finished! baby Z's sweater

The bleached baby denim sweater is done! I had lots of fun with this one. The yarn was very soft and didn't hurt my hands like I expected it to (it being 100% cotton and all). The st st almost got a little boring, but this is a little sweater for a little person (not yet born, but she'll be arriving any day now) so it didn't take long.

And of course, the best part was playing with the bleach pen. I got a real kick out of that. What you see below is my own free-handing. You can like it, or not. In any case, I had a lot of fun with it.





Pattern: Elizabeth Zimmerman's February Baby Sweater from A Knitter's Almanac, heavily modified. I left out the lace stitch and made everything longer to account for shrinkage of the denim yarn.
Yarn: Plymouth Indigo Blu Jeans, a touch over 3 skeins
Other tools: Clorox bleach pen! (Note: use when your children are sleeping. It's just a little pen, but still pretty fume-y and toxic.)
Gauge: Meh. I think about 21 st = 4"
Other notes: I think I guessed a bit long on the yoke, because it seems long, even after shrinking in the laundry. I think it looks okay, though. I forgot about buttonholes until I was several inches into the sweater, so I sewed on snaps instead. (It seems like buttons are always coming undone on baby cardigans anyway.) Also, I was knitting blind in terms of sizing. I had hoped to make something little Z could wear this spring, but she may not be able to until fall because the sweater turned out a little bigger than I expected. Oh well. That's one thing I like about knitting for babies: the sweater will fit sometime, and as long as that's not mid-July, it doesn't matter.

I had 6 skeins of this yarn originally, so I've got almost three left. I think that's enough to make Anya a little summer tank top. Wouldn't that be darling? I've hardly knit anything for my baby girl so far, sadly enough!

BTW: Steph found a couple mistakes on the Transsiberian hat pattern. They have been corrected.

fun with bleach

What happens when you set me loose with a Clorox bleach pen?



Sorry about the teaser. I had to put this pup through the wash again (to get the bleach out), and it wasn't dry until all the good natural light was gone. More pictures later.

But I promise, there will be more bleachy denim in my future.

when does a knitter WANT shrinkage?

When you're knitting with denim!



My neighbor is expecting a baby girl any time now, so of course I had to knit her something. R works at a bead store. She quilts, crochets, and generally appreciates all manner of funky crafts. Little does she know that her soon-to-be baby girl is the recipient of a little experiment of mine.

You see, I have had some denim yarn hanging around for a while. When Daniel was a wee baby (like, wee enough to hang out in the bucket carseat while I was yarn-shopping), I got six skeins of Plymouth Indigo Blu Jeans on clearance when an LYS was going out of business. I meant to make him a sweater out of it. Then I got distracted with other projects and all of a sudden he was big enough that six skeins wasn't enough to cover his lanky torso. You have to keep in mind that denim yarn is unmercerized cotton that will shrink lengthwise when washed. Another problem with this yarn is that it is listed as DK weight, which is a slightly finer gauge than every other denim yarn on the market (like Rowan and Elann brands), so adapting a pattern accounting for a different stitch gauge and variable row gauge, depending on what happens in the laundry, my sleep-deprived brain just wasn't ready.

A couple weeks ago, though, inspired by the independent spirit and clever designs of Elizabeth Zimmerman, as well as Elinor's fairly recent toddler sweater, I embarked on the following: an Elizabeth Zimmerman February baby sweater (from The Knitter's Almanac) without the lace gull stitch pattern in cotton denim yarn.

I'm not sure how this is going to turn out, honestly. It's a little long, for starters...



...though I'm hoping that a long cycle in the dryer will shrink it sufficiently.

Also, I want to try out some fun techniques with a Clorox bleach pen (I read about that on Mason-Dixon Knitting a while back). This will be no ordinary baby sweater!





