Helena sweater

Babies must be warmly clothed, I’m sure you will agree with that, gentle reader. And when a baby is expected by a knitter who has knitterly friends, one can be assured that said baby will be warmly clothed, indeed!

Rachel (aka trtlgrl) has been sporting a baby-bump for quite some time now, and I was afraid that trtlbby would arrive in the world before I could knit something for the poor wee tyke, because, as we’ve already established, babies must be warmly clothed. So a couple of weeks ago I spent all of my free, non-sleeping minutes frantically knitting.

I started with this little sweater: the Helena sweater
by Alison Green Will from knitty.com. I changed it just a little bit. I liked the picot edging so much that I made it go all the way around the sweater, instead of just at the bottom. And I have only one tie – an I-cord tie that looks like an extension of the purl ridges at the top of the skirt.

little booties

When I managed to finish the sweater with time to spare, I also whipped up these little booties. In flipping through the book 50 Baby Bootees To Knit by Zoe Mellor, I saw that these had the same picot trim as the sweater. It almost seemed like they were made to go together.

The booties were a fun, fast knit – hardly any time to knock them out. I used the same yarn to edge the booties as edged the sweater. I made just a few changes — see the particulars below.

Contrary to appearance, the booties are both the same size. Perspective is a funny thing.

trtlgrl and trtlbby-bump

Rachel seemed happy with the sweater and booties. Can’t tell if the trtlbby-bump is happy or not, but we’ll assume she is. (Just outside the picture to the right is a pile of hand knit trtlbby swag that guarantees she will be neither cold nor naked.)

And I just made it, as trtlbby will be here sometime in the next week, guaranteed.

The Particulars:

Sweater:

• Yarn: the sadly discontinued Ella Rae Silkience (41% cotton, 39% Modal, 12% Silk, 8% Rayon), 119 yds/108 m per 500 g skein, in colorways 16 – Grass Green and 20 – Berry
• Needles: a pair of Addi Turbo 24″ circulars, US#3 (3.25 mm) and a pair of Addi Lace 24″ circulars, US#2 (3.00 mm)
• Pattern: Helena sweater by Alison Green Will
• Modifications: Instead of having a garter border around the neck and front, I made the picot edging go all the way around. I made a single I-cord tie rather than two garter-stitch ties.

Booties:

• Yarn: Dale Of Norway Baby Ull (100% Merino wool), 180 yds/165 m per 1.75 oz/50 g skein, in colorway 0020 – Cream — I used maybe 1/2 of the total. The trim is leftover Berry Silkience from the sweater.
  
  
• Needles: US#6 (4 mm) Addi Turbo and Addi Lace circulars
• Pattern: From the book 50 Baby Bootees To Knit by Zoe Mellor
• Modifications: I used different needles so that the size is more like 6-month. I used Judy’s Magic Cast-On to start so that the bottom of the foot could be grafted together. The booties were to have little bunny ears and bunny face, but I decided they were too cute as-is and left those off. (Besides, these were supposed to be newborn size. The thought of a 6-month-old trtlbby possibly jamming an ear into her little mouth and maybe choking gave me the heeby-jeebies.)

Today it’s Won’t You Wear A Sweater day as part of Pittsburgh’s Won’t You Be My Neighbor 250th birthday celebration.

Today would have been Fred Rodgers’ 80th birthday. For those of you who may not know of Mr. Rogers, he was a gentle soul who hosted the children’s TV show Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood that was filmed in Pittsburgh. Off screen he was a tireless advocate for children. He also testified during the Betamax hearings that let do the Supreme Court ruling that VCRs did not violate copyright.

Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood began airing in 1968 and ceased production at the end of 2001. At the beginning of every single episode, Mr. Rogers would take off his jacket and put on a sweater. He had a whole closet full of zippered cardigans knit by his mother.

So won’t you wear a sweater?

I think you can.

