Baby Snug....

My latest baby knit that I finished in October for a virtual baby shower in November. I forgot to post it.

Presenting the baby snug, not to be confused with that other snug thingy either ;)


Snug by Hinke
Berroco Comfort Chunky in blue, 2 skeins
US 10 circular
Mods: Interesting construction. My first time doing afterthought sleeves (well what I call them) Beware when folding in half to sew the shoulders before you start the sleeves. I didn’t realize the row I ended on so on the left side I had to knit reverse (if it was a knit row I had to purl and visa versa) There was a line too at the shoulder. It’ll be fine and baby won’t notice. Just beware what row you end the body on.

I used 3 needle bind off of hood. Super easier than grafting. I did graft the shoulder/neck area though. I used the entire 2 skeins of the chunky!


Also used faux wood buttons that are washable. I really wanted the toggles, but they weren’t washable.

Out in the wild waiting on the baby :)

If you knit this, don't forget to slip the first stitch...makes the bottom look better...

Matching accessories!


Twist Hat,Wee Mitts w/string,and socks

BellaModen Sport- The Historian Colorway. Perfect for a boy I think and maybe a girl too ;) I just love this hat!


I knit these Magic 28 socks back in February. I included them in the package as I didn't have enough yarn to finish the mate to the wee sock you see below. :( At least baby will have socks to grow into :)


Hard to believe 1 skein of sportweight yarn knit a hat, mitts with string, and 2.5 socks...


I think the entire ensemble matches quite well!

Red Scarf 2011....done

Yes, I know it's not 2011 yet ;) but the scarf will be distributed in February 2011, thus the name.


Well you know by now, me and side to side knit scarves are few and far between, unless in a chunky yarn ;) I decided my usual lengthwise garter stitch is perfect for either a boy or girl.

The Orphan Foundation of America puts together care packages for Valentines Day for orphaned college students. Every year I plan to knit more than one, but hey one is better than nothing...

I cast on 275 stitches...at least twice (well I only got to about 200, and um..yeah, you guessed it I use long-tail cast on...do I need to say more ;)

Knitpicks Swish Worsted in Serrano, 3 skeins
US 8 circular
6.0 Chiagoo crochet hook

Cast on 275 sts and knit every row until you are 5" wide slipping the first stitch on each row, then bind off...I wanted to use all the yarn so mine is about 5.25" wide ;) I used the crochet bind off method with a hook 2 sizes larger than what I knit with. Love to use the CHBO.

I used a spray bottle with Soak in it, instead of full immersion blocking as garter stitch would stretch like crazy! It was my first time using Swish worsted. If you are looking for a good superwash wool, it's not too bad. Not as stiff to knit with as Cascade 220 superwash, but both when soaked and blocked are pretty soft.

**yes I did notice I signed it 2010...duh on me!

Cashmere Leaves

Ever since I knit my Oh Cashmere! cowl, I've wanted to find a hat to go with it. I didn't necessarily want a busy pattern, just one similar.

Well I finally found it and spent 2 days this long weekend knitting it up!


It's cashmere in case you were wondering why you see the halo-e-ness of the yarn. It is that soft!

Therefore, sorta hard to capture without it looking blurry.

I had one skein of this colorway leftover from my cowl, then I found about another 1.5 skeins from a Rav. destasher so I had plenty for the hat. I even have enough for some plain wristwarmers too. Look for them later this week!

November Leaves (beret shape) by Melissa LaBarre
The Plucky Knitter Aran Cashmere in Chandler
US 6 & 7 circulars
approximately 175 yds
No mods and it is not and will never be blocked...um..my last beret blocking incident resulted in a frogging and reknit...not happening this time.

