nekkidknitter

Glee fan project, part 1!

2011-07-17T14:09:00.006-05:00

Okay, I'm about to admit just how big of a nerd I am. I'm a huge fan of Glee. What can I say...I love to sing. So anyway, I belong to a Glee fan group on Ravelry. One of our members, KatyKoolKat, had participated in another fan project where everyone knit something for a cast member. She thought it would be fun to do for Glee.

Here we are, about a week before the mailing deadline, and most of us are done or nearly done. We wanted a central place to point people to, to see all the projects and such...and I'm bored, so here we go.

Knitting for Artie/Kevin McHale: katiekatt222

(no FO pics yet)

Knitting for Becky/Lauren Potter: emxlenie

(no FO pics yet)

Knitting for Blaine/Darren Criss: KatyKoolKat

(no FO pics yet)

Knitting for Brad/Brad Ellis: yours truly, nekkidknitter

Pattern: The Man Hat
Yarn: Knit Picks Cadena in Peat

Pattern: The Fidget, modified to broken rib and 21 sts wide
Yarn: Knit Picks Cadena in Peat

Knitting for Brittany/Heather Morris: Sugarpies

(no FO pics yet)

Knitting for Burt/Mike O'Malley: me again

Pattern: loosely based on A Hat Fit for a Boyfriend
Yarn: Berroco Peruvia in color 7129

Knitting for Carole/Romy Rosemont: theyarnprincess

(no FO pics yet)

Crocheting & knitting for Coach Beiste: ShadowLisa and jewleigh

(no FO pics yet)

Whew, I think that's all I can do for now. More later!

Don't let the door hit you on the way out, 2009.

2010-01-01T11:42:00.002-06:00

I am so, SO glad to see 2009 in the rearview mirror. As far as I can remember, only 2008 was worse for sheer misery. So I'm really happy to kick this year off right. Mr. Nekkid is starting a new job today, and he's back to making almost what he was before he was forced to leave his previous job. This means that 2010 WILL be the year we start to dig out of debt. The first-time homebuyer credit that we're expecting any day now will give that goal a huge kick-start, and it's all uphill from there.

Without further ado, I present a parade of FOs and WIPs.

Big Bad Baby Blanket in progress. I've lost momentum on it...really need to get motivated to work on it again.

Pattern: Whipped (I can't help but call it "Whapow!")
Yarn: Rowan 4 ply soft in 395 light pink, purchased during the after-Christmas sale at Loops for 75% off! I also got two balls in cream. They're different dyelots...but it's cream, for crying out loud.
Needles: US 7

Pattern: Cedar Leaf Shawlette
Yarn: 2 skeins Malabrigo Silky Merino in 63 natural
Needles: US 7

This was also purchased (as a kit) during the Loops after-Christmas sale. I got there in time for the doorbuster and picked it up for 40% off! I never could have afforded it otherwise. And I wound up with one skein left, too! Can't wait to turn that into something luscious...I just have no idea what yet.

Pattern: 1x1 ribbing
Yarn: probably Patons Classic Wool Merino in black, held double
Needles: US 11

This is for the pharmacist at Prime. He requested a sturdy hat suitable for Minnesota winters. If two strands of worsted 100% wool isn't warm enough, I don't know what else I can do. :) I have to add a brim to it and then it's done!

Pattern: improvised...I'm calling them texting gloves
Yarn: NaturallyCaron.com Country, a surprisingly nice acrylic/wool blend
Needles: US 8
Buttons from Joann

Ah well. I suppose I should call it quits for now - housework beckons and I can't tune it out anymore.

Knitting fool

2009-12-07T19:46:00.003-06:00

I have really been knitting a lot lately. During Thanksgiving week, I watched 40 episodes of Law & Order: SVU on Netflix and finished three projects. They were all small projects, but I still felt very productive!

First up, my new love: a Baktus scarf. This is intended for a Dirty Santa exchange at work this week. I'm already wondering just how tacky it would be if I picked my own gift...because I rilly rilly want it for myself! If I weren't completely destitute* at the moment I would be at Loops getting more of the exact same yarn.

Pattern: Baktus
Yarn: 2 skeins of Mirasol Hacho in colorway 312
Needles: US 9
Knitting time: two days - literally. I spent all day Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving working on this scarf. But it's done and it's lovely and I hope the recipient appreciates it!

Next, we have two "Pretty Things" from the pattern by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. I don't buy patterns very often, but I had to make an exception for this.

Don't they look like little corsets? :)

Pattern: Pretty Thing
Yarns: Berger du Nord Charmant in color 9040 (blue) and Knit Picks Gloss Sock Yarn in Cosmos (purple)
Needles: US 7 (blue) and 5 (purple)
Knitting time: about 12 hours each.
Mods: One repeat was added to the purple one. In the future, I would add a second...I just knit SO tightly that it's necessary. But that one was for the other Dirty Santa at work and it went with a woman with a slender neck so I'm sure she'll be fine.

I finished two other projects but they're both gifts...and on the slim chance that the recipients read this blog, I won't be posting pics till they're received.

On the needles:

Big Bad Baby Blanket in Knit Picks Shine Sport in cream. This is for my hairstylist, who is having a baby girl in February.

Tabbed Cuffs in the leftover Hacho. Yet another reason I really need a Baktus of my own. :)

Hopefully Santa will bring me a new digital camera (or better yet, an iPhone or something comparable, because I need a new cell phone too). The one we have now was a MUCH appreciated wedding gift, but it is now 4.5 years old and starting to flake out. With increasing frequency, the screen flickers purple, and if you take a picture before it settles back down, it will turn out purple and streaky. Additionally, most of the pics turn out at least a little purple at the edges. Ah well, it was a wonderful camera while it lasted.

* - Okay, so I'm not completely destitute. All our bills are paid. There's just not much leftover till we get our money from the gubmint!

Quickie

2009-11-11T21:14:00.002-06:00

Not much going on right now...I've abandoned the slip-stitch hat for the moment because the decreases are vexing me. I'm working on a super secret project right now in hopes of having it done for a Christmas present...it's only been a WIP for a year or two so it's about time. :)

I don't have much to add, so I'll distract you from the lack of content with a pic of my adorable kitty!

Thursday night boredom

2009-10-29T21:08:00.002-05:00

So I thought it was time to catch up. I did finally finish the baby sweater, and although I am pleased with the results I may never use another Debbie Bliss pattern again. She gave the oddest short-row instructions I've ever seen, and I'm glad I had already done them so that I didn't have to try and follow hers. Basically, she says to do the W&T, then slip a stitch. ??? I gave her the benefit of the doubt and tried it, but it looked and felt really weird so I undid it and just did it the way I was used to. But it turned out great and the mom loves it.

Next up is the hat I've been working on sporadically for months. Apologies for the lousy quality...it seems that our 4.5 YO digital camera is trying to give up the ghost and is doing strange things with color and focus. Maybe I can convince Mom to get me an iphone now that I need a phone AND a camera. :) (During a torrential downpour a month or so ago, my phone took a bath and hasn't worked properly since. I've been using my old phone, which works okay but doesn't hold a charge so well and occasionally just doesn't want to do anything.)

I think it's probably going to be a little big on me, but worst case scenario is that I learn from it then donate it to charity.

Rollin' Beret - finished months ago, but finally got a decent photo:

One strand each of JoAnn Sensations Dreamweave and TruBoo, about 1.3 skeins of each. Love the feel, and it's nice and warm, but a little too big.

Cable Twist Handwarmers, also finished months ago:

Colinette Cadenza, about 1.25 skeins

A trio of baby hats for my boss's preemie triplet grandbabies:

3 skeins of Patons Grace (one each of white, purple, and green)

I suppose that's all for now!

Bleh.

2009-05-10T06:55:00.002-05:00

One of the pharmacists at work recently found out that her first grandbaby (a boy) is on the way. I told her long ago that I'd be happy to make her a baby sweater when the time came. So I went through my pattern books and found Debbie Bliss's Shawl Collared Jacket. I'm a sucker for shawl collars, and since this was in a book called "Baby Knits for Beginners", how hard could it possibly be? So one night while watching a movie I started on the back. I knit about 4" or so - pretty quickly, since she picked out an aran weight yarn - and started thinking "Gee, this looks kind of big."

