Okay, quick drive-by posting here! I got a new camera for Christmas (because I dropped my old one, oops), and made a sock for it. A Ravelry friend asked me to post the pattern, so here it is! It's pretty freeform, so leave me a comment if there's anything I can make clearer.

For a PDF version of this pattern, click here.

Leftovers Camera Sock
By Janelle Fine (bioengiknitter)

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Yarn: Any leftover yarn. My sock is done with Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sport (Aslan and Natural), and weighs 14g. According to Ravelry, this amounts to 40yds.

Needles: Whatever’s needed for your yarn. I used US1.5/2.5mm DPNs.

Gauge: You’ll get your own and calculate how many stitches you’ll need, in steps 1-3. My gauge was 7.25 st/in.

1. Get stitch gauge for stockinette stitch in the round. I had this already measured from the socks I had made with the yarn, but you could knit a swatch if needed. A little bit of fudge in gauge in either direction isn’t going to make a whole heap of difference, so if you have a gauge number for another yarn of about the same weight, I’d say that’s good enough. But that’s me.

2. Measure around your camera in the direction the sock will go around. My PowerShot is about 7.5” around.

3. Multiply your gauge by this length to get the number of stitches you’ll need. For the ribbing later it’s handy to have a multiple of 4, so subtract stitches from your total number until you get to a multiple of 4. I ended up with 52 stitches needed.

4. Use Judy’s Magic Caston to cast on 8 fewer stitches than this total number. I cast on 40 but after getting it done realized that casting on a few more would have avoided the little sticky-outy parts I have on the bottom of the sock when the camera isn’t super tight in there. So in retrospect I should have cast on 44.

5. Knit one round, arranging the sock on DPNs or circulars as you like. Increase “normally” as for a sock toe – increase two stitches at each end of the sock every other round. I did a kfb in the first stitch of one side, knit to the end of that side, and kfb in the last stitch. Repeat for other side, 4 stitches increased each increase round. Knit a plain round. Do the increase round again, for 8 stitches increased, up to your total number needed.

6. Knit in stocking stitch up from there, trying the sock on your camera every so often. Knit until you get to the strap on the camera.

7. (and this is where it’s a bit camera-specific)
~ If your strap not centered on the top (mine is like this), make a hole now only on the strap side. Knit to the center of the strap side, bind off 2, and continue around. On the next row, cast on 2 at the hole and continue.
~ If your strap is in the center, make two holes here, doing the above steps on both sides at the center of the sock.

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8. Start 2x2 ribbing right above the hole(s).

9.
~ If your strap is not centered, knit the ribbing until you can fold over the top and get the opposite side to reach the strap. Make a hole on the opposite side of the first one at this point in the same way as in step 7. Then knit a few more rounds of ribbing.
~ If your strap is centered, knit ribbing for about 1.5” / 4cm.

10. Bind off in pattern loosely so that it’s not too hard to get the camera in.

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Ta da! Camera sock. To use it put the camera in, being sure to notice which side the hole is on for non-centered straps. Pull the strap through the first strap hole. Then pull the strap through the higher strap hole (see picture below). To use the camera, take the strap out of only the top hole and remove the camera, letting the sock hang down from the top of the strap (see top picture).

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Here are some more things I got done for our trip to Michigan:

First, a second R2D2 hat, so the kids would stop fighting over the first one I made.

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Same specs as the first one, although I tried this one per the pattern, doing the bottom blue stripe solid, and duplicate-stitching with the grey to break it up. I much preferred stranding it, the way I did the first one. I now know that I'd much rather strand than duplicate stitch! There's enough duplicate stitching on this hat as it is, it was nicer to cut some of it out.

Pattern: R2D2 Beanie, by Carissa Browning
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Grey Heather and odds and ends of black and red, and Red Heart Super Saver in Royal Blue.
Needles: US6/4mm
Dates: 2/24/08 - 10/5/08
Notes: As on the first one, I made the protrusion shorter, and added the red dot.

I finished up some convertible mittens that I started last winter, and finished on the trip.

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Not much to report here--as far as I can recall, I actually knit these per the pattern with no modifications! I had done the first one of these just after finishing the convertible Knucks that I did for the boys last year (which they also wore on the trip), and I think I prefer the top-down knitting of the Knucks pattern to the bottom-up Urban Necessities. I liked doing the fingers all separately and then adding them in, rather than doing them one by one with the rest of the glove hanging off the needles. It's a bit easier to do it the Knucks way. In any case, I wore them constantly after I got them done, and like them a lot. The Swish is a bit pilly, but that's sort of the cost of it being soft, I suppose. They're definitely warm and very comfortable.

Pattern: Urban Necessity Gloves (Ravelry link), by Colleen Michele Meagher
Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Superwash Worsted, in black
Needles: US5 / 3.75mm
Gauge: 5.25 st/in
Dates: 1/27/08 - 10/24/08

Next, I made a hat and mitten set for my MIL (she came with us, as it's her brother we were going to visit). One of the things we love to do when we go there is to go to Greenfield Village in Dearborn, which is a wonderful historic park created by Henry Ford. We ride in Model Ts,

(haven't downloaded the picture of this yet)

...take the steam train around,

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...and go through all of the old buildings--making a candlestick at the machine shop,

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...printing pictures at the print shop,

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watching the carding machine (it's HUGE!), and so many others. The kids (and me too!) could watch the glass blowers all day if we let them.

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There's also an enormous automotive (and trains and other stuff) museum there, and M's family is an automotive family. This car:

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was built by M's great-great grandfather (or just great-grandfather? Can't remember), Henry Leland.

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So it's cool to go there and see it all. I mentioned the carding building earlier--they have a whole farm at Greenfield Village where they raise merino sheep and do all of the processing/carding/spinning to make yarn, which they sell at the gift shop. Of course, when I was there two years ago, I bought some. I had planned to make M some gloves out of it, but my attempt to dye it black with Wilton's gel was a bit of a failure--even after trying twice, it was still rather purple. Really pretty, but not a color he'd wear. So I decided to make something for MIL instead, since she also would appreciate the tie that the yarn has to Greenfield Village. We''ve always taken the kids in October when they have fall break from school, when it can be cold. My MIL borrowed my Santa Cruz hat when she went to Norway a year or so ago, so I knew she needed a hat. Like me, she likes math games and other nerdiness, so I knew that the hat I wanted to make for her was the Binary Cable Hat, which I had found during some of my Ravelry travels. The cables go around the hat "spelling" out the numbers 0 to 15 in binary. Cable crosses are 1, no crosses are 0. So cool! Here are the two sides of the hat plain:

0-7

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8-15

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And, since I'm a total nerd and thought she might appreciate an annotated version, I photoshopped in the numbers. And HOW EXCITED am I that my annotated hat made "This Week in Ravelry" #38's Tip Jar? Whoa! So cool. An honor!

