Decisions and Distractions
March 9, 2012 at 9:24 am | Posted in knitting, Ladybug, patterns, Pigeon, WIP | 1 CommentTags: German baby, moderne baby blanket, Sahara
I have decided that the hem will have to be ripped out. I only had to knit 3 rows of the neckline to figure that out.
I have decided that I really dislike purl 3 together through the back leg. But I’m an adult and it doesn’t do any good to complain. It may slow down my progress, though.
I have decided that I know who is getting the Moderne Baby Blanket I knit way back in 2008-2009. One of my best friends from college is having her first baby (a boy, due in July)! So any stalkers out there now know why I’m searching through the baby patterns on Ravelry and picking up 5 baby pattern books at the library. Right now my top to-knit choices are the Duck Feet and the Modernist Stripe Sleep Sacque (and awesomely, I picked up the book this pattern is in for $7 at Tuesday Morning one time). And I’m trying to choose a toy to knit, as well. I’m thinking one of the stuffed balls or stars that are out there. I own Zoe Mellor’s Knitted Toys, and I picked up Rebecca Danger’s Big Book of Knitted Monsters at the library, so I may go a little overboard for this baby. Too bad baby is going to be born in Germany! Ayyyy!, the shipping.
Why so overboard? Remember this?
And this?
Yup. She’s a knitter, too.
I have a plan
March 3, 2012 at 2:02 pm | Posted in knitting, Ladybug, WIP | 1 CommentTags: OMFG, Sahara, socks, sweater
I read through the pattern before starting. I highlighted all of my numbers and all the “gotchas” – the “at the same times”, the “Only for size XL” etc. So when I started the diamond rib at the bottom of the body, I just kept knitting using the US 6 needles I’d been using for the rest of the sweater. It looked a little off, so I read that part of the pattern again. And again. ”Hmm,” I thought to myself, “this ribbing looks really loose. Should I go down a needle size or two? Nah, the pattern doesn’t say to. I’ll just keep knitting. Let’s see what it looks like with both repeats.” Bind off. ”It’s OK, not perfect, maybe it’ll be fine after a wash. Water washes away many sins.” Look at instructions for neckline, it uses the same diamond rib. ”WHAT THE HELL, use smaller needles? Why didn’t it say to OH MY GOD HOW MANY TIMES DID I LOOK BUT NOT SEE THAT?”
So yeah, I’m going to knit the neckline with the smaller needles and see if there’s a big difference. If I like it better, I’ll rip out the diamond rib from the bottom. It’s only a bind off and 8 rows.
In other news… I washed my recently completed Fawkes socks, and this is what the water looked like. Good thing I didn’t just toss them in with everything else!
In other, other news, Ladybug had her 7th (ACK!) birthday in January, and received a pretty cool gift. A crocheted ripple blanket. It’s the size of a twin bed, seriously. As you can see, it’s done in a color that she loves.
Yes, it almost perfectly matches her comforter.
If she’s not careful, I may steal it.
Hubby’s Mitts and Ladybug’s Birthday
January 28, 2010 at 10:12 am | Posted in FO, knitting, Ladybug | 3 CommentsLets start with the finished knitting.
Pattern: Intercostal Mitts (Rav link) (The pattern was free when I started it, now it’s $2.50 with the proceeds going to Haiti. At least that’s what the designer is saying.)
Yarn: Paton’s Classic Merino, Black
Needles: US 4, 3.5mm Susan Bates Quicksilver DPNs
Size: Medium
Started: December 16, 2009
Finished: January 17, 2010
Mods: The arm is only 5″, and I added 4 rows to the palm per hubby’s request.
The color is of course truer in the first picture, but here you can see the ribbing texture. Please ignore the bump around my wrist in the photo, that’s my watch.
So, after I finished these, Ladybug had her fifth birthday!
The cupcakes were not made from a box mix, and the frosting wasn’t bought from a can. I’m very proud of myself!
