Pinwheel!

I remember when I was little, we didn't have cable television, and I was so jealous of my friends who got to watch Pinwheel. One time, I was invited to Maggie Wenstrand's house, and in my excitement to catch Pinwheel, I went right after school instead of later. Nobody knew where I was, and they found me and brought me home right when Pinwheel was supposed to start. To replace this traumatic event with something more warm and fuzzy, I have knit a Pinwheel blanket! This is for friends who had a baby a long time ago.


Loki is supervising


The Center


Loki is sad: It's not for him


The Specs:
The Yarn: Skacel Art Deco from Little Knits. This is color 09. It's 60% machine washable wool, 25% acrylic, 15% polyamid. I washed it in the sink, and it washed and softened well. The colors did not run. It comes in 200 m skeins. I love Little Knits. It's my new favorite place to get a good yarn deal. I got some beautiful Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn there, and Noro is on sale all summer!
The Needles: I used size 9 US Denise Interchangeables, so it would be nice and floppy. The ball band recommended 4-5 mm needles. I started it on two circs, with the Denise needle as one, and a Susan Bates aluminum as the other, then switched to the Denise when it was big enough. Denise needles were awesome for this project, because I could keep adding length to the cable as the blanket got bigger.
The Pattern: See above. It's great and highly recommended. Quick, easy, and cute.
The Finished Product: I love it! I've already started another one is a slightly different color (06) for another friend. Three skeins (600 m) made 39 inch diameter after blocking (which added about 5 inches).

Los Calcetines Rojos

Today I get to show off my very wonderful socks from my talented sock-pal, Laurie. I've taken some pictures, but hers are way better. Check out her blog and scroll down to her August 1st post. Best pictures of the best socks ever. Also, read her September post about how she renamed the socks. So funny. She wrote to me that she renamed them Siren Socks (a.k.a. Mermaid Socks by Lucy Neatby), because they lulled her into a false sense of security, and then dashed her on the rocks of You Don't Have Enough Yarn Left Island. Hahahahaha. We will forgive the yarn (or at least, I will) for tricking her, because it is so wonderful. It's nothing less than Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock (100% Superwash Merino), in the color RUBY SLIPPERS!!! Isn't that perfect? And the color is, not surprisingly, luxurious. I have always wanted to try this sock yarn, and now, even better--someone else did it just with me in mind.


Standard On-the-foot Shot


All Backlit and Luminous


Feet in the Grass

Now that you've all seen them, I don't think I need to tell you that I'll be wearing these All the Time. They're super-comfy now, and they'll be absolutely perfect after-work socks this winter.

I'm very thankful to Laurie for her thoughtful and indulgent choice of yarn, her very fine work (even reknitting some of it!), her timeliness in finishing them, and her great sense of humor. Thanks Laurie for a great knitalong/swap!!!

Preemie Project

Just a quick update. This week I spent an evening knitting with Laura, Libby, and Megan of the Preemie Project here in Iowa City. And I turned in my first Preemie Projects!


Preemie hats

I made five white hats (3-5 lb size) to be matched with unmatched colored booties (one hat is not shown). I used the Lots of Eyelets Preemie Hat and the Seed Stitch Hat from Preemie Hats in Two Variations for the white hats, in Red Heart Baby Teri. This yarn is really soft. It says it's machine washable, but I haven't tried it.

The pumpkin hat and booties are in the 1-3 pound size and they are itty bitty. They're done in plain old Red Heart. It's the only orange yarn I could find! It's Becky's Pumpkin Hat and Michelle's Preemie Booties.

Finishin' up stuff

Boards are over! For the time being at least, until I find out whether I passed or not! In the meantime, I've finished up a few looming projects.

Before I unleash upon you the horror of horrors that is the Ugliest Sweater Ever Made, I will give you time to look away by showing you instead the fine women who had to view this monster in person. Maggie, Sarah, me, and Aislinn. The effervescent Naomi is behind the camera.


Knitting night 9/7/05

Everyone is still smiling only because they haven't yet seen the Ugliest Sweater, and Sarah brought some badass banana bread (see above).

And here it is, also vying for the title of Biggest Waste of Plastic to Create a Garment, the Ugliest Sweater Ever.


The horrifying front with non-"wick-away" hood


The no less horrifying back, with complimentary saggy ass


The only appropriate thing about this sweater: My Shame


This sweater came about as I was trying to get back into knitting a few years ago after a significant hiatus. That is my only excuse. I wanted a cheap project to with which to wet my feet but also learn some new skills. I have learned from it, though. I now understand, partly, how good intentions can bring something purely vile into existence. This explains such previously unfathomable phenomena as the Flowbee Haircutting System, Taz tattoos, and the more-and-more-unfortunate-by-the-day re-election of a president we never elected in the first place. I can't even link anything for that last one; there are just too many options.

