A word to the wise.

If you make yourself a set of blocking wires, and a nifty PVC pipe capped on both ends to keep them in, if you don't open it for a couple of years, the caps will. not. come. off.

At least, nothing I've tried yet has worked.  Any ideas?

Oh, woman, contrary is thy name . . .

So, I have the hardest time knitting with alpaca laceweight.  I've tried (and frogged) a number of projects, from a simple feather & fan scarf to an aborted Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl.  So, would you please tell me why it is that I happen to have 8,333 yards of 100% alpaca laceweight in my stash?  Hmmmm?

I must be more of a sucker for a good hand than I thought. ;o)

Something with Substance

Sooooo . . . it has been a while.

(Now I'll tell you some things you don't already know. ;o)

We're expecting #6.  Yeah.  It was a shock to us, too.  I'm about 19 weeks along, and just really getting used to the idea.  Anyone know if you can get a bench seat for the front row of a Honda Odyssey?

The powerful advent of morning sickness signaled a significant pause in our raw diet adventure.  Thusfar it has been a four month pause, but we'll see what happens.  I'm not feeling as good as I did while raw, (duh), but I did what was necessary (considering the circumstances in my life right then), and I feel good about my choice . . . especially because I can change it at any time.

We've managed to make some progress on getting the site work done at the farm. (That's what I'm calling our homesite and surrounding property.  We'll see if it sticks.)  We lost three months' progress (and sight of our dream for that time) in late winter/early spring due to an out-of-area health department inspector denying us a reasonable assessment during the perc test; but as it turns out, that hasn't really changed much, because it's STILL a bog out there due to the nearly-constant rain we've had.  (Rain nearly daily since March . . . I think Mother Nature is trying to make up for an unusually snowless winter.)  We've taken a bid for putting in the road, and we're currently reviewing bids for the concrete work.  Bids for the septic system are under review.  Once site work actually begins, I'll have photos to share.

The house plan is coming along fairly well . . . we're refining things we've already decided on, and working out kinks in the new story-and-a-half version.  It'll be cozy, but that's the point.  A home that will fit all of us without putting us in bondage for nearly times the cost of the home.  (Making reasonable assumptions, we would be paying 2.8 times the cost of our home with a 30-year mortgage.  No way, Jose.  Paying $504,080 for a $180,000 loan is just not in the cards.)

In other home-related news, our landlord is the best we've ever had.  He gave us permission to put eight small raised beds in the backyard, and we've been eating salad and greens from them for about a week now.  (Yummmmmmm.)  I also have a brand-spanking-new dryer vent.  The old one was the no-no-big-time-fire-hazard-white-vinyl installed when the house was build fifteen years ago, and never cleaned.  If my dryer's high-limit thermostat hadn't worked as intended, shutting off the dryer's heating element before the vent caught fire, I'd have been blogging to a very different tune by now.  The "we're all okay, but we've lost everything in the fire" refrain.  Photos and details and an illustrative video will ensue.

I've just finished a beginning weaving class, which I really enjoyed.  It was with Kristie of the Weaving Room at Bluster Bay Woodworks, and she did a great job.  (Being a textiles teacher at the University of Alaska for a couple decades helps with that.)  I have an eight-foot scarf woven in decently-recognizable herringbone tweed to show for it, and quite a few hours logged on Schacht's new Wolf Pup loom.  I really do enjoy weaving, and would love to do more . . . but I'm not taking on any new hobbies/tasks/adventures until after the house is built and my impending mother-of-a-newborn status has passed.  Home construction is a full-time endeavor; adding a new baby to that is going to be interesting. ;o)  When the time comes, though, that I purchase a loom, it will probably be either a Wolf Pup or a Baby Wolf.  The Pup has a few disadvantages (like harnesses that are at the complete upper limit of width without a center support), but it's a great "little" loom with a really conservative footprint, and I found it very easy to use.

I'm just coming out of a verrrrrry long stint with a sinus infection.  Like two weeks.  Nasty bug, that one, that brought it on.  Vern and MrC are still working on kicking it.  One great serendipity, though, was I got several solid days of knitting in while stuck on the couch, directing traffic.  (Thanks so much, Mom, for helping so much!)  I've knit two WHW Trim Soakers, one adorable Owlie Sleep Sack set,  and I'm finishing up my fourth pair of Nifty Knickers.  (A bottom-up version, which will be posted for free in my Rav pattern store soon.) Photos and more info to come, as well as Rav project entries for all of the above.  (Those are Ravelry links, so anyone reading who hasn't yet signed up at Ravelry, please feel free.  There's no longer any waiting. :o)  Newborn knitting is just so fun and fast; you use incredibly luscious yarns, on teensy tiny sweet little things, and get to finish really fast.  It's a beautiful thing.