Look at all that loot!
And now I’ve got the COLD-OF-DEATH that seems to be making the rounds nationwide. Mucinex doesn’t touch this cough. But at least losing my voice for a couple days led to some really great jokes!
Motivation?
December 15, 2009 at 9:34 am | Posted in knitting, Ladybug, Pigeon, WIP | 2 CommentsYes, another long absence. No, I don’t have an excuse.
I’m hitting another of those blog ennui stretches — you know the kind — where I just don’t feel like blogging. Taking pictures is a hassle, sitting at the computer is so passé (probably because I sit at a computer at work all the time now), and of course it’s Chanukah and Christmas time, so my 3 hours of free time in the morning are full of shopping and wrapping and decorating and very little knitting.
But I did finish my fingerless mitts, and they are warm and wonderful. I wear them at work where it is chilly most of the time, and I have gotten many a compliment on them. So far, they haven’t been stolen from my desk and I expect that they won’t, given the great folks who are my coworkers.
Up next on the knitting docket is a scarf for Ladybug, who picked out the yarn herself at Michaels one day. I’m just doing a simple feather and fan, one repeat sort of situation.
The yarn is classified as a bulky so it’s moving rather quickly, even though I had to rip it out once and Pigeon pulled the needle out another time.
Speaking of the girls, they’re having a ball right now. Presents every night? Awesome!
So that’s all there is. How about you?
Four year olds need flash
November 16, 2009 at 11:14 am | Posted in FO, knitting, Ladybug, WIP | 3 CommentsYes, it is done. Yes, the princess has deigned to wear it!
She is her own stylist – just look at her accessorizing skills!
Pattern: Emma Peel from Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines
Yarn: Classic Elite Pebbles, 2ish balls of the red and 3ish balls of the green
Needles: US 4 Harmony circs
Started: September 19, 2009
Finished: November 7, 2009
Mods: The most obvious is that I added the beads around the neckline. Less obvious is that I didn’t knit the neck edging exactly as instructed – I was worried that the neck opening would be too tight so I eliminated a row or two.
I know the beads are the antitheses of what the pattern is all about – the transition from princess to sleek and modern school girls – but I had to give her the little bit of bling. (I just really didn’t want her to never wear it. I guess I’m weak that way.)
My final thoughts on the pattern are that if I were to knit it again, I’d knit it longer. This is the 6 year old size, and it’s almost too short already. The armholes could probably have used another row or two added to them as well. But all in all I’m very happy with the dress; tonight I’ll see how it’s held up to a day at preschool!
So what’s on the needles now? What decision did I make?
Happy Independence Day!
July 4, 2009 at 9:48 am | Posted in Ladybug, Pigeon | 1 Comment
Stay safe out there! And please be considerate of any neighbors who have small children who don’t like loud booms in the middle of the night!
Home Again Home Again, Jiggity Jig
May 22, 2009 at 2:02 pm | Posted in Ladybug, Pigeon | 1 CommentHubby’s Grandpa passed away last week, more than a month after his heart attack (when the doctors gave him on average a week to live.) We zipped on up to Chicago for the funeral and family togetherness. I brought some knitting ripping knitting and ripping to do, but didn’t have much time to get it to a very photo-worthy point. Maybe next week, my friends.
So instead of knitting, I bring you kids playing at Millennium Park.
OMG Momma, water!
Self portrait of the family as reflected on the inside of the Bean
We saw one of Chicago’s famous residents. (Which, by the way, the Art Institute was free because of the opening of the new modern wing. We were ecstatic.)
But none of its famous knitters.
Now, if only it hadn’t taken 10 hours to get there and 13 hours to get home again.
Everything, except I’m sure I forgot something
May 6, 2009 at 9:54 am | Posted in knitting, Ladybug, me, Socks | 2 CommentsI feel like blogging!
