Baby in Knitted Hats!

Baby in Wool!

The Best I Ever Made

Baby Knitting for ME!

I am expecting a baby.
I am due in about 10 days, and am excited but mostly nervous. The first 5 months I was
sick, but otherwise, I have been lucky and healthy throughout the pregnancy. Since I dive for a living, I had to essentially stop working as soon as I found out. This has been financially difficult, but restful at home, at least. I have been very blessed to have my DBF home most of the time with me as well.

But I haven't done too much knitting. I made a hat and bootie set for my friend (last post) and then finally made one pair of booties for Cletus the Fetus. (Socks that Rock leftovers from the River Rocked pattern. These are yet more of the Stay-On Baby Booties).
Then, in early May, I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes, and my life became daily worries and medical details, with carb counting, blood sugar testing, and this horrid fear that I was hurting the baby with my every move. Knitting cute baby things just seemed like the most superstitious thing ever. What would happen if something went wrong? So I worked on my brother's Christmas socks, now vastly overdue. For months. Okay, I was going to run out of yarn, so I had to rip back and re-do his first sock, but still: MONTHS! (I just checked. It took me 7 months to finish his socks. Sad.)
And so it went: The months went on, the worry and paranoia continued, the knitting of non-baby socks occurred. Then, slowly, I started making the Star Trek Bibs. I did the yellow, then the blue, then I worried some more. Perhaps armed with knowledge of my worry and exhaustion, my friends threw me a surprise baby shower, and they brought beads for one of those strung-together labor-bracelets. I got excited about knitting them together instead, and added some more beads, buttons, and jewelry to represent people not at the shower. The simple icord bracelet broke the knitting spell, in a way. Maybe having all those thoughts and prayers behind me?

Then I was on a roll. I finished the Ensign Redshirt Star Trek Bib, then, continuing the Sci-fi theme, used the remains from a Jayne hat to make a baby Jayne hat!
The watermellon hat came next, then pieces for a sweater, and parts of a bunny hat (still in progress). I am still nervous. I am still scared. But he will come any day now, and at least he will have good hats.

Baby Stuff! (Not for Me...YET!)

Tomato Hat!
Stay on Baby Booties!
I used leftover STR in the Garden Daze colorway: It is supposed to be like heirloom tomato colors? But then they just looked like Rasta Booties. So the Tomato Hat makes it a set... Sort of. And the recipient owns a headshop, so Rasta Booties are fitting...
If the Bootie fits?

Half a Year's Knitting... Pretty Slim!

My favorite hat ever: I thought it was time for a nice slouchy hat, and when the STR arrived (I obviously did not make the club selection with this!) I knew it had to be DBFs. Now, DBF is allergic to wool. I know, I know... but I love him anyway! And he loves subdued, military colors, and this olive drab yarn was so perfect for him. So I plotted! What I needed was an irresistible hat, versatile pattern, in the perfect color. And if all else failed, I would get to wear it around and he would get to look at it? But he loves it! Although he usually wears a cotton kerchief under it because of the wool...

These are two socks I made and gave away! Not even on Christmas! The Purple is a STR color and pattern- but a color and pattern that didn't belong together. Swing Sets out of Pepe La Plume. These went to a friend in trade- She made me an octopus diving hood!
And finally: Knetted by Cat Bordhi in River Rocked. These are a perfect color and size for a friend, and I hand delivered them when I visited her in November.
Not very impressive stash busting between August and December, is it?

Next projects: Tons of baby stuff!

Very Pretty Socks of Summer

Beet Toe and Heel!
I am loving these "Beet Greens" pattern! This is My <3 Beets 4u, the July 2010 pattern. I loved the Beet on the heel so much that I repeated it on the toe... I thought the beet greens just petering out on the toe looked lonely!

Steam Punk Socks!
Ada Lovelace by Star Athena in the very subtle Sweet Pea colorway. This was the May 2010 RSC pattern. I love this sock, but the colorway is too subtle. With the red dirt stains we get on white socks in Hawaii, it already looks stained. DBF said, "Is it dirty already?!?! It looks like my workboot socks". I am sure he didn't mean the lace and cuff and eyelets... right? I made this with the gap in the cuff for folding up or down. It makes a good tattoo peek.

Colorado Alpaca!
My very dear friend and now-Colorado-resident sent me a care package including some local yarn! It is very delicate and I am thinking of a twisted stitch aran cable hat maybe?

Did I Mention I Was Diving This Summer?

Busy, but Knitting, Part II:

These are the Spring Forwards, from Knitty. Made with STR In the Navy which I picked up a few years ago at Black Sheep Gathering. They are medium weight and thick and warm! I love the color and the pattern was fun.




These beauties are the March STR Rockin' Sock Club pattern. Secret Garden by Janel Laidman, in Wild Irishgirlie. I loved the roses and the gusset increases on this sock. Felt better doing these roses after the Yarn Harlot pattern Rogue Roses. Similar rosebuds in that one.