I've been dreaming about starting a Granny Stripes Afghan, crocheting along with Lucy of Attic24, but haven't yet found a natural fiber DK-weight yarn that will survive my daughter and leave me with a penny to my name.  It's got to be less than about $6.50/4oz, be less than 50% acrylic, and have a wide range of brilliant colors.  Any ideas?

Hmmmm . . . what else?  Those seem to be "the biggies", as my Mom would say.  I've just been feeling in just a little over my head, but have been provided with a tremendous amount of help, in many forms.  (Thanks so much, Mom . . . )  And now that I've given you the debriefing, I've got an outline for the next half dozen posts or so.  I love it when that happens . . .

Hopefully I'll get back to blogging a little more regularly.  I've always got thoughts running through my head, complete with ideas for photos and posts, but time all-too often simply does not allow.

We interrupt this program . . .

to bring you one of the neatest Ikea hacks I've ever seen . . . 

a yarn swift. :o)

It wouldn't be hard to drill a few more holes, to make the skein size adjustable.  Man, I do miss living near Ikea . . . 

Super-Cute Alert

This is one of the most adorable things I've seen. Ever.

I'll show you pics when I'm done. :o)

So Apropos

Calling all knitterly geeks . . . I love the IT Guy's "test run" of the new Knit Picks Zephyr needles.

Overheard at the Sock Summit

These are awesome . . . many of them even if you're not a knitter.

(My apologies to those who aren't Ravelers, if that link won't work for you. However, it's fast and easy to sign up, so why miss out? ;o)

A Rare Sighting

After publishing that last post, I caught sight of something in the library . . .



Hold on a second, I thought. What could that be? Knitting? Actual blog fodder???

Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a wad of lace. Would you like to see?



Well, like it or not, you get to. ;o) Dear blog reader, may I introduce you to the Old Shale Scarf?



(She's charmed.)

I'm not sure if I was influenced subconsciously by all of the Clap knitting that has been going on, but I cast on for this about a month ago. I wanted to knit up this gorgeous wool/silk blend from Sheep Shop yarns, and I wanted something for me to ward off the coming chilly, wet winter. (But please remember--I'm thrilled down to the bottom of my little knitter's heart that it's not a freezing, snowy one!)

I've been wanting to knit something in Old Shale for a while . . . my grandmother, who passed away just over two years ago, knit a baby blanket for me in a garter variation of Old Shale. (Knit every row instead of making row four purl.) My daughters now love that blanket, and I wanted to make something for me to carry around, too. ;o) I miss my grandmother, and I find myself wanting to have things around me that remind me of her.



I'm just over halfway through . . . unless it turns out that I'm really just over a third through. I may made it a little too wide to get enough length out of the two skeins of Sheep Shop Three I bought at Apple Yarns in Bellingham, so I've got to decide if I:

1. Rip the entire thing out and start again with 1/3 fewer stitches (more thrifty, but waaaaaay more work, and not as smooshy and luxuriant a scarf at the end), or

2. Call Andrea and have her send me another skein from the same dyelot, if she has any more. (I surely hope she does, because otherwise I'm a stuck knitter, aren't I?)

And I want you to know I'm totally open to suggestions. Please do fire away . . .

Handed-ness in Knitting: It Ain't Worth a Thing.

Since this is a topic that seems to come up over and over and over in KAL's I participate in, I thought I'd just blog and link instead of repeating myself. ;o)

Knitting isn't handed. It simply isn't.

You use both hands to knit, just as you do to drive. There are different actions for each hand as you drive (the turn signals are usually on the left, the gear shift on the right, etc.), but nobody talks about left-handed drivers or right-handed drivers, or left- and right-handed cars.

