Decisions, Decisions

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I'm so far behind on blogging I've circled back around and am now in front again! (Would that were really possible!)

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Seriously, though, and in case anyone was wondering, I'm no longer unemployed. After 9 months of thumb-twiddling, I'm under contract again and am working mostly from home, which has obvious benefits (set my own hours; work in my jammies, etc.), but a few drawbacks (harder to be disciplined; more distractions, cabin fever, etc.).

I've been in talks with these people for four long months, which was very frustrating because I'd hear something promising one day and then hear nothing for two weeks and think that they'd changed their minds. Such is the nature of this biz I'm in.

Anyway, suddenly, I have less time for extracurricular pursuits, (doggone job gettin' in the way of my personal life!) and blogging is one of them. Not to worry -- I will still be blogging, but probably just once or twice a week, at least for the next little while.

I am, however, knitting again, and have two FOs I need to share here, at some point. I also have a new one I will cast on for tonight, but I need help with a pattern decision.

You may recall that my sister Anne, whom I met in Blacksburg for the Hokie Healing blanket sewing party back in June, won a lovely cashmere cabled scarf as a doorprize:

lucky winner!
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I want to knit her a (somewhat) matching hat as a belated birthday gift, (I'll be seeing her this coming weekend), and have narrowed the hat patterns down to the following:

• Maple Seed Hat free pattern from Knititude:

or,

• 3 AM Cable Hat free pattern from SMarieK Knits:

I think I'm leaning towards the cabled pattern, which then leads me to my next decision: whether I want a long fold-over ribbed cuff (bottom photo), or a short one (top photo). I think I prefer the long, fold-over cuff, but I'm not sure I have enough yarn for that.

The yarn is Debbie Bliss Pure Cashmere in red:


to match Anne's scarf, and I bought three 50-yard hanks over the phone from Mosaic (thanks, Gina!). Will 150 yards of worsted weight be enough to do the long cuff? Or should I play it safe and keep the ribbing section short?

And speaking of Mosaic....

Hey, Gina -- if you're reading this, maybe you can help me. There was some lovely but unlabeled yarn in my goodie bag from the sewing party, and I was hoping you might be able to identify it?

Here's a picture:

mystery yarn
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It appears to possibly be hand-dyed, (maybe with Kool Aid?), but I could be wrong about that, and seems to possibly be a chunky/bulky weight. I'm pretty sure it's 100% wool.

Gina -- if you remember the brand, I'd be eternally grateful! Thanks!

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Burnt Orange and Chicago Maroon

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According to Virginia Tech's website, those are the official Hokie colors -- "burnt orange" and "Chicago maroon", adopted back in 1896. Didn't realize maroon was associated with Chicago, (I always think of how they dye the river green on St. Paddy's day), but, there you have it.

Anyway, I bring that up because I have a little update on the Hokie-knitting goings-on in my little world.

You may recall the Hokie Hope Hat I knit for my friend on the VT faculty. She received it back in early May, and emailed me a heartfelt thank you, and followed up with a sweet thank you card:


In her email, she wrote:

"I LOVE my Hokie Hope Hat! What makes it extra special is that you made it! I will wear it with love and pride --- you have no idea how much it means to me. I am touched beyond words! And for the blankets being knitted with the remnant yarn, I again, am touched beyond words.

Your gift is from the heart as well as your hands. You have made me smile and truly feel "happy" again. Thank you for finding such a special way to share in our loss while also celebrating our lives (and friendships)."

I share her words here not to toot my own horn, but in hopes that it might brighten the days of anyone who has been knitting for Virginia Tech and wondering if their knitting has been received in the spirit in which it was intended. Rest assured, it is.

Judi's hat was knit with some luscious Malabrigo:

purchased locally at the Yarn Lounge. And lucky for me, I still had lots of yarn leftover after the hat was finished, so I knit several squares for Mosaic's Hokie Healing blankets:

log cabin square
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two VT logo squares using Linda's pattern

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And I still have enough of the orange leftover to knit at least one more square. Last week, Unraveled's Mary Jane Watkins was gracious enough to take my three squares and several others knit by fellow Tuesday Night Knitters, and ship them off to Mosaic with other squares collected at her shop. Thanks a million, Mary Jane!