[ed. 03/22/08 1:32 -- I obviously suck for getting the city wrong. Huge apologies to Pittsburgh. And since the correct city is entirely obvious in the video I have no excuse. I can only plead major brain fart. Please forgive me.]

jungle animals, moose, mice and kitties

On Saturday, a group of Seattle-area knitters rode the early train down to Portland for a little crawl through the Pearl District yarn shops. Bobbie helped to arrange for a few PDX Knit Bloggers to meet the train and welcome our fellow Northwest knitters to Stumptown. Since I had never been to two of the Pearl shops (what can I say – we have over 20 yarn shops and I just can’t make it to all of them all the time), I thought it would be really fun to join in.

But I wasn’t going to buy any yarn, because my stash is feeling sufficient right now. I especially wasn’t going to buy any sock yarn.

I wish I had snapped a picture of all of the knitters milling around the station when the train came, but user error messed my pics up. Charisa, who had spearheaded the yarn crawl, had name tags for all of us that entitled us to discounts at several of the stores, and a handout with a map and such and gave everyone last minute instructions. A very nice Amtrak employee asked me if I needed any directions or maps and what time would be all be back? He looked a little confused when I told him that I live here, but smiled and said that I thought the visitors had it all in hand.

The groups split up so that we didn’t overwhelm the shops by hitting them all at once. I needed to find a free place to park my car for the day, and several of the PDX Knitters joined me in the search. Our first stop was Dublin Bay, where I finally got to meet Chrissy. On a little rack towards the back of the store, I found these really cute little buttons. I have no idea what I’m going to do with them. But they’re so cute, I just had to have them. And they’re not yarn.

If you’re reading this through a feedreader, go on over to the blog and pop up the picture so you can see how cute the buttons are. I’ll wait right here.

a friendly gesture to cold dancers

As I turned from the button rack I saw a knitter clutching Zen Yarn Garden skeins. I had already ignored the siren call of Fleece Artist and Handmaiden, although I did pet a lot of yarn. All the yarn, I think.

The colors of the Zen Yarn Garden were so pretty.

From Dublin Bay a few of us walked down to Knit Knot Studio. Along the way we came across these poor, cold statues dancing on the sidewalk. Hand knits were offered as a temporary warm-up. They looked so cold.

Knit Knot Studio is a tiny but cute little yarn shop that’s packed full of really yummy things like naturally dyed silk and handspun cashmere.

Look what I found someone said, holding a skein of Noro Kureyon Sock.

I love Noro colors, but not necessarily Noro yarns. I have two sweaters knit with Noro, and both times I became annoyed at having to pick twigs and such from the fiber. And what’s with the knots? For what we pay for that yarn, can’t we have one continuous strand? Especially since the strand after the knot always starts with some totally random color, leaving the poor knitter to decide whether to ruin the flow of the stripes in the finished object, or buy more yarn in the hope of matching. I’d felt some of the new sock yarn, and it seems so stiff and scratchy. Not fun to knit with. I just didn’t have much desire to knit with Noro sock yarn, and had said so.

But the colors were so pretty.

post-crawl knitting

From Knit Knot Studio we hopped on the streetcar, which conveniently stops right in front of Knit Purl.

At Knit Purl, a skein of JitterBug leaped off the display and into my arms and demanded to be taken home. The color was so pretty.

Then I saw a really lovely colorway of Lorna’s Laces that I had never seen before.

Teresa came over to say hello and laugh at my sock scarf.

I’m not buying any sock yarn I told her, as I grabbed some Schaeffer Anne off the wall. The colors were so pretty.

Teresa started laughing hysterically, as did others who heard me. Are you going to completely change your personality? Teresa asked. Judy without sock yarn? hahahahaha

Ahem…

sock yarn? What sock yarn?

L-to-R, top: Zen Yarn Garden in Cafe Au Lait and Creamsicle, Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in Pioneer, Colinette JitterBug in Morello Mash
L-to-R, bottom: Noro Kureyon Sock (the yarn I said I’d never buy) in S184, Schaeffer Anne in Toni Morrison. hmmmmm do you see some strong themes with these colorways?

Well… the buttons aren’t sock yarn.

After At Knit Purl, I decided that maybe I’d done enough damage for the days. Leaving the Seattle knitters to their fate (I believe a spin through Powell’s Books was in their near future), we headed over to Starbuck’s for a cuppa and a slice of pumpkin bread.