Mystique swirls maddeningly around lefties learning to knit, and thickens the further back you go in time. One lovely lefty lady at my old LYS, Rachel, was taught to knit standing in front of a mirror. Her instructor (a Righty) insisted it would be easier for her to learn that way. But it's really not necessary. If anything, Lefties have an edge in learning to knit, because as has been pointed out more than once: in Continental knitting the left had does more than the right. Elizabeth Zimmerman even called Continental Left-handed Knitting. Check out how I (a definite Lefty) knit:



There are only a few stitches in that clip, but watch my hands (not fingers) carefully, and see which hand does what.

More examples are here and here.

Learning to knit backward can be handy, as it makes button bands and other small pieces easier (turning every four stitches is crazy-making). But beyond eliminating the need to turn your work in such situations, it's borrowing trouble (as is mentioned at the bottom of the page here). Knitting backward under all circumstances means that you must read charts backward, reverse written directions, or have a mirror image of what is being knitted. But more than that, it creates a mental barrier that can grow all out of proportion. Whether in your own mind, or the mind of knitters you meet, habitually knitting backward places obstacles in your way that needn't be there.

Long rant short, do yourself a favor: learn to knit Continental in the conventional direction. It's fast, efficient, and despite requiring an initial investment in time and effort, will save you hours and hours and hours of frustration and work in the long run.

And learning an already-entrenched skill in reverse is excellent for your brain. ;o)

Where they know my name.

I'm feeling a little homesick today.

Listening to Already Home by Marc Cohn made me think of my knitting gals back in Idaho.

This is where I hang my hat
This is where they know my name
This is where they show me that
a man's not so alone.

And I realized that I never blogged about the retreat a million years ago in March. So much has happened since then that it feels like several lifetimes ago; and looking at the photos made me realize how much I miss everyone. This post isn't all-inclusive of the people I love and left in Idaho, there is also the group from church and the group from Scrap Night. (I'll catch those groups in another post.)

Driving out to the guest ranch took me up into the mountains surrounding Sandpoint, and up into the snow. Mostly gone at my house for a while, the snow was still obviously happy in the hills.



(Please forgive the date stamps. I forgot my camera, and so I borrowed my Mom's, and wasn't familiar with her settings until it was too late. ;o) The road wasn't bad at all, especially since I was in the 4-wheel drive. It reminded me of driving up the mountain when we lived on Gold Hill over Lake Pend Orielle, and showed me how soft I'd gotten when not-so-little thrills of fear would race down my spine as I made tight curves with nothing but open sky at the edge of the road. (Sorry, no photos of that. My hands were busy.)

Finally arriving, I was greeted by some barns and wooly horses breathing their steamy winter breath, and then approached the lodge.



It was fun, looking around inside, and seeing how it was made. With Vern a member of the Log Home Builder's Association, I've learnt a thing or two about log structures. Actually applying those odd bits of info was fun. (It's a special kind of nutsy, I know.)



Pretty nifty, no? Complete with sentinels on the loft railing.



There were just a few of the Stitchin' Sisters there in the lodge, and I was promptly directed up to my room. Along the way I was greeted by a few lodge denizens. First, I was cooly sized up by the resident moose:



I've forgotten his name, but he truly is a beautiful guy.



There, you can see what he really looks like there. I just couldn't resist playing up that nose. I next met Sam . . .



who was uncharacteristically silent. But I patted him affectionately nonetheless. ;o) I had a lovely little room, assigned to me because I was a month away from my due date with BabyB.



Done up in pinks and purples, it was feminine and Victorian from floor (mauve carpet) to ceiling (huge grapevine wreath full of silk flowers hung up on the wall under the vaulted ceiling. And here was the sweetest part of the room . . .



That's where I want to be someday. Holding one of my babies in a garden like that. It'll probably be a niece or nephew, by the time I have a garden in that lovely stage of full bloom, but it's going to happen. Some day soon.

My stuff hauled in and my knitting brought down, I checked out the view from the deck.



I know it's not much to look at (my little camera goes into a grand mal the high contrast of wintry afternoons), but it was breath-taking that day. The crisp air opened your eyes wide, and made you breathe in deeply, even though it reached places in your lungs still musty from long months inside.

We sat and knit and were served lovely meals by the great folks at the ranch. And trust me, there are few things as luxurious as having time completely unfettered by the task of preparing, serving, and cleaning up meals. This weekend sealed my resolve to hire a cook and maid when Vern makes it big. ;o)

The retreat abounded with all manner of things our knitterly group loved. Littered about, there were lovely magazines, yarn in yummy colors, candy (which I did eat, but only a little), and a few adult beverages (which I didn't drink ;o).




