Puple Sonata

Pattern: Pink Sonata (Ravel it!)

Source: Vogue Knitting, Fall 2008

Yarn: Knit Picks Palette in Hyacinthe and Eggplant

Needles: US 2 dpns

Started: July 2, 2009

Finished: July 11, 2009

Modifications: none

Fake Isle Hat

Pattern: Fake Isle Hat (Ravel it!)

Source: Spunky Eclectic

Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Onyx and Dove Heathers

Needles: US 6 dpns

Started: July 10, 2009

Finished: July 10, 2009

Modifications: Added motif in the "petals" of the crown pattern (because I was nervous about running out of Dove gray. Shortened the crown by three-ish rows because the hat was starting to look enormous.

The idea behind the "fake isle" of this hat's name was to use a self-striping yarn as the background color to mimic the color gradations in a true fair isle. I, however, in an effort to make as masculine a hat as possible am opting for solid neutrals.

It turned out fairly large, which could probably have been predicted from the comments on Ravelry, but if it's a problem for boy's head (which is significantly larger than mine) I can always felt it a little. I'm still pleased that I didn't have to felt the Fishtrap Aran from a few weeks ago, so I might be due for an off-sized hat. We shall see - fitting will be tomorrow!

Update 7/11/09 : Dang. It's too big even for my model's giant head. I will try to felt it a little and see if I can get an appropriate size.

Update 7/12/09 : First felting didn't help. I hate having to do it by hand in the kitchen sink. Hmph. I hear you starting to worry to yourselves - don't! I use laundry soap, not dishwashing liquid, to do the job.

Bulky Flip Top Mittens and Fishtrap Aran Beanie

Pattern: Bulky Flip Top Mittens
Source: Life in Cleveland Blog
Yarn: Cascade Eco Wool in Medium Brown, .25 skeins (119.5 yds)
Needles: US 6 and 7 dpns
Started: June 22, 2009
Finished: June 26, 2009
Modifications: Used k1 - p1 ribbing instead of seed stitch for the cuff. This yarn was also smaller than the recommended bulky weight, so this pair is really only good for some little lady hands.
This is the second time that I've made this pattern, and I just LOVE it! The instructions on how to make them into a flip-top set were taken from another source, I believe, but the designer here at least made it easy for me to understand. Doing a sort of after-thought opening makes it really easy to do the whole body of the mitten and then open it up after.
Pattern: Fishtrap Aran Hat
Source: Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Evergreen, 2 skeins (220 yds )
Needles: US 7 dpns
Started: June 26, 2009
Finished: June 28, 2009
Modifications: none
Present number one for the boy's list for Christmas. I'm doing Yankee swap among the half dozen boys and half dozen girls in my family for all of my gifts this year. Hopefully that means that Christmas presents for 15 people will cost me less than $100. Oh, and hopefully it will be more successful than three years ago when I also made gifts for everyone... but they all kind of sucked. The only one I know of that went over well were the stuffed rabbit and bear for my little cousins.

Farmer's Market Bag

Pattern: Farmer's Market Bag
Source: Folk Bags, Interweave Press
Yarn: Madil Yarns Eden in Frost Blue, 5 skeins (545 yds total)
Needles: 24" US 6 circular, 24" US 11 circular, US 11 straight needles
Started: May 11, 2009
Finished: June 29, 2009
Modifications: I used a bamboo yarn instead of the recommended linen, figuring that it was also a pretty strong plant fiber and would allow the same properties as the Euroflax.


See the earlier post on this bag for more details, but it was pretty straightforward - so much so that I put it down for five weeks and almost forgot about it! But I really don't like to have more than two or three works-in-progress going on at the same time. I also don't like to keep a huge stash if I can avoid it. Maybe later in life when I have the room to keep more than one or two banker's boxes worth of stuff... maybe then. But not in a tiny one bedroom apartment with a knitting-averse boyfriend.

Looking forward to going to the market this weekend with my cool new bag!

Fountain Pen Shawl #2 (in progress)

Pattern: Fountain Pen Shawl
Source: Interweave Knits Spring 2009
Yarn: J. Knits Lace-a-licious in Nebraska, 1 skein (1200 yds)
Needles: 24" US 3 circular
Started: June 5, 2009
Finished: May 22, 2009
Modifications: Possibly 8-9 repeats instead of the recommended 10. I'd like the size to be somewhere between the pink scarf and a full shawl.


Now, I'm not one to wax patriotic, but there is a BIG soft spot in my heart for the big flat heartland of the northern Midwest. Road trip = corn fields! The name of this colorway is Nebraska - it's so "amber waves of grain", and so Midwest-y. Not only did I buy this while on a weekend trip to visit friends in St. Louis, so the corn fields aesthetic fits in with my driving scenery, but it gives me an excuse to buy a (otherwise horrifying) mustard-colored yarn. Props to the ladies at Knitty Couture for helping me with my usually incapacitating color choice.

This skein originally started as a Swallowtail shawl, but the light weight of the yarn compared to the 2-ply I worked with last made me nervous about the shape. Besides, Fountain Pen is really fantastic and doing it again will be a helpful excersize in the importance of yarn choice in a project. Especially in a lace project. Pictures to follow - I'm currently 3 repeats in.

Knitting Lull

Not much knitting on the home front, here.

A new job working overnights is really cramping my style. That and the effort to get out a little more, like socially. It happens. I'll be back on track soon!