Specs:
Yarn: Lion Brand Homespun. I don't remember the color, although it is the one thing about it I actually like. I won't link you to it, or facilitate any more information about it, because I hate it. If you were caught in a fire it would melt instantly and permanently to your skin. It makes you feel like you are coated in Saran Wrap. If you are knitting something for anyone you remotely tolerate, do not use this yarn. In My Humble Opinion, of course.
Pattern: Free from Lion Brand Yarn, but again, I would not recommend it for its flagrant frumpiness and will therefore not link to it. I shortened the pattern a little too much to prevent it from spreading over my hips and ass.
Overall impression: I would burn this sweater were I not in fear of the noxious gases it would likely emit. Have you better ideas for it, please leave them in the comments. What to do with the small balls of Homespun that remain as well? Maybe they'd be fine for a stuffed animal or something.

I'm sorry. I promise I won't do it again. Here's to blogging even your disasters.

Sophie

Well, I'm really busy these days studying for boards and working on some research, but I can report on something I finished a few weeks ago. I made Sophie, from Magknits, for my friend Josie. We had a delicious breakfast with Josie and Nik, while waiting for her surprise birthday party to show up. Josie was so much fun to surprise, and it helped that she was so unsuspicious that the surprise wasn't even spoiled when early guests announced to her that they were there for her surprise party. Yikes.


Prefelting


Done and adorned

I love how this yarn looks when it felts. More interesting than just a solid yarn, I think.


Closeup of the flower and fabric

The felt flower pin is super easy, cute (I think!), and has potential for lots of different variations. I found the template here. Don't be concerned that it's not well-centered on the bag in these pics. I was in a hurry. It's a pin, so it can be moved or removed!


Nick wants one, too

But maybe Nick will get one that's not quite so girly. A man purse, if you will.

Specs:
Pattern: Sophie, by Julie Anderson for Magknits. It's a great pattern. I didn't change a thing. And I had just enough yarn left from one skein to help with the flower pin!
Yarn: Cascade 220 Quatro, color 9437. It's a great felting yarn, and at one skein, it made a very affordable and very quick project.
Needles: Size 10 1/2 Denise Interchangeables.

Happy Birthday, Josie!

Sockapal-2-za socks done!

Hey there!
I've had my sock-pal socks finished for a while, but now I'll finally post about them. And now I think I've finally figured it out so you can click on the photo for a bigger shot. So go for it.

Here's the pair, in their finished glory. Number 1 (knitted in Oregon) is on the right, number 2 (knitted in Iowa) is on the left. The striping occurred at different intervals, but still in similar fashion. I'm ok with that; I hope my sock-pal is, too!

Los dos calcetines

Here's a closer shot of what I'm talking about.

Maybe my row gauge is different?

I suppose I should give Sock #2 it's own moment in the sun.

Made with love, in Iowa

And here's the final product again.

So cozy.

The specs:
Yarn: Bejeweled, by No No Kitty, purchased on Ebay. I love this yarn, the colors and the feel of it. I haven't washed them yet, so that will be the final test. They are handwash only.
Pattern:River Rapids Socks by Sockbug. This was a really fun pattern, and I will likely do it again, perhaps toe-up to use up the rest of the No NO Kitty yarn (I think there's at least a shorter pair of sock's worth left). Her other patterns look great as well (and they're free!). Check out the Shari's Lace and Crooked Cable patterns!
Needles: Two #2 Addi Turbo's (socks on two circs method), for a gauge of 8 stitches/inch in stockinette.

Now all that's left for Sock-pal-2-za is to wash/block the socks and package them up a couple of goodies that I've bought for my sock pal, including an Iowa Chicks Knitting totebag. It makes a better postcard than pictures of corncobs wearing sunglasses or suckling piglets. This is my first official knitalong, and I'm done with time to spare! Thanks so much to Alison; it's been really fun. I can't wait to see the rest of the finished socks.

AND...I've picked out my next sock pattern. It's Anna's Elfine's Socks. I bought Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn in Life's a Beach on LittleKnits today! It's 30% off! And she's donating ALL of her profits right now to the Red Cross. I also bought a superwash variegated Skacel Art Deco in two colorways to make pinwheel blankets. I was supposed to be knitting through my stash only, but I couldn't resist the sale.