Hiatus FOs

I took a break from blogging for a while because once I got onto Ravelry, the intended purpose of this blog had been met through that wonderful medium. However, I eventually returned here so that I could document some new found creative interests. During my time off, I completed several knitting and crochet projects, as you can see in the photos above. For more info on these projects, visit my Ravelry page.

Post edited for clarity 7-22-11.

Put a Fork in Me...

...I'm done with the Umbilical Cord Hats. I don't think I could knit another one if my life depended on it. I don't know how some people knit or crochet the same thing over and over again!

This one was knitted in Cascade 220 Tweed #7608. I added the flower to cover up a mysterious hole. I have no idea what happened.

Plodding Along

Another Umbilical Cord Hat for charity:



One completed sleeve on the Easy Baby Cardigan:

Itty Bitty FO

Pattern: Umbilical Cord Hat from SnB

Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Wool #021

Needles: Size 7 24-inch Addi Naturas

Modifications: None

Thoughts: Fast. Easy. Cute. Gauge came out to five spi rather than the called for four, but this is fine for a charity hat. You only really need five inches of I-cord for the top knot. I'm going to try to make several of these before the deadline.

I've also made progress on the Easy Baby Cardigan. More on that when I finish. Surely the sleeves will go quickly.

I'm trying to resist casting on for a Monkey. I started a DK-weight sock, but the larger needles seemed cumbersome after using twos for the baby socks. I bought some size two Sox Stix, and I'm chomping at the bit to use them on the Monkeys.

I realize that my posts lately have left a lot to be desired. My enthusiasm for blogging has waned since I joined Ravelry. It seems redundant for me to blog now because Ravelry accomplishes all that I intended for the blog to accomplish, and then some!

Introduction to Lace

• Pattern: Cabled Lace Bookmark by Sivia Harding, 2007 Knitting Pattern-A-Day Calendar (The calendar has been a great disappointment, on the whole.)
• Yarn: Claudia Handpainted Fingering Weight in Baby Girl (Look familiar?)
• Needles: Size 5 Lantnern Moon DPNs
• Modifications: None

What else can I say? Now I get the lace thing.

Crochet Interlude

I haven't knitted a stitch in a week, and I'm having withdrawals! The reason being that I've been preparing for the beginning crochet class I began teaching last night. My preparation included making the Shelly scarf from CrochetMe. It will be our final class project.

Pattern: Shelly

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Country Blue (less than one skein)

Hook: K/6.5 mm

Modifications: 78 rows rather than 68, and it still could have been longer.

Easy. Fast. Inexpensive. Impressive looking for a beginning crocheter. Free pattern. Large hook. Met all of my criteria for a class project.

I WILL KNIT TODAY!

FO: Basic Baby Socks

• Pattern: Basic Baby Socks by Theresa Gaffey (Pattern purchased at LYS. I could not find a web site for Ms. Gaffey.)
• Yarn: Claudia Handpainted Fingering Weight in "Baby Girl"
• Needles: Size 2 Brittany Birch DPNs
• Modifications: Rather than have a turned down cuff, I knitted 18 rows of ribbing per Miriam Felton's baby sock pattern. (The Felton pattern is free from her online store. Go here to get the pattern.)

The pattern is excellent—extremely well-written, and I am pleased with the looks of the finished product, but they do look a little large for a newborn. I am sending them to the intended recipent today, so we'll see.

Once I got about halfway through the first sock I began to enjoy myself, but it may be some time before I attempt to knit an adult sock using fingering weight yarn. I just don't have that much knitting time at my disposal!

(After viewing the photo again, I think I'll block the socks first before I send them on.)

Donut, Anyone?

To encourage people, I often bake for them. However, what to do to encourage a friend who is dieting? Crochet her a donut! (Of course, I hope it doesn't send her running to the donut shop as my husband predicted it might!)

Pattern: Donut Pincushion

Pattern available here: http://www.crochetville.org/forum/showthread.php?t=32761

Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Wool

Hook: H

I've never made anything like this before. It was a quick (less than two hours) and fun project.

FO: Crocheted Throw Rug

Pattern: Throw Rug from Crochet Today (December 2006/January 2007 issue); Pattern by Drew Emborsky.

