Cute?

Simma finished her scarf. Lane likes it.
Pattern: "Just Enough Ruffles" by Laura Chau
Yarn: Blue Sky Suri Merino

Cute!

Here's a picture of River wearing a hat that Simma knit for him. He is the brand new son of some of her friends in San Francisco.

Exceptions

We all have rules we live by. They tend to simplify and clarify decision-making.

I guess that's the point.

As we all probably do, I have many knitting rules. Here are few:

I don't knit with acrylic.
I don't knit blankets.
I don't do fancy borders.

Below, a just-finished blanket with ruffles. I knit it in about a week. It's made of Lyon Brand Jiffy. 100% acrylic.

It's for David's Mom, who's having some serious medical issues.

She needs something that will keep her warm. And something that can be put in the washer and dryer.


And something soft.


And something she can wear as a shawl.


Something that can stay at home or travel in the car and to doctors' appointments.


Something that brings comfort.


And something that's pretty but not precious.

So, rules are great to live by. But sometimes we make exceptions.

SnB Fun

Jon visited and wondered where we got the "furballs" for spinning...

Ang spun some very pretty gray yarn

Wendy and Alice de-tangled a ball of yarn. It takes two to de-tangle.

Jennifer and Wendy compared the sweater they are both knitting.
Fun day.

Cute Hat

I've been home sick for a few days - but not too sick to knit. I made this hat for Val's baby, which is due any day now. It is a modified version of the Gnomey Hat. Her version uses much bulkier yarn. Instead of casting on 50 stitches, I cast on 70. It has a garter stitch edge and a pointy top, except that I ended it with an i-cord and added the little leaf. It's cute because when it is on a head, the leaf kind of dangles. The pattern for the leaf is called Just-a-Leaf. I made this same hat over the summer for Simma to take to the hospital and give to one of her patients. It was her idea to add the leaf. It took me one day to knit. The yarn I got on sale in Cape May and is called Noro Matsuri. It is 80% cotton and 20% wool.

A Very Old Pair of Socks

Hal brought me these socks the other day (I should have taken a picture). One of the heels had a big hole in it. I knit these wooly winter socks for him a very long time ago. Look at them! Why did I do a k2 p2 ribbing on one and a k1p1 ribbing on the other? I have no clue. Also, I have already repaired them once. Where you see the darker blue, including the top of the cuff are all repairs. So I told him that it may be time to part with them. And then he said: " I don't know, Jen. I think these may be the first things you ever knit for me." He HAD to say it! He has always appreciated my knitting. He has also benefited from it and it was sweet that he didn't want to part with these socks. We are talking about socks that are maybe 28 years old. Lately, I am trying to be less sentimental about all our stuff. It's time to part with things, to downsize. But I just couldn't toss them into the trash. So after conferring with Wendy, I came up with a plan to repair them once again.
It was only the heel flap that needed replacing. I just snipped it away and picked up the stitches around where it was. then I knit across the flap and k2tog when ever I got to the gusset edge (Wendy thought part up) and then I just Kitchnered the turned heel to the flap. It worked! The other heel flap is still hanging on, so I left it alone. But I told Hal that he has to baby these socks from now on. No boots or shoes. Slippers and bed only. After all, they are very, very old!

Hats? Done

I start with the very pretty one:This is the Koolhaas hat by Jared Flood. Yarn: Rittenhouse Manos. A hat made for Simma for her birthday. It's so cute in her! This hat is very fun to knit. It goes by fairly quickly and I had to learn to make cables without a cable needle, something I have always wanted to know. I like the yarn ok. It is very soft and the color is great, but it is kind of limp. I like some springyness in my yarn. But I may use it again because when I made this hat I noticed I had a fair amount left. I weighed the finished hat (49g) and then the ball (50g). Seems like a very efficient way to use up this yarn.

The next hat is the current knit-along: Opus Spicatum. Oh, the joys and pleasures of blocking, especially when it is stranded knitting. The pattern really starts to define itself. I have it on a ten inch plate. I have high hopes that it will fit. It could be a little big. We shall see when it is dry.

Pre-blocking