I will miss these mountains — and these friends, too. Yesterday we explored the volcanoes: a regular weekend haunt of mine (and Boh’s), and hopefully, a new favorite for the dear friends pictured above.
I spent the afternoon relaxing: baking banana bread, knitting, cleaning, etc. Check out my progress on the pinwheel blanket — it is growing very quickly!
Monday mornings require just a bit more coffee than other weekdays — must pour another cup and get ready for work!
What is this, rooster? A new project?
Yes, it is true. Yesterday I cast on for the Pinwheel Blanket from knitalong by Larissa and Martin Brown. I know, I know. I have several projects on the needles right now, but hear me out dear reader: I don’t have anything I can work on that (a) does not require looking at the pattern and (b) uses needles of a large enough size that I can look away from my work. (I can now carry on a conversation while knitting socks, but I still need to look at what I am doing to be sure that I am not dropping stitches left and right.)
Also, it seems that there are several upcoming occasions to celebrate with knitting. This Pinwheel is intended to be a wedding gift. It is growing rather quickly, after a healthy struggle with joining 5 st in the round and completing the set up rows. After a few cups of coffee and some podcast catch up time, here’s what it looks like:
That’s all for now. The sun is shining, and Boh and I are off to one of our favorite places — the volcanoes — this time, with friends!
Good morning! Thought I’d snap a picture of my colorful breakfast. This treat from my CSA box brightened the to do list reviewing/revising that needed to occur this morning. I also managed to make some progress on my Brompton button band — one down! An evening of chicken soup, knitting, and movie-watching, combined with some a.m. quiet time today has produced this:
The button band is slightly shorter than the body of the cardigan. I want to keep making progress on this, so you heard it here: I will not delay seaming this button band even though seaming is still a bit scary to me. I will not delay seaming this button band even though seaming is still a bit scary to me. I will not delay seaming…
This is our first full week of glorious weather, and it is getting more and more difficult to be inside all day at the office. Weekend, please.
Forgive the awkward light streaming through the window — couldn’t wait until later to share a Brompton milestone: I’ve completed the majority of the body stitches! Time to begin work on the button bands. I say it every time I post about this sweater, but I love Rowan Felted Tweed. (Love.) Also, with the arrival of spring here in the Southwest comes the wind, and I am in serious need of a morning/evening layer like this one. I have some work and play travel coming up in mid-April, and I am hoping to have this done in time to take with me!
First, an Easter photo. My landlords’ children knocked on my door yesterday morning to present me with this:
So sweet to think that the Easter Bunny remembered me this year. I absolutely adore my landlord-family (I live in the house in their backyard), and I will miss them terribly when it comes time to leave here for the colder climes of New Home/grad school.
So it seems there are a lot of folks out there in internet-land who have questions about wearing legwarmers. I’ve noticed that several folks have used legwarmer and wearing legwarmer-related search terms to find my blog. I happen to have a few pictures of the legwarmers in action this week, as the weather is just changeable enough to warrant them. Mind you, I am no fashion plate, and tend to subscribe to the “If You Like It, You Should Wear It” school of clothing oneself. (Also known as the “Get Dressed in Five Minutes and Try Not to Wear Exactly What You Wore Yesterday” approach to dressing.) If it is legwarmer wearing confidence you need, a few ideas:
(Way above, and above): long underwear, twirly skirt and legwarmers. If you’re feeling particularly bold, you could wear a shorter skirt so that it looks like the second picture.
Option 2:
Legwarmers are also appropriate for Saturday morning, and perfect for pairing with cropped loungewear when the dog needs to go out.
Option 3 (not pictured): Most of the time, I wear legwarmers because I love flip-flops but my ankles get cold. I like to keep them tucked under my heels, and people rarely notice them when I wear them with jeans. I wear them for me! If you want to incorporate a tad more 80s flair (as I typed that, iTunes in shuffle mode selected “Runaway” by Bon Jovi. Go figure) cuff your jeans so that said legwarmers are more visible.
Alright — glad we’ve addressed that. I’d hate to think that there are people out there who’ve gone through all the trouble to either acquire or knit legwarmers, but are unsure about how to enjoy them!
Onward to my Nutkin conversion:
You may recall that I ran into a bit of a problem just before turning the heel on sock #1 of this pair: The cuff, which is knit and folded over to create something super cool, does not have the stretch of the rest of the sock, and I could not get it over the heel of my foot. I’m glad I thought to try this BEFORE turning the heel. I love the pattern — easy to remember and fun to knit — and the thought of ripping out 7 pattern repeats was a bit too much for me to bear.
So: I began an 8th pattern repeat, but in the middle of the first repeat in the first row, I bound off the middle 8 st to create a thumb hole, and then continued on in pattern, replacing those 8 st in the next row. After the full 10 row pattern repeat, I did one more repeat, for a total of 9. I then knit 5 rows of k2, p2 for stretchiness at the top of the mitt, and voila:
I think I finally understand why folks who don’t like knitting socks buy and use sock yarn. These are going to be perfect for spring: snug, subtly colorful, and thinner than the other worsted weight pairs I’ve been wearing all winter. I’ve cast on for my second mitt, and I’ve learned my lesson about gauge/sock cuffs…maybe.
