Slipping One In

Once again, I've got a full day without enough hours to do everything on my list. Paul's sweater hasn't progressed much past where it was at my last post. The weather here in February and early March is so dreary and gray that working on a sweater in gray and gray-blue yarn brought my mood down.

So, I needed to knit some bright colors. I also wanted to make something for my baby. The Newborn Slip Stitch Hat by Polly McEldowney was just the thing.

I used leftover Risata and CotLin from Knit Picks. These yarns are cotton/wool and cotton/linen blends. I chose them for the fiber content since my son will be born during the hottest time of the summer. The idea was to knit something he could wear home from the hospital without getting heatstroke. The pattern was a little too easy. It took me forever because I was bored to tears with it.

The opinions on the hat I received, both solicited and unsolicited, were that it would be too small or that the baby would outgrow it within his first three days. Oh, darn, I'll have to keep knitting for him.

What month is it? Where did this half sweater come from? Why do none of my pants fit?

Oh, right, I've been pregnant for the last three and a half months. I really was not prepared for how tired I would be in the first trimester. How I managed to finally finish the back of the sweater for our friend Paul, is somewhat of a mystery.

After I took this picture for the blog, I realized I made a mistake in the cable on the right side. Am I going to rip it back and fix it? Heck, no! It's not all obvious in reality and it doesn't affect the design or structure of the sweater. 

Besides, I'm dying to start knitting for my baby, which I cannot do in good conscience without making some progress on this sweater. 

The design is Men's Pullover by Sandi Rosner. The yarn is Rowan Big Wool Fusion in Source and Baltic. The pattern calls for double-stranding with a lighter weight yarn, but gives the option for using a single strand of super bulky weight. That's what I happened to have, so that's what I'm using. However, I didn't have enough of a color I felt was appropriate. So, I'm alternating two colors that blend nicely together. The blue peps up the gray while the gray mellows out the blue. 

Just as I was coming out of my first-trimester coma, I came down with the flu. Vova and I took a little trip to Munich, had lovely time, and both got sick the day we came home. You can read a short description of the trip on Vova's blog. 

Good Tidings to You and All of Your Kin

Merry Christmas! I have not dropped off the face of the Earth. It's just that I've been too tired to knit, blog or do much of anything for the past several weeks because I'm pregnant. You knew it was going to be something big when I said I'd been too tired to knit. I'm at nine weeks now. My energy should pick up by mid-January.

I did manage to start a Christmas sweater for a friend, but it hasn't progressed very far.

The other day Vova asked if we were going to wait to exchange gifts until old calendar Christmas. I said yes or maybe on New Year's Eve, then added that I hadn't gotten him anything yet. He said, "Yes, you have -- you're carrying it inside you."

So much fun...

I knitted the Wonder Woman hat for Girl X in a little under three weeks. Getting around to weaving in the final ends, washing, and blocking it took almost another week. Posting it on the blog took four days. All things considered, this is my new knitting record.

I tried it on after I blocked and it fit me fine. I decided that it might be a bit big for Girl X. I had planned for this one to be a St. Nicholas day present, but the new one will make a nice stocking stuffer.

The color combo is perfect. It's exactly what I had in my mind's eye when I decided to make this hat. I started out knitting a little looser because I've heard that cotton can be hard on your hands and wrists. That just threw off my stranding. It wasn't anything to cry about, just annoying for me. For the next one, I'm just going to knit like I normally do. 

Perpetual Virginity

Ahem, now where was I?

Oh, yes, now I remember. You may have noticed that I like trying new things or new variations on things I've tried before. Kind of ironic, considering that I'm re-writing my post from yesterday. No matter, I digress.

A certain girl I know finds all wool itchy, even cashmere. I recently found out she likes Wonder Woman. So, when I came across the Wonder Beanie in my list of favorites on Ravelry, it seemed perfect.

I've never made a hat before, but I figure it's like a big sock only proportionally shorter.

Intarsia is one of my neuroses, I admit it. The new twist there is type of yarn. This is CotLin from Knit Picks in nightfall, swan, canary, and Moroccan red. As you might guess, it's a cotton-linen blend. The colors are exactly what I had in mind.

I started off knitting a little looser than I usually do because I've read a lot on cotton's inelasticity. I'm not completely happy with my stranding. Maybe it'll block out. The knitting lies have already started. If it doesn't block out, I have enough time and yarn to make another. This one will be filed under 'lessons learned' AKA the donate bin.

One other very cool technique I've learned is the two-color cast on. I was a little intimidated by it before I tried it. Despite taking three tries to get it right, it was actually pretty easy. Not to mention, it was so cool, it made me drool.

                             

Foo!

So, I had a nice post all written, but ended up deleting it when I was trying to move around my Amazon Associates ad. Blogger very kindly immediately saved the empty post. I don't have time to re-write it now.
Insert your dirty word of choice here.

October Who?

October was a busy month at work. In the end it was productive and positive, but busy, nonetheless. That coupled with the decreasing daylight hours made blogging non-existent for the whole month. There are certain chores that I can only do while the sun is up. While I like blogging and sharing pictures, it's a hobby; sometimes it takes a backseat to things that have to be done. I came up with lots of witty things for titles and content, which end up published only in my own head. A couple of others stayed with me, so I'll trot those out when the progress is going slowly.

Good news:  the Belle Epoque socks are finished. I love the colors in the yarn -- very calming and refreshing. Navajo Sky from Plymouth Sockotta.


Bad news:  the sleeves on the Toteme Pole Jacket are too long. Vova, bless him, suggested washing it would cause the right amount of shrinkage to fix the problem. He's obviously one of us; he tells himself knitting lies. I think it will be relatively easy to fix.


I think I also need to re-block one of the fronts. After all the work I've put into this sweater, I don't want to blow it on the finishing.

The last thing I want is for him to tell people, "Bonnie made this for me," and have them think, "Yeah, I can tell."

Inspired by Lisbeth and Sandra, I've been thinking about writing a bi-lingual blog to practice some of my other languages. Maybe in the next post.