Falling Down

       End of Summer.  The time when I find myself reflecting on all I did not knit.  Once the air turns cooler I will eagerly dig out earthy wool and sweater patterns, but for now, as the last few days of Summer slip away, I see the skeins of linen and cotton, bamboo and slubby silks sitting on the shelf and I sigh a little sigh of defeat.

       These were meant to be tanks and tees and camis by now.  With Spring in full bloom I scoured the local yarn shop for just the right materials to inspire Summer knitting.  I dreamt of lazy days watching the children play while lacey socks flew off my needles and Christmas knitting was barely a glimmer on the horizon. 
      
       I forgot there would still be a tiny new baby who would want to be held, nursed, changed, and bathed.  I forgot there would be three meals a day to cook for children home on vacation, plus snacks, laundry, the finding of lost things, and the refereeing of fights.  In short I forgot that life has a pesky way of eating up my paltry bit of free time and I don't have a full time nanny or personal chef.  Oops!

       Realizing these beautiful materials will still be staring me down through a long, cold New England Winter would in the past have been a reminder of knitting opportunities lost, but I'm trying to just be grateful for such an abundant stash.  I'm telling myself this means I'll have less yarn to purchase next Spring....Yeah, I'm not buying that last part either.

Stacked

My life right now is a series of stacks and lists. Stacks of books waiting to be read. Lists of tasks waiting to be checked off. Stacks of laundry waiting to be put away. Lists of groceries waiting to be bought. Stacks of clothes waiting for my postpartum body to deflate. Lists of movies waiting to be seen. Stacks of boxes waiting to be unpacked and thank you notes waiting to be written. And of course lists of of knitwear waiting to be knit, but something else has been demanding my attention. Namely keeping this little "finished object" content.

  This is a relatively easy task as he happens to be one of the most serene and easy going babies I've ever met, never mind given birth too. Maybe it's being the product of two experienced parents who spend much of our time together being generally serene and content. Maybe it's being blessed with so many hand knits at an early age. Either way, he's beautiful and mellow and worthy of the abundance of attention bestowed on him by all members of the household.

If I've been quiet here in recent months it's in large part due to my desire to not post until I've chipped away at my list of WIPs. That and the fact that I was newly married and taking part in blending a rather large family and moving house and having a baby. Or as a friend recently noted, basically cramming every trial by fire for a married couple into one year. Hey, we're late bloomers and time's a tickin'!

Sooo....what's off the needles? Let's start small. plain jane toe up socks based on Wendy Johnson's formula posted at the Wendy Knits blog. The most significant part of finishing these? They're all for me! I haven't knit socks for myself in about 5 years and I was only inspired to cast on these because I discovered a hole in the heel of my favorite pair. I also dyed the self-striping yarn myself using good ol' Koolaid and vinegar as a mordant and couldn't bear to part with it.

Next up, I finished the Vitamin D cardi which does exactly what I hoped it would, worked nicely over a pregnant belly and also provides some drapey coverage for a nursing Mom. It also reinforced my affection for Silky Wool. If this yarn is ever discontinued I will hold a candlelight vigil.

  And then I finished Cobblestone for my husband.  He immediately announced that I had finally presented him with his first sweater and we were at last officially married. As anyone familiar with "the sweater curse" can tell you, he's not that far off.

Then I decided to conquer my lace-phobia and cast on Ishbel in Twisted Fiber Arts Octarine. This was a Mother's Day present for my Mother In Law which had the added bonus of saving my sanity while on partial bed rest in the last few weeks of pregnancy. I couldn't do much, but I could count rows and stitches!

  Last, but not least came phase 2 of conquering my fear of lace.  I finished the Monkey Socks designed by Cookie A and available online at Knitty.  I have for some reason been calling these Pomotamus Socks which is a completely different pattern.  Sorry, mommy brain in effect.  In fact I completed these in the hospital a day after giving birth.  My husband joked that I would now have to go home a day early as I had run out of knitting.  We laughed, but I was home in my own bed by the next morning, due in part to my aversion to hospitals and...I needed to cast on some new socks.

Silencing The Screamers

There's been many debates through the years that have played out in the knitiverse.  Circulars or straights? Seamless or seamed? Organic or acrylic? Is your knitting art or craft?  Do you knit for love of the process or product? Does declaring your work "Not your Grandma's knitting." make you hip and progressive or a short sighted ingrate? (In the interest of full disclosure I would have to say circulars, seamless, organic, craft for me, art for a rare few, both, and the latter.)

