Baby Kimono x2

The Pattern: Garter Stitch Baby Kimono by Joji Locatelli
Size: 1-3 months
The Yarn: Rowan RYC Siena (153.0yds/139.9m) in Flounce (3 balls), Grasshopper (3 balls), and Frost (1 ball)
Needle size: US 4/3.5mm

Started: 7/6/11
Finished: 8/11/11

Quick knits made for these two cuties, our soon to be god-kids. Twins born to good friends of ours. The one with the smirk is Grant and Gabby is the angel on the right.

I had a larger vertical gauge than was called for so I didn't do as many decreases along the neckline, so the necks ended up a little tight.

The edging is an applied I-cord.

Overall they turned out pretty cute.

Eggplant Ascot

Continuing with the gifts. I made this ascot for a friend's January birthday. It is being modeled by my mommy.

The Pattern: Huckleberry Ascot by Kat Coyle
The Yarn: Frog Tree Alpaca Sportweight in Eggplant 2 skeins (260yds/237.7m)
Needle size: US 6

Started: 12/25/10
Finished: 12/27/10

I really like the Frog Tree Alpaca, soft and light.

Short rows are used to get the ends to flair out.

Then you pick up stitches along the edges and line them with bobbles.
A very nice looking quick knit.

Heads and Hands

I had a lot of time off in Dec and Jan so I made hat and mitten sets for Megan and Anna.

The Hat Pattern: Ear Cozies (CH-34) by Bev Galeskas
Hat Sizes: Large for Megan and Medium for Anna

The Mitten Pattern: Kathy's Mittens by Chris de Longpré
Mitten Sizes: Preschool for Megan and Toddler for Anna

The Yarn: 1 skein of Lion Brand Vanna's Choice Baby in Berrylicious and 1 skein each of Caron Simply Soft Party Black Sparkle and Purple Sparkle
Needle size: US 9

Started: 1/5/11
Finished: 1/14/11

I really like the ear cozie pattern. It has two versions the pointed and rounded. I made the pointed for Anna in the past, so I used the rounded this time and added pom poms.

I wanted the sets to be similar, but not identical. So for the body of Anna's mittens and hat I used a polka dot pattern.
Anna has the hat on backwards in this picture. When it is turned around the cozies fit over her ears better.

Then for Megan I did stripes. Hmmm Megan has her hat on backwards too, I can see the seam O_o
The mitten pattern was relatively easy to follow. The only modification I made was lengthening the cuffs.

Christmas Cardigans

The nieces and nephew recieved cardigans this past Christmas

This is Wes (4mo.) in his old man sweater. I love this picture, he looks like such a little gentleman.

The Pattern: Baby Sophisticate by Linden Down
Size: 6-12 mo.
The Yarn: Berroco Vintage™ Chunky 1 3/4 skeins of Crackled Pepper 6107 (227.5yds/208m)
Needle size: US 8 or 9, sorry I forgot :'(

Started: 11/23/10
Finished: 11/30/10

This is a very easy to follow pattern and I love the shawl collar. I also really liked the yarn, it was nice and soft.

These plastic buttons fashioned to look like woven leather really helped complete the look.

Continuing from youngest to oldest...this is Anna (2 yrs 8 mos). with my brother. She is wearing Tiny Tea Leaves

The Pattern: Tiny Tea Leaves by Melissa LaBarre
Size: 3/4 yrs
The Yarn: Knit Picks Shine Sport in Grass 4.5 skeins (495yds/452.6m)
Needle size: US 7 and 8

Started: 11/13/10
Finished: 12/20/10

I was worried about the neckline. A lot of projects on Ravelry seemed to have loose necks, which I didn't want. So for garter stitches on the yoke I used the smaller needles. It helped tightened up the neckline, so it didn't look sloppy.

The yarn was from my stash. I had started making the hexacomb cardigan with it, but didn't really like how it was turning out so I frogged it. I think it worked well for this project though.

And here is Megan (4 1/2 yrs). I started out planning to make the Lion Brand hooded raglan cardigan, but realized it required a lot of seaming. So I switched to the Duck Soup pattern eliminating the knot on the hood and replacing the garter stitch edge with a 2x2 rib.

The Pattern: Duck Soup by Anny Purls
Size: 4/5 yrs
The Yarn: Lion Bran Wool Ease Chunky in Wheat 2.25 skeins (344.3yds/314.8m)
Needle size: US 11

Started: 12/20/10
Finished: 12/23/10

I had already bought the yarn called for in the LB hooded cardi, but it is a lot heavier than what is called for in the duck soup pattern. So I followed the instructions for the 3 mo. size for the stitch counts (remember that you still need to follow the vertical height measurements for the 4/5 size).