Ada Lovelace, the May 2010 RSC pattern. This is a steampunk-inspired knit in a very delicate "Sweet Pea" Colorway. Pretty! I am almost done with sock #1.













Stash Enhancement!


The July 2010 RSC kit arrived in Hawaii on August 3rd, pretty similar timing to the California Folks. Very pretty colors of Firecracker! I Don't know which pattern to do, yet. I have grand plans to knit every pattern they send me, just in non-club colorways for the patterns #2. Have yet to accomplish that...







Also an extra: Sock Candy in Granny Apple, and flip-flop (we call them Slippahs here) pattern, which may end up being useful for my lifestyle and disastrous to my slippah-tan.

Summertime Means Diving, Not Knitting, But Even So:

There have been socks: Whale Tails, in a rather busy colorway, for my friend who is off doing whale research in Australia. I didn't get them done in time for her going-away-party so these shall be a "Welcome Home" gift! Azure Socks, by Deb Barnhill, From Knitty Winter 2007. Steinbach Wolle, in a self-striping, maybe? Way too busy to see the Whale Tail pattern, and the wool felt thin after all the Blue Moon.




More Socks (In Progress): Spring Forwards in a decidedly wintery colorway. I am into dark blues right now. This is STR In The Navy, in Mediumweight. Off the foot, this pattern looks quilted, or entrelac. On the foot, the zigzag and lace is clear. Pretty!




Tiny iPhone Covers: For friends, using leftovers from socks. All Blue Moon Fibers. These are numbers 8 and 9 out of 10.





Stash Enhancement: Club package for May 2010, in Sweet Pea. Very delicate. My first thought was, "I don't want white socks! They will get dirty!" Which is funny, because most people in the nation have white socks. Just us crazy knitters who proclaim loud colors and want pristine socks. My second thought was, "OoOooh! Ada Lovelace is one pretty pattern! I guess I shall have white socks!"




The other is dark grey wool for a commissioned diving shrug!

Sweet Pink Honey!

This pattern is from Interweave Knits, and I was first drawn to the texture. Brioche-stitch... which is different than Brioche pattern?
It was easy and quick enough, and I like the look of the texture. I found the only problem was that I couldn't read the pattern too well, so if I put it down or paid too much attention to the movie, I found I lost my place.
The yarn is alpaca that I bought from alpaca farmers at the Black Sheep gathering in Oregon a few years ago. It is fuzzy and luxe.
Love it as a beret. But it is too pink: If I pull it over my ears cloche-style, it makes me look like a big penis head.
I asked DBF how he liked the texture, and he said, "It just looks like regular, only looser." Should have just made this with like size 18 needles?

The Twisted Socks in Reggae Tomato Colors

I wanted to knit these socks purely because I wanted to know how they were done. The bias is so interesting, the heel so swirly! To tell the truth, after I completed the first sock I felt done: Okay, THAT is how that was done! And I was not inclined to continue.
Que: The Dreaded Second Sock Syndrome!
(Which I had not heretofore felt. Much...)
I felt I needed to press on immediately or risk a single sock and a half-skein forever.

The yarn is STR Lightweight in colorway "Garden"; A summertime evokation of tomatoes and such. It is a little busy, and I thought perhaps showing off the stripes on the bias was better than the pattern that came with the yarn (Rockin' Sock Club).
So I like them. Sort of. The fit is perfect for me, and I hesitate to give them away because they are just so... Tomato colored. Striped. And the pooling is weird. But check out those great swirly heels!

Baby Shower Goodness

The recent three sweaters for two babies have taught me some things:
1) Baby sweaters are wicked cute, especially with cables or lace details.
2) Babies outgrow sweaters faster than you can say... well, anything.
3) Hats: Hats are more practical!
4) Babies outgrow hats faster than you can say how-did-that-huge-head-make-it-past-your-pubic-bone?!?!?!
5) Booties! Booties are practical!

So for my friend's upcoming baby, I made one hat (large) and two pairs booties (small and large), using machine washable cotton for the set. Mama lives here in Hawaii, but upcountry, so booties and hats are useful where perhaps a sweater would not be. Booties are the "Stay-On Baby Booties" pattern, which according to the inner-nets, actually stay on. Purple booties are Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock, in the Muddy Autumn Rainbow color, left over from the December 2008 sock club.
The little girl is being welcomed into a family of water people: He is a fisherman and she is a diver, so baby will be surrounded by ocean themed items!

A Return to Socks

Whoops.
A Ravelry perusal of my 2009 projects reveal: Not one single sock! Perhaps it was an obsession with the Cromarty, perhaps it was the forced hours of knitting the Rogue Roses sock during a 13 hour stay in the Manilla airport, followed by airplane knitting- But SOMETHING made be be off socks in 2009. The one sock club pattern completed wasn't even a sock: I made it into fingerless gloves!
(Oh wait, I did whip out Holidazed, the Nov 2008 sock, at the beginning of January 2009, but those were so fast, and late 2008, that they hardly count stacked up against the rest of the year!)(DOH: I even proclaim in that Holidazed post how excited I am about the upcoming 2009 club.)
Add to that some guilt, as my membership in the 2009 STR sock club was a Christmas 2008 gift from my dearest...