I just hope it doesn't turn out looking like total crap. The sweater is in the dryer right now. Come back tomorrow, and I'll let you know how it looks!

not as easy as it looks

There are some weeks when everything you do turns out crappy. Like the vegetable paneer curry I improvised last Thursday (blech!), and all my attempts to motivate Daniel to poop in the toilet instead of his pants (I might as well promise him the moon; it wouldn't make a difference), and a recent attempt at a cake that had the approximate density of a brick.

Then there's this:



What's the point of making a potholder when you can buy one for like three bucks at Target? This is a crafting blog, so I don't really need to answer that, but I will anyway: because I can. (Really, the question should be: why buy something when you can make it? I mean, why not spend hours crafting an everyday object that everyone else buys at the discount store without a second thought? Especially when it comes out lumpy and uneven and looks stooooopid? Arrrg.)

Anyway, I am trying to improve my sewing skills (again, why?) and I found this pattern in Amy Butler's In Stitches that I thought would be a nice gift, and a potholder is a small, simple thing that would be a good place to start. Or sew it would seam (heh - bet I'm the very first person to ever make that joke). Finding the fabric was fun; I called my mom and asked her to part with some blue pieces in her epic stash, and she was happy to oblige. I found a few things leftover from projects I made before the kids came along. Cutting out the pieces was easy enough, too. Squares and rectangles with a rotary cutter are a snap. Piecing the 4-patch top wasn't bad. I waited for Anya to fall asleep for her daily 45-minute (sigh) nap, and Daniel was really excited to sit on my lap and watch for a few minutes before he ran off to play in the other room.

But then. Then it was time to quilt the thing. I sandwiched the layers for the main part of the potholder, and marked lines on the bias as stitch guides. That took some futzing, but I think I did okay. The real problem is the stitching. See how puckered it is? And I only did three lines of stitching before giving up. This is because all the pinning in the world won't keep two layers of fabric and one layer of batting from slipping around when you're feeding them through a sewing machine. I'm told a walking foot for my sewing machine makes this much easier.

The good news is I have a walking foot. The bad news is I can't find it anywhere. I bought it more than two years ago when Daniel was just a baby, and all my intentions of machine-quilting fell by the wayside because I simply had no time to do it. Since then we've done a lot of furniture rearranging and sorting through stuff, so I am quite sure I know where the walking foot isn't. I am also quite sure I would never have mistaken it for a piece of trash and thrown it away. So it is somewhere in this house and it's driving me crazy that I can't find it. I better, though, because there's no way I'm going to hand-quilt a friggin' potholder!

if at first you don't succeed...

...try again!



It seems like the FOs have been tumbling out of my fingers lately, but that's just what happens when you do lots of small projects. Also, I was in a hurry to finish this particular hat because in case you hadn't noticed, the upper Midwest is in a deep freeze. -17 degrees means even the short walk to the bus stop in the morning can be dangerous without properly warm clothes.

Pattern: Marsan watchcap, my second attempt
Yarn: Tahki Sedona, 90% wool and 10% silk in tweedy black, 2 skeins
Needles: size 8
Gauge: Dunno, but the hat fits! Stuart really likes it, so I consider it a success.

Next in the knitting line-up was going to be a sweater for myself, but there are two things that need to be done first. My good friend and neighbor is expecting a baby girl in a couple weeks, so I am making her a sweater. I'm trying a modified version of the EZ February baby sweater in a denim yarn...we'll see how it turns out.

The second project is yet to be determined, but it must happen soon. This morning I received news that someone a member of my family cares deeply about may be very sick. This is the sort of news that knocks you off your feet and reminds you of the preciousness and fragility of life. I feel sad and distressed and helpless. I want to channel my anxiety about the situation into some kind of prayer shawl-type project. It needs to be beautiful. It needs to be soft. And it needs to be something I can finish in a reasonable amount of time. I've already got a few ideas, but your suggestions are welcome.

Transsiberian hat pattern

Here's my pattern for the Transsiberian hat, as promised. If anyone actually makes this, please let me know! Also, I briefly looked through the pattern for mistakes, but I wouldn't be a bit surprised if I missed something, so if you catch an error, let me know right away (in comments) and I'll fix it.

