Christmas Big and Small

So it was the usual knitting Christmas scramble because I just cannot seem to get it together early enough. Knitting my brother's socks came down to the wire, as usual, partly because I chose a deceptively challenging pattern, called John Huston, the Tarnished Hero, and partly because the yarn I used, the usually reliable Trekking XXL (which I special ordered, because I love it so much for men's socks) was frustratingly splitty -- not good if you're knitting at a small gauge and want to work cables without a cable needle.

Here are the socks:

At the same time, I was knitting my annual Christmas ornaments. This year I chose a snowflake, a great pattern, and I knit up a bunch of them. And then gave them all away. Before I took pictures.

And then, at the same time, I took on a last-minute project making an infinity scarf for David's mom. She was nice enough to bring me back some crazy cabled yarn from Germany, OnLine Linie 313 -- a really interesting color palate and construction, but a huge gauge. It's not even on Ravelry. I polled the S&B-ers about what I should do with it, and ended up knitting a garter stitch infinity scarf, which I gave back to David's mom for Christmas. By all accounts she loved it, so I consider that a success.

Here it is:

The crazy thing about knitting the socks and the scarf at the same time was just how different they were in gauge. Socks: 8 stitches/inch. Scarf: 3 stitches/inch. I even had to go to Ack Moore to get needles big enough to accommodate this wild German yarn. Size 19.

It was funny knitting things with size 1.5's and 19's at the same time. To give you an idea, here are the needles I used:

Little Fatties

Andrea knit these little guys. She adapted a pattern to make them as cats. So cute!

Baby Sweaters

Seems like a whole lotta babies are being born these days....Both my daughter (Simma) and I found ourselves knitting baby sweaters at the same time.  It is not a competition, of course, because who could ever say which one of these sweaters is cutest?  They are both brimming with cuteness!

Simma made "Baby Sophisticate" (love that name) with Madeline Tosh chunky and leather buttons that I got from a co-worker (Alice gave a big pile of them to Charlene K who gave some to me who mailed them to Simma) And some old bookbinding leather to match the button for elbow patches. Really, how cute is this sweater!  She made it for her boyfriend's sister's new baby.

I made "Garter Yoke Baby Cardi"with some lace yarn from Sanguine Gryphon (now the Verdant Gryphon) held two strands at once. I have made this sweater twice this year and I really love it, especially the i-cord button band.  I had some cute vintage buttons.  If you are curious about an i-cord button band check it out here. I made this for Charlene P's baby due in January.

549 Rows Later

Well, maybe more like 555 rows, if you include the 3 garter stitch rows at each end....

I have been plugging away at this sampler lace scarf since March.  It has been my commuting project.  I was listening to books on tape when I took the train to and from work while I worked it.  It is Unikatissima or Lace Christmas Rose, by Susann Hajjar.  I loved the way the pattern changed every 20 rows or so.  And the transitions from one pattern to the other were so well conceived.  I am really happy with it.  

As you must know by now, I do love to block my knitting and lace knitting is the most satisfying of all.  You can see the transformation above!  Another thing made me happy about this project: see that tiny little ball of yarn?  That is all that is left of one skein of Misti Alpaca Lace that I got on sale at Rosie's for $5.  Yea!

No More Bare Bear

Because it was such a chilly day yesterday, and on the advice of counsel, I decided to make a raglan sweater for the bear. If I was cold, he probably was, too.

Seems happier, right?

Grin and Bear It

I made a bear for the daughter of a friend of mine who's coming into town later this week. I've used up leftover yarn from a sweater I unraveled a few years back, which is just perfect for this sort of thing. If someone (not me) were enterprising enough, you could probably have a small business making microbrew heirloom teddy bears out of old family sweaters that can't be worn anymore. My mother knew a woman who converted old coats -- tweed, furs, what have you -- into stuffed bears. I still have a bear made from a houndstooth wool swing coat that belonged to my grandmother in the 1930s or '40s.

I like knitting small gifts for friends' kids, but they quickly outgrow sweaters and hats and bootlets. So, I've been thinking more and more about stuffed animals. But they are a pain to make. You've got to make all those pieces, then sew them together, then stuff it all.

