December 2006 Archives

I'm ending 2006 with a bang.

Details

Pattern Entrelac Throw from Vogue Knitting Baby Blankets Two. This is a great little book. I'm surprised I haven't seen more baby blankets knit up from this book. At $11 it's a great buy too.
Yarn RYC Cashsoft DK and Cashsoft Baby DK in creamy white baby DK #801, light blue DK #503, tan baby DK #804, greenish-blue baby DK #805, and olive DK #516. I used just over 1 ball each (yes, *lots* of leftovers).
Needles Addi Turbos 4 mm / US #6
Measurements About 29" square.
Modifications Very minimal -- I substituted Lion Brand Cotton Ease (at 16 sts per 4") with Cashsoft DK (at 22 sts per 4"). I didn't do any extra squares so I got a much smaller blanket. Since I had a smaller gauge I did 3 sts in garter on the outer edges instead of the 2. I also mixed up the color combos because I didn't want the center to start out as a mirror image of itself.

More thoughts and photos behind the cut...

Even though I haven't had much time to knit, I did get a little something done.

No I didn't knit these.

I did the tech editing. They're Kate Gilbert's latest -- Lise booties.

This is a seriously clever pattern. The whole bootie is knit in the round, from cuff to toe. No seaming, no picking up stitches, nothing. The shaping is adorable and the way it's knit is so smart. So much so that I would ask Kate to edit my patterns (if, you know, I got off my butt and published any).

I showed my brother and he already requested a pair for my nephew (with a jingle bell instead of the pompon). Bonus -- I can use up some scraps too.

I'm even tempted to make one with a longer leg as a Christmas decoration (maybe with some fur around the top?).

So, if you're looking for a quick and unique baby gift, or you know an adult who'd appreciate wearing something a little whimsical, this is the perfect pattern.

This weekend's WIP* -- Christmas Lights 2006.

* I did get a little knitting done. I'm about a third through the leg of knee high number 2. And like all good hand dyed yarn, it's striping completely differently than knee high number 1.

  

These simple socks are over 2 years in the making. And now that they're done, there's really very little to say about them.

Yarn Regia Crazy Stripes (6 ply variety) in color 05402 (Passion)
Pattern My own toe-up with short row heel and Judy's magic cast-on. The cast-on is my new favorite for toe-up socks. For the leg I did a simple 2 row slip stitch rib -- round 1: k3 p1 and round 2: k3 sl1 wyif. They're reversible, although I'll probably wear them with the purl side showing most often. For bind off I did k2 *slip both stitches back on left needle and k2tog tbl, k1* (the bind off from the leaf lace shawl).
Thoughts on the yarn It's thicker than most sock yarn I use, but I like it (for an occasional change). It's not very soft but I haven't washed them yet -- they'll probably soften up a little. The yardage is a little light in these balls. I used every bit of yarn to get them as long as they are. If you have a bigger or wider foot than mine (women's US size 8, 8.5 inches wide) you'll probably want a third ball. The color repeats seem completely random, and even though I tried to choose a point to bind off where the yarn would remain the same color, the color changed about 10 stitches before the end on both socks. At least one thing matches on this pair of socks.

This post is a combination of all the random mini-posts I've been meaning to make. I assert up-front that it has no logical flow. It's Friday though...so that should make us all happy.

• My Christmas Knitting: Thank you for all your suggestions! The front-runner is Celtic Dreams (thanks Debi!), in Black Water Abbey Moss (super-bonus -- it's in my stash!). There are some beautiful Celtic Dreams out there -- Mary Beth's, Cassie's (sorry Cassie, this is the best pic I could find of yours, but it doesn't do it justice), and Deb's. Julia is working on one now, although she got many inches into the sweater before she ripped and started over. If I pick Celtic Dreams I'll have to do some serious thinking about sizing.
• I'm considering making a wrap for my company holiday party on the 15th. I emailed Christy about it and she offered up her wrap if I didn't have time to make one of my own. Instead of telling me how crazy I am, she came up with a way to fix it when I come to my senses. Love that.
• Knitting Tips Posts: I always have a tough time with blog posting at the end of the year because I'm so busy at work (and have less time to knit and talk about what I'm knitting). I've decided to put together a series of posts on different kinds of knitting tips. I was hoping for 12 (a play on the 12 days of Christmas) but I'm not there yet. I thought it would be fun to have one day's list be things from you all. Not only does this mean I have less to write (let's be honest here, it's a selling feature), but I can get to know more of you, and learn a few things myself. So leave your best tips. These can be purely about knitting (e.g., my favorite way to avoid ladders on DPNs is to...) or knitting-related (e.g., my favorite way to encourage less stash is to...). Don't be shy. Leave as many as you like, and If there are lots of tips I'll break them out by category. Just leave them in the comments. If there's enough, I'll assemble them onto a separate web page too. And since it's gift-giving season, I'll pick a couple of tips at random to get a little something from my stash (sock yarn? lace yarn? We'll talk after I pick your name to find something good for you). You'll get one name in the hat for each tip you leave.

Have a great weekend, everyone. And don't forget -- leave a comment with some tips!