FO #25 Milan Jacket

I don't know what they're putting in the water at work. Everyone's pregnant again. This jacket is for Catherine's second son. I never was really interested in this pattern, until I saw this one by Pam of Flintknits fame. Her jacket manages to be sophisticated, which is not something one says often about baby clothes. Mine, however, is not sophisticated. I blame the limited color pallette of CottonEase left over at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio during the month of May. It was their featured yarn of the month for May (20% discount!) and I went into the store on May 31. So, you can imagine...

Pattern: Milan Jacket by Louisa Harding, from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms. Can I just say that I really could use another book of baby clothes? I'm getting REALLY TIRED of using this book, even with all the cute projects. And trust me, the projects are not only cute, but very wearable, which is why I've been consistently using it for years now.

This was never one of my favorites. I wasn't crazy about the colors they used in the book. They're natural colored, and they tended to blend into the background. Also, I'm not a fan of those big wooden toggle buttons for baby things. I mean that poor mom is going to have her hands full just putting it on the baby, let alone making sure all the toggles are closed. So when I saw Pam's, and she used regular buttons and non-baby colors, I thought, oh, ok, why don't I try that?

Also, I'm starting to see that my pink countertop is probably not the best place to photograph things, as I think it really distorts the colors.

Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease in blue and tan. The trim is tan. The buttons are sort of a golden mustard color. The particular blue that I picked is a real boy-baby color blue, but the tan trim and yellow-ish buttons keep it from being too macho.



I did like working with the Cotton-Ease, but the yarn almost felt a bit like it was leaving a residue on my fingers. Does anyone else feel that way? I can't really describe it any better. It was smooth, but almost too smooth--unnaturally smooth. But great for baby stuff! I'm totally using it again. I did buy a couple of extra balls when I was at the store and it was on sale, because I got that Creepy Cute Crochet book for Xmas last year, and that's the yarn she uses, so I figured I'd stock up a bit. I only have about 5 skeins of different colors total, but one day, I'm going to get it all out and make some creatures. Hey, maybe that's what I'll give everyone at work for xmas this year!

Needle: I used size 8 straight aluminum needles, and I think, actually, these were the needles that came in my gift bag from when I saw the Yarn Harlot in NYC last year (was that last year or the year before? omg, I cant' remember anymore!). Anyway, the point is that the straights worked fine, and I quite liked them. They're not super long, but the yarn doesn't stick either like it does to bamboo.

Notes: I copied Pam and crocheted a border in single crochet, and used the contrast color for the button loops. Also, I used the size 8 needles throughout, and didn't switch to smaller needles for the ribbing. I mean, what the hell? It's a baby sweater! This way the cuffs are a little bigger--the easier to roll back.



I like the collar up better, but I'm sure that Catherine will probably end up putting it down, as in the above pic.

Anyway, the coup de grace on this whole project was that I got it to work, wrapped it up, addressed her card, and then realized I hadn't seen her in a week or so, asked her assistant, and YEP, SHE'S AT HOME HAVING THE BABY RIGHT NOW, FOLKS. Damn. Missed it by a week. Luckily I made the 12 mo. size! That baby a) isn't going to need this present right now and b) isn't going to fit into it any time soon.

So that is that. A pretty standard, work-horse kind of present. The next up at work is an assistant that i don't really know all that well--sooo young to be having a baby but whatever. I'm the only woman at work my age with no children. I'm the freak here. I just gotta remember that (as if I could forget it with all these baby-makers around). Sigh. Anyway, that girl is getting a hat. I'm thinking about one from that Itty Bitty Hats book. Those are pretty cute. I'm also working on a blanket for a dear, dear friend of mine, which is made of squares and seamed up. After that, I have one more baby blanket to make--for my good friend Sarah at work. Then it will probably be time for round three.

You know what? I sound like a horrible curmudgeon who hates babies and feels obligated to churn out something for every one of them. And partly that is true. I don't hate babies, but I think we have enough around the office now. People can stop production for a while and let me catch up. Because sadly, I do feel that I have to knit them something. Mostly. I've knit for just about every pregnant woman at work, except one lady that I don't work with at all, to the point where I didn't even know she was pregnant. The problem now is that I've set the bar too high. I get bored, so I don't want to keep making the same thing, so I start trying really elaborate things, and end up over-burdened. I should just stick to hats or little raglans or something easy. But where's the fun in that!

It HAS been a while, hasn't it?

Wow. This has been a busy few weeks! I've been having a pretty good summer, actually. It hasn't been too hot, and work has been bearable--I've had a few adventures, and I'm still running (3.5 miles with hills now!), so life's pretty good. The downside is that I haven't had time to really blog, although I have been taking pictures, so this post is going to be a bit long, I think. You've been warned! Although it does have an FO at the end of it...

