FO - Vine Lace Scarf

When I was thinking of something to knit for my boss's birthday, I thought about her preferences and decided that something green and sparkly was absolutely the way to go.



Pattern: my own (still coming), using Barbara Walker's Vine Lace stitch, learned from the Jellyfish shrug; project page here on Ravelry
Size: scarf size, approximately 6"x54"
Yarn: Patons Brilliant 69% Acrylic 19% Nylon 12% Polyester, color 3232 Glitter Green; I used 1 ball, 1.75 oz/50 g and 166 yards/158 m.
Needles: aluminum 9-inch size 10.5
Modifications: same as my first

Started: December 4, 2008
Finished: January 10, 2010

I had been wanting to knit another Vine Lace Scarf for a long time, since my cousin's wife Yvonne loved my first one so much and it looked so cute on her. My boss is really into accessories, the shinier the better (I think this is part of why we get along so well).



I actually started this project for my boss's birthday last year (her 2008 birthday) and then again for her 2009 birthday, but I didn't give it to her until I gave the rest of my lab their extraordinarily belated Christmas gifts in January. The actual knitting time was about a day, as vine lace really flies by.

Vine lace is one of my favorite stitch patterns, as it has a big impact for easy, intuitive knitting that my hands seem to know how to do automatically by now.



I love lace scarves and the way they flutter and shimmer in the breeze. This yarn blocks remarkably well for an artificial fiber - I soaked the finished scarf in soap and warm water, then ran it over with an iron on low heat (my iron's Nylon setting) to block it into place.



I really couldn't be happier with the way this scarf came out. It was a lovely little gift - my boss loved it and pointed out how nicely it contrasted against the black top she was wearing. She also thought it would work tied in her hair or as a belt.

I'll probably write a quick little pattern at some point (surround two repeats of vine lace with garter stitch, knit until you run out of yarn...), but I'm sure I will knit another one of these scarves soon.

Previous posts on this project:
- But what about December birthdays?

FO - Hello Kitty Hat

My labmate and dear friend Penelope is fairly obsessed with Hello Kitty. When I was brainstorming her Christmas gift, I thought something playful and well, adorable, was in order, and so I made her a Hello Kitty hat.



Pattern: Official Kittyville Hat (Ravelry link) by Kitty Schmidt, free pattern on Kittyville
Size: adult size hat
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft 10-ply aran weight, colors White and Raspberry, 100% acrylic; I used about half a skein of the white, which was approximately 165 yards/ 151 meters and a small amount of the raspberry
Needles: Susan Bates size 7 (4.5 mm) 16" circular and Knit Picks nickel-plated double-pointed needles, set of 5 size 7 (4.5 mm)
Modifications: Knit hat as written; added bow from the Hello Kitty Hat pattern (Ravelry)

Started: January 12, 2010
Finished: January 13, 2010

I saw a number of almost unbearably cute Hello Kitty hats on Ravelry, but I decided to go with just the bow and ears attached to an otherwise serviceable white hat, as a kind of homage to Hello Kitty, a hat in the spirit without being a literal depiction. Also, this way Penelope could actually be Hello Kitty, and that is way, way more fun.



The pattern was great: straightforward, fast, and easy, making for a very satisfying and enjoyable project. I loved the I-cord and had to refrain from making 3-foot long tassles. The pom-poms look sweet now, but they were quite a hassle to make. I've read before that acrylic makes lousy pom-poms, and I think it was only through sheer obsession that I got these to a state I am happy with.



I love the way the ears are constructed from picked-up stitches, knit in two layers that are sewn together for stability and structure. Having the seed stitch echo the lower band and ear flaps was a nice touch. I really like the way the seed stitch looks on this hat, and it didn't occur to me until I was almost done with it that it's really no more work than K1, P1 ribbing.



Of course, what makes this project is the bow. My goodness, am I smitten with this bow. It's such a simple construction (garter stitch rectangle with a smaller rectangle cinching it in at the middle and sewn together), but it comes out utterly adorable. I sewed it down at a coquettish angle, and the hat came alive.



