Ribbed Beanie

Shamrock House Socks

Finally finished house slipper/socks for my son. I used thick Madeleine Tosh yarn and it was kind of challenging to work with.

Beach Bonfire Slipper Socks

I tried something new this time with my socks. I used really thick yarn for more of a slipper look and feel. The yarn is madeleinetosh asap in beach bonfire. They feel comfy and knit up quick.

Sock Blockers

I have been looking for some nice sock blockers for a while. I had some plastic ones but I didn't like them very much. I ordered these off Etsy. I ordered a size for men and women. When they arrived, they were nice but so wide they looked like they were made for Christmas stockings. My husband took them and cut, resized, and sanded them down and they look so nice and usable now.

Socks for My Sister

I promised my sister I would knit her some house socks. They are finally done.

Misty Morning Socks

I haven't made socks in a long time. I enjoyed knitting them.  Next, I am going to make socks for my mom, sister, son and husband. I have all these different ideas I want to try. Maybe a cable in the front or zig zag?

Green Machine

Ribbed hat for my son. Always green.

Birthday Hat

New comfy birthday hat for my husband.

November to December Trip & Knitting/February Knit

From 11-27 through 12-12 this past year, I went to Mumbai (Bombay), India, to work at my company's Indian division.  Although my focus was work--2 weeks to complete a lot of work--I had one free weekend where I got in a little shopping and took a tour through the Kanheri Caves, Sanjay National Park.  Over centuries, Buddhist monks traveling through Mumbai (they never stayed in any one place so as not to form any attachments) chiseled out an incredible monastic retreat into natural granite caves that pepper the hill nestled in this preserved spot of natural forest just outside of the busy (an understatement) city.  Pictured behind me is one of the great stupas which houses the ashes of venerated Buddhist monks.  The broad base stands for the earth, the rounded portion stands for water (the globe of the earth which is mostly water), the brazier above that stands for fire, and the connection to the ceiling defines space.  There are no words to describe the wonder and peace of this locality!

Although I had to get used to the traffic and mad rush of the city (not to mention the driving and learning how to cross the street--you  must experience it to believe it!), I was thoroughly fascinated.  It was easy to love the many wonderful people I met.  What an incredible experience!

I did see some knitting and crochet in one of the shops along with the woven Kashmiri shawls.  There was nowhere to buy the wonderful yarn, though.  I did meet someone from Kashmir, and he was very impressed that I would know about their famous fiber (not all cashmere actually comes from Kashmir).  Even so, after the work was done, I still found time to knit in the evenings.  Shown below are Christmas socks for my brother in law.  The pattern is called "Heinrich" and can be found in Op Art Socks, by one of my favorite sock artists, Stephanie Van Der Linden.  Each sock pattern is a tribute to individual optical illusion artists (in the case of the socks below, Heinrich Fuchs). 

 

More recently, I finished a hoodie for a friend's toddler (she turns 3 in April).  It's a "Knitting Pure & Simple" pattern purchased at Common Threads in Encinitas.  I like these patterns very much as they're all done in one piece, and I can embellish with color, etc., as I please.  I really didn't embellish with this piece--it was a nice meditative/relaxing knit in Plymouth Yarn's Encore Colorspun.  I really like the subtle heather striping of this yarn.

New Logos for Hats

I designed these logos with a "P" and a surrounding sun. At first I thought they looked like Indian headdresses, so I tweaked them a bit and I think they came out nice. A shop I found on Etsy turned them into little leather pieces that sew onto the edge of the hat and will show whether the hat is worn down or flipped up. 

Cabled Hat

Super Slouchy Hat

I think this is the longest hat I have ever made. It is a little more than 10 inches long. I like how it turned out. It is called "Elizabeth" and it is on Ravelry.

Slippery Slope

I really like the look of this stitch. The laddering effect is interesting. The lifted stitch was a lot of trial and error.

Vegamot

Vegamot is an old Norse word for crossroads, and the hat got it's name from the little purl roads meeting in the middle. In Madeleine Tosh, Whiskey Barrel, and Mill Pond.

Plumeable

I always seem to go back to this pattern. And I love knitting it with Madeleine Tosh chunky yarn. So luxurious and so many colors.

