Julie's Baby Blanket

I finally finished the baby blanket I have been working on for my friend Julie. Her shower is next weekend so I wanted to finish it this past weekend. I took a class at the San Marcos knitting store a few months ago and this is the project we learned. The blanket is interesting because it looks kind of two dimensional. It was fun to knit, but I am glad I am finally done and can move on to something else. I ended up making a matching hat for her baby boy, too.

Caught on a Corn Dog

Well, here it is! This is my entry in the Dead Fish Hat contest. It's for Elise who informed me that she loves pink, purple, yellow, and turquoise blue (I had no scraps of turquoise blue, so I had to make do with dark blue). The colors are much more vivid than the picture lets on (thank goodness!). The gals at the shop seemed to like it (although they might just be polite).

Elise in Her Experimental Sweater

Just thought you guys might like to see Elise in her new sweater (my "experiment"). It really looks good on her, but now that it's nice and warm, I doubt she'll be wearing it much. She's growing so fast, she'll probably outgrow it by winter time (not that we have much of an actual winter in Carlsbad). Oh well, little sis on the way will have a barely-worn hand me down from big sis.

Baby Wheaton's Channel Island Guernsey

I very recently read Gladys Thompson's wonderful little treasure of a book on making British Isle guernseys, ganseys, and jerseys. I enjoyed reading the stories so much that Jim got me a copy on Amazon. Though the book does assume the reader has a certain amount of skill, the book inspired me to take freedoms with my knitting. The guernsey shown here is pretty traditional, but I modified the pattern. I knit it for Elise's soon to arrive (August?) little sister.

It's amazing that all of these patterns were created by individuals who pass them on by word of mouth to the next generation. The sad part is many of the youngsters don't want to knit.

The Dead Fish Hat Contest

Hey! The San Marcos yarn store is having a dead fish hat contest. The hats are very cute and can be downloaded for free here: www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter08/PATTfishy.php. Cool 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and Knitter's Choice awards. I got the entry form at the store. Deadline is May 5th so there's still time!

Starburst Hat #2

I love this "Ida's Kitchen" hat pattern. I made this second hat and I am planning to make a third!

Baby Hat 2

I wanted to knit this baby hat again with nicer, softer, bulkier yarn. This one took me about two hours and looked nicer than the green one. But, binding off at 11:30 p.m. was not the best idea. I forgot to do the three needle bind off with the two wrong sides facing each other. So I guess I will be making a third hat.

Unwilling Model in My New Scarf

I get really cold at work so I knit myself a scarf (imagine that, something for myself). Crickie looked really cute in it, but when I finally got the camera she had already shimmied half of her little furry body out of it. I tried to get Jim to model it, but he's just as unwilling as Cricket (and Jim hates to use my camera).

Fun Baby Hat

I taught my friend at work, Jenna, how to knit a year or two ago. This week, she showed me a picture of a cute baby hat she wanted to knit for her brother's baby. I found this pattern: http://www.etsy.com/listing/62826026/chunky-jester-pompom-baby-hat-knitting and tested it out so I could show her how to do it. It was really simple and quick to knit. The pattern allows for knitting in the round or using straight needles. I chose to knit in the round and used a three needle bind off. It looks cute, but it is a bit stiff and would probably fit a toddler instead of an infant. I am going to get some softer, bulky yarn to try. I took these pictures, but did not have a suitable model. Our dog, Kaya was not very cooperative.

Starburst Hat

This hat was really fun to make. The pattern is called "Ida's Kitchen." I downloaded the pattern from Ravelry. If you haven't signed up on Raverly, you should! http://www.ravelry.com/
I am going to make a more "manly" colored one for Jim next. For this hat, I used Blue Sky Alpaca Melange and Blue Sky Alpaca 100% Alpaca Sport Weight yarn. Here is a link to the pattern:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/idas-kitchen

 

Experiment 1: Old-Fashioned Dewdrop Sweater

I saw a picture of a side-buttoned sweater on the cover of the winter issue of Interweave Knits and was inspired to design one of my own. The original was made from the bottom up, so I made mine from the top-down. Also, the original was for a grownup. I made this one for my favorite model (and neighbor), Elise. It fits her just right! I'll have to post a picture of her when I get one.