According to garment sizing standards, an average 6-12 month baby is going to have a 17-18" chest. Now, in baby clothes even moreso than adult clothes, I understand the importance of ease. But the 12 mo. size in this pattern calls for a 25" chest. 7" of ease? Really? I guess all the extra is so you'll have to buy more Debbie Bliss yarn to make it. So I ripped it out and started over again, aiming for 9.5" for the back. (Here's the difference between the two.) But then I got frustrated because I was going to have to refigure the decreases, plus I found a frayed spot in the yarn, so I ripped it out again. So have I been rewriting the pattern to suit myself? Of course not:

Pattern: Robin's Egg Blue Hat by Rachel Iufer

Pattern mods:

- 68 sts for the band
- 56 sts for the hat itself
- Garter stitch band with no point
- Decreased 4 sts per row every row: k12, k2tog, then k11, k2tog, etc. until there were 8 sts left.

Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky, in M47 Tahiti Teal and an unknown color, about 3/4 of a skein of each that I inherited from my grandmother.

Buttons are from Joann's. These are going to go to charity - I like the style, and they fit me, but I think the spot where the band overlaps itself looks a little funny because it's so thick. Eventually I'll make myself a hat with a wide garter stitch band and just sew a button somewhere on the brim.

I really do need to get going on the baby sweater again...the baby's due in September. I know that's still a while away but, well, I have a tendency to procrastinate. :)

Done and blocking!

2009-04-30T21:11:00.009-05:00

Pattern: Clapotis by Kate Gilbert

Yarn: Mirasol Chirapa, purchased at Twist Yarn Shop in Wichita, KS., on New Year's Eve when Mr. Nekkid and I went up there overnight. Colorway 703, barely more than 4 skeins - it can't have taken more than 700 yds.

Blocked size: 70" x 18", which makes me wonder how much larger my other Clap would be if I blocked it.

Started January 2, 2009, and finished April 30, 2009...obviously with some hibernation time. :) All told I'd say it would have taken me about 3 weeks if I'd worked on it straight through. I absolutely love it and I hope we have at least one more chilly evening before summer takes over and makes me wish I were dead, or at least in Antarctica.

I also made Mr. Nekkid's hat...luckily I finished in time for him to wear it a few times. I am really, really pleased with how it turned out.

Pattern: Yar! by Michelle Booher

Yarns: Cascade 220 in 8886 Royal Purple and Patons Classic Wool Merino in 00225 Dark Grey Mix. I used slightly less than half a skein of each.

I made a few small mistakes, but they really aren't noticeable. If I were making it for myself I'd be disappointed with the size, because it's slightly too small for me. But since Mr. Nekkid shaves his head, it fits him perfectly. I'm still trying to figure out what my own double-knitted hat is going to look like. I really wanted to make one that's just plain with the Cheesylove heart motif around it for a stripe...but the repeat isn't a good number of stitches to make the right sized hat and it's not easily resizable. I'll figure out something, I guess.

Quickie

2009-03-28T10:00:00.002-05:00

Apologies for the radio silence. I slipped and fell on the ice and sprained my wrist at the end of January, so there was no knitting for me for nearly a month. And then I was just lazy for a while. :) But I recently finished a darling hat and I had to share. I think it only took me about 4 hours, and that was stopping and starting.

Pattern: Brangelina Hat by Laurie Perry
Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in Pretty 'n Pink
Yarn and color were chosen by the recipient :)

Meanwhile, we're having some belated winter today. Here's the view from my front porch as of about 10 minutes ago:

See all the snow piled up on the back of my car? I just drove it less than an hour ago, and there was no snow at all accumulated on the rear windshield. Heck, I stopped at Braum's for breakfast and was there less than 10 minutes...and had to run the defroster for almost 5 to get my windows clear enough to see again. It sure is pretty, though. :) Here's a link to another, slightly larger pic. Look how large the snowflakes are! I swear some of them are the size of large marbles.

Next up: convertible mittens to match the hat, followed by a double knit hat with a pirate motif called Yar! Special request for Mr. Nekkid...and since the library book is already at least a week overdue (even after renewing!) I guess I'd better get cracking. :)

The world is right again

2009-01-06T23:42:00.003-06:00

I have more than one WIP! First, I finished the Pea Pod:

I love that pattern.

No pics yet of the new WIP, just notes on what I've done so far:

Cascade 220 & Mystery Yarn, sz 7 circs (KP options)
Gauge: 9 sts/inch
CO 180
All stitches slipped purlwise, wyib
Round 1: *K1, Sl1*
Round 2: *P1, K1*

I'll be at that for a while...

Startitis

2009-01-06T17:51:00.003-06:00

According to Ravelry, I only have ONE project on the needles right now! Okay, so I technically have three unfinished projects - my latest Clapotis, Pea Pod Baby Sweater #3, and Mom's Calorimetry - but since the last two lack only buttons, "Clap Happy" is the only thing I have on the needles right now. Time to cast on!

Mr. Nekkid and I drove to Wichita for New Year's Eve. The timing was coincidental - we just both had the day off so we decided to head up there. We'd hoped to hang out at Watermark Books, but they closed early so it didn't happen. I went to Twist, and picked up some souvenir yarn:

Mirasol Chirapa, in colorway 703. I bought two hanks without really having plans for it...but as soon as I got home I realized I had to have a Clapotis out of it. Two hanks wasn't nearly enough, but the kind folks at Twist are shipping me four more hanks (which should leave me with nearly two left over). Here's where I was a couple days ago:

I finished row 5 of increase repeat 7, so I have 13 more rows to go to the straight rows. It is ridiculous how excited I am at the prospect of dropping the stitches in this section.

I finished Mr. Nekkid's gloves, but I only have a WIP picture:

He's very happy with how they turned out.

I also made a pair of convertible mittens for my supervisor's sister:

Kindly forgive the crappy quality - after all the times I ripped them out and restarted, I just wanted the damn things out of my sight. They are made out of the incredibly luscious Joann Sensations Dreamweave, a 75% wool/25% silk blend. The red is not as bright as the picture would have you believe, but it's still a nice color.

My supervisor's mother is a knitter, and I guess she decided she wouldn't use this stuff, so she gave it to me. From the top:

- W bar M Merino variegated laceweight, red-orange-pink, approx 250 yds.
- W bar M Merino fingering (?) weight, pale yellow, approx 250 yds.
- Two skeins Cascade 220 in orange
- Mystery Yarns: these were unlabeled. The blue-purple yarn feels very similar to the W bar M laceweight, so it may just be another colorway of that. The other one is definitely wool, probably aran weight. I'm going to make a striped hat out of it and the orange Cascade.

I think I'm also ready to start swatching for Twist + Shout. I received the 3 additional balls of Tesoro from the kind lady on Ravelry, so I want to get started. Maybe it'll be done by next winter. :)

Quick update

2008-12-08T20:01:00.005-06:00

Have I mentioned that I'm a flake, who finds it difficult to follow through with things? Anyway, here are a couple things I've been working on:

Yarn: Colinette Cadenza in Velvet Bilberry.

On the left, a Calorimetry that lacks only a button. It has lacked said button for about a year now. On the right, one half of a pair of fingerless gloves. I was actually within an inch of finishing the second one when they were put away to hibernate. I pulled them out last week to finish for Mom's Christmas present...and found a hole waaaaaay down practically at the beginning. I have no idea how it got there. I suppose it could have been a moth, but why would there only have been one small hole? Anyway, I had to frog the whole thing, and it makes me want to throw up when I think about it so I haven't started over just yet.

Yarn: Art Yarns Supermerino in colorway 138, varying shades of purple and a little dark grey/black thrown in too. About 2.2 skeins for a scarf that's about 3.75" x 66".

Pattern: Yarn Harlot's One Row Scarf. Love love love this pattern...I fully intend to make more.

The lovely little closure is by Romi. Great investment - it holds the scarf in place to close that little gap that always seems to be between whatever's covering your neck and whatever's covering your chest. I can't wait to get one of her shawl pins...I'm finally getting into wearing my Clapotis but find it awkward to keep throwing it over my shoulder.

Yarn: Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk DK in colorway 0055, which feels and works up very much like Debbie Bliss Rialto (which I used for PPBS #2). The color is truest in the pic of the yarn itself.

Pea Pod baby sweater #3, for a baby that's now nearly a month old. Oops. I expect to finish it this week, though, and it should still fit her just fine.

Plymouth Yarn Happy Feet in colorway 18. This is also somewhat washed out by the flash. This is intended for a pair of fingertip-less gloves for Mr. Nekkid as soon as the baby sweater is finished. I'll be winging the pattern, because he has crazy skinny wrists but an otherwise normal-sized hand. I want them to fit him really well, so I may even do a wide rib on the hands...something to make them rather form-fitting. I don't expect to need both skeins; in fact, I'm hoping to have enough leftover to make myself a pair too.

