Portable Knitting

It has been forever, but I have been knitting

I haven't posted in forever. I have been knitting and working on things and actually I've bought more yarn as well.

I knit a Moderne Baby Blanket for my new baby boy. I did all but the last two sections which required intarsia and my baby came before I could do those sections so I just decided to leave it at well enough. Of course I've got a lot of extra yarn left as a result. I'm thinking of using light blue and white to make a striped pullover with a shoulder placket for the new little guy.

The Batman hat was completed over our Memorial Day camping trip, though I still haven't woven all the ends in I realized this morning, even as my son has been wearing it on cool mornings to preschool. I'll have to get on that this week.

I had a little striped beanie that I knit in baby size in my finished-objects stash that I pulled out for the new baby that also needed the ends woven in (now completed). It is a little bit for his two month head but in a couple months I'm sure it will fit fine.

I pulled out my malachite colored yarn a couple weeks ago and started swatching it. I'm interested in knitting a buttoned cowl with it, as I've lot of mother-of-pearl buttons that will contrast nicely.

I have my Wisp completed as I posted previously, all but for a dropped stitch in the middle that I've got a loop of red yarn holding together. I just need to sew that closed and weave in the ends (what is is with me and loose ends?). I never did buy or sew on any buttons to it. I will have to address that.

Oh, and for all of the fact that I finished my yellow zipped cardigan some five years ago, I never did install the zipper. I purchased one from ZipperStop.com but the color was wrong and I never got around to sorting that out. Just last week though I placed the order for the replacement zipper and hopefully this time it will be a suitable match.

I've been knitting a Little Coffee Bean for little Oliver, using ecru and brown heathered Cascade 220 that I had in stash. I'm down to the last 1-1.5 inches of the second sleeve and then I just need to do the button plackets. I purchased some bright red buttons to use on it already. I swear it is hard to get more than a few rows done at a time now between the two kids.

I did do some more rows on the Basketweave pullover that I started last year for my partner, though I'm only about halfway done with the back. Slow going, as I thought it would be.

Time for preschool pick-up for Jonah. I'll try to be a better blogger and post again soon.

Lovely Miss Wisp

I've been working on Wisp pretty steadily and I'm closing in on the finish. I'm on the 14th or 15th pattern repeat, of 17 total (if I'm recalling correctly). Here's a picture of her from a few weeks ago, out in the garden.

More wisp

I'm up to the middle of the fifth repeat. Steady progress, a row or two at a time. I have to tink back a row right now, not sure where I missed a stitch.

Wisp-ing in Paris

I need to take some atmospheric shots to share but for now just know that I've started on the lovely Wisp from Knitty. I cast on 46 sts and now I have 44. Hmmm... it still seems to work with 44 and since my knitting time is measured, 44 sts it will have to be.

We spent the morning at the Jardin des Plantes Menagerie. Then walked back to our apartment in a misty rain. After my little one wakes we will go see his new baby cousin and give him his knittted hat and booties.

We are having a great time in Paris.

all ends in

I finished weaving the ends in on my mistake rib striped scarf last night. I have to wash it as I got a smudge on it, and block it and it is good to go.

I'm thinking about knitting some fingerless gloves to go with it, and perhaps a hat as well. I'm not sure how far my remaining yardage will go.

I've now got remnant Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Baby in the following colors:

Denim
Red orange
Pale green
Offwhite
Cocoa
Pewter
Navy
And a little bit of pink

Close to the finish

I'm thinking I only need to do a few more inches and then weave the ends in and I'll be done with my mistake rib striped scarf (debbie bliss cashmerino baby).

Yeah!

Little knitting

I've been continuing to work on my mistake rib scarf. I think I forgot to even post about that here. I started it in May and have added it to my Ravelry projects list. I'm about 80% done which is nice. It has been good to have a fairly brainless project to work on -- no increases/decreases/sleeves/shoulders/neck and only a little bit of counting.

I did put some effort into the Christmas stocking for Jonah last month (June) and turned the heel and everything. It doesn't look right at all though, too much fabric in the ankle. I found the sock pattern that I leveraged when I made the other two stockings but my notes in the margins didn't really help. I think I will have to rip it back and try again so it doesn't look dorky. Or maybe dorky is part of the charm of a handknit stocking. Oh, I don't think I could bear to leave it the way it is.

Jonah's sweaters are languishing at the moment as well. Once needs a final shoulder completed and two sleeves. The other, following the octopus sweater design, I'm not sure I've got my gauge right. That's disconcerting and confusing at the same time -- why does it seem off to me this time? Did I change the needle size without knowing it? Can I really not remember things like that anymore now that I've got a little one? (Seems so....sigh)

Knit Fix Scarf Progress

I have been working a few rows at a time on the mistake rib striped scarf I started while down in the Bay Area a few weeks ago. I have been using multiples of 6 for my stripes which has been working out nicely with the 4 yarn colors. Here's how it works in this scarf:

Red - 18 rows
White - 18 rows
Gray - 6 rows
Red - 18 rows
Brown - 12 rows
White - 12 rows
Red - 18 rows
Gray - 18 rows
Brown - 6 rows
Red - 18 rows

and then it repeats.

The red sections always stay the same width and are always divided by two alternating color stripes. The alternating color stripes vary between wide-narrrow and medium-medium but due to using three colors in the same order -- white, gray, brown -- the thickness of the color stripes varies. It works out well for variagated striping. I used a similar multiple technique for the striped hat I made for my partner.

Preparing for Liesel

I've pulled out my Elsbeth Lavold Silky Wool and opened the label and almost wound the yarn into a ball yesterday (ha! baby is fun). I'm going to knit Liesel for my Grandmother I think. Other knitters on Ravelry have used this yarn for this scarf and it isn't supposed to be too hard.

My concerns are whether or not I should increase the number of repeats across (I have three skeins) or if the Silky Wool will be a reasonable width scarf

Also I gave my row counter to my mother or mother-in-law and lace without a row counter doesn't sound like a good idea, particularly when baby presents constant interruptions.

Finished Scarves

The Malabrigo blue & green scarf has been done for a while, the Manos scarf I finished last week. Both were knit using the Mistake Rib Stitch (cast on in multiples of three -- do knit knit purl across and do the same again on the reverse), the Manos scarf I knit on #11s so it is nice and lofty.

Malabrigo Scarf

Manos Scarf