Hobbesoween

All done!



I ended up having a lot of trouble with the pattern. It calls for essentially knitting short rows in order to pull off intarsia in the round, but it just never worked right, and left a lot of holes and weird stringy looking places. Instead, I decided to just duplicate stitch the stripes and tummy on. There were some issues with the muzzle, too, mostly that there's no indication in the pattern which side of it goes up, so I spent a while pinning and repinning trying to get it right. Protip: it's the smaller side.

That said, it still came out looking pretty good, so I can't complain too much. Yay for excellent Halloween costumes!

A little shameless self-promotion...

We're gearing up for Halloween over here. I've been working on a stuffed Hobbes to go along with my nephew's Calvin costume.



He's a lot more finished than it shows in this picture, thankfully. I've been having some trouble with the pattern, but it's very nearly all stitched up, and hopefully I'll have him all put together in time to ship out to NC for Halloween.

In other Halloweeny news, I wrote a short story that has been published in a horror anthology that just came out for Kindle, called A Light In The Dark. You can find it here. Please buy it so I can feel like a semi-successful writer person.

The Dangers of Improvisation and Acrylic Yarn

I finished up the yoga bag over the weekend.



It turned out pretty good! Definitely a quick knit, and almost deceptively so: I disbelieved the pattern when it told me to only knit it to 24" tall, since my mat was much wider, and almost kept knitting past the point. I didn't even consider the fact that it would stretch out once the mat was inside. Fortunately, I tried it out once it was getting close to the 24 inch mark.



It's not stretched in the picture (you try holding up a stretchy, lacy, DPN-y mess and get a good picture of it. Not easy!), but it only needed a few more rows knit at this point. So if you take a crack at it, that's a good thing to keep in mind.

I started $5 in Paris the same night I finished the yoga bag, and it's been interesting.



As you can see, this is proving to be a fast project, too. I've actually knit several more inches since I took the photo, and am well into the hip increases at this point.

The pattern is very basic, which ostensibly means there's lots of room for improvisation with it. Unfortunately, for me, that's turned out to mean a lot of trying to figure out what's going on, and flying by the seat of my pants, mostly so far as adjusting the shaping. I think the pattern calls for all the waist and hip shaping at the actual sides, but since I had to add extra rows of increases in the front for my chest, I just extended them from the front raglan lines. By the time I was done with those increases, it was time to start the waist decreases, so all of the shaping stitches have fallen in line with the front raglan as well. It's not necessarily an issue, and I kinda like the idea of princess-style shaping, but it remains to be seen how having all the shaping towards the front will affect the fit in the back. On a future knit, I'll probably split the shaping so that they line up with both the front and back raglan lines.

The other issue is, well, entirely my fault. Since the pattern is designed to be knit with acrylic, I decided to just pull some stash yarn. The blue is leftover Lion Brand Pound of Love, and for a plain-Jane acrylic, is rather delightfully soft and squishy. The white, on the other hand, is some anonymous junk that has long since lost its label, and is probably *gasp* a Super Saver. It is scratchy and gross and I am kicking myself so hard for not giving it a run through the wash before I started knitting. But, there's nothing to be done about it at this point. I can only hope once it's all knit up and washed it'll be less horrid.

Ommmm

I finished up my latest S.W.A.P. scarf this evening. Here's what I've made for S.W.A.P. so far.



The slip stitch hat is from this pattern, and the scarf is adapted from it as well. It's a gorgeous pattern, especially in the kitchen cotton ombres, although it takes a while to knit up. The pink and blue scarf is a simple lengthwise garter scarf.

Now that I've wrapped up the latest scarf, I'm starting Om Nama Shiyava Yoga Mat Bag, which has a really fantastic lace pattern in it that, to quote the author, resembles Downward Facing Dog. I'm using Bernat Baby Sport Ombre (ommmmbre *ba dum ching!*) in Rain Drops, aka pretty much my favorite yarn ever.



