Red Mittens

Part of me finds it slightly ironic to be finishing these red mittens the day before World Aids Day. If you have a moment, please consider lighting a candle over at Light to Unite.

Pattern: Bev's 2-Needle Mittens For Kids by Beverly A. Qualheim
Size: 6-8 years
Needles: US 8 / 5.0 mm
Yarn: Wool Ease in Ranch Red 102
Supplier: Play Time
Modifications: worked in the round, because I dislike seaming

Gryffindor Hat

I often have the experience that I think I am knitting for someone, only for the object to tell me that is was destined for someone else. This Gryffindor hat was one of those objects.

Pattern: House Hat (Beanie) by Alison Hansel
Pattern Source: Charmed Knits
Yarn: Wool Ease Solid in Gold and Cranberry
Needles: US Size 8 / 5.0mm

Modifications: I changed the crown decreases to be spiral decreases, just because they please me.

I thought that is was going to be a child's hat, but gauge foiled that plan. So suddenly with a women's sized hat on the needles, this hat whispered who it would rather go to. No, I won't say who, as the recipient doesn't know that she will be receiving it, although I don't believe she reads my blog. But it is someone that I only would have met because of the fandom, and so the choice seems appropriate.

Knit WIPs

Another Wednesday is here, so let's pull out my knitting WIPs. This week I am working on a pair of children's mittens and a pair of women's socks.


The socks are being knit from some lovely Spunky Eclectic Tough Sock, that I had been saving for just the right person. It is an absolute pleasure to knit with. The mittens are knit from some stash Wool Ease in Ranch Red, which defies all attempts to contain the photo saturation.

The crocheted blankets are still moving along slowly, but they don't look all that different at the moment. And although I don't think I had mentioned it yet, I did finish the Cotton Candy sweater. I am still on the hunt for the right buttons though. Does anyone out there have a favorite place to hunt for buttons in the Boston area?

Action Baby Hat

Looking around the internet, I had a really hard time finding a small hat pattern that uses a super-bulky yarn (that I have left over from the Cotton Candy sweater). I figured I would type it up to save myself (or someone else) the math to figure it out again. I tend to knit somewhat tightly, so if you do not you may find that you need to go down a needle size. This pattern takes just one 50 g skein.

Needles: US 17 / 12.75 mm
Yarn: N.Y. Yarns Action, a super-bulky yarn
Gauge: 8.5 sts/4 "
Finished Circumference: 18" (suitable for 12-18 month old)

Cast on 38 sts, and join into the round, careful not to twist.
Place marker at the start of the round and work in 1X1 rib for 1.5".
On the next round, increase 1 st and k to end. (39 sts)
Work in stockinette for 5.25" before beginning decreases.

Decreases:
k4 *k2tog k3* (32 sts)
k even
*k2tog k2* (24 sts)
k even
*k2tog k1* (16 sts)
k even
*k2tog* (8 sts)

Cut yarn, leaving at least an 8" tail. Using a tapestry needle, draw tail through remaining stitches. Pull tight and weave in ends on the inside.

One Red Mitten

One, one red mitten, hahaha.

I know that this is a season when a lot of people are starting to go a little crazy with their holiday crafting, but I have decided to add an extra project or three.

Pam of Lick My Sticks has teamed up with Christmas in the City (an all-volunteer organization that helps the homeless families of Boston) to collect hand knits (or crochets) for the children living in homeless shelters in Boston, MA. She is going to drive the donations to Christmas in the City a day or two before Christmas for them to distribute among the Boston-area shelters to Children who are most likely looking at a gift-less Christmas.

You can read more about this project on this post. You hear a lot about projects to send warm items to children in all different parts of the world, but this idea of helping those a lot closer to home is dear to my heart. So maybe if you have a little bit of time, maybe you could think about adding one small project to your holiday crafting list too.

Feeling Productive

What a productive (crafting-wise) weekend! I finished knitting the Cotton Candy sweater, but I need buttons to finish it. After I pick them out and sew them on, I will show pictures. The socks I had started are at 5"/13 cm long in the leg now.