I love it, warm and soft and hey, where the heck is the cold weather so I can wear it! Waaaa

Sorry it's been a bit quiet! I've been knitting, spinning, and yeah still decluttering! I'm pretty proud as I've gone through my fabric stash and whittled it down to 3 tubs. One tub is strictly quilting projects (UFO's), and the other 2 have various fabrics for curtains, bags, totes, and needlecases. I've donated a lot and parted with some weeny little fabric scraps too.

Anyhow, 4 days off and what to do besides some knitting & spinning. Well I cooked my first whole turkey in like 20 yrs. It ...was...awesome...sorry couldn't be patient to take a picture. My daughter was a bit worried that we didn't know how to cook one. Ha! Fooled her ;)

Another FO???

One would think I was a knitting machine...but..um..no... Lest you think I was only knitting on UFO's, I cast on this one day and finished the next.


Knit from my own silky cashmerino handspun!!

I'm a wee bit proud too!

I only had 120 yards of a sport/dk weight, as you can see below, not much left...

exactly 21" left that is. I did plan this...well sorta ;) I knit 2 pattern repeats and thought I would have enough for at least half of one repeat, so I went for it. While knitting the garter rows at the top, realized I wouldn't be able to knit the same I did for the base, so I bound off using larger needles.

Was still sweating a bit, but whew, made it!



Gray Gardens Cowl by Caryn Lantz
My own handspun--Pepperpants Silkycashmerino "Hard Days Night"
US 9's & 11's for bind off
Approx. 99 yds used
Finished size is 8.5" wide x 10" tall

Mods: cast on 91 sts, knit 3 garter ridges/rows, knit 2.5 pattern repeats then 2 garter ridges/rows. Bind off with 11's

No modeled shots as it's a gift, didn't want to stretch it out ;)

Bugle Boy of the Moor

Blue and berries....

sky/teal blueberries??

Pardon me for the picture heavy post, but..well I'm pretty proud of this..can you tell?


I know a worsted weight shawl is sorta cheating...
But you'll most likely not ever see me using actual laceweight...(see I didn't say never :P)

(sorry hard to make the picture upright, shouldn't have turned the camera huh)

As you can tell I blocked the points. Some people didn't, but hey to each his own. Oh, btw, I loved the bind off for this too. Took a while, but it added some bulk to the edge, which made it easier to block.

Thanks to patient daughter. Once in a while I can con her into modeling for me!

Wandering the Moor Shawl by Celeste Glassel
Bugle Boy MCN Worsted by The Plucky Knitter 2.45 skeins
US 9's
Pre-soak was 42" W x 21" deep
Finished is 55" W x 28" deep
Started: June 25, 2010
Finished: November 11, 2010
No mods, just used worsted weight yarn. Why did it take so long..come on, you know me, too many Wip's! Trying to finish them..one at a time!

What can I say. It's no secret I love The Plucky Knitters yarns ;) When I saw this colorway for sale in June I grabbed it all. This is my 2nd lace shawl and I'm sure it won't be my last. I try to knit using charts, but this one had me using written too. It's not hard, it was just making sure I knit the correct sections at the correct time. You could hear me chanting the pattern repeat many times ;) This was not an in the public knit for me.

It's lovely, squishy and cheery I think. I look forward to wearing it somehow ;)

16 Cables???

I first saw this hat last winter in the Plucky Knitters group as one of the members had test knitted it. I liked the design of it...the waviness of it, who knows, I just liked it!

I found the yarn via one of my favorite hand dyed yarn pushers and cast on...March 29, 2009. I usually cable without a needle unless it's on a bulky yarn. Well, when you are cabling 16 stitches, you are so not doing it without a needle for sure!

Hard color to capture, here it is in skein form. I started this last March, just never finished it. Not a hard pattern to follow, I guess I got distracted or it got hot..who knows.

Fast forward to this fall. My quest to make my Wip basket a bit smaller led me to finish it finally!


I just love the cable scrunchiness of it. Pardon the sunlight affecting some of the pictures though!

How hard is it to take a picture of the back/top of your head huh!

