FOs

I have finished a few things that have yet to be ravelried or blogged - this is a catch-up post.

The official last FO of 2007 was Poppy - laid out to block on New Years Eve:

I LOVE this sweater.  I wear it at least once a week, twice if I can get away with it.  It fits well, I love the colors (ahem, I knitted another sweater with the same colorway, and also painted the house the same colorway LOL), and it's soft.  What's not to like.  I had issues with the second sleeve requiring much ripping and re-starting, but it finally worked out.

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I finished this sometime last Fall:

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Hannah *begged* for it - a nosewarmer from Knitty. 

I made a few mods - I used leftover Fleece Artist sock yarn and thus adjusted the number of stitches, and for the band, I knitted an i-cord, and when it was done I threaded some stretchy elastic through it.

Hannah has worn it a lot this winter - Toby's lobbying for one.  It cracks me up.

Hannah's clay sculptures crack me up too.  She has been reading a lot of Calvin and Hobbes:

The photo is dark but it's a little gnome figure slicing off the top of a snowman with a chainsaw.  !!!

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I also finished another pair of lobster mitts for Hannah - out of homespun yarn.  I don't have pictures to share as the mittens keep walking out of the house in the morning before I am awake enough to grab the camera.*

This year, I have finished a few things.

These socks:

They're made using a cotton/lycra yarn from Greenwood Fiberworks (though she's not presently showing any for sale).  Grumperina has a  good photo here.  She reviews it here, and lists it as her favorite non-wooly sock yarn here.  While I prefer wool and wool-blend sock yarns, this yarn was not bad for a cotton yarn - the lycra definitely gives it a wooly kind of give.  It's a bit hairy to knit as it shrinks after it's first encounter with water.  I ended up wetting the cuff, measuring the size before and after shrinking (both stitch and row gauge), and sorting out how long to make the foot from that.  It makes a great fabric that hugs your foot and doesn't stretch out like that made with regular cotton yarn.  I have two more skeins of it and will certainly use it again.

I have been working on more things.  These fingerless mitts have given me fits:

The first attempt didn't work b/c I didn't like the stripes clashing with the lacy ribbing of Pomotomous (a sock pattern from knitty, adapted into fingerless mitts; other options here and here).  Notice the thin even striping though - these mitts have also been an exercise in gauge.  I believe I cast on 72 stitches here.

 

This is start #2.  It's Socks that Rock yarn in Monsoon colorway, from the 2007 Sock Club.  I also cast on 72 stitches - in fact, I ripped back to the first row and started there without re-casting on.  I thought I'd try the pattern that came with the socks - and adapt it for fingerless mits.  I liked the cabling and stripes this time - but the pattern makes for a very unforgiving tube of fabric - it was too tight to fit over my forearm muscle.  So it got ripped.  Note the difference in the striping!  The cabling v.s. the ribbing is the only difference - it's the same number of stitches on the same Knitpicks needles.

Try number three is using an X O X O cable pattern.  It is working out well - one mitt is done and the second started.  I'd be well into my second whole PAIR without all the ripping LOL.

I am working on a pair of Pomatomus fingerless mitts too out of other yarn - details in a future blog post.  I have made it past the first pattern repeat and am a little off somehow - to continue the pattern, I'd have to start with a K rather than a P or something (details escape me at the moment).  I'm stuck at figuring out whether to rip and fix it (though I can't figure out where it went off) or just continue merrily along and "read" the knitting rather than making sure the knitting follows the chart.

 

And a gratuitous Hannah and Bassoon shot:

I'm not sure what they're laughing about but they're both having fun being the 5th grade bassoonists.

I leave tomorrow a.m. at the crack of dawn for the Pacific Coast Adult Sectionals - skating here I come!

Comments

[lkmcland]

Great pics of your FO's! You were quite productive! Best of luck at the sectional...I can't wait to hear all about it!

[Justine]

great sweater! Hannah is such a ham, and Calvin is such a good influence, I still love Calvin. Good luck at the meet :)

[Brenda]

Good luck at sectionals!

[greta]

LOVE the Poppy sweater!
Best of luck with Sectionals!
xo