In the You've Got To Experience It To Believe It Department...

David Hasselhoff is Hooked on a Feeling

Lauren, you gave me a much-needed giggle tonight!

Cable Knit Hat

My one-woman knitting rampage continues. I tried my hand at a cable knit baby hat - more like a toddler cap, but you get the idea. I think it came out kind of cute. It's a cable knit pattern that you do for 18 inches (I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease on a size 8 needle), bind off, and then pick up and knit 77 inches for on one long side of the cable. The rest is just garter stitch with some simple decreases, pulling the top closed and seaming up.

Alex is sitting here playing with his magnetic book. He's putting the cow next to the milk picture and I said, "Where you get milk?" He looks up and says, "Daddy." Is that not a great out of the mouths of babes moment?

Baby Clothes!










Here are the newest things I've been knitting during my sick time; the first up being this little chenille ensemble for my niece-to-be. I have to attach the sleeves and pick up stitches to create the collar and buttonholes (daisy buttons!) and seam up the hat, but you catch the drift. This was fun to make and it knit up like a dream, it was so easy. The only thing I must admit was that on size 10 aluminum needles, casting off stitches was a little tight, so picking up stitches for the collar may be big fun, indeed. I notice that bamboo needles tend to make things go a lot more smoothly but unfortunately, I only have one pair and not in the size I needed. They run a little more expensive.

More knitting pictures follow, so just scroll on down.

Cable Knit

Cable knit detail. This is just a practice one on a regular worsted weight yarn and size 8 needles.

Mom's Collared Wrap

Patchwork ribbing up close

The final product, unblocked - ribbed collar and ends, patchwork ribbing on body

Here's the collared wrap - again, knit on DK weight yarn that I got from a Smiley's Yarn Riot last year. I knit this with the yarn doubled to make the gauge. It still needs to be blocked, but when it is, I'll spread the collar out a little more. I also have to weave in some ends, as you can see. ;-)

Road to Recovery

Slowly but surely, I'm heading back to good health. I've been on antibiotics for a few days and finally, the sore throat is starting to go away. Now I've got antibiotic-head, where I just feel muddled. Kind of like having a few Irish coffees (with extra Irish) but without the taste.

Mike sees that I'm ready to climb walls, having been pretty much confined to quarters for a week now, so he's taking me on a field trip to Trader Joe's. How excited am I?

Will is sitting on the floor next to me having one of my old Predator action figures fight his Kids Next Door figures. Truly, this is my son. Such pride...

I have to figure out what the heck is going on with my digital camera - I need to modify the lighting and exposure for everything now, inside, outside, motion, you name it - and then I'll take some pictures of the massive knitting push I've done in my convalescence:

- Finished the collared wrap I worked on for my mom. I bought this yarn at a Smiley's Yarn Riot about a year ago specifically to make something for my mom because it is so her - very nice deep green with a thread of black running through. It's a DK weight, but I doubled the yarn to make the gauge. I got the pattern from The Purl Stitch by Sally Melville, which, along with her book, The Knit Stitch are just amazing for beginners through to advanced knitters. Love her. Her new book on Color is just out.

- Had a pattern for a cute layette in an old issue of Better Homes & Gardens Knit It! I used Lion Brand's baby chenille in lavender for my niece-in-waiting to make a hat and sweater (with daisy buttons); now all I have to do is sew it all together. I'll be waiting until I'm in full health to go sit at Karen's and have her help me, since I'm legendary about my loathing of sewing. I've got about three or four projects that I did all the knitting on, only to abandon when it was time to sew.

- Practicing my cable knitting now, and I made a nice Celtic-type of cable from another issue of Better Homes & Gardens Knit It! It's a baby hat pattern, but I used some stash just to get the feeling of knitting a cable stitch. It came out nice, now I think I'll try my hand at the hat. (I LOVE baby hats).

Speaking of cable knits, does anyone use things other than cable needles to cable knit? I have used cable needles a few times but get frustrated because the stitches just seem to slide off. I've had good results using a ballpoint pen without the cap and even a double-pointed knitting needles. Just something a little thicker than the thin cable needles.

Next up, I found a cute pattern for a little vest from Bernat using their Babylash & Satin yarns. I'll have to try one for my upcoming niece and my goddaughter. Who knew little girl clothes could be so much fun?

Sick...

So I've been sick again for the past few days with a sore throat that won't quit. Grrrr... I've watched all of Sex & The City's Seasons 4 & 3, including special features (love the commentary). Now I'm working my way through the episodes of Lost that I've missed in Season 2 so far. In fact, I've got to log off shortly so we can fit one in before Mike has to leave to pick up Will.

Lots of knitting going on since I've been confined to quarters. Pictures to come.

C'mon...

I have a zit on my nose that deserves its own zip code. I'm 35, for crying out loud. WTF?

BABY HATS!!

So I finally found a pattern that works with some of the ever-accumulating stash I've got. This pattern is from A Passion for Knitting, and although it calls for a Lion Brand yarn, I got the same gauge with Caron's Simply Soft and size 5 needles. They knit up pretty quickly - I did both of these yesterday. You can do them on straight needles and stitch up the seam to finish. I even tried to embroider a little flower, as you can see, on the one on the left. I've got a niece joining the family in March and wanted to do something girly. I've got them both sitting on teddy bears right now to shape them into more of a head shape right now. :-)

I've got all this yarn - I walk into a yarn store, fall in love with yarn, and buy it - but can't make it work with so many patterns. Sometimes a gauge swatch is rage-inducing. I want to get through all this stash so I can just buy yarn that works with my patterns. Rargh.

Speaking of patterns, don't ask about the wrap sweater. It's on hiatus. I've got 2/3 of it done, but needed a break. I know, I know, I've got to finish it. But I got cranky the last two times I started it. I'll get it done, I just think I need to complete a few projects to get my self esteem back.

Helped take down the decorations in Will's school lobby today. I told our Parent Coordinator that we need to put in an Oriental Trading order for next holiday season, get a couple of those ornament kits for Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanzaa (the school tries to hit 'em all) and have a workshop where the kids can make ornaments for the tree - those ornaments on the school tree now are just depressing. I'm going to start working on the PA Board now to get an appropriation for some new decorations for next year - these look haggard.