Jofrog is Knitfrog!
October 31 2006
I just got these needles... a few weeks ago. They are the Bayleen II 11" circular #3 needles. I had three projects in mind for them. They barely made it through the first! I don't think that I'm especially tough on needles, but these plastic/casin whatever they are type needles just don't work for me. The only other pair of needles I've ever broken were Bryspun 5" DPN #2s. I made it through one and a half socks before snapping one. Same type of clean break, similar material. It's a shame, because these 11" circs were just great for baby hats, but "Magic Loop" it will have to be, with my trusty Inox of course. Wait for the Double Knit-Along update tomorrow to see the project that came off of these needles! PS Happy 3 Year Motime Anniversary to me! ...and a few months of gheto blogging too. Happy Halloween everyone.A New Project, A New Needle, A Broken Needle
October 30 2006
So, here is my lame entry for October socks!
Very cute, great yarn (Sunshine Yarns), but really, I couldn't make more sock progress than this in the month of October?
Chalk it up to the fact that I can't focus on anything these days. Serious desire to start EVERYTHING, and no ability to follow through. I'm sure that in seven weeks, when Tadpole arrives, my productivity will greatly improve! ;-)October Socks
October 26 2006
I have been in something bigger than a blogging slump, a blogging vortex perhaps? I don't think that this last stretch of pregnancy is making me more tired, but maybe it is... maybe it's that rather than keeping up my normal activity level I'm stepping it up a notch? Could be. I have a fabulous weekend at Rhinebeck. Want to know all about it? Check out Alison's blog. I had my camera, I remembered to charge it the night before, but it never made it out of my bag! My Rhinebeck booty wasn't very impressive... I went with one clear task, wool for diaper covers/soakers. I did well, but hey, it's just rustic wool, nothing too exciting... oh and I don't have a picture! Of course I couldn't leave without some sock yarn too, but again no pictures. Eh, maybe when I start to knit it up you'll see it then. :-) Sorry to all of you "Double Knit-along"ers. I could not muster up the effort to make up a post last night, so work extra hard and there will be lots to say next Wednesday. I'm really hoping to post before then, but we'll see. Another weekend away won't be great for the energy level, but great for the social interactions, and really, that and the yarn... it's what it's all about!Finally Feeling Like I Can Post
October 18 2006
Um... mine, not so much! I was off to a rockin' start, but there's really not too much progress to show since last week. I've been putting all of my focus towards the "Truelove" sweater, and can't get my hands to put it down! You guys though, you guys rock: Kris got off to a tough start and had to start her hat over (OUCH), but is rolling right along on it now. Cookie wasn't doing too much better, but thankfully the headache was hormonal, not knitting induced. Keep on keepin' on Cookie. It gets easier! You probably don't have to knit as tightly as you think, it will even out as it gets farther away from the needles. Look KnittyOtter posted a picture of her long UFO and the kitty recipient! Better yet, she made us a super-cool button! Thanks! How are the rest of you doing? Don't be scared away by the other KALers setbacks, get knittin'!How's Your Double Knitting?
October 17 2006
I decided Sunday morning that I needed to make a very tiny sweater for Tadpole. She will be born in December after all!
After going through my books, and going through my stash, I found the perfect match, Truelove from Rowan Babies. A friend of mine gave me some 4-Ply Soft that she had leftover from another project, and it's the perfect amount for this little itty bitty sweater!
We've gotten so many hand-me-downs that are PINK so I feel perfectly safe staying away from knitting with pink! This sweater is obviously girly, but blue and white! I love the combination.
