I got bonus germs!

Sorry I vanished again. I got the flu, and then a bacterial infection, and then I had a weeklong training in Advanced Mediation at NCRC. Which was Teh Cool. The class, I mean, not the flu. But anyway, I have actually been doing some knitting! And here 'tis.

Remember that supposed beret I was knitting, the one that kind of looked like a beanie? And did I mention I thought I was going to run out of yarn?

I didn't, but I had to unravel my gauge swatch to do it. It took very close to a whole skein of Sundara worsted merino (but man, any excuse to knit with her yarn!). And it sure did look like a beanie when I finished. Here are the two sides (it's reversible), prior to blocking on a plate as instructed:





I took a deep breath and blocked. And guess what? It's a beret!


(the plate I used had a ridge in it. Oops.)

It's not quite right — even with the smaller needles, I think it needs elastic pulled through the rim to stay on the head. And it's REALLY floppy. It looks better on Rob than on me. I'll try to get photos of it on both of us, just for fun, soon.

There are more knitted things to talk about, but I'll save that for a day or so. I'm still on Augmentin for a couple more weeks, so I run out of steam fast. But hey! I am alive! And if you want some germs I know where to find them!

I do realize it's more than about time!

There were many reasons I didn't blog much in January. The primary one is that I have had something on almost every single night of this month, but at base, it's because I'm trying to squeeze a lot into my spare time: cognitive science research, mediation credentialing classes, writing and giving talks on technical management, editing and publishing Grasslimb (it goes to press tomorrow morning), social events. And maybe a little bit of knitting in there somewhere!

It's been a mentally challenging month, for some reason. The job is still a bit hard to face, though it's better by far than it was. I'm okay as long as I don't think about all I've lost, but when I do I sort of crumple for a day or so. Then I do pick up, as I'm cheerful by nature, but it's harder than it used to be.

I think I just sort of want a vacation, and it's not time for that yet. We do have a train trip to Portland/Bay Area booked for early May (have to use up the free ticket), but now it sounds like the trip to Iceland may have to be put off for a year or so. I'm disappointed (understatement), but we are trying to also have time to spend with a bunch of folks coming to visit us from distant lands, and my new job is definitely not as easygoing as the old one.

So you will understand that it was really awesomely great to come home to this surprise from Sigga the other day:



She sent me a sampler of Icelandic knitting yarns, so I can try them out and decide which ones I want to buy a suitcaseful of when I get to Iceland. Damn, now I really really want to go — but at least I can play with the yarn for a little while and spend some more hours listening to my Icelandic language CDs while I wait :) THANK YOU SIGGA!!!!

As you may remember, I've been working on a Véronik Avery design, Beret Gaufre. I had done some, ripped it back because it was too big, and tried again in size 3 (what's called for) needles. I've knit most of it, and two things are strange. One, it doesn't look anything like a beret; it fits like a tight beanie:



The other is that I'm running out of yarn, and I had plenty more than the pattern called for. Hrm. I dunno. I think I'm going to keep going until I run out, then use some black scrap for the top center, and then block it and see what happens. Maybe it is going to s t r e t c h. Anyone made it and have any idea?

Bunny thumpers!

Over on KitKatKnit, there's a Bunny Thumper Challenge.

Laila is up for a challenge. Though it's a bit of a challenge just to photograph her bunny thumpers (back feet). Here are my best attempts at meeting the challenge.

First I discovered that a 5" knitting ruler was not going to cut it!


I had trouble getting her to show me her foot in any graceful way:


Success — kinda. Measuring conservatively, 5 3/8" bunny thumpers on this Bunny Thumpin' girl. They may actually be a bit over 5 1/2" but it was awfully hard to tell. She WIGGLES.


Knitting? You wanted KNITTING?

.. Maybe next time.

Redux, redo ..

It seems somehow fitting that the last thing I tried to knit in 2007 had to be ripped out and redone in 2007.

I did two nice-sized gauge swatches, really thought that a #4 US (rather than the pattern's specified #3) would do it, but no: after about 3" I could tell that the Béret Gaufré was going to be tooooo (large. I had to rip it all the way to the cast-on, then did it again. I've not quite made it as far as I was before, so can't check the size yet, but I'm hopeful.



I love berets. They're really the only hat I look good in. I am using Sundara's worsted merino, and I had almost forgotten how luxurious it feels to knit with a really high-end, sproingy merino. My fingers are happy despite the small needle size and tight work (you knit the Béret Gaufré extra-tight, which adds some rigidity).

