Classic Vest in Walnut

Started this week, still amazed I haven't made anything bigger than a scarf for my man.  Oh, but he does have three and a half scarves...  Loving the size 7 needles after doing a bunch of lacy stuff for myself lately - this is swinging right along.  Couple more nights of tv and I'll be up to the armholes.  Ravelry notes here.

Lavender Leaf Vest Finished

 

 I started this last summer with linen from Homespun Boutique, my favorite yarn shop.  It was lovely to work with, though tended to split as it is about a 5 or 6 ply.    Also produced a lot of lint when I knitted in the car.  I love the color, and the overall pattern was fun and kept me interested.  I created buttonholes when I did the picot edging but decided I preferred a higher single closing, so I created loops.  Even though I swatched it and sized up for ease, the linen knit tight and crisp, so if I did this pattern as a vest again (it was originally a cardi) I might add a back or side vents.  I'm very pleased with it and can't wait for warmer weather.

Here is a detail of the buttons and loops.  Ravely notes here:  //www.ravelry.com/projects/carolyndw/leaf-and-picot-cardigan

Peppermint Candy Hat

This was a stash buster for some completely stretchless cotton yarn - after knitting up from the rolled brim and duplicate stitching on the swirl, we realized it fell off J's head instantly - two shallow and a bit big.  I picked up inside the roll brim with smaller needles and knit the ribbing down to make a deeper hat and stretchier - I like how it turned out!

Pickles Pinkity Vest

Made this Plain Vest in two nights.  Cannot even believe how fast it came together, and I just happened to have two buttons that fit perfectly both in size and substance - vintage pearly shanks.

Unraveled baby sweater in Lion Homespun (all acrylic, I know, but very soft and not too warm for a hot-blooded little girl)

 

 She put it right on (but then took it right off.  Too hot today!)

All my Ravelry notes here (sized up by using larger needles and knitting up the body 2in longer to armhole cast off)

Tons of free patterns in English (and for sale, and yarn) here at Pickles.  Check it out!

Coffee Cosy

Quick project to protect your hands from hot coffee cups.  I used a skein of neutral linen and some stash yarn for funky accents, made half a dozen of them for friends and teachers. 

Celestine in Red and Oatmeal

 This was my car project as to Grandmother's house we went.  

I ripped it out after the first two points to dramatically decrease the size and also added the contrast - not just because I only had enough red for about half, but also because I'm on a Scandinavian kick recently and I love how they combine red and white.

 It isn't really a useful object, unless you are a cat or a child that likes to bat things around or throw them up in the air.

But I like it.  Sometimes you can have too much of a focus on the practical, and you need a bit more whimsical in your life!  It was also a great way to use up some moth-eaten bright red wool from long ago that had wound up in my stash - since there isn't a lot of stress on this it won't matter that it is thinner in places - and a few nights ago I put it outside to freeze those critters out.

All notes for making the smaller size are on Ravelry.

Felicity in Charcoal

 

This is probably the warmest hat I've ever made or had.  Charcoal wool alpaca from Rowan and wool Latte yum (Ravelry notes here)

 

I knew I didn't have enough brown for a whole hat and wanted the latte to be the lower border (don't even ask why, I have no idea) so I knit this from the top down, just reversing the m1 and k2tog directions.  Not only did I use up the Rowan, but that pom pom is the absolute last of the Latte too.

Lookie!  It goes with my warm warm cowl. Ready for snow.

Mitred Crosses Blanket Done

  from this: 

to this.

I love it, and do you know they raised $18,000 for 

Mercy Corps in Japan?  Those crazy Mason Dixon knitty ladies. 

J loves it.  I think it really suits him.  And all from stash or free yarn.  My Ravelry notes here.

yes, it did take a ridiculously long time to actually sew it together - only because I organized it all in a bag then put the bag out of sight and forgot to work on it.  And I'll admit the sewing up seemed daunting.  But I used crochet and once I started it kind of flew by.  Cheered on by the recipient, who wouldn't crochet faster?  Still needs a wash but that can wait. 

Right now there are naps to be had and stories to be read snuggled up in it (it is warm warm warm!) 

Lavender Leaf Vest - WIP

Find all my notes on Ravelry. This is really coming along - a row or two at night while the kids fall asleep and we talk about their days.. an inch or two in the car on the way to a camping weekend. From the Leaf and Picot Cardigan from Interweave Knits - just knit in the round and minus the sleeves. Which should make it take what, half the time? Why didn't I think of this before? Next sweater, I'm only knitting the back.

