While Waiting for the Cavalry

While waiting for the US Cavalry to arrive (being the VA's payroll service has merged with the DoD's it's apt), I finished a bunch of stuff with yarn on hand.
First, I modified Elaine Fitzpatrick's slipped-stitch bib (find the stitch pattern on her website at Down Cloverlaine, it's called Rhonda's Delight) to make it into an over-the-head bib. I sent it along with the blanket, and have heard that it fits the recipient.

Next, the matching fingertip towel to the facecloth:


The rainbow blanket for DD#2 is ready to go down to Baltimore with her next week (so soon?):

And finally, I figured out another way to make an over-the-head bib; I think I like this one better (pattern is just garter stitch but it looks fancy in the ombré yarn; I'll be writing this up and posting it as a free download to Ravelry):

Betsy-Wetsy agreed to model this one, though she is up in years:

Sure hope the cavalry arrives soon, before I run out of stashed yarn!

Do you detect a theme?

Do you detect a theme in some of my recent posts? I don't mean to throw a riddle at you, but perhaps you've noticed that I've fallen a bit for the Feather and Fan or Old Shale (pace E. Lovick) lace stitch. In its simplest form, it's suitable for a beginning knitter to learn the joys of lace knitting. It's repetitive enough for a traveling project yet not boring like, say, stockinette or garter stitch. It creates its own scalloped edges. If you want both edges to be completely alike, you can always knit to the middle of your piece, leave it on a long bit of yarn, knit a second half, and graft them together.

Now let's explore this stitch a bit in the round. It actually was easy to convert; all I had to do was eliminate the garter stitches at the edges, change rows 1 and 3 to make them RS rows (or rounds I guess, if you're a stickler for that), there you go.
And what do you do with feather and fan knit in the round? Make the border for a bath mitt I'm designing. Sort of a thumbless mitten or heel-less sock, knitted in a firm gauge with "kitchen" cotton. Because the lace is knitted on a large needle to show it off, I added some ribbing to the cuff, so the mitt doesn't fly off the hand in the shower (I hate when that happens; don't you?). I'll put a gusset for the heel of the palm and thumb (but there won't be a separate thumb, just a gusset). And I finished it off like the toe of a sock with double sets of decreases, then grafted the 2 parts together. I plan to make a spa set with matching fingertip towel. It'll be nice to have lace trim that's an integral part of the items, so no worries about the lace ripping off in the washer or dryer. This is version 1 of the bath mitt; I want to make the lace nicer, the thumb gusset better, and possibly add a loop for hanging with the next one. Fingertip towel is on the needles.


The rainbow blanket, as it turns out, must have had a big boo-boo in the pattern that I did not catch (I am ashamed to admit). Casting on the 180 sts called for in the pattern yields an item that's over 4 feet across. Pretty big for a baby blanket I thought. So since DD#2 covets it so much, she gets it.


And since my Peaches & Creme came, I modified the baby blanket pattern, including the FnF stitch pattern. Yarn total is not finalized yet since the blanket is in progress.

Improved Baby Blanket
Materials: 2 cones Peaches & Creme (estimated)
Needles: Circular size 7 (4.5 mm), at least 24" long
Directions:
CO 102 sts loosely. Knit in garter stitch for 6 rows. Begin Feather and Fan as follows:
Row 1: K6, *(K2 tog) 3 times, (YO, P1) 6 times, (K2 tog) 3 times*; repeat between *s, end K6.
Rows 2 and 4: Knit.
Row 3: K6, purl to last 6 sts, K6.
Continue in feather and fan pattern stitch until 1" less than desired length, then garter stitch 6 rows, Bind off loosely using the K2 tog bind-off.

You get a few more scallops by changing the repeat sequence this way, another fun feature of the FnF stitch. And this blanket is just about 30" wide, a better width for a baby blanket. I'll probably make it 36" long. Unless I get tired of it and make it square. We'll see.

Knitter's ADD

Why do I do this to myself? Why? I must have knitter's ADD, that's the only explanation for why I have to have multiple projects going at once (my mother never did that, she knitted one item faithfully at a time). And to add insult to injury, I have to go and fall in love with a new pattern. Never mind I have books galore by AS and Debbie Bliss, and 20 years' of Vogue Knitting, and 5 looseleaf notebooks full of pattern booklets. No. I took one look at this beauty by Dorothy Siemens at Fiddlesticks Knitting and I was lost. I just ordered it from Sarah's Yarns. I even (for shame!!) ordered 2 cones of JaggerSpun Zephyr 4/8 DK yarn from the Weaving Rainbow because they have the best price for JaggerSpun Zephyr around, $44 per 1 pound cone (that's over 1100 yards of DK-weight wool and silk, folks). Most people are selling Zephyr DK for $60 to $70 per pound cone, and over $10 for a 2 oz hank. Color I chose: Blueberry, a denim blue.

