The End in Sight

This morning I was trying to think of a good way to describe how I feel as I head into the end of my pregnancy. Imagine that you are running a marathon and having come a great distance you are now nearing the end. Even though the finish line is still a ways off, you can see it ahead of you. Just as you start to get excited, you get terrible cramps and overpowering nausea. Somehow you still need to make it to the end, however. As I lay awake this morning at 4:30 am with heartburn and an aching body this was the best analogy that I could think of, nevermind that I've never actually run a marathon or given birth. I've never felt encumbered by the need to have firsthand knowledge of examples I use in conversation. Despite the aches and pains I am still doing well, and the hubby and I are getting anxious and excited to finally meet our little girl.

In FO news, I give you the Spiderweb Capelet. OK, I actually finished it ages ago (last summer with the knitting and this fall I added the pompoms), but in a fit of complete laziness I never posted the particulars or action shots. I could make up some lame excuse like not wanting to look fat in the photos or that the yarn bothered my overly sensitive pregnancy skin, but honestly it is incredibly soft and it was pretty easy to take photos that don't really show my belly. It was just one of those things that I never got around to. I also find the idea of "action photos" particularly amusing since I am capable of very little actual activity these days, but I suppose that is not imperative for modeling knits.



Yarn: Lana Gatto Baby Soft
Pattern: Spiderweb Capelet in Stitch 'n Bitch Nation
Changes: None, I knit the pattern as written
Yardage: 1 skein (131 yards), plus a bit more for the pompoms
Needle: US 15 (yes, that's huge)
Time: Started at the end of June and finished knitting in two days, and took another several months to add the ties and pompoms (I was waiting for colder weather ;)
Notes: I should have used a more stretchy cast on, since it was hard to block the lace properly at the bottom edge of the capelet. Other than that, this pattern was extremely easy and made a good first lace project.

Soon I will post a spectacular knitted gift roundup. With a large number of knitting friends, our baby will definitely be the best dressed in the neighborhood!

The Pom-Pom Squad

Having crafty friends means that you get really cool gifts like this:



For those of you who don't know, it's a pom-pom tree, used to quickly and easily produce pom-poms. My very wise friend decided that with a baby on the way, I was in dire need of same way to decorate knitted baby items. While I don't plan to force my poor infant to wear oodles of pom-poms like a small, human-like poodle, they really are a nice decorative touch on certain items. Take the recently adorned items below, for example:
Not only was I able to put the finishing touches on my spiderweb capelet (I will devote the next post to its specs), but I was also able to decorate these two cute baby hats. These hats will likely be stored away for baby gifts (have I mentioned that I always need lots of baby gifts; my friends are very fertile it would seem). If you have any need of making pom-poms, I can't say enough good things about the tree! Oh, and to answer the question posed by jenfromRI, I am feeling pretty good, but could really do without the indigestion and I do have to pee quite a bit more often than is considered usual.

The Lazy Days of Summer

I feel like a slacker, as I've been blogging less than usual. As I peruse the other blogs I regularly visit, though, I've noticed there may be a general trend in this direction. Also, there are a lot more non-knitting posts than usual. I think there are a lot of reasons for this recent decrease in blogging/knitting activity.

1. Weather - it is so darn hot in most places that yarn is just not as appealing as usual (and I never thought I'd say that). Even cotton yarn seems heavy in 100 degree heat.

2. Vacations - we are all trying to go to the beach, see friends, barbecue, and travel before the summer is over.

3. Harry Potter 7 - who can think about knitting when the very last book has just come out? I confess, for several days I was reading it whenever I could spare 5 minutes. This seriously cut into my knitting and blogging time (also, my cooking, working, and socializing time, but it was worth it).

Just to prove that I am doing a little crafting, here is another FO. I know you are all super tired of seeing these, but it makes a great baby gift and sizing is not an issue. This one has already been gifted to its new owner, who seemed to like it very much (well, her mom and dad did, anyway).

