New Chicks with Sticks

Check out these chicks with sticks--yarned and dangerous! ;) Molly and Dawn were both interested in learning to knit, so they came over tonight for dinner and a little knitting lesson. They are such fast learners! They know all the basics now and they both learned how to purl, too! We practiced doing the garter stitch (knit all rows), the stockinette stitch (K1 row, P1 row) and the rib (K2P2). It was fun! I love having friends nearby to knit with (wish you could join us, too, Erica!).

Bootie-licious!

I MADE THESE BOOTIES! Can you believe it? I am so proud of these little booties. I followed a pattern I found online called "Ruth's Perfect Baby Booties." The yarn is Sirdar Snuggly bamboo yarn (DK weight). I made one modification. Instead of following Ruth's directions for the cuff, I made one extra stitch (bringing the stitch count to an even # of 38), and did a K2P2 rib for 18 rows. For the tie, I did a 2 stitch i-cord.

I also made my first baby hat, following the Umbilical Cord Hat pattern from my Stitch 'n Bitch book. No modifications to the pattern. The yarn was Crystal Palace Merino Wool.
Both gifts were for my sister-in-law Amber, who's expecting her first baby with Jim's brother, Paul, in April.

Guapo's Sweater

I'm working on a doggie sweater for my friend Judy's tiny little Yorkie named Guapo. She requested orange--I found the yarn at Michael's. I have been trying to follow the "Bone-i-fied Dog Sweater" from my book "Chicks with Sticks." I've had to modify it a lot though since he is so tiny. I want the length of the sweater to be about 10 inches when done. Here are my notes (but I don't recommend using them as instructions to make your own doggie sweater until I figure out the kinks...):

Collar:

Cast on 32.

K1 P1 rib for 5 rows.

Switch to Stockinette Stitch (K1 row, P1 row) for 2 more rows.

Body:
Make1 at beginning and end of row.

Continue knitting in St st, repeating M1 at beginning and end of row every 4th row 4 more times.

Knit in St st for 22 more rows.

Bind off 9 st at beginning of next 2 rows.

Knit in St st for 2 more rows.

Decrease 1 stitch (K2together) at beginning and end of next row and every other row 4 times.

Knit in St st until desired length.

I have gotten this far, and now am stuck!! There is nowhere for the legs to come out up by the collar. It actually looks like the sweater was knit backwards because the two "wings" are near the bottom of the body of the sweater instead of up near the collar. I really think I followed the pattern correctly so I don't know what happened! I am wondering if I can just knit a rib at the end here and make that the collar of the sweater. Otherwise I may have to start all over...

Pictures of my other knits

Before I started this blog, I was posting pictures of my knits on KD Weekly. I'm linking it here so it's included in my new knitting journal!

Jungle Jane Neckwarmer

I'm so drawn to wild-colored yarn. Here's another take on my neckwarmer, but in a yarn called "Jungle." It came out a little loose around the neck, but still very cozy. I think this yarn may just be stretchier than the yarn I used on my "Sunset in a Mossy Forest" neckwarmer so it rolls more, and is more like a shrug for the neck! I'm planning to give it away to a friend...usually I like everything I make, and find it hard to give it away, but my own box of winter accessories is overflowing!

Here's the pattern:

Materials:
1 skein (82 yards) of NASHUA hand knits yarn, "Jungle"
10 1/2 inch circular needles
13 inch straight needle (for binding off)

Cast on 64 stitches. Knit in garter stitch in the round until desired length (I know--don't you hate it when patterns say that? This neckwarmer is about 8 inches long when stretched out). Use a 13 inch straight needle to bind off.

So easy!

Funny commercial

Knitting burns calories, right? This commercial makes me laugh everytime I see it!!

Mrs. Seuss

This is the hat I think Dr. Seuss' very cute, patient and good humored wife (I mean, come on, the man spoke in rhyme all day) would have worn.

Materials: 2 half-skeins of "leftover" yarn: I used green (Color A) and pink (Color B); size 10 circular needles; size 10 double pointed needles

Cast on 64 stitches with Color A. (I always try to cast on a number of stitches that is divisible by 8. This will help with decreasing later.)

Gauge: 4 stitches = 1 inch

Knit 5 rows with Color A in regular knit stitch. This will give your hat a rolled brim edge. Drop Color A and pick up Color B. Knit 5 rows. Repeat. Tada--you are making ~1 inch stripes of each color!

When is it time to decrease? Most patterns say when your hat measures around 6-7 inches, you should begin to decrease. I usually try the hat on a few times before it measures 7 inches to see how it's fitting. If it is long enough to cover your ears and the top of it stops near the crown of your head, you are ready to decrease!

Decrease:

This is where the number divisible by 8 comes in handy. Divide the number of stitches you cast on by 8. 64 divided by 8 is 8. So, your first row of decreasing will be Knit 6, Knit 2 together (adds up to 8--get it?)

Decrease Row 1: Knit 8, Knit 2 together, repeat until end of row

Row 2: K7, K2tog, repeat

Row 3: K6, K2tog, repeat

Row 4: K5, K2tog, repeat

Row 5: K4, K2tog, repeat
Row 6: K3, K2tog, repeat

Row 7: K2, K2tog, repeat
Row 8: K1, K2tog, repeat

Row 9: K2tog all the way around

Cut yarn with a 12 inch tail. Thread yarn through a big needle and pull through remaining stitches and then in through the small hole in the top of the hat. I usually knit back and forth a few times on the top of the hat then to minimize the look of the hole.

Weave in loose ends and you're done!