It Pays to Keep Up-to-Date with the E-Mail

I've just read my e-mail from July 29, where the site that hosts my free patterns was notifying me that they removed my "Baby Cloth" pattern. They claim that there is a similar pattern to mine out there. My pattern has a copyright date of July 5, 2007, so I would guess that the "similar pattern" must have been developed since. So for now, I suggest that anyone wanting to download the pattern, should "copy and paste" onto a Word document. Meanwhile, I will look for a different hosting site (possibly Ravelry). Thank you for your patience!

Another Year, Already!

Happy New Year, Everyone! I hope that the coming year finds you healthy, happy and employed!



I've got a headstart on 2009's socks for Akkol, with these socks.
They're knit from Judy Gibson's pattern, "You're Putting Me On Socks", which are knit toe-up. For the cast-on, I used Planet Shoup's "Rectangular Toe for Toe-Up Socks". I knit these socks with "Georga 100% Wool", and 3.25mm DPNs. They're a slightly variegated brown, which I hope will appeal to a teenage boy.











I've recently found the group Caring for Canadians, so I've been knitting preemie hats and booties for St. Joseph's Hospital's NICU, in London, Ontario, Canada.
The hat pattern is from Carissa Knits. It's knit with 4mm DPNs, and Cottontots pastel purple.


The booties are from Bundle of Love's "Easy Knitted Booties". They're knit with 4mm needles and Cottontots in pastel purple. Ironically, until 2005, I worked at this very St. Jo's, and didn't know that the NICU was in need of handknits. :) Ah, well. There's no time like the present!

Squishies

I had the idea a few days ago to make some little squishy toys for my DD. She has anxiety and sensory issues, and the Occupational therapist had recommended having a few little quiet toys at school to help her stay calm. So I looked for a knitted ball pattern.

I couldn't find exactly what I wanted, so I adapted this pattern to make a ball-shape. I found a few crochet patterns, but I really wanted a knit pattern to make the surface as soft as possible (she loves soft things). :) I made one ball out of Caron Simply Soft Thick (and it went to school without a photo), and then used Bernat Bamboo for the ball in the photo.

Then, I tried to come up with a cube, but it ended up a bit more rectangular than square. :)

The "recipe" for the cube is as follows: I cast on 6 stitches, knit 6 rows in stocking stitch, then a raised row, then 6 rows st st, etc., until 4 sides were knitted in a continuous strip. The raised rows were the “fold lines”, for the edges of each side of the cube. For each end of the cube, I cast on 6 st, and knit 6 rows in moss stitch. That way, 4 sides are smooth and 2 are bumpy, for some sensory contrast. All the shapes are stuffed with polyester fiberfill. Next, I'll try a heart. :D

Florida Trip

We took a family trip by plane, for the first time! The last time I flew (1991), I hated it, had a very anxious flight, and swore "never again". Well, this time was much, much better, I'm happy to report. :D We flew to Toronto, then another flight from Toronto to Orlando; 2 more flights to get home. 4 take-offs! That's the part I hate the most. It helped that I hardly looked out the window at all.

The only bad part about the flying was that my DD, Amy, threw up once on the way to Orlando, and we both hurled on the return flight from Toronto. There was lots of turbulence, courtesy of remnants of Hurricane Ike. Amy and I were in the back seat (bad idea!) of a smallish plane, having a regular old Barf-fest. It was a Ralph-O-Rama. It was Puke-a-palooza! Oy! When that flight landed, it did a big skid to one side (it felt big, anyways) due to the wind and rain. Amy shouted out "What was THAT?!!" (muffled by barf-bag). Poor baby! She bounced back quickly, and was soon chatting happily. I took a day or two longer to recover. :D

We visited 6 of the Disney parks, and Seaworld. Seaworld was very special, because Amy was selected to play a small part in the show! Her photo was on a huge screen and the trainer asked her some questions over the microphone, then gave her a whale-tail necklace. Afterward, she kept saying "I can't believe I was part of the show!" The Seaworld staff were wonderful to her, and the experience made our whole trip something really special. Amy did a great job coping with all those people looking at her, which is usually very difficult for her.

