Hat: Live Dangerously, Don’t Swatch Hat by Susan Lawrence. Made with just over just more than 1 skein of Knitpicks Swish Superwash (100% superwash merino wool, color: Merlot Heather) on #7 bamboo DPNs and 16″ circular needle.
Started: September 16, 2007
Completed: September 21, 2007

First, the bad news: This hat doesn’t fit me. It’s waaaaay to big. You might think it’s because of the whole “no swatch” issue, but that’s not it at all. It’s knit from the top down, so the top of the hat really acts as its own swatch – after a few rounds, you calculate your gauge from what you’ve already knit, and then proceed to increase until you’ve reached the correct circumphrence, then knit straight down. Easy! Except, I didn’t follow the designers simple instruction to allow for negative ease. That means this hat fits exactly perfectly around my noggin, with no stretch at all to keep it in place. Bummer.

The good news: This yarn is fabulous. It comes in itty-bitty 50g balls, so you’d need a lot to make a sweater, but it’s super-soft and comes in many colors. Plus? Machine washable and dryable. Bingo!

Mitts: Fetching by Cheryl Niamath from Knitty.com. Two balls Rowan RYC Cashsoft Aran (57% extra fine merino wool, 33% microfiber & 10% cashmere) in Aubergine on size #6 bamboo DPNs.
Left Mitt: Knit August 14-15, 2007.
Right Mitt: Knit September 28-29, 2007.

Modifications: Knit an extra repeat at the top of each mitt to cover more palm. Omitted picot bind-off, as it was too loose. In fact, could have bound off the right one a little more tightly.

Now I understand why these are so popular – a super quick knit, with enough interest to keep them appealing. These look much cuter on than just laying on the dining room table, but I haven’t had a decent manicure in a long time, so I figured I’d spare you a shot of my fingernails.

I almost said “I’ll definitely make more of these” but let’s face it – I live in Chicago. My fingers need to be covered in the winter. But for crisp fall days, these will be perfect.

Bibs: Baby Bib O’ Love from Mason Dixon Knitting. Each used just less than one ball of Lily Sugar’n Cream Solid (100% Cottton, colors: Hot Blue, Hot Orange, Hot Pink ) on bamboo #7 straights. Wooden buttons from Arcadia Knitting.
Started: First bib: 9/2-3/07, Second Bib 9/3/07, Third Bib 9/4-6/07
Finished: Washed and sewed buttons on 9/21/07

I went to my co-worker A’s baby shower this weekend. Co-worker A is a crocheter, and I taught her to knit over a lunchbreak one time. I figured if anyone could appreciate a handknit baby item, it would be her. Espeically a handknit baby item that can be machine washed and dried.

The bibs earned many ooos and aaahs at the shower, which amazed me because these are, without a doubt, one of the fastest, easiest things I’ve ever knit. By the third one, I was so tired of garter stitch and so tired of heavy cotton I couldn’t wait to finish.

Really simple, really cute pattern that’s a quick knit. I hope Baby Girl W enjoys them. Which I realize means “spits oatmeal all over them.”

Pattern: Longies by Little Turtle Knits. Two hanks of Vermont O-Wool in Cornflower (100% organic wool) on size #6 & #8 Knitpicks Options Circular needles and DPNs.
Started: April 2007
Finished: June 2007
Mods: None

Months (and months, and months, and months) ago, my friend Leah requested some wool longies for her daughter, Dorrie. Leah uses cloth diapers on Dorrie, and wool longies are used as an option for diaper covers.

I found a few patterns for longies, but gravitated to this pattern because it’s knit in the round (no seaming!) and has short rows in the back that create a little knitted “bottom” for a better fit.

It took me awhile after I knit these to actually get them to Dorrie and Leah – a few missed meetings here and there, and I finally sent them along for Dorrie’s first birthday. They arrived yesterday, and (thank heavens!) they fit the recipient! Here’s a link to some photographic proof.

Socks: Monkey Socks by Cookie A from Knitty. One hank of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight in Carbon Dating (100% superwash merino wool) on size #1.5 Knitpicks DPNs.
Started: June 15, 2007
Finished: June 24, 2007
Mods: Knit all of the purl stitches, and did a garter stitch short row heel. One less pattern repeat on the leg. Decreased toe about 4 extra rows for pointer toe.

