Sheepish Little Sweater: Baaah-humbug, I Give Up

I think we are finally healthy and getting back on track.  I have tons to show you if only I could take a few pictures. So, if you are hanging in there with me, please keep on hanging.  And if you aren't following me on IG, you can find me there as cliophineas.

I suppose I have no one to blame but myself. Apparently, I didn't learn my lesson last spring when I knit Taco a beautiful rainbow sweater and he refused to wear it for weeks and weeks. To date, he has only worn it a handful of times.

I knit this uber adorable sheep sweater in the misplaced hopes that he would wear it as a holiday outfit. I reasoned that he is in a phase where he wants animals, dinos and other characters on his clothing.

But now that spring is here - even if the weather is not cooperating - I give up.  I think this sweater will just not be worn. Sigh.  So you will have to content yourself with photos not on Taco.

The pattern is Sheepish Little Sweater by Melissa Kemmerer.  It is knit up in Knit Pick's Mighty Stitch, which is a worsted weight, superwash acrylic/wool blend. It is a very soft yarn that feels lovely to the touch, and the colors are as bright and happy as could be. I have been using it for baby gifts recently.

This sweater was a good project for working on my stranded colorwork skills. You are never knitting with more than two colors at a time, which makes it pretty straight-forward. I'm still not 100% proficient, but I've made great strides. Look at these cute little sheep....

One of the nice little details is that the sheep pattern is continued on the sleeves. Super duper cute.

And here are my floats on the back.




The sweater is knit top down, in the round which makes it easy to knit. No seaming required.  The only change I made was to make it a bit longer than the size I picked suggested, since Taco is slim for his height. He tends to grow out of clothing length-wise before they fit width-wise.

Anyway, here are a few last shots.  I highly recommend

All that is left to say is Baaah!

Greetings from the Plague Ward: Project Potpourri

As I mentioned in my New Years Eve post, Taco has been bringing home every germ he encounters, and so we've endured wave after wave of colds, the vomiting virus, the dastardly plague and a cold yet again.  Miraculously, we had about 3 days when everyone was healthy at Christmas.

That said, I haven't been completely idle.  Knitting has continued apace and, although I pushed pause on the raspberry colored trench coat I am sewing so as not to make any major mistakes while I was not at my best - I made time here and there for a little bit of low pressure sewing.

I sewed 50 pussy hats - some pink and some purple - for my local resistance group to give to members for the Women's March. What fun it was to see people that I didn't know wearing the hats I'd sewn.

I also knit two hats which took as much time as sewing all 50.

I also knit a fun colorwork Star Wars hat for my nephew. This is The Force Awakens hat pattern by Mrs Luedeke.  

Right now, what I have in the works is a scarf from the Mattock Cowl pattern by Home Row Fiber Co. in Madeleine Tosh Vintage yarn in worsted weight. This scarf is meant to match a hat I knit last winter. The stitch definition is beautiful, and I'll be happy to finally have a scarf and hat that matches, instead of the hodgepodge of mismatched hats and scarfs I wear now.  It's been a goal for a few years.

I have one little sewing project to post from Christmas and one from before then, as well as the finished sheep sweater that I knit for Taco to post about. But I'll end here today saying that - finally - this weekend life returned to normal enough that I was able to get back to work on my trench coat. It felt really good to immerse myself in a project. 

There's still a lot to do, but it is coming along very well. Next up: setting in the sleeves, sewing on the belt carriers, deciding on buttons and buttonholes, and then lining/hemming. Also, I need to decide what I want to do with the lapels - to topstitch or not.  I've done two rows of top stitching on all the major seams. Decisions, decisions.

Now, fingers crossed and knocking on wood that no one gets sick for the immediate future.   

Sock Knitting Ennui

Back in July I finished a pair of socks destined not to be worn until the weather turned cool again. Now that it has, I have to say that I am really pleased with these new socks, despite a few flaws.

They are knit up basically according to my Socks a la Clio recipe, which is a basic toe-up sock. However, I've made some new improvements. (Note to self: go back and update the recipe.)  The stitch pattern - a very simple knit and purl design - is borrowed from the Tennarisukka anklets I knit in 2015.  Now for the good stuff!

Since knitting the Fish Lips Kiss Heel back in March, I have entirely replaced my short row wrap and turn sitches (w&t) with the Sox Therapist's twin stitch (tsk and tsp - tutes on YouTube). I find these stitches better and easier in every way since they don't leave any little holes as short rows often do.

Next, you can see how I've shifted the position of the gusset increase stitches from their usual place where the instep and sole meet to the bottom of the foot.  I first tried this with my Wonder Woman socks and I think it will be a standard feature for me moving forward. It creates a heel that hugs the foot a bit better than the gussets running up the side of the foot. .

The yarn I used for these socks is Dream in Color's Smooshy sock yarn in the colorway "Into the Mystic." It is a 100% merino wool superwash yarn. I'm really not at all sold on 100% wool for socks. In my experience they pill and wear at a faster rate than the sock yarns I've used that incorporate nylon/polyamide into the mix. You can already see a few little puffs of yarn debris fluffing off of the soles in the pictures above. The upside is that the yarn is softer, which is nice to knit and wear. In the end, like everything, there is a tradeoff. 