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Pattern: Binary Cable Hat (Ravelry link), by Firefairy
Yarn: Greenfield Village Merino Wool, dyed with Wilton's cake icing gel
Needles: US6 / 4mm
Gauge: 4.5 st/in
Dates: 9/26/08 - 9/27/08
Notes: I got a bigger gauge on this since the wool was thicker, but I wanted to keep it, as MIL is tall and I wanted it long enough to cover her ears. She wore it while we were there, and seemed to like it a lot! It looked good on her. (I'd post a picture, but I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate the one photo I have of her in it, it's less than stellar.)

I had leftover wool, so I made her some mittens with cables that were similar:

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Pattern: Fetchingly Cute Mittens, by Krystal Grams
Yarn: Greenfield Village Merino Wool, dyed with Wilton's cake icing gel
Needles: US6 / 4mm
Gauge: 4.5 st/in
Dates: 9/28/08 - 10/3/08
Notes: No modifications, save for a couple of stitch count differences due to gauge.

Okay, what's left from the trip -- I might as well get it all posted at once...

Oh! The zoo! We went to the Detroit Zoo. At the polar bear exhibit, they have a tunnel where you're underneath the pool. Warning: Koolhaas in the wild!

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There was a polar bear swimming. Here's something you don't see every day...

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I should have put a hand up for scale. It was ENORMOUS. Really amazing to be that close. The kids thought it was really cool.

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And finally, while we were there, M got some pictures of the kids with the fall trees. Here they are, both proudly modeling their Wallabies:

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Whew, I think that's all of the knits and pictures to share from Michigan. We had a good time. School's back in tomorrow, so we'll get back into the grind...for the three weeks until Thanksgiving.

And here's the second one! I got it done just in time for us to go to Michigan, where it was chilly and C wore it every day.

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Mostly the same modifications as the last one - button placket (albeit better executed this time), plus an additional attempt at making the hood less pointy. It definitely succeeded, perhaps a bit too much:

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I used the instructions in this link, starting the recommended 2.5" before the end of the hood. I think next time I'll try something in between this and the pointiness of the pattern as written.

Pattern: Wonderful Wallaby, by Carol A. Anderson (I got it at my LYS)
Yarn: Berroco Comfort, in #9734 Licorice and #9729 Smokestack
Needles: US7/4.5mm for most of it, but the arm cuffs were US5, and then US6 from wrist to elbow to taper the sleeves a bit.
Gauge: 5 st/in in stockinette on US7
Dates: 9/29/08 - 10/22/08
Notes: See my notes from J's Wallaby, plus notes above regarding the hood.

He really likes it a lot, and as I mentioned, wore it every day while we were in Michigan (they both did). I'm happy! These definitely won't be my last Wallabies!

Two posts in a day! Will wonders never cease?

I also finished some socks, but wanted to put them in a separate post from the Wallaby so that it didn't get too long.

First, the No-purl Monkeys I showed you last time are now finished. I really love them, I'm sad that Knit Picks has discontinued this yarn.

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Pattern: Monkey, by Cookie A, from Knitty
Yarn: Knit Picks Memories in Redwood Forest
Needles: US1/2.25mm
Gauge: 9 st/in in stockinette
Dates: 9/7/08 - 9/25/08
Notes: I did these without the purl triangles. They have 5 repeats on the leg, and an eye-of-partridge heel.

Next are some house socks for M's grandma, whose birthday is next week but who was in the hospital this week so I gave them to her early. They're done in worsted weight, so went really fast. I don't particularly like short-row heels, but in socks this fast I didn't bother with doing a toe-up flap. In the picture they're stretched out more than normal, because her feet are significantly smaller than mine. She really liked them, and appreciated having them for her hospital stay.

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Pattern: Traveler Socks, by Diana Gates
Yarn: Plymouth Encore Worsted in 180, a dark pink
Needles: US 5 / 3.75 mm
Dates: 10/10/08 - 10/12/08
Notes: I made these short so that she wouldn't have a hard time pulling them on. I also did them on 36 sts instead of 40, because her foot is small. I eliminated one of the purls on each side of the cable. I skipped the short-row toe for a "normal" one: cast on 8 each needle using Judy's Magic Caston, increased every row 3 times to 28 stitches, then every other row to 36 stitches. I did 5 repeats to the heel, then 2 more on leg and about an inch of ribbing.

Well, it's done! We went and picked out buttons, and I'm thrilled with how it came out!

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As I mentioned in the last post, I made some modifications, the most obvious being that I added a button placket instead of the split neck in the pattern. It *mostly* worked. I have some issues to fix in the one I'm making for C, the main one being that I did way too much garter stitch before splitting, and had to put a "fake" button down there. Because of this the top button is too high as well. I think it still looks okay, though. Here are some shots of the button placket buttoned and open, in case anyone else wants to try it. I k1/yo'ed to make an extra 5 stitches at the placket, held the extras to the back, and worked the sweater back and forth with the back stitches on a DPN until the split was big enough that I could put all of the stitches on the circular without it stretching too much.

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I really love the colors he chose, and the whole thing was really fun to knit. I have one for C on the needles already, but I see many more in my future after that. It's a great pattern!

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Pattern: Wonderful Wallaby, by Carol A. Anderson (I got it at my LYS)
Yarn: Berroco Comfort, in 9741 Bitter Sweet, 9755 Wild Cherry, and 9731 Kidz Orange
Needles: US7/4.5mm for most of it, but the arm cuffs were US5, and then US6 from wrist to elbow to taper the sleeves a bit.
Gauge: 5 st/in in stockinette on US7
Dates: 8/30/08 - 9/27/08
Notes: See my previous entry for a list of my modifications.

And now on to Wallaby #2!

I've been really lame at this lately, so sorry. Life is really in the way. I've got to start thinking about the kids' bedtime, so I'm going to blaze through the past month or so of knitting. My apologies in advance.

First, I finished a few things from my last post. I did finish my Clapotis during the Olympics/Ravelympics! I'm really happy with it. However, I still haven't gotten some good outside shots of it. Here are some nighttime/indoor photos, the best I could do rushing to get the picture posted practically *during* the closing ceremonies. Yep, I was just in the nick of time!

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Pattern: Clapotis, of course, by Kate Gilbert, from Knitty
Yarn: Mama Llama Caspian 3-Ply, in Venice, held single
Needles: US5/3.75mm
Dates: 8/8/08 - 8/23/08 A Ravelympics win!
Notes: Although I used fingering weight, I still held it singly, and just did a different amount of repeats. I don't actually know how many I did, I used the 'rule of 5ths" which is that 1/5 is increasing, 3/5 straight, and 1/5 decreasing. I had 165g, so I divided it up and used 33g in the increase section, then did straight rows until I had 33g left. I ended up using 163g out of the 165, so that worked out pretty well!

Here's my Ravelympics "medal!"