I didn't want to use anything with too much color, but the little pops are just enough, I think. Hopefully it'll be a quick knit so I can take it to yoga class soon.

A handful of updates!

Apologies for not having anything new to post lately, things have been a bit hectic!

- I got engaged back in May, so planning/reading blogs/pinning has been taking up a lot of my time lately. I'm planning to DIY quite a few things, and I'll post more about those once I've got things hammered out.

- Don't think that means I haven't been knitting! I've been taking a break from working on projects for myself to knit up a few things for Scarves with a Purpose, a charity group that collects scarves and other items from knitters and crocheters around the country to distribute to the homeless and needy. I'm nearly finished with one, and I'll post a few pictures of what I've made afterwards.

- I know I'd mentioned working on $5 in Paris next, but I've also recently gotten back into yoga, and am desperately in need of a mat tote, so there'll be a quick detour to knit up one of those first.

- Not strictly speaking related to my current projects, but if you're interested in homesteading, canning, urban farming, and the like, my sister Joni has recently started a blog about such things. Visit The Not Quite Homestead and check her out!

Cestino

I sat my butt down and just spent the day hashing out the pattern. It's intended to be a produce basket, but could conceivably be applied to other uses, and will comfortably hold about 5 pounds per basket. It's knit lengthwise, using short rows to achieve shaping. I've included options for two different sized baskets, as well as two different depths of basket, and you can combine them in whichever way you choose. Gauge is a loose suggestion, as long as you are within a couple of rows either way, the baskets should stretch to accommodate.

Cestino

Size:
A (B)

Finished Measurements:
Approx. 9 in. depth (approx. 7 in. depth)

Materials:
- Lily Sugar'n Cream [100% Cotton; 150 yds/138 m per 85g skein]; color white, 1 ball per basket
- Fishing line [optional]
- Metal craft hoops - 10" diameter for larger basket, 8" diameter for smaller basket
- Approx. 3 ft of chandelier chain [available in the lighting section of home improvement stores]

Gauge:
Approx. 14 sts and 18 rows per 4 inch in yo, k2tog st, on size 10.5 needles.

Pattern Notes:
- If the baskets are to be used to hold produce, I strongly recommend using a kitchen cotton yarn to allow the produce to breathe and to allow the baskets to be washed if needed. Otherwise, use whatever yarn you'd like!
- The baskets should stretch out slightly when filled. If you do not want it to stretch, you can hold fishing line along with the yarn while knitting to help hold the shape.
- I recommend not wrapping the stitches when you turn for the short rows in order to get a smoother look at the bottom of the basket.

- CO 30 (24)

First row [RS]: - k1, *yo, k2tog, repeat from * to last 5 st, k to end
Second row and all WS rows: - p
Third row: - k1, *yo, k2tog, repeat from * to last 5 st, k next 4 sts, turn
- k1, *yo, k2tog, repeat from * to last 5 st, k next 3 sts, turn
- k1, *yo, k2tog, repeat from * to last 5 st, k next 2 sts, turn
- k1, *yo, k2tog, repeat from * to last 5 st, k next st, turn
- k1, *yo, k2tog, repeat from * to last 7 st, turn
- k1, *yo, k2tog, repeat from * to last 9 st, turn
- k1, *yo, k2tog, repeat from * to last 11 st, turn
- k1, *yo, k2tog, repeat from * to last 13 st, turn
- k1, *yo, k2tog, repeat from * to last 15 st, turn

For 10" diameter basket, repeat 6 times. For 8" diameter basket, repeat 5 times.

BO. Seam up together cast on and bound off edges.

Attach basket to hoops by threading yarn through top row of eyelets and wrapping around hoop. Attach 3 6-inch lengths of chandelier chain evenly spaced to top basket, joining together at top. If adding another basket, attach with 3 additional 8-inch lengths between baskets.

I finished blocking Hanna, and it really made a difference.



