|
The Big, The Bad & The Cuddly
Monday, November 28, 2005  I'm making the "Big Bad Baby Blanket" from Stitch 'N Bitch for my cousin Cara. She's due January 1st and since I don't see her that often (she lives in New Orleans) the fact that she's pregnant had completely slipped my mind.Yesterday I went to P&S Fabrics and bought several skeins of Bernat Satin in Sunset and Maitai. As you can see, I'm not a yarn snob. The yarn is soft, bright and shiny 100% acrylic. Everyone in my family acts like wool is then most unnatural fiber anyway, so I'm not going to feel bad about using acrylic. The parents-to-be don't know if they're having a boy or a girl, so I'm winging it with the color. Cara loves orange and I don't like clichéd baby pastels, so I  went for bright and cheery orange and fuchsia. When I got home I made a few swatches and started knitting. I'm not following the pattern exactly, because my gauge is all off. I'm using a double strand of worsted instead of sport, so it's gonna be especially big and bad. I'm almost halfway done and I just started knitting it yesterday. Isn't that crazy?
posted at 6:26 PM . link .   .
(5) comments
5 Comments:
You are such a good cousin. My dearest friend is preggo and due in Jan., and I still haven't knit anything for the soon to be born babe. I was thinking this blanket looked good, but worried that it would take so long that I'd resent it. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad!
Ok, I made this pattern with a double strand of Shine and it took me like two months! (I was particularly lazy about it and the cotton was heavy.) I'm using size 13 needles. It's coming out huge. More like a kiddy blanket than a baby blanket. I had originally cast on fewer stitches and used a tighter gauge, but it seemed so tiny. Oh well. The kid's gonna grow, right? Amy, I know what you mean. I'm a notorious selfish knitter. I should rename my site! I just finished a sweater for my husband, the first ever knit him, which I started last year. First he said it was too warm (a double strand of Patons Classic Merino Wool will do that to you) but now it's his favorite thing. I'm also planning on making my grandmother an big old Homespun afghan for Christmas. I'm just waiting on these super huge circular needles I ordered to knit it. I also made this pattern using a Lion brand acrylic yarn called Pacific for my sister because she lives in Hawaii. It was a gift for her second baby. I used the needles the pattern called for and it was still HUGE. It probably doesn't matter what size needles you use.
By
What's Next... Tuesday, November 22, 2005 I want to order some yarn from KnitPicks, but I don't know what to get. I'm thinking of making this sleeveless sweater from Vogue Knitting Holiday'05. As I have stated, it has no sleeves, which should make it go a little quicker. I'm thinking of using KnitPicks Shine. I also want to get some Twirl in Grass, to make I don't know what, probably a scarf. I just dig the color. I finished my Christmas bags. I'll probably make a few more, for my mom. I bought two pounds of lavender to stuff them with, not knowing how much two pounds of lavender actually is. I might get some fancy candles to put in with the sachets, just to make it more of a "gift experience". Last year I made washcloths from Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille and wrapped them up with fancy soaps. Those went over well. I should check out the candle selection at Target the next time I go. posted at 9:54 PM . link . .
(6) comments
6 Comments: That's a great sweater. I used KnitPicks Shine for a sleeveless sweater this summer. I loved knitting with it, but I haven't finished yet so I don't know how it wears. Very soft though.
Wow, that's pretty! Shine is good yarn, beautiful colours and lovely to knit with but it's cotton so it's real heavy (I don't know enough about garment construction to know if that's a good thing for this piece or not). It is super soft.
Jen,
Cottage46,
Hey, the Orange-Vanilla Trapp candles are transcendent. I love that sleeveless sweater! Shine is the only KnitPicks yarn that I found to be satisfactory. The colors are a bit on the crayon side, so you might want to get a color card before ordering a large qty. for a project. The one ball I tried out had some weird slubs and knots, but it was otherwise ok.
Disappointed Monday, November 21, 2005 I can hardly believe it myself, but I finished weaving in the ends on Kyle's "Marine Pullover". I'm blocking it right now and I'll post pictures when it's dry. I made Kyle try it on and it fit well, but he said it's too hot. This is why I don't want to knit clothes for people. It's bad enough when I'm disappointed with a sweater I've made myself, it's a million times worse when someone else has complaints. Now he wants a pair of socks. I've never made socks before, so this should be fun. He wants some really thick, bootie-type socks, so if you know of any big sock patterns for worsted weight yarn, let me know. posted at 6:49 PM . link . .
(3) comments
3 Comments:
I just posted one on my blog - Guitar Boy socks. There is an appalling lack of "guy" socks out there. Footies, worsted, #4 needles. They have a cool/weird slip-stitch rib on the front. I'm working out a couple kinks in the pattern, so if you decide to knit it just holla anytime you have a question. Don't feel obligated.