Once I took this photo, I noticed Audra's knitting in the background. She has one of the most interesting ways of picking I've ever seen . . . and she's fast. Check out how she works her tension:



She's holding the working yarn tensioned around her thumb, there on the other side of the sweater (where you can't see it). I think that at the next retreat, I'll have to go 'round and make a photo documentary on how each of us Continental Knitters manage our yarn.

I was the first one to finish something at the retreat. It was BabyB's newborn soaker set:



It was finished first thing Saturday morning, before some of the ladies were even up. I wasn't the first one up, though. There were some exceptionally early birds up hours before I appeared around 7:30.

And now, for some shout out's. First, we have the lovely Karen, who is a red-head all the way, and I love her dearly for it. She reminds me of one of my best friends, Cathy, who passed away about five years ago from complications due to diabetes. She was in her early 50's, and I miss her terribly. Here, Karen's working on a green tweedy cabled something-or-other with small needles and DK weight yarn.



Up next is Audra's mom, whom I caught unawares. I'm still a lousy photo blogger, but I'm getting better. Hopefully at the next retreat I'll be able get a more coherent photo story.



And here we have Denise & Kristy. Partners in crime, and hilarious. Kristy is also a first-rate stylist, and I loved to have her cut my hair. (I love small town crossovers. Don't you? ;o) Denise is mom to one incredibly cute little boy, who was rather impatient for BabyB's arrival. He saw me two weeks in a row at knit night, and after learning that the baby was supposed to come soon the first time, he demanded when he saw me the second week, hand on his hip, chin jutting out: "Where's that baby?" He was visibly miffed that I hadn't produced the little guy yet. lol



Below are Robin and Sally, the tall ones. They're both right around six feet tall, and lovely. Robin loves horses (and all animals, really), and has such a gentle heart. Sally has been cheerful and smiling every time I've seen her . . . even when things are hard. I've learned a lot from both of them.




Here we have Embroidery Jen, Bar-B-Cue (a.k.a. Barbara, a.k.a. Un Poco, No Mas), Audra (with the fun 'do), and the back of Angela's beautiful head of hair. On Saturday, shortly after this photo was taken, we were talking about age, and how old we were. We all thought Angela was the youngest, since she looked at least five years younger than I am. Turns out she's older by a year or two, making me the youngest one there. That was quite the topic for discussion, and comments were made about how lucky Angela is to look so young. Barb chimed in that Angela was like German women, who looked so very young. "Until they hit about 40," Barb finished. "Then it's pbhtpbhtpbht," she said, blowing a raspberry, "and they're all wrinkled and old."

"Hey!" Angela called back. "I am German!" and everyone laughed and laughed. 100% German she is, and so, the clock is ticking . . .



I had such a good time that I honestly didn't take many pictures. On the way home early Sunday morning (had to be back for church at 9am), I had to take a quick detour and try to catch this sunrise:



The dawn reflected on the snowy meadow simply took my breath away. This was just the tail end of it, on a very simple camera. I wish I could have had a DSLR and been there about ten minutes earlier. It's another one of those moments that will stay with me forever, along with much of the weekend. And in just shy of two months, I'll be trucking back to Sandpoint for the next Stitchin' Sisters retreat. It will be so good to see everyone, and to "cackle" in the group again.

I know that for most of you, these photos will be just that: photos. They're faces you don't know, places you haven't been. But for me,

This is where I hung my hat
This is where they know my name
This is where they showed me that
a woman's not so alone.*

'Til then, knit on.





*Modifications to the lyrics are mine.

Instant Gratification

So, I've been kinda down and out with this late-pregnancy cold. Ugh. I've thought a lot about blogging, but Blogger hasn't implemented the direct synapse-to-publish feature yet.

In the meantime, I've been doing a little knitting to ease my impatience (on both the getting better and the getting thinner).

Instant gratification project the first:

Meghan's Braids, from One-Skein Wonders.



Specs: Needful Yarns' Joy, on US6/4mm bamboo or birch needles (bamboo circ & birch dpn). It fits my 6yo dd perfectly, and she can't get enough of wearing the thing. The braids were a little fiddly to add, but they were definitely worth the effort.

Mods: I stopped the seed stitch after about an inch so I wouldn't obscure the striping much, and so I could knit it faster. ;o)

Instant gratification project the second:

Newborn Pigtail Hat, inspired by the Pigtail Hat from One-Skein Wonders.