But no more! The sock drought is over! After the impromptu gift of my knee socks to my mother, I decided I need to just give away all the socks I make, only keeping ones I adore or ones that are deeply flawed... and of course the stuffed sock drawer I already own. They are used, after all. The Following socks are in the Christmas basket.

I give you:
1) The finally-completed Manilla airport Rogue Roses. Completed January 2010!














2) The gorgeous (I may keep these) Raven Swirl Socks, completed February 2010!














3) The on-time completion of the January 2010 STR Club selection Cascadia!

4) One sock of an impending pair of Skew socks, made with STR Garden, a yarn but not the pattern of a 2009 STR club month. (Umm... Not photoed yet.)

And you know what I am making today? Baby Booties! Do they count as socks? What if they are made with leftover sock yarn?

I'm BACK, baby!

The Cromarty (3 years' worth?!?!)

Once upon a time, in late 2006, I saw an icy blue sweater in Alice Starmore's Celtic collection book, and decided it was time.

"...the icy blue colour and textured surface reflect the stone material. I used a unit of knotwork from the Nigg stone...[and] numerous Pictish stones in Eastern Scotland."

Delicious, yes? Although the yarn was discontinued, I had 4 balls of light blue Rowan of a similar weight.
Commence the search for more balls of yarn: The pattern called for 15. Following online advice and some magic and prayer, I found 16 more in the same dye lot, equaling 20 balls to the required 15.
Commence gauge swatches: Swatches, plural. Apparently I made 4. Got close enough to stitch gauge and nowhere near row gauge. Which leads me to:
What the hell does "Starmore's Bulletproof Gauge" actually mean?!?!? Does it mean that what she says is so perfect that it is un-arguable? OR does it mean her gauge is so tight that it will stop a speeding bullet?
Anyway. 22 rows from the cast on and some quick math led me to the conclusion that I did not have enough yarn. Commence a TWO YEAR time out!
...
...
...
...
...

A couple of years and a few sweaters later and a whim to at least finish the front, and re-work the math from there. I also cut out the 4th repeat of the cables, since it's a cropped length sweater anyway. Figuring the sleeves would take less than 1/4 of the yarn, and the math worked out!
The rest of the sweater flew pretty fast after that (with other projects in between, of course). Mirrored the shorter front and back, and made the sleeves shorter as well. Only other altercation was neckline strips in the round: I figured they would be less apt to roll and stretch, as the neckline was pretty stretched to begin with. They still roll, and look pretty thick.
Overall: The sweater is boxy and unflattering. It is also heavy (about 2 lbs) and warm. But: I am really proud of myself for completing this! I am proud that it is a Starmore, proud that it is an all-over cabled Aran, and proud that (after a long time out and dubious yarn supply) I finished it anyway.
So what is next?

Remiss Sock Club Packages!

Not only have I been remiss in photographing, blogging, and Ravelry-ing my last two Blue Moon Fiber Arts Sock Club packages, I have also been remiss in knitting them. Instead, I have been stash busting/ Christmas knitting these little iPhone cases. These are numbers 3, 4, and 5 in a series. (Here are #1 and #2 using Muddy Autumn Rainbow and Goody Goody) These used bits of My Blue Heaven and Dragon Dance, I believe.


Next we have the very late view of September 2009 selection of gorgeous River Rocked for use in Cat Bordhi's beautiful Knetted Pattern. I took this photo, then filed and stored and did not cast on. Totally forgot about these, which is odd, since I love Bordhi patterns and this colorway. I must have been busy...


Which is why I pressed myself to add these immediately. Well, after a couple of days. This is perhaps my favorite colorway ALL YEAR, the deep, subtle and varied Blackbird from the Raven collection. So many shades that i just love in this yarn. LOVE! There is green and red and oh so many pretty shades.












Also included was the mini skein. Recent activity on the STR blog has asked if we love these so much to justify the cost. Yes, I like them, and yes, could do without them. I have only used one of them, last year, when I ran just a little shy on the 2nd sock. All the rest of them are hanging from the knitting basket. They look very cute, and I like the immediate visual reference of how the colors look together. Sometimes the skein is a little chunked for a good idea of how the colors will look in the forthcoming sock.
However: I LOVE the mini stitch-saver! I have been looking to purchase a tiny one, but hadn't pulled the trigger. It is like useful jewelry!






Forthcoming socks indeed. This year I have made 1.4 pairs from this delightful club: Queen of Beads, which I made into opera fingerless gloves, NOT socks. Rogue Roses has almost one sock done. I needed a break after the 15 or so hours in a row I worked on these in the hot Manilla airport and part of the ensuing flight. I just couldn't stand to look at them after that.

The truth is: I have a massive sock drawer filled with beautiful hand-knit socks in wonderful painted colorways... and I hardly ever wear socks. Or shoes, for that matter. I need to knit socks and give them away!