The Land of Lost Knits

On the matter of how many WIPs (Works In Progress) are acceptable and how one decides which WIP will become a FO (Finished Object) first, the choices are left largely to the individual knitter without judgement or condemnation.  Even the most monogamous of knitters can come down with a mild case of Startitis on occasion.  Years ago I was listening to a podcast, I believe it was either Craftborg or SSK, I confess I'm not sure which, and the co-hosts were discussing how they like to work on "the screamers." They defined screamers as those projects which demand your attention and cry out to be worked on at any given time. In the past I've heard of knitters who only have one project on the needles at a time, but I don't believe I've ever actually met one. I've also heard of knitters that keep a log of their WIPs with a set schedule of which projects will be worked on certain days of the week. Neither option sounded like much fun to me.  I fully embraced the concept of giving my fickle attention to the squeakiest wheel in my knitting bag, casting on whatever and whenever.  No limits. No deadlines.   So here we are all these years later and how's that working out for me? Have you seen my updated sidebar of WIPs? I'm sure what's most amusing to my husband is how incomplete it is.  I've left off all the small unfinished objects still lurking in drawers and cupboards.  He knows where the bodies are buried.

Two recent events have caused me to reconsider.  First was my decision to cast on a pair of socks for a friend and let her know that some lovely, silky, stripey socks were forthcoming. Do you know what happens when I knit a pair of socks with even a flexible self-imposed deadline?  I finish a pair of    *$%#  socks, That's what happens!  Brilliant.  The final confirmation came for me shortly after this...

The most important work in progress

Sublime Yarns, Little Captain
Cableman from book 8

The hubby and I began day dreaming and planning even before the wedding, but thought, "If it happens it happens and if it doesn't... life will still be wonderful, but wouldn't it be nice, but let's not get too excited.  I mean we're no spring chickens and it probably won't happen...can't happen, but if it did....can you imagine?"  Then whammo! Two months of trying and convincing myself that we were just setting ourselves up for disappointment and there it was.  Two faint lines on a home pregnancy test and life changes in an instant.  Here comes the son.  All of a sudden I had a brand new deadline.  A certain amount of time and blue yarn to tackle with all these cute little baby knits just flying off my needles. They're quick, they give me the chance to tackle new techniques on a small scale and I am focused. I had forgotten how helpful that last piece of the equation can be.


Newly inspired I pulled out all those lingering FOs.  I will finish these off one by one.  I have declared socks and travel knitting exempt, but I will tackle the rest one at a time and I will take back the knits!!!  In the spirit of a previous KAL (Knit Along) of several years ago, "Naked Sticks by 2006" I tried to come up with a catchy title for my belated New Years resolution, but the best I could do was "WIP it out in 2012" which,  A) doesn't rhyme and B) runs the risk of attracting a very different following than the one intended.  I guess I'm just going to put my head down and get this done.  If you'll excuse me I must tend to my knitting.

Vitamin D Cardigan in Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool

Casting On

So what else have I been up to?  Let's see....

Ah, yes.  I got married.  After saying never again I found someone who made me reconsider.  Or rather, re-found someone.  Our Mothers were coworkers and friends when we were still in utero.  I arrived first.  He showed up six weeks later.  We went to each other's birthday parties, Halloween parties (I was Princess Leia.  He was C3po) and we stayed aware of each other's lives via our Mothers.

                                                                            Something transformative can happen with time, maturity, hard life lessons and years of reflecting on what's missing in life and what you wish it looked like.  If you're very brave or blissfully ignorant and naive or a bit of all three, one day you wake up and life looks something like this.

In anticipation of this day I decided to cast on something special.  Something delicate and ethereal.  Something complicated that would keep my hands busy in the days leading up to our wedding, but if you've ever planned a wedding you know there is PLENTY to keep you busy.  Especially when you and your beloved are also blending a family and raising eight children together.

Needless to say very little progress was made on what was supposed to be a wedding shawl.  The pattern is Kiri by Polly Outhwaite from All Tangled Up and the yarn is Aloft from Knitpicks in the color Sky.  I've wanted to knit this pattern for so long and I do love it, but the process is far from relaxing.  At least at this point in my life.  Every time I vow to take it up again I live in dread of that moment when someone distracts me or bumps my chart keeper or just looks at me sideways and suddenly my stitch counts are off.  I'm lace phobic.  I'll work it out and overcome my fears and this may be finished in time for our fifth anniversary.    