Specs: Needful Yarns' Joy, US6/4mm circ & dpn's. I cast on about what I thought would be good for a newborn hat, and knit it kinda like I did the larger one, but left off the ear flaps and braids, and added pigtails on top. It was fun, and used up nearly all of the left-over from the braided version.

Instant gratification project the last:



Specs: A felted bag. No pattern, just some random yarn that I'm not sure will work yet. I'm trying to decide if I should throw caution to the wind and knit in the Noro I bought for this, or just stick with stuff I've got in the stash that wasn't that expensive. Here's the color scheme (it's much nicer in real life, honest):




I have two skeins of Noro Kureyon, and I really love the colors. I just need to do a little research and find out if thick n thin handspun knit in garter will felt well with worsted-weight single ply knit in stockinette, and make a bag worth using. Any ideas or resources out there I should be aware of?

In other knitting news, I'm still plugging away on a Sprout cardi for myself (the longer version), and a couple other languishing WIP's. But, as it's overcast, and I'm tired, I'll save those for another day. (So sorry, all. I hope the photos above are enough to tide you over for a while.)

And now, off to do the music post for today . . .

Licensing Terms

Designer Series, Part 3.

So, now that the licensing genie has been let out, how do we best use this powerful tool to help our businesses? There are two sides to every story, and licensing is a two-edged sword.

From the designer's viewpoint, being able to closely control how a pattern is used seems like a good thing.

But from many customers' point of view, it's not such a grand thing. There are some who don't mind at all being limited to how they can use a pattern, but there are more who won't buy a pattern with strict limitations. The industry-standard for a long time has been that the sewing pattern makers don't want you basing a clothing manufacturing business on their home-sale patterns, but people who sew things at home and sell them haven't been harrassed.

I've traded a few emails with both McCalls and Butterick, and the basics of their official story are that they won't tell me I can sell things I make from their patterns because that "would be an endorsement of the practice", but they specifically did not say that it was illegal to do so, despite their statement "For Home Use Only" on each pattern. Then I was instructed that if I have any other questions I should contact a copyright attorney. So, interpreted into plain language, it's not illegal (because if it was, they'd have told me straight out I couldn't do it), but they're not going to tell me I can do it. I asked another question or two, and they went back to the attorney answer. Which is a weak one. It means "We don't want to tell you the truth of the matter because we don't want you to do what's legal."

So, if a statement "For Home Use Only" (or "For Personal Use Only") at the bottom of a purchased pattern isn't legally binding, where does that leave a designer? Selling licenses--not patterns. You sell a legal right to use your pattern, which includes permission to reproduce the pattern for that purpose, but which does not include the ownership of that reproduction.

When you decide to sell licenses to your patterns, instead of selling patterns, you come upon a couple of bumps in the road.

• First, crafters aren't accustomed to buying permission to use something (as opposed to buying ownership of the thing itself). When you put as much time and sweat and love into something like a knitted garment, not fully owning it rankles (some knitters more, and some less).

• Second, crafters are often a frugal bunch. They like to be able to really get their money's worth. Buying a pattern license for $8-$15 so they can knit according to a strict set of regulations will chafe, especially if the licensing terms limit the number of times the pattern may be knit.
  

• What's worse, because it is likely an unpopular approach, it's bound to meet with resistance and violation of the license agreement. This introduces conflict and animosity between the pro-licensing and the pro-ownership camps, not to mention lots of coercive innuendos on the topics of ethics and the moral character of opposing sides.
  

There is definitely a segment of the knitting/crafting community who aren't bothered by such restrictions and higher expenses--but there are just as many (if not more) who do. With the market exploding as it is, new designers popping up all over the place with their offerings (often really great ones), the competition for pattern purchases will grow. Avenues like Ravelry are excellent for finding new knitting options, and free patterns abound.

Since the idea in marketing something in a horizontal market* is to widen your customer base as much as possible (thereby increasing your potential sales), narrowing your market by annoying the customer unduly doesn't seem wise.

*A horizontal market is one which targets a lower-priced commodity to a large segment of the population. A vertical (or niche) market is one which offers highly-priced commodities to a very small segment who really need it (and have the money to spend). Knitting patterns are a horizontal market commodity, while business software (which can retail in the $10,000/license range) is often part of a vertical market.