Bigger, longer term goals that will require much more concentration and attention to detail:

- make Twist + Shout in that lavender Tesoro I've had forever. I have 22 balls, but would need about 3 more to make the size I need...well, a very kind Raveler is sharing hers with me. It's even the same dyelot! I'm expecting it to take a good long while.

- make Leo for Mr. Nekkid out of my Paton's Classic Merino in Chestnut Brown. I haven't decided yet...I may add a cream stripe across the chest.

- perhaps make Retrofit for Mr. Nekkid as well, although I'd do black and grey. This style would look great on him, but I'm quite intimidated by the prospect of installing a zipper. Seems like Grumperina had a really good zipper-installing blog post a while back...I'll have to see if I bookmarked it.

Oh yes, non-knitting-related update:

Meet Felipe (left) and Andi (right), our ferrets. Felipe is an adolescent male (about 6 months), and Andi is an adult female (about 2). The cat still doesn't know what to make of them.

Mangyle

2008-10-11T08:48:00.001-05:00

For this, I may have to learn to do colorwork.

Baylie's scarf

2007-11-24T10:54:00.000-06:00

At Thanksgiving dinner, my niece asked me to make her a scarf to match her new hat and gloves. At first she just asked for brown and pink, but when I looked at the hat I realized it was actually brown striped with light pink, a darker berry-purpley-pink, and cream. I toyed around with several different ways of incorporating all these colors and finally settled on a length-wise stripe pattern. I think it turned out pretty well.

Finished size: approximately 58" by 3" (it's a little longer than I was aiming for, but no biggie)

Gauge: approximately 2.5 stitches per inch, but it's not crucial. It's just a scarf.

Needles: US 15 (I used two cables from my Boye Needlemaster set to make one really long cable)

Yarns:

MC: Lion Brand Wool-Ease in 129 Cocoa
CC1: Red Heart Soft Yarn in 3729 Grape
CC2: Jo-Ann Sensations Tesoro in 954 Pink
CC3: Lion Brand Wool-Ease in 99 Fisherman

I estimate that it took about 160 yards of MC, and maybe 20-25 yards of each CC. All yarn was held doubled.

CO 150. Follow stripe pattern:

2 rows MC
2 rows CC1
2 rows MC
2 rows CC2
2 rows MC
2 rows CC3
2 rows MC

Bind off. (I used *K2tog tbl, slip stitch back to L needle*)

Unfortunately, I should have knit one more row in MC before binding off, because it wound up looking a little lopsided. But I don't think she'll notice. All in all, it took about 4-5 hours, and I think she'll like it. I also think I have enough of the MC left to make her Build-A-Bear a matching scarf.

Vino Bello

2007-11-14T17:37:00.000-06:00

A couple of months ago I submitted a pattern for winter Knitty. It was my first attempt at such a bold endeavor, and I've been waiting on pins and needles ever since. I got my response today, and sadly I was not accepted. I wasn't really expecting to be chosen...after all, I'm sure they get hundreds of patterns every issue. I was just hoping, you know? Anyway, I don't see the point in hoarding the pattern for myself, so I'm posting it here (and will be linking the pattern to Ravelry as soon as I'm done). I hope Knitty doesn't mind me leaving it in their format. I don't have anywhere to upload a PDF right now, but I can email it upon request.

(More pictures available here.)

copyright 2007 Merin McManus. Pattern is free for personal use - you may not profit from it in any way without the author's express written permission.

Vino Bello is a deceptively simple, quick-to-knit wine bottle bag. Saturday evening soirée? Cast on Saturday morning, and swing by the liquor store on your way to the party. The yarn is lovely and drapey, and the finished product is, in my opinion, way classier than the paper wine bottle bags and boxes sold in stores. No one has to know that it only took you a few hours to make! Substitute a variety of yarns for a variety of results - I'm sure it would look equally great in a cushy chenille, or perhaps even a fuzzy mohair. The small yardage required makes it an ideal project for using that one skein of luscious yarn you just had to have. Choose anything that will have a nice, soft drape at the intended gauge.

Pattern utilizes the diagonal mosaic stitch pattern in Vogue Stitchionary (modified to work in the round).

Photo credit
Model: Gewürztraminer by Fetzer Vineyards
photos: Merin McManus
Shot at Woodward Park and Tulsa Rose Gardens in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

SIZE
One (the pictured bottle is 9.5 inches in circumference at its widest point, and 13 inches tall from the base to the top of the neck, cork not included)

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Length: 12 inches (laid flat)
Circumference: approx. 9 inches

MATERIALS
[MC] Berroco Ultra Silk [20% silk/40% rayon/40% nylon; 98 yd/90 m per 50g skein]; color: 6147; 1 ball

1 set US #8/5.25 mm double-point needles

notions required
tapestry needle
a yard (or so) of coordinating ribbon (or anything else) to use as a tie
4 stitch markers (optional)

GAUGE
20 sts/24 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

PATTERN NOTES
One ball is JUST enough to finish this project as written. I ended up with 8-10 feet (at most) leftover, which I cut in to four equal lengths and used as a tie. If you a) would like to make a matching I-cord tie, b) have a burning desire to keep your gauge swatch, or c) are otherwise uncomfortable with that little room for error, pick up two skeins, preferably from a LYS with a return policy for unused balls. If you want to make several, purchase one ball per bag, and then get one extra ball for good measure. The pattern could also easily be reversed and worked from the bottom up so that you could simply stop when you're nearly out of yarn.

Gauge is not crucial, as the finished product will stretch considerably in all directions, but if you are knitting too loosely you will risk running out of yarn.

PATTERN
CO 48 sts. Divide sts evenly between 3 double-point needles and join to begin working in the round, being careful not to twist. (You may, if you desire, divide the sts between 4 DPNs instead. I only recommend 3 because you will end up with one pattern repeat per needle, eliminating the need for stitch markers to mark the repeats.)

Round 1 and all odd numbered rounds: *K*
Round 2: *K2, yo, ssk, k4, yo, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo, k1*
Round 4: *K3, yo, ssk, k4, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k2*
Round 6: *K4, yo, ssk, k4, yo, k3tog, yo, k3*
Round 8: *K5, yo, ssk, k4, yo, ssk, k3*
Round 10: *K3, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k4, yo, ssk, k2*
Round 12: *K2, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k4, yo, ssk, k1*
Round 14: *K1, k2tog, yo, k5, yo, ssk, k4, yo, ssk*
Round 16: *K3tog, yo, k4, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k4, yo*
Round 18: *YO, k4, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k3, k2tog*
Round 20: *K4, k2tog, yo, k5, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo*
Round 22: *K3, k2tog, yo, k7, yo, k3tog, yo, k1*
Round 24: *K2, k2tog, yo, k8, k2tog, yo, k2*
Round 26: *K1, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k5, k2tog, yo, k3*
Round 28: *K2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo, k4*
Round 30: *YO, k5, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k4, k2tog*
Round 32: *K1, yo, ssk, k4, yo, k3tog, yo, k4, k2tog, yo*

Repeat rows 1-32 once more.

Knit two rounds even.

At this point, since the decrease repeats four times per round, you may wish to redistribute the stitches on four needles. That way, you will simply be knitting two together at the end of each needle, again eliminating the need for stitch markers.

Begin decreases:

Round 1: *K10, k2tog* (44 sts)
Round 2: *K*
Round 3: *K9, k2tog* (40 sts)
Round 4: *K*
Round 5: *K8, k2tog* (36 sts)
Round 6: *K7, k2tog* (32 sts)
Round 7: *K6, k2tog* (28 sts)
Round 8: *K5, k2tog* (24 sts)
Round 9: *K4, k2tog* (20 sts)
Round 10: *K3, k2tog* (16 sts)
Round 11: *K2, k2tog* (12 sts)
Round 12: *K1, k2tog* (8 sts)

FINISHING
Break yarn. Draw tail through remaining stitches and cinch closed. Weave in ends.

ABOUT THE DESIGNER
Merin and her husband live in Oklahoma with their cat. She works primarily to support her yarn habit, and longs for the day when she can quit her job and become a lady of leisure. Every once in a while, she remembers she has a blog and posts something.

'Tis the Season

2007-11-08T15:55:00.000-06:00

Recently, Mr. Nekkid asked me if I'd given any thought to what I wanted for Christmas. Deciding that it was probably best for me not to ask him what sort of idiot would ask me a question like that...since I've pretty much already decided (for the moment) what I want for the next 10 Christmases...instead I said, "Well, I may have given it some thought. You know, in passing." "Oh? So what might you want?" "Ummm, well, just off the top of my head...a KnitPicks Options Nickel-plated interchangeable needle set?"