The seed stitch now lays flat, and the fabric has a much nicer texture to it. It's still ridiculously large, but I'm thinking that just doubling it over into itself lengthwise when I wear it will take care of that. Unfortunately, it's basically summer here in Georgia, so I won't be able to wear it again for a few months.

Up next, I'm thinking $5 in Paris, and also hopefully wrapping up the pattern for Cestino.

All done!

I finished blocking the mini-dress yesterday.



I'm really happy with how it turned out, so much so that I'm pretty sure I'll make another (probably in a solid color) in the future. I think the only adjustments I'd make is to make it a bit longer so that I could wear it as a dress.

Meanwhile, I just set my Hanna cowl to block. Hopefully that straightens out the issues with the edging. Woo, blocking!

I finished the back of my mini-dress last night. I guess I can be a really fast knitter when I have hours a day to spend on it.

I ran up against some issues when I reached the sleeve decreases. For size M, the first decrease row calls to decrease the color B stripes from four stitches to three, but then it's stated that from every row onward, they should only be one stitch, total, and then all other decreases should be made in the MC section.

I didn't particularly like the jag in the colors, so I adjusted the decreases so that the color B stripe gradually tapered down to one stitch, like so:

1st decrease row: K2, SKP (in color B), k to last 4 stitches, k2tog, k to end.
Next row: P
Repeat last two rows two times. At this point, only one stitch should remain in color B.
4th decrease row: K3, SKP (in MC), k to last 5 stitches, k2tog, k to end.
Next row: P
Repeat last two rows three times.

Obviously, this only applies to size M, but I don't think it'd be too hard to adjust for the bigger sizes if needed. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. I've got block the pieces and finish off the collar and sleeves, so hopefully by the end of the week I'll have it all done. Huzzah!

My mini-dress is coming along very quickly.



I'm almost finished with the bust increases on the front, and about to start the armholes. As you can probably tell, I decided to go with the colorblocking at the waist after all. I really like these colors together.

I also realized this is essentially my first go-round with intarsia, which I've never had much success with before. Fortunately, I'm having no problems thus far. The pattern is incredibly easy. With any luck, I may have this finished by next week. Huzzah!

Free time for more knitting

I've recently found myself among the ranks of the unemployed. While that has so far found me spending A LOT of time cleaning the house like mad, I'm slowly getting around to spending more time knitting.

As such, I finally finished the Hanna Cowl.



Just like I thought, it's HUGE. I also realized just before I finished the bind off that I'd missed three rows out of each of the last two pattern repeats, so it should be even larger. It also doesn't seem to have the same soft hand as the cowl in the pattern picture, which was part of what drew me to the pattern in the first place. I do still need to block it, but, obviously, there's only so much that will do to help.

My feelings may change once I've blocked it and worn it a time or two (although now that it's March, that may have to wait until next winter), but if I were to redo it, I'm pretty sure I'd make it two-thirds to half the width it calls for, and probably substitute ribbing for the seed stitch.

Now, onto the next thing: Caddy Melville Ledbetter's Mini Dress from Knits That Fit (a.k.a. the entire reason I wanted the book in the first place). I'm making it out of Cascade Ecological Wool and Eco+, in mustard yellow, delft blue, and cream.

So far the only changes I've made are to change the first three rows to 1x1 ribbing rather than garter stitch, but I'm toying with the idea of leaving the white band at the stomach out as well. We'll see how I feel when I get a little closer to it.

I'm only a few rows in, so no pictures yet, but hopefully soon!

Halfway through Hanna

I got through one and a half pattern repeats on Hanna, decided four repeats would probably come closer to the results I wanted than three, and went from there. I finished the second repeat last night. Lets take a look, shall we?



Yeah, that's pretty huge. If it wasn't knitting up so fast I'd probably go ahead, rip it out, and restart it at about half the size, but I'm curious how the finished product will turn out, and I have a rather long movie waiting for me from Netflix, so I guess I'll take my chances.