Simple Ribbed Cardigan

Another baby gift: Debbie Bliss's Ribbed Baby Jacket. I love the simplicity and sophistication of her designs, and while this particular pattern looked very feminine in the book, swapping purple wool/cashmere for off-white organic cotton and adding a chunky wooden button made the finished project very gender neutral. It would look equally adorable over a pink onesie or a blue plaid shirt.

I added the buttonhole using a 4-stitch buttonhole. I made no other modifications, but I do kind of wish I'd taken measures to keep the bottom hem from rolling. Other than a stiff blocking - which the recipients will probably not want to do each time it's washed - there really is nothing to be done, but I love the finished product, rolling hem and all.

Aestlight Again

It's not that common for me to knit the same pattern twice. A few baby patterns that have been made for multiple babies and the plain old sock pattern are a few exceptions. But sweaters, hats, and particularly shawls are not my typical repeat offenders.

However, a friend of mine complimented my Aestlight this spring, so while I found myself with some time off in May, I knit one just for her:

I used two skeins of Palette in the main color and one in the lace contrast color. Again, a very well-written pattern that makes a lovely shawl of a pretty good size.

Great Outdoors Socks

Happy Father's Day, all you dads out here on the internet. For my father, I knit a pair of sport-weight socks: another wonderful free pattern on Ravelry.

It was great to find a basic sock pattern for sport yarn, since I accidentally ordered four skeins of this a few months ago. I had meant to order two, but, well, accidents happen and online shoppers click "submit order" too many times. This is my favorite kind of sock pattern: top-down construction, heel flap, and paired decreases for the toe shaping. Maybe it's primacy, but I have tried toe-up socks, short-row heels, and spiraling decreases and they just leave me wanting.

Of course, I'm also the woman who will never give up double-pointed needles.

What knitting method, technique, or trick is first in your heart?

Little Mustard Seed

A friend of mine from my brief stint as a middle-school teacher is having her first baby in September. She and her husband decided to keep the gender a surprise, which I would never be able to do, so I decided to knit her a sweater in gender-neutral Golden Heather and Marshmallow Simply Cotton. I really like this yarn, particularly the worsted weight, because it's organic, machine wash- and dryable, and softer than your average cotton yarn. It does lose about 10% of length after machine washing and drying, by my estimates, but as long as you take that into account when knitting. . . no problem!

The pattern is Little Coffee Bean, yet another wonderful free download available from a Raveler. I really liked the pattern: clear, well written, and very easy for an intermediate to experienced knitter. If I was knitting this specifically for a boy, though, I would swap out the yarnover increases for M1L and M1R increases that didn't produce eyelets.

This just might be my new go-to baby gift pattern, since it only took 200 grams of worsted weight.

Charity Projects #2-5

Finally, a sunny day when I have time to take a few pictures! These projects have been off the needles for two weeks, but between blocking and waiting for them to dry, then days upon days of rain, I hadn't had a chance for photographs.

These fingerless mitts claim to use 75 yards of Malabrigo, and my pair came in at 73.8 yards of Capra: pretty good! The Hat Fit for a Boyfriend and mitts combined used about one and a half skeins of Capra in Caviar, which is the perfect stormy grey.




These fingerless gloves, knit with more of the mystery worsted from my stash, were super simple to knit. They are worked flat in ribbing and then sewn up one side. Remembering to leave a hole for the thumb is the only tricky part.

Below is the Very Braidy Cowl, which used about one and a half skeins of Capra. It is soft and cuddly and very warm.

I've been working a custom sweater for my husband, a shawl for a friend, and a cardigan for another friend's first baby, all currently in progress. I did finish a cardigan for me, but I can't seem to get sunny weather and someone else to take pictures. That would be pressing my luck.

Great Charity Stash-Down Update

Well, roughly two weeks later I have finished five projects: two hats, two pairs of fingerless mittens, and a cowl. I've made one hat/mitt set out of the mystery wool and another set in Capra, which is deee-licious. It feels pretty nice in the ball, even better knit, and amazing after blocking. And speaking of blocking, pictures will have to wait until said blocking is finished.

Knitting these small projects has been very rewarding, and on more than one level. First of all, I'm reducing my stash. Making way for new yarn, making room in my house: both are good news. Second, small projects give me a very real, very tangible sense of accomplishment. As beautiful as a me-sized stockinette cardigan in sport-weight wool is, months of knitting to achieve one garment is not always the most satisfying. Third, knitting for good people, especially people who've had some tough breaks, just makes a body feel good.

Charity Project #1

The first project in my Great Charity Stash-Down is complete. It's the Scathach hat, and I used about two and a half balls of the mystery worsted yarn.




I knit one extra repeat of the cable and picked up 12 stitches more than the pattern called for, and I ended up with a pretty cute (in my opinion), slouchy hat. Knitting some fingerless gloves to make a set has crossed my mind, but this yarn definitely is not soft enough for a scarf or cowl.