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knitting is a hereditary disease
Apre Surf Hoodie Progress Report
Not so much progress lately. I’m working on the Après Surf Hoodie and like the project. But it’s taking some time. And to make it more of a challenge to stay on that task, I got a new knitting book from my son for my birthday (The Essential Guide to Color Knitting Techniques by Margaret Radcliffe). And some colorful Mini Mochi sock yarn in a really cute little cotton project bag that Andrea found at Double Ewe.
So now I'm feeling this restlessness ... I’d really like to try something new … but ... but ... but there’s a lot of hours of knitting yet before I complete the Aprè Surf Hoodie!
Blocking wires
… a must-have for me now that I’ve tried them.
I finished the blue “white shawl” project .
Its radius is 24” (48” diameter). And its circumference is about 540 degrees! Since that’s way more than a circle (and greater than a circle is what you want so you get that stay-on-your-shoulders drape), you really need to block it right.
As you can see, I folded the shawl in half and laid it out on a big bed covered with absorbent blanket-sized towels, and strung the wires through matching points. I gently fussed and stretched and pinned to be sure everything was blocked out to 24” from the center.
This was a lot easier than the last circular shawl I blocked. So blocking wires … they’re the real deal!
Free Pattern
Well, I finally got the pattern for Eva’s Hat posted in our DIY section... and it’s also available through Ravelry. Here's Andrea, taking Eva for a walk, and baby's wearing the hat! (Don’t you just love it when you make things and they actually get used?)
And just as exciting … I have a Bella Lana gift certificate and used it to score some blocking wires. (How exciting is THAT?) I’m just finishing the circular shawl and am so excited to use for-real blocking wires to block it. I hear they're the real deal. I’ve always just used a b-jillion pins and patience, patience, patience, so this should be a real treat.
I’ll report back on how the blocking goes!
It’s not much, but it’s all I’ve got!
I finally finished some cabled socks I’ve been working on. This has been one of those projects … I don’t particularly like the yarn and started and stopped a couple of projects using it. But for some strange reason had a “need” to do something with it. Well, I now have a pair of socks I don’t love. So it goes. The learning (which isn’t a new learning of course) is that some projects probably really are not worth the effort. But now I can move on to other things!
Provisional Cast On
Here's a very nice, simple video of what may be the easiest ever provisional cast on. It uses both a crochet hook and a knitting needle, plus, of course, the contrasting yarn. No more poking around in a chain trying to find the right crocheted loop to pick up. I may never do any other kind!
Yes, I still knit (once in a while)
I miss knitting. I don't get that many chances to knit these days, what with the whole baby thing and all. Especially now that I've gone back to work. I used to be able to take Eva out to a coffee shop during her nap time and the stroller would work its magic and put her into a deep sleep, and I would knit. Not these days; the world is far too fascinating a place for miss Eva!
Eva gives with one hand and takes away with the other, however. She's now moved her bedtime back from 10pm to 8pm, so I suddenly have some time in the evening! And I managed to sneak away from the house today and get to my knitting group. The result of all this? A Finished Object!
This is my version of Eva's hat. I made the large size, which was the only size my mom hadn't made. Now that we've made all the sizes, the pattern is almost ready to go up in our DIY section. We just need to make a couple of tweaks and then it'll be up. Hooray!
Easiest ever short row heel
When I knit socks, I do a short-row heel ... but I've never found them particularly easy and mine never look that great. So I was looking around for different ways to do short rows, and came across what looks like the easiest ever short row technique. I can hardly wait to try it!
You might also like to download Charisa Martin Cairn's "Lifestyle Toe Up Socks" pdf and Judy Gibson's "You're Putting Me On" generic socks pattern. Both of these contain links to lots of other instructional materials.
Here she is ... wearing the hat
Thank you, Andrea, for the photo of Eva ...
She's just too cute for words!
Cuter on the babe than the balloon
... but for now you'll just have to take my word for it. I don’t have a picture of Eva wearing her little mint green hat but, trust me, she looks really cute in it … like a little elf. It fits her just right, right now, at 3 months, so I think she might get a few weeks of wear out of it!
Now I’ve moved on to other projects. I’m back working on the "White Shawl" project at home … that project takes a little concentration. And I also just started a pair of toe-up socks, these being an easy, portable project to keep myself occupied while I sit and wait through my husband’s chemo treatments. Four to go.
I saw Coraline Saturday. Loved it ... I thought it was a little scary, but when you stop and think about it, a lot of children's stories are pretty darned scary!
Okay, this is really lame …
I have the hats finished but no babe. So here they are, being modeled by a balloon, balanced on top of a ceramic vase.
Sometimes you just have to make due with found objects! Stay tuned. Andrea is knitting the hat in size large, I’m knitting it in size small, and if all is well with the pattern, you will be able to download it from our DIY section or through Ravelry.
| barb on flickr.com |
| andrea on flickr.com |