Meanwhile, my feet were cold, so I decided to make a new pair of Rick's Socks. I don't usually feel like knitting a pattern I've knitted before, but this was the first pair of socks I ever made, and it's a nice fast comfy worsted-weight sock that calls for Paton's Merino. Since you can buy Paton's Merino in places like Michael's, I have a small stash of it around at all times. For this sock I use US #6 dpns. I knit these with short cuffs because they're meant as house socks and I like them that way, so I nearly got two socks out of 1 skein (just used a few yards of the 2nd skein). I don't really like purple that much, but it was that or some dreadful Pepto-Bismol pink (I must have planned some kind of multicolored, possibly felted, project at some point), so purple it was. For home that's not too bad.



I started these on Thursday night and finished them Saturday, which was good because I broke one of my little toes (just a tiny hairline fracture) on Saturday, and shoes hurt. At least around the house I can avoid shoes and just wear my new socks and keep my feets warm.

The color in the first image above is closest to correct.)

Finally, for your amusement, a label.

Please do not use it near the thing of the curtain.

Everything fits.

Happy New Year, all!

I'm pleased to announce that the new rainbow top fits my niece just fine. She came to the New Year's Party in the cropped cardigan I'd made her this summer:

I then gave her the new top and she tried it on:



The next day, she was wearing the cardigan I'd crocheted for her first Christmas — she was only 6 months old then and I didn't know how to knit yet. I can't believe it still fits! It was big then, admittedly, but really...

Extremely satisfying!

I hope you all start 2008 with much good fortune in store and much joy in your heart. If the joy is a little slow to arrive, I hope it's that much the greater when it does. You are all a great light for me, and I appreciate your presence on my blog... it has come to mean a surprisingly great amount.

Ready to cruise into the new year!

I am really quite, quite ready for 2008. Despite the many things left unfinished in 2007.

One thing is finished:



Carson's holiday T, really more of a 3/4 sleeve sweatshirt (if there is such a thing). It's hard to capture the colors — so lovely and rainbow-y. I tried slightly different camera settings here but I don't think either conveys it.

I totally forgot that I was going to do the sleeves in reverse stockinette — I'm a little disappointed about that, enough that I might actually find a place still selling this color of Katia Irina and make another top for her in it when she's a little older. The reverse is really pretty. But I'm pleased with the top, and I hope it fits.

I don't have much else to share. I've been baking, but nothing so gorgeous as last year's cookies, and I made mazapán, and we've been socializing and running a million errands and generally trying to get caught up on our life. Not there yet :-) but what's new? I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, whichever one (or none) catches your fancy, and that each and every one of you has a superfantastic 2008. Because it's time.

Measure once, knit twice...

And I do know better. But, gosh darn it. Here's what happened. First I thought I was going to make another baby T-shirt out of the white Irina yarn. But then I realized I had quite a bit of that yarn — enough to make a 3/4-sleeve tee for Carson, who is a good size 3T now. And it seemed a shame not to use all of it. So I decided to do that instead. Except I'd sketched out the baby tee on my pad, and when I actually worked the math of how many stitches to cast on, I accidentally looked down at my pad, and worked it for 18.5".

Argh. It was perfect, too — and I didn't realize I'd screwed up until I was this far. Foolishly, I kept thinking, "Hunh, this really looks small, but hey, I know it's Carson's size because I'm on gauge and I did the math!"



Did the math, yeah. WRONG MATH. Durrrrr.

Now I know I said this yarn won't rip, but I took a chance, since it was plain stockinette and over a skein's worth and I really have my heart set on the shirt for Carson now. I was very very careful. I think it's okay, but we'll know for sure when I knit it, because I was a wuss and started with a fresh ball.

Still, this time I like the trim (seed stitch instead of moss stitch) better than last time anyway. Incidentally I prefer this color of the Katia Irina to the previous one. I'm using US size 4 circs, by the way. And this yarn is machine wash, which is awesome. And I'm planning to do reverse stockinette sleeves, which I think will look beautiful on a raglan with a stockinette body.

(Okay, I know in the last post I said I'd knit it top down, but hey, I lied. This is easier to calculate.)

Thanks for the kind and helpful comments on the previous tee, btw. I guess I'll save it for some baby! Maybe if it marinates in the FOs for a while I'll stop seeing its flaws.

Apropos of nothing, my garden is really confused about what season it is:




(Admittedly, this plumeria is a little brown, but come on — plumeria in November? Nuts! Even in San Diego that is insane.)