This knitted bear pattern is ingenious. It is knit in the round and has virtually no seaming. Short rows create the butt, elbows, and face shaping.

Super-cute, right? It's called Vera and you can find it on Ravelry. Worth every penny of the price.

springtime chemo hat

Since it's already so warm, I thought David's mom might like to shift to a springtime hat. This one calls to mind her Irish heritage. I made it with Cascade Calmer, a decent cotton blend (supposedly discontinued, though).

The pattern is Shedir. It's a really nice pattern -- just interesting enough. The only modification I made was using a tubular cast-on, which I am pretty into these days. This is a good project to do without cable needles. Because otherwise it would be a real pain.

For the record, I would like very much to be put out of the chemo hat business.

What took me so long?

Here are the beautiful mitts my daughter Simma made me for Christmas.  I love them!  The yarn is Madeleine Tosh and the pattern is Annabella by Anna Aponte.

Chemo Hats

I've been knitting a lot of chemo hats these days.

Some, like these first three, are for people I don't know -- patients at Simma's hospital.

This is Ysolda's Urchin pattern, made with some yarn I'd had in my stash for years:

This one is the Hurricane hat pattern, made with superwash leftover from the Monkey Blanket.

And this one, my favorite, also made with leftover Monkey Blanket yarn (all gone now!!) is Wurm. It has a bright blue lining which you can't really see here:

Sadly, I've also been knitting chemo hats for someone I do know. David's mom, who's losing her hair now.

This is the Butterfly hat, made with a loosely spun wool from Lang:

And Molly, made with the softest Cascade Eco Duo, 50% undyed merino and 50% undyed alpaca:

Here's hoping there's a moratorium on chemo hats for a while. Although they're enjoyable to knit, I can't say I enjoy having to knit them.

Monkey Blanket Update

It's often hard to know the fate of things you knit and give as gifts. Sometimes you find out that things didn't end so well -- hats lost or sweaters shrunk. Sometimes, come to find out, garments have been worn to death -- frayed scarves, socks with holes. But more often, you send knitted gifts out into the world never knowing if and how they ever get used.

(Likewise, I think we knitters also get very good and learning who appreciates and takes good care of the things we make for them, and we reward them with more things.)

So, remember the labor-intensive Monkey Blanket I made back in the fall? Well, it's nice to know it's getting put to good use, by its super-adorably-cute owner, Olivia. Her parents report that it gets compliments every time they take her out with it.

How cool and cute is this??

More Catching Up

Over New Year's, I was frantically trying to finish a couple of knitting projects. Yes, this was after all the holiday gift stars, plus a pair of Christmas socks for my brother, which I didn't even have time to photograph. And a Noro scarf for a friend that I also didn't have time to photograph.

Perhaps I was influenced by watching endless episodes of the Twilight Zone marathon, an annual tradition. I made a couple of robots, based on Jess Hutchison's elusive pattern, to take to my editor's kids when I was visiting Chicago. I think they turned out pretty cute.

Catching Up

And now, an intermission from the assiduous argylers. Once again, I am a scofflaw, and have not even started my argyles. Perhaps I'm still suffering from the shame of my last pair. (Or last half pair, I should say more accurately. . .)

This is how busy I've been -- I made a bunch of these small stars as Christmas gifts and am only now getting around to posting them.

Some people found the pattern fiddly. And it is. But it was also easy to memorize, a way to use up stashed sock yarn, and a great thing to carry with me over the holidays to work on while watching tv and in between visiting various members of the fam. I made about ten in total and gave a bunch away before I had time to snap a photo.

I'll post my New Year's project a bit later.

Finishing Argyles

I neglected to to write much of anything in my pattern about finishing the argyles.  That was kind of silly because weaving in all those loose ends and then sewing up the cuff is no easy task.  Especially the sewing.  I designed the argyle pattern so that when you sew it the seam takes up one half stitch on each side and you loose one stitch total to the seam.  That way the argyle pattern in the cuff will be uninterrupted.  This is easier said than done because the stitches are so small.  I used a slightly modified version of the mattress stitch but instead of having a whole stitch as the selvedge, I tried to pick up the bar in the first stitch, making the selvedge a half stitch.  I admit that this was not easy.  You need good light and some magnification would have helped!  But I didn't want to the seam to be too bulky.  So when you sew up your argyles, let me know how it goes.  Then I will write some decent instructions in the pattern. In any event, here's my finished sock.  can you tell that I was limiting myself to yarn in my stash?  It's a little crazy-looking.  But I like it.