Also as you can see, I made a little progress on the Slytherin blanket. By a back-of-the-envelope calculation I am over a quarter done. Wow! Crochet does go a lot faster than knitting per unit area, even when it is my inefficient version.


If it isn't clear the blanket is folded in quarters to avoid it looking like a long strip. Sorry for the shadows. Even though this photo was taken at 2 pm today, the longer shadows of the winter seem to have set in.

Travel Projects

The best thing about the holidays is all that time spent sitting around chatting. I am lucky enough to be surrounded by people who don't mind if I knit while I talk (though it helps that for a simple sock I don't need to look at it).

I did end up casting on a new sock, and it is progressing nicely. The other project that I brought with me, though, was my Slytherin blanket. Wouldn't it figure that somewhere between bringing our bags downstairs to the car on Thursday and actually arriving at Thanksgiving dinner that I lost the hook? That was the only thing that got me into a retail establishment on Black Friday, which I otherwise avoid like the plague. (No offense to those deal-hunters out there, I just really don't like that many people in one place.)

That brief shopping trip meant that I could crochet today while Chiquita worked on her annual Christmas ornaments with my sister. Part of me feels guilty for not bringing the Sampler blanket, which is much closer to being done, but the simple ripple pattern needs no instructions, which makes it quite desirable as a traveling project. I even re-discovered the ability to do something (in this case crochet) while having a baby sleep on you. Soon it will be too big to carry around though.

Travel projects, for me, should be small and mindless. I know Elizabeth Zimmerman used to recommend shawls for travel knitting due to to the amount of knitting time you can get out of one project, though. Socks are usually my happy medium between to these two ideas in knitting, but I haven't figured what my ideal travel crochet project is yet. What are your favorite travel projects, and what type of craft are they?

Garden Dancing Shoes

When I first got Adorable Crochet for Babies and Toddlers, one of the first patterns that caught my interest was for Dancing shoes, designed for babies 3-6 months old. As my niece, Ms. L, is just 3 months old, I thought this would make a very cute Christmas present.

You may remember this yarn from my Garden Monkey socks that I had knit from Mind's Eye Yarns April sock club yarn. Lucy said that her original inspiration for this colorway was a field of flowers. I am so glad that this affect translated as well into crochet as it did in knitting.

Pattern: Dancing Shoes by Lesley Stanfield
Pattern Source: Adorable Crochet for Babies and Toddlers
Yarn: Mind's Eye Yarns Merino/Tencel
Hook: 3.5 mm / E / Size 0 steel hook
Buttons: found in the button box at Windsor Button

The pattern with recommended gauge is supposed to produce a 4" long show, which looks significantly longer than the average 3-6 month-old's foot to me. Better to grow into them thn for them to be too small though.

Even so I had a little trouble with gauge. Even going up from the recommended 2.5 mm hook to a 2.75 mm hook, I made a sole that would only make a 3" long shoe. So be careful with your gauge on this one. Be aware though that the finishing will increase the size of the show slightly though accoding to external measurements.

Giving Thanks

Today was great. I had the company of people I love and the leisure to really enjoy their company. The past year has been a hard one for several personal reasons, but life is full of so much I have to be thankful for.

My daughter is such a joy to me, and this year we added my lovely neice Ms. L to the family. Despite the health concerns that my sister and I have had, we are both feel well for the most part and can enjoy our daughters.

I am grateful for the blogosphere. Blogging this year has been fun and has pushed me to expand my creative pursuits. Your feedback and comments are always appreciated and often educational and interesting. I love to visit your blogs and be inspired by your experiences and projects. Similarly Flickr has been a source of inspiration and a great way to get to know some of you who might not have blogs.

There has been a lots of talk on Ravelry about our thanks to Jess and Casey for its creation. I know that there are many still waiting to join so I will keep it short. I appreciate not only the really neat aspects that let you cross reference yarn and pattern in ways that have changed what I knit and crochet, but also the community it has created. The fiber community has always been a great one, but they have connected new people in ways that would not have been possible before in the same way.

So in total life is good and I am so happy to be able to enjoy it. I feel so fortunate. It has been a wonderful year, and thank you for all for being part of it.