I had so much fun making this hat, and I loved giving it as a gift. Penelope was totally thrilled and looked ridiculously cute. I'm so happy!

For the love of Nancy Bush

I purchased my copy of Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks quite some time ago, and it wasn't until this past September that I knit my first project from it.

When I saw that the January Sockdown for the Sock Knitters Anonymous group on Ravelry had Nancy Bush as the featured designer, I couldn't resist starting two new pairs.



The first is the Child's Sock in Miranda Pattern, which I am working toe-up over 64 stitches. This is my portable, train and subway type knitting, since the pattern is effortless to memorize and easy to pick up at any point and work a few rows.



In starting the second pair, I surprised even myself, as I was following the instructions and knitting them from the top down. They are the Fancy Silk Sock for a Child of 5 or 6 Years, though I am calling them my Fancy Merino Socks. I probably could have knit these toe-up, but I love the lacy cuff and the way the heel shaping forms a geometric counterpoint to the delicate lace pattern. I guess Nancy Bush really is that good.

New year, new lace

In lieu of a mosaic of last year's FOs (which I umm, still haven't finished photographing) or a summary of frantic Christmas gift knitting (nope), I have a fresh start for the new year.



Hellooooo, lace. I've missed you.

This is the start of the Wakame Lace Tunic, from the summer 2008 Interweave Knits. It has a very interesting construction, and I really love the lace pattern. I hope I continue to enjoy this project after a couple hundred more hours of it.

FO - Yellow Evening Stockings

It feels like so long ago that I photographed these, and even longer since I finished them, but I'm happy to finally present one of my favorite FOs yet, yellow knee socks:



Pattern: Evening Stockings for a Young Lady (Ravelry link) by Nancy Bush, from the book Knitting Vintage Socks
Size: lady's US size 9 with 9-inch foot circumference and 9.5-inch foot length
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette 4-ply fingering weight, color 6240 Semolina, 100% wool; I used 2.14 skeins, which was 107 grams/3.76 oz or 494.3 yards/452 meters.
Needles: Knit Picks 6" nickel-plated double-pointed needles, set of 5 size 1.5 (2.50 mm)
Modifications: Added 10 lace repeats after calf decreases to lengthen leg; used toe from Hedera instead of star toe in pattern

Started: September 1, 2009
Finished: September 27, 2009



These were my first knee socks, and I actually followed the pattern, despite my general reluctance (should I call it extreme aversion?) to knitting socks from the top-down. That Nancy Bush, man. She can write a pattern!



Usually when I knit socks, I take the lace or stitch pattern and plug it into my preferred method of toe-up sock knitting. I was really tempted to do that with these socks as well, but when I started reading all of the calf-shaping instructions, I realized that these were a totally different game, and if I wanted socks that would fit, I should do them the way Nancy wrote them. I'm so glad I did!



The calf shaping is wonderful. It was written to transition smoothly within the lace pattern, so there was no tricky math or problematic recalculation of where in the lace to work increases or decreases. The lace pattern itself was wonderfully intuitive, and I memorized it in the first repeat. Because it was so easy and logical, these socks literally flew by, and I loved every minute of them.



I was iffy about the star toe in the pattern, since I was definitely planning to wear these socks with shoes and I wanted something that would lay as flat as possible. I opted for the toe from the Hedera pattern, which was one of the only top-down toes I'd done before, but which I noted fit my toes very comfortably and worked unobtrusively in shoes.



And I have to admit that while I wasn't a fan of working the heel and gusset (the pattern was very clear, easy to follow etc - it's just a personal thing), it looks pretty lovely and it fits very comfortably into my shoes. Shockingly, these socks actually stay up while I walk too, which is a major bonus for any knee socks.

I knit these socks as part of the September Sock Knitters Anonymous Sockdown challenge, where one of the options was knitting yellow socks. I was surprised at how many people started out hating on yellow, since I adore it. I had been dreaming about yellow lace knee socks for a while (perhaps I have a bit of Malvolio in me), so I found this a perfect occasion.