It has a wee bit of slouchiness, which is just what I wanted. I had cast on for the extra slouchy version, but when it was time to knit 10 more rows to do so, then the decreases, I didn't have it in me to do it. Don't get me wrong it's not the pattern, although being a tight knitter, those 16 stitch cables about killed my hands! I did get the usual holes after the cabled stitches, tried to tighten up by knitting/purling TBL. It did work a bit.


After a soak and drying (which I did flat) it poufed up and you can't see those pesky holes at all. It fits great and so glad I didn't extra slouch it!


Cannot wait for colder weather...if it ever gets here! hrmphf!

16 Cable Hat by Annette Petavy
The Plucky Knitter Superwash Merino Worsted, Charcoal and Cordial colorway
US 8 circulars, 16" and 40"
Started: March, 2010
Finished: November, 2010

Next to knit a matching cowl for it. I found this one. Let's hope it doesn't take a year for me to knit/finish it LOL!

ETA: Thanks to Rosi reminding me, I'm thinking of knitting hers as the cables are vertical instead of horizontal. Also, another hint on hers I picked up is putting the stitches from the cable needle back on the left hand needle to knit. I'm definately trying that one!

Fairgrounds of Kate

I had never knit a sock pattern more than once....that was until I knit the Cotty Sock pattern by my friend Carrie. Proof is here and here. I think it's a great pattern for semi-solids and variegateds. I've not seen a self-striping version yet.

I needed a quick knit for my September SAM 10 socks and I saw this skein already wound up into like 4 little cakes, so the decision was made.

Why 4 little cakes...well..um..I had planned to knit a baby hat with this colorway for the 2008 Ravelympics. I had wound the skein doubled. Then I was going to destash it so I was trying in vain to un-double the yarn. Yeah..note to self...do not pre-wind a skein doubled....either make 2 separate cakes of yarn or knit from the inner/outer of the cake.

This colorway was the 2nd shipment in the very first Rockin' Sock Club a few years ago. I hate to say it, but I've never liked it. I just set it aside and figured I'd knit something for a baby, as I knew it would be perfect for it.


They are so wee I love them, and they go pretty fast too! They are the smallest picot cuff I've ever knit. I thought it would be tough, but not really.

I have plenty to knit the hat, which will be very soon :)

Socks That Rock Mediumweight in Fairgrounds (from the first RSC)
Sweet Baby Kate by Irishgirlieknits
US 2.5 circular via Magic Loop
September 2010

Will go in the gift drawer as I don't know of anyone having a girl yet.

Psst....now I'm just waiting for the wee version of her Uncle Frank socks

Sockin' it to Bella

Almost a year ago I knit my Fortnight Beret. Although I loved it, it sadly decided to grow a bit big after blocking. That's what I got for trying to block it over a plate. Oh well, the best part about knitting is your ability to "make it work" if you should choose to.

Since I had a rockin' cowl already, and the frogged matching yarn (yes I did frog that beret) I figured, try another hat. Oh..note to everyone, when frogging doubled yarn that is knit..have another person with you so you don't end up with like 4 little balls of yarn and tons of ends to weave in.

I saw the Sockhead hat and thought, yeah, that'll work. Fast forward many months later and here you are!


Don't think I'll wear it like this much, it's too heavy in the back and will fall off.

This is more like it!

So happy to be done! It took me forever! It was car knitting for a long while, and truthfully, knitting with size 2's on a hat wasn't something I looked forward to. In fact, it made my hands ache like I was knitting on cotton.


See the back, I got the blocking idea from Cristi, yeah the one whose knit like 3 of them...glutton for punishment or what...wait, she knits hers on size 4's...smart one she is ;)



Sockhead Hat by Kelly McClure
Blue Moon Fiber Arts STR Mediumweight in Bella Coola
US 2 circs, thankfully I found a 16" circ so I didn't magic loop all of it.