How do you justify your yarn purchases when you have a sizeable stash? Me, I'm going to tell myself that all the worsted/Aran weight yarn I have archived is for family (except for one lot of Magpie to make Mendocino for myself, since I gave the Soft Lux one to daughter #2). All the CE Tapestry is for vests for DH; now that I'm acquiring a son-in-law, I have a new person to knit for, right?

Spring Will Spring and I'll Knit Socks, Part 2

In searching for a new sock pattern, I found out that Evelyn Clark, a designer whose socks I enjoy knitting so much, now has her own website. On which is this pattern called Twining Leaves Socks. This makes the third sock pattern with a leaf motif (of course I had to buy it) that will sit because I cannot find the right green sock yarn to use. Oh sure there's green sock yarn a-plenty out there. But my soul craves a yarn that won't bore me yet will stand up the the demands of a sock. Be variegated enough so I'll knit 2 of them but not too variegated that the pattern will be lost (Lilacs socks I made a while back come to mind). On a whim, I Googled for green handpainted sock yarn and found:



That's hand-painted Fyberspates Blue-Faced Leicester fingering/light sport weight, from Wales, UK no less. You can find it here. Just what I need, another sock yarn addiction.



Say hello to Belle in the foreground (yeah, say hello to Duke too, sulking there in the back). Belle is a baby cockatiel (to be accurate, she's a cinnamon pied pearl cockatiel and we are not entirely sure she's a she-but we're hopeful). We bought her just this Sunday, because DD#1's dear 14 year old cockatiel hen Scooter passed away last week. Fourteen is a respectable age and Scooter led a charmed life, having survived pneumonia twice and another respiratory infection. She'll be missed. Duke though stopped eating and was frantically looking for her. So as not to lose him (he's only about 8 1/2), we went and got Belle. When I say it's a zoo around here, I'm not joking.

What a Week

When we went to Lincoln Center for the Philharmonic Concert little did we know that I left my very expensive prescription sunglasses with Escada frames and brand-new lenses at Mike's Bistro! it was dark when we left Mike's and headed back to Lincoln Center, it rained the next few days, so by the time I needed them and figured out where I'd left them, they were history. Maybe because the frames were sooo pretty. Maybe because they are now impossible to reacquire. Aaaaargh! So a trip to the optician's was in order. Did I find more Escada frames? No. I found these terribly expensive Kate Spade Vita frames instead:

That was Monday. I was promised the new glasses to be ready on Friday. Meanwhile they are not ready today, maybe not tomorrow, and I get blinding migraines from the sun. So I can't drive at all in the daytime. I've gone through a pack of Maxalt XL this week, plus added painkillers for break-through pain (and I take a migraine preventive too). I have not suffered this much from migraines in years. Tomorrow cannot go to the optician's because it is DD#2's concert at Lincoln Center (where I have to be all day; she has to be there at 8 am for rehearsal. Concert time is 3 pm if you want to drop by State Theater. She'll be playing the first clarinet part.) So a bit of pampering was in order. I had to get this lipstick color, a limited edition, supposedly what Princess Graces wore on her wedding day.

Then because I am going to LA for 2 weeks in January, I had to get this one to wear with a fake tan:

And this to wear while tootling around the hotspots: Malibu, Beverly Hills (where I'll be staying part of the time), San Marino (all right, near San Marino! Duarte, if you must know), Hesperia (the High Desert, dahling), and so forth.

And of course the new clothes, since we are all going for my youngest nephew's bar-mitzvah, and we need all sorts of new outfits for for a chssidic bar-mitzvah in Southern California in January. If that isn't a sartorial challenge, I don't know what is!

Knitting stuff: Finished my mystery hat pattern. Take a peek:

That's the obverse. Here's the reverse side that faces you as you knit:

I suppose which side shows is a matter of preference. The way I have it is traditional but I kind of like the reverse side too. Guess if you knit it right it could be reversible (I had a knot so it didn't work out for me). The yarn is Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride worsted in Turquoise Sea (a bit more green than the photo shows) and the needle size was US 7 (Inox Express). Haven't done any more on Rogue; the warm autumn weather isn't inspiring me to finish socks, hats, or sweaters. Maybe when I get my sunglasses and my eyes go back to normal I'll be motivated again. still, this afternoon we trekked out to see "The Nightmare Before Christmas" in 3-D. Loved it even more this time around. Why isn't Danny Elfman in the movie composer Hall of Fame next to Howard Shore, please tell me? We'll see if wearing the 3-D glasses gives me a migraine. Sure hope not. Better go take the meds now; wouldn't do to have migraine during DD's debut tomorrow!