I have a problem.

So, one evening I'll be straightening up the portion of the stash that lives in my room, admiring the beautiful colors and fibers I've garnered, and thinking of all the things these cakes and skeins could become. Then I'll touch a skein of gorgeous alpaca lace, or an especially springy and cushy worsted wool, and I'll be nearly overcome with the desire to actually wear it. To be able to work it into something that can be next to my skin, to warm and comfort me.

And then the search begins.

I'll start hunting through my personal library for something suitable. Then I head online and search at Ravelry. If that fails, I'll get to Googling for patterns. After hours of intensive perusal, I'll find something that catches my fancy--not too complicated or fussy, yet classic and wearable--and cast on, still dreaming of how great this little number will feel, and loving how the yarn feels as I work with it.

I knit on, sometimes for an afternoon, and sometimes for days. And then it happens. At first, it just seems that what I'm knitting doesn't look nearly as nice as the photos, or what I had imagined. Then, as I keep on working, I realize that what I'm knitting simply isn't pretty. It's not meeting my needs for aesthetic pleasure, and I become sadly disillusioned with the project. Sometimes I wait a week or so to frog it, but usually it's within only a few minutes of the final verdict that the yarn is back in it's embryonic state, awaiting a pattern to bring it fully to life.

I don't think this is startitis, because it's not as though I just fall out of love with a pattern or idea, my interest trailing away as I begin looking at other projects. It's that they all seem to fall so far short of what I think they should (or could) look like, and I can't bear to work on them any longer, knowing that I'll be unhappy with the finished product, and won't wear it.

Am I the only one who does this?

It would be so nice to have some idea of what to do with all of this yarn, and not have this worry hovering in the back of my mind, taunting me with the likelihood of hours and hours of wasted effort. If you know of a 12-step program for this type of thing, do please speak up . . .

And now for something completely different.

A finished object!

Behold, the top-down longies are finally done . . . and were sent off today to their new owner. (Double knitting mojo points for not procrastinating on that one, eh?)



These are sized for a good-sized toddler, between 2.5 & 3 years old. They have hemmed cuffs and an encased elastic waist. The elastic casing was knit flat for a few rows in the middle of the inside half so an opening was left for adding the elastic later (and for allowing for adjustments and replacement, if necessary). I personally don't like elastic waists in diaper covers, because the polyester elastic tends to build up odors, while the wool doesn't.



Here you can see the short rows in back . . . they're a little down from the waist, and marked by the wedge-shaped stripes on each side.



And here, here is the crotch gusset. This one went together far, far better than my first attempt. This one is basically like the toe of a sock . . . but instead of decreasing down to it, you increase a few stitches in the middle on the last couple of rounds, put the leg stitches on needles (or whatever), and graft the center stitches together. Then you pick up a few stitches on each side of the gusset strap that now connects the front and back, and knit the legs down from there.

And now, I'm off to put some very tired, slightly ill, hyper munchkins to bed. So far we've dodged the flu that's going around, but the two youngest are starting a gunky cough. So, with bitter herbs and herbal cleansers to the rescue, we should be fine in a few days.

And don't worry . . . the longies pattern really, Really, is coming. No, really . . . ;o)

Longies: Some progress!

So, today I'm up for a nice, light, knitting post. ;o) I've been working on some more custom longies for another mama, and here's where they stand (er, lay):



These are the prototype for my top-down longies pattern, which should be done by the end of next week. (It's a conservative estimate, since we'll be gone all weekend, and I'll be completely offline for that time.)

Here's a close-up of the crotch gusset, take #2:



This one has worked out much better than the previous attempts. It's just like the toe of a sock, and since I'm a doofus when it comes to grafting, I had to graft it from the inside (since I couldn't figure out how to graft in knit--just in purl!). But I think it looks pretty darn good, don't you? And the leg on the left side of the photo comes out from the gusset in a neat fashion, without any ridges or holes.

Have a great weekend, everyone, and I'll see you next week!

WIP Wednesday

It has been a while since I posted some WIP photos, so here's a little parade for you. ;o)



It looks like more than it really is . . . honest! ;o)



The Christmas Easter Shawlette. Had to frog 1/3 of it the last time I touched it, so I'm not really feelin' the love for this right now. Maybe in a few weeks . . .