WIPs Wednesday

It is Wednesday, so it is time for a check-in with my WIPs. Unfortunately afghans don't make particularly good progress photos, so I am not going to show you the status of the Slytherin blanket (actually one row shorter than last check in as I caught a mistake and ripped back all of my progress) or the Sampler Square blanket, since I have no new squares done that you haven't already seen at least one version of previously.

What I do have is a potholder and a bulky baby sweater in progress.

Knit from some stash super bulky yarn, Action from N.Y. Yarns, the baby sweater is going really fast as you might expect at 2 stitches an inch. I have been weaving in the ends as I go, so this project should be done before we arrive at my dad's house.

The bee potholder is actually on hold though. I need to pick up some white kitchen cotton for wings and some cotton batting for the insulating layer in the middle. I did have some superwash wool in my stash that I was going to use, but then I started getting nervous that it would singe more easily than the cotton. After all I only see pot holder patterns made from cotton. Is there a reason why you couldn't use wool?

Meeting in the Common Room

Today I had a package arrive from Faery Fiber. I had ordered during Tammy's grand opening (still going on, 20% off), and then cursed when she updated a few days later. (I love what I got, but the colors on the Voldemort colorway are great.) Also key to this story is that she is including stitch markers with purchase.


I originally "met" Tammy during the the first Hogwarts Sock Swap. Then she was in my house again for HSS2. Her color sense is amazing, and I am so glad that she decided to try having an etsy shop. Despite the great colors, the yarn wasn't what stood out to me most. It was the stitch markers and incredibly thoughtful note tucked inside the package. See, she took the time not only to write a sweet note thanking me for my purchase, but also to say that she recognized me as a Slytherin (from the swap) and so couldn't resist making sure my markers were in house colors. Thanks Tammy for making the fiber world seems like such a small, friendly place!

Novelty Scarf

This past weekend my dad dropped the fact that he, my step-mom and my little sister (age 7) were going to be out of town for Christmas. That means that my last chance to drop off my sister's present would be the first week of December. Okay, I guess that means I needed to cast on right away. Digging around in my stash I found this lonely skein of yarn that is a bit too novelty for me, but just perfect for a little girl.

Yarn: Gleam by Moda Dea in blue topaz

Needles: US 8 / 5.0 mm
Pattern: Eros Extreme Belt by Carol Smith
Pattern Source: One-Skein Wonders

This project was so simple that you really need no pattern. I am just listing this one since it gave me the inspiration on how to use this yarn. This version was knit with a cast-on of only 8 stitches. This pattern used just a single skein, and only took a few hours of mindless knitting.

I can't say working with this yarn thrilled me. It is made of of 3 strands: a mohair one, a ribbon tape one and a glitter one. It was a bit splity, and the mohair was getting to me after a bit. The results though have been positive to several little girls I have asked.

Rogue SPS

This week's autumnal Self Portrait Sunday is brought to you by my Rogue. This was my NaKniSweMo project last year, and I admit it was what tempted me to consider doing NaKnitSweMo again this year. Unfortunately, life is just too crazy for such a commitment right now, but hopefully I will be able to participate again next year.

I absolutely love this sweater, and despite the fact that I wear it often, it still looks new. The color is great, and it is quite snuggly and warm. Somehow though, this is the only adult-sized sweater I have ever knit. Perhaps after the holidays I should correct that.

Anklets

One of my best girl friends has been not to subtly hinting that she would really like a pair of socks. Since I had a day long lecture style meeting, I brought along these anklets to work on, and I finished them before we went home. Is it just me or is this colorway very similar to the kitchen cotton I made the Swiffer cover with?

Pattern: Fixation Socks (pdf)
Yarn: 1 ball Cascade Fixations Effects in color 9843
Supplier: Mind's Eye Yarns
Needles: US 5 / 3.75 mm

This is not the first time I have worked with Fixation, but this time I went with a significantly larger needle size since the pattern calls for 4s and I tend to need to go up a needle size. Despite casting on the number of stitches for a women's medium, I think these look more like a women's small. Maybe that is just because of poor gauge, I am not sure. Oh well, I guess if they don't fit my friend I have a few other ideas of whom they might fit.