I Caved to Temptation

I bought 6 skeins of this luscious Merino by Jaeger from Jannette's to make the Swan Lake stole, after exchanging some e-mails with Susan. She actually will print and send the pattern, but you have to e-mail her directly for that option, rather than ordering through the website. So even though I still think it is a pricey pattern, I bought it 'cause I love swans so much. And I fell in love with this yarn and needed a project for it! It's Jaeger Matchmaker Merino 4-ply. I still cannot believe that Jaeger is being discontinued in the US (or is it everywhere?). Major tragedy, imo.

As for the lovely Lang patterns I rediscovered, DD#2 saw this one and asked for the sweater (and model too, if possible; she's 17 after all). Can't deliver the latter but can deliver the former. Now I have the challenge to size-down the pattern for her petite frame. Fortunately, the shaping is simple- dropped shoulders bound off straight across, a normal DK gauge, and charts. The smallest size given in the book is for a 46" chest. If I take 4 sts off each diagonal motif I calculate I'll get between 39 and 40" around, and that should give her 3 to 4" of ease.



Between the traveling cable, the diagonal panels alternate seed stitch and garter rib (I think that's the name of that stitch with horizontal lines). Pretty easy, almost callls out for a gansey-type pattern. DD#2 wants it in cream and with a jewel neck. Now the V-neck is worked as a V, and the ribbed part is worked separately. I don't like that, wish there would be a way to continue the 2x2 ribbing up to the shoulders. Bleah!

If anyone thinks or knows of a way to just continue knitting without having to create 2 more pieces (honestly, if I could sew that well, I'd sew as well as knit!), please let me know.

Check This Pattern Out- Then Check Its Price

I love swans. "Swan Lake" is my favorite ballet. I used to have a website to sell my jewelry designs; it was called "One Black Swan" (all the other swan names were taken already). My house is decorated with swan-themed items, like Lenox porcelain, Fenton glass, needlework I've done and framed, and so forth. I have quite a collection of swan figurines from all over the world and my collection of swan jewelry has been included in a book of costume jewelry too (by Harrice Miller, if you are into vintage costume jewelry perchance). So of course I had to visit a website that offers a knitting pattern for this stole, called the Swan Lake and Lily Stole. Oh yes, it is gorgeous. But check out the price here. Does $25 for a mere pattern sound, well, a bit astronomical to you? It does to me when entire books of shawl patterns cost less, and when Evelyn Clark's extremely intricate shawl patterns can be had for $5.95 or so. But I'm open to being accused of crankiness here, and I might even plunk down $25 and download the thing (or better yet, Chanukah is coming, maybe ask for it as a present). Somehow, for $25, I sorta expect it to come laminated on card-stock, and spiral-bound. Maybe the spiral should be 24K gold too.

Helping The Ships Project

Some of you may know that I knit hats for our troops overseas through a group called The Ships Project. When I started knitting for them, I had no idea how many devoted and talented knitters were busy knitting hats, slippers, scarves, gaiters, etc. for these young men and women. The mods shell out hundreds of dollars a month in postage to send everything. I've been donating monthly, then it occurred to me that knitter want to make hats for this and other charity- or non- projects. I started designing simple hats that knit up quickly in worsted/Aran weight yarn to raise funds for The Ships Project. I'll try to put a new hat or other item a month up on the nav bar at left. Patterns are $3.25, payable using Paypal. Right now you e-mail me and I invoice you, then send you the pdf file. Help is always an e-mail away. I'm trying to chart and write text for patterns, and any corrections from knitting readers will be welcome.
First up is the Anchors Aweigh hat. I have the Trees hat pattern done, and the Sand Rib Mystery hat nearly done (it's still a mystery to me how I'll tackle the dec rows). I have at least 4 more patterns floating around in my head.