I should figure out how to get this pattern onto Ravelry...




Materials:
A bit under 100g (maybe 150 yds or so) worsted weight yarn such as Lamb's Pride Worsted or Cascade 220.
size 7 (4.5mm) 16" circular needles
size 8 (5mm) 16" circular needles
size 8 DPNs, set of 5
stitch marker
cable needle

Size: About 20" around, fits an average woman's head (assuming my head is average). To change sizes, try a tighter or looser gauge, or add an extra purl stitch between cables. This is a free pattern, so I'm not doing any extra math unless someone specifically requests it!

Gauge: 4.5 stitches = 1" on size 8 needles in st st. I have no idea what my gauge in the pattern stitch is...but the hat fits me, so I guess it's all right!
Abbreviations
CO = cast on
k = knit
p = purl
sl = slip
inc = increase
k2tog = knit two together
st = stitch
CN = cable needle
C3B = slip 1 st to CN and hold in back, k2 from left needle, k1 from CN
C3F = slip 2 st to CN and hold in front, k1 from left needle, k2 from CN
T3F = slip 2 st to CN and hold in front, p1 from left needle, k2 from CN
T3B = slip 1 st to CN and hold in back, k2 from left needle, p1 from CN
C5B = slip 3 st to CN and hold in back, k2 from left needle, k3 from CN
C6B = slip 3 st to CN and hold in back of work, k3 from left needle, k3 from CN


Diamond cable pattern (from the new Harmony Guide, see p. 193 if you want the chart):
All even numbered rounds 2-16: k all k stitches and p all p stitches
R1: p2, C3B, p1, C3F, p2
R3: p1, C3B, p1, k1, p1, C3F, p1
R5: C3B, p1 [k1, p1] twice, C3F
R7: k2, p1, [k1, p1] 3 times, k2
R9: T3F, p1 [k1, p1] twice, T3B
R11: p1, T3F, p1, k1, p1, T3B, p1
R13: p2, T3F, p1, T3B, p2
R15: p3, C5B, p3

Other cable:
Rounds 1-3: knit
Round 4: C6B

To make hat:
With size 7 circular needles, CO 101 stitches. Join into a round. K2tog, p1, then work 1x1 (k1, p1) rib for 3" or desired length of brim.

Switch to size 8 circular needles.
Next round: [k5, inc 1, p4, C3B, p1, C3F, p4] 5 times. You should have 105 stitches.
Next round: [k6, p4, k3, p1, k3, p4] 5 times.

These two rounds establish the cable pattern with two purl stitches separating each cable. Continue in this manner (your next round will be round 3 of each cable pattern) until two repeats of the diamond cable are completed - 32 rounds total.

Decrease thusly, switching to size 8 DPNs when necessary:
[k2tog, k4, p6, k5, p6] 5 times
[k2tog, k3, p6] until end of round
[k2tog, k2, p6] until end of round
[k2tog, k1, p6] until end of round
[k2tog, p6] until end of round
[k2tog, p5] until end of round
[k2tog, p4] until end of round
[k2tog, p3] until end of round

Cut yarn and pull through remaining stitches. Hide ends. Wash and block if desired.

You've got yourself a hat!

Transsiberian hat

I've need a good winter hat for a long while. Stuart has an old, ugly, green fleece number that I'll wear when I'm desperate (like, less than 10 degrees outside), but mostly I've gone without. Funny, since I always insist that Daniel wear a hat, and I try with Anya, though she always pulls them off. And then she cries if she's too cold. Arrrg. Do they ever learn?