The yarn was a pleasure, as I expected. While not as soft as some of the pricier sock yarns I've used, I found Palette to be a really good yarn for this project. The socks didn't stretch out with wearing, they didn't felt or pill at all, and they seemed comfortable and durable, yet soft. For the price, I don't think you can find a better value in fingering-weight wool, and I genuinely adore its color.

If it's not overly obvious, I love these socks and I'm thrilled with this project. I wore these to work and my labmates were all coveting them like crazy, asking where they could buy a similar pair. I love having something so unique and so specifically suited to my personality, which I enjoy wearing as much as I enjoyed making them!

Why haven't I been blogging?

Usually when you title a blog post with a question, it implies that that question will be answered and perhaps remedied, rather than contemplated at length, but I can't make such a promise in this instance.

My interest in blogging certainly waxes and wanes, both here and on my regular blog. I have a plethora of "life excuses," including another long trip to Italy in October and November that I forgot to mention, crazy lots of stuff going on at work, and all kinds of illnesses ranging from bronchitis with borderline pneumonia (which almost prevented that Italy trip) and my current malady, swine flu. Bleh.

This blog, unlike my everyday blog or my non-sequitor Twitter and Facebook updates, is so focused in its subject that if I don't have something specific to say about knitting or crafts, I tend not to say it.

More to the point, the way I "say" things here is largely through photography. It's not that the words are just spacers between photos - I care a lot about those too - but I am not likely to write about a project if I don't have photos.

(People who read a lot of knitting blogs are probably all "Ha, photography, that old chestnut!")

I used to live in a light-filled apartment, with a photographer. It's not that he shot my knits for me (at least not without some begging), but our whole apartment was set up in a way that was conducive to shooting (along with painting). We had white counter-tops and white windowsills, white desktops, off-white curtains and white walls that wouldn't distort colors, and plenty of fill lamps and photography stuff that would block out the clutter or shadows or what have you. If I needed to take modeled shots, I lived in Brooklyn and was never shy for a backdrop.

Now I am living in my parents' house, where there is very little consistent light. Every room is a different color, and there are all kinds of furniture and decorations (lovely stuff, of course). You'd think this would make for easier shooting, since it should be more interesting (and unlike our apartment, it's usually very clean), but I struggle to find anywhere that doesn't overpower the knits themselves with pattern and texture. More often than not, when I am shooting my knitting projects, I find myself laying them out on a large sheet of drawing paper on my bed or resorting to the top of the washing machine, to get a neutral background.

It should have been easier in the summer, since my parents have a truly lovely garden, but I struggled with boats, coolers, neighboring houses, and so forth always intruding in the background. And while my mother is patient and a very talented photographer, she doesn't seem to understand, the way my ex-boyfriend did, that sometimes I need a couple dozen photos to get one where I don't look agonizingly awkward and uncomfortable.

That said, I haven't fully sorted out the photography situation, but I will at least make some attempts soon. I have quite a growing pile of FOs, which I've been mentioning since the spring, and I'm either lacking proper photos or am fairly dismally unhappy with those that I have. But I'm going to work on them and try to get back in the habit of posting more frequently.

I'm really looking forward to it.

A Touch of Yellow

As much as I don't want to acknowledge that summer will ever end, I've become increasingly aware of the chill in the air. In my memory, summer stretches through September and well up to my birthday (November 1), but in reality, I know that fall is coming sooner than I think.

I put aside my plan to make the Upstairs Wrap for this October wedding. I still plan to make it, since I absolutely adore the way it's coming out, but I think it will be too airy, light, and summery for a proper fall wrap.



Instead I've started a pair of wool knee socks, in a delightful warm yellow (Knit Picks Palette, in Semolina). I really don't like knitting socks from the top down, but I'm glad I'm following the pattern as written on these.

I guess they are my way of stretching a bit of summer into the fall.