Merino/Tussah Silk

The nice thing about the cooler weather is that I have been able to rediscover my love for spinning. This is good, since Salvbard had just been noting that all summer and then through September and October I hadn't touched my wheel. It isn't that I love her any less, but it isn't until the weather cools that I really love to spin.

This is what I have on the bobbins at the moment: some lovely merino/tussah silk from Mind's Eye Yarns. It is absolutely lovely to spin, but I am not sure how much of a tight twist is needed with this sort of blend. It is my first time working with silk at all. Any experienced spinners out there with some advice?

Ballet Slippers

As I mentioned recently, I have been doing a bunch of cleaning. This includes my house in general, but also I have been going through my craft supplies and reorganizing. One problem area has been my mending basket.

Going through it, I discovered several projects that I had forgotten, and amazingly enough I even got a few of them mended today. One of the projects I unearthed though, appear never to have made it to my blog, because I hadn't sewn buttons on them.

Pattern: Fiber Trends Felt Ballerina Slippers (AC-14)

Size: children's large
Yarn: Rowan Magpie Aran in color 697
Supplier: Woolcott & Co.

I had made these for Chiquita last year, but they had ended up too big. Good thing I rediscovered them before she out grew them! (And yes I do realize how rocking her sense of style is with the leopard print tights. You should have seen them with the turquoise gaucho shorts.)

KP Sample Cards

I was cleaning out my craft corner this afternoon and came across some Knit Picks sample cards for their Telemark, EssentialSolid, and EssentialTweed lines. If anyone is interested I would be happy to send them out to you. (I have 2 Telemark cards and 2 EssentialSolid/EssentialTweed cards.)

Danke II Socks

I have now knit two pairs of socks from cotton/wool blend sock yarns, first the Danke socks and now the Danke II socks. I can't decide what I think about knitting them, but they do make good gifts I think. At the moment though I am wishing for wool socks for myself. Perhaps I should extend the same for those I care enough to knit for.

Yarn: ONline Supersocke 100 Cotton in Summer 787

Needle: US Size 1/2.25 mm
Pattern: Basic Sock Pattern by Ann Budd
Pattern Source: The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns

The problem with gift knitting in this season is the danger of it being mistaken for a winter holiday gift. Generally I prefer my handknit gifts to be random gifts. I just feel like they are more appreciated as a happy surprise. Which method of gifting do you prefer as a crafter?

Sheldon la Tortuga

Guess who was out for an adventure today. Yup, it was Sheldon, Chiquita's tortuga plushie.

Yarn: Tahki Cotton Classic in 3726 (lime) and 3764 (holly)

Supplier: The Knitting Room
Needles: US 4/3.5 mm
Pattern: Sheldon

Chiquita was so anxious that he be done that when I got up this morning she was sewing on his legs by herself. (And she actually did a pretty good job.) I finished the i-cord on his shell and embroidered on his eyes, and then they were off to adventure. He is really cute, but there is a reason I don't do many toys. There was so much detailing and finishing work even though he is small!

Blanket Re-discovery

New England has been getting much colder. The heat hasn't kicked in yet though, as it won't until it is below 52*F in the house. We have broken out a bunch more blankets though, and so with the cooler weather I have blankets on my mind.

Do you remember the sample square blanket I was working on? It got too hot, and I put it away until this week. I had forgotten how much fun the squares are.

Patterns: Springtime Square (left) and Cluster Flower Square (right)
Hook: H/5.0 mm

It is good that I like making them so much though, since I have gotten a bit more ambitious since the summer and would now like it to be big enough for a bed, rather than just as a lapghan for the couch.

Ravenclaw Baby Hat

Remember the Fetchings I finished up the other day? Well I was thinking of what to do with just the third of a skein of the Baby Cashmerino that was left over. Fortunately I had some more in another color, so I immediately thought of a stripy hat. (Each stripe was 9 rows wide other than the last stripe, and all the decreases were done there.) The holidays are just around the corner, so a few small gift projects are always a good idea.


Yarn: Baby Cashmerino in 203 and 340 (~1/3 of a skein of each)
Needles: US Size 8s/5.00 mm
Pattern: Ribbed Baby Hat by Lucy

I think the parents of the baby will be amused by the HP theme, but they are great colors anyways. As an added bonus it is gender neutral and could be saved for the next baby.

