Cable Madness

Well, you can't see them in this photo, but this Knotty but Nice hat will be filled with cables when it is finished! I just finished cabled legwarmers, and enjoyed them so much I thought I'd continue the cabling with a hat. I love cables. So tedious, so easy to mess up ... so hard to fix without tinking. Just love them.

I've just started the cable round. This is my only WIP at the moment. I've been very good at doing just one thing at a time, though I am starting to think about a few other things. Really long socks ... another pair of legwarmers ... But so far my determination to destash is still stronger than my desire to acquire new yarn.

Tell me in the comments what you all are working on! Is it cold where you live? Do you knit for warmth or for fun, this time of year?

I leave you with my favorite picture of perpetually disgruntled Fat Petunia:

I'm not fat, I'm big-boned!

Finally Fall!

It's finally Fall here in Baltimore! You know what that means ...

Almost time to bring out the winter socks! And shawls and sweaters and scarves ... I love this time of year.

On this topic--do any of you sock-makers have a trick for keeping the bottom of the heel from wearing out? I don't refer to the back of the heel, but underneath, on the trodding-upon part. I have a big problem with my socks wearing out on the bottom of the heel, and it's very frustrating.

Anyway, on to the WIPs!

The Hot Gams leg warmers ... one done, another partly done, and I don't think I have enough yarn AND I can't find this color anymore! I've only checked three stores, but it appears that Paton's Classic Wool is now Wool Worsted and no longer available in Chestnut. I'll have to look online, I reckon, but I'm hoping I'll have enough.

I was browsing blogs last week and found someone who'd just knit this Knotty but Nice hat. I really liked it, and happened to have an entire skein of Cascade on hand, so I started one. Two cabled projects underway!

The pattern for the hat was quite complicated. I was going to print it out, but my printer is only printing light yellow right now. So I copied it onto graph paper. VERY tedious, and Molly Cat sitting on the mouse did not help. Despite her clearly thinking she was doing me a favor.

 Happy Autumn, all!

Finished Object!

Wow, I haven't done a FO Friday in ages!

Baby stuff for a co-worker's baby. I don't know his wife, but it's their third child and I like to knit baby stuff. The baby is due ... well, I don't really know. July was five months pregnant, so four months plus July....anyone? Anyway, the hat is alpaca and the socks are a blend of superwash Cascade and maybe acrylic (the multi-colored part). The socks can be worn over shoes now, and then as socks later. It's easier to do it that way, than to try to figure out how small a newborn's feet are ...

Molly Cat reminds you to stop by Tamis Amis for Finished Object Friday!

Cold Legs? Leg Warmers!

Well, it was chilly Autumn for a few days ... now it's warm again.

I decided to revisit the 80s, and make myself a pair of legwarmers with some stash yarn. Not the kind you wear with leotards in a fitness video, but a thick pair from heavy (4) wool to keep my legs warm when I'm wearing a skirt and walking the half mile from my car to office in November.  

This pattern is Hot Gams Legwarmers. They have a six-stitch cable, and I've just done the first one at the top. Unfortunately, I can't really count this as a destash ... I think I'm going to have to buy one more skein of yarn. But I will have destashed three skeins, so that counts.

The crease about 2 inches up is where I made eyelets. The top is supposed to be folded down and tied with an I-cord just under the knee. It's a fast knit -- K2P2 ribbing, then K2P2K6/C6P2. I love it when I can memorized a pattern before the end of the first repeat.

Molly Cat reminds you to visit Tamis Amis for Work-in-Progress Wednesday!

Little Items for Babies on the Way

I've decided to stop fretting about the project-that-shall-not-be-named, and concentrate on some new, small projects. A co-worker is expecting a baby (third child, first boy), and a close friend is expecting a sixth child (no idea what gender, but there are four boys and one girl). This gives me an opportunity to knit up some small stuff, with the Cascade 220 I have leftover from other projects, and other odds and ends laying around. Unfortunately, some of the odds-n-ends have been around for a long time, and I no longer have any idea what type of fiber it is, never mind how it should be washed!

Socks are always good for babies in the winter, unless of course they're in onesies with feet. In any case, I'm making these socks big enough to be over-socks ... they could slip on over the baby's shoes, or onesie feet, for extra warmth in the winter. Then they could be worn as socks for a toddler.

When the socks are finished, I'm going to scout around for another project for a newborn. Perhaps another bunting ... I really enjoyed the last bunting, though I was tired of it by the time it was nearing its end!

Petunia wants to remind you to stop by and visit Tamis Amis for Work-in-Progress Wednesday!

New Levels of Misunderstandery

Remember this? The skirt that I can't seem to get right?

Well, guess how I messed up *this* time?

Do you notice that the green part of the skirt seems a little ... snug?

Well ... that's because I seemed to think a size 4US knitting needle was the same thing as a 4mm knitting needle.

Yeah. Really. 7 years of knitting, and I still mess that one up. I knit 28 rows with a 3.5mm needle because I just glanced at the directions, saw a "4," and assumed it meant size 4US. A size 4US needle made for an overskirt that was juuuuuust a tad too tight.

I sighed, considered my options, pulled it all back, and started over with a 4mm needle. Which, in my knitting collection, means 4.25mm, because apparently a size 6US is both 4mm and 4.25mm. And I only had one 4mm, so I had to go with the pair of 4.25mm. I can't wait to see how this turns out. 

Here it is with the correct size 6US/4.25mm needle. I tell you, I have messed this skirt up so much, I'm no longer going to link it to the pattern -- I think the designer would want it that way.





To prove to myself that I still know how to knit, I made a Baby Leaves Baby Hat.

I should have folded the brim up, but didn't think of it.

I haven't been knitting a whole lot lately. Summer is passing from eastern Maryland, and the cooler weather has meant I've been able to get some long-neglected work done around the house (painting, clearing out, etc) and I've been running a lot more in preparation for my half of a 16-mile two-partner relay this Saturday.

So ... don't forget to stop by Tamis Amis for Work-in-Progress Wednesday!

Even Momma Girl is ashamed of my skirt project.

&^#%$(@

I can't remember a time when I wasn't blogging about the Sasha skirt.

Full disclosure ... I am getting pretty tired of it!

The rainbow colors were just a temporary thing. I attempted a dye job ...

Which resulted in this ...

Er--hang on a minute.

This.

I stirred it gently several times, but the dye just didn't soak in. At this point, I'm not sure what I will do with it. I will likely just finish it anyway because I know I would wear it on weekends, as a comfy winter-time skirt with warm sweater tights. I'm just frustrated that the dye job didn't work. I don't know if it would do any good to attempt to dye the bottom part, which is the only part that will really show after the other tiers are finished. And I seem to have missed a purl row somewhere, which is where you start the tiers. And I don't know why the green layer is so much tighter than the brown underneath it!

This is my second frustrating project in a row. Argh! In an attempt to save my sanity, I started a simple legwarmer, in an attempt to use up my lovely Cascade 220 remnants. I can't wait to see how I screw those up!!

Don't forget to stop by Tamis Amis for Work-in-Progress Wednesday!