Monthly Archives: April 2018

FO

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So, have you been up to anything exciting lately?  Cool!

Oh, me?  Not that much.

Just hanging out with this dude.Everybody!  Say hi to my son!  He’s pretty much the best.He’s a huge, healthy, and hungry baby boy, born on April 14th.  He was just over 9 pounds at birth, and surprisingly tall and skinny- over 20″ (he takes after his dad’s family in his body type, but his face looks just like the babies in my family).  He’s a big fan of staying up all night, drinking lots of milk, and riding in the baby carrier when his dad and I go for walks.  Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to be a big fan of hats and is currently too small for the sweaters I’ve made for him, so his appreciation of knitwear is a bit limited so far.  Though, he does like his garter stitch blanket, especially on car rides.I’ve still got a bunch of posts in the chamber, ready to go.  So, you’ll still be hearing from me “from the past” for the next couple months, but I wanted to stop in and give you an update while I recuperate and the boy learns that nighttime is for sleeping.

Maybe in a few weeks, I’ll manage to find some time to get a little knitting done, too.  Who knows- miracles can happen!

See you soon!

Rub-a-Dub-Dub

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I’m probably the last person in the developed world to make this discovery, but have you guys ever used a lingerie bag for your laundry?

I just got a couple of these bad boys to help with the baby’s clothes (a friend recommended using them to wash baby socks and other stupidly tiny things that you need to wash, but don’t want to lose).  And, it occurred to me that they might be great for washing hand-knits too.The whole idea of lingerie bags is that they protect your dedicates from being over-agitated in the washing machine, keeping them looking like new.  And, since agitation is what makes knitwear felt, this seems like a perfect alternative to hand-washing.

My (and my husband’s) stash of socks is starting to look a little bit ratty and felted.  And, while I knit socks with only super-wash yarn, there’s a limit to how many hundreds of times that you can wear and machine-wash a pair without them starting to get a little worn-out and sad.

It’s past the point of no return for some of my current socks, but I’m going to try using the lingerie bags to wash any new socks from now on.  It’ll be a long experiment, but I think it’ll work out well.  Ask me in a couple of years, and I’ll give you an update!

Do you use lingerie bags for your washing?  Am I an idiot for never using them before?

800

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Pardon my French, but holy balls, you guys!  This is my 800th post!

That’s a lot of posts.

That’s a lot of photos and a lot of knitting.  A lot of patterns (both my patterns and other peoples’ patterns), and even a book.  I know I say it every time that I reach a milestone of one sort or another, but holy cow, you guys!  Thank you!  It’s insane to me that I’ve been at this for so long, and that people like what I’m saying enough to continue to follow along.

But here’s the thing.  I’m writing this from the past, in preparation for my maternity leave.  I still have my brain more-or-less in tact, and have been (usually) getting enough sleep, and I still have trouble coming up with new ideas for posts from time to time.

So, is there anything that you want to see?   More patterns?  Different patterns?  New tutorials?  More pictures of my dog? (That one’s easy.)Holler at your girl and let me know!  And let’s do another 800 posts! Woo!

An Update About Updates

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In Monday‘s post, I mentioned that I was still “writing from the past,”  and I was- I finished the Papaya Sweater (and wrote that post) about three weeks ago.  I also mentioned that “by the time you read this post, I should be less pregnant.”

Well, I’m writing this on Tuesday, and I am not less pregnant.  I didn’t think it was possible, but I am in fact more pregnant.  I am almost a week past my due date, and my kid seems determined to stay put until he finishes high school.

But, by the time you read this, I should have had my baby (for some reason, my doctor seems to think that staying pregnant for the next 18+ years is not a great idea… I can’t imagine why), and I will officially be on parental leave!  Exciting!

But what does that mean for the blog?  It means that I’m going to be cutting down posts to once a week (on Monday mornings).  I’ve already got a nice buffer built up, and should have enough posts to carry me through until the beginning of summer at a once/week schedule.  I’ve also got some plans for easy projects that I can start working on when the little one is sleeping (that’s a totally reasonable thing to expect… right? I’ve heard that babies are totally great at sleeping), so you might get a couple extra posts and updates here and there, outside of the usual once-a-week schedule.Also, if you have questions about anything (via email, or through the comments section), just know my response time is going to be a little slow, but I’ll still try to do my best to check in every couple days.