Ravelry t-shirt

I had seen them starting to appear in my area, and I finally have m Ravelry t-shirt in my hands.

Love it! (BTW I normally wear a small and am very happy with the medium.)

Many thanks to those who expressed concern about how Chiquita was feeling. She pretty much slept all afternoon and night yesterday. Then when she woke up she felt almost completely better.

Fetchings

Today when I picked up Chiquita, the first thing that she said was that she didn't feel good and had a headache. I knew it was serious when she wasn't interested in the playground even for a few minutes. By the time we had walked most of the way home she had requested soup and hot tea with lemon. Then minutes after she got home she was asleep in bed.

Pobracita! But since she was out I got to weave in some ends on a pair of Fetchings that I had knit for her. They were going to be for the holidays, but if she is still feeling yucky tomorrow I might surprise her with them to cheer her up. I have a pair of cabled fingerless gloves I knit from cashmerino years ago that she loves and always tries to steal, so I thought she might like her own.

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in color 203
Supplier: The Knitting Room
Needles: US Size 5/3.75 mm
Pattern: Fetching

These were knit out of baby cashmerino rather than the aran weight to fit smaller hands. I find that they also fit my (admittedly small) hands too though. And the greater yardage on the lighter weight yarn meant that even after lengthening the 4X1 ribbed section by several rows, this project only used 2/3 of a 50 g ball.

What's On the Needles Wednesday

For all that I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed by the number of projects on the needles at the moment, I suddenly realized that right now I really only have two knitting projects that I am actively working on.

The socks are a simple pair for the playground. I know the recipient I have in mind, but it is a surprise. And the green blobby thing is Chiquita's "tortuga". We saw a Sheldon at The Knitting Room this past Sunday, and she absolutely fell in love. What's on your needles today?

Received HSS2 Package

As I mentioned yesterday I received a wonderful package in the mail from my HSS2 pal Angela Marie of Girl with a Twist (previously of Enchanted Daffodils).


Sorry that once again photo conditions were not optimal. It is raining very heavily today. We even lost power for several hours this morning. She put a lot of thought into this package though, so I wanted to make sure that I publicly thanked her.

She included all three of the Socktopia Harry Potter themed patterns, beautifully printed in color and placed in 3-ring binder slip covers. I don't know if I mentioned it previously, but I do keep my hard copy patterns exactly this way in a binder. So this extra step was really appreciated.

The bookmark is knit on what I can only image were toothpick fine needles. It will be perfect for all the paperbacks that I read. And the colors of the little "book scarf" are absolutely perfect.

As for yarn she not only included a skein of Lisa Souza's beautiful sock yarn in Emerald City, she also threw in the leftovers from the socks and another full skein of the Knit Picks Essential Solid. I have never used either of these yarns, so I am super excited. And I have enough of the green and grey/silver that I think I could knit a whole other pair of socks if I like.

As if all that was not enough, there were a ton of extras. There's a mini sock blocker, which I have seen on other people's blogs but never in person. Too cute! Also included was a tin decorating kit, that I will probably do with Chiquita since there are two tins. Inside was also a golden snitch, which she may have seen on my Ravelry queue. And then to top it all off there were some spooky Halloween pencils and bunch of candy. (I love tootsie rolls and usually convince Chiquita to share hers with me from her trick-or-treating stash since she doesn't like them, but this year she got none!)

Thank you so much Avada Finchfletchley!

Daylight Savings

Daylight savings time has defeated me for the day. I had several things I wanted to share today including my newly received HSS2 package (which is wonderful and I am wearing the socks now), but the general lack of daylight by the time we got home from the playground has thwarted any plans involving taking photos. I can't say my sleep is suffering from the time change, but I do need to rethink when I am going to take any pictures.

Oct ATC and Rowena

I did two cards for October's CMP ATC Swap theme of "Tell me a story." My first I idea for this prompt was something along the lines of face lit from below by a flashlight, a la campfire-story-style. I wasn't super pleased by the way it turned out though. So I made another one, more simple and maybe less fun, which is the one I actually sent.