When I finally write up the pattern, I'll incorporate some improvements (like making the beaded buttons with thin wire instead of quilting thread--all that I had).

Paula, I read your comment. The "Knit & Stitch" group meets every first Thursday of the month at 3 pm. I went this last time as I was lucky enough to have Friday off. I wish that they met at least twice a month, but oh well. It's just a treat that I get to look forward to. I just hope my luck keeps up and I get the first Fridays off.

Bryce's Single Cable Hat

I finally managed to finish knitting a new hat for Bryce. The previous hat came out too small for him, so this one is extra roomy.

Group Knitting Opportunities in San Diego

If you are looking for knitting groups in San Diego, this site is pretty helpful:
http://www.walkaboutknitter.com/San_Diego/events.html

Some thoughts...

Hey!

I've been looking for a regular knitting group to join (which isn't easy given my unpredictable work schedule). This past Thursday, I knitted with a nice group at the Del Mar Library that meets the first Thursday of every month. I had fun mostly listening to everyone (there were 6 of us there) and wish that it met more often. I know that a lot of the knitting stores have knit days (have you guys checked out the new Yarning for You website?), but I think I'd feel self conscious about knitting in with a store group and not using their yarn.... There's a Stitch n' Bitch group that meets on Wednesdays at 7 pm, but I always work on Thursdays :-( . They meet at the Oceanside Barnes & Noble. Anyway, I hope to meet with the Del Mar ladies again next month.

Recently, I finished reading Drunk, Divorced & Covered in Cat Hair by Laurie Perry. I also checked out her blog (Crazy Aunt Purl). I loved the book because of her obvious sincerity. She had some very wise things to say. I may not be drunk and divorced, but I'm definitely covered in cat hair, and though happily married, I feel lost at times. (Yes, bad day at work.... Ever notice how men want women to listen to them, but they don't necessarily want to listen to women?) Blogging as Laurie Perry does takes some courage though. I don't think I could share as much so readily (but face to face, I could vent with the best of them).

My Little Helper

Hi, Everybody! Hope everyone is having a good new year so far.

I ended up knitting most of our Christmas gifts this year. Unfortunately, I didn't take the time to take pictures of everything. I did get this picture of Crickie "helping" me to block 2 scarves (pattern name: "Starfish on the Beach" by ?????). It's hard to believe our "little girl" will be 19 this year (we think that's 90-100 people years). She's still as feisty and lovable as ever.

Christmas Needles

My wonderful husband surprised me this Christmas by making me a set of knitting needles. He bought the dowels, sized them, sharpened the tips, fine sanded them, and finished with a varnish. He then glassed the ends at his surfboard shop in various swirled colors. I love them. I think it was the most thoughtful gift I have ever received. He also made me a mini set of needles to use for a Christmas tree ornament. I can't wait to knit with my new needles! I bet we could sell some on Etsy too.

Mali's B-day Gifts

Mali Mehtlan turned two not too long ago. I made the cardigan and pullover just in time. The patterns came from a company called "Cabin Fever." They specialize in simple, knit from the top down projects. These didn't take that long at all. I spruced up the pullover by adding a beaded design from Jane Davis' Knitting with Beads book. All in all, they were fun to make and even more fun to give.

Jim's New Single Cable Chargers Hat

I wanted to make Jim a new Chargers hat for this coming football season. The last one I made for him a few years ago had a stripe that didn't line up correctly. Meg's jogless jog (http://tiajudy.com/jog.htm) alleviated the problem this time.

Richard's Aran Socks

These socks are a Christmas present for my brother in law, Richard. I got the pattern from Wendy Johnson's second book (Toe Up Socks for Every Body), which is available at the Dove Library. It's really a great book!

Long Beaded Gloves

Well, have taken a break from quilting to do some knitting. I was commissioned to make some long gloves, similar to the beaded gloves I posted some time ago. I didn't have a pattern so I used what I learned from making the gauntlets (long fingerless gloves) and the beaded gloves to make up my own pattern. I used Jane Davis's same beaded pattern so that I wouldn't have to figure that out, too. This is the result. I used Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine in Pea Soup with clear iridescent green beads. I didn't taper the fingers as these are meant to be a surprise gift for someone, and the only info. I got was that the hand size was about the same as for the beaded gloves I made (the gal is very tall). No tapering leaves a bit more room for the fingers just in case it's needed.