Done!

Told you Little Blue Sweater was fast, didn't I? No pictures today, but I finished weaving in the ends on Friday night. Then Saturday went to the LYS to buy 600 yds of worsted weight yarn to start over again, the same pattern for Audrey. My swatch told me that with worsted weight on US8, my gauge is 70% of what I was getting on US11 with bulky weight. And Audrey is 70% of the women's small size. Which means......I just discovered a whole new source of patterns for small children. Cool. Obviously I have to alter some of the dimensions, like "work in pattern until sweater measures 15 inches" - I need to proportionally reduce the vertical directions. I'm also doing hers in the round. While the women's medium in bulky ended up being fairly hefty and can benefit from the structural support of the side seams, childs 4T in worsted will not be an issue.

Anonymous asked in the comments about the Starghan (I have no idea how to link to previous comments): once on circular needles, does the blanket resemble a connected web? Well, kind of. I think it looks more like a basket or bag with the needle cord supporting the opening edge, but I can see how it would also look like a web. You really can't tell it is a star shape when its on the needles though - the points are all smushed in to the fabric, and it just looks round.


Pictures later, I promise!

My mom went to a fiber festival!

I can't believe it! My mom, who couldn't knit her way out of a wet paper bag, went to the Finger Lakes Fiber Festival last weekend. 4 days before her knee surgery (she's doing fine).

I have not yet made it to any fiber festival, in any state, because we are always somewhere else when the local festival is taking place. I miss the Great Lakes festival in Wooster, OH every Memorial Day because we're always in Rochester visiting my folks. I miss the Finger Lakes festival in Hemlock NY because we are inbetween our summer and fall visits to my folks (we usually go up around Columbus Day too), and I miss the Michigan festival near my inlaws because we are up there either too early or late each summer as well. I just can't get it coordinated.

Sigh. Next fall for sure, I'm going to New York.

Michelle said her daughter LOVES Elijah - carries it everywhere! Woot - a happy recipient of a handknit item! Always makes you feel good.

Finished up two quick (!) projects that I started in July. Worked straight through, each took only a couple of days. Interrupted by a sweater, baby blanket and elephant, well, they take a little longer.

First up: Evangeline.

Pattern: Evangeline
Designer: Michelle Szeghalmi
Yarn: Mirasol Miski
Needles: US6
Time to complete: about 3 hours per glove

Alterations: added thumb gussets, made wrist a little longer than in the pattern. Used 52 g yarn (just a skosh over 1 skein).

I love this yarn. Just love it. It's the softest thing ever.

Next up: Treenah

Pattern: Treenah
Designer: Megan Marshall
Yarn: Knit Picks Essential in Burgundy
Hook: D

My first crochet project! Don't worry, I'm not giving up the needles. I was very pleasantly pleased to see that crochet can make lacy stuff - I'm used to the sc/dc afghans of my youth. Pretty!

Hubris

I'm really cranking through the Little Blue Sweater, in this Fall's Interweave Knits. Only 9 days in, and I've already finished the back and all but one shoulder of the front. Here's the back:

The color is a little lighter than the picture - more of a cinnamon shade. It's Sandalwood in Louet Riverstone Chunky.

Hubris of course, because telling you how fast this is knitting up invites disaster - my only size 11 circulars will disintegrate; a bird will fly into the house and grab the last skein for her nest; I will burn my fingers while making tea. One should never brag about how well something is going. Bad karma.

But, it is going really well and I want to shout about it! Tension was a little wonky on the back - I'm not used to big wool and big needles, but the front looks much more even, especially in the ribbing. Now if only the temperature would drop a little farther - even in a lacy pattern with elbow length sleeves, I can tell this is going to be one warm sweater. The lace-on-size-11 demands a shirt underneath for modesty, as well as the rather rustic (read scratchy) feel of the wool.

We survived the remnants of Ike up here with just some debris in the yard - one advantage I guess, of a new-ish neighborhood. No trees large enough to do any real damage if they lose a limb or two. Other folks around the area, not so lucky.

I've got an hour of me-time tonight - DH took DD over to the rec center for her swimming lesson. Not that I don't get some me-time every night, after DD's bedtime, but it feels odd to be alone in a quiet house before sunset. I walked around the house, listened to the clocks, and went upstairs to rummage in my stash. Sigh. So many odd-balls in there. I really must figure out what to do with them. A log cabin blanket maybe? That would clear it all out in a hurry. Boring, but practical. Lots of mittens for charity? Hats? I dunno.

Okay baby, you can come out now!

I told Michelle she could have her baby now - I'm all done knitting.

The Starghan from the last post is for the new baby; Elijah is a gift for the big-sister-to-be.

Is he not adorable? (And no, I have no problem with a pink boy elephant. After all, Lumpy the Heffalump was purple.)

Pattern: Elijah, by Ysolda Teague
Source: downloaded through Ravelry
Yarn: Bella DK (Universal Yarns), 1 skein, light pink

Needles: US 3
Time to completion: 8 days, including one day I didn't work on it because I had no stuffing available.

Pattern notes: A wonderfully written pattern, no mistakes that I could find, and crystal-clear in the directions of exactly where to pick up the stitches for the arms, legs, and ears.

Next up: Little Blue Sweater by Simona Merchant-Dest. Swatch, swatch, swatch. Turns out I will be doing the whole sweater on size 11 needles, rather than the recommended 9 and 10.5. Unless my tension loosens up midway, which has been known to happen.

Knitted Starghan

I finished the Starghan, with only weeks to spare before Michelle's baby is born. Now I'm frantically putting ears on Elijah, a little gift for the soon-to-be big sister.

Here's the blanket!

Details:
Pattern: my own! The crochet version of this is quite popular, but I prefer knitting. I wasn't able to find a knitted pattern online, so I figured it out myself. I plan to write it up and post it on Ravelry as soon as I finish Elijah.
Yarn: Bernat Baby Softee, 4 skeins
Needles: US6. I started on DPNs, then moved to 24" and 36" circulars as the blanket grew.
Time to finish: 3 weeks once I figured out how to do it.

Back to the needles - just 1.5 ears to go! Due date is T+30 days, but baby #1 came 3 weeks early, so I figure I'd better get this done by the end of the week.