stupid knitting patterns

I'm working on a great charity project over on the Buffettnews.com/forum site. It's a beach/JB themed throw done in dishcloth squares of 10". I am no pattern maker, but there are any number of cute patterns out there. However, the people who write the patterns are idiots. I think there's a serious need for a quick and easy PDF entitled "dishcloth patterns for people who think" as opposed to the subtitle that must be on every dishcloth pattern I find which is "patterns for dummies" If you can't sort out the instruction to make a 5 row seed stitch border and keep 4 stitches on each edge in the border stitch, then you are a moron. I do not like to see K1, P1, K1, P1 actually printed on each line of a stinking pattern. Better yet, put the effer in a graph and be done with it. All these letters make my head swim.

off to take the eldest to become BRACES-FREE!!! Hopefully I will edit the latest pattern to the point that it no longer makes me fume when I look at it.

the next summer knit top

Technically I should have done Lotus Blossom first, but I just wasn't feeling it. After knocking Lelah out in 4 days, I instantly swatched for lotus blossom and got gauge! I planned to alter the top (don't I always), but followed the directions for the size large. After one entire repeat it was obvious that everyone was right, this pattern runs outrageously large. I should have swatched a lace section, no wait, I think I did! After some lamenting and gnashing of teeth, I frogged the effer and headed off to Nashville for the LAST SEUSKF team practice. Foolishly thinking I'd have 5 hours to knit. Of course Arai-sensei's wife conned me into timing ji geiko, Masumi needed ice packs, somebody else needed athletic tape and it was "mom to the rescue". The knitting whined. I snuck off and got a bit done later. After 2 repeats I can see I am still going to have to alter this pattern so basically I am lifting the lace pattern and changing everything else. In hindsight, I wish I had purchased Soie Bamboo for this top. The Sonata is stiff and will not have the drape or weight I had wished for, but the cost is right. Hopefully I can beat the heck out of it in the washing machine with a pair of jeans and soften it up.

new FO, Lelah, summer top

right out of the shower, no air conditioning, no makeup, no more excuses. quick and easy, I think I knit this up in about 4 days!

Beating Lelah into submission

I have been swatching for a summer top for weeks. Honestly, I could have knit an entire garment in this time! I'm not always one to swatch, but there is this wicked frugal streak in me and it's showing its determination to find a use for some hand me down Misti Cotton yarn. Lynsey made a keyhole top out of it and had almost 3 full hanks left. We swapped (I gifted her the BS Nature's spectrum yarn I made a cardi out of, handpainted, 100% wool, very neat) and this yarn has been haunting me ever since. I have swatched it on various needles for no less than three different patterns. Beginning with Lotus Blossom (it's way to heavy) then Isabella (the stitch gauge/row gauge threw the pattern off horribly no matter what needles I tried) and then settling on Lelah borrowing these major modifications for my middle-aged lump body. I CO twice, ultimately I had to frog and CO a third time. That's the charm. Now I can report that I CO with a size 10 using my gauge swatch to determine the # of stitches, as the pattern was seriously off. When I followed the pattern for the size large, i ended up with a bottom measurement of 50"! YIPES! I'm decreasing needle sizes to create some shaping. This needs to go from a 40" hip to a 32" under bust. So I'm dropping from a 10 to an 8 then to a 6. The plan is for this to use up the Misti Cotton and some Shine worsted left overs. I am serious about this frugal knitting stuff. Then I will reward myself with Elann Sonata for Lotus Blossom.