Also, now that "Avada Finchfletchley" has received her HSS2 package I can talk about a little surprise I made for her package. Inspired the by Chocolate Frog cards, I made an ATC with Rowena Ravenclaw.

watercolor crayon and micron pen on cardstock

The quote along the side is the Ravenclaw motto: "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure." Given my enthusiasm for all things Harry Potter/Hogwarts, Robbyn of Yarnpath had encouraged me a while ago to try my hand at HP fan-art, though I had never done it before.

Grey Mitten Morning

This morning it was quite chilly even before the rain started, so Chiquita got a chance to wear the new pair of mittens I finished for her. Her pair from last year is ludicrously small. (How could she possibly have grown that much in less than a year?) So I had her dig around in my stash for a worsted something to make a new pair. Yes of course she would ferret out a merino/cashmere blend. That girl has taste.

Yarn: Lion Brand Lion Cashmere Blend
Supplier: Sparks Craft Studio
Needles: US Size 8s/5.00 mm
Pattern: Basic Mitten Pattern by Ann Budd
Pattern Source: The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns

So armed in our new mittens, we hoped on the bus to meet up for the Ravelry meet-up brunch at Athan's in Brighton. The food and company were wonderful as always. Even if you are not a member of Ravelry you are welcome, so drop me a line if you are local and interested.

After brunch Chiquita and I went with Suzanne of Double Helix, Cynthia of I Hate Waiting, and Mishka of Mischka Knits to the Knitting Room for the beginning of their closing sale. I am so sorry to see this store go. They were always one of my favorites, and I supported them regularly.

Art Friday

Fridays are really fun at Chiquita's school, because they are our special art day. No not actually in school, it is both an after school program and the posting of a new Illustration Friday.

The after school program is really neat because it is run solely by parents who are passionate about art. Each week there is a new project, which is done out on the playground if the weather permits. Today was an experiment in monoprinting. Now I have absolutely no experience in monoprinting, although Amy of the Creative Mom Podcast speaks of the fondly, so it was really fun to watch. Afterwards we hung up the prints to dry on a clothes line while Chiquita ran around the playground after her friends.

I also mentioned the Illustration Friday prompt. We don't do the prompt every week, but I do pretty much always go see what it is. This week's prompt is "hats", so I pulled out my model head and one of my favorite hats.

I bought this hat years ago at a L.L. Bean outlet store. It is my absolutely favorite if I will be out in the sun, such as when we are out hiking, canoing or just waiting for the bus in the summer. It has at least a 2.5" brim all the way around and a tie to keep it from blowing away. The fabric is slightly water resistant, but lets your head breathe.

Mexican Jacket

To continue the finishing streak, I am now presenting the "Mexican Jacket." The yarns for this sweater were somewhat unloved. Salvbard deemed them too busy for socks for him (my original intention) and no one was interested in them for swap or even for free. So I brought them back home and started considering little boy sweaters. Fortunately my sister's best friend has a boy just the right age to accommodate.


Yarns: Regia Jacquard Color 6-ply in 5180 & Fortissima 6 Ply Socka in 4007
Pattern: Mexican Jacket by Lesley Stanfield from Adorable Crochet for Babies and Toddlers
Size:18 months
Buttons: La Mode (R) Hook 567 Style 2906 (3- 3/4" buttons)
Button Supplier: Fabric Corner

Modifications:
I skipped the color work other than to include it as a stripe of a second color. (Color A = 3 skeins of Fortissima in 4007; Color B, C, D, E = 1 and 1/3 skeins Regia in 5180) This meant that I didn't get the color work effect originally intended (the yarn was to busy for it anyways), but also meant that I just barely had enough color A yarn to finish. So basically I used the pattern mostly for it's construction.

This does not seem to have been a terribly popular pattern out on the internet. The only version I have been able to find can be seen here in the Crochetville archives. I admit that once I had started it I had my doubts about the sizing. According to the gauge and number of stitches for the back, the 18 month size was meant to have a 24" chest circumference.

Chatting with Robbyn of Yarnpath and host of Chatters (see sidebar at her site for details), I have previously admitted that this sweater has an "old man's favorite ugly sweater" thing going on. I am not sure if the buttons make it better or worse but I love them!