In fact I have a strategy to move beyond my lace phobia.  Five years ago when the baby who is no longer a baby was born, I posted about my affection for self-striping sock yarn hand dyed by Meg at Twisted Fiber Art .  At that time she was selling through Etsy and with one of my orders she included a sample skein of superwash sock yarn in a colorway called Octarine.  I fell in love with the colors, but then life happened.  We moved house, money was tight, calamity struck and as it turns out I am not one of those people who can heed Elizabeth Zimmermann's advice to "Knit on with confidence and hope, through all crises."  Still, I held onto that sample Skein.  So here we are in better times and a quick search turned up Meg's new site.  Lo and behold she still offers Octarine in many more styles.              

I ordered the colorway in Evolution which is made up of very long, gradual transitions in a fingering weight silk/merino blend. I think knitting up something lacey in a heavier weight than Aloft is going to build a little confidence and set me on my way.  I had already purchased Ysolda's Ishbel pattern before ordering this yarn, but was inspired after seeing Pearl Power's Ishbel in the same yarn posted on Meg's site.  Can yarn bring you closure?  It may sound hokey, but having this yarn turn up on my doorstep after all these years was symbolic for me. It took us a long time to finally come together and I wish it could have been sooner, but timing is everything.

Aaaaaannnnd We're Back.

Life is funny and not always “funny-Ha! Ha!” It’s been far too long since I last posted, but in that time I’ve learned so much and life has changed so much since that inaugural post on April 21, 2005. After a difficult marriage, painful divorce (a phrase which now sounds ridiculously redundant,) time as a single mom of seven, the long illness and eventual death of my Father, and
now, miraculously, finding myself in a happier place it’s time to review what we’ve learned class…

1. It’s a cliché, but it’s true, time goes faster as you get older.

2. Children have their own path in life which they generously let you be a part of for a time.

3. You never fully comprehend how horrible your circumstances have become until you come out the other side and look back on it from a safe place. This is probably for the best or you’d never find the strength to push on and get to aforementioned safe place.

4. If someone you love continually tells you in word and/or deed that you’re worthless and can’t do anything right, at some point in the journey, no matter how strong you think you are, you start to
believe them.

5. If someone you love tells you you’re worthless and can’t do anything right it’s probably time to find someone else to love….like yourself.

6. Among friends and family who truly love you, no one will be harder on you than you. They
just sometimes have an easier time being honest with you than you do with yourself.

7. Sometimes when a wrecking ball hits your life it clears the way for something beyond your wildest dreams.

8. Men who know how to cook AND do laundry and are happy to do so without complaining or expecting a medal- They do exist.

9. It’s possible to love someone and wish them all the best and not particularly like them very much.

10. I have given more than I should have, put up with more than I care to admit, but received far more than I deserve. It all balances out in the end.

11. I am blessed.

12. I am blessed.

13. I am blessed.

Well that was heavy.  Now that we’re all caught up, How about some knitting???

Babes in Toyland

Ah, the twists and turns of parenthood. Someone threw out the handbook and the road map and I didn't get the memo. It happened to fashion. Wear white whenever the spirit moves you and pajamas are now suitable outerwear. It happened to social discourse. The checkout girl can now ask me if the weather's still crap and talk my ear off about her equally crap boyfriend. But parenting? I have my common sense and gut maternal instincts to fall back on, but otherwise I'm improvising here without a net.

I've been parenting for just under two decades, but T. Berry Brazelton doesn't tell you how to maintain a cheery, festive environment for the first Thanksgiving when Mommy and Daddy have two households. Or how to entertain yourself on weekends that the kids are away visiting aforementioned daddy and you finally have a few hours to fall apart in private and maybe squeeze in a pedicure.

I had a long list of parenting goals during my first pregnancy at the ripe old age of 21. Some were lofty and slightly unrealistic. My children would not eat Happy Meals. My children would not play with Barbies or war toys. My children would have days full of nurturing teaching moments and never get a sunburn or need stitches.

Nineteen years later my parenting goal boils down to, I will not arse this up! Once upon a time I met the babysitter with detailed lists of rules and regulations. Now on those rare occasions when I find a babysitter, I leave emergency contact info, a bedtime and the direction that I'd like everyone to still be alive when I return and not in need of therapy, babysitter included.

A friend of mine recently told me that her therapist was helping her get in touch with her "inner goddess." This is a working mother of three that seems to hold it all together with poise and enviable ease. All I could think is that the carrot of feminine goddess hood has been crammed down my throat. Maybe I need to get in touch with my inner humanity? Maybe I need to roll around in the dirty laundry which threatens to overtake me and eat a twinkie and trust that there are other women within primal screaming distance that work just as hard to create a sanctuary for the ones they love more than life in this glorious, all too human, domestic maze.

Ravelry Killed The Knit Blog

A few days ago on Ravelry I received an e-mail from someone asking me to please update my knitting blog.