Off to do some finishing work for someone else and then I'll cast on for the back! Finish One, Start One
October 16 2006
I'm sure that every expectant mother has them... Friends have told me of dreams of leaving their babies on shelves in the hardware store, or on top of the car. Dreams about not knowing how to care for their baby... well, mine are a bit more practical. I dream about not having diapers! We will be cloth diapering Tadpole and washing the diapers at home. It's the most baby friendly and economical option for us, and I'll be home, so a bit more laundry doesn't seem that daunting... that is, if we had diapers! This is the thing I worry about most in my sleep. There are no stores around to buy good cloth diapers so they need to be ordered online. Once they come they need to be prewashed multiple times before they are ready to use! This is not a "Hey, let's pick up some diapers on the way home from the hospital" type of thing. Better yet, the diapers we really want, and registered for at amazon, are "Currently Unavailable"! I did find another place to order them from, and I'm going to a workshop in a few weeks with the woman and will probably put in an order then, but still... not relieving any worries here! The one thing that I can do right now, and should have started doing ages ago, is knit wool soakers. We will use some regular diaper covers also, but from everything I've read the wool soakers are so much better at night, and in the summer when they breath so much better than plastic or synthetic materials. That was a long-winded way to say, I made two soakers over the weekend! I used this pattern and knit one Small (red) and modified the numbers for bulky yarn to make a newborn size (purple). I have a third on the needles, and you know what... I had a dream on Saturday night that we had diapers and covers! Ahhh, what's the next thing to freak out about? In totally unrelated news, yesterday was Mike's birthday. I made him an amazing three layer chocolate mouse cake. If you are looking for an impressive cake to make this is it! It took a bit of time, but wasn't hard to make at all, and mmm mmm good! Nightmares
October 13 2006
That's right, I'm cleaning up left and right around here and putting finishing touches on projects that should have been done ages ago. My most recent one is the Orange Shine Sweater. It's been waiting for a neckband for ages, finally I picked up the stitches and did it... of course then it needed to wait for a trip to the button store, but now that's happened as well and it's just waiting for a baby!
And a close-up of the buttons and the sleeve stitch pattern:
Now for the specs:
More Finishing? How Can it Be?
Yeah, one more sweater for the drawer! Tadpole come already, we are ready for you! ...well, your sweater drawer is at least!
October 11 2006
The Double Knit-Along has officially kicked off! I started Tadpole's hat on Sunday at Knitsmiths. I had an amazingly slow start, thanks to all of the chatting and my general fog that I live in these days, but I've picked up the pace since then! Tadpole even agreed to try it on, isn't she the best little model? Other DK-alongers have started too: Cookie, despite a killer kitty cold, has bought the yarn to start her Eschequer scarf. Baby blue and black, it will be stunning I'm sure. KnittyOtter joined the party to finish off a Kitty Paw Print Blankey that she's making. Holly, from Boston, joined us yesterday. She's looking to make a good warm hat too! Holly, do you have a blog? If not feel free to send me pictures to post, and updates too! And lastly, Kris made it to her LYS before they closed to pick up some 501 to use for her hat. She's modifying this pattern for double knitting and is well on her way to starting the color work! Keep it up! Do you want to join us? Leave me a comment and I'll add you to the list! Happy Knitting (double or otherwise)!Why Double Knit Alone, When You Can Double Knit-Along?
October 10 2006
We had a great weekend in Maine taking part in the wedding of two of our good friends! The weather was beautiful, and the company was great! ...I even got their wedding present finished in time! You may remember that I was making a Linen Tablerunner. I showed one progress photo ages ago and then was working too hard on it to take any more! Friday morning, before driving to Maine for the rehersal, I gave it a good blocking. The Stats: ...and for me, the best part of the wedding was my dress! I wish we had a better picture than this one, but you can get the picture I think. Thanks so much to Dani for lending me a dress after I started to really lose hope that I'd ever find one. To any slender pregnant women out there looking for a flattering dress, the key is not to even look at maternity dresses. Stretchy fabric is your friend, low cut is your friend! Double Knit-along Update tomorrow! Have you gotten started yet?Wonderful Wedding Weekend
Naomi is in there for scale
A close up of the main motif
October 4 2006
I took a bit of time this morning to put together some Double Knitting info, patterns, and a button! I don't have many tools at my disposal, so if someone else wants to offer up a button, come on down! For now I think this one is quite cute! I found these tutorials this morning that should shed some light on Double Knitting for those of you who haven't tried it before: or this great one from KnittyDude, if someone out there knits two socks at once like this, I'll be extra impressed. Maybe I'll have to try that sometime soon! As for patterns, there is Alison's Double Knit Hat, Exchequered from Knitty, the "Magic Friends" pattern that I use for the bunnies, bears, and kitty is technically double knitting, the "Stained Glass Scarf" from Handknit Holidays... Those are the ones I came up with off the top of my head, I'm sure there are tons more. Want to add to the list? Leave a comment and I'll update tomorrow! So, who's knitting along with us? So far we have: Would you like to join us? Leave a comment and you are in! I'll be starting somewhere around October 9th, you? I'll update here on Wednesdays, so keep your eyes peeled.Getting Ready to Double Knit-Along!
October 3 2006
I'm wrapping up loose ends left and right around here. I have a ton of projects I want to start, (check out all of the ones I just added to my "Future Projects" on the left sidebar), but I'm finishing some languishing ones first.
The grey vest is into armhole shaping. Not too much longer now!
I'd tell you about other projects, but that would just take away from the knitting time, so off I go!Progress, All About the Progress