1. A couple of weeks ago, some of the awesome ladies from my knitting group took a trip into NYC to attend a knitting picnic in Central Park. It was a beautiful day, and we met a lot of other really great knitters from around Manhattan. The park was bustling with families laying out on the grass, or playing Frisbee, or waiting for tickets for Shakespeare in the park. There were also robins all over. We had one visitor, who eyed our spread and then came in for a closer look:


He came up onto the blanket:


Saw that there was fruit and decided to go for it:




And finally:


This one is kind of blurry, because he was moving so fast. I can't believe I captured the whole raid on film, but there you go. It was so adorable. Shortly after he made off with the grape, another robin attacked him to try and get the bounty for himself, and they had a little tussle, wherein the grape dropped to the ground. Our plucky hero managed to drive off the interloper and find his prize again though, and he flew off with it, triumphant.

2. I had to take a business trip to Springfield, IL, birthplace of Lincoln. It is hard to imagine that the town was once a lot more important to the country than it is now. You would never think so by driving through it. It seems really out of the way, but apparently back in the days of Lincoln, it was a bustling metropolis compared to what was around it, and even today, driving up from St. Louis, I passed more farms than anything else.



It was all very surreal. Last year I had to go to Kansas for work, and this was what I thought that would be like, and that was nothing like this.



It was flat and empty the whole way, except for the corn, which was planted everywhere.





You should click through to look at them bigger if you like that sort of thing. Those pictures were all taken in the car, as per usual during these trips, and I'm pleased with how in focus they are for the most part.

I also stopped in Mt. Olive, IL, where Mother Jones, the labor organizer, is buried. There is a sign directing you to the town, which is idyllic, actually, and once there, just go straight to the cemetery. It is the biggest monument there, and you can drive up right in front of it.



I probably parked in someone's yard, but there were really no directions on where to park or anything. Anyway, it was eerie, being in the cemetery in a town where I stuck out like a sore thumb, the only one staring at this huge monument to an all-but-forgotten labor leader.





I was also surprised to learn that southern Illinois was big coal-mining country, because I thought that was all in Tennessee and Kentucky. Anyway, the whole trip was so weird. I've been to Chicago before, but other than that, I've not been anywhere in Illinois, and I somehow didn't expect it to be so rural. I'm seriously glad I rented the car though. I did manage to make it to one yarn store even, where I bought the yarn for the next baby knitting I will be doing.



Ho Hum. But I have high hopes that I can make this at least a bit more interesting, at least by changing colors or something. The store was called Nanncy's Knit Works, and it was ok. Not the worst LYS I've run into, but not the best either. It was quite big, and they did have some good yarns, but they didn't have much in the way of books or accessories. It struck me as an old lady's yarn store, if that makes any sense. Although the fellow working there was very helpful and sweet, and I enjoyed talking with him a bit. I also got some souvenir yarn that was on sale:


Two skeins of Classic Elite Waterspun, which I think is a type of felted yarn, which I'd never heard of before. I think I'm going to use it to make a beret or slouchy hat of some sort. I haven't decided which one yet, but it won't be in my stash for too long. It won't, Sue! I mean it! Anyway...


3. If you've read this far, then ta da! FO #24:


Pattern: Cassie's Cowl This pattern was perfect for what I wanted, and I'm glad I stuck with it. It's knit flat and then seamed, but I don't think that is any big deal. The seam isn't very noticeable, and the chunky lace pattern is worth it.



Yarn: Misti Alpaca Tonos Chunky--the second of the two skeins I got when The Point closed. I love this yarn. I love the deep color and the variations of the dye, and the softness of the yarn. Both the cowls I made with this yarn turned out awesome. I want to make more cowls now! But I don't have anymore yarn. Sigh.



Needle: US 10

Notes: Not much to say about this. It went very quickly. You can see in the pictures that it is a bit slouchy and big, and partly that is because I washed it (although I didn't block it heavily or anything) and partly because it is supposed to be a bit slouchy. I love it! I'm sure that I'll use it a lot this fall.

FO# 23 Crochet Cravat scarf

Well, this was a bit of an impulse CO. I don't even remember why I started this scarf, except that I was itching to try the yarn, and probably in the middle of a project I was getting bored with for one reason or another. This would have been a very quick knit, if I hadn't had lots of other things going at the same time. I used to work on this a bit at a time when I needed to take the edge off with a little yarn play. I couldn't work on too many of those motifs without getting bored either.



FO: Ruffle Cravat by Leigh Radford from her One Skein book.

I bought these two skeins of yarn when I was in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. I wanted a quick project I could do in my hotel room as a treat for surviving that day. There was a crocheted scarf pattern on the ball band of one of the skeins, so I bought the two skeins and the right hook, and sadly went on my way. I didn't actually have time to start it on my trip, which made it a pointless purchase, but oh well. So when I was reaching for a stress-busting project, I thought I would just work on the crocheted scarf. Well, it turned out I didn't understand the pattern, so then I remembered the Ruffled Cravat pattern from One Skein, that I'd always meant to try. I saw on Ravelry that some people had lengthened it to a scarf size, so I went ahead with it. It was pretty easy, and the schematic really helped a lot. I think there are a couple of places where I went a little wrong, but no one will ever know unless I tell them.