Next are the Broadripples I'd started last time, too. I really love how they came out, and I've actually been able to start wearing them, since they have so much cotton. These were my second, and sadly last, pair of socks to qualify for this year's Summer of Socks. I think the winner of the "most socks" contest knit something like 28 pairs!

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Pattern: Broadripple, by Rob Matyska, from Knitty
Yarn: ONline Supersocke Cotton Beach Color 83, #948
Needles: US1/2.25mm
Dates: 7/31/08 - 8/31/08
Notes: I wasn't in a garter-stitch-in-the-round mood when I started these, so I did ribbing. I tried to figure out something that would somewhat flow into the pattern. It kind of worked. And since I used fingering weight instead of sport, I knit these on 70 stitches, and they fit great. I sort of fudged the centering of three repeats on the top of the foot, with a stockinette bottom.

Oh, and I had to knit another Shedir. My hairdresser's mom fought and beat breast cancer 10 years ago, and now she's been diagnosed with a sort of lymphoma. She didn't lose her hair with the breast cancer treatment, but when I went in for my last haircut (I've been seeing Kellie for almost 20 years now) she had just started chemo this time around and it was already getting thin. Kellie was leaving the next week to go to Michigan to see her mom, so I had to get on it! She called and asked her mom's favorite color. I went straight from the salon to the yarn store to pick up some chocolate brown Calmer and cast on as soon as I got home. I think it turned out the perfect size--it fit my 5yo fine so won't be too big without hair, but it also fit me, so she'll still be able to wear it when her hair grows back. I LOVE this hat, and HATE that I've had to knit three of them for friends/family of friends who have cancer.

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Pattern: Shedir, by Jenna Wilson, from Knitty (notice a Knitty theme lately?)
Yarn: Rowan Calmer, in 481, Chocolate Brown
Needles: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Dates: 8/6/08 - 8/15/08
Notes: I didn't change anything, other than using smaller needles and perhaps making the ribbing a bit longer.

And now for some WIPs...the Apres Surf Hoodie is a bit longer, but not a lot. Other things have taken priority lately. I did work on it some while in Houston for a business trip a couple of weeks back (before being run out of town by Hurricane Ike, which thankfully we were able to get a flight out a day early), but not a ton. But what is new is the Wonderful Wallaby for J that was a "backup" Ravelympics project. You know, in case I got my Clapotis done early. Heh. So my Ravelympics team, the "Team Editors" decided to have a "September Smash" and try to crank out our Ravelympics projects that didn't get done (or in my case, even started) by the end of the closing ceremonies. So I've been working on it diligently while watching Netflix'd Battlestar Galactica and waiting for the fall TV season to arrive.

I started with the sleeves:

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Then knit the body and joined the sleeves:

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And finally got to the top of the yoke, where he could try it on!

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He thought it was so funny to try it on with the needles still in the neck. I'm actually done now, I kitchenered the hood last night during The Big Bang Theory (is it a surprise that I love this show?), and am now weaving in the ends. Then I need to get some buttons, and I'm finished!

That reminds me to mention my modifications. Encouraged by the great folks in the Wallaby group on Ravelry and a wonderful thread in there with modifications, I made two. Instead of knitting the body up to the top of the pocket and then picking up the pocket stitches along the bottom with a crochet hook, I used someone's fabulous idea of knitting *k1, yo* along the bottom on the second row above the ribbing, for as many pocket stitches as I needed. On the next row, I knit the k1s and put the yo's on a holder. I continued the body up, and then simply put the held stitches back on a needle to knit the pocket. Easy as pie! Much easier (I'd imagine) than doing the picking up with the hook thing. The other modification I did was to attempt a button placket instead of the split neck. I think it mostly worked, I'll find out when I try to get buttons through my holes!

I've also finished another pair of socks for the new year of Ravelry Sock Knitters Anonymous Sockdown, but I haven't taken pictures yet. I'll post those next time! In the meantime, I'll show you the first sock done:

All for tonight, have a good one!

What I've got today is nothin' but WIPs.

First, the Apres Surf Hoodie in progress that I mentioned last time. Here's where I am on the back:

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The yarn is Brown Sheep Cotton Fine, which I haven't used, but it's the baby sister of Cotton Fleece, which I have a slight addiction to. And so far it seems to be working well with the pattern. Here's a closeup of the lace pattern. It's a nice one, not too hard--perfect summer knitting.

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Next are my Broadripples, in ONline Supersocke Cotton Beach Color 83, #948. I'm doing them on US1/2.25mm needles over 70 stitches. I'm past the heel now and I've reduced down to (I think) 66 stitches for the foot, doing my usual 32 stitches on the stockinette sole. I really like how these are coming out! I must get a better picture when I pick them up again.

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And why have I not picked them up since last Friday? The Ravelympics, of course! I'm knitting my very first (can you believe it?) Clapotis, in Mama Llama Caspian 3-Ply in Venice, a beautiful variegated pink with some splashes of green. I'm happy that the green seems to be behaving itself and not making weird pools. I had one going right at the end of the increase section, which I ripped and changed my tension to get rid of. So far so good! I think I'm about half done.

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And here's a closeup of the part that I've dropped so far (the fun part!):

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Even though the yarn is fingering weight, I'm doing it single-stranded on US5/3.75mm needles. I didn't actually pay attention to how many repeats I did, I was going by the rule of fifths (1/5 increase, 3/5 straight, 1/5 decrease) by weight rather than the pattern. I'm sure I did at least one or two extra repeats of the increase section.

I also have yet another Shedir on the needles for yet another friend. Her mom is just starting chemo. I have to get that done by the 18th because that's when my friend is heading home to see her mom. It's coming out well, I'm in the crown decreases.

I'm hoping this will be the third and final installment of today's ginormous post.

You might remember that I had started, long ago, some Rainbow Socks out of some awesomely green Knit Picks Felici. I finally got around to finishing them! I love, love, LOVE them.

I started out thinking that perhaps the longer stripes of the Felici were too long for the pattern, sometimes the diamonds got obscured because the stripe color hadn't changed by the time the next section was started (see the bright green swath at the ball of my left foot, that's actually two diamonds blended together). But when all was said and done, I really like the effect.

I also thought they might be a bit big, or maybe that the fabric was too loosey-goosey with the US 1.5/2.5mm needles. The pattern calls for 7.5 st/in, and I couldn't bear to knit at less than 8 st/in in sock yarn, so I went with that. I'm not sure if maybe the designer has really big feet or what, but even at a smaller gauge, they're definitely not tight. In the end I tossed them in the dryer for just a bit, and they tightened up to a perfect fit. And the Felici yarn is SO soft. I highly recommend it. Sadly, the irregular-length stripes that the original had (easier seen in my kids' socks) has been discontinued and replaced with equal-length stripes in different colors, but if they've kept the base yarn the same, I can testify that it's significantly softer than their Essential solid sock yarn. Super soft. Even J, who complains at the slightest amount of itch in any yarn, hasn't complained at all about his Firefighter socks. And trust me, that's really saying something. Awesome yarn. I really should try some of the new colors, just to see if it's the same. I can't believe that they discontinued the original colors so quickly. Luckily, I have one more batch of the original in browns, that are soon to be kneesocks for me! I'm definitely sad to see the irregular stripes go.