In the picture, you can see that we whipped the knitting out again while comparing hauls.

On the chair, you can see The Wings Of A Dream in a glob by my purse. I had just messed up by forgetting a whole row with beads. But all was fixed. I have finished the first wing and started on the second wing. I’m still hoping to complete it in the next couple of weeks. We shall see.

I had a great time on the crawl, despite the damage to my pocket book. It was great fun getting to meet all of our northern knit-buds. I hope they crawl down this way again!

stylin’ babe

Here’s a stylin’ babe! Doesn’t she look like she’s saying ooooo, I have a cooooool hoooody! I can flap my sleeves!

This lovely lass is the recipient of the second Babies ‘n’ Bears Sweater that I made last year. She’s a sweetie pie, eh? Doesn’t she have long hands? I’m seeing a piano in her future. (You go, girl!)

I said that I made that sweater last year, and then I realized last year was only a little over a week ago. What happened to 2007? I can’t believe it went so fast. Time flies like an arrow.

(Fruit flies like a banana.)

Sorry about that. Just couldn’t resist.

I have heard from #1 Son. Phone calls have not been attempted, but email, it turns out, is possible between Brazil and Portland. He is having a wonderful time. The food is great. The weather is wonderful. The people are beautiful and friendly. He’s having the time of his life. Yesterday he forgot to put sunscreen on his feet and ankles before lounging around on the beach all day. Ouch.

I so wish I were with him. Think of it. Sunshine. Warm weather. There is none of that, here. Here it is winter. Cold and drizzly and gloomy. In Brazil it’s summer.

Having your mom tag along on your punk band’s tour would probably be limiting, though.

raven wing progress

This is proof that I have been knitting, although I don’t seem to have been blogging about it lately. I’m about 1/2 finished with the first wing of the Wings Of A Dream shawl.

Like all lace, it looks a bit wonky and weird until it’s blocked — sort of The Great Black Glob-ish. But when I stretch it out, I’m happy. It’s going to be really pretty, I think, when it’s finished.

It’s really hard to capture the true color of this yarn. Sometimes it’s black. And sometimes it’s blue. And sometimes there are hints of turquoise. If you pop up the biggy size picture, you’ll see glints of bluish color. Silk has such a pretty sheen, too, doesn’t it? I loves me some silk, gentle reader.

Now I’m starting to worry that I won’t have enough yarn. I should have enough. I planned to have enough. But it’s a little hard for me to judge how much I have left vs. how much I’m going to need to finish this wing and knit the other wing. If it turns out that I don’t have enough, all I can do is order another skein and keep my fingers crossed that the color is reasonably similar to what I already have. But I’m double-stranding, so that should help. Maybe. One more thing to worry about.

This post feels disjointed to me. I went back to work today (yesterday, now) after two whole weeks off. I’m still in shock. No doubt I’ll acclimate all too soon.

new on the needles

It’s that time of the year again. Time to look back. Time to gaze forward in anticipation. Let’s look ahead, first, and welcome 2008.

I did not remain sock monogamous to Lenore. I cast on the toes of the Salish Sea Socks, the December Rockin’ Sock Club pattern. The colorway is called Bella Coola / Nuxalk. It’s a Cat Bordhi pattern. The colors are my blog colors, and Cat gave me a nice little shout-out in the pattern notes. So what was I to do but cast them on?

But, I hear you ask gentle reader, what is that other unfinished strip of stripy cabled goodness sharing the picture with the Salish toes?

That was something I was hoping would be the last finished object of 2007. Didn’t make it. It will be the first finished object of 2008, though. I will tell you more later. For now, I will only say that the pattern comes from this book, and as soon as I saw it I knew that I had to knit it. When Tangle had the right yarn, the deal was sealed.

More later.

