Rut

I've been in a bit of a knitting rut recently. I have a few projects on the needles that aren't making me excited and no thoughts on what I want to knit next. Of course, I have a variety of patterns on the shelves, but a lot of them are sweaters and with spring coming I don't feel inspired to start a heavy sweater. My usual go-to is lace, but I already have two lace shawls going so I should really focus on those. This morning I picked up Arwen again to keep plowing through the sleeve, but I tire of the loooooong rows making up the front and sleeve. In the meantime I've been keeping my hands busy with cross-stitch.

The other morning while brushing my teeth I was consumed with excitement over a potential use for the linen I bought a few weeks ago. I've been seeing links to this zakka pouch tutorial all over the place. What better for the base than lovely linen? So I wound the yarn before going to work, despite the fact that my morning schedule does not allow for such diversions and I was left running through the neighborhood for the train.

I swatched all week on the train and am currently working on this swatch in linen stitch (well-matched for linen, no?). It's creating almost a woven fabric, which I love. Unfortunately, though, it is hard work on the old hands - there's no give in the linen and it is rough and twiney and I can only bear a few rows at a time. Making an entire bag base like this will be time consuming. Maybe I'll just make some swatches and sew them into things. Or maybe I'll weave some on my handy Weavette and see where that goes...

In other news, I saw adorable Baby B yesterday and the not-so adorable state of his earflap hat! It got tossed in the washer and dryer accidentally and wound up a little felted and shrunken. It also had a little run-in with some velcro. Ouch. I think it could have been worse - the yarn is Karabella 8, which is purportedly washable, but I would not recommend putting it in warm wash and dry.

Problem solved - he'll just wear the hat inside out now. I almost like it better like this. However, now he'll need a new hat for next year because all that growing room has been shrunken right out.

Hats in action

Baby B got his new hat today. As soon as his mom opened the door I knew it would be too big... and it is. I knit the ear flaps upwards of the brim so he could turn that up and get a little more wear out of it. I think he likes it.

And Mama V graciously donned the Fishtrap hat for a little photo shoot in the West Village. Now if only it would get cold enough so I could wear the hat.

In other news, I've been taking advantage of my days off to hit some of the new and not-so-new yarn stores around the City. Last night it was Knitty City on the Upper West Side. I had heard good things about this place and they were true! Cute store, nice sales people and a broad selection of stuff. I browsed for a good long time and no one bugged me. I just had to take this home - Colinette Jitterbug in Velvet Leaf. The picture does not communicate the depth of color, despite my and my camera's best efforts - the name is about right. It's like the richest pine tree you ever saw. A velvet pine tree. What I will do with it is unknown. As I've mentioned, I'm not the biggest sock fan. It will have to be something though...

I am also up for a little stash-busting this week. First on the list is this little beastie that I got from School Products at Stitches East this year:

Delicious udon-noodle-fat cashmere. It will be a hat. (Note: I have not worn one hat yet this season but will now have knit two.)

And this is one of the gems of the collection. Hand-dyed cashmere sock yarn from Loop in London. First off, this place is good fun - go if you have the chance. It's adorable and well-stocked. This yarn is by Hip Knits. Since I have no great love for socks I knew this was destined for something else. I've decided on the Lace Cowl from The Purl Bee. I think it will go smashing with my new cream hat repertoire. PS: The yardage on this is insane! 500 meters! Hurray!

Tomorrow: Hopefully a finished apron.

Hats off to me

Baby ear flap hat: Check!
Pattern: Loosely based on the beanie in Simple Knits for Cherished Babies.
Yarn: Karabella Aurora 8 from School Products.
Modifications: Cast on more stitches due to different gauge. Tubular cast-on for brim. Added ear flaps inspired by "Kim's Hats" in Last Minute Knitted Gifts, also with some modifications (I did four rows decreasing at either end and then did decreases at each end of each row which created the cupped look). I also stitched his initial on the back, so he's easily identifiable in a crowd.

Baby B is going to try it on tomorrow so let's hope it works!

Fishtrap aran hat: Check !!!
Pattern: Elizabeth Zimmerman's Fishtrap Aran Swatchcap from Knitter's Almanac.
Yarn: Brooks' Farm Four Play, purchased at Rhinebeck.
Modifications: That would suggest there was an actual pattern to follow...

Yes, that's right - I finished the twisted stitch beast. I sat down and knit furiously right through Pride and Prejudice and now it's all over but the blocking (which is in progress). As I've complained, this was not my favorite thing to knit. There were so many stitches to move on every cabling row (i.e., every other row) that it made my hands hurt. Plus, I'm a girl who likes order and instruction in her knitting. I did not particularly enjoy winging the crown shaping, although it came out nicely enough. In the end, I am pleased with the hat and it looks great on my head, if I do say so myself (modeling pictures tomorrow when it's dry). Added bonus: I have at least half the ball of yarn left. It will not become another Fishtrap hat, sorry folks.

Also blocking: The Boy's Bubble Scarf
Pattern: Bubble Scarf from Scarf Style
Yarn: Silky Tweed by Elsebeth Lavold
Modifications: None!

I finished this scarf over a year ago. The Boy wore it almost every day, and it was in desperate need of a bath and a block. So here are some shots of it reblocking. I loved working on this - great pattern, great yarn and great finished product.

Baby needs a new hat

New yarn it is! I was in the neighborhood and had a store credit, so I made a stop into School Products on Saturday and picked up some Karabella Aurora 8. I thought this would be the ideal yarn for a warm winter baby hat because it's merino and soft, yet also washable.

Baby hat - straightforward, yes? Of course I have to make things difficult. First off, I thought I would continue on my tour through tubular cast-ons and use one for this hat. Second, Mama has requested ear flaps. So the initial plan was to do a tubular cast-on using waste yarn and keep the ear flap stitches on the provisional yarn rather than picking them up. Math was done, gauge was guessed, and I was off.

After a few missteps with the cast-on resulting from attempts to watch tv and pick up stitches in dim light at the same time, things were moving along nicely. Per the usual I was a little concerned with the inflexibility of the edge but it seemed serviceable. However, after a few inches I just felt like it was going to be way, way too big. While I was shocked to learn the actual girth of the baby head (did you know they are close to 17" at 5 months?! I have an adult friend with an 18" head! And before you get snarky, she is very smart), this was just too big.

Out it came.



I decided to attempt again with fewer stitches and the Vogue Knitting tubular cast-on "A". Success! The cast-on is less tidy than Amelia's but more flexible and frankly, baby won't mind. I'm loosely basing the rest of the hat on the beanie from Simple Knits for Cherished Babies, one of my favorite baby books. I then plan to pick up stitches inside the brim and knit down for some snuggly ear flaps. Stay tuned...