Yarn: Moda Dea Tweedle Dee in Cinnamon, Sahara, and Sagebrush

Hook: K Susan Bates aluminum

Modifications: Three extra rows of green to meet the specified dimensions and to make the bands of color uniform. (Was there an error in the pattern as printed?)

This was a pleasant project, and I am pleased with the final result. If I had known how much yarn would be left over, I would have made the rug bigger. The yarn is not great, but I didn't really mind it either. It is rather lightweight. I suppose this is due to the added acrylic. Some time in the future, I would like to try this basic design in wool (Lamb's Pride Bulky?) using more colors.

Note to anyone who may be interested in making this rug: Before adding the edging, it may appear that the rug will not lay flat. The edging helps to accomplish this.

Knitting Fever...

...has hit chez Kathryn Estelle.

Number One: I finished the second sock in my first pair. I'm thankful AL talked me into it. They are nice and warm on this girl whose feet tend to be cold. I highly recommend the pattern for first-time sock knitters. See previous post for pattern info.

Number Two: The bug has bit to knit the Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman. I bought the pattern on Saturday during a visit to one of my favorite yarn stores, and upon reading through the pattern, I realized that I have the perfect yarn in my stash: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock DK in "Old Rose." Unfortunately, I didn't realize I needed circular needles. They are not required, but they were strongly recommended here. (Thank the Lord for Ravelry!) I went ahead and knit a swatch on straight needles to check my gague (Of course.), to see if I liked the yarn (I did.), and to see if I can handle the garter stitch (I can.). I have not thus far been a fan of garter stitch, but one of the things I like about all of the BSJs I've been seeing is that they are often knitted in handpainted sock yarns, which makes for a very attractive FO. My gague swatch also showed me that I need to downsize my needles, so upon gathering all of this information, I placed an order for some size 4, 24-inch Addi Natura circular needles.

Number Three: While I wait for my new needles to arrive in the mail, I will cast on for Theresa Gaffey's Basic Baby Sock. I'm using some lovely Claudia Handpainted yarn from The Loopy Ewe that I purchased using the gift certificate AL gave me for my birthday. (One hank in "Baby Girl" and one hank in "Baby Boy.") I cannot find a link to a web site for Ms. Gaffey nor (in my brief search) did I find a link to this specific pattern. I bought the pattern during a recent visit to my other favorite yarn store.

Number Four: I have made progress on the crocheted rug. I hope to finish it this week.

Number Five: I started a charity baby hat, but my gague was off, so I frogged it. I'll either begin again on smaller needles, or I'm thinking of using another pattern. I'll mull on this for a bit.

Now, off to do the laundry. Believe it or not, the housework is getting done around here!

Over It

I can't believe it's been two weeks since I last posted. Life has been a whirlwind: swimming lessons, VBS, house guests... Much to distract me from my hobbies.

Last Saturday (6/9), AL and I got together to work on squares for the Larger Than Life Bag. I made a mistake in my choice of yarn. The square looks fine, but I'm so over this project now after making ONLY ONE square. Perhaps if I had the unlimited resources necessary to buy the Koigu Kersti Merino Crepe the pattern calls for I would be more motivated, but right now, I'm just trying to figure out how to unload umpteen balls of Sugar and Cream. Perhaps I will have a drawing.

In the meantime, I made some progress on my sock (while watching this movie), and I made a wash cloth for a belated end-of-year teacher gift. For the body of the cloth, I used the stitch pattern in Alicia Paulson's Tiramisu Baby Blanket. I intended to use the edging as well, but when I got to that part, I was away from my pattern so I got off track. I just went with an old standby. (The handmade soap was made by a friend, and it can be purchased here.)

I've also been thinking about resuming work on the Classic Ripple Blanket or possibly making more miters. I. Just. Need. More. Time.

Another FO!

Pattern: "Cozy Kerchief" from Cozy Crochet (I call it my "Granny Shawl.")

Yarn: Misti Cotton (83% Peruvian Pima Cotton, 17% Silk) in black

Hook: Size G aluminum

Modifications: The pattern is written for a small scarf, but I just kept going until I ran out of yarn.

What I learned: (1) When it comes to wraps, I prefer a stole. Not because I have "Jemima Puddle Duck Syndrome," but because a rectangle shawl provides more coverage for the wearer, which is ultimately a more efficient use of yarn. (2) Misti Cotton produces a great deal of lint. Keep a roller handy at all times.