Speaking of the Tuesday Night Knitters and Hokie squares -- one of our knitters, Linda M., knit a whopping eighteen (18!) blanket squares! So many, in fact, that she won some gorgeous Lorna's Laces yarn from Phyl's blog contest! She brought it to knitting last night, but I didn't take any pictures, so you'll just have to imagine some pretty yarn....

And speaking of pretty yarn, how about some more Burnt Orange and Chicago Maroon:


After I pestered Scout for a solid two weeks, she somehow found a spare moment in her crazy-busy life to dye me some Hokie-colored yarn. (Thanks, Scout!) Both hanks are 100% superwash merino (a Louet Gems base yarn, I believe). One is a worsted weight, and the other is sold as "bulky", although I'd probably call it a heavy-worsted (about 4 stitches per inch on 9's), rather than chunky or bulky. Still lovely to knit with, and knit with it I did.

And what else would I make, but a hat:

Specs:

• Yarn: Scout's Handpainted Swag in a custom Hokie colorway
  
• Gauge: 4 stitches per inch
• Needles: U.S. size 9 (5.5 mm) Denise circulars & Clover bamboo 7" DPNs
  
• Pattern: cast on 80 stitches, join in the round, knit every round for ~6-7", decrease & finish according to Super Simple Hat Calculator; make pom-pom and attach.
• Size: ~20" circumference
  
• Recipient: either Tanya's Project Hokie Hope or the Knitting for Virginia Tech group -- whichever group wants it first
  

Yes, at the risk of ridicule, I've knit another hat. It's no secret -- I love knitting hats. Easy, mindless, quick. Only slightly more complicated than a scarf, and takes a fraction of the time to knit -- they make great gifts. My feeble, unemployed brain can handle hats, so, for the time being, I'm clinging to hat knitting for all its worth. Hats are probably the one knitted item I wear the most, (of course, not at this time of year), more so even than socks or scarves or sweaters.

But I do get teased about my constant hat knitting, and perhaps am getting a little too sensitive about that. Case in point: I may have snapped and actually told someone in my knitting group last night to "Bite me!", after being teased once again, about my hat knitting. (My humble apologies, Linda.) And I may never, ever, live that down. Sigh....

So let me change the subject by distracting you with pom-pom remnants:


So far, I've only used up the heavier Hokie-colored yarn -- not sure what I will do with the worsted weight, but am open to ideas. And anyone who snidely suggests a hat is just asking for it!

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If you're sick of seeing knitted hats...

...you've come to the wrong place.

Nephew #3 requested a hat for his birthday, and wanted solid black (snore).

But, ask and ye shall receive.

Specs:

• Yarn: Cestari 3-ply 100% merino in Bulky Black Rose from Unraveled
  
• Gauge: 3 stitches per inch
• Pattern: Cast on 60 stitches; join in round; K3,P3 for 1½", then knit every round for 4½"; decrease & finish according to Super Simple Hat Calculator
• Needles: U.S. size 11 (8mm) Denise interchangeable circulars & Crystal Palace bamboo 8" DPNs

Proof positive that I do, in fact, finish things once in awhile.

I'll have a few more FO's to share in a day or so. And they'll be more colorful, too. :-)

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Hokie Hope Hat

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At last, I can show you what I only hinted at on Saturday. It is not a blanket square, as many of you guessed. A few of you saw me cast on for this last Tuesday night, so you had advanced knowledge as to what the final product would be. And anyone who reads this blog regularly should not be surprised that it is, in fact, a hat.

It really doesn't (shouldn't) take me an entire week to knit a hat, but, then, I don't always knit every day, especially when I have things like plant sales and gardening to attend to. Also, on Sunday there was a little scare involving my dad and an emergency room (all is well, now), which sorta messed with that day's knitting mojo.

The hat was actually complete last night, I just needed to make the pom-pom today -- my very first, as a matter of fact, and I think it came out fairly well, if I do say so myself.