Bum Wrap (Curly Purply)

Dawn had her 4th pregnancy last year and produced adorable twin sons! I sent her a bit of William's left-over premie clothing and now I get to knit a few soakers for them. She has made one for each of the 3 she's got in diapers out of this pattern. I used up some leftover purple Wool of the Andes. I hope they fit! I used some bits of leftover yarn to put a Q and H on them (for Quentin and Hyrum)

another kitty pi

A few months ago I was on a big stash busting adventure and would CO for another quickie one-two skein project each Sunday. This is a hodge-podge of wool that should have, by all rights, been a pair of Fuzzy Feet, but we didn't need any at the time (William has since trashed not one but TWO pairs.) So I threw together this kitty pi bed. I hate to report that they are not using it as much as the other one. This one is a glorified cat litter box mat at the present :(

Tabi Socks for William

First attempt, knit on size 1's using JaWool for his size 9 foot. Next time I'd tweek how I did the toes, but other than that it seems to be a hit. He's already ordered another pair, knit in heavier yarn for a pair of slippers.

last week's socks

These are technically monster socks. Knit from some left over Sock It To Me navy and an unknown German sock yarn that had been gifted, reclaimed and (obviously) skeined backwards. Comfortable and they just went through their first wash. I did a simple 3 stitch cable and ribbing. I ripped them out and reknit them as the first (pictured pattern) was a 3 stitch cable alternating L and R cables and it pulled in too much to be comfortable getting over the heel. The top photos are of the 2nd knit, actual finished and wearable sock.

Sock it TWO me

Over a month ago I CO for a pair of Sock it to me socks of my own design (always). While a long and complicated Kendo tournament was going on, I had long passed the heel turn and was knitting merrily away only to discover that the socks were never going to get over my heel. The twisted cable simply sucked up too much width! I frogged these! Oh the pain.
Now, a month later, here is the completed pair. No cables, nothing fancy. The most boring pair of socks on the planet, but they are very comfy.

another Birthday gift! Thanks Sarah!

My good friend and knitster called today and came over with a gift! She even took me to Hancock and walked that entire store looking for the right fabric for a new fundraising idea I had. The very next morning I had to CO for a cell phone case. I live by my cell phone and the internet and this neat purse needed a nifty cell pocket or pouch. I knit it on size 10's and then hand felted. I almost knit it onto the purse, but decided against it.

Knitter's retreat, a smashing success!

Despite the TN State Parks system's snafu, we rallied and gathered at Embassy Suites. We had a wonderful time. Lots of knitting, some learning, lots of talking, eating and drinking, but mostly lots of knitting. I managed to finish one pair of socks, that's it! I worked on a scarf a bit and some more on the vintage sweater, but it was pretty busy with talking and surfing Ravelry for various yarn and pattern references. I came home with 3 skeins of cotton/silk from MistiAlpaca. I think it's going to be a short-sleeved top, maybe Keyhole?

Memphis SnB (aka DK Knitters) makes the news

We were delighted to host Kate Jacobs, author of The Friday Night Knitting Club, on January 12th, and would like to extend special thanks to the DK Knitters (featured here with Kate) for their help promoting our event, as well as hosting a special luncheon event for Kate! She had a very special time with us at Davis-Kidd, and we greatly appreciate the support and warm response. The Friday Night Knitting Club fans, stay tuned for the release of Kate's newest book, Comfort Food, which will be on sale at Davis-Kidd this May!

gracious knitters...give gifts!

I am the lucky recipient of not one, but TWO knitting thank you's this week. I feel incredibly blessed and very happy! First was Sunny Skye who gifted me with the hand made card selection. They are wonderful and I've already mailed out two of them. I showed Sunny how to knit toe up socks this summer. She hasn't finished her pair, but she's busy with young school aged children and travel. She is still working on them though :)
The other surprise was from Jessica H, a lovely and gracious knitter of many years who was flummoxed by a pattern and sought my help. After a few swatches I found the problem with the pattern and gave her some suggestions. Look what she sent me! It arrived the day before my birthday. Manna from heaven. That chocolate with cranberries and almonds is phenomenal. ::swooning:::
I am a VERY LUCKY WOMAN! THANK YOU KNITTERS!!!! :::hugs:::

Sock it to ME!

The post brought a package from Elann. My friend Tommie graciously gifted me with an Elann Gift certificate last month and when they announced they were debuting sock yarn, we both had to order. Here are some photos of my skeins. I'll let her post her own.