Okay, warning: IF YOU ARE FREAKED OUT BY SPIDERS, DON'T SCROLL ANY FURTHER.
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I've been sick and useless this weekend (except for knitting, which had to be ripped), but tonight I got to take a photo of The Coolest Spider. I am pretty sure he's a trap door spider. He was on the march (apparently it's the males who go a-roamin'), plowing along with palps out stiffly in front of him, on our driveway — Rob found her and yelled for me. He caught him temporarily so I could take another photo. Is he gorgeous or what?

Not all I'd hoped

At first glance, it looks cute, but there are some problems.

For one thing, I miscalculated about where the top of the shoulder should hit on the side with the button-on shoulder, so the sleeve is sort of shifted compared to the other sleeve.

For another thing, it just doesn't look even in several ways. If you eye the single-crocheted collar, you'll see the line of knitting underneath looks significantly different on the left and right sides, though I did try to do matching decreases.

And finally, what you can't see: the seams are a bit bulky for a baby (this is a problem with virtually all handknits for babies, though) plus the cloth didn't come out as soft as advertised. It is drapey, though — would make a great adult woman's top. But for a baby, next to the skin, it's OK, but not as fab as I'd hoped. That would be okay but this is a T-shirt, not a sweater, so those seams might itch.

So this is going to marinate in the FO bag for a while, and I'll think about what to do with it. This yarn is really not reusable after you rip it, so hopefully it'll be wearable.

Meanwhile, I have enough Katia Irina left for a second baby's top. I think this time I'll do a henley-buttoned, top-down raglan; that'll take care of the seam problem, and make it more actually wearable.

Of buttons and sleeve caps I sing, o

Well, ya know. So you're designing your own baby T-shirt, basing it on this sweater pattern, and you're humming along, but somehow you miscount something or maybe it just doesn't work in this yarn or row gauge or — heck, I don't know what I did. But this was just not right.




The widest part of the sleeve was still smaller than the sleeve opening (which was probably too big), so the sleeve, when stitched in, ended up looking like a funnel. Or a pig's nose. I wish I'd thought to take a photo before I picked out the seam.

Now, most baby patterns don't come with sleeve caps. They just knit 'em straight out. But I thought, what could a sleeve cap hurt? And there was this handy-dandy sleeve cap computation tutorial in the latest Interweave Knits. And you know how I loves me some math.

Check it out now!




And check out my bumpin' "hemmed" edges. I love that. Though it was a pain to do. They look even better now that I've stitched up the little gap. I'll show you a finished T-shirt in a day or so, just weaving in a few more ends!

And I finished sleeve #2 of Khaki Cables. On to the right front!

On top of that, the Geordie Stripe is now really and completely done, ready to mail to its recipient.




I am a firm believer that the right button makes the sweater.

Much knitting is happening.

I must be avoiding work of some sort!

I started on another of a large number of baby things to be made for several friends who either have little ones already or are due this coming spring. Baby things are satisfying because they're quick, and I think the only people who are getting knitted gifts from me this year for Christmas/Hanukah are under the age of 4. This stripey pullover was going well —



— until I realized that I really should have knit the front first, because I didn't have row gauge, and the instructions for the back were by length while the front were by rows, and I ended up with a front that is about six rows longer than the back. I should either pull out the front part down to the neck and redo it, starting earlier (probably the right idea because then the measurements will be right), or I should make the back longer (easier). Grumpy about doing either one, despite the allure of the fabulous cotton merino yarn, I started another baby item:

This is a 'hemmed' baby T-shirt of my own design (well, so simple as to not really count) in Katia Irina, a festive and machine-washable rayon/cotton blend (with a little polyacrylic in there for the shimmer). I started it last night; it's going so fast I'll probably finish it today or tomorrow.
Then, there is the secret yarnination. There are limited times in which I can work on this, owing to the "secret" part, so it's proceeding slowly...



And it's not like I've forgotten Miss Khaki Cables. I've been working on the second sleeve in various meetings this week and a bunch last night. I forgot to put in the lifeline, but I think I'm going to count back and run it through, because I really don't know if these sleeves are right. Sleeves are my Waterloo. Oh, hell, why did I say that — now I've got the ABBA song stuck in my head. And now you do too. Ha ha.

As partial apology, here is a link where you can find that great "Will Knit for Tattoos" bag I'm using. In case that's your bag, baby.