Bunny Hop

The first of what promises to be a raft of baby items knit in wild anticipation of my first grandchild who is expected on December 21st. Since we don’t yet know boy or girl, I chose a neutral color. This was a quick one-day project. Bunny Hop yarn from Crystal Palace on size 6 dp needles. The pattern came free with yarn purchased from a hole-in-the-wall knit shop in Sandy Oregon.

Sock Hop

The $45 socks were so much fun I had to make another pair. A little cheaper this time! Same pattern, however, as once I got it mastered, it worked pretty well. These socks are made from TOFUtsies, a new product composed of 50% Superwash Wool, 25% Soysilk, 22.5% Cotton and 2.5% Chitin (made from shrimp and crab shells). Purchased from the Yarn Garden in Portland. I am using a set of five size 1 dp needles and this time one skein will make two socks.

Boa Coat

This is the new color from Columbia Sports. A lot got lost in the translation as it is BRIGHT green. The gray spots on the scarf are actually the same green but they look really washed out in the photo. The scarf is made from cotton/mohair with a simple stockinette stitch on size 11 needles. My Spring coat and light airy scarf for a Spring that is very late in coming to the Northwest.

Special Gifts for Friends

In addition to the Prayer Shawls I make, I also have added knitting Chemo Caps for friends who are going through chemotherapy. This blue cap went to a co-worker of Windy’s at Tri-Met. It’s made on size 9 needles with Chowchilla yarn. The smooth Brittany needles were very slippery. And so, I might add, was the yarn. I lost the stitches a couple of times and had to start over. Nevertheless, it came out very nicely and is much appreciated. A simple pattern available free from Craft Warehouse.

Twinkle Toes!

For all the work I put into these socks I think I will be buried in them. First the confusion about how much yarn it really takes to knit a sock. Then the statewide search for more of the same color dye lot which in the end proved fruitless. Finally getting two skeins that matched and starting one sock and discovering it was going to be too big and frogging it. Starting over and breaking one needle out of each set of five, leaving me with only eight (it takes nine to knit two socks). And then finally getting almost finished and discovering, after I had gotten to the toe, that there was a mistake in the pattern and I had to unknit all the shaping.

By some amazing miracle, and help from my friend Linda, I have completed both socks and I have a pair. That fit! Wonders never cease. This was so much fun I am going to immediately start on another pair. I already have some yarn picked out. Saturday I am making a trip to the Yarn Garden for the new Tofutsie sock yarn, a blend of 50% wool, 25% soysilk, 22.5% cotton and 2.5% chitin (from shrimp and crab shells!).

I plan to buy sufficient yarn of the same dye lot. Did someone tell me that years ago? I also plan to purchase some new needles. Preferably steel or titanium or cast iron. I am just too hard on bamboo and the ones that aren’t broken are badly bent. This comes from knitting with the heel of my hand instead of my fingers.

Sock It To Me will continue and maybe this time will be less stressful. I love having a portable project that I can take along wherever I go.

Charity Projects

These are items that go out into the world to unknown recipients. The Yarn Garden supports charity knitting projects from time to time. One was the Red Scarf Project which I participated in. [See January 23rd entry.] I also joined in knitting helmet liners for our troops in the Middle East. The liners had to meet military color requirements. The military issue kevlar helmets don’t have warm wool liners and our service people are exposed to winds and bitter cold during the winter months. Riding in open trucks and humvees, they often encounter sub-zero wind chills. The helmets were sent to the troops for Christmas 2006.

Knitting With Velcro

Lace knitting is my new passion and I love the way the little dots and slashes in the chart result in beautiful patterns if they are followed in the knitted piece. I’ve been making small swatches of sample heirloom patterns, mostly from the book by Mary Schiffman.

Having gotten my “lace legs,” I decided to try a scarf. I picked a fairly “easy” pattern called Crest o’ the Wave. Digging in my stash, I found a skein of lace weight thread in a variegated hand-painted blue. Perfect! But oh…there is a down side. Needles are small. Size one. Lace weight yarn is similar to thread. Or as one of my knitting pals compares it…just like dental floss!

This particular fiber is Kid Silk Haze which is 75% mohair and 25% silk. The mohair is like a million tiny fish hooks and grabs onto itself and won’t let go. This yarn is unforgiving and does not unravel or pick out or unstitch. So no mistakes. And, as my mother used to say, “you have to hold your mouth just right.” Nevertheless I persevered and kept going, thinking I would have a scarf by the time I came to the end of the yarn.

I got to the end and I do not have a scarf. It barely goes around my neck. So it will take another skein (@$15) to complete the standard scarf length. Otherwise, it is just a very large sample of a simple stitch and a blue fiber. So much for using up the stash.

My friend Hazel has taken pity on me and given me some new wool and silk to work with. Minus the mohair, I might add. I will try again. This time with a Fern Leaf pattern. Watch this spot for updates.