Yarn: Bernat Alpaca Natural Blends, 2 skeins, Natural color (1007)

This yarn was ok for a craft store yarn. The alpaca fiber made the yarn softer but I think there were a lot of the coarser guard hairs in the mix too, because it is still a bit itchy after washing and blocking. I probably won't buy it again, but it was good to try it out, and the bulky gauge makes it easy to satisfy that itch quickly.

Hook: I/9 Feels different to crochet with a bigger hook, but a good change from the onesie's small hook.

Notes: Two skeins made a 92" long scarf.



When I got to the end, I didn't have enough to make a full motif, so I ended with this little knob-like thing.



Kind of silly, but I like it. I think I'm going to put this away and give it to someone for Christmas. Maybe. If I don't start wearing it myself first. There's just something about that white yarn, all stacked up like an Elizabethan ruff that makes me think it would be a great dress-up scarf for a fancy outfit. As long as you don't mind getting stray white hairs all over your clothes!

FO #22 Ruffled-Bottom Onesie

I wonder if the production of FO's will continue at this pace for the rest of the year. It's amazing how many FOs I've come out with so far, and we're only at July! And I have one more past this one that is finished for tomorrow's post. Anyway, onward!



FO: Ruffled-Bottom Onesie by Mari Lynn Patrick, from Crochet Today, March/April 2009

Yarn: Bernat Softee Baby in colors 202 and 02001 (baby blue and pastel pink) The yarn suggested for the pattern is TLC Baby Solid, which is very similar to Softee Baby. I couldn't find the TLC, and it was a sad little Joann's I was in when I picked the Bernat (they didn't have much of a choice), otherwise I wouldn't have settled for blue and pink. But I did decide to go with the blue as the main color even though the baby is a girl. It's still pretty girly, don't you think?

Hook: I had to go with an E hook to get gauge, which is a size smaller than the pattern called for.

Notes: I loved this pattern as soon as I got that issue of Crochet Today. Actually, that is a really good issue altogether. There are many patterns in there that I'd like to attempt. This one was really straightforward and easy. Once I tried the stitches in the swatch, I was ready to try the whole thing. I have to admit though, the first time through, once I joined the legs, the whole thing kept getting bigger and bigger! I think the problem was when I got around the back, I kept accidentally adding stitches. The only way I could deal with that problem was to count all the stitches every single round. And even then I couldn't be sure for a long time if it was coming out right, until I started doing the decreases for the bibs in the back and front. The decreases came out rather well though, I think, don't you?



The buttons on the straps are just for show, and the hidden snaps underneath are how they really close. I found clear plastic snaps for the straps, but I couldn't find any clear small snaps for the crotch. Instead, my mom helped me reinforce the crotch with material, and then I sewed some smaller snaps on there.



I'm afraid the snaps aren't too pretty. I just wanted to make sure they were on there tightly.

The last thing to talk about are the butt ruffles. Aren't they cute?!?!



You can also see my crooked seam, but nevermind! Finished off with the addition of some butterfly patches that match the buttons, I think this might be one of the most elaborate, cutest things I've ever made! I love it!!! I hope the baby wears it well.

FO #21 Jaywalkers!!!

YAY. I can finally talk about these. Last week was my vacation, and I spent a lot of time with my niece in New York. We went:

on the train!


to the office for a coffee/cocoa break!


to Toys R Us to ride the interior ferris wheel! (by the way, just so you know, that ferris wheel is only $4 per person and we stayed on for like 15 minutes. It was a really long ride and totally worth the money. I didn't feel ripped off at all, and I would definitely recommend it to people visiting. It's pretty cool.)


to the American Girl Place for tea with Felicity and Sally, two very lucky American Girl dolls.


to the Manhattan Children's Museum (she's in the trojan horse--they had a great exhibit on Greek gods and monsters)

and finally,

to see the Little Mermaid, which was so awesome that she actually didn't want to leave when it was done.

But after three days of traipsing around Manhattan with an 8 year old girl who wasn't used to walking, we finally went home to see my mother for her birthday.

Happy Birthday, Mom!!!



Pattern: Jaywalkers Very straightforward pattern with beautiful results. I do understand that the cuffs are tighter, but I still made the smaller size, and they fit my mom just fine. She had to work them over her ankles, but once they were on, they looked great.



Yarn: Serenity Sock Yarn, part of the Deborah Norville yarn line. It's nylon, wool, and bamboo, which makes it just a bit lighter than traditional sock yarn, so better for the weather in Florida. I'm assuming my mom's going to wear them inside, or with shorts and her sneakers, but I did like the patterning, and the colors are very muted and pretty. It is also very soft yarn, but it does split.

Needles: US 1 bamboo DPNs

Notes: I didn't change anything about this pattern. I really liked it--it was easy and fast, and just interesting enough to keep you going. I think they look really good on her too. I love you, Mom!