Completed Obsessions

Baby Gator Hat

Yarn - Cotton Ease from the stash.
Needles – Addi Turbo sz 8 (two of ‘em)
Pattern – Made it up as I went.

It goes something like.....cast on enough stitches to go around the baby's head, which will be far biger than you think is possible. An inch of ribbing, change colors (or not), a few inches of stockinette, then some decreases. The tassel is just a braid, nothing fancy. Knit it in the round and there's even no seaming. Wash, dry, mail, wait impatiently to hear back that they love it.

Boring socks

Grey and green Cascade 220 Superwash socks.

For me. Standard sock pattern. Sz 6 Addis.

Worsted weight wool socks are simply the single most luxurious thing EVER. Period.

Cable Raglan Sweater

Note to self: At some point, update this photo to one with Rick wearing the sweater.

Debbie Bliss Book 4
Cashmerino Chunky in this color, French Blue.

Done, but given to Rick, because despite being knit EXACTLY to pattern (and to gauge), the neckline was way too loose and the whole damned thing was too effing big. Ended up being perfect for the boy and his long ape-man arms, so I guess it worked out in the end.

I have to say though, that I will never spend D Bliss prices for D Bliss yarn again. Oh sure, it was soft and all, but I had two huge issues:
a) Very bad dye inconsistencies in the yarn such that there are blotchy colors in various places on the sweater. Most notably on the upper arms (yes, both) and lower back. The lighting is so bad in our (under renovation) house that I wasn't able to see it until the pieces began traveling about in broad daylight with me. By then I was almost finished so I plugged on with the idea that I would just overdye it. In the end, Rick said he didn't care, so no dyeing was done.

b)Knots. Everywhere. Seriously, of the majillion balls I had to use (OH! and hello? how about some reasonable yardage for pity's sake? Pain in my ASS, that) , ALL but 2 had knots in the skeins. It's egregious, and again, PAIN IN THE ASS.

Now, I'm all for paying quality prices for high quality yarn when the budget allows, but I'll admit that this and other experiences with shoddy dyeing and the G***amned knotty skeins in the DB yarn lines have completely turned me off her yarns.

Fingerless Mitts

Pattern from Weekend Knitting.

Green on the left are for Rick in Valley Yarns Sugarloaf in color #15378

Orange pair on the right are mine in my favoritest Cascade 220 Quatro color, #9436.

Gator Stadium Blanket

Crochet.

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft
Pattern: Tempting from Mile-a-Minute Afghans

Gothic Arches Scarf

Pattern: Not a pattern, just the 'Gothic Arches' lace stitch from the Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns with half a repeat on either side of the three central repeats to give the scalloped edges. Finished length is about 75 inches after a very vigorous and satisfying wet-blocking.

Yarn: Elann's Baby Cashmere in Tapestry Blue (I think....the ball bands are long gone.), 3 balls total so aprox. 330 yards.

Needles: Inox circular 2.5mm

Indigo Moon batt

Note to self: Needs UPDATED photo.

Indigo Moon batt from 2005 NH S&W

Aprox 300yds.
Inconsistent, but roughly a heavy worsted weight.
Navajo Plied.

Spinning begun mid-2005, but completely neglected and not completed until the end January 2006. Needless to say, the earlier spinning is where the worst inconsistencies are.

Yes, the timing is not a coincidence. Project completed solely for the purpose of being able to buy a new batt at SPA.

Jay Walkers

Jaywalker Socks pattern by Grumperina in MagKnits
Socks That Rock in Moss Agate
Addi circulars - US#2 (-ish, the mm size on these is a bit different than US#2's, but I can't remember what it is.)

Mods:
1. I changed the number of stitches between repeats to 6 instead of 7, reducing the total no. of stitches and thus the circumference of the sock top.
2. I only carried the chevron patterning to the ankle of the final pair. The first pass of the first sock went all the way to the toe as in the pattern, but the ridges were uncomfortable when inside a shoe.
3. As usual, because of my crazy-high arches, I decreased gusset stitches every round instead of every other round.

Klaralund

Pattern: Noro Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton Book Two
Yarn: Berrocco Softwist Bulky
Color: Navy

Finished at begining of June.

Note to self: UPDATE PHOTO.

Living Room

Yeah, so it's not knitting or spinning. Sue me.

I'm still damned proud of this, our first finished room.

Nadine

Aprox. 300 yds of light worsted weight, soft, fluffy yarn.

Rogue

Pattern: Rogue by Girl From Auntie
Yarn: Bartlett Yarns Rangely in Blueberry from KPixie (and Kristen. Thanks! )
Needles: Addi’s (oh how I love thee) size 7 and a variety of lengths, but we’ll get to that later.
For: Me! Er….and the 2006 Knitting Olympics.

Notes:
1. I do love this yarn. I love it’s rustic feel, it’s rustic look, it’s damned-near bullet-proof nature. I would NOT, however, recommend this yarn for this pattern. Yes, even though it really shows off the cables beautifully. Why? Mainly because it just seems a tad too stiff and too heavy for this pattern. It was tough to get gauge without creating a fabric truly too dense for normal wear. My wrists really felt this knit, and not in a good way. The one caveat I’ll make here is that this stuff changes quite dramatically when washed, so it’s possible that the key to successfully/happily using it in this application might be to wash the hanks first and THEN knit with it. Maybe.

2. I love this pattern, without any hesitation. It’s beautiful. It’s clever. It’s practical. It’s extraordinarily detailed, meaning that anyone can make it. In a different yarn, I believe I would have made this almost exactly as written, complete with hood. Notice how I say almost?

3. Armholes/Armscythes, whatever they’re called…did anyone ELSE end up with gargantuan armholes when knitting the pattern exactly as written? I certainly did. It’s not enough to bug me, but it does definitely affect the fit of the finished sweater. So be forewarned. Of course, a bazillion other people have knit this thing and I didn’t see anything about the armholes in my brief searches, so it’s more than possible that it was just my knitting. Note to self, pay attention to the armhole measurements in the diagrams. Er….and what exactly ARE my measurements in this area? Knitter, measure thyself.

4. Kangaroo pouch. Um…no thank you. I don’t think it requires much imagination to understand why a girl might not want EXTRA fabric around her midsection. Not everyone has these concerns, I know, but that’s just the last damned thing I’ll ever need. Except maybe horizontal stripes….actually, I’m pretty certain THAT’S the absolute last thing I’ll ever need. The tummy pouch is just a close second.

5. The hem flare issue. There was no way that I was going to be able to do the smaller-needle-twisted-stitch-facing that Jenna calls for (see #1 re: very stiff yarn), so I knew going in that there was a high risk of hem flare. As you can no doubt see in the first shot, there is definitely flaring. I’m going to give it a little time to see if it continues to BUG THE EVER LIVING SHIT out of me, and if it does, I’m just going to have to cut off the facing, pick up the stitches (with washed yarn, maybe? For softness?) and try again.