Big girl's mittens. Well, 1/3 of one mitten. I bought her some on clearance at JCPenney (I know, bad knitter, bad knitter!), and so I'm not sure what this yarn will be for next. It's Plymouth Handpaints, a bulky single-ply. (I usually hate single ply, but this is such a pretty colorway, and it's good for mittens and other things that need to have no holes.)


The Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl in Knit Picks Shadow. It's about to the point where I could change patterns and put a border on it . . . but I have no border. I'm pretty zzzzz'd with the FCSS pattern now, and I want something fresh, something new, something not the same as I've knit for a few thousand stitches already. ;o) I sense a lace stitch dictionary in my future . . .



MS3/Swan Lake. This is gorgeous, beautiful, and I'm looking forward to working on it again sometime. After I'm done with the custom knitting I'm working on right now, and have finished some more woolly goods for the new baby, and have gotten the newborn cloth diapers finished up.




The Anderman's hat. It's done! I'm still trying to get a good picture of it on someone--I'll be sure to post it when I do get one. It's a hard color to capture. :oP



Anderman mittens. These were the project that put me over the edge a year ago during my next-to-last bout of morning sickness. I haven't been able to work on them since, and he's got a good pair from Land's End (sic), so this is going to go back into the stash after a visit to the frog pond.




Pink custom longies for the lady who ordered the pair I've been working on so far. These are going to be frogged and knit from the top down, I think. Or maybe I'll keep the legs I've got done and knit the hips from the top down and graft the two together. I do like a good grafting challenge. Hehehehe.



Bellflower lace scarf. This is in some wonderfully soft Kid n Ewe yarn (a wool/mohair blend), which I was able to supplement with a purchase from a nice lady over at Ravelry. This takes real brain power, though, so it has been on hold. (Pregnancy brain is NOT good at lace knitting.)



The Round Dishcloth. I had to knit this when I saw Susan's version for Dish Rag Tag. It was really pretty. I got this pattern free online somewhere, though, and can't find it now. If anyone knows where it is, please do tell me! Hmmm . . . maybe I'll go check out Susan's blog.

Found it!


And, last but absolutely not least, the Cargo Longies!



I finished attaching the elastic and sewing down the waistband on Tuesday, and clean forgot about the pockets until I went to mail them off this morning. Whoops. So, I spent my knitting time today knitting little pockets and flaps, and sewing them all down. (Oh, and sewing on buttons, too.) It was kind of fiddly, and I'm not sure I'll do it on any such things for myself (well, maybe if I picked up stitches on the back of the flap and knit the pocket down from that, instead of knitting them separately and then sewing them together. Ick.)

Here's an action shot, to show you the cute little cargo pockets. Not too shabby . . .



. . . Eh?

And lastly, just for kicks, my favorite new knitting toy:



The Poulder Pocket Scale.



Accurate as anything (it weighed more than 20 nickels perfectly--5 grams each), weighs to 1/10th of a gram, tiny, and perfect for splitting sock yarn skeins, or weighing leftovers, or what-have-you. It's also great for letters and all kinds of other things. If you're looking for a good scale, this is a great one. There was only one bad review at Amazon on it, and it was the kind of thing where an exchange for another one from Amazon could have easily fixed the problem.

And now, it's off to make some dinner for the restless posse. Have a great Wednesday!

Baby A Baby Swap Questionnaire

Survey Says . . . .

1a) What is your favorite yarn?

I love soft wool yarn, especially Australian or Peruvian/South American products. Like PureWool, and Plymouth Outback wool. Come to think of it, Paton's Classic Merino or Lion Wool are pretty darn nice, too. (Can you tell I like natural fibers?) Oh, and I love cotton, bamboo and soft hemp, too.

1b) Favorite colors?

I love "baby" colors for a new baby. Soft pinks, purples, greens, yellows, blues. Since I don't know if this bub is a girl or boy, I'm up for anything. But, then again, I'm fine with surprises too: bright or rich reds, blues & greens with yellow or orange accents are always fun.

1c) What is your least favorite?

Long story short: synthetics. My least favorite fiber EVER is polyester. Can't stand to touch the stuff. Very close second is acrylic. (Although Lion Brand's new Vanna's Choice surprised me mightily.) Nylon is fine, if it's in a blend with something, since it's so close to wool on a molecularly-speaking.

2) Knit, crochet, both?

Both--but I like knitting a lot more for things that will see regular or hard use, instead of simply decorative or light use (like a baby bonnet or table runner).

