Trinity's Tomten Done

Cast On:

April 4, 2008

Off the Needles:

May 11, 2008

Completed:

June 4, 2008

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Pattern:

Modular Tomten Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann

From Knitting Without Tears

Made for:

Trinity for Xmas

Yarn:

Lion Brand Lion Suede Solid in Teal

5.8 skeins = 707.6 yards (647.0m)

Purchased at 99 Cent Jacks

Needles:

US 10 / 6.0 mm Knitpicks Options

I am happy I completed this. It was off my needles almost a month ago, but I didn't have the buttons for it. I was looking for something that was pretty & yet didn't cost an arm and a leg.

I figured that someone on Etsy might have something they were selling. I figured more in terms of something they were destashing.

In my button search I found this:

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=8817501

I was completely stunned that the vendor was selling 12 handmade buttons for $7.50! I purchased them right away. They were shipped out very quickly. The seller, cathyharm, even included some extra items like a pen covered with polymer clay millefiori and a couple paper clips with polymer clay flowers. It was sweet.

I think they look good on the jacket. Though they are probably a bit more dainty than the jacket. But given the jacket is teal which can look a bit blue, I wanted something very girly.

I am glad it is completed. I think it is probably way too big for the recipient, Trinity, but she is growing fast so I would rather it be too big than too small.

I really thought I was going to start on a baby surprise sweater for Trinity's not yet born sibling. But I thought it was in Knitting Around. It isn't. *sigh* So I may see if my hubby can get it from another branch of the library.

Trinity's Tomten & Christmas Knitting

Cast On:

April 4, 2008

Pattern:

Modular Tomten Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann

From Knitting Without Tears

Generated by Flickr Album Maker

Made for:

Trinity for Xmas

Yarn:

Lion Brand Lion Suede Solid in Teal

5.8 skeins = 707.6 yards (647.0m)

Purchased at 99 Cent Jacks

Needles:

US 10 / 6.0 mm Knitpicks Options

This came off my needles on Sunday. I haven't marked it as finished on Ravelry yet. But all the knitting is done. I am just waiting to attach buttons but I need to buy some for it.

I started this before leaving for my work conference at the beginning of April. I wanted something simple to knit during the meetings. It definitely fits the bill with this. Loads of knit stitches and very little else.

I did a simple crochet arch stitches to border the edges. It looks pretty and adds a touch of femininity. It is a simple arch which looks like a loop. Nothing fancy, but it was a good way to start with crochet. It is my first time edging in crochet at all. So I feel happy with that.

I knit it for Trinity, my grandniece (no, not that old, just have nephews around my age). I suspect it will be too large. But she can grow into it. At 4 months she was 20 pounds! So she is growing fast.

I admit I wouldn't have bought this yarn except for it was $0.99 a skein at a local store. So I figured it would be good for some baby stuff.

I dislike knitting with the yarn a great deal. It isn't a yarn I would buy again. It sticks. A lot. And the sticking leave the stitches very uneven. I may toss it in the washer to see if that helps at all. But my guess it that it really won't. It will just look uneven.

But I think Trinity's mom will like it. The yarn is very soft and fuzzy. And machine washable. So I am guessing it will be a good present.

It is nice getting a jump on holiday knitting. I figure this way it is very relaxed. I was going to knit a matching hat as part of the pressie, but I used up nearly all of the six skeins! I may use the remaining yarn as a trim for the hat. Or maybe this will be it. I do have other Xmas knitting to tackle.

Though I did learn that I am only knitting for kids up until about 2-3 old at most. I knit my grand niece who is 6-7 a couple purses which I figured she would like. She barely looked at them. It didn't make noise or light up. So she had no use for it. All she wanted to do was listen to Hannah Montana and play with her handheld gaming piece. *groan*

It kinda scares me how some kids are sucked into all these marketing fads. It is sad. The older kids all just get Target gift cards at this point. They aren't for a lot of money. But at least that way they can get what they want. I certainly don't have a clue what they want. *sigh* Ah well.

Ultimately, I hope the parents are happy. I figure that is what matters most with the little ones. I will make something for Littlest George. I made him the Tomten last Xmas and his parents love it. I didn't see how Trinity's folks liked the baby kimono I made her. They didn't come down. But they told me at Easter they liked it. So I am hoping they like this. And they have another baby on the way. So I will make something for that baby.