Knitting blog? What knitting blog? I have a knitting blog??!


So I zipped over here to check my last posting date and was horrified to see "May 2007". I am dangerously close to one year with no posts, no pics, Nada.


The idea of covering everything I've done for a year is way too daunting, especially since it's all been lovingly cataloged over at Ravelry. Ah, Ravelry. Where I can search for a yarn in my stash and find page after page of patterns appropriate for it. Or better yet, new and ingenious modifications for patterns already on my shelves. *sigh*





Clearly, what little computer time I get has been eaten up by my new Ravelry obsession and if this is wrong, I don't want to be right. But the least I can do is offer an update from my last post. The somewhat cowl is frogged. I love this Andean Treasure yarn, but I know now from experience that 100% alpaca is deliciously soft to the hand, but itchy, itchy, itchy everywhere else. This is destined to be a cardigan at some future date.





The Greek Pullover is done, but no pics yet. I'll get right on it.





Marylin's not so shrunken cardi is done as well and it's by far a favorite. I love the Silky Tweed I knit it up in and would definitely use this yarn again. It wasn't the most exciting thing I've ever knit when it was on the needles, but it's a great, basic cardigan that I wear at least once a week. Again no pics of that. Sorry, I'll get right on it.



I do have a bonus FO. I finished Sahara.
Ta Da
I originally added short sleeves, but didn't like the way they flared out. I ripped them back and re knit the edging again with artyarns beaded silk. The body was knit in a Classic Elite cotton/tencel blend called Premiere. I knit the bottom edging in Premiere as well so I wouldn't end up with a big beige stripe across my hips.

Last, but not least, I'm still slogging through the Cathay Boat neck Aran. I say slogging, because the pattern requires more time and concentration than I can typically muster on any given day. How many years has it been on the needles now? 2? 3? I'm on the last sleeve and then I just have to knit up the neckline and seam. The only thing that keeps me going is seeing how beautiful it looks already in it's unfinished state. Well, that and Ravelry. Whenever I slow down I just log on and check out other Ravelers finished boat neck arans and take up my needles again.

Rain, Rain Go Away

Let's talk about UFOs. Mine have spent over a month packed and waiting for moving day. This was an excellent strategy for finishing Patti since it left me with nothing else to work on for several weeks. The only drawback is now I have all these unfinished wooly items that frankly I don't want to knit in warm weather. So do I put them on the back burner until Fall and cast on something cooler or do I force myself to finish up and get them off the needles? Here's the line up from left to right... The Somewhat Cowl in KnitPicks Andean Treasure, Marilyn's Not-So-Shrunken Cardi in Silky Tweed, and the IK Greek Pullover in Rowan Kid Classic. Both the Greek Pullover & the Shrunken Cardi are 2nd timers for me, but this time I'm using the suggested yarn for both patterns. The Silky Tweed is gorgeous by the way and no pictures I've seen of it have ever done it justice. I love this yarn! I don't include the Cathay Boatneck Aran in this list because I've cast on the back this week and made some good progress which you can see here...

But what's that next to the boatneck aran? Not the oranges. I mean the little yarn cakes pyramid. Hmmm, that just might be a little Classic Elite Premiere and Artyarns Beaded Silk destined to be a shortsleeved Sahara. Considering that I cast on the boatneck sweater over a year ago and I've only just now cast on the back, I'm thinking that another work in progress might not be such a hot idea. On the other hand, I know that when I'm crazy about a pattern, especially short sleeves with a worsted weight yarn, it flies off my needles. I guarantee that by sundown I'll have come up with at least 3 more rationalizations for casting on and I'll have a gauge swatch done. Can you blame me? Tempting, isn't it? In the midst of all this UFO guilt I was suddenly struck with cabin fever. It's been raining for days here and I'm a stranger in a strange land. I needed to go in search of my people, so I googled local yarn shops and found one over a 1/2 hour away, but worth the trip. They were running a special where you could bring in your gently used knitting books in exchange for store credit of 50% of the cover price. While packing for the move I had discovered many of my newbie knitter books really didn't see the light of day anymore and here was a chance to turn them into new yarn! I have to confess it seemed too good to be true and I thought for sure there was a catch, but dreams do come true and I turned over my old books and received an $85.00 giftcard. WooHoo!!! I was so overwhelmed, I think the shop owner must be a sock knitter. There was Koigu, Claudia Handpaints, Trekking, Regia, Twisted Sisters, Colinette Jitterbug and more I'm sure I'm forgetting. They also had the 2 Noni bag patterns I've coveted for months, but could never find in the shops.