Never knit socks without consulting the recipient

In an effort to get the 15 year old to wear socks and not just sandals in 20 degree weather, I knit him a pair of sport-weight socks. Granted, they were knit from leftover yarn. The recipient, after posing for the photo, announced he would NEVER wear them because they were "purple". I beg to differ, they are wine. Some of the sock yarn ordered from Elann is for him. He has chosen navy and white, not together mind you. Separate socks in solid colors...such brave choices (NOT)

New Knitting project; Vintage Sweater

My knitting process is one of pure inspiration. I keep a knitting sketch and idea book to record these bursts and refer back to it when I'm ready to CO another project.



Inspired by this photo from an old Women's Daily, I have sketched and swatched and am embarking on another sweater for me. I firmly believe in using Ann Budd's handy book of sweater patterns for reference and to cut down my math time. Yet I constantly find myself getting gauge that means I still have to do math! I'm getting 4.5 and 5.5 (ribbing) not nice whole numbers. But the stitches are there (waist x gauge=CO) and I'm working it out. I hope to have this done in about 2-3 weeks. I made a nice semi-circle skirt from some fabric I had laying about and this yarn matches nicely. I intend to study the sleeve cap article in Winter 2007 IK to help me sort out the sleeve cap, though I've never had problems with it. I do have to do lots of juggling between hips/waist/bust and upper bust measurements so I jump between size guidelines in the Budd book. I will not be including any of the patterning you see on the inspiration photo. I'm not that cutesy!
*note, one week into the project and i have completed the back, the front is to the armhole shaping as of 10 am Wednesday 12/12/07.

kenshi takes a beating

William was exceptionally fortunate to have a very small practice with his new bogu. Two senior students gave him exquisite instruction to move his Kendo from beginner level to more advanced level. He struggled to change his habits and become frustrated and angry with himself. At one point ( I have the photo!) his poor technique got him hit quite soundly on the head and he discovered that even new fabulous bogu will not protect you from poor Kendo technique. After being furious with himself, he struggled to breath and I had to help him get the men off (I still think that thing might be too small!) but I generally do not get involved in the drama of his life. He pulled himself together (and hopefully apologized to the senseis) and practice ended. toda Raba, Arigato Gozaimasu to Yasuda-san and Register-san!
I was knitting most of the time, don't ask me what, but I was knitting. Probably socks, they're the most portable thing I knit. I need to put a photo up of the current pair of oh-so-boring-beige-socks.

Max's Winter Cardigan

Knit in KnitPicks WOTA Sapphire Heather and doubled on size 8 needles. Raglan adult sweater pattern kind of. Knot work added at breast pocket area and zipper placket. The photo with his teenage smiling face shows the color more accurately.

knitted gifts, lacy scarf

Thanks to Andrea, I have a copy of Last Minute Knitted Gifts, but I lent it to someone and it hasn't come home. Fortunately I have one of these scarves that I whipped up for myself a few years ago. Now I've made several as gifts. Quick and easy, they are perfect for those office gift swaps. One skein of KnitPicks lace has yeilded FOUR of these scarves! The small white scarf is only loosely based on that pattern and is for a little girl who watches her brother at Kendo practice. These are not outerwear scarves, but fashionable scarves a la the 50's when a scarf at your neck was a perfect light accessory.

Bar Mitzvah sweater FINISHED!

I don't remember, would have to check email records, but think I frogged this sucker a smidge over a week ago? One of the photos is from before the frog. I actually finished it, had him try it on and frogged it without even taking a photo. It was just too small. Reconfigured everything, panicked, regrouped and CO 2 more times. Here is the FO. It's great. Basically a seamless yoke using some figures from Handy Book of Sweater Patterns. Knit out of Swish worsted weight in "truffle", yoke in "bare" with scraps of swish and WoolWase for the brown. Ribbing on size 5's, balance knit on size 8 's. Sleeves knit two at a time on two circs. Finished size is 38 1/2. He can wear this for a couple of years. Lots of room to grow! He loves it and adores how great it matches the shirt he's wearing to his party. We're counting down the days...tomorrow is his birthday and he gets to go to Texas de Brazil. hey, a guy only turns a teenager ONCE.