Specs:

• Yarn:
• * Main color: Malabrigo worsted 100% merino in "Velvet Grapes" (#204)
  
• * Stripe & pom-pom: Malabrigo worsted 100% merino in "Sealing Wax" (#102)
  
• Gauge: 5 stitches per inch
• Needles: U.S. size 8 (5mm) Denise circulars & Clover bamboo 7" DPNs
  
• Pattern: cast on 100 stitches, join in the round, knit every round for ~6-7", adding contrasting stripe(s) as desired; switch to DPNs, decrease & finish according to Super Simple Hat Calculator; make pom-pom and attach.
• Size: 20" circumference
  
• Recipient: high school friend Judi, who is now on Virginia Tech faculty

* I can't say enough nice things about Malabrigo. It is incredibly soft, a joy to knit with, creates a beautiful fabric, and I just love the mottled effect of those kettle-dyed colors. Granted, it is single-ply 100% merino, so, pilling is inevitable, but, a small price to pay, in my opinion, for such a lovely end-product.


Pom-poms are a risky design choice, and although the hat was nice as-is, I felt it needed another dash of orange. I will send it to Judi with a note telling her that to remove the pom-pom if it's not her style. Or, if hats in general (or this one in particular) are not her style, perhaps she can give it to a student in need of a little Hokie spirit.

The best part is, I have lots of leftover yarn with which I can now start knitting some squares for Mosaic's Hokie Healing blankets:

(click ^ for mailing address)

If you, too, decide to send in knitted or crocheted blanket squares to Mosaic, don't forget to also enter yourself in Phyl's blog contest!

Or, if blanket squares aren't your thing, and you'd rather knit & donate something else, check out Tanya's Project Hokie Hope or the Knitting for Virginia Tech group blog.

Linda in our knitting group has created a VT logo square for the Mosaic blankets -- I think Jane will be posting the pattern on her blog, but if not, I can post it here and/or email it to folks. And a Blacksburg knit-blogger has created a Hokie-bird intarsia chart that can be incorporated into blanket squares. Leave her a comment and she'll email you the chart.

I'm also attempting to commission a professional yarn dyer to create a custom "Hokie Hope" maroon and orange colorway. Nothing is firm yet, but if this would interest you, let me know, and also what your preferred yarn weight might be. If and when I know more, I will announce it here on this blog.

And of course, for those who'd rather donate cash, there's always the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund.

God Bless knitters who are always willing to jump in and help during times of crisis.

And God Bless Virginia Tech!

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How Appropriate

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This was in the Lynchburg paper on the Saturday of the Sedalia Spring Fiber Festival:

(^click for big)

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GIVE ME A "C"!

GIVE ME A "G"!


WHAT'S THAT SPELL?!?!

...No word I know of, in the English language.

But they are letters of the alphabet, and there will be 24 more of them, plus a few other squares, and thankfully, the rest are being knit by other folks in our knitting group, to make an alphabet baby blanket for someone we know who is having a boy. (Fear not, I don't think she reads my blog, so I don't think the surprise is spoiled.)

Specs:

• Yarn: Linie 12 Clip 100% cotton, color #190, purchased from Unraveled
  
• Gauge: 5 stitches per inch
• Needles: U.S. size 5 (3.75 mm) Clover Bamboo circulars
• Pattern: Alphabet squares from Knitting Knonsense
  
• Size: ~7" square, although I didn't measure, and right now, unblocked, they appear taller than they are wide.

All the letter blocks will be the same color, and Issy has agreed to sew them all together, for which I am most grateful. I can't wait to see how it looks after it's all sewn together. And I will insist on taking pictures of the finished object, when we give it to its recipient. So stay tuned here for that, hopefully within a few weeks.

Moving on to a different, but still knitting-related topic, did anyone catch these socks on Antiques Roadshow (Salt Lake City part 1) last week?


They look like they were just made yesterday. Amazing. You can watch a little video of the appraisal here.

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Once Upon a Time...

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...long, long ago, I knit this scarf for my sister-in-law's Autumn birthday:

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That variegated orange/green/yellow yarn is Online Linie 149 Rush, (color #02), and I therefore called it my "Autumn Rush" scarf. I gave it to her at our family's early Thanksgiving, and life was good.