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in white and pink, Patons Canadiana in Baby
Pattern: Seija blanket in The Happy Hooker
Changes: I added a shell edge and left out the braided trim.
Yardage: 2/3 of the skeins of pink and white, and nearly the whole skein of the Canadiana.
Hook: size H

The Road to Success

"The road to success is always under construction." - Lily Tomlin

There are usually a couple of potholes too, just to keep you awake as you drive along. If you've ever been in Rhode Island you know what I mean. Here you have my latest FO. Both the vest I finished earlier this year and this tank top were very close to completion for far too long. Just imagine how long it would have taken if they'd had sleeves? Anyway, here it is, even finished in the appropriate season:


Yarn: all worsted weight mercerized cotton, King Tut in mauve, Linie 12 in white, and Klaus Koch Kollection Clip in light pink

Pattern: ribbed tank from Knit.1 summer 2005

Changes: I made it longer and striped instead of solid. Also I used single crochet up the sides to give it piping look on the side seems (my regular seaming looked sloppy).

Yardage: about 300 yards of the mauve (less than 2 hanks) and about 150 yards of each of the white and light pink

Needles: US size 9

Start/End Date: Started on June 1, 2006 (one of my Amazing Lace projects) and finished seaming on April 22, 2007. It then took me another two months get around to crocheting the edging and weaving in the ends, and another month to have my hubby take some photos.

Notes: This pattern included some bust shaping which I found not only unnecessary, but I also thought it looked bad, breaking up the rib pattern in an odd way. Also, according to more experienced knitters, it was a peculiar way to do bust shaping (not short rows, like you might have expected). I also added about 3 inches to the length (I wanted to make sure it wasn't cropped).

Overall, I am happy with it, although weaving in all the ends in cotton has made me want to avoid doing stripes for a good long time. Also, next time I will wear it with a tank that sits lower in back to show off the keyhole better and put on a belt to cinch in the waist. That will hopefully give it a slimmer line. I think it looks more flattering in real life than the photos would have you believe (the camera adds 10 pounds, right?), even with the horizontal stripes. ;)

Next, I hope to tackle some more, ahem, long-standing UFOs. My poor Schachenmayr sweater consists of one lonely sleeve that is just a tiny bit too big (by a "tiny bit" I mean an inch all around; just like the Yarn Harlot says, gauge swatches lie). In the mean time, I've been working on lots of small baby items for gifts. Small items are so much fun, especially in summer!

Wordy enough for you?

Despite a rather poor performance on the verbal portion of the GRE some 10+ years ago, I feel that my vocabulary is fairly descent. However, it's always nice to have a random internet test confirm that.

Your Vocabulary Score: A

Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary! You must be quite an erudite person.

How's Your Vocabulary?

But what of my knitting vocabulary? I just recently sat down and figured out the difference between M1 and kfb. It seems sort of obvious now, but in the projects I've done so far it honestly didn't matter how I managed to increase, so I never gave it too much thought. Also, this morning I figured out how to do icord, so I could finish the umbilical cord hat form Stitch 'N Bitch properly. I used Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino. It may be an expensive yarn, but it is extremely soft and has beautiful stitch definition. The icord was so easy that I feel rather foolish for not learning sooner. I think I may need to try some cables soon!

Summer Knitting

Even though some disagree, summer can be a fun time to knit, as long as you put away that heavy wool sweater and pull out some warm weather yarns. As for patterns, anything lacy and full of holes is a good choice. To that end, I have started the spiderweb capelet from SnB Nation. The capelet is actually for me, to keep the chill off my shoulders on cool summer evenings.

Working on the capelet should be good practice, since I recently joined Mystery Stole 3. Not wanting to break my trend of joining a lace knitalong every summer (last summer it was The Amazing Lace), I convinced myself it would be a good idea. This was assisted by the extremely generous offer from Theresa of Knitting Underway, who graciously offered to send me the lace weight yarn leftover from one the most impressive lace projects ever, the 8-ft by 8-ft chuppah she made for a friend's wedding. Thanks Theresa!

Next is the ball-band dishcloth which is a gift for a friend. As many before me have said, these dishcloths are fun!
In addition to the capelet and the mystery shawl, I have several other cotton and/or short sleeve sweaters in the queue. It would seem that my summer will be full of knitting!