A side view--the diamonds work from side to side, so the sides show the whole height of the short row sections, and from the front and back you get maximum zigzag action.

Pattern: Rainbow Socks, by Susanne Kitzmann, formerly posted at MagKnits, but now available on the designer's website.
Yarn: Knit Picks Felici, in Arugula
Gauge/Needles: 8 st/in on US1.5/2.5mm needles
Notes: I couldn't quite figure out the short row instructions in the pattern, and since I had recently finished the On-Your-Toes socks and the yarnover method was fresh in my mind, that's what I used for all of the short rows in these socks. Other than that, I don't think I changed anything in this pattern. I'll definitely be making it again, it was fun to do something completely different than the run-of-the-mill sock pattern.

And now for something NOT socks! Will wonders never cease? I have to start out by saying that I LOVE Knit Picks Sock Garden yarn in Zinnia. LOVE it. The colors are so me. I bought 3 skeins eons ago, and so far I've made:
Jaywalkers
A Wee Tiny Sock
Mitten Ornaments
a square for my sock yarn blankie (although it isn't pictured there)
and my iPod Cozy.

This is the yarn that never ends,
It just goes on and on my friends...
Somebody started knitting it, not knowing what it was,
And they'll continue knitting it forever just because
This is the yarn that never ends...

Despite the fact that you now hate me for getting that song stuck in your head, I'm thrilled that this yarn seemingly has no end. I still had tons left over, what to do with it?

For my dreamy yarn, a Dream Swatch.

I've never really been a headwrap sort of person, but I really love this and have already worn it. For one, it's nice to have knitwear that can be worn in the summer! Excuse the dorky smile...

How can you resist the colors of the Zinnia? And why is red so impossible to get right in photos?

Can you believe I still have some left? I'll save it for more blankie squares later on.

Pattern: Dream Swatch, by Wendy Bernard of Knit and Tonic
Yarn: My beloved and discontinued Knit Picks Sock Garden, in Zinnia
Needles: US3/3.25mm
Notes: I only did three repeats of the stitch pattern (18 sts across), because I just wasn't sure I'd like the wider version on my head as much. I love how this came out. As many others have commented, it does curl, but blocks well in this yarn, and I have no problem keeping at least the part that goes over my head flat while wearing it. I did play with adding in some garter stitch to counteract the curling, but I didn't like the look of it, so I ripped it and went with the pattern.

Last but certainly not least, I finally knit up the yarn that I dyed at my knitting group's dyeing party! These are my happy socks.

I'm calling them my Ke'e Socks, named after my favorite beach on Kauai, where civilization ends and the Napali Coast begins. Lush vegetation and flowers meet sand and water in one beautiful place. Here's a picture of M with baby C, in September 2000:

Anyway, I love this combination of blue, green, and yellow--almost as much as I love the red, orange, and yellow of the Zinnia. As I explained in the other post, it's Knit Picks Bare, dyed with Koolaid in lemonade, lemon-lime, and ice blue raspberry. I am beyond happy with how they came out!

They're just a standard stockinette sock, top-down, and I added an eye-of-partridge heel, just for fun.

I'll definitely be dyeing more yarn in the future, I think I'm hooked!

Pattern: Stockinette on 64 stitches, with an EOP heel. Cuff down, standard toe.
Yarn: Knit Picks Bare, dyed with Koolaid on a warping board to get self-striping yarn.
Needles: US1/2.25mm
Dates: 7/15/08 - 7/30/08

OMG, I think I'm caught up. My "to be posted" folder is empty. Hallelujah! Not that I don't have some new WIPs, but no photos as of yet:
A hoodie may perhaps be in the works
I'll finally be knitting a Clap, for the summer knitting Olympics (Rav link)
And a Wallaby is my backup if the Clap gets done too quickly.

I'll try to get pictures of my Apres Surf progress soon, I'm about halfway done with the back and I think it's looking good!

And now to continue the earlier post...

Next come more Sockdown socks, these were for June, which was Priscilla Gibson-Roberts month. I had some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in the stash that I wanted to use up. It was one I thought I might use for a pirate hat lining, but didn't end up using. So a single skein in Aslan was added to the pile. Because I like to see variegated yarns "unobstructed," I chose Priscilla's Dream Socks, a plain pattern, and made it even plainer by not carrying the ribbing all the way down the leg. I like how the yarn came out, no weird pooling. I was expecting spirals like Shepherd Sock usually does, but didn't even get much of that.

I made them short-ish because they're cuff-down and I only had one skein, but that picture makes them look shorter than they are, the cuff is about 4".

Oh, and these were also my first socks for the Summer of Socks 2008, too! I almost forgot about that (and must remember to add the button to the sidebar).

Pattern: Priscilla's Dream Socks, by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts, from Interweave Knits' Favorite Socks book
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport, in Aslan
Gauge/Needles: 7.5 st/in on US1.5/2.5mm needles
Dates: 6/28/08 - 7/4/08

Next came, at long last, J's Firefighter socks to match C's that I did months ago. Widdershins again, same yarn, same everything, just a tiny bit shorter in the foot. I would guess that he loves them, as he's still pulling them out of the drawer and wearing them, even in the San Diego summer.

Pattern: Widdershins, by Brooke Chenoweth Creel, from Knitty
Yarn: Knit Picks Felici, in Firefighter
Needles: US1/2.25mm
Gauge: 8.75 st/in
Dates: 2/25/08 - 3/8/08

Okay, taking another break, to make and eat dinner. Be back later!

Continuing with my monthly posting of a pile of knitting without a lot of other substance... sorry!

Oh, let's see here, what's in my "to be posted" folder?

Ah, first is the May Mystery socks for the Ravelry Sock Knitters Anonymous Sockdown. All I saw when I started the sock was the cuff and the fair isle part. There actually was supposed to be a lot more fair isle down the leg, but seeing as that would be way too hot of a sock for here, I went with only the top little bit, which I love. If I had known there would be cables later on I might not have chosen the navy as the main color, but that's the risk/fun of mystery socks!

Did I mention that I love the fair isle bit? And all done with leftovers!

Pattern: Ravelry SKA Sockdown May Mystery sock, now called European Mezza Socks, by Sara Morris
Yarn: Knit Picks Essential, in Navy, Grass, and Dusk, with Wildfoote in Camel in there as well.
Needles: US1/2.25mm
Gauge: 9 st/in
Dates: 5/13/2008 - 6/26/2008

Okay, J the younger needs me, I'm going to sign this off here and continue later...I promise!

So I said I'd be back after that last meme...two weeks ago. Oops.