About a year later, I knit her this hat:

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using Misti Alpaca Chunky (color # 1380) for the main color and leftover yarn from the "Autumn Rush" scarf for the wide stripe. I gave it to her for Christmas. Life was good.


More recently, at a knit night back in February, I admired this beautiful sweater knit by fellow TNK'er Patsy B.:


which she later offered at her recent yarn sale:

The sweater's main yarn is Berocco Foliage, carried along with a mohair boucle, and is remarkably similar, if not identical, to Linie Rush. I wouldn't be surprised if both yarns came from the same mill, although Rush is slightly bulkier and has a slightly higher percentage of acrylic.

Anyway, after a few emails with my sister-in-law, (recipient of the Autumn Rush scarf & hat set), she agreed with me that she needed to become the new owner of Patsy's sweater, and so the purchase was made last week, and the hand-off occurred last night:

It fits perfectly!
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Patsy - you did a wonderful job, and Mary is very happy with her new sweater! Life is good!


Another knitted-item-hand-off occurred last night, as we celebrated my niece's 10th birthday, and I was finally able to see how well (or badly) her gift hat fit:

It's a little big, but she tells me she loves it, so I'm a happy knitter. I think it looks really cute on her, too. And, unless it gets accidentally felted in the wash, it should last her a good long time. Life is good.

The birthday knitting never ends, though, when there are 25 people in one's family, including a dozen kids.

I've already had requests for:

• flip-flop socks for sister T.'s late April birthday (need to get crackin' on these)
• a solid black beanie for nephew B.T.'s late May birthday
  
• yellow & white legwarmers for dancing niece L.E.'s late June birthday
  
• black & white legwarmers for dancing niece L.K.'s early October birthday
  

Plus, I have at least two squares to knit for a baby blanket our knitting group is making for a pregnant member. They should go fast, though, once I get the yarn.

No wonder I never finish any knitted item I start for myself!

I already have yarn for the flip-flop socks and the black beanie. Just need to find the legwarmer yarn, including white eyelash (eek). (Kids.) Perhaps I'll find some of the legwarmer yarn this weekend at the Sedalia Spring Fiber Festival.

According to my sister, (the dancers' mother), the legwarmers must be machine-washable (& preferably machine-dryable, as well), which means acrylic yarn may have to be considered (double-eek!). Oh, say it isn't so!

If anyone can recommend a decent, (preferably worsted, heavy-worsted or chunky weight) superwash wool that can tolerate machine washing AND drying, I'm open to suggestions.

Tomorrow I hit a huge used book sale at the library (making a bee-line for the craft books), before I head west for the fiber festival.

Life is good.

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Fan of Green Cables

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I am slowly-but-surely progressing on the braid & bobble hat:


Here's a closer shot, and I'm folding up the bottom edge to show how it's to be worn:

I couldn't figure out, when I first started knitting this, why there was a cable on the wrong side next to that big section of seed stitch. It's not apparent (at least not to me) in the pattern picture that one is to fold up that bottom edge when wearing the hat. I like that design feature, but at this point I'm still wondering if blocking will be sufficient to keep that edge folded up, or if I'll need to tack it down with yarn or thread. Time will tell....

I love knitting this hat and although I'm painfully slow, I'm getting faster, now that I can better predict the upcoming stitches and have the cables and crosses (mostly) memorized. I've finished three repeats thus far, with seven more to go before it will be sewn together and the crown knitting begins. At first, I could only get through 8 rows in an evening of television knitting. Now I can get through an entire 16-row repeat (whoo hoo) in one sitting.

And I'm now in love with cables, (hence the corny pun in this post's title), and predict there will be many more cable-y patterns in my future. I'm currently eyeing the lovely Cable & Garter Stitch Turtleneck by Vermont Fiber Designs, and need to buy the pattern and start thinking about yarn. All in good time.

I've been buying lots of patterns recently, including a bunch from Heartstrings FiberArts, and all three of The Girl From Auntie's cute patterns. Very inspiring.