Happy Birthday! I presented this cupcake to someone who is a VERY good sport about all the knitting his wife and I both talk about and do when we are together.
(I also did some “real” baking — there is a loaf of banana bread on the counter, ready to take to Easter brunch.) I loved making this cupcake (pattern from One Skein by Leigh Radford). I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, given that I do not own any novelty yarn for frosting the cupcake, but I used Cascade 220 for the chocolate base and then 2 strands of Cascade 220 Heathers and 1 strand of Madil Kid Seta (all leftover from the LMKG legwarmers) and then used some leftover cotton to make a cherry on top.
More knitting to share:
These (Baby Bibs O’ Love, from Mason-Dixon knitting, made from Peaches and Creme dishcloth cotton) have been languishing for at least a month, mostly because I couldn’t find a needle that would fit through the buttonholes…needed to dig out my misplaced travel sewing kit. Let’s hope I can get these in the mail faster than I was able to sew on the buttons! (Still thinking about adding a little bit of embroidery to the red one. We’ll see.)
Beaufort, completed! (Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Worsted, Size 8 needles.) I am a tad nervous that this will be too small for its recipient. It fit me snugly, right off the needles, and I have a small head. I dunked it in the sink with some wool wash and gave it a good tug, and it is almost dry. I think the yos in the pattern will open up with time, just like my Foliage did. I hope she likes it.
I had a Nutkin realization yesterday. You know, after I did 5 more repeats on the leg portion.
That lovely doubled cuff I was celebrating a few posts ago? (Don’t get me wrong — it is very pretty.) Mine doesn’t quite fit over my heel. Good thing I checked before starting the heel. The thing is, I am in LOVE with how this yarn (Yarn Pirate Kalamata — my first Booty Club installment) is knitting up. I’m thinking I can add a thumb hole and do another pattern repeat or two and I will have the first of a gorgeous pair of fingerless mitts. (Does that also mean I get to decide on another sock to begin?) I will certainly keep you posted on my sock to mitt progress. Seems fitting that I was listening to the last few chapters of Frankenstein yesterday on CraftLit when I made this discovery.
Time to settle down with another cup of coffee, Boh, and some knitting. I love weekend mornings — I am always up with the sun, and on these days, I get to watch the morning become mid-day: sun rises in the sky, roosters crow, air warms up and I can fling open the doors and windows…
Enjoy your day.
Yup, life is hard. 5 whole days of playing non-stop with your friends can make you dog tired. (Stop me now.) Boh and I re-settled ourselves into my little house, went for a lovely run, and planned an evening of hunkering.
Netflix, the dog, and a hat project. I actually cast on for the Beaufort Hat last month, knit most of the inch of ribbing, and then realized that I needed those needles for something more urgent. (Not that I can remember what.) I put what I had of Beaufort on waste yarn and tucked it away. I went to pick it back up again, I decided to just rip out the little I had done and start over to ensure evenness in the ribbing…or something.
I’ve made it through 3 or 4 pattern repeats, and I really like it. The pattern is easy to memorize and it moves quickly. I’m using Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Worsted in a slightly lighter/brighter shade than pictured. This is for a friend who requested a hat. Though she’s seen the blog, I don’t think she reads it regularly, so I’m going to risk it. (She’s heading to Argentina this week for a well-deserved vacation.) I should have this ready to send to her by the time she returns (and maybe enough yarn for one for me, too!)
It is mostly impossible to knit when three dogs are jumping all over you and each other every waking second of the day. I’m feeling much better today, likely because I was able to eat eggs, toast and potatoes yesterday afternoon. Yay for caloric intake! Off to work, but wanted to share that even though I’m not likely to get much done this week, I am enjoying my knitting. Happy Tuesday.
The title of this post could just as easily be the title of an independent film, but in this case, please use a literal interpretation.
Friday afternoon, I was standing here, toes in the dark sand, gazing out over the Pacific Ocean. Yep, that was work-related.
Because I was away for under 36 hours, I forced myself to select only one knitting project, and while digging through my WIPs, I rediscovered my clapotis. I’ve completed the increase section, and in the next row, I’ll start dropping stitches.
The colors are a bit deeper than you can see here — I’ll wait for better light the next time I photograph this.
One of the folks I met with on Friday was getting over a stomach bug, and I think I brought it home with me. A small amount of bland food and close to 14 hours of sleep later, I am feeling a little better. Today I’ve managed a scone and a cup of tea — already more than I was able to eat on Saturday. Last night I didn’t even have the strength to work on my clapotis — fingers crossed that I’ll be able to make some progress today.
I made this without a particular recipient in mind — just wanted to check out the pattern, which I quite enjoyed. I was thinking that I don’t need another hat, particularly now that spring is here, but I do like this picture:
(Or maybe I am being tricky. Perhaps the recipient is an occasional reader here? Hmmm.)
Details:
Stella’s Hat by Knitting School Dropout
Size 8 needles, 16 in circs and dpns
Araucania Nature Wool Chunky in a bright, semi-solid green — 1 ish skeins (was using a leftover ball from the bolero jacket and needed to dip into a second.)
In the morning, I’m off to the Bay Area for just about 24 hours — a super quick work trip, but it should be fun. Back on Saturday afternoon!
barefoot rooster 