Historic Stitch Patterns

Hi all. As you may remember I've been working on an exhibit with some folks from work to go along with the FiberPhiladelphia convention. As a part of it I am making some swatches of a couple of stitch patterns. I am attempting to modernize the language so I can make them! Hopefully you all can lend a hand.

The patterns are the Atlantic City stitch which comes from the Civil War era commonplace book of Nancy Dunlap which is held by the Library Co. The Lily Bell stitch comes from What I know: or hints on the daily duties of a housekeeper (1855).

I think I may have the Atlantic City stitch down, but the Lily Bell stitch is giving me some trouble.

Atlantic City stitch (Mrs. Grant)

Set up 20 stitches or any number divided by two.

1^st row: Take off the first without knitting, knit one, slip one off turned, knit two plain, slip it off turned and so to the end.

2^nd row: 1 stitch off without knitting, knit 2 together, put the thread forward, slip one off turned and knit two together, so on to the end.

3^rd row: Take off the first, knit 1 and slip off the looped stitch always turned knit two plain and slip the looped stitch, knit 2 plain and on to the end.

4^th row: When the wrong side will be towards you, 1^st off without knitting, put the thread forward, slip it off turned, and knit the next two together and so on to the end of the needle.

5^th row: 1^st stitch off without knitting, knit 2 plain (this is the only difference from third row and alternates with this one) slip the looped stitch, knit 2 plain. Slip and so on to the end.

6^th row: just like the 2^nd row and so on.

Atlantic City stitch (Mrs. Grant)

Modern translation

Cast on 20 stitches (or more in multiples of 2)

1^st row (RS): *slip the first stich knit wise, knit 1, slip 1 knit wise, k2*

2^nd row: *slip 1 knit wise, k2tg, move yarn to the front, slip 1 knit wise, k2tg*

3^rd row: *slip 1 knit wise, k1, slip 1 knit wise, k2*

4^th row: *slip 1 knit wise, move yarn to front, slip 1 knit wise, k2tg*

5^th row: *slip 1 knit wise, k2, slip 1 knit wise, k2*

6^th row: *slip 1 knit wise, k2tg, move yarn to the front, slip 1 knit wise, k2tg*

Lily Bell

6 plain, 4 seamed between them, go all across: begin by seaming 4; then cast on 6, knit 4, seam and so on across. Do this for 9 rows: then narrow each side of the bell till there is but 1. Begin another row of bells by seaming 4: cast on 6, as above. Go on this way till the toilet cushion is done. This is a very beautiful stitch.

Lily Bell Modern Translation

Cast on multiple of 10

1^st row: *K6, P4*

2^nd row: *P4, CO6, K4*

Repeat these rows for 9 rows.

13^th row: narrow each side of bell till there is but 1???

Repeat from 1^st row.

One Argyle Sock Finished

Lois's Argyle Sock

Plus, all ends woven in and cuff sewn up. 

Weird color for baby booties...

But if you are die hard fans of the Virginia Tech Hokies they are just perfect! They are called Seamless Baby Booties. Very quick knit and NO SEWING!

Superbowl Argyles

Simma's argyle sock

This is how much knitting you can get done when you go to a superbowl party and you don't really care about the game....

Another Argyle

Here's Andrea's argyle gloves!

Argyle Update

Here are a few pictures of the progress people are making on their argyles.

My mom's (Lois)

Simma's

Angela (left) and me (right)

More Chemo Hats

Here are the chemo hat for teenagers that I knit a few weeks ago.  Hope someone likes them....
Clockwise starting with the black hat:  Turn-a-Square, One Day Beret, and Brattleboro Hat.

Chemo Hats for Teens

As many of you know, my daughter Simma works as a pediatric oncology nurse at Lucille Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto.  She has mentioned to me that selection of teen-appropriate hats is, shall we say, wanting.  People will often donate hats for toddlers and babies and the hat box is filled with crocheted pastel hats.  So, over the holidays my mom and I both started knitting some hats for the teens.  My mom has finished three hats already and here they are.  The pattern is "In-Between Seasons Cap".  They look great!