In order to do the 2x2 edging along the button bands and hood I eliminated 9 stitches on each side. When you get to the raglan increases start the row with K1 M1 place marker M1 work 2 sts for the sleeve M1 place marker M1 following pattern instructions for the number of stitches along the back then M1 place marker M1 work 2 for the sleeve M1 place marker M1 K1.

When you're finished with the hood and body pick up stitches along the edge to create the 2x2 rib. I used a 2:3 ration. Remember to add evenly space button holes on one side of the band.

If you look at the first pic you'll notice I knit the sleeves a little too short the first time around, so I had to go back and lengthen them. Unfortunately I didn't get a new pic.

Mitered Hanging Towels and Scroll Shaped Semolina Bread

The Pattern: Mitered Hanging Towels by Cristina Bernardi Schiffman published in Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines and available online at canadianliving.com
The Yarn: 3 balls of Red Heart ECO Cottom in vanilla, denim, and linen marl - one of each color (145yd/133m per ball)
Needle size: US8/5.0mm

Started: 6/17
Finished: 7/10

I made these for a gift, but I still don't have a recipient in mind. This was a nice project to give me a break from Anthemion (This thing is taking forever!). You could knit one of these in a day or over the course of a couple evenings.

I bought this yarn with no particular project in mind. I just happened upon it when I was at Knit-A-Way. I loved the look of the denim and linen marl colors. The yarn is 75% recycled fabric remnants from t-shirts and 25% acrylic. It felt a little bit stiffer than other cotton blends I've used in the past. It is a good yarn for householdy items. So when I ran across this pattern in Mason-Dixon I decided to dig out the Red Heart.

The buttons are 28mm in diameter and made of horn. I got them at M&J Trimming on 6th Avenue between 37th & 38th. They broke my bank at about $5 a piece, but they are so handsome and perfect for these towels I couldn't leave them behind.

Here is my latest baking creation.

Pane Siciliano. Again from the Bread Baker's Apprentice. I didn't get the shaping quite right. I think the problem was the surface tension on the dough. So when they rose they sort of just melted together, making the scroll shape less obvious than the loaves pictured in the book.

I ate one loaf over a week and froze the other two loaves. They weren't quite as good out of the freezer, but they make good cheesy garlic bread.

This is how I do cheesy garlic bread:
Place desired number of slices under the broiler to toast.
Crush one clove of garlic and rub it on the toasted bread.
Place a layer of cheese on top. I use shredded parmesan, but you could use mozzarella or whatever.
Stick the bread back under the broiler until the cheese starts to brown. Enjoy!

News Bulletin

Thought I'd finally let you know what I've been up to.

Mid-Feb I was really busy putting my portfolio together. I had a review to get into upper division at FIT scheduled for the 26th. I worked really hard to get everything together, then there was a freaking snow storm and my review was rescheduled for March 11.

In between I went to Vegas.
My first time. J and I stayed at Cesear's Palace. Here's the view from our room:
That big pool of water is the Bellagio fountain. I swear our room was bigger than our apartment. Guess that's not so surprising considering we live in a studio.


Our friends from Fargo met up with us there and we had a really good time. I even played poker. Now J and I want to go down there for a weekend every year :)

When we got back my schedule was thrown off and I still haven't gotten totally straightened out. I had my portfolio review and was accepted into the BA program. Yay me!

Oh I've also taken up baking bread.

This is a loaf of sandwich bread and some buttery rosemary dinner rolls. Yum.

There has been some knitting too. I participated in my first Ravelympics. Its an event on Ravelry where you try to knit a project start to finish during the Olympics. Unfortunately I was a total failure and didn't finish my project. I did finish this before the Ravelympics started:

Another Duck Soup Sweater. This one was for Elise, the daughter of our friends that met us in Vegas.

Here's the project run down:
Duck Soup by Anny Purls
Yarn: MC Cascade Yarn 220 Superwash Color #858 - 2 skeins
Closures Regia Design Line by Kaffe Fassett Color #4451 - maybe 1/4 of a skein
Size: 18 months
Needle size: US9/5.5mm and US1 for closures


Pretty cute.

And I did another swap. This is what I gave my partner:

And I got this lovely package in return:


Whew! A lot has happened.

Now I'm working on:
Getting my portfolio in digital format to apply for a scholarship
Finishing my Clothilde shawl (I'm currently mad at it)
Finishing my Whisper cardigan that I started for Ravelry
School
Work
Sleeeeep

Ok I'm off to knock that last one off the list. G'night!