I finally settled on 2 skeins of Claudia Handpaint sock yarn in the Red Wagon colorway, 2 balls of Zephyr wool/silk laceweight in teal the new Interweave Knits Magazine, the Portofino pattern from Dolce Knits and these 2 Noni bag patterns. Prism & Adventure. The baby likes them as well.

Space... The Final Frontier

How long ago did I first post that we were house hunting? It's been at least a year. I know I was knitting the Clapotis. (I mark time by knitting projects now.) All the while folks kept telling us the perfect place would come along at the perfect time and they were right. Blogging's been light because we've been moving house. After moving the belongings of all 9 of us, I never want to move again. At least not till the children have grown and taken all their worldly possessions with them. You know what's kind of fun about packing up everything you own? Finding hidden yarn you forgot about. I used to know this fella whose Mother was an alcoholic and growing up he'd periodically find a flask of liquor hidden in a bookshelf or the breadbox or what have you and after stumbling across various skeins I barely remember buying, ah yes... I think it's like that.

I love our new house and the yarn actually has it's own little room. The one drag is the lack of yarn shops. I've gone from feast to famine. Of course anyone who saw the boxes marked "YARN" coming off the moving truck might say this is a good thing. It got downright embarrassing after about box #5.

Now I have my first project finished in our new home. Patti from Rowan Studio, issue 1. It nearly broke my heart, but we worked it out and I love it. Here she is on Sally Stitch filmed live in my real live actual knitting/sewing room.

Sally Stitch has far narrower shoulders than I, so here's a back shot of the pleats. The reason Patti nearly broke my heart is that I knit an entire side reversing the slip stitches, so the pleat wanted to fold out instead of in. Keep in mind this is a sportweight yarn for a swing jacket no less. It took me a few days to make peace with the fact the whole thing had to be unravelled and re-knit, but eventually I pulled out the ball winder and just resigned myself to doing whatever I had to do to get it right. This was my first time working with Rowan's Felted Tweed (I used the camel color) and I would knit a big ol' swatch before substituting another yarn. Besides just personally liking the fabric it creates, I think the wool with a touch of rayon makes for a very light and forgiving fiber, but with a nice drape.

Next up, I'm reviving an old work in progress. The Debbie Bliss Boatneck Aran from the Cathay pattern book. I started this while pregnant with baby #7 and was knitting merrily along until one day, about 8 months along and sleep deprived I flipped open the cable charts to pick up where I left off and the whole thing may as well have been written in Greek. I knew I had better put it away until I could concentrate again or it was just going to be a nightmare. I'm using the Cathay yarn in the Duck's Egg Blue. The front is done. I'll cast on the back tonight.

Mocktails

I've been hankering for a hank of Yarntini sock yarn in Vintage Stripe for longer than I can remember. Then Jessie posted on the Yarntini blog that she would start doing self striping yarns primarily as custom orders. Then a few months later that she was so busy, new custom orders were on hold.

After seeing the colorway on other blogs I decided to take matters into my own hands. Let me state for the record that I would have been much happier paying for the real thing, but desperate times call for desperate measures. A girls gotta have her sock yarn. So I grabbed some Knitpicks Merino and silk blend sock yarn (YUM!) some koolaid & vinegar and wound up some reeeeeally long skeins. Thanks to Eunny Jang's post here on self striping yarns, I ended up with an FO I really love.

Ooooooh, purty. But how does it knit up? So glad you asked.

Love, love, love.

Recycle, Reuse, Repeat....

I'm a very thrifty (cheap) girl. I have no sense of urgency when it comes to knitting up my entire stash. If a finished object no longer works for me, I have no qualms about ripping it out and turning it into something new.

When I found out I was pregnant with #7 I cast on Rosebud from Knitty. The sweater was designed by Alison Hansel and she posted possible modifications on her blog that would convert the original pattern into a maternity top. Those mods can be found here. I knit it up with a few changes of my own and it worked beautifully. I knew I was due in mid November so I shortened the sleeves so they ended where they would normally start to flare out. I also used Merino Style from Knit Picks in place of the yarn originally called for.

Not only did the short row shaping work over the belly, but I was able to wear this right up to the end quite literally. I actually wore this sweater to the hospital on delivery day. If I hadn't been in labor on and off for hours I probably would have thought to have someone snap a picture, but you'll have to settle for the lovely Sally Stitches with a little help from a throw pillow.

So where is Rosebud now that I'm no longer pregnant?

I was suddenly taken with the idea of using the yarn from my maternity sweater to knit up a little woolly coat for baby next fall, but ecru is such a bad idea when knitting for little ones, so into the dye pot it went with some Jacquard acid dye in brown. et voila!