Ribbed Beanies

After my last hat I felt like knitting simple for a bit. Ribbed Noro beanies are about as simple as you get.

Hofsós Hat

Hofsós Hat, by West Knits was interesting and kind of challenging. The yarn is held double in three colors for a worsted gauge and tweed effect. The hat’s body is worked sideways in diagonal lace, ridges, and seed stitch. The brim and crown shaping are worked in the round. I strayed from the pattern a bit and used a provisional cast-on with kitchener stitch seam that was recommended by a blogger, and a different diagonal lace technique I thought of. The pattern required picking up stitches which I tend to avoid, but it wasn't too bad.

Friend's Hoodie

I made this hoodie for a friend.  The pattern comes from Textured Knits by Connie Chang Chinchio.  I love her designs.  Most of them (besides being cute) are made in one piece with the sleeves being knitted from the shoulder down so there's the bare minimum of clean up afterward.  Though this is the 1st pattern out of her book that I've knit, I was also impressed by the instructions: no mistakes & she anticipated everything!!

Old Shale Baby Blanket

IBaby blanket for my niece's baby boy using the Old Shale knitting technique.

I made a matching hat for Christmas out of the leftover yarn. It looks a lot different since I used a different stitch.

Okay, so I finally emptied my camera.  Before, it would take me forever to drop a few rolls of film off (remember those days?), but now with digital cameras, I can literally store thousands of pictures & just forget about them.  Bear with me, I have quite a bit of knitting to share :-).

Little Audrey was born to a friend just a few weeks ago.  I went a little crazy with the cutesy girl stuff.  Of course, there were the requisite pink booties (do babies still wear them?), a light sweater with color work, ribbon-tie sleeves, and side open collar (I made this up), and a hooded Victorian coat.  The coat was a plain pattern and I added the pink embellishments, skirt flowers, and the hood.  I wanted something other than buttons so I used some pretty jewelry clasps.  The picture doesn't show it, but each clasp is different and looks like a charm: one is a heart, another is a bouquet, and I forget what the last one is.  The whole time I was making this coat, I kept thinking of old-fashioned ball gowns.

My purse was falling apart, but I've been refusing to buy a new one.  I was determined to make my own purse, and I happened upon this Lily Chin pattern.  I think the book was called Knitting with Beads, and I checked it out of the library.  The pattern is called "Mosaic Madness Bag."  I hung it on Butch's perch, and he decided to pose with it (actually, he wasn't particularly pleased with my use of his space, but he was a good sport).  The picture shows the colors, but there are also beads worked into my version of the bag.  Lily did something very clever:  you string your beads on nylon beading thread.  You carry the beaded thread on the back and only bring it forward with the bead when you mean to have the bead in front.  It's a great way to use beads with holes that are much smaller than your yarn.  For my bag, I used a hemp/cotton/synthetic mix.  I really wanted a hemp/linen mix, but this was the best I could do.  I made a lining and lined the interior with stiff facing.  The only thing I'd change would be my choice of handles.  With the handles pictured (the closest I could find to the original pattern's handles), the material slips & slides.  To prevent this, I had one of the guys at work drill small holes into the handle & Jim used fishing line (10-lb test!) to secure the material.  It works fine.  Next time, I'd probably get round bamboo or wooden handles.  Anyway, it's fully functional, and I love it.  Now that I know how to do this, I can also expand the bottom and make the purse bigger (as Jim would say, expand the bottomless pit).

Front

Back

 

I made myself a top!  It's an Iris Schreier pattern and I believe the book title was Lacy Little Knits.  Again, I checked this book out of the library.  The pictures are bad, but on the front, there's a lacy knit pattern that graces the wide V-neck that mimics crochet.  I didn't like her back version, so I changed it for a higher V-neck, with just a small eyelet.  I wear it alone with jeans, but for work, I wear a tank top underneath and pair it inside a jacket--it works both ways!  I don't usually like orange but for some reason this fine wool "Haiku" yarn became a must-have for me.  The color is lightly variegated.  The only thing about this wool is that if I rub against anything--a jacket, a seat belt, etc.--it pills, and I've already had to shave off some fiber.  Iris used a silk blend, and I'll have to try that next time (or maybe a linen would work?).  Anyway, it was fun to knit (modular) and it's fun to wear.

 

Until next time...