We were on the go from morning until the parks closed each day. I carried my knitting with me everywhere, but there was very little knitting taking place. I was the one KIP (knitting in public) in Tomorrowland, which made me smile, thinking that no matter how much technology there is, there will always be knitting. Alas, no photos of this momentous event. ;)

I loved the "Small World" and the "Haunted House" rides at the Magic Kingdom, and the fireworks were fantastic. We were all thrilled to ride the Monorail.

This was my first visit to anywhere in the U.S., and I found it very interesting. There were many differences that I didn't expect, like being able to buy all the groceries we needed at Wal-Mart - even wine! And Peaches & Cream yarn, on a cone even! (I had only read of such a thing, previously.) On the highways, there were lanes, get this, For Making U-turns! Here, all products have writing in English, French, and now Spanish; the products I saw in the U.S. had English and Spanish. I wish I could remember more of the things that amazed me!

I Want This

Oooh, can't wait until it's out!

Current Project

I've just started working on "Pull Mystère" for my daughter. This pattern is written in French, with the English translation beginning on page 11 of the PDF. I showed her several tank and short-sleeved-pullover patterns, but none were quite to her liking. Then she saw the Pull Mystere on Ravelry, and wanted it, in pink. It is a lovely pattern! So, I've cast on 104st with Microspun in Fuchsia, on 3.5mm needles, for the back. Yes, there will be seams to sew, and not just at the sides. This pullover is knit in 3 parts, upper, lower, and middle, that are sewn together. The middle section consists of a waist-length lacy strip, that runs horizontally. This is no doubt not a new construction technique, but it's new to me, for a knitted garment! :D

I expect that I'll have to shorten the lower section, and make the upper section with a higher neck, yet still maintaining the square look of the neckline.

A Blast from the Past

While going through my son's outgrown clothes, we found this little dino sweater that I knit about 20 years ago. It was my first intarsia project, and the second sweater that I ever knit, in the early 1980's. I had purchased a kit containing the pattern and the acrylic yarn (for $10.00CDN), but I've since seen the dino pattern in a Paton's pattern book. I had originally intended to give this sweater to a friend, but didn't sew the pieces together until years later, when I had my son, in 1995. I didn't do the intarsia properly; instead, I carried the blue and green yarns across behind the white, with the result that they show through the white. I would knit it properly if I were doing it today, needless to say! LOL. I thought that I had better document this sweater before I give it away to someone. I have a co-worker with a boy of a suitable size, so I'll give it to her, if she wants it. :D

Pamper Yourself Spa Cloth

This spa cloth is perfect for gentle exfoliating!

Click for PDF

Materials:
3.25mm needles
50g cotton yarn
Sample shown measures 7.5in by 6.5in.

Special Abbreviations:

LB (large bobble): Knit in front, back, front, and back (again) of next stitch = 4 stitches created.

W2 (wrap twice): Insert tip of righthand needle into stitch knitways, wrap the yarn around the needle twice, and pull the stitch through.

DEW (drop extra wrap): Knit next stitch and drop the extra wrap.

P4tog: Purl 4 stitches together.


CO 38 st.

Row 1: P2, (LB, P2, K1, P2) X 6.

Rows 2 & 4: K2, P1, K2, (W2 X 4); repeat across row to last 2 st, then K2.

Rows 3 and 5: P2; (DEW X 4, P2, K1, P2) X 6.

Row 6: K2, P1, K2, P4tog. Repeat across row to last 2 st, then K2.

Row 7: P2, (K1, P2, LB, P2) X 6.

Rows 8 and 10: (K2, W2 X 4, K2, P1) X 6, then K2.

Rows 9 and 11: P2; (K1, P2, DEW X 4, P2) X6.

Row 12: K2, P4tog, K2, P1; repeat across row to last 2 st, then K2.

Repeat rows 1-12, 3 times.
Here's a view of the back of the cloth.