Look What Came: A Sorta Rara Avis, er, Book

Saw this book listed somewhere as another guide to traditional guernsey knitting, with charted motifs. So I started searching for it and found it for a good price HERE. The charts are nice and BIG, there's a history section, and another one on pitfalls. I haven't looked yet to see if steeking is discussed. The photos are much sharper than the ones in Gladys Thompson's book (it's only slightly larger, maybe the paper, maybe the reproduction method). One thing mentioned is that Guernsey patterns really were used to identify drowned at sea. So not a myth at all that became attached to Aran sweaters. So there, AS! {I'm looking over Aran Knitting by AS and got just a wee peckle annoyed at her assertions about the origins of Aran knitting; she's not a historian for heaven's sake. Next thing you know, she'll be discoursing on mine or anyone's cancer research-! Just my own gripe du jour.}

Knitting knotes: Rogue pocket is done, attached, finis, finito, and only had to be frogged once during the attachment (I miscounted the stitches to knit before attaching!).


Tree hat came out nice and slouchy; should fit any member of our troops overseas with a mere adjustment of cuff fold-over. This is part of a series of hats I'm designing, to for sale to raise money for the Ships Project. Trees is the second hat. The anchor hat was first; next is a sand rib mystery-knit hat (you knit it on the wrong side). I'll announce when the patterns are going on the side bar.



And must tell you that DD#2, the concert mistress of her wind ensemble has been chosen to take a master class at Lincoln Center, taught by members of the New York City Opera Orchestra, later this month. Her music came today and she's first clarinet. Her early decision college application went off today, let us hope she gets in (so we'll know December 15; I don't think I could stand waiting until April!).

A Pattern for a Hat and Scarf Set

My next pattern written up. This is the set I've worn all winter to stay warm. The cables form hearts up and down the hat and scarf. It was pretty easy to knit without a cable needle and worked up quickly. If you find errors in the chart, please let me know and I'll correct them.

HEART CABLE SET

MATERIALS
2 skeins Jamieson's Heather Aran for hat; 4 skeins for scarf
size US 4 and US 8 needles OR size to get gauge
tapestry needle

GAUGE
18 sts/4" in St st unblocked
Hat fits 20" around when worked to gauge on size 4 needles. For bigger hats, increase needle size as indicated to get 22" and 24" around.

HAT
1) CO 92 sts with size 4 (5, 6) needle. 2 sts will be selvedge sts. K1, p1 ribbing for 3", inc 23 sts last row in K only to 113 sts. Change to size 8 needles.
2) Set pattern as follows: selvedge st, P1, * 11 sts heart cable chart, rep from * across row, end P1 (selvedge st).
3) Repeat 18 row pattern twice.
4) Work chart a third time to row 16; DO NOT DO YO's (this will be 1st decrease for crown shaping, in other words). Next row: selvedge st, P1* P2 tog, P2, P2 tog, P1, repeat across, end P2, selvedge.
5) Next row: K across, end P1 (selvedge).
6) Next row: P1, *P1, P2 tog, repeat across, end P2, selvedge (3rd dec row).
7) Next row: K across.
8) Next row: Repeat 3rd dec row.
9) K across.
10) Selvedge, P2 tog across, end P1 (4th dec row).
11) K across
12) Repeat 4th dec row.
13) You should now have only 8 sts remaining on your needle. Break yarn, leaving 12" tail. Draw through sts using tapestry needle. Sew up seam, reversing at ribbing.

SCARF
1) CO 62 sts on size 8 needle. Do garter st for 6 row border.
2) Start pattern row 1: selvedge, P3, *11 st repeat of chart, repeat from *, end P3, selvedge.
3) Cont in pattern as set until piece measures approx 24", ending after a row 18; place on holder.
4) Make 2nd half same as 1st.
5) Graft 2 halves together invisibly. Block flat. Finished size will be approx 11" wide by 50" long.



NOTES
1) Chart begins on Row 1 but repeats of pattern begin on Row 3.
2) Pattern is an 11-st repeat.
3) Cabled sts are twisted (knit or purl tbl) for more relief.
4) Row 15 - knit the cables loosely to make P 3 tog or p 3 tog tbl on row 14 easier.
5) Row 17 - knit the yo's tbls to close up the holes.
6) 2/1 Right purl cross - Sl 1 to cn, hold at back, k2 tbl, p1 from cn.
7) 2/1 Left purl cross - Sl 2 to cn, hold at front, p1, k2 tbl from cn.
8) 1/1 Right purl cross - Sl 1 to cn, hold at back, k1 tbl, p1 from cn.
9) 1/1 Left purl cross - Sl 1 to cn, hold at front, p1, k1 tbl from cn.
10) 1/1 Right cross - Sl 1 to cn, hold at back, k1, k1 tbl from cn.
11) 1/1 Left cross - Sl 1 to cn, hold at front, k1, k1 tbl from cn.