I know what you're thinking. Brown for a girl? YES! After 5 daughters in a row I'm so over the pink I could scream. Have you been to the baby girl section of your local dept. store lately? It's a sea of pink, pink and more pink, with the occasional pastel purple thrown in to break things up. Would you want to open your closet door and see variations on the same hue 365 days a year? I didn't think so. Plus I love the cool browns mixed with pastels that Debbie Bliss has been working with lately, so that was my inspiration.

I was a little concerned at first that I would have to throw this all back in the dye pot for a second time to even out the color, but I knit a test swatch alternating skeins, using a seed/moss stitch and I really like the results.

Busy Bees & Toasty Feet

It's been a whirlwind of activity here at Chez Aimee. I finally finished the Rebound Socks using Wendy's Toe Up sock formula and I can't imagine knitting socks any other way now. I know some folks have no love for short row toes or heels, but something about the fit is just perfect for my stumpy little hobbit feet. I also love that I don't have to worry about having too much or too little of my precious sock yarn left over. In the spirit of using up my yarn I think I got a wee bit carried away and ended up with some pretty funky knee highs, but it's been so freezing cold around here, I'll take all the woolly coverage I can get.

There's been some sewing going on as well. I received a new sewing machine for Christmas which I adore. My old kenmore bit the dust after 14 years of abuse just as I was finishing up Halloween costumes for my 2 eldest daughters. One was Pippi Longstockings. I used this apron pattern from The Paisley Pincushion, but basted on patch pockets that could be removed after Halloween, so now it's a useful reversible apron I keep in the kitchen for whichever child wants to be my assistant chef.

My other daughter wanted to be her American Girl doll, Kirsten. Sorry about the grainy picture. Everyone was more intent on getting to the candy than having their picture taken, but here you can also see the crossed back on Pippi's apron. The Kirsten costume was made up of The Girls' Regency Dress & Pantaloons from Sense & Sensibility Patterns and this Prairie Bonnet pattern. I was very pleased with all the patterns and the service from both Sense & Sensibility patterns and Sew Thankful was excellent. The pattern for the Kirsten apron was my own.

My new machine is Singer Model 7444. I'm not a quilter and I'm not interested in machine embroidery, so this was a really great fit for me. There's been so many changes in sewing machines in the past decade, that this one feels like a big improvement even though it's still a pretty basic machine. Just the fact that it adjusts tension automatically and only requires 1 step to make a buttonhole is fantastic! For my first pattern I decided to make a flannel version of this pattern from Built By Wendy.

I made the long sleeve version, but left off the ruffles. Even if it's been awhile since you've sewn, the conversational tone of her pattern directions make it very user friendly. I plan on making another in cotton with shorter sleeves for Summer. Maybe with contrasting fabric on the bodice. This is one of my favorite tops right now with the freezing temps we're experiencing here in New England. "It's wicked cold!" as the locals say. Stay warm.

Whip Lash

So here it is. My completed Licorice Whip, a free pattern from Blue Alvarez Designs, modeled for you by the lovely Sally Stitches. I cast this on while I was in labor and finally picked it up and finished when the baby was about 2 months old. Picture if you will me timing contractions & trying to count out stitches and markers while jotting down the starting and ending times for said contractions in a little notebook I keep in my knitting bag. My husband would check in on me, in between cooking dinner (Spaghettios) for the kids. "I'm contracting every other lace round." I'd say. Laughing hysterically at my own knitting humor. He didn't get it and would duck out of the room looking concerned for my mental stability. But my mental health survived intact, the baby was born and the sweater is done.

I've worn it quite a bit and it's a flattering design post-baby. Long enough to cover the recovering belly, but not so baggy that it adds extra weight and that long open work panel down the front draws the eye vertically. My only warning is this, when the pattern says bind off loosely, they mean "bind off LOOSELY". This should have occurred to me at the time. It is knit in unforgiving 100% cotton and the bind off edge has to fit around the hips, but I just barely made it with what I considered a pretty loose cast off. I would suggest binding off with a much larger needle.

My last complaint was the yarn itself. I used the yarn originally called for in the pattern, Blue Sky Dyed Cotton in the color Thistle. All the while I was knitting I loved this yarn. Really soft and really nice stitch definition with lovely muted colors. I've heard Wendy over at Knit & Tonic wax poetic about this yarn and her newest pattern is knit up in this stuff so I had high hopes. However, once the sweater was finished and actually on my body it began to pill like crazy! I looked like a mangy muppet by the end of the first day. The picture above doesn't really show that and in fact it seems to show more of a sheen to the fabric than is really there in person. I tried and tried to get a more accurate picture, but no luck. I purchased Wendy's pattern, Flair, but I think I'll be substituting some KnitPicks Salishan, a worsted weight wool/cotton blend they offered for a limited time a few months back.