First up – the Monkey socks. Ripped. They were spiraling in a way that annoyed me. The yarn is much happier now as a 60 stitch stockinette sock. Boring, maybe, but at least I’m satisfied.
Second topic – Ladybug! She hasn’t made much of an appearance lately on this here blog. It’s time to remedy that. She had a little “Spring Tea” concert at preschool last night, and boy was she cute!
They had us all packed into one of the little classrooms, and we got to sit on the teeny tiny preschool chairs.
Thirdly, Hubby is on Facebook and is totally addicted to it. It’s so cute how thrilled is gets when he finds someone he knows or knew 10 years ago. But in the pretty cool category, he found a friend from college who lives in the same town as we do, and has two kids close in age to ours. We met them for dinner on Saturday night!
Finally, my surgery. I had my gallbladder out on Friday, and now I get to tell you about it! (Warning, pictures behind the cut.)
Continue Reading Everything, except I’m sure I forgot something…
Done, but not
March 4, 2009 at 4:14 pm | Posted in Ladybug | 3 CommentsI’m at that point where I’m mentally done with my Chevalier mittens. So tired of the cabling. Tired of the red yarn. Done done done. But they’re not. I still have half a mitten to go. I probably missed the last snowfall of the winter. They would have been great for our snowball fight on Saturday.
So today I procrastinated by winding yarn. I had to wind up a second hank of the Cascade for the mitten (same yarn as Ladybug’s mittens, dontcha know) so I wound up the second hank of KPPPM for the Flutterby socks and recaked some laceweight that I’m planning on using for the Cardi Cozy.
So instead of depressing everyone with talk of being sick of my knitting, and why I’m not going to cast on 4 different things right now (couldn’t find a pattern worthy of the Manos Silk. Didn’t want a scarf. I’m just picky, I guess.), I shall discuss someone else’s crafting.
Michelle. She’s made stuff recently for my girls, but she also made a couple things for Ladybug a long while ago that I shall talk about.
I don’t really know when this picture was taken (I put the date into Flickr that I thought was close enough). I don’t know what yarn she used, and it’s not on her Ravelry project page. But Ladybug wore the heck out of the hat that Spring/Summer/Fall, until she outgrew it and it was put into the hat basket. Pidge wore it a lot this fall, until the weather got too cool. I remember watching Michelle freeform crochet the flower onto the hat.
A pair of baby booties, given to us at the same time. Ladybug also wore these until she started wanting to walk, and then they were put away. We didn’t get any pictures of her wearing them, and unfortunately, Pidge won’t be able to. I was a big FAIL when I put these away. They ended up in the box of 9-12 month clothes, and were in the basement all this time (I hunted and hunted for them, but only found them when Pidge got the clothes upgrade.) and something made lunch of them. You can kind of see on the right bootie near the toe, but there are more spots. I feel like such a schmuck.
See, I managed to not knit the mittens some more! So now I can go cut up some potatoes (interestingly, for a red potato recipe that I learned from Michelle. Small world.) and get ready to go pick up the girls for another evening at home.
OOEEOOEEOOEEOOEEOOOOOO… WAH WAH WAH
February 18, 2009 at 11:22 am | Posted in Ladybug, Pigeon | 3 CommentsThe good
A friend of ours sent a package with hand knit and sewn gifts for the girls!
A Sheldon (in Ladybug’s favorite colors!), a Pea Pod (look at those cute green buttons!), a sewn portable drawing studio with gorgeous fabrics that didn’t make it into the picture, and some yummy looking jelly. (Sorry the picture’s not the best. Hubby doesn’t know how to focus on the knit stuff. Me, yeah, I’m peeling an orange for Ladybug.)
The bad
I’m a bad blogger. I finally fixed the hole in my Poms, and I didn’t take pictures. But I’ve learned something very important: DO NOT just knit past a knot in a ball of yarn. You will hate yourself later.
The ugly
Dude, the flu. ’nuff said.
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