Piapie

Tea for Two

As I said, that Tea Leaves pattern is a rather satisfying project.  Quick to knit up, pretty to look at, acceptable to the girls growing preferences.  I was already planning the next one before I had finished casting off MonkE's birthday sweater.  This one was going to be in pink because I had yet to knit anything in pink for Funky B and she so loves the color.  I decided to make it with short sleeves--perfect for layering, perfect for warmer weather wear, and perfect for not getting syrup on the sleeves.  More buttons were to be added.  I also decided to make it on the large side so that she could easily get a few years wear out of it.  Thankfully all came together as planned.  

I am beginning to think that a mama sized one is in order.  Hmmmm........

From Polka Dots to Tea Leaves

 With birthdays come birthday sweaters.  Last year I knit MonkE this thing:

I had long admired it in the Rowan Babies by Kim Hargreaves and realized that we were soon going to size out of the patterns in the book.  So I pulled out the number 3s and knit it up only to sew in yet another ridiculous number of loose ends. 

I love it.  And I am so happy that I made it extra big so that she'll get to wear it for a long time.  But I swore to myself that I wasn't going to do another intarsia sweater for the next birthday.  Nor would I knit anything that required needles smaller than size US 6.  For once I kept my promises to myself.  This year I went with the easy peasy, ever popular Tea Leaves cardigan: 

 

It knit up so fast (one week!) that I immediately found yarn to make one for FunkyB.  Sometimes it's best to not delay gratification.

Still more pink and red

Now she really looks like she jumped out of a Candyland gameboard.

She wanted a matching scarf and as there was plenty of yarn leftover, I made her a brioche scarf with red dominating on one side, pink on the other.  There's still some yarn remaining.  Maybe a pair of mittens?

Little Windows

A bit more red.  This time with pink in it.  

I had originally planned for this to be two shades of purple to match her winter coat. But someone insisted on pink and red.  Knowing that I need to respect her input otherwise it will never get worn, two shades of purple turned into pink and red.

I like this pattern (Little Windows by Petite Purls) well enough although I can't say that I am particularly fond of knitting in the "magic loop".   I wince whenever I look at the hat because one set of "windows" turned out a more oval than the rest.  I am hoping that time will help me ignore that flaw as I really don't want to start over.  As it is, I promised to make a scarf to match (striped?  brioche?) and I need to make that red cabled hat a THIRD time since I made it too small and it was promptly lost.   Is the universe telling me something?

Herringbone Cowl

I seem to knit it waves.  Color waves.  For a bit it seemed that purple kept showing up on my needles.  Prior to that it was blue.  Now it is red.  Classic Crayola red.  I have three projects that are in various states of completion, all in the exact same red.  I would wax poetically that the brilliant red leaves of maple trees and sumac bushes are working their magic on me.  Or that the coming Christmas holiday has inspired me.  But the truth is that it is just coincidence.  One child is missing a cable knit hat and I had enough yarn from the original to make it again.  One child insisted upon pink and red despite my plans otherwise.  And I, well, I started this cowl in a cream but then decided that I needed something more dynamic for the winter months.  So red it was.  And here it is:

The Herringbone Cowl by PurlBee.   I made it extra long so that I could wrap it around my head.  In the end I don't like the way it looks on my bald head (maybe with hair next winter?) but it works well wrapped loosely around the shoulders like a shawl or a third time to keep my neck snug and warm.

Now to finish off the other two so that I can finally move on to all that blue yarn that keeps coming my way these days!

Orange Sweater

I could salvage a shawl but I couldn't save this sweater.  I tried.  Believe me I would of if I could have.  I've been knitting this sweater for an awfully long time.  I finally had all the pieces done and had seamed most of it together when I realized, because I could finally try it on, that it was waaay too big on me.  And the proportions of the collar compared to the neckline were so far off that there was simply no way to connect the two.  

Sadly it sits there in a pile waiting to be pulled apart, wound back into balls, and made into something new.  I can't bring myself to knit the original pattern again.  I have some ideas.  I have my eye on the Tea Leaves Cardigan.   Maybe for next fall....

Birthday Knits for Six

 Someone asked recently if I have been knitting lately.  The answer is "most definitely, yes."  If there was ever a time to keep my hands busy it has been these past six months.  There is something meditative about the repetition of knit, purl, knit, purl, knit, knit, knit, knit,....  When my mind spins or races out of control or leans toward the dark places, knitting soothes it.  Add to that the fact that I find myself sitting around waiting rooms or in the hospital more often than not and I have plenty of excuses to pick up a project or two.  I wouldn't say that I have been prolific but my hands keep getting drawn back to the needles.