I’m a little sad to be cutting back on my blog time (and my knitting time!), but I’m so excited to get started on this next big project!  Parenthood is going to be interesting!

Wish me luck!

FINISHED!!!!

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I did it!  I kind of didn’t think I ever would, but I’ve proved myself wrong!

I finished the Papaya Sweater!  It only took me six and a half months, but I did it!

Now, before I show you the “finished” pictures, I want to show you this:This is literally all the yarn that was leftover from the original 11 skeins.  I managed to call it perfectly.  I finished binding off, and had about 4 feet of yarn left (plus little bits and bobs from the other parts of the sweater), so I didn’t even have to really play yarn chicken.  So satisfying!

Anyway, you want to see the finished sweater!

It turned out really great!  It’s blocked up nice and drapey and comfy.  The sleeves are the perfect length, and the fabric is a nice medium-thickness, not so thin that it will have trouble keeping me warm, and not so thick that I’ll start sweating the moment I put it on. It’s going to be a perfect transitional piece, which is exactly what you want for Seattle.  Not too warm and not too cold.

(FYI, I’m writing this from the past, so I’m super duper pregnant in these pictures… hopefully as you are reading his, I will be less pregnant.  Fingers crossed!)

Anyway, here she is in all her papaya-y glory:I even love the big plain back- it ended up being a really flattering length on me (not that I really planned it that way- I just stopped knitting when I was about to run out of yarn).  It’s not fancy, but I can see myself wearing it for a really long time.I like that it’s open, without any fastenings, but I could totally see fancying it up with a shawl pin, or maybe adding a button or something, if I decide I need to be able to close it up.Whoo!  It feels great to be done with such a big project!

But, now, I guess I have to figure out what to do next.

Have you finished anything lately?

Yarn Spotlight: Provincial Tweed

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I’m almost done with my Papaya Sweater!  I’ve only got one skein left to go!  Woo!

And, since I’ve spent the last month or so finishing off all my WIPs, I think I’m just about ready to start a new project. I can’t wait!  (Though I have very little idea of what I want to do next!)

I’ve got a big bag of some lovely new Knit Picks yarn calling my name.  (Full disclosure, this yarn was a gift to me from my friends at Knit Picks.)

I’ve got 10 skeins of their new tweedy worsted yarn, Provincial Tweed.It’s a surprisingly soft superwash highland wool that comes in a range of jewel-tone-y colors.  Usually highland wool is a little itchier- great for outerwear, but not something you want up against your skin, but they’ve done something with this yarn to make it super smooth and cozy.  Plus, each colorway features a two-toned marled effect (both plies of the yarn are different tones of the same color), which should give anything worked up with this yarn a really nice depth.

And, of course, they’ve added in a healthy dose of Donegal tweed!  I’m always a sucker for  tweed.

The yarn that I have in my stash is the lovely colorway, Frozen Pond, a really nice muted sapphire color with little pops of turmeric and plum tweedy bits.  I’m looking forward to winding up the skeins into balls and knitting up a swatch.  From the feel of the yarn, I think the fabric will be nice and sturdy (though I could be wrong).  I’m currently thinking of doing something with cables or other texture, but I’ll have to see how it knits up.  (Plus, I’m thinking cables might be a bit much for me in the coming weeks…  eep!)

What would you do with this yarn?

She Could Go All The Waaaaaay!

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It’s happening, guys!  I think it’s really happening!

I think I might be able to finish my Papaya Sweater!

It’s got sleeves now!Sure, they’re not the slim, fitted sleeves that I had originally envisioned, but that’s OK.  Frankly, there’s no way at this point that I’m going to go back and rip out all that work.  There are worse things than a sweater having slightly oversized sleeves.  And, if I’m being honest, they’re not really “oversized” they’re just not closely fitted.  They’re definitely one of those “mistakes” that only the knitter herself will notice.  (And now, you’ll notice too, since I told you about them.  Oops.)I’ve even got the body to about 13 inches long!  That’s about waist-length on me, so I know I’m getting close!  I’ve got two and a half balls of yarn left, and each ball of yarn adds 3-ish inches of sweater, so I should (assuming I did my estimating/math right) end up with a 20-inch-ish long body on this sweater, which sounds perfect and cozy!Now I just need to find a new TV show to binge-watch as I finish off this bad boy!

Have you made any headway on your big projects lately?