I pretty much forgot about it after that. That is, until the new KnitPicks catalog came in the mail a week or so later. Lo and behold, my beloved interchangeable set is on page 3. So I left the catalog open next to the computer:

I am nothing if not subtle.

Two skeins of Cascade 220, procured from ebay for a good 30% off retail. Woo!

A destashing hat, using scraps of Cascade 220 and random worsted cotton. Although the Cascade went way farther than I expected...and I basically made the whole hat out of it. The cotton ran out just shy of the decreases, so I found some more to finish it off. It's destined for charity.

A hat out of Cascade 220, using a stitch pattern from the first Vogue Stitchionary. It was intended for me, but I got anxious and ended too soon, so it turned out too short. It'll fit someone, though, so it's going to charity too.

Washcloths and a bib to give to a friend, along with...

The Pea Pod Baby Sweater, now with buttons! (I found them, like, two days before the baby shower and sewed them on the night before.)

That's all for now. I have some more yarn pr0n to share but I think I'll pace myself.

Updating

2007-11-07T19:34:00.000-06:00

I've been absorbed with Ravelry for a while. It's fun, but I realize I've been neglecting this blog. So here are a few updates...

Surprise...I made more washcloths.

I felted a bag. This is Sophie from Mag Knits. Like another Raveler, I decreased every 9 rows instead of 10, and stopped at 40 rows. It's just as well, too...I only had a few yards of yarn left when I was done. (It wasn't a full ball to begin with.)

I started on a mitten, in a colorway I'm calling "Dr. Seuss". This is some superwash wool that I dyed with Kool-Aid (lime and tropical punch) and didn't really know what else to do with.

I made this super warm, super soft hat out of some of my Tuesday Morning yarn. It was very simple - just 3 x 2 ribbing.

I think I'll stop there for now...save some stuff for tomorrow. :)

Ravelry

2007-10-01T18:48:00.000-05:00

I got my Ravelry invite last week. What fun! I love being able to see what other people have done with my favorite patterns, and finding out about new yarns, etc. It's addictive! Anyway, my username there is nekkidknitter, so look me up! And if you haven't already signed up...do it!

Magical Moebius Knitting

2007-09-23T11:56:00.000-05:00

I've been enthralled with Cat Bordhi's Treasury of Magical Knitting books for quite a while now. I checked them out from the library several times each, and finally bought them from amazon.com with a gift certificate I earned through MyPoints*.

The cast-on is ridiculously fast. She calls it MCO - Moebius cast-on - and it is essentially a provisional cast-on. I MCO'ed 269ish stitches in about three minutes...yeah, long-tail cast-on is fast, but I don't think it's that fast. I say 269ish because despite counting several times, at the end of my first round, I had 11 extra stitches. It worked out great, though, because the lace pattern I'm using is an 11 stitch repeat.

Anyway. The first half-round is the hardest part. Every other stitch is mounted backwards and you have to knit it through the back loop. The stitches are also spaced oddly at first. But once you past the first half-round, it's easy peasy. Suddenly everything is where it should be and all is right with the world.

I'm making a lace shoulder wrap from the first book. I substituted Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Lapis for the recommended yarn, and adjusted the number of cast-on stitches to accommodate the slightly different gauge. (Half a stitch per inch is a lot when you're talking 48-50 inches.)

So I'm nearly through with round 7, after starting it Thursday (?) night. (The cast-on number is deceptive. You actually end up with twice as many stitches as you cast on, because you're knitting both the top and bottom rows at the same time. Therefore, in my case, each round is 550 stitches. The upside is that I only have to knit 40 rounds.)

(Click for a close-up that traces the edge(s) of the wrap. It'll blow your mind...)

It's slow going, but I'm hoping to have it finished in time to wear it to the fair, assuming there's a chill in the air when we go. One never knows with this time of year in Oklahoma. Our fair is always the last weekend in September and the first weekend in October, and I can think of times when it was freezing, when it was raining, and when shorts and a t-shirt felt like too much clothing.

Other projects currently on the needles:

Dream Swatch, currently just shy of 28" long

Very basic 3x2 ribbed hat in the merino/alpaca/silk blend previously scored at Tuesday Morning. (I also got several more balls of it at the other Tuesday Morning store near my house, so I now have plenty to make a hat, scarf, and probably fingerless gloves...and will probably even have some leftover after that.)

* If you're interested in signing up with MyPoints, let me know and I'll send you a referral email.

Me & Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

2007-09-17T11:24:00.001-05:00

Mr. Nekkid and I drove to Wichita Saturday evening, in order to go see the Yarn Harlot yesterday. This is actually the second time I've seen her live...she was in Oklahoma City last year to promote Knitting Rules! Anyway, yesterday morning we were killing time between checking out of the motel and going to the event. We were hanging out at Barnes & Noble, and I was feverishly working on my charity hat, intended to be donated at the event. I'd seated myself in one of four cushy chairs arranged in a square, deliberately next to the chair that seemed to be saved with a coat. (I'll always choose to sit side-by-side, rather than facing, a stranger. Somehow it seems easier to ignore someone if you don't have to look at them.)

A little while later, the occupant of the chair reclaimed her seat. She asked what I was working on, and I told her, and she started telling me how she learned to knit as a little girl. We chatted for a while, and I told her why I was in town. Eventually, she expressed an interested in attending the event. Tickets were required, but I'd gotten one for Mr. Nekkid...and he'd already told me he'd rather hang out at Borders instead. So I offered her his ticket, and warned her to get there early.

I took my own advice, and got there at 1:00 (it started at 3:00). Only one other car was there, so we both just stayed in our cars. It was warm, but there was a good breeze so we just sat there with our windows rolled down, knitting and waiting. Finally a third car showed up, and those ladies explored the building looking for an open door. It was still locked down, so they finally returned to the designated entrance and set up camp. My neighbors decided to do the same, so as to secure their place as first in line (they had earned it, after all). I opted to stay in my shaded, if overheated, car so I would not get sunburned due to the lack of shade near the entrance. If I'd wanted to sit on the ground, I could have sat under a small tree...but being third in line just wasn't THAT important to me. :)

A few more people arrived, but I stayed in my car, figuring I'd get out either when a crowd started to gather, or they opened the doors, whichever came first. Luckily, the latter happened just before the former. (This also happened to be almost the exact moment that I was snipping the woven-in ends off the hat...I'm glad I knit those couple of rows while waiting for a train to pass.) We were allowed in to the hallway at 2:00, and within minutes the line stretched out the door. Sadly, what was a nice, cool, dark hallway was quickly overheated due to numerous bodies + door propped open to 90 degree weather. At 2:30 we were allowed in to the auditorium, our tickets stamped as we walked in.

She was hilarious, as expected. At one point she actually gave us a demonstration of how she knits (she's freaking FAST) - right needle tucked under her arm, moving only the left needle. Of course, the only knitting she had with her was the sock, so this demonstration was done on the garter-stitch scarf of the lady sitting on the front row (my neighbor from before, line member #1). Stephanie demonstrated both knitting and purling, and then started to tink it so as not to upset the lovely garter stitch Violet had going on. Violet refused, and I'm sure she will display those purls with pride at her next SnB. I know I would.

She ended up speaking for more than an hour, and then signed books at the end. She announced that she would allow "pre-boarding" for anyone who needed to dash - the elderly woman with the walker, for instance, or the yarn store owner who was rushing back to open up for all the knitters who wanted to migrate there afterwards. After those people, we were called up in the order of the stamp on the back of our tickets. I was number 17 - wooo! (This was much better than my original ticket number - #242.) I'd been feeling bad about bringing three books - my own, Harriet's, and the one I'll be giving my coworker tomorrow. But I saw someone in front of me with five, and then I didn't feel so bad. Time passed and it was my turn, and she was gracious and funny and even took a picture of me with my first sock. Then I handed my camera to the lady behind me in line, and we took a picture...me holding the traveling sock, and her holding my sock.

Sadly, I will have to frog it as it's turning out way too big. I know I have cankles, but it's 9.5" in diameter, unstretched. I'd gotten quite a bit done on it, too - about 3.5" from the cast-on edge. Oh well. I'll start over and at least it'll still be the same yarn...maybe I'll even try something more than a stockinette sock while I'm at it.

I never did find the woman from the bookstore again. I left shortly after getting my books signed, and went back to Borders to pick up my husband. We got a bite to eat and headed home, arriving around 9:30 last night. It was a fun trip, but I'm glad to be back home!

