Rainbow Chills

Year End Knitting

In 2007 I finished:

• 2 sweaters for me (Santos and Hourglass)
• 3 Wallaby sweaters (2 in the 4 yo size, 1 in the 6 yo size)
• 1 pair of baby booties
• 6 pairs of socks (5 for me, 1 for Sockapalooza)
• 2 baby blankets
• 1 stole

I'm really happy that I finished two sweaters for myself this year. I hadn't finished one since Rogue, back in 2004.

I have many, many things unfinished right now.  I've got two unfinished baby blankets, 10 unfinished pairs of socks, 1 pair of gloves for Michelle, 1 tank, 1 sweater, and 1 shawl. I am determined to finish the baby blankets in the next two months. One of them is several years overdue and I want to give the recipient the blanket when we meet her for the first time in February.

I want to be more careful about what I start knitting and what I keep in my stash. I don't plan on making any other goals or resolutions in terms of knitting. I just want to be happy with what I'm knitting and happy with the yarn in my house. I feel pretty confident that I won't need to buy any yarn until Maryland in May. If I need to finish a project or make something special for a gift, I certainly will buy something but at this point, I've got plenty to keep me busy.

Thanks for hanging out with me this year.

Little Red Riding Hood

Picture swiped from my sister Cathy:

This is my niece Eve in her new Wallaby sweater. She likes wearing the hood up because she thinks she looks like Little Red Riding Hood. I made the sweater a little bit big in hopes that it will fit her next winter as well.

Merry Christmas

We had a great Christmas.

I made my nieces and nephew each a Wallaby sweater.

Here's Evie modeling her sweater.

Here I am explaining to Joshua that I still had five inches of hood to finish and that he couldn't keep the sweater. Argh.

And here's a sleepy Abigail using her sweater as a substitute blankie.

I started the sweaters back in November and would have finished Joshua's had I played fewer games of Sudoku over the past two months. I used an acrylic yarn called Leader by Phildar. It will be great for my sisters to be able to machine wash and dry these but this was a big reminder why I haven't used 100% acrylic yarn since my first few months as a knitter. It's not much fun to knit with. The yarn was purchased at Webs though if you are interested. They had a ridiculous color selection back when I bought the yarn in late summer.

Tomorrow, I'm spending the day with two knitting friends- Jody and Katy. I can't wait.

See you in 2008.

More bootees for baby

Specs:

• Pattern: Slip-Ons
• Pattern Source: 50 Baby Bootees to Knit by Zoe Mellor
• Yarn: Louet Gems in Willow, held double
• Needles: US3 Clover double points
• 1st Bootee knit- August 2
• 2nd Bootee knit- August 6

I started another pair last night. These are so much fun.

Stripy Bootees from the same book.

Finished Sockapalooza Socks

I finished these on Friday. I knit the first sock while we read Harry Potter. I finished the second sock while we watched The L Word, Season 4 which we bought on iTunes last week.

This pattern is simple enough to work on while watching tv that you really want to be focusing on. Anyone who says that there are not enough roles for actresses over 40 needs to watch that show. Marlee Matlin was FABULOUS. Cybill Shepherd plays a totally wacky character but is thoroughly entertaining to watch. And Jennifer Beale only gets better with age.

See the prior post for specifics about these socks. My pal's feet are a few sizes larger than mine (otherwise I'd be seriously tempted to keep these for myself- kidding). I knit this Anne up at 10 spi which makes a nice dense fabric which I hope will wear well. The stitch pattern is plenty stretchy.

The pattern called for a few rows of stockinette before the toe decreases. It makes a nice long toe which I hope will fit my pal well.

I'll be sending these out on Thursday or Friday with a few Philadelphia postcards, some soap from a local store in a scent my pal mentioned on her blog and maybe one or two other little goodies.

Curlicue 3

I think the Curlicue has become my signature blanket.