California Dreamin'

I'd be safe and warm
If I was in L.A.
California dreamin'
On such a winter's day - The Mamas and The Papas

I have to admit that some things make a lot more sense since I've moved to southern California. Certainly, I can relate to the above lyrics now that I'm growing accustomed to the lovely weather here. Other things however, still amuse me. For example, the weather forecasts here need some interpretation. For those of you who may be visiting here is a helpful guide:

1. marine layer - it will be overcast in the morning, but clear up and be sunny by afternoon. For those of you who like to whine, just remember that it's the only thing keeping the temps from reaching 90's or 100's

2. partly cloudy - Someone, somewhere in the entire southern California area saw one wispy little cloud. Be warned, that little cloud may cross over the sun for 3 seconds!

3. rain - A large news event. Seriously, stop what you're doing and stare at the water falling from the sky. This almost never happens here.

4. heavy rain - The drops of water actually make it to the ground before evaporating. See above regarding newsworthiness.

5. beautiful - Most people would consider nearly every day here beautiful. However, for us the high temps should be between 70 and 85 degress, only a little wind, and it shouldn't be too dry or too humid. Yes, we really are that picky.

6. Santa Ana winds - Batton down the hatches and go indoors! This is the hottest, dustiest wind you'll ever experience.

Hopefully this guide will help you plan better for your next trip to our part of the country.

Just to answer a quick questions from JenfromRI, yes the Seija blankets have a hole in the center for a seat belt. This makes it handy for car seats and strollers, I am told. Apparently, babies derive great joy from kicking such things off, so being able to belt it in is a fun way to foil them.

I finished yet another Seija. This is for a little boy and is a companion to the minty one, which is intended for his twin sister. This blanket was particularly awesome because it used a ton of some old yarn I've had for at least 10 years (the dark green). I have almost used up all my old acrylic yarn!
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in bone and Caron Colour Perfect in woodsy green
Pattern: Seija blanket in The Happy Hooker
Changes: I used 86 stitches rather than 74 and added a few more rows. Instead of the double crochet and braid I just did three rows of single crochet around the edge (one green, two tan).
Yardage: most of the skein of bone and woodsy green
Hook: size H
Notes: Once again, great pattern

I've started another Seija in pink/white/multi for my friend's one month old little girl. I promise to quit boring you with the same pattern over and over again very soon (only two more after the pink one; boy are my friends fertile!). With all the leftovers from these Seijas, I plan to make a couple of multi-colored baby afghans. I am considering using big chunks of color, like the Color Bar blanket in the Happy Hooker. It won't look like the actual color bar per se, but would be a bit more modern and interesting I think. On the other hand, I could do knitted log cabin squares or a more standard crocheted granny square afghan. Any suggestions?

I know you are probably doubting it, but I actually have been knitting too. Here is a finished baby hat that will be yet another gift.
I also started a ball-band dishcloth from Mason-Dixon Knitting (a gift for an actual adult) and the spider web capelet from SnB Nation. I will post photos once I get a big further on those projects.

Too Good to Be True

"It's all make believe, isn't it?" - Marilyn Monroe

There are some views that just seem too perfect to be real. For example, this is where we spent Memorial Day:
It was so relaxing to spend the day at the beach, even though I got a tiny bit sunburned (OK, more like a lot sunburned and it's still a little burnt even a week later). I even brought some crafting with me, which leads me to another FO for 2007. I have finished yet another of the lovely Seija blanket, which I can practically crochet in my sleep at the this point. Here is minty version, which I made for a colleague's little girl:
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in white and soft green, Caron Colour Perfect in pine (this last one's been in the stash for at least 10 years)
Pattern: Seija blanket in The Happy Hooker
Changes: I added a shell edge and left out the braided trim. I added some more stitches to make 86 rather than 74, and then added a few more rows as well. My seatbelt hole is a little off-center because I am clearly incapable of doing math when distracted by the slightest thing.
Yardage: most of the skein of soft green, and about 2/3 of the skein of white and pine.
Hook: size H
Notes: This pattern works up quickly and seems to be a well-liked gift.

I have three more Seija blankets in the pipeline in a wide variety of colors, so expect to see many more of these. Here is the start of another, intended for the twin brother of the minty blanket recipient. This one is green too, but in the more masculine colors of forest green and tan.

I also finished a small hat, probably sized for a toddler. This is basically my take along knitting project. I used some fuzzy, loopy blue yarn I got at a yarn swap and Caron simply soft in white. It still needs a blue pompom, as the final touch. I promise I have been doing adult knitting too, but I am really behind on getting all these baby gifts done so I've been working on these more. Besides, miniature items are so much fun to make!