Tuesday Morning yarn score

2007-09-08T21:52:00.000-05:00

How did I never know that Tuesday Morning carried yarn? At least, sporadically. Anyway, what we have here is one ball of Berger du Nord Charmant, a DK weight (I think) 50% silk, 50% wool in a nice medium blue. Then there are five balls (sadly, two dyelots) of Peru Chunky Luxury, a bulky weight 70% merino, 20% alpaca, 10% silk in a pretty burgundy color. This should make a nice pair of fingerless gloves, and maybe a skinny scarf or a hat.

I have also just discovered that there is not one, but two additional Tuesday Morning stores in the area. I actually drove right past one to get to the one I went to today, but I never knew it was there. Guess where I'll be at noon tomorrow?

I also bought two of these boxes to store some yarn in. I figure, if it must be up in a closet in a box, it might as well be a pretty box.

More fun with Kool-Aid

2007-09-08T15:35:00.000-05:00

My grandmother gave me some Norwegian superwash DK weight wool a few years ago, shortly after I started knitting. There were four skeins in a natural white color that I never really did anything with. Naturally, they fell victim to my new dyeing addiction.

Two packets grape. This was an unexpected result, given that the last time I tried grape I got greyish-lavender. Still, I'm quite pleased with it.

Another attempt at striping. This is three flavors - pink lemonade, watermelon cherry, and black cherry. Of course, since I'm so pleased with the shade delivered by watermelon cherry, it is nowhere to be found anymore.

Two packets tropical punch (not to be confused with Hawaiian Punch, although I think that would probably provide a similar result). I LOVE LOVE LOVE this red, and I hope I can duplicate it.

Two packets lemon-lime. It has a slightly mottled effect - I like it. I'm thinking about doubling this up with the variegated pink above for a baby hat.

And finally, the end result from my previous post (black cherry and grape). This is Lamb's Pride Bulky, of course.

Next up: six skeins of Paton's Classic Merino in Natural White. I have over 100 packets of koolaid in the house...who knows what I'll come up with? :)

Adventures in Kool-Aid dyeing, take 2

2007-08-29T21:26:00.000-05:00

I found a skein of Lamb's Pride Bulky in "Creme" tonight, so I decided to give KA dyeing another go. First, I wound the yarn into a hank using my handy dandy swift!

(Lesson learned #1: a small-diameter hank = three days' drying time.)

After soaking, I laid the yarn out on a flattened-out trash sack on the counter.

(Lesson learned #2: no matter how good Saran Wrap sticks to itself, if there is a seam, the water will run through it and stain your counter. Lesson learned #3: bleach works quite well to clean it up.)

Next came black cherry, two packets to 8 oz. water. (Is that Kool-Aid or is it...BLOOD?!? Muahahahahahaha!!!)

(Lesson learned #4: pouring it out of a glass does not work so well. Cheapy sports bottles from Walgreen's made it much easier to apply the dye.)

And here we are after applying dye #2 (two packets of grape in 8 oz. water) and microwaving. Looks a bit like intestines, actually...

(Lesson learned #5: grape comes out more grey than purple. oh well...maybe I can make something and market it to goths.)

The yarn is happily soaking now. I'm very, very pleased with the black cherry color and I will definitely do that part again. The grape, eh, we'll see how it looks once it's knit up.

Adventures in Kool-Aid dyeing

2007-08-26T16:49:00.000-05:00

This started out as Cascade 220 in a pale pink color. I used some black cherry koolaid. It didn't turn out quite like I wanted - I was aiming for a striping effect by dyeing two wedges with the KA and leaving the rest intact - but I think it's still pretty. It'll probably end up being a charity hat. I just wanted to try it more than anything, and I learned some lessons. Like, I don't care how many people recommend Saran Wrap...next time, I'm using a cookie sheet. I had to use more than one strip of Saran and even though I overlapped them, the dye still seeped between the strips and stained my countertop a little bit. I'm also probably going to go to the beauty supply store and get a few hair dye-esque squeeze bottles.

Next up, Dream Swatch.

This is Tahki Yarns "cotton classic color" in colour 104. This is going pretty quick, and I started it mostly because I needed something non-black and non-wool to work on. Why, you ask? Because of this:

Sweater for Mr. Nekkid, very near completion (at least, compared to the last time I photographed it). It's been disgustingly hot, and naturally this is like a small double-thick wool blanket in my lap. Ugh. I hope this proves that I love him, because if knitting half a pound of wool sweater in the summertime in Oklahoma isn't love, I don't know what is.

Oh yes, one more thing. Belated b-day present from Mr. Nekkid:

hee hee :)

On a roll

2007-08-20T13:48:00.000-05:00

I finished another languishing WIP today. It's a panta, and I'm pretty sure that it's been on the needles since March or April. (I remember putting it aside when it ceased to be frigidly cold earlier this year.)

It's made out of...well, I don't really remember. I think maybe something by Blue Sky Alpacas. Whatever it is, I know I only bought one skein of it, and I still have a little left over.

Then there's today's LYS 30% off purchases:

- 3 skeins Berroco Ultra Silk (40/40/20 rayon/nylon/silk) in color 6119
- 3 skeins Berroco Ultra Silk in color 6147
- 4 skeins GGH Linova (74/26 cotton/linen) in some unbleached cotton-ish color

The Ultra Silk is destined to become more wine bottle bags. I'm hoping to refine the pattern a bit and submit it to Knitty. Haven't a clue what to do with the Linova, but I'm sure I'll think of something.

Lastly, my bday present from Mr. Nekkid should be here soon! I'm very excited. :)

Happy birthday to meeee....

2007-08-17T21:07:00.000-05:00

Okay, so my birthday isn't till next Friday. But I'll be on PTO next week, so my coworkers gave me my present today...a $60 gift card to LYS. So after much deliberation, here is my birthday yarn.

1,100 yards of laceweight silk by Claudia's Handpainted Yarn. I'm sure it will be a while before I find a project worthy of it, but for now, isn't it pretty?!

Also, I finished Clapotis a few nights ago.

It was originally going to be a gift, but now I think it's mine. :)

I am weak.

2007-08-12T10:47:00.000-05:00

I was able to resist buying a $23 pair of earrings yesterday, because I'd just spent $27 the night before on that yarn at LYS. But later in the day, we ended up at Joann's, and, well...I had an accident.

I have been collecting this yarn for months. It retailed for $5.99/ball. Every other week, I'd go and buy a ball (always of the same dyelot) with my 40% off coupon. Then one week I went in and it was on sale for 35% off, so I bought all that was on the shelf (maybe 6 or 7 balls). At that point I think I had a dozen balls. I know where at least half of them are...the rest must be in one of the various stash-management attempts I have here and there. Anyway, yesterday when I went in to Joann's (I was only looking for buttons for the baby sweater, honest!) I made the mistake of going down the clearance aisle. There, on the bottom shelf, was my beloved lavender Tesoro. Marked down to $2.37/ball. I bought all eight that they had in the right dyelot. I feel I showed admirable restraint in not buying the other two orphans while I was at it. I also managed to leave behind the several balls of yellow (more than enough to make a cute little baby set) in the bin.

I am still weak, though. I'm considering heading to the other Joann's in town to clean them out, too.

Clapotis is still progressing. I've started straight-row repeat #13 (granted, only one row of it is done). But still. This is the last repeat before I get to DECREASE. I think it'll be finished by this weekend...in fact, I'm sure of it (unless something crazy comes up).

Oh, and since it's been a while since I've given a Tallulah update, I'll leave you with the link to this video I posted on YouTube. She's really come out of her shell and gotten playful. Her favorite toy? Ponytail holders, which she steals out of my purse. Mr. Nekkid actually caught her in the act of digging around in my purse with her paw (no, really, I'm not kidding). I'm sure that when we move, we'll find a bunch of these things underneath the couch and coffee table and bookcases and...anyway. Watch the video...she's cute!

WIPs

2007-08-11T10:57:00.000-05:00

I'm trying this crazy thing. I'm finishing old projects before starting new ones. Weird, huh? I went through my stash and frogged a few things, and picked up others that have been in progress for a while. Project 1: Clapotis.

This is what it looked like when I picked it back up about a week ago. I was somewhere in the middle of the fourth straight row repeat.

This is what it looked like this morning. And I've done a few more rows...in fact, I just finished the tenth straight row repeat. Three more, and I get to start decreasing! WOOOO!!

Meanwhile, Friday night is sweater night at the LYS, so I finally got back to Mr. Nekkid's sweater last night. It looks incredibly similar to the last pic I took...just a few more rows of grey. I think the stripe is just about wide enough, and then soon I'll have to figure out just exactly how long the sleeves need to be. Eek.

Finally, a little yarn pr0n. I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do with this, but it's MINE.