So I've been enjoying my new socks now that it is cool enough for them. And I've been trying to knit more socks, but I am having this massive moment of sock knitting ennui. I've cast on and started knitting two different socks that I thought I was excited about, but soon turned listless. 

Started and stalled socks

The first is a fairly plain sock with a heart motif running up one side.

It looks cute in this view, but once I tried it on my foot, you can't see the hearts at all. They just disappear. It was very deflating. Why bother the extra work of knitting them in the first place? 

The next was meant to be a bright colored sock with contrast toe, heel and cuff. But I'm just not thoroughly sold on the color combination. So, I stalled on this sock, too.  

Socks are not large, but they are a big investment of time. If I don't love them at the toe, I'm certainly not going to feel like sticking with them to the cuff and then doing it all again. 

Neither of these sock fails are frogged yet, and so far there has not been another sock pattern that has captured my attention. So, I'm not sure what I want to do next with regard to socks. Any suggestions? 

In the interim, I'm working on this cute little sheep sweater for Taco. I'm delighted with how it is coming out, and I'm really enjoying knitting the colorwork. 

Sheepish Little Sweater by Melissa Kemmerer

With any luck, this will end up being Taco's holiday outfit. IF he wears it. (Big if. Toddlers.)

Anywaaaaay, what are you knitting? 

Hat Knitting Spree

The last few months have found me knitting up a slew of quick and easy projects and somehow not blogging about any of them. Really none was quite worthy of it's own post, but together I think they are an interesting round up of hats.  

This all started with the Rainbow Sampler of Mighty Stitch yarn from Knit Picks that I used to knit Taco's rainbow sweater along with the addition of black yarn. 

I had loads of yarn left over which opened the door for all kinds of multi-colored knits. So, I knit...

One Roar, a Dinosaur Hat for Taco by Kate Oates, who has designed a ton of cute baby and child knitting patterns.

Naturally, I knit it in green and purple like Dragon the Hippo's dragon cape.

.

For Halloween, I knit this adorable Minion Hat by Maura Houston. It was meant to be part of Taco's costume, but he steadfastly continues to not want to wear a costume at all. Toddlers.

I knit one purple cat hat for my 12 year old nephew who wants to resist but hates the color pink. Sigh. The pattern I used is the KitKat Hat by Andre Sue Knits.

I was enjoying hat knitting so much that I ordered some Bulky Mighty Stitch and knit up this sweet little apple hat for Little Green Orchid's baby-to-be.

Bulky yarn projects knit up so quickly, and babies are always a cause to celebrate. The pattern is the Sweet Sprout hat by Tranquil Cottage Knits. You are meant to turn the brim up for a newborn and then flip it down for a toddler.  I decided not to add the periodic purl stitches in the pattern.

Ahhh. And there you go. Fun and easy hats for kiddos. A few thoughts:

For all of these hats I used the Old Norwegian - aka German Twisted - cast on. In my hands, it is as stretchy as 1x1 rib, which is what you want for a hat or any other knit garment that needs an edge that stretches as much as the body.

On the two hats that I knit for Taco, I had to go up a size. He has a completely average size head for his age and my gauge was fine, but the brims of the hats seemed snug. So, I wonder if toddler sizing really is for the 1-2 year olds and not 2-3 year olds.

My hat knitting is far from done. I've started a few projects - hats and more - where I am specifically working on my stranded colorwork technique. The Rainbow Sampler really has taken my knitting in a new, fun and somewhat unexpected direction. So, more - and more complicated - will follow.  Stay tuned. 

Super in my Socks!

Look! I knit Wonder Woman socks!

Don't they look like comic book superhero boots?

I think so. I had a tough time with the color - they are more of a fire engine red than these pictures suggest. But this was the best I could do with indoor photography.

The pattern is Virrat, by Tiina Kuu. I understand that virrat means stream, but from the start they looked like superhero boots to me. I'm not sure why. Maybe they just look fast.

And they were fast to knit! The pattern call for sport weight yarn, and I used Cascade 220 Sport. This is more of the yarn that I bought to knit an op art baby blanket that I ended up frogging. The red was supposed to be a pop of color in an otherwise black and white blanket. I knit Taco's Teddy Sweater and a pair of Baby Duck Booties with some of this little stash. This yarn just keeps on giving.

Since I was using a thicker gauge yarn for these socks, I decided it was time to practice cabling without a cable needle. There are a few methods, but I settled into a groove with the one described by Knitty here. I also could have, I suppose, used right and left-twist stitches.  Reader LinB reminded me of them recently, and I used them with success on this baby blanket a few years ago. But it was worth learning to cable without a needle. I think my cables will go much faster in the future.

 

One feature that was a little different is that the heel gusset increases are done in the center of the sole rather than at the sides, creating this neat diamond shaped gusset on the heel.