Mods-unwittingly, I only hat 140 sts instead of 144. I had no idea until the decrease row, after some maths...I ended up just skipping a decrease section. They went so much quicker than anything else.

Will I knit this again...not for a while and sure as hell not on size 2's again! It is a great use of a skein of sock yarn or heavier yarn, you know that single skein you bought for some reason ;)

A tale of Superwash Yarns

Bet you're wondering what it's all about....well it's my recent knitting with 2 superwash yarns. One is so soft and oh so nice to knit up. The other, a good "workhorse" yarn, but not as much fun to knit with..

On with the story...I was reading on Shanti's blog about her Mom wanting to send hats to her crew for Christmas. Living on a Navy Destroyer can get pretty cold. She thought sending the crew warm hats to wear on their time off would be a great gift. The only requirement was 100% superwash wool. Color was our choice, I didn't want to get too wild, so yeah, I have to admit I did pick boring colors ;)

I wanted to help out, you know being a future Navy mom, I'm sorta partial to them :)

I found some burgundy Cascade 220 and decided to knit the Scrunchable Hat (btw, it matches the Scrunchable scarf, just an FYI ;)
(sorry the pictures aren't the best, was a late night)


Cascade 220, Burgundy color
US 5 & 7 circulars
The only mod was to knit about an inch of K1, P1 ribbing before I started the pattern. This type of ribbing doesn't scrunch in so the brim with the 1 x 1 ribbing should help hold it on. Gotta love an easy hat pattern with only knit's and a few purls :)

Well, just because it's not "soft" while you knit, doesn't mean once it's soaked and blocked/dried it won't be. Don't worry, before I sent it off, it got a nice bath and was very soft. I'm sure someone will be happy to have it. I have a vest amount worth's of 220 superwash and will use it...may not be overly happy when I knit it, but hey, at least I know a good soak it will be :)

Onward to the next superwash yarn. Ever heard of Malabrigo yarns?? Yeah..some of the softest yarns around. I love it better than Lamb's Pride yarns on the softness factor. Sigh..single ply yarns.

Did you know they now have a superwash merino yarn...yep it's just as soft as the single ply, but it's a plied yarn.

When I received it in the mail...um..I have to admit, I didn't want to knit the hat and mail it away....it's that soft.

Knitting it up was definately more pleasurable than the 220, in fact, I stopped knitting on that hat when this yarn arrived...shame on me huh ;)



Here's a close up of the folded brim.

This pattern has you twist the K stitches every other row. Pretty cool.

Only problem I found was when I would stop knitting it, sometimes it was hard to see what row I was on, meaning the twisted stitch knit row. Probably the dark yarn.

When this was done, still very soft and a teeny fuzz halo. Since I'm sure sailors have short hair, this should be a nice, soft alternative to the uniform hats they have to wear.

Simple Slouchy Hat by Cocoknits
Malabrigo Rios in Paris Night (this picture shows the color truer)
US 6 & 9 circulars

This pattern calls for a chunky weight yarn, but checking on Ravelry I found it knit with worsted weight so I followed their mods. I cast on 86 sts and knit for about 1.5" with the 5's, then switched to the 7's and knit for 10 inches total. Did a 3 needle bind off in rib, the first time doing this bind off in rib. Not too bad..um..til I found a dropped stitch. I fixed it and all turned out well. I like the stitch pattern, but not the shape of the crown, well for me. Since it's not mine, it's ok. :)


So there you have it, 2 sailor hats off to join over 250 other hats on their way to make a few sailors holiday cheer.

My yarn preference....well...both really. I do prefer the Malabrigo over the Cascade as I knit. After soaking, the Malabrigo is still a bit more softer than the Cascade, but not by much.

Off to finish yet another hat...for me, wait for the post on this one...geesh ;)

Meet Iris

Hi, my name is Iris! I was just born about a week ago and I am well loved already :)

My new owner/momma found me in this place where she spends alot of time. Those teenagers, always doing something involving these little squares with writing on them. I think it's called a keyboard....