I did finally finish something! The kids need a new bath mat in their bathroom. I should start out by saying that their bathroom is green. Really green. It was green when we moved in, and it's still green.

GREEN!

We already had some other higher-priority repainting to do when we moved, so that got done first, and I decided to work with the green. It's a kids' bathroom after all, and the green went nicely with a fish theme that I was able to make with, of all things, items from the Target dollar spot some years ago. Some drawer pulls

And some of those plastic stick-on things for the mirrors and the shower

Along with some colorful towels

And the green didn't look half bad. The fish bath mat, however, which with its blue and yellow looked great when I got it, but now...not so much.

I thought about just buying a new one, looked around at what to replace it with, and then I saw this pattern for a blanket, and an idea struck. I played around with kitchen cotton, and after a few iterations came up with these:

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Many fish later (okay, so it's only 20), a new bath mat is born!

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Each fish is made with a double strand of Sugar & Cream, one multi and one solid. I added in the orange fish to represent the Garibaldi swimming in California's waters, especially around Catalina Island, one of our favorite getaways. And I love the pop of color--you can still tell that the blue and green ones are fish, but the orange ones really stand out.

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And it goes great in the green bathroom! Much better than the dingy old fish.

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Pattern: A Recipe for Fish by April Broken
Yarn: Lily Sugar & Cream, in Summer Splash, Playtime, Hot Blue, Hot Green, and Hot Orange (double stranded one multi + one solid)
Needles: US9
Dates: 5/16/08-6/20/08
Notes: These fish, at least as I knit them, don't lay flat. The head part domes out a bit. I didn't feel like figuring out how to fix it once I had made several, but if I were to make a whole blanket out of them, I would play around to see if doing the decreases to the tail differently would help.

In other news, we went to Disneyland/CA Adventure last Sunday, hoping for a last chance to get a good day in before summer craziness ensues. Whether people aren't traveling yet or because it was Father's Day, it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. We had a great time. They've been having this "Year of a Million Dreams" thing for their 50th anniversary (which seems like it's been going on much longer than a year, but whatever), where supposedly the workers can grant people "dreams" as they wish. A worker at Space Mountain, for example, could pick a family at random and send them to the front of the line. In all the times we've been going (we have passes), we've never gotten a single lousy dream. Well, Sunday was it! We went on the Boudin sourdough bakery tour at California Adventure (because the kids like the free bread sample), and we were told that we were a chosen tour to get a special prize at the end. On our way out, we each got a Mickey head shaped sourdough bread! Perhaps not the most exciting "dream" they give out, but it was cute, the bread was fresh-made and really good, and the kids loved it.

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And while I'm on the subject of Disneyland (and Disney World), for anyone who goes more than once or twice a year or is willing to spend a little to make the most of a Disney trip, I can't recommend Ride Max more. It's a web site where, for a subscription of $25 a year (or only $15 for 90 days for those using it for a single trip), you put in when you're arriving and when you're leaving, the list of rides you want to go on, and it plans out your whole day for maximum ride-age and minimal line-age. They have historical wait times for every ride at every time of day, and they can calculate what's the best time to go on Indiana Jones (which for us has always been smack-dab in the middle of the Fantasmic/fireworks show), when to go and get fastpasses for a ride later, and it knows all sorts of tricks and tips to help you get the most out of your day. It builds in breaks for meals, and even takes into account how long it takes to walk from one ride to the next one on the list. We've used it a few times now, and it's AWESOME. One time we had Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion on our list (they're right next to each other), and we walked by at one point and both lines were insanely long, more than 30 minutes a piece. When we got there at our scheduled time only about a half-hour later, we walked right on both rides. It was incredible. There are some rides (Space Mountain, Indiana Jones) where no matter what you do you're going to wait, but the schedule tells you when to go and get your fastpass so that when you come back you can get in the short line. We LOVE it. They have it for both Disneyland and CA Adventure here (although obviously the historical data is more extensive for Disneyland since CA Adv. is pretty new), and they also have it for Disney World. It is well well worth $25 a year for us, and would even be well worth $15 if you were only going for a single weekend. Or a single day. It's that good. And I should say that I have no association with Ride Max at all other than being an extremely impressed customer!

Advertisement over, and on to a bit more knitting. Did I ever post these socks? I don't think I did.

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These were another dual entry for the Ravelry Sock Knitters Anonymous Sockdown for April and the Townsend Socks KAL Yahoo group. And yes, my last pair of socks were also Jeanie Townsend and also Knit Picks Essential...I liked the combination! I'm not too often a lace sock person, but I do love these.

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Of course, it's 90F today and I want no part of wool socks, but I'll get a ton of wear out of them in the fall, the Dusk color goes great with jeans.

Pattern: Cascading Leaves, by Jeanie Townsend
Yarn: Knit Picks Essential, in Dusk
Needles: US1 using magic loop
Dates: 4/27/08-5/27/08

I also finally finished a dishcloth that I started AGES ago, while trying to figure out entrelac for my entrelac scarf last year.

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It's Dave's great Garterlac Dishcloth pattern, and I made much use of knittedkitty's photo tutorial that can be found in her Flickr here. If I hadn't set it down for more than a year, it would have been a quick and fun dishcloth. As it is, it wasn't so fast, but it was still fun, and it's a great use of variegated kitchen cotton!

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Pattern: Garterlac Dishcloth, by Dave of Criminy Jickets
Yarn: Lily Sugar & Cream in Countryside Ombre
Needles: US8

Whew, I think that's it. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Ack, it's been forever since I posted. First, glittrgirl tagged me for a meme. I haven't done one in a while, so why not...I'll try to get back later with some WIPs!

The Rules:

Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1. What I was doing 10 years ago:
Enjoying kidless life with M! We'd been married three years, and were planning a trip to England and France for that September. Work-wise, we'd just finished the Neurolab space shuttle mission (STS-90), and were in the midst of post-flight data collections every so often with the crew. And lots of data analysis! And training a student to do even more data analysis. For that mission I took M, my parents, his parents, and his aunt and uncle with me out to Florida for the launch. It was the first launch for all of them, and it was really great to have them there. We spent a fun day at Epcot and of course a day or two touring around KSC.

2. What 5 things are on on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):
Since today is waning, I'll make this my list for tomorrow.
1. Make C's lunch and walk him to school with J in tow, giving C his practice spelling test on the way there.
2. Get laundry detergent and a few other things at Target, and go to the grocery store.
3. Possibly go in to work, again with J in tow, to hook up a mass spectrometer to a vacuum pump to rough. I meant to do it today, but completely forgot about it until about 5 minutes before I had to go.
4. Pick up C from school and take him to a doctor's appointment.
5. Go over to BIL and SIL's house for a barbecue for MIL's birthday. I'm bringing vegetable gyoza from Trader Joe's (my all-time favorite appetizer!) and baked potato fixin's.