I'm also encouraged that my Dumb-Donald/Lidsville hat has contracted somewhat back into shape, after drying, from this:

to this:
It's still bigger than it originally was, and therefore may now be too big for the niece's head. She'll be given the option to reject it, if it doesn't fit or she doesn't like it. And I always give my knitted-gift recipients at least one "real" gift, along with their knitted item, in case they don't like the knitwear that's been foisted upon them.

That blue glass head comes in handy for drying purposes. It fits inside my dryer on the drying rack, and the glass heats up and therefore helps the inside of the hat to dry as fast (or faster) than the outside. An unexpected bonus. Glad I bought the thing!

This should be a fun week:

Tonight my beach-living sister and her daughters are coming into town, and we'll be heading off to dinner with our parents.

Tomorrow, I believe we're going to the Metro Richmond Zoo, like last year's excursion. Should be fun -- I love the zoo. And the people who own and run it are so nice. Last year, they told us that they're putting in a train this year -- I hope it's up and running tomorrow!

Friday I'm driving west to stay with my Lynchburg-living sister and attend Saturday's Sedalia Spring Fiber Festival with her and perhaps her knitter-daughter, as well. Can't wait -- I love fiber festivals!

In the meantime, why is it that, now that I'm finally ready to make the switch from old Blogger to new Blogger, I no longer have an invitation to switch? Isn't that always the way?

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Richmond, We Have a Problem....

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Remember this F.O. from the other day?


Remember my mentioning that I was going to wet block it because I thought the crown seemed a little wonky?

Today I finished weaving in the ends and gave it a good Eucalan soak, and the hat has grown.

A lot.

there's a blue glass wig form underneath there, somewhere
(you can see the nose pokin' out a little, on the left)
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Of course, before I fret, I should consider whether my 10-year-old niece recipient might gain invaluable street cred while wearing this monstrosity:

Yo, yo, yo! Wazzup, homefrog?

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Or perhaps she'd like to emulate Dumb Donald:



But she's too young to remember or appreciate Lidsville:

Sid & Marty Krofft would be so proud of my accomplishment
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Right now I've got the thing drying, upside-down, on a rack in my dryer. Fingers crossed....

Oh, and I found a dropped stitch.

Could this be another hat destined for charity?

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Inspiration

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Inspired by a recent book purchase:


I interrupted my other hat-in-progress to knit this one:

Specs:

• Yarn:
• *A: Brown Sheep Burley Spun in Pinetree (#BS68) - 100% wool
  *B: Rowan Big Wool in "Flirty" (#38) - 100% wool
  
• Gauge: 2.5 stitches per inch
• Needles: U.S. size 13 (9 mm) Denise circular & Brittany Birch 7½" DPNs
• Inspiration: Valery**, from Hip Knit Hats***
  
• Size: ~20" circumference
• Recipient: Niece with upcoming birthday, whose favorite color is green
  
• Modifications: **significant, in that I used the book's pattern mainly as inspiration. The original pattern instructs to knit it from the top (crown) down. I prefer to knit hats from the bottom up, which is how I knit this one. And so, my pattern is as follows:
  

1. Cast-on 50 stitches of yarn B and join in the round.
   
2. Purl 6 rounds, then K 1 round.
   
3. Switch to A and K 5 rounds.
   
4. Switch to B, K 1 round and P 6 rounds.
5. Repeat steps 3 & 4 once more.
6. Switch to A, knit 4 rounds.
7. Decrease & finish according to Super Simple Hat Calculator

***Note: This book has lots of errata. If you own it, make sure you print the corrections pdf before you start a pattern from it. Also, there's a freebie extra pattern on the errata website, as a consolation for putting up with all the mistakes.

I still love this book, for all the fun and inspiring patterns within it. I may not follow each pattern to the letter, but will no doubt get some great ideas from it.

I think I'm going to wet-block this hat, because the crown seems a little wonky to me. My first attempt at the crown was even worse, so I had to rip and re-knit. I'm happier with the second attempt, but not completely. Here's hoping a good soak will resolve the wonkiness.