Then I spent some time in the kitchen with my momma's momma. Sigh..I was looking out at the back yard at this huge furry animal and wanted to go play. I was told it wasn't a good idea, I could lose some stuffing, arm or leg...hmmm


Here I am where I usually live. Right beside my momma on this pillow. Gosh, has she got a lot of men/boys on her wall. Some of them are pretty darn cute too ;)


Ok, so my momma's momma was a bit lonely one night...she let me rest here for a few minutes...

What the heck is this wheely thing and um..er..it's not very nice to rest people on pointy objects...sheesh!

I have to admit, visiting the forest was pretty fun too. Swinging around while my momma's momma was trying to take a picture. If I had a tongue I would have stuck it out at her!

Iris the Gourmet Monster from Dangercrafts
Cascade 220 Handpaints--red/black
US 5 circs & dpns

I'm Beached.....

well it should be more like...I'm FINISHED!!

Here is the ruffle preblocking, over 600 stitches in that there ruffle...

The colorway is pretty neat. Not as bold as I often go colorwise, but I just loved it when I first saw it..over a year ago!

367 days....on the needles! Very embarassing for a garter stitch shawl huh! Oh well, what can I say, I often get distracted ;)

For the record, I have no idea how to wear a shawl...I do have a pin though, will have to figure it out someday..when it's not in between thunder and lightening storms and not 90 plus degrees...


So, you get to enjoy some interesting shots.

The wrap me up so I can't use my hands/arms shot...


This one is the holy cow how did it grow 10" wider shot...

Hey, you likey my special foggy effects? That's courtesy of Mr. Humidity, he likes it around here lately.

Have I mentioned yet that this ruffle was over 600 stitches...

Not only can you use Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off for ribbing, you can use it for just plain ole' garter....remember those 600 plus stitches..yeah..2 plus hours of bind off. But totally, definately worth it!! It's perfect. I had more than enough yarn. Actually had 32 grams left. hmmm..

And my babushka look just for you Bezzie!

Shawl that Jazz (her pattern page is under construction, but should you want it, get it here
Blue Moon Fiber Arts Twisted, Beached Colorway 2 skeins, 32 grams left
US 9's for body, US 10.5's for edging....600 plus stitches..
Size: Pre-blocked 62w x 23h
Post-blocked 72w x 23h....10"!!! whew that's a lot of growth! It's ok, it'll keep me snuggly warm this winter...wherever I may be..I wasn't going to block it, but this shawl has been to Maine and back, a few movie theater's, work, car, etc...it needed one.

No mods, I knit it as per pattern except for the needles. I went up to the 9's for the body and 10.5's for the edging (so I could finish it faster, and it truly looked better). The pattern is pretty neat in how you use the short rows. If you knit this, use markers (fyi!) for those short rows, helps a lot! The yarn...well, I do like the colorway.

The yarn itself is made up of many plies, one of which takes the color of the dye a bit darker. It's kinda neat. It is a bit splitty though and was ok to knit, I just didn't enjoy it as much as some other yarns. Mine wasn't too soft until after blocking.

Ahhh..the thrill of finishing...

What could this be??

Some kind of sea urchin/creature wannabe??



Hmm...


How about all this rib??


Well..what does it look like to you?

I'm thinking it could be a bit poufier...may undo and add 2 more puff repeats...jury's still out on that.... good thing it's a while before it's needed.

Shroom by Lee Juvan
Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky in Brown (gift from Charlotte :) 1 skein and about 2 yds from 2nd skein
US 10.5 circular (magic looped) for ribbing, US 13 for Puff rib pattern.
No mods other than needle sizes. I had enough yarn to knit it more poofier.
FYI K3tog is quite interesting, but doable.

My hat model is on strike!! She will not pose for me, told me today to get a fake head, heh the nerve of some people huh ;)