Specs:
Pattern: Oat Couture Curlicue Coverlet
Yarn: Louet Gems in Cream and Willow
Needles: Knitpicks Options US4
Start Date: unknown, yarn purchased May 2007
Finish Date: July 20, 2007
Knit for: Baby Ronson, the expected son or daughter of our friends Deirdre and Ron. No, the baby's name will not be Ronson.

Adding the accent color was a great way to freshen up the process of knitting this blanket, as it is my third time knitting this pattern. I really love knitting this pattern- the short rows keep every section interesting.

Finished Loksins!

I finished my Loksins! in the fourth inning of the game last night.

I gave the rest of the game my undivided attention (except when knitters walked in and out of the row 9000 times). The Phillies were hitting amazingly well last night and we saw a number of home runs, including one by my favorite player Chase Utley. We also saw Carlos Ruiz steal home which was AWESOME!

Craig did a great job throwing out the first pitch and the Phanatic wrapped him in a very long scarf. Knitters, as a group, are not the most attentive group of baseball fans. I told my sister around the 6th inning that I was never again sitting in a section full of knitters. I have never had to stand up so many times to let people in and out of a row. SIT DOWN PEOPLE!

Anyway...back to the knitting. Cassie did a fabulous time with this pattern. It's interesting but repetitive. I followed the pattern except for two things:

• I forgot the knit row on the cuff. After the purl row, I jumped right into the pattern.
• I used the toe I always use- decrease down to 8 stitches on each (4) needle and kitchener.

I have LOADS of sock yarn in the stash. I'm still waiting for baby blanket yarn (long story-- have I mentioned that I'm knitting a Curlicue again?) so I'm planning to cast on for another sock today. Knee sock by Cookie A perhaps? I haven't decided. Stay tuned.

Monkey Socks

Pattern: Monkey
Designer: Cookie A
Pattern Source: Knitty, Winter 2006
Needles: US3 Clover Bamboo double points for ribbing, US2 Clover Bamboo for remainder of sock
Yarn: Ellen's Half Pint Farm
Yarn Purchased: Rhinbeck 2006
Start date: Thursday, May 24
Finish date: Monday, May 28

I can now understand why everyone is knitting these socks. I have tried to knit a few patterns with this yarn and have always been annoyed by the pooling. The pooling in the Monkeys didn't bother me at all. The colors swirl a bit but the pattern is still pleasant and visible. By the end of the cuff of sock #1, I didn't have to look at the pattern anymore. Each pattern repeat took me between 15 and 20 minutes. After each one, I'd take a short break and do something else, knowing that if I didn't, I would just knit, knit, knit until the sock was done.

When I finished the second sock last night, I wanted to immediately cast on for another pair but I'm holding off until I finish the current section of the baby blanket for the second twin. This feels like the blanket that will never end. When I finish this section, I'll allow myself to cast on for another Monkey.

Socks

Specs:

• Yarn: Trekking XXL, color 80, lot 2282
• Needles: US1 Clover double points
• Began: March 2, 2007
• Finished: April 7, 2007
• Yarn Purchased: December 2006 at Granny's shop on a trip to see Katy

Easter was very nice. It was a great end to a really fun week where I got to see my family more often than I have in a long time. I'm not thrilled with any of the pictures we took, sadly. The kids are so active at this age that it's hard to get them to all look at the camera at one time and even the action shots are filled with funny looks. Today, it's back to life...until the end of the month when Michelle and I go away for our anniversary! Woohoo!

STR

Specs:

• Yarn: Socks that Rock, Medium weight, Fire on the Mountain
• Needles: US2 Clover bamboo double points
• Pattern: Cast on 72 stitches, k2p1 rib for 15 rows, k15 rows even, work paired decreases every 4th round until 14 sts remain on each needle. knit plain until desired length, flap heel with 4 stitch garter edge, blah, blah, blah.
• Start date: Beats me, sometime before 1/22
• Finish date: 2/9
• Yarn acquired: Rhinebeck 2006- this is the last of the STR in my stash. I still have a bunch of Tess, Ellen's 1/2 Pint Farm, and Trekking to be knit before Maryland.