Other than that, I am not sure about any other Xmas knitting. I am will see. I have some patterns for quick projects that I might do for some of Paul's siblings on his dad's side. But it is just as likely that I won't. On his mom's side, the ones who knit are really good! So I wouldn't dream of it. *chuckle* Okay. Other than J who has avoided knitting somehow. I did make the socks for her last year. Though I really doubt I will knit for her again anyhow. Not unless I see something that screams that she needs it.

I may knit for my friend Kyle again. I did a cabled scarf for him last Xmas that he seemed to like. I was thinking about the Bloody Stupid Johnson hat as he is a big ol' sf geek who has been reading the Pratchett books. But after hearing about some headaches that Silvercat had, I am a bit tempted to rethink that. *laugh*

I still owe my friend Meredith a pair of birthday socks. But we just had a chance to get together on Thursday. I measured her feet. Now, I just have to dye some yarn for her. I was going to buy pre-dyed, but she didn't react well to the superwash wool. She did respond well to the 60% superwash merino / 30% bamboo/ 10% nylon blend I have. I got that from Dharmafey at Cosmic Fibers. I bought her Dexter colorway and love it so much that I bought some blanks that I can dye. I might look around though. Meredith just wants brown and/or black. So I would really prefer not to bother dyeing it. I will see if I can find a colorway in the same blend that she will like.

Works in Progress

Just wanted to update about my works in progress. It has been a while since I posted about them.

St. George Dragon Scarf

Cast On:

April 24 2008

Pattern:

Morehouse Puff the Merino Dragon Scarf

http://www.morehousefarm.com/KnittingKits/Scarves/Dragon/

Needles:

US 8 / 5.0 mm bamboo dpns

Yarn:

Morehouse Farm Merino Merino 3-Strand in Cardinal

3 skeins = 420.0 yards (384.0m)

Purchased at:

Morehouse Farm Merino

http://www.morehousefarm.com

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Cast on for St. George's feast. *grin*

I ordered another kit as it was on sale. I had figured I would cast it on at some point. Then my hubby read me something my mother-in-law wrote him. She was wondering what dragons do on St. George's feast day. *laugh* I love the woman... *grin*

So it seemed only right to cast on the scarf.

I have only done a little so far. But I recall why I like the pattern. It is actually pretty simple once you understand the basic repeats.

I still miss my first one, Dracul. *sniffle* I lost him on the PATH train last fall. The problem was he was too short. So he kept falling off me.

This time I picked up an extra skein of the yarn. I intend on doing more repeats & making it wider at the top. It will be interesting to tweak the pattern to get it wider.

I also am doing it on size 8 needles this time. I did my first one on size 10s because I was knitting so tight. However, I want this one to be tighter, thus denser.

Though I have to be careful... This yarn breaks...a lot. In the first 2 repeats, the yarn has broken three times. I will have to loosen up on my stitches. The good news is that wool sticks to itself. So I just rejoin the yarn. But it does mean working back.

I confess I don't see how this yarn is three ply. I find it is sorta loose and there isn't much ply to it at all. Guess it is just my tight knitting coming back to bite me. *laugh*

Edited here: Pattern is spoke for. Thanks for the interest.

Xmas Tomten for Trinity

Pattern:

Modular Tomten Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann

Needles:

US 10 / 6.0 mm Knitpick Options

Yarn:

Lion Brand Lion Suede Solid in Teal

Maybe 5 skeins = 610.0 yards (557.8m)

Generated by Flickr Album Maker

I started this before leaving for my work conference. I wanted something simple to knit during the meetings. It definitely fits the bill with this.

I am thinking I might learn to do some crochet stitches to border the edges. It could look pretty.

Knitting it for Trinity, my grandniece (no, not that old, just have nephews around my age). I suspect it will be too large. But she can grow into it. At 4 months she was 20 pounds! So she is growing fast.

I admit I wouldn't have bought this yarn except for it was $0.99 a skein at a local store. So I figured it would be good for some baby stuff.

I dislike knitting it honestly. It isn't a yarn I would buy again. It sticks. A lot.

But I think her mom will like it. The yarn is very soft and fuzzy. And machine washable. So I am guessing it will be a good present.

It is nice getting a jump on holiday knitting. I figure this way it is very relaxed. I will probably knit a matching hat as part of the pressie.