Six balls of Jo Sharp Silk Road Aran Tweed, from LYS sale wall (50% off!). I hope I have enough to make myself a nice cozy wrap or something.

Almost done!

2007-08-05T21:20:00.000-05:00

Now it just needs blocking and buttons. I'll be blocking it as soon as Mr. Nekkid is done with the ironing board, and I ordered some buttons from Etsy last night. I hope they work, because I haven't found any others that seemed right.

Success!

2007-08-04T11:13:00.001-05:00

Pea Pod Sweater update

2007-08-03T17:54:00.000-05:00

In my ever-present effort to avoid seaming, I grafted the shoulders on the PPBS. Next time, though, I think I will do a three-needle bind off...my grafting wasn't horrible, but neither was it flawless, and I think the bindoff would have looked nicer. Anyway, I then took the quest one step further. Instead of knitting the sleeves separately and paying the girl at the LYS to sew them on, I picked up stitches around the sleeve and am knitting it outward. It required a little pattern modification, but I think it's turning out very nicely. Here's where I was mid-evening last night:

And now, the sleeve is only about 8 rows away from completion. I'm really very pleased with it, and I may never make sleeves any other way again. :)

Catching up

2007-07-29T14:05:00.001-05:00

This is nowhere near all the washcloths I've made in the last three months, but several were made just in time for baby showers. Since the beginning of the year, ten women I know have either announced a pregnancy or given birth. Actually, only two are still pregnant. Girls mostly, so there has been much pink in my life, and there is more to come, as one of the remaining expectant mums just found out she's having a girl. This is for her:

Pea Pod Sweater #2, in Debbie Bliss Rialto (a springy, luscious, superwash DK weight merino). I started it Friday evening, and I'm 32 rows in. This amounts to about 5", which means I'm just over an inch away from the armholes. Learning from past mistakes, I will not be attempting to sew the sleeves on myself. I found out that a girl at my LYS will sew seams for $10/hour, and I'm SO going that route this time. After all, I paid ~$35 just for the yarn, so why would I settle for mediocre seaming? I'm excited, though...I really enjoyed this pattern last time and it's just as fun this time. Then I'll be making a hat and little booties, eeee!

I'm also still working on Mr. Nekkid's sweater, though it's on hold while I work on the baby sweater. I'm just a few inches away from attaching the sleeves, which terrifies me...but I guess I'll figure it out.

Last but not least, my new toy!

Yes, it's the cheapy model, but with the 50% off coupon from Joann's, it was only about $25 shipped. This is about what they're going for USED on eBay. I think Mr. Nekkid is getting me a swift for my birthday, but that's not stopping me from winding everything that isn't nailed down. :D I just love the little cakes of yarn that a winder makes...they're so cute!

Oh well, laundry calls.

Progress

2007-04-21T12:51:00.000-05:00

The increases are done on sleeve #1. I tried it on him last night - it fits perfectly!! I originally intended to make one sleeve at a time, but I decided that won't do. I want them to be exactly the same. So I bought another #8 circ today...I'll work sleeve #2 to the same point I'm at on sleeve #1, and then probably alternate 5 rows at a time or something.

The sweater is about 8" long, and the sleeve is 12.5". Incidentally, this is just below the bend of his elbow. I increased 2 stitches every 5 rows, and the increases were done on row 65 (not counting the 10 rows of ribbing for the cuff). It's hard to capture in black yarn, but I love the way the increases look...

There's a strip of 3 stitches that remain constant, and you increase one before and one after. It almost looks sort of like a seam or something. Anyway. I'm going to go cast on for the other sleeve now, and watch some more Northern Exposure Season 1.

Sweater, day 2

2007-04-16T18:06:00.000-05:00

It's about 5" from the cast-on edge so far, and I started the sleeve last night. I only got about 5 rows done. (It looks really tiny, but it's ribbed and stretches a LOT.) Although I obviously started a new skein of yarn for the sleeve, I have yet to use up a whole skein on the body. That makes me feel good - I think 7 skeins will be plenty. And if I have to...the collar can always be in the grey used for the stripe. :) But considering that I originally bought the yarn at Michael's and then found an extra skein in the same dyelot at Joann's, I don't think I have much to worry about. Although I'm still tempted to go buy just one more skein...especially since it's on sale this week!

A new project

2007-04-15T19:28:00.000-05:00

Mr. Nekkid has been asking for a sweater for a while. I bought the yarn a few months ago, and it has been in dustproof, mothproof, catproof storage (aka the kind of plastic bag a set of sheets comes in) ever since. I'm not sure what came over me Friday night, but I suddenly HAD to swatch for it. And now, with some help from Elizabeth Zimmermann's book Knitting Without Tears, I am attempting to make a patternless, seamless sweater.

Here's what I'm working with:
- 7 skeins Patons Classic Wool in black
- 1 skein Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Oxford Grey (for a stripe across the chest)
- US #8 circular needles
- 5 stitches to the inch in stockinette
- 200 stitches cast on

I started off with 10 rows of 2x2 ribbing. Well, I intended to, anyway, but I forgot until I had a good 40-50 knit stitches on the first row...so the first row is knit, then the next 9 are in 2x2 ribbing. Thankfully, I don't think this is noticeable.

Once past the ribbing, the stockinette began. This picture shows where I stopped last night:

Sadly, black knitting doesn't photograph all that well, but you get the idea. That's probably a good 3,000 stitches right there...and I think I've nearly done that much again today. If I can keep this momentum going, maybe, just maybe, I'll have it done in time for our anniversary, which is in four weeks.

Oh yes, I also came up with a variation on my baby bib (pattern here). Instead of incorporating buttonholes into the strap, just knit it straight until it's long enough. Sew the button onto the strap, then use the eyelets on the body of the bib as buttonholes.

Catching up

2007-03-18T21:54:00.001-05:00

I knew it had been a while, but three months! Sheesh. Anyway, I've finished quite a few projects, so this is pretty photo-heavy.

Set of four washcloths for a baby at Mr. Nekkid's work. The larger ones are a pattern I made up myself (3 stitch garter border with stockinette in the middle); the smaller ones are from the Chinese Waves pattern.

Washcloth and bib set for a baby at my workplace. Washcloth is Grandmother's Favorite, and the bib is inspired by that (pattern down below).

Washcloth/bib and Pea Pod Baby Sweater (Rowan Cashsoft DK baby yarn, don't remember the needle size). These are for my best friend's baby.

Set of three washcloths for expectant mum #1 at my mailbox facility. Another Grandmother's Favorite, another Chinese Waves, and a truncated version of Alex's Cloth.

Clapotis in progress. I cannot remember the yarn offhand; I think it came from http://www.handpaintedyarn.com. I think I'm on repeat #4 of the center section.

Om Yoga Bag from SnB Nation. Some random Sugar 'n Cream I had on hand.

All waschloths made from kitchen cotton on US #9 needles.

Grandmother's Favorite Baby Bib
Pattern (c) 2007 Merin McManus
~2 oz. worsted cotton yarn (Sugar 'n Cream, Peaches 'n Cream, Lion Cotton)
US #7 8 or 9 needles
3/4" button
Gauge is not crucial
Pattern inspired by Grandmother's Favorite Washcloth and Simple Baby Bib.

Cast on 4 stitches.
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: K2, YO, *K*
Repeat row 2 until you have 44 stitches.
K1, K2tog, YO, K2tog, *K*
Repeat this row until you have 25 stitches.
Bind off 20 stitches, 5 stitches left.
Knit every row of these 5 stitches until the strap is 7-8" long.
Buttonhole row: K2, YO, K2tog, K1
Knit next 5 rows.
Repeat buttonhole row.
Knit next 5 rows.
Repeat buttonhole row.
Knit next 5 rows.
Bind off. Sew button.

EDIT 1/6/09: Variation (that several Ravelers have already figured out for themselves, but that I wanted to share because it is somewhat easier): Instead of buttonhole rows, knit the strap to the desired length and bind off. Sew the button on to the strap and use the YOs in the bib as buttonholes. Et voila! Saves a few steps. :)

AFK...night!

Two posts in one day!

2006-12-11T22:42:00.000-06:00

Behold, my House project:

It's the same pattern, but not. Changes:

- One strand of worsted instead of two
- US 7 needles instead of US 11
- One repeat of cable pattern instead of three
- Subtracted 6 rows from toe section (hence the extremely odd shape...although it fit Hello Kitty pretty well)

I'd say it took, oh, four episodes of House. (That would be commercial-free episodes.)

Sleepy time now...night night!

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

2006-12-11T18:08:00.000-06:00

(Tallulah's is absent because a) I haven't made a loop for it and b) we only have two stocking hangers anyway.)