Handmade Winter Scarf : Project 2

Of course! For a girl who loves pink. And big floppy flowers. Ravelry notes here. This was basically a made up pattern beginning with the "easy mistake stitch" scarf from Purlbee, but it turned out lovely.

Yum. Yarn.

The rest of the story.... It started with a trip to Richmond ...

I couldn't resist the Yarn Lounge (I usually can't). I came away with this fabulously soft Rowan Alpaca Cotton - charcoal brown and grey - for a cowl for me. All the kids are wearing them, right?



Update: After completion, this cowl was too big. Even too big to photograph. But since it only took an hour or two I frogged it completely and started over with a contrasting color - and half the stitches.


I love it. Deliciously warm and cosy, and by redoing the cowl I have enough Rowan left for a hat to match. Yum.

Little Weaver at the Fall Fiber Festival

As with last year, J was intrigued in the weaving tent. We all loved the fair - seeing the sheep dog trials, eating yummy lamb sausage sandwiches, and browsing the tents of wool and yarn.

I came away with this lace weight baby alpaca/silk in sky blue, destined for a shawl (still working out the details on ravelry)

Winter is Coming - Scarf Edition

A while back we went to the Discovery Museum in Winchester, VA - I can highly recommend it for tiring out toddlers - and after ice cream, and crawling on cannons, we were on our way out of town when I spied a yarn shop. Never Enough Yarn, in fact. The kids said we should go check it out - and each chose a yarn for new scarves. Must get around to posting on Ravelry - I modified the Mistake Stitch Scarf (from Purl, of course) to toddler dimensions and as they say, voi - la!

One down, three to go.

Summer Car Knitting - Blanket for a Boy

This is my take on the mitered crosses blankets from the fabulous Mason-Dixon Knitting - all the money from the $5 pattern goes to Mercy Corps Japan for earthquake relief and they've raised over $16k so far! Yay for knitters! (you can buy one too! Check the button on the upper right of their site!)

This is stash yarn mostly plus the oatmeal llama wool from Scott Farms. I have twelve squares, and you can see below I had to push the black square to get even that!

I have no more blue for the seams, so ... the seams may become a design feature.

Let the sewing begin.

Pink Anenome Bowl

Combining two tiny leftover bits of yarns I loved for their "main projects" into one interesting little bowl? Priceless. I plan to keep bobbins in here - it makes my current recycled plastic bowl used for bobbins shrink away in shame.

From "More Last Minute Knitted Gifts" but, like most of what I have made from Joelle's books, a gift just for me.

Summer Greens

I've finished! I really love this "rosebud" pattern, I guess it really would work better as a larger stole but my stash only yielded up the one skein. It will make me think of spring in the dead of winter.

Mitred Squares Blanket from Mason-Dixon

Reader, I cast on.

I've been debating what to do with this partially felted blue wool from my stash. 7 skeins. Too warm and potentially rough for kid sweaters. Only enough for a vest for me. I love many of the patterns in the spring Interweave but I did about 3 swatches and none of them was feeling like something I'd wear once I got it done. Hardly inspiring.

Then I saw this post and thought of the llama wool from Scott Farms as a contrasting color. The only question remaining is, blue or oatmeal crosses? Some of each? I'm going to finish this block then reverse them to see. I have a vision of this blanket with one contrasting block ... you know when you get excited about a pattern? The only drawback so far is the difficulty in remembering which row to knit and which to mitre (every other row. or so)

All funds raised from this pattern ($5 on Mason Dixon through Ravelry) go to Mercy Corps for Japan Earthquake relief if purchased this year, to their general funds after 2011. Go get it!

Spring Greens III

From the Spring Interweave Knits - the Rose Lace Stole - knit up as a scarf since I have only one skein. Smitten with the beautiful pattern. Really pleased how this is coming along, and it is a lovely light weight for summer knitting.

Update: I finished!!!



I suppose I should read up on how to get Amaryllis to bloom at Christmas. These beauties came out last week and make me feel all tropical - just gorgeous. Thanks again Aunt Ruth and Uncle Bob!

Baby Sweater and Blanket

This is the Heartbreakingly Cute Baby Kimono from the first Mason Dixon Knitting book, and knit up so easily and quickly I feel like I could have made twenty more.



Then to bust some more stash, my first ever log cabin knitting, a baby blanket. So. Easy. I've started another one for Sweet P who asked very nicely and tried this one out to be sure it works. I wanted to make it reversible, but for the next one I'm picking up all on the same side, so there will be a right and wrong side, we'll see how that works. Thank you Mason Dixon Knitting!

Best of luck Sam!

Spring Coffee Cosy

My, this yarn from my stash is quite wintery. To spring it up, added a sprout. A multi-season cosy.