A little something

...to tide you over. Just thought I would share my latest WIP. I kind of want this one to be a surprise until it's finished, I think it's going to look really neat. The pattern's nothing to blow your mind really, but I love the way the yarn is working up.


We are bright and happy Wollmeise.

P.S. - I have another baby/toddler item to show off. I just need my wife's (better) camera to take pictures. Mine is washing out the red.

P.P.S - I really hope everyone is choosing to watch the Red Wings over the Pistons. The Wings are in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Pistons are only in the Eastern Conference Finals.

P.P.P.S - If you know what the above is, please don't ruin my surprise! Ok, I'm done now...

FO: The Golden Tunic

Pattern: Toddler Tunic - Staci Perry
Yarn: Cascade 220 Worsted in Yellow #7827
Needles: Knit Picks Options size 6
Started: May 2, 2008
Finished: May 10, 2008
Photographed: May 16, 2008
Modifications: Decreased one stitch at sleeve ends before seed stitch border
What I learned: Baby/toddler items are great for practicing new techniques.

This was my first attempt at a raglan sweater. I found the pattern on Ravelry awhile ago and immediately set aside this yarn in my mind. I think it would look adorable on a little boy - maybe as play clothes for a medieval scene - which makes me want to make a whole wardrobe of play clothes for my future children.

I really like the neck opening and how it's non-traditional. It adds a bit of uniqueness without going overboard. The seed stitch border also adds charm and variety to the garment.

It is not made of superwash wool, so of course it will need to be handled carefully. I'm sure that I'm somewhat naive in that regard considering I don't yet have children, but one can hope, right? I was also a little concerned about the body being too short, but since it's a top down design, I can always rip the hem out and add more length.

All in all, a simple pattern that was very quick to knit. I may end up with several of these by the time they're actually worn!

FO: Afghan Square

Pattern: Honeycomb, #111, (center) and Horseshoe, #30, from Vogue Knitting Stitchionary vol. 2
Yarn: Plymouth Encore Worsted in Cream #1202
Needles: size 8 aluminum straights (my first needles ever!)
Started: April 2
Finished: April 4

One of the sadder pieces I've knitted. In late March, fellow Raveler and internet knitting friend Joel was killed in a tragic car accident leaving his wife and two daughters behind. He was driving his daughters home when an oncoming car swerved into his lane and crashed into his van. The woman driving the car was texting on her cell phone and also had her two daughters and a friend in the car with her. Joel's two girls walked away with minor injuries; Joel was not so lucky. The other driver was killed instantly; the three girls survived with minor injuries.

I knew Joel from the forums at knittinghelp.com. He was always there with a smile and a kind word or comment on your most recent knitting project. Joel also started the SMACK! group (Single Men Also Crochet and Knit) on Ravelry and was a huge supporter of knitting men and fiber arts in general. Thanks to his love and work, the group is still going strong today.

A bunch of Joel's friends got together to make two afghans for his daughters and a shawl for his wife. Ravelers can read more about the afghan and Joel here.

Since I chose the cream color, I definitely wanted an Aran style pattern. My first attempt involved some intertwining ropes and seed stitch diamonds, but ended up way too big. I've seen the honeycomb pattern on many an Aran sweater and I really liked the look. I wanted a longer horseshoe repeat to show off how each repeat seems to grow out of the middle of the last (my favorite part about the pattern), but I was too far along by the time I realized it should be longer. Overall I'm very happy with how it turned out.

New Feed & Old Knitting

I recently burned the feed to my blog using FeedBurner. I did the same for a couple other blogs I manage and the results are pretty nice. Now I can more easily keep track of all you out there who read about my knitting adventures! If you've subscribed previously, can I ask you to update your subscriptions with the new link?

Old Knitting
It seems I've been rather stale with blog posts of late and there's a reason for that. I've been rather stale in my knitting as well. The vintage Red Wings sweater is dead in the water, quite literally in fact. I knew better, but started the sleeves anyway without testing the color fastness of the dye in the red yarn. I knitted a red and white striped swatch after I'd finished both sleeves only to end up with pink and red stripes instead. Blast. So, now I'm faced with either coming up with a way to either rinse or set the red dye in the sleeves OR ripping it all out and washing the yarn to remove the excess dye. You can understand my reluctance. This was supposed to be my Stanley Cup Playoffs project and I was on pace to be finished when the Wings win the cup. To rip it all now...I shudder to even think of it. I really hoped that I could wear it when I get my picture with the Stanley Cup.

I added a few older FOs to Ravelry which brings the grand total of unblogged finished knits to six. Six! You can expect a string of FO posts in the coming days. I should have enough with good photos to start while I compile photos of the others :-) Which will only lead to one of the best things about knitting...casting on for new projects!

George

I will love him and squeeze him and call him George.

This is the wonderful Löwenzahn (dandelion in German) Woolmeise that was the subject of the previous post. The photo really doesn't do it justice. I absolutely love the saturated colors. And I can't believe how heavy it is for its size; I guess that's all the extra yardage! That'll definitely come in handy making a pair of man-size socks. Thanks again Becca!

Löwenzahn

What could a dandelion possibly have to do with knitting? Well, not much on it's own (although it wouldn't surprise me if someday we're knitting with dandelion yarn, knitters are nothing if not inventive) but when you use it as inspiration for dyeing, you end up with beautiful yarn.

I was having a crappy few days when Becca of Forward Motion made my day. I was feeling a little left out after missing out on all the MDSW excitement and not winning a prize for RavelRaiser. I guess it was all for a reason as I found out this morning that I was the second winner in Becca's contest! I literally threw my arms in the air!

I try to enter all the contests I come across on the blogs I read regularly, but I keep it to that. I know there are groups on Ravelry dedicated to listing blog contests so everyone can enter, but I think that's going a little too far. Today it paid off. I promised, if I won, that I would love it, and hug it and call it George. And so I shall.

Now I only need to determine what to knit with it. Shall it become socks? or something completely different? I suppose it would be serendipitous to knit Becca's Cut & Paste Socks, which have been in my queue for (gulp!) 3 months.