3. Snacks I enjoy:
Nachos (with the works--cheese, beans, jalapenos, sour cream, guac), Cheez-it crackers, fruit (especially cherries), M&M's

4. Things I would do if I was a billionaire:
Oh man, this is hard. I'd pay off debts, put a ton of money into M's business so that it could really take off, and find a great charity helping kids get their educations around the world. I would probably also stop working and get maybe a part-time "fun" job during the kids' school hours. That way I could take them to school and pick them up, help with homework, etc. Oh, and of course I'd go over our trust with the attorney so that Uncle Sam doesn't steal it all when I die!

5. Places I have lived:
1. Anaheim, CA (age 0-5)
2. Bellingham, WA (5-11)
3. Fullerton, CA (11-18)
4. La Jolla, CA (18-20 at college)
5. San Diego, CA (20-31)
6. Carlsbad, CA (31-present)

I feel guilty that I have neither posted in my blog nor read too many others in so long, I won't tag anyone from here. I'm sure that most people I'd tag have done it already and just don't know it because I've been too swamped to keep up.

I still haven't started on the second Rainbow Sock, but the orphan Spring Twists sock now has a mate!

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Pattern: Spring Twists, by Jeanie Townsend, which can be downloaded when you join the Townsend Socks KAL Yahoo group.
Yarn: Knit Picks Essential, in Grass. These only took 56g! They're shorter than the pattern specified, but not that short. I'm already using the leftovers...
Needles: US1/2.25mm
Gauge: 8 st/in
Notes: I accidentally started the first sock doing only three cable twists per repeat instead of the four in the pattern. I decided to just leave it, and thus my socks are a little shorter, not a bad thing when it's already in the 80's here some days. I'm happy!

I also did something totally fun with my knitting group that I'd never done before...dye yarn! Wendy had us all over to her house where she had a super-cool setup in her backyard with tables tilted so the water ran off the back and everything. There was Knit Picks Bare in every weight, Koolaid in every flavor, and margaritas. Obviously, we had a ball. I dyed some red, some blue/green, and some stripes! Kelie made her own warping board and she brought it (she has more photos of the day posted too). I wound some fingering weight to make stripes (with her pulling the yarn off the swift for me as I went, a HUGE help!). Here it is during the dye process, with Ice Blue Raspberry, Lemon Lime, and Lemonade. The clear one is just water, I was afraid if I left it out by itself the other colors would wick into my "white" stripe.

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Drying:

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And wound into a cute little cake! There are actually two of these, but the other one is the ugly twin...

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Here are the green and red ones:

I'll leave you with this beautiful shot of everyone's yarn drying on Wendy's umbrella. Isn't it beautiful?!

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First, I've started leaving orphan socks around. I've never had much trouble with "second sock syndrome," but for some reason, I have two lone socks finished with their mates not even on the needles yet:

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Pattern: Rainbow Socks, by Susanne Kitzmann, from the former MagKnits. I believe the designer (who is German) is looking for a copy of the English translation from MagKnits so that she can post it. Ravelers are working on the problem, stay tuned.
Yarn: Knit Picks Felici, in Arugula
Needles: US1.5/2.5mm

I like these, but still am not sure about the fit. They may be a tad loose. I may start the second sock on US1/2.25mm needles just to see the difference, but all of my US1s are taken right now, so it's on the back burner.

Orphan #2:

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Pattern: Spring Twists, by Jeanie Townsend, which can be downloaded when you join the Townsend Socks KAL Yahoo group. She has a lot of great patterns, it's worth it to join!
Yarn: Knit Picks Essential, in Grass
Needles: US1/2.25mm

It's Townsend month in the Ravelry Sockdown, not to mention that I always have to have a sock in progress in my work bag (you know, for those unexpected waits here or there), so the mate for this sock will be on the needles by tonight. It may be just a tad snug, but I sort of like the effect of the rounding of the ribbing between the cables caused by the stretching.

What has caused this sudden distraction from finishing socks? A couple of things. First, I have to announce that the Adirondack Pullover is on the move! See here for the state it's been in for over a year. Sad, isn't it? Well look at it now!

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Pattern: Adirondack Pullover, by Elizabeth Morrison, which I got from The Garter Belt, but which she now has on her personal web site. She mentioned lately that TGB might be going the way of MagKnits, so I highly suggest heading over there and downloading anything you might want from their "Complimentaries" section before they disappear, there are some great free patterns over there!
Needles: US7/4.5mm

I decided that it was dumb to be intimidated by this sweater, letting it sit in the bag untouched for so long. This being my first adult sweater, I've been so afraid of doing all that knitting (man knitting, even) and not realizing until the end that it didn't fit. With a top-down it's easy to try on, but with 80 kajillion stitches on the needles before the arm split, even the act of putting it all on waste yarn was overwhelming. But I finally did it, had M try it on, and continued on my way. Had him try it again a few inches down from the arm split, and I think it might be coming out okay. I'm sure it'll be done during a time when he'll want no part of a wool sweater, but at least he'll have it for next winter.

Last but not least, I may be in trouble here. I've started a sock yarn leftovers blankie. I followed very closely Shelly's progress as she knit hers, and sort of had in the back of my head that I would like to make one, too. Then I got started making my Wee Tiny Socks for my wall decoration, and figured that would be a good use of my leftovers. But I still had more! Finally this weekend, in a moment of weakness, I cast on. I started on Friday with this:

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And, um, I might now have this, less than two days later:

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I do believe that this blankie is the crack of the knitting world. I have now run out of sock yarn leftovers (without repeating the ones I have), so I'm stuck with either waiting until I knit more socks and have more leftovers (a torturous wait) or starting to use skeins I haven't even used for socks yet, thus defeating the purpose of the "leftover" blankie. I refuse to stoop to this level. So I suppose I'll put it out there that if any of you have sock yarn scraps of the semisolid, striped, or variegated kind that you don't have plans for, I'll be more than willing to take them off your hands. Even very small lengths would help, on two squares so far I've used multiple scraps that weren't enough by themselves. It's crack, I tell you! For anyone considering this project for yourselves, you have been warned.

Still knitting things I can get done quickly...

I had gotten some Tofutsies in an effort to branch out in my sock yarn for the Summer of Socks last summer. I didn't manage to use it during the summer, but finally got to it this month. It was Ann Budd month in Ravelry: Sockdown, so I chose the On Your Toes Socks from the Summer '07 issue of Interweave Knits. Since the yarn has a lot of cotton content, I made them anklets. I've worn them several times, and I like them a lot! I have to say, though, the yarn was really splitty. I didn't particularly enjoy knitting with it, but I like the variegation in the colors and I like how the sock feels now that it's done.

