Tuesday, May 29, 2012

help a girl out?

so i am 50% done with the Effortless Cardigan
HOORAY!

which of course means that now i am getting itchy hands over which cardigan i should knit next.
the options are as follows:

 




all are 10 ply patterns and i am leaning toward the BWM Rustic yarn for whatever pattern is chosen, so help me pick! does one seem more suited to me than another? have you knit any of them and had good/terrible experiences? help! thank you!

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Friday, May 18, 2012

knitting for tiny people


i sort of really like this pattern, a pair takes about an hour
for me, one of the greatest things about being able to make things with your own two hands is that when you make them for someone else, a little piece of you goes into that gift and makes it extra special. this is not to say that things i buy as gifts aren't special too (because they are! money is special, i'm quite attached to it) but it's a bit more personal when i've literally put sweat into something (don't worry, I always wash and block hand knit items before gifting!) and picked it out and made it just especially for that person. plus, little people knits take less than a week (except for blankets pretty much) and they turn out so lovely!

made it from scratch! a molly weasley inspired knit, original design for an original little man

honestly though, even more than this, making things for babies is truly a special thing. a few friends of mine have been making some of the most wonderful and precious humans and i've been lucky enough to have my handknits be a part of their first winters! there is nothing more adorable than a cute baby in a handknit, it really can't be beat. from beanies to booties, cardigans to socks, mittens and soakers and onesies, there is nothing you can't knit for a little body to snuggle into! even toys and blankets and more! 


one of my most favourite knits and my first attempt at fabric dyeing! SKIRREL! ARTY!
i've found that you can put knitted stuff in anywhere you like, the key with baby stuff - using washable yarn. there is not one single, solitary, new or old parent out there who is thinking "gee, i wish i had more hand wash only, dry flat in shade, speshul snowflake knitwear for my poo-machine to wear", it is just not a thing. seriously, put down the stuff that felts if you look at it with a heated expression, DO NOT WANT! no one will be happy if bubs wears it once and then it gets washed and ruined. 

a very racist blanket and a monkey wearing people clothes
sometimes you knit things that don't quite turn out how you expect them to, but babies aren't really all that possessive of their stuff, so they don't mind if you give their stuff to someone it might suit better, the blanket above was originally for the older sister of my youngest godchild, but she went and grew up before I finished it (so inconsiderate) so instead it was gifted to him for his cot instead when it was finished. and that offset wraplan cardigan (with puffy appliqued ice cream cone) was made for Ryder, but his dad thought it was a bit too girly (we all thought he was going to be a girl, including the people who did the ultrasounds! whoops!) i don't think orange/coral is too girly, but he's the dad and he decides, so instead we passed it on to the next baby in their family, Ryder's cousin Lexi, who was born 11 months later! i really don't mind who wears it, i just like it best when my work is worn, loved and worn out!
  
 things go from quite cute to extremely cute with the addition of squishy babies!
   
the other great thing about knitting for babies and toddlers - they don't make difficult requests. as long as you use lovely soft, non-scratchy or overly fuzzy yarns, most babies are pretty happy to wear anything that keeps them warm. they don't worry about bust shaping, colours that don't suit their hair (they don't have any!) or not being this seasons latest trend. plus, as a big bonus, usually you get sent the greatest photos of them wearing their handknits!
knitted cotton washcloths are lovely and soft for sweet little faces


a special thank you to all the parents for letting me use their bubs for this post!

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

left sleeve complete!

as of last night, the left sleeve is complete and i've picked up and knit about 6 rounds on the right sleeve. this sleeve will be much faster because:
a) i won't have to keep stopping to try it on and check the sizing/decreasing/length
b) i'm using the right length cable for magic loop - for some very stupid reason I was magic looping on a 40cm cable for most of the left sleeve (i just used the cable i'd been using as stitch holder for the sleeve when i divided from the body). this is a terrible idea, you can't get a good twist in the cable so constantly moving alllllll the stitches around the entire length of the needle is a big time waster and also, annoying! why i waited until the sleeve was 4/5ths done to change? i'll never know!
c) i am now knitting this sweater as part of the Ravelympics Team BokBok MF (LSG) training group, and it MUST be finished by the end of May!

how cosy does it look?
knitting in bed = one of life's truly lovely things

Monday, May 14, 2012

Effortless update

so yesterday was the most delicious day of rainy, wintery, windy weather, and i spent it rugged up on my couch watching indie movies, catching up on a bit of masterchef and eating all the leftovers from the end of season Aquaporko party the night before. does it get any better? not likely!

anyhoo, all that sitting let me knock the stocking stitch part of the first sleeve out! my effortless cardigan is beginning to look like a garment, HOORAY!! i even tried it on last night, the sleeve is fitting perfectly (which, ok, is actually a little bit of a worry pre-blocking) and i love it.

inside out sleeve, so tidy!
i cast on 8 extra stitches under each arm so that i wouldn't get the super tight sausage arm that some garments give me and i'm SO glad i did that. if you ever knit this, PLEASE take a minute to check the sleeve dimension in the pattern. my bust size/arm size ratio was WAY off, by like 3".

if i'm lucky Carrie might take a photo of me wearing it tonight so i can do an update on that.

happy knitting.

Monday, May 7, 2012

puffing away again..

.. because I hit a wall with my effortless sweater when I remembered that I really don't like knitting stripes in the round. Boo. so instead i picked up a puff and knitted on it and thought i'd get back to the sweater in a minute. uhhhh, whoops?

It's now 3 days later (ignoring 3 days of vomit with no knitting time in between) and the sweater is still in its project bag, but now, I HAVE MORE NEW PUFFS!

pre-stuffing
in addition to those pictured in progress, I have finished another summery yellow, a pretty green/mauve/taupe tweedy one, a green one and an olive one. all stuffed. HOORAY FOR RETURNING PUFF MOJO!

This just proves that knitting is like anything else in my life, if I give it time I will find love for it again, but if I push myself too hard it starts to not be fun and I will actively sabotage my efforts to finish it.