Here's another, but they are a double-strand of worsted. Eek!
Hey Jen,
Endless Weaving In of Ends Thursday, November 17, 2005  I started knitting this sweater for Kyle last February. He was always bitching that I knit ten sweaters for myself and twenty for the dog, but none for him. So I told him I'd make him one. We've been married for years, so the boyfriend curse doesn't apply. I chose a pattern from Hollywood Knits Style, the "Marine Pullover". I thought it would be easy to knit since it has no shaping and drop shoulders. Basically, all I'd have to knit were four rectangles. But oh, how big those rectangles are! It's a 50" chest. So, I knit. And knit. And knit knit knit. I passed several months in boring, stockinette-stitch-knitting purgatory. During the time I was knitting away, I took machine knitting classes and then I bought my own machine. I got so frustrated towards the end, I had a few inches left on the second arm, so I hung it on the machine and finished it by cheating. At least that's what Kyle thought. Anyway, I started sewing it together months ago and then set it aside. Every once in a while Kyle would ask me if I was ever going to finish his sweater. Now it's getting cold again, so I busted out the behemoth, finished the seams, knit the collar and now I'm working on my favorite part: weaving in the ends. I'd rather jam a pencil in my eye than weave in ends, but I have to suffer through it. If I don't finish it before the spring thaw, I don't think Kyle will ever speak to me again.The yarn I used is a double strand of Patons Classic Wool in Dark Grey Mix and Navy for the stripes. I had to reconfigure the pattern using the formula in Stitch 'n Bitch Nation  .
posted at 8:58 PM . link . .
(0) comments
0 Comments:
Merry Knitmas Wednesday, November 16, 2005  For Christmas I'm making these little bags from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts . I adapted the pattern to make it on my knitting machine. Not that making them on the machine is easier. It's actually really frustrating. I cast on using the main bed and the ribber as if I was going to knit some ribbing, but I set it up to knit circular. It's a really complicated process. If I do everything right I can make one of these bags in an hour, but I hardly ever do everything right. I put a little muslin bag of lavender in the knitted bag. Voila! Lavender sachet! Now I just have to make ten more of them. I made this ornament by hand (not machine!) following the directions in Handknit Holidays : Knitting Year-Round for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Winter Solstice . It's a really good book. There are a million things in it I want to make, especially the Over-the-Knee Socks by Cindy Taylor. I've never knit a pair of socks before, so of course the first ones I want to make are form-fitting, over-the-knee length stockings that have eyelet cables running up the back. Easy peasy.
posted at 10:35 PM . link . .
(4) comments
4 Comments:
Socks are super fun! They are not nearly as scary as you think. And you've cabled before, so that won't be hard. The heel won't have cabling on it. If it's a short-row heel, it's all in how you wrap your stitches (Nona has a tutorial that is helpful with three kinds of short rows illustrated). If it's a traditional "turned" heel with a flap, it's even easier. You probably don't have to cable the heel anyway. I think I'll try some easier socks first. My husband has been bugging me to make him some.
There you go...try these - you can pick a more manly-colored yarn...or go with the Bob Marley stuff... I love how creative you were with adapting patterns for your knitting projects.
By
Gimme an "L"! Tuesday, November 15, 2005 I know, it's disgraceful how infrequently I update this site. It's very bad of me. It was a chore to take pictures and then format them the way I had them before, but now I've uploaded all my knitting pictures to flickr, so it will be easier for me to update.  I made a few things recently, one of which is this nifty initial sweater for Lulu. I made the body on my knitting machine and did the ribbing by hand. I could have done the ribbing on the machine, too, but the ribber is tricky sometimes. I'm going to have to take the ribbing seminar at FIT again. Eventually. After I made the sweater I thought it looked a little bland, so I found a scrap of wool I felted for a different project and cut out an L. The first L i made was a Laverne & Shirley script L, but it looked a little off. The more I stared at it, the more it ceased to resemble a letter at all, so I cut a regular capital L. I used a contrasting magenta yarn to sew it on. I like the way it came out, although I bound off the ribbing on the bottom too tight, so it bunches up a little. Lulu doesn't mind, though, and that's what really counts, right?
posted at 3:30 PM . link . .
(2) comments
2 Comments:
I found my way here via Flickr. Funnily enough, I used to frequently visit your spacegirl site many many years ago. It was fun to come across it again.
Spacegirl was eons ago! I swear, I'm getting old.
|
|
|
ANGRY KNITTER Journal! 
or get an I Really Should Have Knit That Gauge Swatch Journal! 
|
|
|
coming soon |
I thought knitting was supposed to be relaxing... |
|
Link back to the ANGRY KNITTER: 
the ANGRY KNITTER RSS Feed buy stuff I knit TRIPPYswell my illos my illo store |
|