short, and I realized I had done the feather and fan border wrong, and there were not enough garter rows at the end so the whole thing just rolled up… so I ripped out, reknit a few rows and voila:

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So much better!!  The dress is still too big across the top, but I think I can knit a little cord and add it to the back for a design detail and to pull the sleeves in, then take it out when she grows.I love the malleability of knitting, to make it what you want, to undo and redo.  Truthfully, I’m not much of a perfectionist, and I see knitting as a way to improve that part of me.  I often tend to see things as “good enough” and not feel compelled to make them just right.  With the knitting, I push myself to do that, and am always pleasantly surprised  to be much happier that I did.