A Manly Project

There's nothing like having a blog to use as an excuse to avoid work. The end of the semester is kicking my butt, however I'd much rather knit and blog about said knitting than actually do that work. I figure after 12 hours of work, my mind needs a break! It may very well be that knitting is the only thing keeping me sane.

With that in mind, I want to show off my latest FO for 2007.



Yarn: Unger Aries (45% wool/55% acrylic) in light gray
Dale of Norway Sisik (30% mohair/30% wool/34% acrylic/6% rayon) in #156
Knitted with both yarns held together

Pattern: Manly Scarf pattern from Knitting Queen

Changes: adjusted the number of stitches cast on to suit my desired width with the doubled yarn

Yardage: about 300 yards of each

Needles: US size 8

Start/End Date: Started on January 3, 2007 and finished on April 30, 2007

Notes: Fun, easy pattern that really does look "manly" but interesting! You can see the lovely texture and colors below. I sure hope the recipient likes it!



I feel like I'm on a roll turning some long-term UFOs into FOs! I have another project that only needs seaming and a crochet edge, and it will be done too.

What To Do

"Life would wonderful if we only knew what to do with it." - Greta Garbo

Although my schedule isn't nearly as busy as Professor Knitwit's, the end of the semester is fast approaching and along with it I have a acquired a huge pile of grading. I also need to prep my last few lectures and assignments, and get all my final exams ready for copying. The good news is that I'm close to having survived my first year as faculty! To celebrate, I am attending a conference in Florida in mid-May, where I will get to hang out with colleagues and spend the week with my good friend C, who is also completing her first year as faculty. We will definitely be celebrating with a few margaritas!

In spite of the craziness, I was able to get some knitting done this past couple weeks. Good thing, too, because I really need to get this baby gift sent!



Yarn: Bernat Baby Coordinates in Soft Turquoise (75% acrylic, 22% acetate, 3% nylon)
Pattern: umbilical cord hat from Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook
Changes: I used dpns for the whole thing and left off the umbilical cord
Yardage: not very much, maybe 50 yards?
Needles: US size 7 dpns
Start/End Date: Started on April 5, 2007 and finished on April 19, 2007
Notes: I had a hard time finding size 7-16 inch circulars, so used the dpns instead. My lack of skill with the dpns would be fairly obvious to a knitter, since there is some laddering and one place where I messed up (some stitches fell off in my bag and I think I picked them up incorrectly) leaving a small gap. Thankfully the recipients are not knitters. :)

Just a warning to others, this yarn creates a very open knitted fabric, which I'm not crazy about. This could be partly due to my rather loose knitting, but I think the quality of the yarn also contributes. If I were to make another hat from this yarn I would probaby go down a needle size or two. It should still work as a nice spring/summer hat, though. On the other hand, the yarn is definitely quite a bargain. I've made about 4 hats (3 crochet, 1 knit) and I have plenty of yarn left for some booties, all for about $4.

A Little Monkey Business

Lately I've been working on a lot of monkeysexual projects, and I'm not just talking about the monkey socks in Knitty. What's a monkeysexual you say? It's a word that we love and have been using quite frequently of late (I don't just mean the royal we either. There are others using the word, but they may prefer to keep their identities hidden at this point in time). What does it mean you ask? Well, it can mean just about anything you want it to. Personally, I can think of any number of things that could be described as monkeysexual. It's just the word you need to describe that odd situation which previously defied description.

Not to brag or anything, but I think my latest FO is extremely monkeysexual. Yes, you heard right, I actually finished something! (how monkeysexual of me, don't you think?) It's an actual item of knitted clothing that looks and fits just the way I'd hoped.



Yarn: Lorena DK (40% wool/60% acrylic) in burgundy, Unger Aries (45% wool/55% acrylic) in light gray, Wool-Ease worsted in oxford gray
Pattern: V-necked vest from Vogue Knitting, Winter 2005 issue
Changes: I added a single crochet edge around the neckling to prevent rolling
Yardage: about 700 yards of the burgundy, and a small amount of both grays
Needles: US size 6
Start/End Date: Started on February 10, 2006 (knitting olympics) and finished seaming on March 16, 2007
Notes: I made the size medium and it seems to fit quite nicely. This was a fairly easy and fast knit. The main reason it took so long to finish was that I set it aside last May and didn't get to it again until the end of January. I've also been extremely busy this semester and haven't had much knitting time. (Why, oh why, did I assign so many papers?)

