Knitting Content

So I finally got around to taking photos of the finished gloves. Here they are:



They are from a pattern by Indiknits knit in brown sheep worsted, dynamite blue.
Cory likes them a lot and his brother has requested a pair. It is a fairly quick knit and I am no longer intimidated by all of the fingers. Though if you ever do the pattern and get tired of doing the fingers my parents have the following advice: "just cut off the recipient's fingers"...

And of course I've been knitting for Emma.



It is a hat that was loosely based on this pattern: Rolled Brim Baby Hat with a Topknot . My yarn didn't roll so I did a 2x2 rib at the bottom and pinned it up in two places. The mittens were made following this pattern: Wittle Itty Bitty Baby Mitties . I have no idea if they will fit as I haven't been around many babies lately. In terms of sizing the hat, because I had a different gauge I had to change the number of cast on stiches. To figure out the size that the hat needed to be I went to this website, which has a ton of sizes for babies up to birth BabyLinq.com . I looked up the weight of Emma (6 lbs 4 oz) to figure out what week they considered that, went up one week (not sure when she will get this, better safe and big than out of luck and small - we are in Canada, it is cold, there will be use for this set for months if it fits).

I'm not convinced about my yarn choice in terms of warmth. It is really nice and smooth though so I hope Emma will use them. The yarn is Misti Cotton by Misti Alpaca in Orchid (0387). It is 83% Peruvian Pima Cotton, 17% Silk. I would knit with this yarn again for sure. I'm not so sure about its choice for baby things as it is hand wash only but I don't think that hats and mits will get as dirty as a sweater, therefore shouldn't need to be washed as often. Plus, there is a big sister who loves her little sister and who knows how to do laundry... Both are in my favor.

Now I will make a baby genius burp cloth a la Mason Dixon , perhaps a matching bib, but I don't think babies use bibs at this age.

Introducing Emma

Hi Y'all. I'll post pictures when I get home, I've finished Cory's gloves. They turned out awesome.

But my big news is that my niece was born 2 days ago. She is #6 and the pictures show her to be a beautiful baby. Her big sister (16 yrs old and the oldest niece of the bunch) is so proud and has sent me pictures but I have the distinct feeling that my brother and sister in law (Andrea and Jennifer) would not appreciate me posting pictures, even to the nice people here.

Emma joined us at 11:38am on Friday Feb 16, 2007. She is 6lbs 4 oz, about 49 cm long and has a mop of hair.

Welcome little girl!

Knitting History

I saw this post over at Amy Lane's site (yarning to write, see sidebar). One thing, Amy haven't ordered from Amazon yet so haven't read your book yet. It sounds different than most of what I've read (not the romance part, more the vampire part) so I'm pretty sure I'll like it. I'll let you know when I do read it k?

I learned to knit from my mom. My mom is an awesome knitter and for as long as I can remember I've had hand made stuff. Grade 1 we were studying dinosaurs and she whipped me up a blue sweater with an orange stegosaurus on it. I don't remember much from early childhood but amazingly enough I remember clothing. That may be pictures helping but whatever. So my mom - she's always had needles and yarn going. Still does. And I learned from her. Consequently I knit different than most other people I know. I knit with one of the needles under my arm. It is way more stable that way and I knit faster. My mom is a fast knitter, people say that I knit fast but that is just because they don't know who I learned from. Mom is fast. Mom says she isn't fast because she learned from her Aunt Lisa who is even faster. To me it is just that mom is Mach 1 and Lisa is about a Mach 3. Both are fast, just in different degrees. Hey, can anyone tell that I love my mom and love to talk about her. Here I am blathering on about her. My mom is awesome. In terms of things I'd change - I wish that I'd stuck with knitting earlier. I must have tried to learn 5+ times but only recently did it stick (about two years ago max). Motivation, well I don't know what it was. It looked like fun? Now I love it and knit for relaxation and process and product. I like it because I feel connected to my mom. Maybe one day I'll scan a bunch of pictures of her knitting just to show off and have a record of it.

No pictures today, am at school and should be marking (sounds like something from Amy's blog eh everyone? laugh). So perhaps that is what I'll do now.

CP

ETA: OK, didn't do that marking stuff, will now, honest. But I have a second resolution for this year:

In the year 2007 I resolve to: Be on cops. Get your resolution here.

WIPs and FOs

So this is what I've been doing

Miss Priss Ribbed Socks



Yarn: Artyarns Supermerino colour sm138 (dark purple/black)
Pattern: Miss Priss Ribbed Socks by Schaefer Yarn Co.
Pattern thoughts: nice, and easy
Sock Thoughts: not so sure about the heel flap type. will learn toe up socks next hopefully.

Mother-in-law scarf



Yarn: some Lionbrand stuff, not sure I'll use it again - becoming yarn snobbish
pattern: unknown - lent the pattern book out to Laura.

Step-Mother-in-law scarf



Yarn: Manos de Uruguay Jungle - loved the yarn
Pattern: My so called scarf
Pattern thoughts: I love how this one turned out. It was easy because of a MasonDixon Tutorial . I want to make myself one now. I think that it would look better in a more varigated yarn, this colour wasn't very variable.

Sarah Scarf

No pictures here but it is a striped fun fur scarf for a 6 year old. I held the fun fur with an acrylic yarn to make it thicker. They live in a climate where wool would be overkill but this should be functional. I also made two mini scarves for her two favorite dolls. It will be a hit, I'm sure.

In progress:

Glove Love



This is the one that I mentioned I was taking a class for yesterday. The yarn is Lamb's Pride Worsted in Dynamite Blue. The gloves are for Cory. Then I will make my own. The pattern is by IndiKnits.

Cabled Cardigan



I have the back, one sleeve and most of one front done. This sweater keeps getting put down for other projects because it takes a bit to pick up again if I've taken a break for a few days (which I do on a regular basis). I changed the yarn for it and so I'm knitting one of the larger sizes. The pattern is from VOGUEknitting Fall 2006 - pattern #19. I think the sleeve is too long so it is still with live stiches and I may rip it out a bit.

That is my knitting recently.

Pictures tomorrow

My first ever pair of socks = done! one is drying and it is night time so I will photograph and post tomorrow. I am taking a class at a wonderful LYS - Make 1 Yarn Studio - the class is called Glove Love and I'm loving it. The teacher is hilarious, Amy. I will post a picture of the WIP. In addition I will also post pictures of the cardigan in progress so perhaps I will be more motivated.

I should likely post pictures of the three scarves I made for Christmas gifts - the scarves are still at my house, I am thinking of sending them soon... I keep forgetting.

New Year's Resolution: Random Generator

In the year 2007 I resolve to: Get an invisible friend. Get your resolution here.