Mr. Nekkid's is two strands of Red Heart Soft Yarn in Grass Green, and mine is two strands of Lion Brand Wool-Ease in White/Multi. I think it looks a little like snow. :) I used Crystal Palace US 11 DPNs.

I'm so proud of these! I did better on the grafting on Mr. Nekkid's stocking, and I think I finally got the hang of it with mine (third time's the charm, after all). I had so much fun with them that I'm thinking about making mini-stockings for my coworkers. Dunno if I'm that ambitious or not...

Tallulah is settling in nicely. She still hides a lot - her favorite spot is still behind the couch - but she seems to be getting accustomed to sleeping in her bed, too. We can only hope that someday she'll be comfortable enough to just lounge around somewhere out in the open.

Short one today, I know, but my friend got me the first season of House on DVD and I can't wait to watch some more of it. I've got to find a project that's mindless enough to let me glue my eyes to the screen. :)

We have a new member of the family!

2006-12-03T22:11:00.001-06:00

This is Tallulah!

She's making herself invisible, you see. Poor thing is scared out of her wits...new place, new people, new everything. We're hoping she'll venture out and eat and drink something while we're asleep tonight. Meanwhile, if she must be holed up somewhere, near her litter box is a good choice I suppose.

Moving on...Odessa was taking too long so I temporarily abandoned it in favor of making a hat to match the Wifey scarf. This took about as long as watching O, Napoleon Dynamite, and Office Space. Sadly, it's a little big, but it easily pulls down to cover my ears and even a low ponytail so it's not too bad.

Yarn: 1 skein plus a bit of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky
Needles: Crystal Palace DPNs sz. US 10.5
C/O 80 stitches, moss stitch for ~1", stockinette for the rest. I began the decreases at about 5.5". I think I might try another one, this time with 75 stitches, and it will probably only take one skein. I know I could just frog this one, but I have enough of the yarn to just start over and that will be faster than undoing everything first. :)

Oh, and I did get a snow day on Friday. :)

Snow day!

2006-11-30T22:36:00.000-06:00

At least, I'm hoping for one tomorrow. Meanwhile, I've been surprisingly busy...

Upper left: swatch of Solid Woven Lattice from p183 of Donna Kooler's encyclopedia of knitting (although it's probably in most stitchionaries). One strand of Caron Wintuk (100% acrylic) in Soft Lilac, Crystal Palace US 9 bamboo needles.

Lower left: swatch of Vertical Weave from p6 of Leisure Arts Little Books Beginner's Guide Knit Stitches & Easy Projects (again, probably in most stitchionaries). Leftover yarn from Cabled Christmas Stocking.

Bottom center: Odessa in progress. Made from Jo-Ann Sensations Bellezza Collection Tesoro (100% wool) in Purple, currently on my cool and totally retro Susan Bates SilvaLume DPNs, US 6. (They're really long, but I love them!) I'm really hoping to finish this this weekend, actually, because it done got COLD here. Current temp is 23 F, and there's at least 6" of snow on the ground. I'm reasonably certain that I'm not going to work tomorrow, even if the office is open.

Upper right: Finished Cabled Christmas Stocking! There will be no close-up of the toe, because I totally hosed the grafting. But at least I know what I did wrong, and it's just a stocking, not a sock. Here's a slightly closer pic, though:

Top center: Package for my cool and totally retro Susan Bates SilvaLume DPNs. I inherited these (as well as another set in US 8) from my grandmother. I wish she'd had more...they're fantastic. They're slick aluminum, but not too slick. The surface is ever so slightly textured so stitches don't just jump off. But here's what's cool about the package:

Hee hee! Apparently they're going for "smooth as a baby's bum" or something. I heart retro graphics! The best part:

These originally cost 90 cents. Oh yes, and the backdrop all these lovely pics? That would be my luscious new chocolate brown microsuede duvet cover. Totally machine washable, and totally cheap. I paid $19.99 for it and the two matching shams from Amazon. I even got free shipping because I was buying something else too and spent over $35 ($25?). The $19.99 price seems to come and go, but at the time I'm posting this - 11:02 central time - it's available. (Note that the color is much better on Amazon's site - mine is affected by the crappy lighting in my bedroom.)

Anyway. Assuming that the roads are at least somewhat passable tomorrow, I'm totally going to go to the LYS and get help with the baby sweater. Pics will follow!

Baby's First Sock

2006-11-27T22:24:00.000-06:00

I've never successfully turned a sock heel. Until tonight. (Thanks http://www.knittinghelp.com!)

Yeah, okay, it's a crappy picture. I'll make more of an effort when it's finished and when it's not 10:25 p.m. on a school night. :( Sadly, I think this might turn out to be Tallulah's stocking, because it's much smaller than I intended. Oh well. I did pick up some sz. 15 DPNs tonight (for $23 with tax, ouch!) so hubby and I can have larger stockings. At least it knits up quickly. Mine was originally going to be this red one, but I think I'll go with two strands of Lion Brand Wool-Ease in White Frost instead. Yeah, okay, that's a crappy picture too. It's white and sparkly, though, trust me. Mr. Nekkid's will be Red Heart Soft Yarn in Grass Green (which I already have on hand).

Bonus Wifey pic:

I do indeed have it folded in half and then pulled through. That's why I like my scarves long and skinny. :)

Tomorrow: with any luck I'll have a finished Christmas stocking to show off. Hooray!

Wifey is done!

2006-11-26T21:27:00.000-06:00

That didn't take nearly as long as I expected.

Three skeins of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky in red
Crystal Palace bamboo sz. US 10.5
13 stitches cast on, simple moss stitch pattern
Finished size: approximately 3.5" wide by 100" long

Since I have so much time before I need to finish Cozy, naturally I've started something else instead.

Pattern: Cabled Christmas Stocking by YarnThrower
Yarn: Two strands of Red Heart Soft Yarn in Wine (color is not well-represented in this photo...it really is a nice wine/maroon color)
Needles: US 10.5 Crystal Palace DPNs (Yes, this is quite a bit smaller than the pattern calls for. But Wal-Mart didn't have anything even close to US 13 so I had to use what I had on hand. No, I couldn't wait until the LYS opened tomorrow...)
Gauge: Nowhere near what is called for. But it's a Christmas stocking...it doesn't really matter much. A smaller stocking just means that pretty much only cash and gift cards will fit. :P

Blah blah blah.

2006-11-20T22:10:00.000-06:00

Mondays suck, etc. But I did get the boss's bday cake done:

Hee hee. And I didn't even get fired. :D

Here's a totally random pic for you:

We had such classy neighbors at our old apartment.

Wifey is progressing. I think it's up to about 47" long, and I'm guessing that the second skein is close to halfway used up. I'll spare you another picture...it looks just like the previous one only longer.

I did three loads of laundry tonight, and vacuumed the hallway and kitchen. Well, I watched Children of the Corn...Fred vacuumed. Who's Fred you ask? I wish I could say he's my cabana boy, but alas, the truth is much less exciting.

Still, Fred was worth every penny. It's about bedtime, and I still have a bit of laundry to put up. So I'll leave you with a bit of yarn pr0n...the three balls of pink Tesoro I purchased on Saturday.

Toodleoo!

So much for originality.

2006-11-18T23:16:00.000-06:00

I thought I was being really clever and unique when I called this blog "nekkidknitter". It's a running joke sort of thing...you probably don't want the whole story so just suffice it to say that I had my reasons. Anyway, imagine my surprise today when I stumbled across http://www.nakeidknits.com. I was a little mortified, actually...because this person has clearly been blogging since before I even learned to knit. So I've emailed her to ask if she is okay with me using this name...because I figure that's the polite thing to do. I'll let you know how that turns out.

Wifey is coming along nicely. I didn't do much more than a row or two yesterday - work was nuts. But today, a friend was in town from Seattle, and I worked on Wifey while we hung out at Borders. I also worked on it some more this evening, and this was the result:

It's approximately 25" long, and I haven't used up the first skein yet. I think 3 skeins will be just about right.