Blue Jeans Lace Leaf Shawl

Pattern:

Ble Jeans Lace Leaf Shawl

http://whatgivesblog.blogspot.com/2007/08/blue-leave-shawl-pattern-remember-this.html

Yarn:

Malabrigo Yarn Lace in Azalea

I am also still working on the Blue Jeans lace shawl. It is about 60% done. I only have 8 more of the 35 repeats to go. But I am feeling less into it these days. I don't know why I am stalling a bit on this. Though I am going to knit some in the car for the road trip.

I think part of it is about the fact that each row takes a long while to complete. So if I have to stop in the middle of the row it is a bit of a headache.

The strangest part is I have three projects on the needles and NONE are socks!! It is sooooo weird. *laugh*

I have to scoot! Off for my fifth anniversary weekend. Can't wait.

Two Xmas Pressies in Progress

I have two Xmas pressies in the works. One is for grand nephew who will be a year old in February. The other is for my sister-in-law.

Tomten Jacket

Cast On:
Sunday, Dec. 2nd.

Pattern:
Modular Tomten Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann
From Knitting without Tears http://www.amazon.com/Knitting-Without-Tears-Easy-Follow/dp/0684135051/
Need to buy this book (and probably all of Zimmermann's books). Took it out of the library.

Yarn:
TLC Heathers Teal (though really looks blue) & Barn Red
http://www.coatsandclark.com/Products/Knitting/Medium+Yarns/TLC+Heathers.htm
Picked up at Smiley NJ sale. Was $4 for 3 skeins. Cheap, but hey, it is machine washable. Good for a baby

Needles:
US 9 Knitpicks Options 32"

Made for:
Denny aka Littlest George

Size:
Aiming for around 2 years old, but plenty of flex on size

I am making as an Xmas present for Littlest George who will be one in February.

The pattern doesn't have a lot of seaming which definitely appeals to me. It is pretty straight forward yet cute.

I am using blue for the body & red for the edges. The label on the blue says teal, but it really isn't. It is pretty blue.

I cast on the 112 stitches as the pattern says. I decided to just use 6 stitches on each side in the red rather than having to add a button band or such. I like the way it looks.

It is my first time with intarsia. It is interesting doing two colors. This is pretty straight forward. Though I wasn't doing it correctly in some spots. So the yarn peeks out where it shouldn't. Live and learn.

I didn't think anyone would notice other than me. However, Paul did. So I am overstitching it along the bad edges. But on the bright side, I have learned how to do intarsia now. Not sure I want to do it much. But it is good to know I can.


Modified Rushing Rivulet Socks

Cast on:
Saturday, Dec. 1st

Pattern:
Generic Sock Pattern
Pattern taken from Rushing Rivulet (Riverbed Architecture) by Cat Bordhi
http://www.amazon.com/New-Pathways-Sock-Knitters-Book/dp/0970886969/

Yarn:
Sarah's Yarns 100% Bamboo - Hand dyed Undertow
http://www.sarahsyarns.com/SY100PctBamboo.html

Dye:
Dharma Fiber Reactive Procion Dyes
http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/3796-AA.shtml?lnav=dyes.html

Needles:
US 1 1/2 / 2.5 mm Knitpicks Options & Harmony
2 socks on 2 circs method

Made for:
Jennifer

Size:
7.5

I am taking the Rushing Rivulet stitch pattern from the Bordhi book. Given I don't have Jennifer's exact measurements, I figured it is safer to work from a more standard pattern.

I was going to do a toe up sock so I could use all the yarn. However, Jennifer has a high arch. So my sister-in-law, Tee, who has made Jennifer socks suggested doing cuff down with a heel flap. She said it fits better for a high arch. So I am going with her suggestion.

Also, I am still not sure how much stretch/memory the 100% bamboo yarn will have. It feels like it will work well given the swatches I have done. I really should have made a pair for myself first in the 100% bamboo yarn to check the elasticity. But I want to complete these for Xmas.

I cast on 56 stitches. My swatch was 8 stitches per inch. So it should be 7 inches wide.

The weird thing was that it seemed smaller. So I figured I would increase my needle size. But after two repeats, it looks to be right around 7" wide. So I think it is okay. *crosses fingers*

I really hope they turns out well. I definitely like the yarn and I think she will too.