You may print a copy of this pattern for your personal enjoyment, and make copies for your friends, as long as this copyright notice is included. You may not reproduce this pattern in any publication, nor may you sell it for profit without prior permission from the author.
Copyright 2008 May 21 by Shirley Ann Thompson

Brigid

Brigid is done! I really enjoyed this pattern, and plan to knit it again (sometime). I found that it knit up pretty quickly. This particular pair will be going to Mittens for Akkol. Our goal for Christmas 2008 is to send over approximately 630 pairs of wool socks. This will be enough for each child at the Akkol orphanage, and at a second orphanage (Urupinka) to receive a pair of socks.

Specs: Paton's Classic Wool in "Royal Purple", on 3mm DPNs.

OTN now: Viking Socks,
also on 3mm DPNs, and using Paton's Classic Wool.

December Knitting

There has been lots of knitting lately, but not much blogging.

First are my December socks, for my DD, in Bernat "Hot Sox".Amy's Socks

The first scarf was knit in Soy Wool Stripes "Natural Geranium", for my DD's teacher. The colours are lovely shades of pink, and not orange like the photo shows.
SWS

The blue cabled scarf is the Palindrome pattern, knit for my DD's EA, Mrs. B.

Palindrome

Whew! That was a lot of scarves in a short time.

Sock Heels

I just came across this chart for various sock heels, so thought I'd share. I'll be trying out the various types of heels. http://www.socknitters.com/Tips/heels_by_the_number.htm

I hope that link is clickable, but I'll also put it in my list of knitting links in the sidebar. I've been busy knitting socks. In the photo, the lefthand and middle pair were knitted toe-up, and the righthand socks were cuff-down. They'll be going to CIC for the Big Kids Challenge.

The top-down raglan will also go to CIC. It seems to be taking way too long. I'm eager to get on with other CIC sweaters, in bulkier wool. I hope to make significant progress while on nightshift the next 2 nights. Here's hoping! :D

Hat Progress, & Toe-Up Sock

My DD's hat is finished except for a pom-pom. I was surprised that she wanted a pom-pom on it. I'll have to look up how to make one, because it's been at least 7 years since I made one last! I remember doing a search for pom-pom instructions back then, and being surprised by the, shall we say, "non-knitting" search results.

Even in bright sunlight, the colours still look a bit orangey, instead of how pretty pink it really is.

The colour is also too orangey in the sock photo; all the orange is really a medium red. This is my first attempt at a toe-up sock, following the tutorial on www.socknitters.com. I don't care for how the heel looks, although it feels OK when worn. I will pull it out and do it over, because I think I had to have not followed the instructions properly. I'm working on another toe-up sock from http://www.needletrax.com/toeupon2circulars.htm and it seems to be turning out much better. Phew!
Another glitch I encountered is that the above 2 socks came from supposedly the same dye lot of Big Mexiko, and I had intended them to match, VBG. Obviously one of the skeins had the wrong label on it! I'm compensating by adding in another yarn to make a matching pair out of each 50g skein. In this case, I'm adding Brigg's and Little Regal. C'est la vie! :DGuess who got curious as I was snapping photos of knits?

Latest Knits

These are the mitts and hat I'm making for my DD. The hat is (obviously) still in progress. I'm using the ear flaps from: www.klaam.com/sheknits/ and the mock cable stitch pattern from: http://knitting.about.com/library/nbabyhat8a.htm. She also wants a pompom on the hat. I hope to have the hat finished this weekend. The yarn is Patons Decor, in "Florals". The photo makes it look a bit orange, but it's really a pretty mix of pinks and purples. She wore the mitts to school on Friday and thought she'd lost them already! She had such a sad face until they were found in her backpack, phew! :D

What's Wrong With This Picture?

This is my first attempt at a mitred square dishcloth, LOL! Apparently, I was distracted a few times. I pondered whether to frog the beast or keep it as is, but I've decided to frog it. I just wouldn't be able to bear seeing it in the dishcloth drawer. Next time, I resolve to be more diligent in following the pattern!