My main project on the needles right now is Patti from Rowan Studio issue 1. I'm using Rowan's Felted Tweed in the color Camel and it's wonderful. This yarn is my last major yarn purchase for the year as I try to knit my stash. We'll see how that goes. I also completed the first rebound sock and got 1/3 of the way through the second while watching Band of Brothers for a few nights. Nothing like having a colorful sock to focus on during bloody battle scenes.

Knits Gone Wild (Jan. 2, 2007)

It's official, I survived the Christmas knitting of 2006! Now that I can knit whatever I like I'm a little overwhelmed by my options. I decided to kick things off with what I call my "rebound socks". Quick, easy, out of character and thoroughly inappropriate. It's a Lana Grossa self patterning sock yarn. The color is #4833 and they're all for me. These are my first ever toe up socks, so I'm actually learning a little something in the process, but their mostly just a fun fling.
Near the end of the pregnancy and before I had to really dig into my Christmas knits I had cast on some Blue Sky Cotton in Thistle for the Licorice Whip sweater by Alvarez Designs. I finally picked it up again yesterday and it's such a joy to knit. The cotton is really soft and the color is growing on me fast. I had originally gone into my LYS looking for black or dark brown yarn, but all they had in the Blue Sky Cotton was pastel shades for some reason. I settled for the thistle with some trepidation, but now that I see it knitted up I really love it. I highly recommend this yarn especially for anyone with a wool allergy. I also love that I'll be able to try this on as I knit and will have minimal finishing at the end.
I did have one non-Christmas knit last month which was the Odessa Pattern from Grumperina which can be found at magKnits. It was for my 3 year old daughter and she absolutely loves it and shows it to anyone who'll listen, shouting, "That's my hat! That's my hat!" I had a partially used skein of Debbie Bliss Merino DK and afraid that I would run out of yarn I decided to knit the brim out of some leftover Rowan wool cotton in grey. In retrospect I would have had enough of the pink merino to complete the whole thing, but perhaps the cotton blend feels better against her forehead and it looks nice with the silvery beads. She certainly approves.
Last, but not least, I could not resist the pull of the Twisted Fiber Arts sock yarn for sale on Etsy again. It was a total impulse buy as a reward to myself on the day I finished all the gift knits. The colorway is Neapolitan and it's beautiful. The sock I'm wearing in that picture however is not from Twisted, it's Koigu. See the hubby and I went on vacation this summer to the Berkshires. I didn't bring ANY knitting, because I convinced myself that I would be too busy sharing romantic moments with my husband to knit. That lasted right up to the point that I saw a phonebook in our Inn room, and if you're a knitter on vacation and you see a phonebook you just naturally have to look up yarn stores and if you realize that Colorful Stitches with 2 floors of every yarn you've ever loved is just one town over, well, what's more romantic than watching your man buy you yarn?! That's 2 skeins of Koigu and 3 skeins of Rowan Denim he's got in the bag there. Colorful Stitches is so lovely and it was the first time I had actually seen koigu in person. I grabbed these skeins of bright hot pink and chocolate brown. I don't know what came over me. There were so many beautiful more subtle shades to choose from, but it was like going out for the first time on your 21st birthday and ordering the drink with the paper umbrellas and sparklers that comes in a plastic coconut when all you really wanted was a glass of wine. I picked up dpns and cast on right away. I knit till I was carsick all the way home and you know what? They were never quite what I hoped they would be. I still smile when I see them because of the happy memories I associate with them, but ever since I've had a hankering for a sock yarn with wider stripes and a slightly cooler, more muted shades of pink. Enter Meg over at Twisted to save the day! As soon as the rebound socks are done I think this skein will be next.

Chanel-ish (Dec. 11, 2006)