Simma also told me that she had a patient recently that had a store-bought hat that had a hand-knitted flower on it.  If anyones wants to knit some flowers for hats and send them to the hospital, let me know.  Also, not to forget: boys need hats, too.  

I'll post my hats in a few days.

Argyle Sample

Not to scare you or anything.....

Before the cuff gets sewn up.  Lots of ends to weave in.

I finished the sample of the baby version of the argyle sock and it worked!  This pattern is different from all those vintage ones in that it only has argyle on the cuff.  I couldn't find a pattern like that so I am making our own pattern.  I will write it all up soon.  I have been home sick and I didn't even feel like knitting much of the time. 

A few notes:

If you know that tangly mess is going to drive you crazy, you can just knit the diamonds and then put the lines in with duplicate stitch.  That would reduce the number of bobbins by four.  I put a video (over to the right) on duplicate stitch.  It isn't cheating!  It's more like sewing.  Though I know that some of us hate sewing:-)

Get your yarn and do a swatch.  That is the very first thing to do. Cast-on 18-24 stitches and knit a square.  Bring it along to the next SnB.  Then we will determine what chart you should use.

Let's Get Ready for Argyles!

We are hoping to schedule an SnB for next weekend, but can't be completely sure yet.  In the meantime, it would be good to gather your supplies. Here's a list:

1.  Sock yarn in at least 3 colors.  You will need a lot of one color for the main parts of the sock and then you will need small amounts for the diamonds and lines.  You can also use 5 colors as shown above.  It doesn't actually make it any more difficult.  You will still have the same number of bobbins...

2. Bobbins.  You will need 8 bobbins if you decide to knit the lines into the pattern.  (Some people like to put the lines in by using the duplicate stitch after the sock is done. This way you would need only 4 bobbins. Doing the duplicate stitch later may help cut back on tangled up bobbins...)  A lot of people think bobbins are silly and prefer to do a special little butterfly skein.  I like the bobbins, but I should try it!  Here is a video on how to do that.  

3. Needles.  The argyle part of this pattern will be knit flat.  So you will need either straight or circular needles to knit back and forth on.  You will aslo need a set double-pointed needles - in the same size - to finish the foot of the sock.  Determine the size of your needles based on your yarn.  I like #1's for socks, but you may prefer something else.

I have worked up charts (in Excel!) that have an argyle cuff in several sizes.  So far I have charts with 71stitches, 67 stitches, 63 stitches and a baby one with 27 stitches. You will have to knit a swatch to determine which one will work for you.  I could make more charts.  I can email these to you or just print them out an bring them to the SnB.  Last time we knit these, we used the 63 stitch pattern and it was just a little small, that's why I made up a few different sizes.

The standard finished sock circumference sizes are:

Woman S  7.5"

Woman M  8"

Woman L  8.5"

Man S  9"

Man M  9.5"

Man L  10"

Your sock should have a little negative ease, so it could be about 1/2 inch less than your foot circumference. You measure your foot at the arch.  But probably if you are generally a medium sized woman, you can just go with the measurement above.

So, if you are game, get your supplies and knit a swatch! 

What was thought to be a boy turned out to be a girl...

Little Miss. Wendy Walter-Herr sporting the Torben hat. I thought Wendy was going to be a boy but turned out to be a little girl but still looks terribly cute in blue.

My first Christmas Ornaments

I went to Imagiknit today in the hopes of getting a few very exciting projects started. However after I got home I accidentally drank approximately 3 (OK 4, but who's counting?) glasses of wine and figured I'd save myself the inevitable tears and start my knitting tomorrow. So instead I thought I might post the Christmas ornaments I made this holiday season. I made 2 "Ho, Ho, Ho" ornaments, one for my Nana and one for my boyfriend's parents, both of which went over quite well. In addition, I made a tiny Flyers hoodie for my boyfriend Lane, who is a fan of both the Philadelphia Flyers and hoodies incidentally. He expressly asked me to neither knit or buy a sweater for him this Christmas season but I just couldn't help myself.