Anyway, I shall feel like Wonder Woman in her down time as I lounge in these socks.

Mom Says Wear Your Sweater

In a major victory for parents, Taco suddenly decided that he wanted to wear his rainbow sweater.

As you will recall, the pattern is Atlantic Coast by Gabrielle Danskknit. The yarn is Mighty Stitch from KnitPicks. It came out super cute but Taco refused to even put it on. Toddlers. 

My strategy was to be patient. I hung the sweater where he could see it near the front door, occasionally offering it as an option as we would head outside to play.

Yesterday as we were heading out to play, he proactively pointed to it and insisted on wearing it.

Hurrah. Patience pays off.  And it looks like it will most likely still be big enough for a second go round come Autumn.

Happy Monday, Everyone!

Rainbow Sweater for Taco: But Will He Ever Wear It?

Knitting baby sweaters is such a mixed affair. On the one hand, they are so much easier and quicker to knit than adult size sweaters. But babies grow fast and toddlers, well, they don't always appreciate their mama's efforts.

I knit this beautiful rainbow sweater for Taco over the winter, thinking it would be a great spring sweater. I intentionally knit it a bit large; I didn't want him to outgrow it as quickly as his Teddy Sweater, which I also adored on him. This was wise; toddlers are tyrants. Taco has so far refused to wear it. At all. Not once. Toddlers.  But I think it is large enough that it will likely fit in the fall. 

The pattern is Atlantic Coast by Gabrielle Danskknit. The yarn is Mighty Stitch from KnitPicks. It is a worsted weight 80/20 blend of acrylic and superwash wool, and is super soft. Truly.  I normally favor natural fibers, but this was just the thing for this little sweater that Taco may or may not wear. Even better, it came as a rainbow colored sampler set. So, I just had to buy a few balls of black, and my stripe pattern was set.

This was a really easy and satisfying knit. The sweater is knit top down, all in one piece with a simple ribbed neck, hem and button band. I could see this being my go-to sweater for baby gifts and such.  And if Taco ever wears it, I would be up for knitting it again in a larger size.

This is not the first garment Taco had rejected.  He also refused to wear these cute black corduroy overalls that I sewed him for the holidays, except for on Christmas. I never blogged about them because I have already written about the pattern - KS 3145 - twice.

But here is your slice of Taco cuteness in overalls since he refused to model his new sweater.  

Fauxgyle Socks: Business Casual Socks with a Fish Lips Kiss Heel

I almost always have a pair of socks on my needles, even if they aren't my primary project.  Socks are easily portable. They are great to work on when you commute or travel or when you are in between bigger projects. I also find that switching between projects of different weights of yarn/needle sizes seems to help my wrists.

Someone was being helpful

That said, these socks took a long time, even knitting them as an in between, travel project.

I've knit so many socks by now that you might think there isn't much else to learn. Not true! I am just at the beginning of my sock learning, particularly when it comes to the heels. For these socks, I decided to try the Fish Lips Kiss Heel that is the brainchild of the Sox Therapist.  In her words it is, "An innovative, new method for knitting perfectly-fitting, beautiful, simple heels."  

Heel close up

This method requires careful foot measuring done by a friend and some math to calculate where you should start the heel. I did the toe-up version, but top down is also included in the instructions. There is a lot to like about this heel pattern. The short row stitches - she calls them a twin stitch - are really great, and as promised don't leave gaping holes. I found them easier to work than the wrap/turn stitches that I've tried. I didn't perfectly nail the fit of these socks on this first go-round, but that is on me, and not the pattern. The foot of my sock is about 1/4" too long. I'll see how these heels wear compared to my usual sock heel before committing to another pair.

My only less than stellar comment is that the instructions are 16 pages long. Some of it is awesome - there was loads of insightful information about sock fit, comparing store bought and hand knit socks. But 16 pages is a lot of info to wade through or go back and find a specific point you want to reread. So, be forewarned that knitting these socks requires something of a commitment to many pages of explanations rather than just knitting from standard format knitting instructions. And that was just the heel.     

The other reason these socks were fairly slow going is that I am not speedy when it comes to working cables. I'm awkward with the cable needle. The pattern that I used for the sock, aside from the heel, is Business Casual by Tanis Lavallee. It's a faux argyle pattern. I really love how it looks. I could see myself using this very gender-neutral pattern for both men's and women's socks in the future. Hopefully my cable technique will speed up over time. 

There's not much else to say except that I used more of my stash of ToshSock in an flaming orange colorway. ToshSock is very cushy, soft and warm. It knits up densely and has some give. It's a great choice if you want 100% wool, without any elastane/polyamide mixed in.

Oh, right. While knitting these socks, one morning I opened my project bag to see that one of my favorite AddiTurbo sock knitting needles was bent. But the excellent customer service people at Skacel replaced it lickety split at no cost to me. I shall forever sing their praises.

My next socks, which are not yet cast on are going to have another new feature that reader LinB emailed me about.  Stay tuned!