Also looking ahead: #1 Son left yesterday for a 5-week trip to Brazil. Yeah. South America. I was not allowed to go to the airport, because Moms are so lame at airports and stuff, you know. But he called me from the airport to let me know he was there. And he called me again to let me know they were ready to board. And he called me again to let me know that their flight to Chicago had been delayed. And he called again to let me know that they had landed, finally, in Chicago but missed the connection to Sao Paulo, and now had to stand in a really long line. And then he sent a text message to say that they had tickets on a flight leaving today. And then he sent a text message to say Happy New Year and that he was at a party with Chicago friends. I have not heard yet today. He has promised to call occasionally and maybe send an email now and again. Five weeks is a long time. Brazil is very far away.

In other non-knitting news, my old lady cat, Phoebe, has been diagnosed as hyperthyroid, thus explaining her weight loss and erratically needy behavior that was so odd in a crotchety cat that mostly just wants to be left alone — except at night, when a great deal of lovin’ is appreciated at bedtime. The good news is that it’s a condition that is, actually, curable in a fairly easy way. The bad news is that the condition may be masking chronic renal failure, which is not curable. So Phoebe is on medication to bring her thyroid levels down to normal so her kidneys can be evaluated. In all of her 15 years, Phoebe has never been sick or required medication of any kind. Since she tends to hold a grudge, I was not looking forward to shoving a pill down her throat offering her medication twice a day. But my vet carries this wonderful invention called Pill Pockets. Slip the pill inside the formed treat and smoosh the end closed, and the designated pet chomps it down. Phoebe loves them. So the only issue is keeping Kidd distracted while Phoebe eats her treat. Moo doesn’t count here, because she doesn’t like treats of any kind. She only eats cat food and yarn.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Now, looking back in farewell to 2007:

In January, I decided to buy yarn. And I kept that promise all through the year. So much so that I think in 2008 I will be a bit more restrained. Blue Moon suffered through their well-publicized bank problems. And my sock class was canceled because of snow.

February saw the Snake River Socks released into the wild, unfortunately, it turned out, with several errors. #1 Son borrowed my vacuum. My brain turned up missing in action as I tried to figure out the right number of stitches to go around a sock leg.

The first Rockin’ Sock Club shipment came in March. I resolved to knit socks only with my classes (resolution soon broken). My socks were lost and then found and, it turned out (via contest), may have been running a little underground resistance movement against sock abuse.

April opened with the Magical Moebius Festival in Newport. Knitting and food and yarn and food and Cat Bordhi and food and whales, and I knit a giant moebius (unintentionally) that 11 people fit into. And it was too far to drive 10 miles to my house, but not too far to drive to Eugene or Seattle.

In May I had the plane trip from hell. While I was in Miami, #1 Son called from Toronto to ask if I could move his car in Portland (it was towed). We lost Grandpa Barney. And I learned that I still remember how to execute a perfect slightly imperfect pratfall.

June found me proving my extreme dorkiness whilst meeting The Yarn Harlot. PDX Knit Bloggers were born (can’t believe it’s only been since June). The Clapotis That Never Ends… finally ended.

In July I visited Boston yarn shops (and my cousins). The PDX Knit Bloggers had their first meet-up at Knit Purl. #1 Son reached v1.9. I was both sorted into Ravenclaw and Simpsonized.

August started with a heelish experience. Sockapalooza 4 finished and I was spoiled nicely. Maia arrived for a PDX Yarn Crawl — on my birthday! I still owe the Bo Diddley sock pattern to several people. A gorgeous new Cat Bordhi book, New Pathways for Sock Knitters: Book One, was published. My name is on page 22. And I was kept suitably humble by my first autograph requestor who said, I have no idea who you are but apparently you’re famous, so please sign my book.

I had more fun with Judy’s Magic Cast-On in September. I also learned that it’s a good thing to pay attention when one is turning cables. At OFFF I met a Rasta sheep and fell off my yarn diet. Hard.

October started with a very interesting computer rebuild. (lovin’ the new computer now, though) I attended the first ever Floating Knitting Retreat with Cat Bordhi and Lucy Neatby and had a wonderful time. I obtained my first ever MP3 player (knitting videos on my iPod!). We planted a tree for Barney and the Ravens landed.