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My usual stockinette sole shot:

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One breakthrough with these is that I finally got a short-row heel to fit. I haven't done that many of them, primarily because my first attempt wasn't too successful. Those socks fall down under my heel every time I wear them. I figured it was because they don't have the structure of the heel flap to keep them up, and I've avoided short-row heels since then. With February being "new heel" month as I said last time, I had wanted to give short-rows another chance, but didn't get to it. The Ann Budd pattern I chose for this month is toe-up with a short-row heel, so I got to do it this time around. At the suggestion of Debi in the group, I followed her instructions to make a mini flap before starting the short-row heel, knitting the heel as written, and then picking up just a few stitches along the flap at the end and decreasing them out. The heel fits MUCH better than my previous attempt, and although I have to admit that they sort of feel like they're falling down sometimes, they're actually not. They don't move at all, and I'm really happy to finally have found something that works for me!

I'll note here, too, that the other thing that always turned me off of short-row heels? Picking up wraps. I HATE it. The yo short-row heel in the pattern was the first time I'd tried this method, and I'm totally sold. The p3togtbl on the purl side can be tricky, but I'm more than willing to put up with some purling through the back loops if it means I don't have to pick up wraps.

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Pattern: On Your Toes Socks, by Ann Budd, from Interweave Knits Summer 2007
Yarn: SWTC Tofutsies, in #736, Under Foot
Needles/Gauge: 8.75 st/in on US0/2mm needles
Dates: 3/8/08 - 3/24/08
Notes: I used the cast-on in the pattern, but I like Judy's Magic Cast-on much better. And as I mentioned above, I knit a mini flap of 8 rows before starting the heel. I knit the yo short-row heel per the pattern, and added the eye of partridge pattern to the heel per Deb's suggestion for durability. I like how the EOP turned out in the yarn. Finally, I made them short.

And still more short socks! These are kid socks to boot. My friend who I made the BFF socks for has two daughters. They were recipients of two of the pirate hats from last Christmas. The older one also inherited my First Socks Ever after that unfortunate run-in with the dryer. She's been wearing them as slipper socks this winter. The younger daughter mentioned to her mom that mom had socks, sister had socks, she didn't have any socks. A problem which must be remedied! I had 30g of the Smooshy left over from the BFF socks, so I thought I'd try and squeeze some anklets out of it for her. I started out doing another Ann Budd pattern, the Mock Wave Cable socks from Favorite Socks, thinking I could get a second March Sockdown entry in. But alas, the first sock was taking way too much yarn. Lace was definitely in order. I had seen this pair of toe-up Hedera socks a while back, and stored it in the back of my mind. Faced with limited yarn and the need for toe-up, this was definitely the pattern for me. I modified the chart by taking out the outer two columns of purl stitches to make the repeat 8 stitches instead of 10, so that I could fit three repeats along the top of my 52-stitch sock.

As it turned out, it was really close. I was concerned enough about running out of yarn that after getting as far as I dared on the first sock, which was one repeat of the lace pattern as the cuff, I didn't bind it off. I left it connected to the ball, and knit the entire second sock from the other end. That way if I got to the end of the second sock and didn't have enough to complete the whole repeat, I could rip back the first sock and use that yarn to get the second sock to the same point. It wasn't needed, I had enough to do one repeat on each. I only had yards left after binding off, though! Phew.

I haven't given them to her yet, and C staunchly drew the line at me asking him to put on pink footies for a blog picture. So you get "on the counter" shots instead.

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As always, the stockinette is beautiful, too:

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Pattern: Hedera, by Cookie A, from Knitty; heel done using number calculator and instructions from the You're Putting Me On sock form
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy, in Cool Fire
Gauge/Needles: 8.5 st/in on US1/2.25mm
Notes: I used the chart from this post, making it an 8-stitch repeat by omitting the outer two purl columns. I went toe-up starting with Judy's Magic Cast-on (linked above), and increased to 52 stitches. I did the heel flap per the You're Putting Me On socks, because there's the handy chart there for figuring out how to do the heel flap with all different numbers of stitches.

So although New Heel Feburary Sockdown is over, I've continued my journey in new sock heels, learning both the yo short-row heel (and the mini flap to improve the fit) as well as a new way to knit a toe-up heel flap. The only one of those I'd ever done are last month's Widdershins, which incorporate the heel flap as you knit it, while the You're Putting Me On socks are more traditional, knitting a flap and picking up stitches. I really love learning new things, so this has all been really fun for me. And that new yo short-row technique is coming in really handy for my new socks on the needles...more to come!

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Just some little things this time. Seems all I'm able to knit these days.

First, some socks for C the older. These were for February's Ravelry: Sockdown, during which we had to choose either a Eunny Jang pattern or a sock with a heel that was new to us. I like a lot of Eunny's patterns, but I have been really excited for February to come around so that I could learn a new heel. I love learning new things I haven't tried before. Believe it or not, I'd never made a toe-up sock with a heel flap before, so I chose Widdershins from Knitty. Can I just say that the designer must be the loosest knitter on the planet? The suggested gauge for these socks is 7 st/in on US0/2mm needles! I'm a pretty loose knitter and often need to go down a needle size to get gauge, but yow. Even I get 9 st/in on US0 in sock yarn. But it worked out in my favor, because I wanted these to be for almost-8-year-old C, so I knit them per the pattern on US1/2.25mm needles, and they're perfect! At 8.75 st/in, thankyouverymuch. Something was off on my row gauge on the second sock--I started the gusset increases at the same point in the stripe pattern, but somehow I got to the required number of stitches before the first one. So from the heel up they're slightly different, but it doesn't bother me. C will certainly never notice or care.

Being my first heel flap, I definitely had to trust the pattern while knitting the first sock. I had no idea what was going on until it was done. During the second sock, of course it made a lot more sense. And the fit is much better than the short-row heels that his previous toe-up socks had. So I'm happy about that. I'll have to try a toe-up heel flap for some socks for me, so that I can compare how they feel.

It was my first time using the (relatively new) Knit Picks Felici, too. Ooh, and making that link I notice that they have new colors! I really loved knitting with this yarn. It's really soft. I can't say anything yet about how they wear, but the feel of the finished socks is really lovely. I got some balls for myself, too--I want to try the Rainbow Socks from MagKnits with one color, and some knee-highs with the other.

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Pattern: Widdershins, by Brooke Chenoweth Creel, from Knitty
Yarn: Knit Picks Felici, in Firefighter
Needles: US1/2.25mm
Gauge: 8.75 st/in
Dates: 2/25/08 - 3/8/08
Notes: I don't think I changed anything on the pattern, other than knitting it at a tighter gauge. I enjoyed learning the new heel!

Next, something really small. I've had this Curly Purly Egg pattern printed out for ages. I had some leftovers from this scarf, and these two socks that I thought would be perfect. With Easter around the corner, I finally got to knitting my egg. Super fast pattern. I wonked up the increases, but I think it's still okay. Then the stuffing showed just a tad, so I felted them slightly to tighten them up.

