Recently in Baby Trio Category
Remember these baby socks? Well, little miss Poppy can finally wear them! She was born last week and proud Papa emailed me some gorgeous shots of her wearing *my* socks!
So how much knitting will be done by the end of this holiday weekend? There may be lots, if you're intent on finishing a particular section of a pattern. There may be barely any, if you're entertaining and life gets in the way. Happy knitting and have a safe and sound Thanksgiving!
Sweaters
◊ Jenifleur has s progress pic of Norma's scalloped edging. I'm falling in love with Norma more and more. I definitely have her on my knit list!
◊ Rebekkah is still working faithfully on her Fair Isle vest. She's particularly proud of buttonholes!
◊ Sydney's finished Danger's body. Meanwhile, her Ingeborg yarn has arrived. Such pretty colors! Who else thinks she's already swatched for it?
◊ Brave Julia has finished weaving in all the ends of her vest! She's also got one shoulder seam all done.
Socks
◊ Meow Girl of Knit Buddies is making Norwegian stockings for the knitalong. Go see her lovely stranding. She uses the 2-yarn-in-the-left-hand technique, like Jess.
◊ Liz of The Purling Prude will be making--get ready for it--Norwegian stockings! (I'm curious now.) She's told me she's a May 3rd baby, just like me!
◊ Jessica is a third of the way on her heel flap. Everything looks good so far!
◊ Jess has finished the calf portion of her stocking but may frog it due to tension and sizing issues.
Mittens
◊ Veronique of Tres Chic Veronique will be making the Vinternatt mittens from Nordic Fiber Arts in black and purple. She wrote about knitting the lining to the mitten (a tip courtesy of Marnie), which is a great idea. Lastly, Veronique is a May 3rd baby. A third May 3rd baby. So very cool.
◊ Katie of Purl One Drop Two just received her Frostrosen mittens from Nordic Fiber Arts. She's also experimented with stranding versus weaving here and here.
◊ Carie had to rip back to the cuff, but she's back on track now. If you're knitting Selbu, there are pattern errors that are discussed here.
◊ Terri's posted on a little pair of purple mittens. Aren't they great?
◊ Paula has had a few starts on her mittens, but she thinks this fourth time will be the last!
◊ Beth, the undiscipline one :-) has received her Nordasnomittens kit in cheery red and white. Can't wait to see her progress!
◊ Wendy has resumed knitting on her Frostrosen mittens now that she's finished her lovely Hanne Falkenberg Mermaid. She's already finished the left and is closing in on the right! That Wendy. She knits. Fast!
Hats
◊ Adrian has finished her hat! Why yes she did. She tossed it in the dryer to shrink it (good to know) and it fits her husband perfectly. Go take a look!
◊ Jenny has finished her reindeer hat! But no pictures *yet*; you'll have to wait until December 26!
◊ Sarah's nephew volunteered to model the first of her Norwegian star hats. What a cutie!
◊ Michelle has finished knitting the cotton lining of her Reindeer hat; now comes the good stuff: the woolen!
◊ Your host has been knitting furiously on Traditional, despite the fact that her (fricking) cold got a second wind. (And I missed a get-together as well, dammit!)
I realized my niece's birthday is this Friday so I've been knitting furiously on it! The "lice" should be quick and easy. All it needs after that is the sewing of the lining, a good soak to get rid of the germies, and a toss in the dryer. Wish me luck!
My friends... They indulge my baby sock knitting habit by having more babies! He he he!
Pattern: Wendy Johnson's Toe-Up Socks, Priscilla Gibson's Short Row Technique, and my combination of 2-stitch single and double cables. Easy enough.
Yarn: The neverending ball of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in #32 Somerset
Needles US1 dpns. I *heart* bamboo needles!
I *really* like variegated yarn for socks. I like the unpredictability of color arrangement in the knittted fabric, and the overall combination makes people look closer. I haven't tried the faux Fair Isle striping yarns yet; suffice it to say that I am not really interested because of lack of spontaneity. There is a pattern, it will come out when it's knitted, you knit in stockinette, ta-da. Some of you may think I'm full of it; what are your thoughts on self-patterning or variegated sock yarn?
Anyway, my short list for sock knitting yarns is below. Please feel free to name more. You know I want to try them all!
- Skacel Trekking XXL in #100, #105 Autumn, #67 Pastel, #92 Shades of Tan and Cream, #90 Brown and Olive, and #96 Khaki and Tan. Oh heck, all of 'em. Except the self-patterning.
- Koigu KPPPM. Secret Pal 2 Elizabeth gave me one skein of it in pinks. Must amass more to create a Koigu stash of my own. More more more!
- Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock. What a great name!
Added 07.21.05I'm adding Lorna's Lace's, because the colors are amazing. Of course, my new favorites are now #32 Somerset, #70 Vera, #105 Glenwood, #112 Sandridge, and #403 Tuscany. Margene posted an article on socks as well which was great timing with mine. More sock yarn suggestions!
He he, gotcha! This pair is for my co-worker's wife, who is 5 months pregnant.
Pattern: Toe-Up Baby Socks using Wendy's toe-up formula, her toe cast-on tutorial, and the short-row technique from Better than Booties Baby Socks in Interweave Knits' summer issue.
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Sheperd Sock in #32 Somerset
Needles: US1 bamboo dpns
I felt adventurous and decided to try a toe-up baby sock. It was quite simple; I completed this in 5 hours, which is fast for me. I reread Wendy's notes completely a couple of times, just to make sure I knew what I was doing. My formula: crochet chain provisional cast-on of 20 sts (after short row shaping and unraveling the crochet chain, there will be 40 sts total), short row toe , 14-row foot, short row heel, 18-row leg, 6-row 2x2 rib cuff. I'm so proud of these socks!
I decided to do it in stockinette to show off the lovely color changes in the yarn. The Somerset colorway is made primarily of bright pink, baby blue, and a bright seafoam green, and the transitions from color to color are pastelly and quite nice. My co-worker and his wife were the whole reason behind my starting to knit socks. Since they didn't know the sex of their baby, I had to pick a yarn colorway that was fairly unisex. This fit the bill.
Knitting designer Louisa Harding has a PDF of her fall collection. I usually don't go for ribbon yarns, but I love the romantic earth tones in hers.
Reading: Duuude, have you seen the Penguin Classics Collection--holy cow, does that qualify for free shipping? I stole borrowed a few books from my sister's nightstand: Mark Kurlansky's Salt: A World History, Alison Bond's How To Be Famous, Oscar Hijuelos' The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, and Ross King's Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling. Should last until the end of July. Can you believe it's already July?
Added later: That How To Be Famous is god-awful. I'm normally game for chick lit, but it was embarrassingly mindless. I'm changing to Juan-Eduardo Cirlot's Gaudí: An Introduction to His Architecture.