3) How long have you been knitting/crocheting? Who taught you? Why did you want to learn?

Crocheting: Nearly 20 years.
Knitting: 2 years.

4) What is your favorite snack/sweet?

Ben & Jerry's (nearly any flavor), or Soy Delicious Mint Marble Fudge. Endangered Species or Dagoba chocolate come in a very close second

5) What did you want to be when you grew up?

Active, involved, and contributing meaningfully to the lives of those around me. But when I was five, I called it "a Mom".

6) What names would you NEVER consider for a baby?

Balthazar. Methuselah. David (Do you know how MANY David's there are out there?). Delbert.
Margaret. Erma (with apologies to Ms. Bombeck, whose writing I adore). Pearl.

7) What things did you, as a child, vow to never to do your children, but have since decided that you will? For example, we weren't allowed sugar-coated cereal growing up and I told my parents I'd NEVER do that to my kids. After some life experience, I think my parents were pretty smart in that decision.

I thought I'd never sound like my parents . . . that I'd somehow manage to make my own parenting style completely distinct from theirs. They were good parents, and did an excellent job. But I just have a different take on things. Either way . . . I'm still working on that. ;o)

8) What is your favorite thing about being a parent/expectant parent?

How much I'm in love with my children, and how much fun we can have.

Hey Look! Knitting content!

Yep. Can you believe it? We spent most of the weekend elsewhere, visiting friends and family (but still sleeping in our own beds--it was wonderful). Somehow, though, I managed to get a little done in odd moments on yet another baby project. Isn't it just too cute?




I'm really pleased with how these are turning out, and hope that the recipient (and her mama) will be just as pleased. (I'm working on the pooling issue that's happening now that I'm up to the hip section--I'll post photos and details when I get it worked out.) It's so fun to knit things for tiny little folks. They go so fast, you get to use fun colors that grown ups don't usually wear, and the yarns are soft, soft, soft.

I'm actually working on a longies pattern of my own, which will be available for free here when it's done. I'm tired of seeing all of the "For home use only" restrictions on patterns, and will have no such stipulation on mine. I'm not out to make money off of them, and even if I was selling patterns, what you make from them is your own--not mine. I'm hoping for some feedback from people who actually knit the pattern, so I can fine tune it, if need be.

So, stay tuned, and hopefully this will work out well. ;o)

Itty Bitty, Tiny Little Things.

It's funny how very small things can make such an impact on one's day.

For example, this is what I saw this morning out my window . . .



And the front window . . .



(The plow threw up some of that, but not a whole lot.)

This was the coolest part, though. Can you see that little black speck just under the right side of the monkey rings?



It's the top of the hose bib on the white pipe below.



It has snowed steadily all day (as it did last night), and now you can't see the hoses bib at all. The higher swing is just about completely buried, as well. I'm not gaugeing the snowfall by how many rungs are visible behind the slide.

The snowfall has been so fine and small that I didn't expect this kind of accumulation. It's amazing . . . and fun. Such little, tiny things.

And, in other little, tiny news, two FO's.



On the left is a Sheepy Time Knits Sheepy Sack, and on the right is a Warm Heart Woolies trim soaker, newborn size.

These were both really quick knits, and it gives me an unaccountable amount of pleasure just looking at them. They're so tiny and soft, I just can't help it. Maybe it was Shan's recent post that put a bee in my bonnet about knitting for the baby; I don't know. Soakers are a far cry from Bohemian baby knits. Either way, I'm not done yet. I'm eyeing all of the wool I've got that's soft enough, wondering how many soakers and longies I can knit.

And now, I'm going to head for bed. I'm beat!

FO Details:

Sheepy Sack

Pure Wool 3-ply worsted in a discontinued pink. (I bought it from another mom online.)
Knit Picks US6/4mm Classic Circular

I knit all but about 2" of the 79g I had, and it's about 1" shorter than the pattern dictated. It's still going to work beautifully, though. The Uruguayan wool is an absolute dream--soft as cotton, and perfect for brand new skin (or 30-something skin ;o).

WHW Soaker

Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Denim (discontinued).
Knit Picks US6/4mm Classic Circular

This only took about four hours or so to knit. (It probably would have taken less if I could have worked on it straight through.) I like the WotA, but I'd rather have something a little heavier for soakers. This will work for little babies, or light daytime duty.