Flo's Triangle

This is a gift for my Dad's older sister, Florene, who is the favorite Auntie for me and all of my cousins. She is turning 80 this year and we are having a party on Saturday to celebrate her!

Pattern: Flo's Triangle by me as directed by Evelyn A. Clark in her book "Knitting Lace Triangles"
Yarn: 2 ply lace weight "optimum" stretched merino spun by me on my Jensen
Needles: US size 5
Experience: This is a great book to use to make your own combination of lace for a shawl. It was the perfect vehicle for the about 500 yards of handspun optima I had that wasn't sure what to use it for. This yarn is so ridiculously soft and shiny! I cannot find this fiber to buy more - I bought this 4 ounces at the Knitter's Connection in June. If anyone knows where to get some, please tell me! Here is a review of SWT yarn made from the same fiber that describes the process somewhat.

The requisite "unblocked" picture.

My attempt to capture the shine.

Evidence of reckless planning - I ended up having to ply some singles that I sampled because I ran out 5 inches from the end while binding off. The remnant doesn't even register on my kitchen scale. And people think knitting isn't thrilling! ha!

Happy Halloween

2 Weeks Later....

And since the bones are healing nicely we have a lovely blue smaller, lighter, waterproof, glow-in-the-dark-striped cast.


She will have to wear this smaller one for 4 more weeks, but the fact that IT'S WATERPROOF makes it all OK. The worst part for Em seems to have been that she needed help bathing.

snagged from cuteoverload.com for "Caturday"

You must have the sound on. It's a cat thing.

Cropped Cardigan with Leaf Ties

I made this in August and am just now getting around to blogging about it. I started this blog so I could keep track of my knitted things, but now there's Ravelry and it seems kind of redundant to post here as well. I may be giving up the blog.

Front view with puffy-looking eyes

back view - note the longer length

Pattern: Cropped Cardigan with Leaf Ties by Stephanie Japel, Fitted Knits
Yarn: Noro Cash Iroha from Little Knits, light granny smith green. 9 skeins
Size: 45"
Needles: US 5 Addi's
Mods:

- I made the sleeves and body a little longer
- I used leftover Cotton Fleece from the diamond mesh sweater for the hem facings because I was afraid I would run out of yarn, but I like the yellow contrast and think it turned out well.
- completely changed the leaf ends and made the ties a little shorter. The seed stitch leaf in the pattern looked wrong to me, so I made a generic leaf from one of Nicky Epstein's edge books and and a matching back for each leaf which turned out really cute.
- The cardi turned out too big even though I got spot-on gauge. I have (maybe temporarily until I think of something better) turned the front edges in at about the place where the cast-on stitches start, and then sewed them in place like a facing. I started the applied i-cord then at the folded edge. Any suggestions for finishing this another way - short of re-knitting - are appreciated.

The pictures look pretty crappy (color-wise) and it's actually more flattering than it appears. The sleeve picture is probably closest to actual color.

See the cool Cotton Fleece yellow facing? Clever, clever!

Tie Front Cardigan #6

Front of the sweater. Obvi.

The back. I think it looks funny from this angle, I had my husband take the picture.

Pattern: Tie Front Cardigan #6 by Shirley Paden from the Holiday 2006 Vogue Knitting, largest size
Yarn: Kraemer Sterling, less than 4 skeins. 63% Superwash Merino, 20% Silk, 15% Nylon & 2% REAL Silver fibers
Needles: Addi's in sizes US 4, 5, and 6.
Modifications: I didn't make the waist shaping since I don't have as much real-life waist shaping as I would like. This made the ending stitch count on the shoulder seams larger which was OK because I have broad shoulders. I think I could have made them a little bit smaller, though - the pattern said 29 and I had like 35 stitches. I also had to work with the shoulders in order to get them set in - I could have knit them at least an inch shorter on the cap.

Blocked with blocking wires, and I used the small flexible ones to shape the sleeve caps which was pretty neat. You can see them in the blocking pictures.**for some reason I can't upload my blocking pictures, but you can see them on Ravelry. It was a real pain steaming the ruffled collar, but it looked so much better after I had. It really looks much better in person, you can appreciate the "bling" in the yarn and feel the soft silky goodness.

This picture is for Lisa because she complains I'm always headless. Lisa, now do you see why I cut off my head??!!!

Soccer Season is Now Over

At least it's over for Emily. Poor baby took on the Biggest Girl on the Orange Team in the first game of the playoffs, and paid a price for stopping a goal. She had a clean break of both her radius and ulna just above the wrist on the right arm, and is in the big cast for a couple weeks, hopefully to go to a smaller one after that. She was very brave during the treatment and setting, and we all hope she feels better soon. Thankfully children heal quickly!

She's getting lots of TLC from the family. Oh, and her team won! Go, Blue Bombers!




Knitting updates to come soon. I am claiming that I'm too busy with school, dance, and soccer to have posted since September. :o)