Elvira for Megan

The Pattern: Elvira by Sanne Bjerregaard
Size: 4
The Yarn: A little less than 3 balls of Sandnes Garn Lanett in 158
Needle size: 5

Started: 12/14
Finished: 12/23

I thought this was a fun item that could be worn year-round. All you have to do is switch out the long sleeves for something cooler.

I had a couple issues with the pattern.

1. I didn't like how the notation for the separate sizes was written. I'm used to having the alternate sizes written in parentheses. like this:
   sizes 1 (2, 4, 6/8, 10/12) then within the pattern it would say knit 3 (4, 5, 6, 7)
   Instead they were written like 1 (2) 4 (6/8) 10/12 and within the pattern like knit 3 (4) 5 (6) 7. The color makes it easy to follow, but all the added parentheses gets a little confusing.
2. On the increase rows it doesn't tell you how many stitches you should end up with. Granted I could figure it out by counting how many increases per repeat and how many repeats per row, but my math isn't all that reliable and it gets rather time consuming considering how many increase rows there are. Stitch counts (at least at the end of every section) would've been a help.

Other than that I thought the pattern was great. I like the strips of eyelets and the lacy collar. And best of all it is one piece, no seaming required!

I chose some clear, heart-shaped buttons to finish this off. They're hard to see in the pic. I should have taken a picture of them before attaching the the tunic. But I assure you they are cute.

I followed the pattern's instructions for the length and this ends up hitting her below the bum, but not long enough to be a dress.

Learn from my mistakes:

1. I didn't use smaller needles on the neckline as directed in the pattern, but I wish I had. The neckline fits her fine, but it is kinda stretchy so if she keeps tugging on it like in the pic its going to become a skirt. Using the smaller needles would have made the area tighter, perhaps preventing the neckline becoming a waistline.
2. The back starts out as two sections to create the button flap area and then joined together after that. When I joined the sections I wasn't paying attention. I got a good 2 to 3 inches along before I realized that I had gotten one of the sides twisted and had to rip it back :'(
   Its one of those lines you always read in the pattern "join in the round making sure not to twist" and you think HA! I would never do that! And shamefully I did.
3. Also don't recommend giving yourself less than 2 weeks to work on this. I was on a X-mas time crunch, otherwise I would never have pushed myself to get this done in that little time.

Rhythm for Anna

Now that all my holiday knitting has been gifted I can finally post about it.
First up are the hat and scarf I made for my 1 1/2 yr old neice.

The Pattern: Ear Cozies (CH-34) by Bev Galeskas
Size: Medium (1-2 years)
The Yarn: About 3/4 of a ball of Jojoland Rhythm Superwash in RS62
Needle size: 5

Started: 11/25
Finished: 11/26

A couple years ago I made a hat and scarf set for my eldest neice, so this year I thought I'd make one for my younger neice. I chose the ear cozie pattern because I love the way it covers the ears. Gotta keep those little ears toasty!

The ear flaps are made using short rows, which took me a few tries to get right. I was using a varigeated yarn and I wanted both the earflaps to be the same color.

In order to get the earflaps the right color I knit one earflap. Then on the setup row for the second earflap I knit 23 sts, knit wrap with st, k19 sts. Break the yarn and weave in end. Next I joined a second ball of yarn that started with similar coloring as the first and knit 14 sts to finish off the set up row. Continue to knit per instructions.

There are two versions of this hat, pointy and rounded. I chose pointy, it makes her look like a cute little elf :)

I chose this yarn because I was looking for something variegated and washable. This was also the right weight for the project.

I really liked this pattern and am thinking of making one for myself.

The Pattern: Speed Hook Scarf from Lion Brand
The Yarn: About 2.5 balls of Jojoland Rhythm Superwash in RS62 and almost 1 ball of Cascade 220 Superwash in colorway 1910
Hook size: P 11.5mm

Started: 12/23
Finished: 12/23

I started about 3 different patterns before I settled on this one. First I tried to do a striped version like Brooklyn Tweed's Noro Striped Scarf, but the color combo was looking to masculine to me. I'm not sure how purple and seafoam can look masculine, but it did.

Next I tried a brioche, but I couldn't wrap my brain around the technique.

After that I thought I'd try entralac, but it was too much work to alternate between the two yarns and I didn't have enough of the Jojoland Rhythm to use it solely. So I shelved the scarf for about a month.

At this point it was really late to be knitting a scarf. So I decided I'd go the quicker route using crochet, which remindind me of the speedhook pattern. Its the same pattern that I knit for my oldest neice. Quick and easy.
I'm not totally happy with how it looks with the hat. I feel like they don't look like a matched set.