Knitted Christmas Stocking

Last year, before the Bean was born, I decided to make him/her a stocking for Christmas. I was going to design it and it was going to be colorful Fair Isle with a corrugated rib cuff. I got as far as the cuff before I put it down. I couldn't quite figure out what I wanted to do, so I put it down. When M. came, there wasn't a whole lot of time for silly things like knitting, and since she was going to be not quite a month and a half old at Christmas, I didn't think she'd notice.

Skip forward to this fall. I started thinking about the stocking again. This time, however, I decided to make the Scandinavian Stocking with no variations (other than yarn substitution and color). To do a really nice Fair Isle from scratch would be much easier with some sort of knitting design software, to fool about with the colors. I could knit swatches, yes, but, no, not going to happen.

So, I started knitting and I thought a bit about yarn dominance. What that means is thinking about which color pops in two-color knitting. What you want is for the pattern to show up sharply against the background color, and it's just a matter of which yarn comes from below (since one will when you are knitting with two colors). This site has a great description and even has pictures. Since I hadn't checked out that site for a while, I had gotten which yarn would be dominant mixed up in my head. The great thing is, after only a couple rows I could tell my pattern didn't look great, so I came down to the computer to check, and sure enough, my pattern color was coming over the top of the background color (the wrong way). So, I ripped the couple rounds I did (without taking pictures) and worked them again, and what do you know ... it looks so much better. It was worth a few ripped rows to see the theory in action in my own work.

She still won't have a stocking this year, but I don't think she'll notice.

Checked out the new Knitty and was impressed, there were four patterns that I immediately put in my Ravelry queue. That doesn't even include the sock patterns, which I like, but who are we kidding.

I've finished knitting the Aethelwyne mittens for M., but now I can't find my needles to sew in the ends. Silly, I know, but as soon as I can get them sewn in, I can dye them with the lemon-lime Kool-Aid I bought.

I started a pair of Knucks for myself because as I was sitting at the computer, I realized I was cold, specifically my hands. A picture will come when there is something worth showing. I have finished the fingers and joined them. The next time I make a pair (I am enjoying them) I'm going to do the joining on two circular needles instead of two double points... it's rather akward.

Oh, and here's a fun thing, I won a contest on La's blog and got the prize in the mail on Saturday. What a way to perk up a day! Not only did she send a skein of her Dizzy Blonde yarn, which is deliciously soft and beautiful, but all sorts of other goodies! Yummy lavender rosemary soap, bath fizzies, a Dizzy Blonde tape measure, and a pretty card! And last but not least, a zombie sheep! Not only are the eyes a little odd, but it has a thing in it that is supposed to sound like a sheep "baa-ing" and is really creepy and I LOVE it! M. was a little creeped out at first, but as you can see, she has overcome her aversion to the zombie.
In other M. news, her signing is just improving by leaps and bounds! Just this morning she signed "banana". And she's walking amazingly well, even in the new size 5 (which is a little big) snowboots she has. The cutest thing (ok, they are all the cutest) is that she will give air kisses... making a little fish face and smacking. I melt.

UPDATE: I found my darning needles!

LP Cover Meme

Saw this on Melissa's blog and thought it was too fun to pass up. To make the cover you need photo editing software... Or just list your results. The photo came from ~buzzybee~'s photos on Flicker.

Step 1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The name of the article is the name of your band.

Step 2
http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the last quote is the name of your album.

Step 3
http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
The third image, from left to right, is your cover art.

Fun, eh? I might decide to have many bands and albums.

Ok, so here's the Ninja Bean:And here is her showing voting pride:
In knitting news, I'm making progress on the Beaded Shawl in the latest Vogue Knitting and on my dad's sweater. No pictures of either because unblocked lace is a mess, and the sweater hasn't changed except there is more of it to see. I also finished a scarf for my mom I started years ago. There was a limited amount of yarn (I dyed it at a fiber fair a couple years ago), so it's a short scarf that you'd wear under a coat. I'm hoping a wash will soften it, otherwise my mom might want to line one side of it, because it's not really soft (and considering she finds cashmere itchy...).

Really, a year?

Saturday was a year.

She started out like this:
And now she's walking and signing and "talking".

Oh, and the birthday sweater? It got finished and blocked and she wore it and looked adorable.

(In the next post we'll go back and see her Halloween costume and what she wore to vote).

D'oh!

Did I say something about a prize Monday? Yes? Well, ok, so it's Thursday and I PM'd Amy that she won. Guess her liking purple affected the random number generator.

Ok, not feeling very blog chatty, but wanted to give you that update and to thank everyone for their birthday wishes. Had a very nice weekend. Here are pictures.

Stay until the end, there will be a prize

Holy moly! It's almost my birthday and I think this might be my first post in October. Where did the time go?

Ok, so quick recap:
Went to Yarn Con with Jen (it didn't rain!) and her youngest and had a great time. Got a great print from Franklin (um, it's not on his Etsy site, but it's cool). Also got a couple of skeins of Sophie's Toes for Helena in Crimson for M's birthday (more on that later). Got a couple things for my Rubbernecker swap-ee.

Got great things from my Rubbernecker swapper (not the same person to whom I sent stuff). Don't believe me, check out all the goodies on the right. That beautiful Fiddlesticks pattern is just right for the laceweight she sent, but I need to find the perfect scarf pattern for the Peace Fleece sock yarn (because I just don't love doing socks).

What else? M is almost walking, she loves holding onto my (or anyone's) fingers and walking around. She can do "Touchdown" and loves to clap and point at things. For a while she seemed to forsake waving for clapping, but will now do both. She is also wearing hats again, which is good since it's getting colder here.