I do love these socks, so there isn’t much more to say about them. I really like the colors, particularly on the toe and heel where they didn’t pool. But the striping affect is nice, so it’s still a winner. I love, love, love knitting with this yarn. Can’t wait to wear these this winter!

Socks: Twinkle Toes socks by Cookie A from Knitty Gritty. One hank of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Heavyweight in Cotton Candy (100% superwash merino wool) on size #3 Bryspun DPNs.
Started: July 3, 2007
Finished: July 9, 2007
Mods: Absolutely none – followed the pattern to the letter.

Wow, were these a fast pair of socks. The heavy yarn made them zippy, that’s for sure.

There were a couple of firsts with these socks – first Figure 8 cast-on and first toe-up gusseted heel. I loved both of these. The Figure-8 cast-on for the toe was very easy, and kept me from having to do a short row toe with a provisional cast on. Not that there’s anything wrong with those – the Figure 8 is just a lot easier for me. Granted, the first row of stitches is a little loose, but luckily Cookie A demonstrated how to tighten up those stitches on the Knitty Gritty episode, and it worked like a charm.

The toe-up gusseted heel was also a new one for me. I wasn’t sure how it would work from the instructions, but I just followed them blindly and sure enough it all worked out. I could see the construction as it happened on the second sock, so it makes a little more sense to me now.

Another first on these socks were the Bryspun DPNs. They’re plastic, and very very bendy, which I absolutely loved. I’d been using the 6″ Knitpicks metal DPNs, and while I like them (so slick! so fast!) there’s a lot to be said for being able to bend my needles to knit some lacy stitches. They’re very pointy, too, which helps. I would love to knit some lighterweight socks with them, but the smallest size they’re made in is US#2. That might work with the STR Mediumweight, though… hmmm…

Finally, I love how these socks look when they’re worn – the lace looks very pretty across the top of the foot. As it turns out, it’s the same lace pattern that Cookie uses in her Beaudalaire socks, which are for a lighter weight yarn. Which is perfect, because whiel I love these socks, they’re so thick I’ll most likely wear them a slippers instead of with shoes. But a pair in a lighter weight yarn would be fabulous.

Socks: Monkey Socks by Cookie A from Knitty. One hank of Yarntini Variegated in Pure Knits colorway (100% superwash merino wool) on size #1.5 Knitpicks DPNs.
Started: May 31, 2007
Finished: June 10, 2007
Mods: Knit all of the purl stitches, and included slip stitches on the heel flap for durability. Decreased toe about 4 extra rows for pointer toe.

I think that not only are these the fastest socks I’ve ever knit, they are the most similar to one another. I ususally modify patterns in some way, and then forget the mods from one sock to the other and bluff my way through. Not with these – due to the pattern and knitting them immediately after each other, I remembered my miniscule mods.

I loved knitting with this yarn – it had a wonderful, smooth hand and the individual colors are just gorgeous, with a subtle sheen that I couldn’t appreciate in photos. I’m not thrilled with how they pooled, though, which I think detracts from the pattern. But will I try to get my hands on some more of this yarn, in a different colorway? You betcha!

I probably could have knit another pattern repeat on the foot, and made a shorter toe, instead of knitting such a long pointy toe. But they fit, so I didn’t want to mess with them.

Changes for next time: one more repeat on the foot, do a M1 instead of YO for all increases (per fiberjinx blog – I love how it looks) and a picot cuff. How do I know there will be a next time? Because I’m already done with the cuff and three pattern repeats on a Cherry Tree Hill supersock version. Onward!

It’s been said before, but I’ll say it again – it’s hard to take a picture of your own feet.

One final note – I’ve made changes to my photo galleries (see also the link at the top of the page) and they now are hosted through my Flickr account. This is MUCH easier for me to manage, saving me server space and eliminating the need to resize my photos manually. Plus, since Ravelry is connected to Flickr, I had to upload all of my picks there, anyway. I’m still updating the info on a lot of pictures I transferred over to Flickr, so if you have any questions or see something goofy on those pics, just let me know.