Anyway, we rented Transsiberian last weekend. (It's very good. You can't really go wrong with Ben Kingsley.) When I saw the hat that Emily Mortimer was wearing in the scene that - well, I won't ruin it for you, but it's a pivotal point in the story - I said to myself, "That's it! That's the hat I want!" It's just a white with cables and a ribbed cuff. It looks like something the costume people probably picked up at The Gap, but to me it looked just right. So I unearthed a skein of white heavy worsted yarn from the stash (Lamb's Pride Worsted), flipped through a couple of stitch dictionaries, and cast on. Three days later, it was done!




The Lamb's Pride is a tad itchy (I think it's the mohair), but it was nice to knit with, and I'm pretty happy with the result. I'll post a more detailed pattern sometime soon.

orange socks, red socks

Thanks for the comments on that last post. Unless I use up all my stash before buying any more (and that's unlikely to happen), I will always feel a little guilty for what I've got, but that's just part of growing up as a midwestern protestant, isn't it? But anyway, I do feel better about it, and I really will try to use up and give away a lot of stuff before I replace it with new. (Steph, expect an email from me soon.)

But I'm not entirely selfish. Other people benefit from my knitting. Let's take Daniel, for example. He's almost three, and he still likes to wear things I make for him - most of the time, anyway. The chunky little scarf I put in his Christmas stocking...



...has gone practically unnoticed, for instance. (I used a single skein of Malabrigo chunky and it was such delicious knitting I don't even mind that he doesn't like it. I can wear it!) But if I ask him more specifically what he wants, he's more likely to wear it. Remember last fall when he asked me to make him orange socks? I made five and a half of those suckers before I couldn't stand it anymore. (You've heard of "second sock syndrome?" How about "sixth sock syndrome"!) Now he's nearly outgrown them, so I called it good and frogged the last sock. I'm trying not to let the fact that he has an odd number of orange socks (admittedly, they're all identical) bother the anal-retentive voice in my head that tells me "That third pair remains unfinished! You may not blog this as a finished object without that finished sixth sock!!"





Daniel wears these all. the. time. They're warmer than the 6-pack of cotton sport socks I bought him at Old Navy when we were done with sockless summer weather. Plus, the kid likes orange! You can see the wear; the yarn (Trekking XXL, I think) has gotten fuzzy and is starting to pill. They've been through the wash (including the dryer, when I'm in too much of a hurry to hang them up) dozens of times and haven't developed any holes, so that's definitely a plus.

I made him another pair of socks for Christmas. They're nothing fancy, just 2x2 ribbing with an extra long cuff to wear under his snow boots. These he is less enthusiastic about; in fact, the only way I got him to model these for me was to distract him with the TV. (Ah, PBS. You have saved my sanity more than once.)




I used some DK wool from the stash, leftover from something so long ago I don't even remember what I used it for originally. Size 3 DPNs made a nice tight fabric, but honestly, it was a boring knit. I think the next pair of socks I make need to be a little more exciting. Like with an actual pattern or something to keep my brain more engaged.

hoarding

We've been doing some cleaning and re-organizing lately. This was inspired partly by a need to make room for all the new clothes and toys the kids got for Christmas and birthdays (Anya's is Dec 14, Daniel's is coming up on Feb 7), and partly by rearrangement of some furniture in our house so that Anya can sleep in her own room. We're having pretty serious sleep issues with her, and a solution is nowhere in sight, I'm afraid. I'd like to blame it on the fact that our house is so small that she's had no choice but to sleep in our room (and thus in our bed for most of the night), but the real reason is that she's a clingy, needy kid. This too shall pass. I hope.

I believe I am a person capable of living simply, at least by American standards. I've had the same everyday shoes since 2001; I know this because I saw them in a picture we took that year at Christmastime. I've been wearing the same coat for 15 years. We don't have a dishwasher or a garage, and I am okay with that, mostly because I grew up without either of those things. We are a one-car family (so far). We just downsized to having one dresser in our room instead of two. I can be ruthless about getting rid of things because I am not sentimental and our house is simply too small to accumulate without regular purging of things we don't need.

