Happy Husband

Here it is! I'm pleased with the way it turned out, and so is my husband. This is the first thing that I've knit for him and it's long overdue since I've been knitting for a couple years. He's rough on clothes and watches how much time I spend knitting and when I offer to make him something he usually says he'd rather I didn't knit him things because he'd feel horrible when he ruined it. I know the colors are a little halloweenish, but he's a teacher and those are his school's colors.

Ufserud
Pattern: Bea Ellis Knitwear
Yarn: From the kit, Dalegrarn Heilo colors 0090 and 3418, and Mandarin Classic
Needles: Size 4 DPS, Lantern Mood- they are so wonderful to knit with
Alterations: I knit it all on size 4 needles on DPS, I tried starting it off on circulars but I have a hard time knitting with such short needles. The DPS worked fine. I just had to be careful when I set it down that the stitches didn't slip off the needles since the work stretched almost from point to point. I also took out one repeat since the hat looked like it was just going to drown him with all of the repeats in it.

Ufserud

This hat is making for a fun adventure. Shortly after my last blog entry on it, I decided that it was just knit too loose and frogged the whole thing. After two more tries with the provisional cast on, I decided to scrape that idea for this hat, since it just wasn’t working for me. So, I started off as they suggested, knitting the 2 ½ inches of cotton and then changing to the wool. It’s really been going quite well. I’ve been enjoying getting into the pattern and only having to check the chart now and then to make sure I’m on track. Last night, I was almost finished, but when my dh tried on the hat was just too tall. So, I frogged back about 3 inches to get back to where I could take one pattern repeat out and here I am now.

Baby Outfit

I just finished this up for my girlfriends baby shower yesterday. I’d made the same set for another girlfriend about 8 months ago, but this one was in a darker blue. My girl friend loved it and even called me again this morning to let me know how special it was to her.

Details-
Patterns: Simple Knits for Cherished Babies- Chunky Knit Cardigan, Baby’s Beanie Hat, and Classic Cashmere Bootees
Needles: Addis size 6, 7, and 3
Yarn: Cascade Yarns-Cotton Rich- Color 2625
Label: idea from Grumperina
Changes/Notes: I knit the cardigan and the hat exactly as written. I knit the booties on a size 3 to get the gauge since thinner yarn was called for.

Catching up

A lot has been going on with my knitting, but I haven’t been blogging. I’ve gotten so far behind, that I keep putting off blogging because I have gotten so far behind, which only gets me more behind. So, today is my day to catch up.

My niece started reading the Harry Potter series this year and she has fallen in love with the characters. She requested a Gryffindor Scarf for her birthday (the one from the first few movies). I browsed the web and used this for a pattern idea. I truly struggled with finding yarn that would work. I didn’t want to use wool since I knew it would be too itchy for her by experience. She was the flower girl for our wedding and minutes before she was to walk down the isle, she had a small meltdown over the itchiness of her dress. So, I tried finding some soft acrylic, but I really had a difficult time finding the right colors. I finally settled on two different types of yarn that were slightly different causing a difference in the knitted work that I ended up deciding wasn’t too much to be concerned.

Yarn: Caron-Simply Soft- Autumn Red and Caron –Perfect Match-Sunflower
Needles: DPS Size 8
Details: I knit this with 50 stitches in the round, beginning with, and ending with, the autumn red. I added tassels also, beginning and ending with the autumn red.

I participated in the Make Me a Handmade Item on Swapbot. Connie had me as a partner and I received her wonderful Market Bag yesterday. I love it! It was perfect considering that I’ve had this on my list of things that I really want to knit. It went with me to the farmer’s market this morning and was perfect. Thanks you so much Connie!

I can’t seem to get past making the Warshrags from Mason Dixon Knitting. Maybe soon I’ll grow tired of them and move on to making something else from their book, but they are fun TV knitting. I’ve been making a few from the varigated cotton recently and I like them just as much as the bright colors.

About two months ago I started Lotus Blossom Tank from the IK Summer 2006 issue. It was a project that seemed to take me a long time to get started on, and then I took a break and it’s been sitting there abandoned. With how cool the weather is today it seems like maybe this is something to finish for next summer. I struggled most with what size to make, since I’m between sizes, but in reading through the Lotus KAL I decided to go with the smaller size. I do love the way South West Trading Company Bamboo is knitting up.

My latest project is the Ufserud hat by Bea Ellis Knitwear. I found a few similar ones that I admired like mellowtrouble and this KAL gallery. I couldn’t believe how fast this kit came. I think I ordered it on a Saturday and it was here by Wednesday. This is for my husband and he picked out the colors. It’s been a rough beginning….From reading through others experiences, I decided to do a provisional cast on, I started with this and after giving that a good try I was ready to give up. I now realize the problem that I was having was that the waste yarn was getting two twisted up with my knitting. I tore it all out and tried again with this suggestion and it seems to be working much better now.

Well, that is enough for now. I finished a baby set that I'll get to next time.