Speaking of inspiring knitting books, another great one I recently acquired for a (relative) song, (compared to the triple-digit going rate this book gets on ebay), is this classic:


When I grow up, I want to knit one of her patterns. For now, I'll just flip through the book, try and learn something, and remain inspired.

For more Alice Starmore inspiration, check out Laurie's Oregon Vest. She even played an evil April Fool's joke on her readers, yesterday. But all is well.

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Odds & Ends

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I thought I'd catch up on what's been going on in my knitting world, including some recent purchases, as well as yet another new project.

First of all, isn't it amazing the oddball stuff you can get on ebay? I'd been wanting a styrofoam wig form in order to block and model finished hats, but after a little ebay-surfing, decided I liked this cobalt blue glass number even better:


Its head circumference is 22", which is perfect for most adult heads, including mine. (I actually have a 23" pumpkin head, but this way I know my hats won't be too big -- they can always stretch a little). And the thing is hollow, in case I want to fill it with... um... yarn, maybe? Candy? Knitting needles?

In the category of "I'm not knitting socks right now, so have no business buying sock-related items, but, by gosh, I'm stocking up for some future sock-knitting bonanza", here are some recent socky-related purchases:

Darning Eggs -- also purchased on ebay:

I suspect the one on the left is really an orange juicer,
but it's interesting, all the same
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I bought these darning eggs more for their decorative, rather than functional aspects, although one of them might come in handy, if I actually had any handknit socks that needed darning. First, I'd have to actually knit the darn things. No pun intended. (Okay, maybe a little.)

And, if and when the sock-knitting mood strikes, I have a recently-purchased fantastic reference book to draw from:

Sensational Knitted Socks comes highly recommended
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In the category of "I still have no business buying sock-related items, but I'm a sucker for pretty packaging, and oh-my-gosh it's madras plaid!", can you guess what these are?

If you guessed the Lantern Moon "Sox Stix" in Rosewood, you'd be right.
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But wait, there's more!

More inappropriate sock-knitting related purchases, including this yarn:

BMFA "Socks That Rock" lightweight in "Fire on the Mountain"
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Would you just look at those colors?!! Resistance is futile!

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I fully admit that this yarn was purchased for the "collection", as I have no immediate plans to knit it. I've decided that even though I have what seems to be a sock yarn stash beyond my life expectancy, rather than feeling guilty about that, I just have to come to terms with the fact that some of it is just for "collecting". And I may very well have to add to that collection, if I run across any Colinette Jitterbug in the near future. Talk about gorgeous colors!

I also could not resist these adorable little kitchener stitch markers:

Purchased on etsy from this seller
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In the category of "Thanks, but, Whoops!", the Denise folks very speedily sent me a replacement cable for the one that I broke recently. However, it's the wrong size:

I take the full blame for that, thanks to my poor communication -- I told them in my email that it was the smallest cable in the kit, but forgot that there's a cable smaller than 12". So they sent me a 9" replacement, (shown above along with an intact 12-incher from my other kit). In my defense, they did tell me to return the old cable and indicated that they'd ship the new one once they received the old. But in their defense, they shipped the new one before they received the old one, so they still come out on top. I've emailed them again with profuse apologies, in hopes they'll send me the correct one, this time. No word yet, though. Thus, the scintillating saga of the broken cable continues....

And finally, I've started another new project:


Can you guess what it is?

I won't make you guess. It's the Fiber Trends Braid & Bobble Hat. Shown above is one completed 16-row repeat. It's a fun pattern, but requires a lot of concentration, as each row is different. The pattern, as written, is very hard to follow, so I had to retype it in Excel to avoid the crazy back-and-forth between pattern A and pattern B. I don't have all the cable crosses memorized yet, either, so that slows me down as I have to continually re-read them.

The yarn I'm using is Cynthia Helene Superwash Merino in Jade, purchased at Sangeeta's yarn swap last summer, and I think it may have originally come from Cate's stash, if I'm not mistaken. So, Cate, I love this yarn, and it's being put to good use! Thanks!

Alrighty, then, I should finish this so that I can get ready to knit with my peeps tonight.

Later!

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