That Was Fast

My first surprise was that I did not already own this pattern. That taken care of, my second surprise was that the confusion expressed by other knitters as they made it was not due to their being new knitters, as I had assumed. It was, in fact, due to the origami nature of the project.

This is confusing:

This is not much more help:

But the finished object is a delight! And its true colors, since it was shot in sunlight.

Needles: US 4 (3.5 mm)

Yarn: Knit One, Crochet Too Ty-Dy Socks in Panama

 - the smallest size, Baby, used 70 grams of a 100-gram skein

Pattern: Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Jacket

I am knitting the remainder of the yarn up into matching bootees.

Procrastiknitting

This odd little something is coming along so fast I can see why people knit oodles of them. Bonus points to the knitters who know what it is - I still have to look at the pictures to believe it's going to come out right

Meanwhile, I've managed to start the second sock and put the cable on the opposite side.

It is, quite frankly, too hot to knit other than in the very early morning and late evening, even with the blessing of air conditioning.

Barely Scratching the (Startitis) Itch

The first sock is nearly done:

So of course, I cast on something new.

I tried several times to make this sock yarn into socks, because I like the pair I made in a different colorway so well, but it never quite took off. Then yesterday I stumbled upon someone who turned one skein of this yarn into a baby sweater, and I couldn't resist. Sure, it's black and yellowish-green, hardly baby pastels. But somewhere out there is another parent who wants to dress their baby in bold colors.

Legacy Project: Nearly There!

I have successfully completed the edging, and I'm pleased with it.

The buttons look fine.

I made "tulips" buttonholes, and they are strong and flat.

Thanks to KD's moral support, I made mitered corners.

Not only that, I made the last buttonhole IN the mitered corner.

The jacket is finished - sort of. Owing to some really bad schematics, the sleeves, made according to the directions, are too long by many inches. I have a couple of options. I could just sew a tuck or two and cut off the excess. I could unravel the cuffs, take the extra off the bottom, and re-knit the cuffs. Or I could cut into the sleeve, remove a few inches from each section, and re-attach the sleeve. I am cogitating.

Mocking

At long last I have managed an edging for this legacy project that does not pucker.

This involved

• going up yet another needle size
• knitting a gauge swatch and Doing Math to ensure the finished knit fabric was the same width as the edge of the jacket, and
• ditching every rib pattern I tried in favor of something called Mock Rib, which looks like ribbing but is not

See?

And a good thing too, because I am suffering from a powerful case of startitis, and if I don't cast on something new soon I will not be held responsible for my actions.

Reduplication

Zig-zag, rick-rack - whatever you call it, it is certainly enlivening this sock!

The yarn itself is all the color any sock needs, but an unending spiral of knitting gets a little old.

Fortunately, this pattern calls for a fun and easy pair of traveling stitches down one side of the sock.

Will I remember to switch the zig-zag to the other side on the other sock? Time will tell. Right now, it's time to start the heel flap.

Legacy Project: Not So Fast, There!

I finished the hem and facing of the Caroline Jacket. The Twisted Rib was a nice match to the cuffs.

The buttonholes turned out nicely.

There was just one problem - the ribbing caused the fabric to draw in and pucker to an unsightly degree.

Out of curiosity, I worked up a swatch of the stitch pattern the pattern actually called for. Yep. Hardly puckers at all.

Excuse me, I have some frogging to do.

Watching the Rest of the World from a Window

Look I made a hat...

Needles: US 7 (4.5mm)

Yarn: Patons North America Classic Wool in Passion Heather, a color that's a little hard to find these days

Pattern: mine own

A family member's hat suffered a felting incident during an emergency a few months ago, and is now a very nice cat bowl, I'm told. So I made him another, equally out of 100% feltable wool: if it happens again I will move him to the "only trust with acrylic" list.

I had too much leftover yarn to ignore, but not quite enough to do anything with. I could have made something small for a baby, but I avoid asking babies to wear 100% wool. And then I found this wonderful pattern, and made it up in a day. I may even have a recipient for it!

Needles: US 5 (3.5mm)

Yarns: as above, plus a few yards of Knit Picks Brava Worsted in Seraphim

Pattern: Margaret Bloom's delightful Hans My Hedgehog Size Large

Mods: I did not want to sew on tiny ears - I had to check that hedgehogs even HAVE ears - so when I got to the spot where I wanted an ear, on the last row before switching to the head color, I took KD's excellent advice and made crocheted ears: (ch 1, HDC 3, SC 1) in one stitch, continue across row to next ear spot, repeat, continue to end of row. On the next row (first row of new color) I twisted the stitch before or after with the ear stitch to get them to face the direction I wanted.

Summer Slowdown

Not as much knitting going on now that summer is fully upon us. I knit a row here and there in early morning or late evening, which of course leaves little progress to show here.

I am pleased with this sock pattern. It's tough to find something interesting to knit with intensely variegated yarn. Usually any attempt at texture is cancelled by the color changes. I tried out a few different patterns before settling on this one. (You can tell that link is a different pattern because it's the toe of a sock, and this pattern starts at the top.)