I reached my FO goal! As of this moment, I have only two WIPs: the Classic Ripple from Cozy Crochet and the Irish Hiking Scarf. I will probably not resume the ripple until cool weather returns. I don't think I can handle that much Wool-Ease Thick and Quick piled in my lap during the summer months. As for the scarf, I keep hoping to be inspired to knock it out but I'm just not feeling it. Even several hours riding in the car with nothing else to work on couldn't motivate me to complete it.

I will cast on for the other sock ASAP, and I plan to begin the Larger Than Life Bag soon. However, I want also to begin another knitting project. Should I resume mitering? Or should I make on of these? I have some yarn in the stash that would work beautifully, I think. (I am committed to knitting from the stash right now.)

FO: Baby Tiger Ripple

Over the past several days, I traveled more than 1500 miles by car with my family, which afforded me plenty of time to finish the Baby Tiger Ripple Blanket I have been working on for months. I was also motivated by the fact that a visit to the recipient's home was included in the trip, so I wanted to finish the blanket to avoid having to ship it!

• Pattern: Soft Waves from 200 Ripple Stitch Patterns by Jan Eaton
• Yarn: Blue Sky Dyed Cotton in Poppy and Indigo
• Hook: Size I
• Modifications: I included a border of two rows of single crochet.
• What I learned: I do not like weaving in ends. The task of "weaving in" is not the problem. What I don't like is the potential for all of that yarn to unravel. I would like to try a round ripple some day, but I think that I may use a hand painted yarn rather than changing colors. Perhaps three skeins of STR heavy weight would do for a baby size round ripple?

First Completed Sock

Pattern: "Starter Stockinette" from Knit Socks!
Yarn: Cascade 220 The Heathers #2449
Needles: Brittany Birch Size 5 DPNs
Modifications: None (As if...)

This is my third attempt at a sock. My first attempt was the "Class Sock" from Sensational Knitted Socks. Then I tried an Ann Norling children's sock pattern. I kept getting hung up on the heel flap: the pearl bumps would end up on the outside rather than the inside. My friend AL recommended I try the pattern from Knit Socks! because the directions are step-by-step and very specific. Finally, a successful result!

At present, I do not intend to knit the mate to this sock. First, I undertook this project as a learning exercise for knitting socks. And second, worsted weight yarn makes for a very thick sock. I don't know that I would get much use for heavy wool socks where I live. However, I now feel confident to embark upon my next sock project: the Campfire Socks from Cider Moon...as soon as I complete a few more WIPs.

Update 6/5/07: AL, who has a new blog, talked me into knitting the other sock. I hope to cast on later today.

Bows and Arrows Stole

Pattern: Bows and Arrows Stole by Dot Matthews
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Pink-a-boo
Hook size: Susan Bates K
Modifications: None

One of the reasons I got so far behind on my projects is that I devoted the month of March to making this stole to wear with a pink dress I bought to wear to a family wedding. The dress is short-sleeved, and I tend to get cold in the air conditioning, so I was inspired to make a wrap. I looked at the patterns at Crochet Pattern Central and chose this one—even before I realized I had yarn in my stash that I could use! I really enjoyed the project and love how it turned out. Thank you, Dot, for a great pattern.

On Dishcloths

My appreciation of dishcloths came some months into my fiber hobbies. In fact, I used to be quite a snob, thinking why in the world would anyone want to crochet or knit a dishcloth? Several months into my new crocheting hobby, I had reached a point where I was discouraged because I had not had any recent successes, so I posted to that effect at Crochetville. I remember only one response. Someone suggested I crochet a dishcloth. I dismissed the suggestion immediately, and moved on.

Many moths later, after learning to knit, I became familiar with Mason-Dixon Knitting and I acquired their book. I had read enough to know that a scarf was not necessarily the best project to begin knitting, and these ballband dishcloths seemed to be all the rage, so why not? My first two knitted items were MDK ballband dishcloths. I finally got it. Quick, easy, almost instant gratification, not to mention useful. What's not to like?

I have since crocheted several dishcloths, and I actually prefer crocheting them, as it doesn't seem to be as hard on my hands as knitting with cotton "string," as my friend, AL, calls it. Pictured above are three dishcloths crocheted from leftover Peaches and Creme cotton that I made for AL. Below is a photo of my MDK ballband dishcloths.