There's a lot of knitting going on here at Chez Aimee, but most of it is Christmas knitting and not available for photo ops yet. I've gotten quite a bit done, considering that I'm exhausted and having to hold a newborn for a good portion of the day, but I am one wooly mitten away from sheer panic. If I don't wrap up 2 projects by Friday I will be in trouble. As it is now, each day ends with the baby resting on a boppy pillow in my lap while I knit until my eyes start to close and I literally fall asleep sitting & knitting.
In an uncharacteristic fit of self-discipline I've refused to cast on anything for myself until the gift knits are done. I did however take time to finish up the Chanel-ish Cardigan Jacket from Greetings from Knit Cafe. In part because Winter has finally arrived and I wanted something warm and flattering to the post-baby figure, but my primary motivation was not wanting to start the new year with this @#%&*% project still on my needles! This was not a fun knit. I still love the Knit Cafe book and have had great experiences with other designs in the book, but this one was a pain. I wanted to make it on the cheap, so I used Knitpicks Wool of The Andes. The price was right and I was able to get gauge, but it was pretty rough on the hands. Maybe I've gotten spoiled rotten by all the soft fibers I'm able to find at my LYS, but I was not eager to pick this up and work on it whenever I had a free moment. The stitch pattern looks nice, but trying to maintain it while working armhole decreases under the influence of Third Trimester brain shrinkage was frustrating. I think I ripped the top half of the back out and reknit it about 4 times. By the time I finished I had 5 inches left of the main yarn, so do yourself a favor and order an extra skein just in case. In retrospect I wish I had spent a little bit more and used Andean Silk instead. The good news is I really like the finished product and will get lots of wear out of it for my trouble.
While I was wrapping that up and knitting things for everybody else, I decided to reward my self with some new hand dyed sock yarn. After months of trying to get my hands on some Vesper or Yarntini self striping sock yarn I decided to check out Etsy and see what I could find and I'm SO glad I did. Look at this big honkin' skein of yarny goodness. This was my first purchase from an Etsy shop and I couldn't be more pleased. When I unwrapped the package I literally gasped outloud it was so beautiful and that was before I even touched it and realized how soft it was. You can check out more of Meg's work on her site which includes a link to her Etsy shop. The yarn in this pic is resting on some new fabric purchased to make baby a new sling for Christmas. Speaking of baby...
Isn't there an old wives tale that placing knitting needles in the hand of a new baby assures them a life of happy knitting? If there isn't, there should be. While I don't normally give the baby pointy objects to play with, here's a picture of that landmark moment. The needle is an old wooden one that belonged to my Nana.
Happy Knitting Baby.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation (Nov. 22, 2006)

I grew a little human! One of my best "FO's" so far. She was also the best dressed baby in the nursery with her little Schaefer Anne hat. I picked up the yarn at a NEW local yarn shop. One of 2 NEW local yarn shops. I now suffer from an abundance of yarn choices as I happily select which of my 5 local shops to visit. This last one to open was particularly exciting because they carry Rowan. I haven't been too excited about the Rowan magazines lately, but their Kidsilk Haze and wool cotton are two of my favorite yarns. The first time I walked into the store and saw all those fluffy little piles of Rowan goodness I literally gasped outloud. The shop owner came over to greet me and it took every ounce of self control not to grab her in a bear hug and offer to name the baby after her. This shop is also where I purchased the Schaefer Anne for baby's hat. This is the Eternal Gobstopper of yarn. If you check out my recently updated "Finished Objects" gallery, you'll see that I used one skein to knit a hat, sweater, and baby socks, and still have yarn left over!
You might notice that I haven't posted in a good long time. I always seem to go into this very introverted phase when I'm pregnant and have no desire to write anything for public consumption. I realize that pregnancy shouldn't require such intense concentration on my part, but I can't help it. At least I'm back now so here's my summer in a nutshell (minus the morning sickness and mood swings) I finally tackled the lace knitting and got the hang of it, thanks in large part to a wonderfully straight forward pattern by Evelyn Clark and some wonderfully pointy needles from KnitPicks. And yes, that's a loom you see happily coexisting with my knitting. Over the summer my husband and I took a little vacation to the Berkshires and while visiting Hancock Shaker Village I had the opportunity to try one of their floor looms. I was instantly hooked. Once I got home I started doing some research into the different types of looms available and discovered Syne Mitchell's Weavecast on itunes. I mentioned to a friend how eager I was to try weaving and he said he had a loom that he'd picked up at a yardsale and never used and I was welcome to give it a try. Turns out it was a 25" Rigid Heddle Loom, never used, and sold through the JC Penney catalog back in the early 70s. It had all it's parts and I was able to put it together, warp it up and start weaving in fairly short order. I have no warping board, so that was a pain, but now I've just been playing around with different fibers and weights to see how they behave in plain weave. This particular loom model is designed to sit right on the table's edge and propped up against your abdomen, so it became rather uncomfortable in the last few months. Now I'm stuck with one big question. If I get a little extra money in my Christmas stocking, do I pick up some lovely yarn, like the Louisa Harding Kimono Angora Pure I've been lusting after, or do I put it towards a 32" Kromski Harp rigid heddle loom with built in warping board?!!!!? This is what I'm thinking about when the baby wakes me up in the middle of the night and I can't get back to sleep. Decisions, descisions....