In November, Tina destashed and knitters everywhere helped out. The rose arch finally gave up the ghost. I made a swift from Tinker Toys. I was thankful for finally finishing The Great Green Glob. Not so thankful when it turned out there was a dropped stitch requiring major post-blocking surgery.

I was sick for a lot of December. But I knit a scarf for #1 Son and started The Wings Of A Dream in Blue Moon Silk Thread. I pondered the future of knitting. I made carrot soup instead of carrot pudding. And I was given the gift of snow on Christmas.

Objects Finished In 2007:

9 pairs of adult-sized socks
2 pairs of baby-sized socks
2 iPod Nano socks
2 moebii of the right size
1 moebius bowl
2 baby sweaters
1 Clapotis
1 lace shawl
1 scarf
1 hat

22 finished objects total

In the queue for 2008 or currently on the needles:

4 lace shawls / wraps
2 sweaters
1 blanket
1 bag
1 hat
1 scarf
2 pairs of socks on the needles
a gazillion pairs of socks rattling around in my brain

Chances of finishing this list by 12/31/2008? We shall see.

Ah… knitting. It is such a quandary, gentle reader. Do I continue knitting away on Wings Of A Raven Dream? Do I get my rear in gear and finish Lenore? Do I throw my long-standing sock-monogamy to the wind and cast on the new Blue Moon Rockin’ Sock Club pattern (it is very, very cool!) even though Lenore is still on the needles? Do I knit that hat I’ve been meaning to knit for over a year that is becoming more and more clear in my alleged brain, and thus get one more non-sock FO before the end of the year? Do I finish one of the UFOs? Do I throw caution to the wind and cast on something like a sweater?

A riddle inside a mystery wrapped in an enigma, I tell you. Stay tuned.

Since I can’t decide what to knit, I thought this iPod meme from Knitting In The Shadows was fun. According to the rules, if you are reading this you must consider yourself tagged. You will now be treated to a glimpse into the actual well of lameness that is my music library.

The iPod Meme

If your life were a soundtrack, what would the music be?

Here’s how it works:
1. open your music library (iTunes, winamp, media player, iPod)
2. put it on shuffle
3. press play
4. for every section, type the song that’s playing
5. next section — press the next button
6. don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool

Opening Credits:

My Uncle Used To Love Me But She Died – Roger Miller (I’m sure this has deep meaning… somewhere)

waking up:

Crazy Little Thing Called Love – Queen

first day at school:

Changes In Latitudes – Jimmy Buffett (I was not fond of school)

falling in love:

Uptown Girl – The Wind In The Willows (obscure music trivia – Debbie Harry before she was Blond / not the same as the Billy Joel song)

breaking up:

Who Do You Think You Are – Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods (and every day sees another scar)

prom:

Jim Dandy To The Rescue – Black Oak Arkansas (long, long ago I gave some cigarettes to and bought a cup of coffee for Jim “Dandy” Mangrum, BOA’s lead singer. I imagine he thought he was going to get lucky, but that was not to be. I was a good girl. That night. Sexy guy, though. I doubt he reads knitting blogs, but hi Jim from the Idaho Falls girl.)

life’s okay:

Another Saturday Night – Cat Stevens (ain’t that the truth)

mental breakdown:

Tell Me Something Good – Rufus featuring Chaka Khan

driving:

Why Can’t We Be Friends – War (road rage?)

flashback:

Werewolves Of London – Warren Zevon (I saw a werewolf drinkin’ a Pina Colada at Trader Vic’s. His hair was perfect.)

getting back together:

For Pete’s Sake – The Monkees (no comments from the peanut gallery!)

wedding:

String Of Pearls – Jimmie’s Chicken Shack (I start to sing and cry and then it makes me laugh man)

birth of child:

Wooly Bully – Sam The Sham And The Pharoahs

final battle:

Dixie Chicken – Little Feat (I have no idea what to make of this one.)

death scene:

Loves Me Like A Rock – Paul Simon

end credits:

Not Fade Away – The Rolling Stones

Disclaimer: The links on the song titles go to MP3s where I could find them. The links on the artists go to CDs. It’s all Amazon. Buy something and I get a couple of pennies.