Yarn diet? What yarn diet? My friend Lora called this evening and wanted me to go to Michael's with her. I was very good there, honest...all I bought was a frame for our Glamour Shots collage and the stuff needed to make it hang. But then, then we went to JoAnn's. I am absolutely in love with their Tesoro yarn, and have been buying it a skein at a time with my biweekly(ish) 40% off coupon. Till Tuesday, though, this lovely yarn is on sale for 40% off, no coupon required. When I walked in, I had absolutely no intentions of buying any more. I've managed to accumulate about a dozen balls (same dyelot!) of the lavender color I intend to use to make myself a winter set. I don't know how, but I never noticed that they also had it in pink. Still, I was going to be strong. Then I saw this:

My sincerest apologies for the glare from the flash. I'm too tired to do anything about it, and my camera battery barely lasted long enough to get these pics off so there can be no new pics at the moment. Anyway, this was on sale for $15, and I'm not sure why (especially since I generally loathe fake gold stuff) but I fell in love with it. That, and a few other miscellaneous things, put me at a total of about $21. Well, I also had this coupon for $5 off a $25 order. If only I could find something costing $4 or so...it would be like getting it for free! You know where this is going. I bought three skeins. Why three? Because I'd only been loosely adding to come up with that $21, and I had to be absolutely certain that my total would be over the requisite $25. Honest.

Ugh. So tired. It feels like it should be about 1 a.m., but it's only 11:37 p.m. It's been a very long day, and tomorrow will be even worse. Tomorrow is the day that I deliver all the stuff I've been accumulating to the woman whose house burned down. I'm actually pretty proud of myself - with the help of my family, she'll be getting:

- practically new full mattress and box spring
- eggcrate-esque mattress pad, two pillows, two sets of sheets, and two cotton thermal blankets
- set of pots and pans
- vacuum
- 46-piece flatware set
- set of three stainless steel mixing bowls (these have lids which I will eventually locate and also give her)
- fleece lap blanket
- red heart-shaped "squoosh" pillow - this serves no real purpose, but I think her 9 YO daughter will get a kick out of it
- package of Thank You cards

I also really need to make a decision about the dinette set. I have been on the fence for weeks about giving mine to her and getting one of my grandmother's tables and chairs. The primary obstacle has been the fact that the room with all Nanny's furniture has been piled high with stuff; well, that will change tomorrow because there's no other way to get the bed out. So I'll have the opportunity to check out the available tables - and I've got to decide once and for all. Tomorrow would be an ideal time to take my dinette to her, because it's got a glass top which could be protected in transit by resting in between the mattress and box.

Oh well. Tomorrow's a new day. Mr. Nekkid's already asleep on the couch, so I think that's my cue.

Fickle-hearted woman.

2006-11-16T22:13:00.000-06:00

Good news first: I found the rest of the yarn for Cozy! Not surprisingly, in the same box was also my red Cashmerino! Hoorays!

So much for not starting anything new. But this is necessary, honest...see, it turned cold today. Yes, I have scarves, but what I don't have is a scarf made out of cashmerino that will actually keep me warm. I have cheapy synthetic scarves that do nothing to insulate - they just make me sweat underneath them, and offer no protection at all for when the wind actually picks up. And I couldn't steal Mr. Nekkid's scarf because he actually bothered to wear it today. Since the Cashmerino has been found, I cast on - with apologies to Judy Blume - the Wifey scarf tonight. (I figured it was only appropriate since I called the previous one Hubby.)

Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky in red, Crystal Palace bamboo DPNs (only because that's what I happened to have) sz. US10.5, moss stitch with 13 stitches cast on. For comparison, the Hubby scarf had 23 stitches. It is approximately 3.5" wide, and I will probably use 3 skeins for it too. Yes, that will result in a scarf significantly longer than I am tall, and yes, that is exactly what I want. :) Surprisingly enough, even though I used the flash on this, the color is fairly true. Maybe this throw pillow is an ideal backdrop for such things...maybe it's so bright that the camera thinks it needs less flash. Who knows...but I'll have to try it again and see if the results can be duplicated.

Meanwhile, Cozy will be relegated to WIP storage (also knows as my living room floor) until Wifey is finished. I just have to finish quick, because Cozy needs to be done by the first week of February. It takes me just over 1 hour to finish 1 pattern repeat, and my roughest estimates indicate that I will need about 50 more repeats. Yes, I could technically knock that out in a week or so...if I did nothing but work and knit. Mr. Nekkid, however, has the expectation that he will be able to spend at least a little quality time with me here and there (I know, the nerve!) so that's not going to happen. Instead, once I'm back on it, I'll shoot for one repeat per weekday, and two repeats per weekend day. Hopefully that will enable me to finish it before the deadline even if I don't get back to it till after Christmas.

In other news, we met Tallulah on Tuesday night. We were very taken with her, and have stepped up preparations to bring her home. In keeping with my tradition of putting the cart before the horse, I have already chosen her food dishes, bed, litter box, toys...but have no concrete plans on where these objects will actually go. Ah well, it will all come together. I would have spent tonight getting some of those things in order, but instead, I spent it baking a Praline-Pumpkin Cake. (Recipe calls for store-bought icing but I made C&H Cream Cheese Icing instead.) Yum yum. I'll probably make it again (if for no other reason than to use up the leftover pumpkin) for Thanksgiving. Oh, and Sunday's project is the Hershey's Brownie Cemetery Cake...my boss turns 50 on Monday. >:-D There will definitely be pictures of that.

Nighty night!

I have a problem.

2006-11-12T01:21:00.000-06:00

This is Cozy.

I am pretty proud of it. I don't want to jinx myself by singing my praises too much, but suffice it to say that it has gone reasonably well thus far. Unstretched and unblocked, it is currently 7.5" long. However, I have hit a snag.

This is how much yarn I am currently able to locate for purposes of continuing Cozy.

I'm not positive, but I don't think that will be quite enough.

See, we moved about a month ago. Until a week ago, all my WIPs and all of my stash were packed. I managed to locate one WIP box (I know there is at least one more) but I am at a loss as to how to go about unpacking the rest. My stash storage used to consist of three laundry baskets. Now, however, it seems that Tallulah may be joining the family.

I'm sure I don't need to explain why having baskets of yarn lying about would not be the best plan. So the stash remains in boxes until I can come up with a storage method that is at least mostly contained and not wide open to the world and Tallulah.

Somewhere in those four boxes is nine more balls of the yarn for Cozy, which is plenty considering that I've done more than 10% of the project with only 10% of the yarn. Maybe I'll have enough leftover for a panta... Alas, I may have to pick up one of the other WIPs instead. This could work out well for my can't-finish-it-itis, though...if I am forced to work on everything until I run out of yarn, then I will get considerably farther along in them than if I had eleventy gajillion other yarns and projects to choose from. Of course, I could buy more yarn, but that would require funds that are not available to me at this time. And I've already played the, "Honey, can I have this for Christmas?" card for purposes of obtaining new cookware. (I know, I know, this means I'll actually have to cook every now and then. But it's for a good cause, really, because my old cookware is to be donated to a coworker whose townhouse caught fire a few weeks ago.)

I'll leave you with a bit of yarn pr0n. This, along with three or four more balls, also resides in the stash, and it will become a scarf for me that (sort of) matches the one I just finished for Mr. Nekkid. But I'm fond of long skinny scarves, so mine will probably be about half as wide and twice as long. No, I'm not kidding.

If you think I am, I'll show you the 9' monstrosity that was my very first FO. It's itchy, but damn if it doesn't keep me warm.

I think it's working!

2006-11-08T20:22:00.000-06:00

I'm already inspired. So inspired, in fact, that tonight I finished Mr. Nekkid's scarf! This has been a WIP for, oh, six or seven months now. It was just really hard to work on it during an Oklahoma summer - it was like a little skinny lap blanket. But now it's done, just in time for the 70 degree November weather. >.<

Pattern: simple moss stitch, CO 23
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky in black
Needles: Crystal Palace Bamboo, sz. US 10.5
Finished size: approximately 5.5" wide by 6' long

Now I just need to finish the Pea Pod Baby Sweater for the baby that's due in January. It has lacked only attaching the sleeves for, oh, two months now. I've never actually done that before, and I want it to be just right. I need to take it to the LYS and get some help...but I'm trying to resist because that place is always bad for my budget. And it's already stretched pretty thin thanks to all the things we needed for the move. Oh well. Someday soon I'll just have to leave the CC at home and venture out...

Day 1

2006-11-06T22:00:00.000-06:00

So...I'm hoping that having a blog will inspire me to do more knitting. I got out of the habit shortly before we moved - Mr. Nekkid was sick, I was sick...and then we moved and ugh. I don't even know where the rest of my WIPs are at the moment. I did find one, though, and I finished it last night.

(Thanks to Hello Kitty for her modeling services.)

It's just a simple no-pattern hat, random Red Heart Super Saver variegated yarn, using the Yarn Harlot's hat formula. I figure it will fit a small child or a doll. If my niece doesn't claim it, I'll donate it to charity.

So there you have it, my first knitblog post. Here's hoping it works!