Two projects that kept me company while traveling this summer and in the late hours were these two birthday sweaters.  I started with Neighborly:

 

It knit up quickly although I ended up taking the whole thing out and starting again when I realized that I had positioned the collar all wrong (my fault).  The second time it came together even faster and I am happy with the result, especially the big button I found in Arcata, although I am not entirely sure that it serves anything more than a decorative purpose. 

The second sweater is Springtime in Hollis  by Teresa Cole.  It also knit up quickly and I rather enjoyed knitting the bottom half.  An easy stitch that creates a lovely effect.  I chose to make the sleeves on the long side and not put a hood on.

I also made buttons from fabric in the stash, my new favorite handmade detail.    

 Truth be told I am not sure how much wear the vest will get.  I should have considered making it in pink.  But the purple one...oh that falls onto her list of favorite colors and therefore is being much loved.

Five, Finished

Finally!!!  I finished the last of my five knitting projects.  I had every intention of finishing them all before our return to Portland with the plan of knitting the last project with going across the country.  Alas, it turns out that those long days of driving were spent doing just that--driving.  It's hard to knit and steer the car and not drop stitches, to say nothing of avoiding collisions with semi-trucks.  And so the last project--a scarf and hat for myself--was saved until our return.  But it's done!  And just in time for the chilly autumn mornings that we've been having.

The pattern is (if I remember correctly) "Simple Hat and Scarf" by Joelle Hoverson and can be found in her book Last Minute Knitted Gifts.  I've knit this hat and scarf set before (the first time for Funky B) and am drawn to classic cable look.   I used Shi Bui Baby Alpaca DK which is deliciously soft.  My only complaint is how the color varigation of the yarn combined with the ribbing to create big blotches of dark and light purple.  Looks like a section of the hat got wet.  That said, the variation in color worked beautifully with the cables.  

Just the Facts, Ma'am

It's only proper that I acknowledge the pattern designers for Funky B's birthday dresses.  So for those who want to scoop and/or those who want a few more pictures of that five year old looking adorable in her "birthday suits", here goes:

The knit dress was completed last spring (and previously posted here).  Like I noted previously, it knit up quickly but there was too much sewing in of loose ends for me to do it again.  We also discovered that the pom poms that I made for it were too heavy and they both fell off within days.  Oh well.  Still, I love the look of the dress and it feels cozy thick on account of the fact that you carry the loose thread along the backside, making for double thickness.

Now this dress, I am in love.  Grammie took us to Fabric Temptations when we were visiting her and I was, obviously, tempted by this pattern.  It is "Kyoko" from Modkid Sewing Patterns by Patty Young.  (PDX locals can find this line of patterns at Bolt).  I scooped it up and knew immediately which fabric from my stash I wanted to use for the skirt (you can't see them but the green in the skirt are deer).  The rest was a bit more challenging.  But with the Old Peep's tested eye and knack for colors (she recommended going with red on the sash), we came up with a great combination.

The instructions were quite easy to follow and I think lead one to make a nicely finished product.  My only complaint so far is that the sash (obi) slides down Funky B's waist and I have yet to come up with a solution for that.  

Nonetheless, I am so delighted with this dress that I immediately made a second one using fabric from the stash (yeah!!!) and some recycled fabric (a shirt of mine for the top, one of Papi Chulo's dress shirts for the lining) and was beside myself at how ridiculously perfectly the colors matched.   Then I went and splurged on more fabric to make one for MonkE (it was my birthday).   Haven't started that one yet but will share it with you as soon as it's finished.

Anyhoo, there's the facts.  

Nineteen Weeks

In nineteen weeks someone will turn five years old.  FIVE!?!?!?!  I can't wrap my brain around that right  now.  But I can celebrate the fact that her birthday sweater dress is done!  Yahooo!!!  It's a pattern by Ella Rae from her tenth book of patterns.  I saw it knit up in a store awhile back and was taken with it's colorful chevron-esque stripes.  

 Here's what I like about this dress:  It knit up rather quickly (it is just stocking stitch).  I like that it can be just a dress or layered over pants and a shirt.  I love how there's the illusion that there is vertical texture (see below) when really it's smooth as can be.  And I think that pom poms are rather fun.

 Here's what I didn't like about the dress:  There were over 350 loose ends to sew in at the end!  That's right.  Over 350.  Every time the color changes, you cut the yarn.  There's over 80 stripes  on each side, two loose ends per stripe,... you do the math, I did the seaming.  Anyhoo, it's done and I am happy with it AND I can cross off one more knitting project from my five!  Yahoo is right!