Brimmed Hat

Sometimes when I'm working on a lot of projects at once, it feels like I've been working on them forever. I suppose the solution would be to be monogamous with my knitting, and then they would be done quicker. I prefer to have a lot of options, to suit my moods. It always helps to throw together a little something for instant gratification, once in a while.


A couple of days ago, it was raining (again) and I really felt like making a hat. I found a cool hat pattern on ravelry that I had stash yarn for, and cast on. I finished it the next day and now I have a hat for the rain. Of course, today it's not raining.

This one is made from some Cascade 220 in Como Blue, so it is wooly and warm. The brim didn't quite turn out as expected -- in the original pattern, it stands out more, rather than clinging so close to the head, but I sort of like it. It is like a 1920s cloche and is very comfortable.

I think that blocking the brim might help it to stand out more, or maybe knitting it with another row of increases (or a larger needle size?) to make it wider as it extends further out. Further experimentation is needed...

Poppy Sweater

After the initial frustration of seaming, the neckbands and buttonbands on my sweater went very smoothly. I picked up the perfect number of stitches without really even trying, and they lay flat and tidy. I spaced out nine buttons for the cardigan front -- the pattern called for eight, but I figure I'm tall and also I was afraid of gaping at the buttonband, so I added an extra one. The buttons are so perfect; I really should have taken a closer photo of them to show off how perfectly they match, but I guess you can tell by how much they don't stand out in these photos.


This pattern, if I didn't mention it before, is from one of the recent Interweave Knits magazines. It was called the Marigold sweater, but Marigold isn't a colour that works for me, plus I wanted to be able to wear it to work (with colour limitations for dress code) so I chose red. I got this yarn with some gift certificates from my coworkers for my birthday -- thanks guys! It is wool, which might seem crazy with all the hot weather at this time of year, but like so many others, I am plagued with air conditioning at work, so I need cardigans year-round, really. The wool is a really soft round merino -- I am worried that it will get fuzzy and pill, but only time will tell.


The pattern itself was pretty easy: 2x2 rib, an easy to memorize stitch pattern, no shaping... Even the tucks in the sleeve didn't really take much work. The seaming was really the only fussy part, and it was mostly my own fault that it became a chore.

I think it has a sort of retro cute thing going (hello Mad Men) and I am pretty happy about it. It's also nice and warm -- already wore it to work once. I call that a success!

How Not to Sew up a Sweater

1. Begin sewing first shoulder seam. Halfway through, realize you have somehow managed to put the seam on the outside of the garment.

2. Begin again, but this time decide that it looks like crap, so you have to try a different type of stitch.

3. Begin again, and this time finish successfully. Realize afterwards that you've attached the left side front to the right side back.

4. Successfully finish both shoulder seams and begin setting in the first sleeve, only to realize that there is no way the sleeve cap is going to fit in the sleeve shaping on front/back of the sweater.

5. Put it in a time-out and go to work.

6. Pick it up again the next day and fudge the seams between sleeve and armhole until they fit well enough to work.

7. Sew both sides in no time flat, now that you're in the groove.

8. Thank the gods that you are done the seaming and now just get to knit a neckband and some buttonbands.

Oh Baby

This week, I had an epiphany. I was talking with my coworkers about these cupcakes that my mom used to make -- they were chocolate cupcakes with a delectable cream cheese filling. Someone mentioned carrot cake and the next thing I knew: light bulb. Why not make a carrot cake cupcake with cream cheese hidden inside? And why not use a baby-food-carrot cake recipe, so it will be a lovely smooth texture? Funny thing: last time I made a carrot cake with baby food, I wanted to keep the texture, so I added some shredded carrot. This time I am all about the smooth velvety cake, so I didn't.


Basically I bastardized one baby-food-carrot-cake recipe and one cream-cheese-filled-cupcake recipe into one glorious mutation of the two. Yum.

Oh Baby Cupcakes

Carrot Cake batter:
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup sunflower oil
3 4oz jars carrot baby food

Filling:
8oz brick cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar

Ok, so you make the batter and the filling (surely you don't need instruction on that) and put about a tablespoon of batter into your cupcake cup, followed by a nice dollop (a teaspoon or so) of filling and then another tablespoon of batter to cover it up. Bake those little lovelies at 350 degrees for 15-20 min (until the top is no longer moist and looks cooked) and then let them cool. They are spectacular out of the fridge and will freeze well, too. This recipe is enough for about 24 cupcakes (with a bit of batter and filling left over for you to enjoy -- don't pretend like you won't) so you can take some to your coworkers and make them ooh and ahh.