And then there's my stash. All the rearranging and sorting made me realize just how much I've got. It's definitely embarrassing. It's almost obscene. And while I've been knitting since I was 8 years old, I haven't been stashing for that long. I think it started big time when Daniel was a baby. I was home most of the time, and knitting filled a void of some kind. I had more time to knit than when I was a full-time student, and I had way more time to think about knitting and plan projects. By now, it's just a little out of hand. I send yarn to Stephanie every once in a while when I know it's something I'll never use and I think she'll like it. Otherwise, I keep it. You might say I'm hoarding. I far, far overestimate what I can do in a given amount of time. I suspect if I knit only from my stash for the next two years I'd barely make a dent.

I don't have this problem in any other area of my life, just the crafty part of it. Why is it that I have no problem emptying my drawers and closet of clothes and shoes and culling toys, but nearly every time I pick up a skein from my stash, I think first "I should probably give this away," then "No, I might use it! I was going to make x, y or z with this! I can't give it up just yet!" I guess it's because creating things is just so important to me. When I'm knitting or cooking or (occasionally) sewing, I feel productive and worthwhile. I like having supplies on hand. I like to look at what I've got and get inspired.

My husband's hobbies don't come with this tendency to accumulate, fortunately. He likes to learn programming languages in his spare time, so we've got several books with incomprehensible titles. He's just started brewing beer, too, but the equipment for that doesn't take up much space compared to my tubs of yarn and sewing machine in the basement. You just don't stash brewing supplies, you know? Especially if you plan to store each 5-gallon batch in a keg rather than bottling it.

What I can't decide is whether or not this is okay. Sometimes I feel guilty for having more than I need, and sometimes I think my stash is my business and as long as I'm not spending money I don't have, I shouldn't worry about it. I knit a lot for other people, and I've knit a lot for charities, too...What do you guys think?

to swatch, or not to swatch

Behold! The Marsan Watchcap! Which in no way fits my husband!! It's a little tight on me, in fact, though I wore it today because don't have another hat.

Daniel could wear it...



...though apparently he'd rather not have the brim turned up.

Even Anya could wear it:




Turns out she looks rather fetching in gray, don't you think? I didn't know until now because there's no such thing as gray clothes for little girls. Not that I've found, anyway. This hat is especially cute on her because it's a little too tall so it curls up at the top like a little Hershey's Kiss.

It's a nice hat, even if it doesn't fit the person I made it for, so I'll keep it for now. If nothing else, I'll use it until I make another hat for myself that looks nicer. But never fear, dear husband. I've got more masculine yarn wound and waiting to be cast on for a hat that won't squeeze your brain.

what's on the needles

Go read Steph's post on sweater knitting.

Now, here's what I'm knitting:

1. A Marsan Watchcap.



This is supposed to be for Stuart, who requested a new hat. I made him one a couple years ago, but it's too loose and he wants something snugger. Unfortunately, the Marsan cap seems to be too snug. It's all 1x1 rib with a twisted knit stitch, and the ribbing should be stretchy, but even so...Daniel can wear this thing. I know because he wanted to try it on. Still, I don't believe in frogging hats, so I'll continue with it. If it's too tight for Stu, I'll wear it. If it's too tight for me, Daniel can have it, even though that would be the third hat I've knit for him this winter.

2. The red shell.



This pup is nearly finished. I just need to do the necklines. It's on hold for the moment because as much as I'm enjoying the yarn, it's mostly cotton and making my hands cramp. I almost never get knitting injuries, but I don't want this to be a first.

3. I haven't cast on for it yet, but I just adore that herringbone hat from the latest Interweave Knits. In fact, if it weren't for that hat I wouldn't have bought the magazine! (I let my subscription expire because IK has been so underwhelming of late.) Clearly, I have hats on the brain.



This is two skeins of Classic Elite Fresco, the yarn called for in the pattern (though not the exact colors). I bought it yesterday at an LYS, where the highlight of the trip was watching Daniel wind up the skeins all by himself. (He was pretty pleased with himself, let me tell you.)