I hope this inspires you to be a little more monkeysexual in your own life.

Change is Good?

"No one likes change but babies in diapers." - Barbara Johnson

First, I just want to thank everyone for all the nice comments about my sweater. It was a pretty big project for my first knit garment, so it's nice to hear that it turned out OK. It is very comfortable and more importantly gave me the confidence to tackle more large projects. Theresa mentioned that my rather shorter list of FOs for 2006 may have had something to do with having moved 3,000 miles, bought a house, and started a new job all this year as well. I can't deny that these life events have taken a lot more from my crafting time than I had hoped, but with so many wonderful things happening I don't want to complain. I also want to thank Jennifer for saying I look too young to be a professor. I am extremely flattered by your comment, although I fear I may look older in real life. Just ask my students. I also think the cricket lab I did this week for class may have aged me about 10 years. Who knew crickets required so much care?

Today's quote for the blog reflects my predilection for alternating between knitting and crochet projects, which probably hinders my ability to make any real progress on either one. The last few weeks I have been working feverishly on the manly scarf and the Vogue vest. After making what seemed like minimal progress on those, I picked up this baby afgan that was nearly finished. This switch was also spurred by the fact that I sent the blue one off as a gift to a recent arrival (a boy), and I also wanted to give one to fellow professor who recently had a girl. Here is a yellow afgan I plan to give to my colleague:


Here's a closeup of the stiches:


Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in white and some old Red Heart in gold - all 100% acrylic
Pattern: Seija blanket in The Happy Hooker
Changes: I added a shell edge and left out the braided trim, partly to make it look different and partly because I ran out of the gold.
Yardage: 1 skein white and whatever was left of the gold
Hook: size H
Notes: The blue one I made was a little small, so I went up a hook size. This pattern is really easy and fun, and the hole for the seatbelt is so clever. I think I may make dozens of these and give them to everyone (well, everyone with a baby, that is).

Actually, I do need to start working on a few more afgans. Besides the two that are already spoken for, I need to make gifts for at least four more babies. I already have yarn for blankets in blue, pink, and green. Thankfully they crochet pretty quickly!

My First Swap

So, I joined the Potholder/Recipe Swap on Swap Bot way back in December, thinking that this would be a great first swap. I figured I would have the whole semester break to work on the potholders and put together a stellar package, sure to impress my swap partner. Yep, that was the plan.

Unfortunately, I didn't take into account that I would get sick (twice), and that I would be working on Christmas gifts which I barely finished in time (OK, some were a little late). However, I was able to get everything done just in time to mail it by the January 15th deadline, albeit somewhat less stellar than I intended. Some of you may remember that January 15th was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Which, of course meant that the post office was closed. Doh! I mailed it right away the next morning, one day late. I feel like a bad prom date. You know, the one that waits too long and can't get reservations at the only "good" restaurant in town and ends up taking his date to McDonald's. He remembers to order a corsage, but gets a pin-on one and she's wearing a strapless dress. You get the picture. Anyway, here is what I sent:



Yarn: Sugar 'n Cream in "key lime pie" and "ecru"
Pattern: one pattern from 1994 "Country Handcrafts", and Maryanne's Potholder
Changes: I left out the embroidery on the Handcrafts potholder and I did a plain single crochet border on the outer part of Maryanne's Potholder (it looked too busy with the picot edge on the outside too).
Yardage: One skein of the key lime pie (95 yards) and part of a skein of the ecru (120 yards)
Hook: US size G


The recipes were for an old family recipe for a German raisin/coffee/spice bread (us Germans love our coffee!), for some gooey chocolate/peanut butter/marshmallow bars, and finally an eggplant moussaka, changed a bit from a recipe in a vegetarian cookbook (it's still vegetarian, I just added some spice and raisins). I also included some chocolate to nibble on. I sure hope my swap partner has a sweet tooth!