What's that? Knitting? Oh yes, I've been doing some of that, too. I have gotten started on the second sock in both pairs that I am plugging away on, and even finished all the pieces of my cardi. There they are, blocked and waiting patiently for me to seam them together and knit the buttonbands. I even found the perfect buttons. Stay tuned.

Getting My Groove Back

Last week I did some marathon knitting, and then felt it in my shoulder, after. I had to take a couple of days' hiatus to try to let the discomfort subside again. I think the cure was worse than the illness, in this case -- do you know how hard it is to just sit there and watch tv without knitting something?? How do the muggles do it? I had to keep distracting myself with books and online games and puzzles and chat... I got desperate enough after a couple of days that I convinced myself that crochet wouldn't bother my shoulder like knitting would, so I puttered away at a few more of the little sock yarn hexagons. In the last few days, I finally started to ease back into knitting (with plenty of breaks, of course.) I have managed to finish both fronts of the red cardigan -- only the sleeves are left before blocking it out for assembly, and they are thankfully cute little short sleeves.


I also finally finished off the first of the twisted stitch socks that I designed for myself. It worked out nicely, I think, and fits very comfortably. I used the same rib stitch that I unvented for the cuff to make the heel flap and the toe. I think it looks good, and certainly ties the various parts together. Now I just have to make the second...

Still Casting On

"I can resist anything except temptation."
Oscar Wilde

The other day, as I was walking to work, I thought of what lovely weather we were (finally) having, and how nice it would be to have a new little project to work on as I walk to and fro in the sun. Once I got home, I grabbed up the two balls of Elann sock yarn I had waiting for just such an occasion. I cast on for my go-to Universal Toe-Up Sock, with my usual 3:1 ratio for a striped sock. As you can see, I really shook things up, this time, by making the darker colour the background, with the lighter colour for toe/heel/cuff/stripes. I know, crazy, right? They are flying off the needles -- the first one is past the halfway point, already -- and then I guess I will pick a slightly more challenging pattern for my next pair of walking socks.


In the meantime, I have made some more progress on the little crocheted hexagons. I haven't even made much of a dent in my sock yarn leftovers, and I already have a couple dozen of these little guys done. Not nearly enough to make a blanket, of course, since each one is only a few inches across, but still, a nice start. They are so squishy and soft and colourful -- makes me so happy to look at that bright little stack!

I Died For Beauty

I Died For Beauty
by Emily Dickinson

I died for beauty but was scarce
Adjusted in the tomb,
When one who died for truth was lain
In an adjoining room.

He questioned softly why I failed?
"For beauty," I replied.
"And I for truth, the two are one;
We brethren are," he said.

And so, as kinsmen met a night,
We talked between the rooms,
Until the moss had reached our lips,
And covered up our names.

The shawl turned out lovely, and was delightful right to the end. As the rows get shorter and shorter, it really builds up momentum, and before you know it, it's done. It didn't block out quite as big as the pattern says it should -- I think if I had blocking wires, I could have blocked it much more severely, and made it closer to those dimensions. I intended it to be a neck-scarf more than a shawl, though, so I don't mind if it's smallish. I'd rather keep it smaller and have the garter stitch stay squishy than block it bigger and have it flatter and more drapey.

Who knew that simply putting pink beads on would make it so girly? It is such an adorable bit of fluff, and reminds me of one of my favourite things in the world: red velvet cupcakes with their pink and white frosting (aka Scarlett O'Hara, from Fuss cupcakes -- feel free to pick one up for me, if you're ever in town.)

Now that I have this little alpaca obsession out of the way, I can get back to some of my other projects. I've made a bunch more little crocheted sock yarn hexagons recently, and good progress on the back of my red wooly cardi. I even did some *gasp* sewing!

Emily Dickinson is Holding Me Ransom

Of course I mean that I just can't put down my Emily Dickinson shawl, in the last few days -- I have gotten as far as the beaded portion, and the pink beads make a subtle but lovely sparkle through the lovely alpaca haze of garter stitch.