Ok, so this is (at least in theory) a knitting blog, right? And I think I mentioned above something about M's birthday sweater. Well, I bought Sophie's Toes to make it because, YUM! In doing so, however, I disregarded the yarn requirements of the pattern (Helena) which specifically stated DK weight... Sophie's Toes, being sock yarn (get it?) is fingering weight, so instead of 5.5 stitches per inch I was getting 7. Even if I had done the pattern in its largest size, it would have fit M now, and I want it to be a bit big so she can grow into it. So, after trying to work out the maths, D suggested that maybe I should just go get yarn that worked. So, without further ado, I headed up to Wool and Co. to get DK weight yarn. I looked at Jojoland Rhythm, but in the end, picked Artyarns Ultramerino 6 because it was a hot pink that was just too pretty to pass up (pictures later). The sweater is now coming along very nicely. And I'm thinking the Sophie's Toes might have to become the beaded shawl in the Fall 2008 Vogue Knitting.

I also made M. an earflap hat. I don't know what the yarn is, but it is soft. I didn't love it in the skein, but when it was wound into a ball, it got lots prettier... weird. Anyway, there is no pattern, I made it up as I went, lots of ripping on the crocheted part to get it how I wanted. I used a crochet cast-on where you crochet over a knitting needle; then I knit up a few rows. After I had given the edge a little room, I went back down and crocheted the bottom; then went back to the top to finish knitting. I think it turned out pretty cute and alternates between looking like an old-time football helmet and a dwarf battle helmet. Got some fleece to line it and a ribbon to sew to the earflaps so she keeps it on better. Haven't done that yet, though.

Started another earflap hat for her in Malabrigo... but I'm thinking I might start over with a different pattern because I don't feel like working worsted Malabrigo on size 4 needles. Will probably line that one, too.

I started knitting a small blanket from yarn left over from a baby project I started years ago (twice) but hated. I thought I just hated making baby pants, but now that I'm working the blanket, I realize I hate the yarn. Today, I decided, the heck with it, and I will be rescuing my needles from splitty, squeaky ass-crylic hell and throwing away the yarn.

Wow, I should really go to bed, but first, the prize. Since I'm turning 30 this Friday (technically tomorrow, now) I will give away some yarn. How about two skeins of Cascade Sassy Stripes sock yarn. That'll get you a cute kicky pair of socks. Or, if you like cotton, I have cotton yarn you can have, nice cotton, just cotton doesn't like me knitting with it. Your choice. Winner decided by random number pull. On Monday. I know it's not that exciting, but, a little free yarn never hurt, right?

A trip down the Fox

On Saturday, we went on a Knitting Cruisette up and down the Fox River with Wool and Company. If you'd like pictures, go see Lynette; I brought my camera, but forgot to take any pictures. Anyway, it was postponed from the previous Sunday because of the torrential rains we had. The river was still high, but it was a beautiful sunny and warm day; perfect day to be out on the river. And, it was M.'s first boat trip! She seemed to enjoy herself, although she wouldn't keep her sun hat on... she used to be good about it.

In knitting news, I am still working on my dad's birthday sweater. The back now has progressed beyond the first skein, so that is new progress. I'll take it up to the arm holes, then work on the front. Since I'm adjusting the pattern so much (making set-in sleeves where there were drop-shoulders) I think it's best if I do both sides at the same time.

In non-knitting news, please click on the dragon eggs in my sidebar... little guys need some love.

And, since it's been lovely out, here's a picture of M. on the swings at the park:

Time flies

I happened to get a very nice comment on my last post today. Knifty Red gave me an award:

Isn't that sweet? It really made my day so much better! So, here are the rules:

1. Post the award on your blog (done)
2. Add a link to the person who gave you the award (done, go check out her blog!)
   
3. Nominate 4 others and leave comments on their blogs so they can pass it on.

So, here are my nominations:

KnitterSue is a prolific knitter Down Under with a couple of lovely children. Also a complete sweetheart.

Dyed in the Wool is a knitter and designer who battles M.E. and still produces beautiful things and is fun to read!

djennerosity is a knitter and spinner who I actually know in person and is a kick to hang out with (also fun are her adorable daughters). I love her posts.

Licensed2Knit is a knitter and sewer and I love reading her posts because I don't get to see her as much as I used to.

Now, I know I promised you Stitches fun. Well, it's been a while, so here is a short summary:

• Shirtless men handed out little samples of SWTC and temporary tattoos.
• Wool and Co. had a lovely booth, and were nice enough to let me sit in the corner to nurse M.
• Webs had a huge booth with lots of goodies.
• Toni from The Fold was there with a lot of goodies.
• I got a free skein of Malabrigo's new sock yarn that will be available in the US in October, just for the asking.
• Habu also had so many cool things.
• I went with Jen and so it rained, of course. Just to warn you all, we will be going to Yarn Con on October 4, so it will rain then. It will be inside, though, so no worries.

We had a very nice time. Going to yarn events with Jen is guaranteed to be fun.

Speaking of rain, however, it can stop any time it would like. We've had a really rainy weekend... 6" in the Chicagoland area, which is a record for one day.

In M. news, she's practicing standing by standing up without support for a few And she's figured out how to get back down the steps into the family room on her own. And she's started pointing at the pictures of herself that come up on the screen saver. M. has also realized that if she holds something in her mouth, she can still bring it with her, but can crawl more easily than whenseconds at a time. it is in her hand... she looks a bit like Fido! She also loves to push the lid off the storage ottoman to rip out the diapers. As soon as I put them back in and put the lid on, she's back at them pulling them out and shaking them around!

We had a nice time at Wool and Co. this Friday. You can see her hanging out with the wonderfully funny Carol, who held her for a while so I could get some knitting in. She's been teething, but Jen and Nan were also able to calm her down.

Alrighty, that's all for now. Thanks for reading!