I have also realized how ingenious the design is, since the rows are going faster and faster as they are slowly decreasing down to nothing. With the bottom-up design, you get the slower and more fiddly rows for the edging done at the beginning, and then everything gets faster and easier as you carry on.

I can really forsee me making another one one of these, in the deep lovely red alpaca laceweight that I have leftover from my previous Ruffle shawl & Veyla gloves. All I have to do is decide what colour of beads to use...

Something New

Since my self-imposed restriction to only use up yarn from the stash this year, I have certainly felt some frustration at the limitations of it. There are many projects that I have seen and admired, many yarns and fabrics that I would love to stock up on, but alas. It certainly hasn't curbed my impulsive nature -- that part of me that makes me want to cast on new things constantly, that disregards my well-made plans to instead skip the queue with any little new project that comes along.

I haven't felt much like finishing things, lately. My suede tote bag is sitting here, probably an hour or two of fiddly hand-stitching away from being done, and while I do look guiltily at it every day, I haven't yet girded my loins and done it. My lovely twisted-stitch sock is also waiting patiently for me to finish the foot and toe.

Instead, like a raven, something sparkly and new has caught my eye.


When I saw the simple and beautiful Emily Dickinson shawl on Ravelry, I was enchanted. It just so happens that I have some laceweight Alpaca sitting around (yeah, I had planned to use it for something else, but sometimes you have to follow your heart) that would be just enough to make it. I went out and bought some lovely rose pink beads and cast on, the other day. It is an interesting shawl, in that the construction is reversed from the norm: for this one, you cast on at the bottom edge and decrease your way to the center top. A bit intimidating, I must admit, when the first line of the pattern is "cast on 545 stitches." Yikes. I am past the lacey points at the bottom, which has cut the stitches by half already, and into the lovely mindless garter stitch body. Have I mentioned how much I love garter stitch? So simple and beautiful and squishy. And this yarn is just completely the softest butteriest alpaca you can imagine. I am really looking forward to wearing this one, which must be why I have been working on it pretty exclusively since I cast it on.


On Tuesday night with the knitters, over a long in-depth analysis of The Wire Season Three, I managed to knit six inches of 2x2 rib for the back of my new wooly cardigan. I am really hoping that this one will turn out as good as it is in my head. The swatch for it looked really good, and the yarn is very soft and round merino, so as long as it doesn't pill horribly (cross your fingers) it should be a winner.

Maybe one of these days I'll have something finished, to show off.

On Infidelity

Before knitting took over my life, I used to have a lot of hobbies -- I used to read a lot more, and you know, even leave the house from time to time. I also spent a lot of time and money on a lot of different crafts: I embroidered and cross-stitched and made Japanese temari balls and sewed a lot of clothes and tried out paper quilling... You name it, I tried it. One thing that I never really took to was crochet.

It's not that I have an inherent bias against crochet -- okay, yeah, I do. It's not stretchy like knitting, which I find is usually a detriment. There are occasions where the stability would be preferable (if you don't see what I mean, just try to knit a corset) but generally I like my projects to have a little give. That, and I've never really learned it beyond the very basics.

So what happened to me, lately? I seem to have caught a crochet bug this week.


I have been sitting on lots of leftover sock yarn (as I'm sure every sock knitter does) and trying to decide what to do with it. I looked at a lot of little projects and various sock blankets on Ravelry, but for some reason the one that really appealed to me was little crocheted hexagons. Maybe it's the hexagon thing: after all, I am only making thousands of them for a quilt -- what's a few hundred more?

I began with a few from some of the leftover orange and brown yarn from the Fisherman socks.


Then I pulled out some leftover Koigu from my Lindsay socks.

I think I like them. I will continue making them, anyway. They are such a quick little thing (maybe 5 minutes a piece?) that it's easy to squeeze one in, if I don't have time for a repeat or two of knitting.


Then I found a really cute pattern for square shell coasters. Since I was already crocheting the hexagons, why not try this on some leftover hemp yarn I had? It is a little sloppy because of my uneven tension (I finally figured out how to tension the yarn without getting finger cramps -- on the next-to-last round) but I think it's still pretty cute. It's a bit big for a coaster, maybe, at about 5ish inches across, but works well for my big mug of iced coffee, this afternoon. Maybe with a little practice, they will even out enough to use them as gifts for someone, sometime.

Or maybe I'll get distracted right away by some more lovely knitting.