Before felting:

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After felting:

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Pattern: Curly Purly Egg, by Marnie Ann Joyce
Yarn: Yarn: Leftover Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in Carrot and Debbie Bliss Maya in color 16
Needles: US7/4.5mm
Notes: I couldn't get the paired increases next to each other the way she mentions in the pattern, without creating a hole. So I spaced them out, and I think it worked okay. I think I'll try the other pattern in the link below next time, to see how they compare.

I wish I had more variegated worsted yarn, these are fun to make. I did find this pattern, though, which reminded me that I can just stripe or make other patterns, so I see more Easter eggs in my future!

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Sheesh, I'm really slacking here. In the blogging, anyway, if not the knitting.

We just got back from a long weekend of skiing at Mammoth Mountain up north of here, and since none of the Christmas of hats were for any of us, I made a couple.

The first one's for me. I've wanted to knit the Koolhaas hat since I first saw it on brooklyntweed's blog, and it was the reason I went out and bought the IK Holiday '07 magazine. I didn't know what yarn I wanted to use for it, though. I was rummaging around the stash a couple of weeks ago and found the leftovers from my MIL's felted slippers, a whole ball plus a partial. I happened to have my ski jacket out as well, and lo and behold, they matched! So my Koolhaas was born.

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It's surprisingly hard to get a photo of the top or back of your own head, even with the timer...

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Pattern: Koolhaas, by Jared Flood, from Interweave Knits Holiday 2007 issue
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, in Mulled Wine
Needles: US6/4mm for the ribbing, US7/4.5mm for the rest. I could or perhaps should have gone down another size (this was already one down from the pattern).
Dates: Feb. 16-18, 2008
Notes: I really like this hat a lot. I love the lines of it, and, along with everyone else, the way the decreases follow the pattern as they spiral up to the top. I wore it the whole weekend. I did find that by the end of the weekend it was pretty stretched out, but still stayed on my head. I've washed it, and if it's still stretched out I may toss it for a very quick whizz in the dryer to see if I can shrink it back up again. All in all, very happy with it!

Next, I have another FO to blame on Ravelry. There's a thread on the boards there asking what your favorite "obscure" pattern is. Defined as having around 20 or less projects listed in Ravelry. (Note: This thread is guaranteed to triple your queue. Enter at your own risk!) Someone there posted a link to a pattern for an R2D2 beanie, and C happened to be standing by my computer when I brought it up. Of course, he asked for one immediately. Loving the hat myself, I complied, of course:

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Isn't it great!?! I love it. He got a lot of compliments wearing it around town. Here's the back:

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Pattern: R2D2 Beanie, by Carissa Browning
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Grey Heather and odds and ends of black and red, and Red Heart Super Saver in Royal Blue.
Needles: US6/4mm
Dates: Feb. 21-22, 2008
Notes: I did the bottom blue stripe stranded, as I had to get this done quickly and all of that grey duplicate stitch would have taken me way longer. Because of this I changed the chart slightly in the large square area. I made a shorter camera/eye (3 rows) on the front. I also added the red “eye” light that wasn’t on the chart.

The final hat is a quick one that I made for my niece. She needs to have medication put on her head that makes her hair look greasy, so she wears a lot of hats. This is one of the few patterns I saved out of last year's SnB calendar, and it was really quick. Again with the self-photography:

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The crown decreases were different from my normal spiral:

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Pattern: Boarder's Beanie, by Lauren Sanchez, from the Stitch'n'Bitch Calendar 2007; size small (88 sts)
Yarn: Bernat Softee Chunky, in Carnival
Needles: US5/3.75mm
Gauge: 5 st/in
Dates: Mar. 3-6 2008
Notes: I don't think I changed anything on this one, except use smaller needles to make it fit an almost 7-year-old. I think she'll love the colors!

Finally, some socks. These were my Ravelry Sockdown socks for January, in which we were to knit a sock by Cookie A, or one with intarsia. I went with Cookie A. I've had the BFF socks printed out since not too long after I got back into knitting again, so I was glad to have an excuse to get them on the needles. This was my first time knitting with Dream in Color Smooshy, and it really is smooshy! I liked it a lot. It's a bit thicker than many sock yarns, and is soft. Lasted forever, too! It comes in 113g (4oz) skeins, and even though these were for women's size 10 feet, I only used 80g. I bought this pink, and also some black. I'm not much of a pink person (although I loved this yarn), so these socks have gone to a friend.

The color isn't quite right, I took these pictures at the pool at sunset. It's not too far off, though. The pink is a nice bubble-gummy pink with purple flecks throughout.

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Cabled socks take me so much longer than most any other patterning, but I do really like cables a lot. Here's a closeup:

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Pattern: BFF Socks, by Cookie A
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy, in Cool Fire
Needles: US1/2.25mm
Gauge: 8 st/in
Dates: Jan. 8 - Feb. 25, 2008

Whew, sorry for the recent post-and-go behavior.

Oh, and don't forget to change your clocks on Saturday!

I have some dear friends who are sailors. Mr. P has always had a dream to quit his job and sail around for six months, before having kids. He ended up marrying one of my closest friends, and the new Mrs. P soon became enamored with the idea as well, despite the fact that she gets seasick and was violently ill during many of their "training" trips out to the islands around San Diego. That's love!!!

They finally decided to do it--bought a fixer-upper boat, made it good as new, and in 2004 set off for Baja California and the Sea of Cortez...or so they (and we) thought at the time. Turns out that after spending 3 months or so in Mexico, they decided they weren't ready to come back yet, so they made the 25-day hop to the Marquesas. They sailed all over the south Pacific, and after coming back briefly in 2006 to make some money (leaving their boat in New Zealand), continued their adventure. We joined them for a wonderful 9 days in Fiji later that year, and from there they slowly made their way north to the Marshall Islands, making land back in the States at San Francisco at the end of last summer. Three years after first setting sail...and pregnant!

Of course I had to do something really special for these friends, and I wanted it to be tied to their trip upon which the baby was dreamt of and finally conceived. I looked and looked for a baby sweater with a sailboat or fish or something "nautical," but didn't have much luck finding something that was just *perfect.* I had a very specific sweater in mind, and couldn't find it. So I found a plain-jane baby sweater pattern (or one that was easily made plain-jane) with the buttons at the shoulder that I wanted, and set off on my own nautical adventure of creating the South Seas Sweater. My younger son J helped me find the perfect waves. I ran into one of my knitting group friends at the yarn store and she helped me in the excruciating decision of which two blues were the perfect blues--not too stark, not too "baby blue," not too this and that. Of course the yarn was the wrong weight for the pattern I had chosen, so it took a whole evening with the calculator and a swatch to figure out how to modify the size. Started the sweater, it was coming out HUGE. Ripped it out. More math. Finally got it, and set sail once again.

Success!

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I'm so happy with it. It came out exactly the way I envisioned it in my mind, and that NEVER happens. My critical eye notices that the alternate color shows through a bit in the wave part, as I was attempting to "weave" it in back rather than stranding. I didn't want little baby fingers to catch the loops. Not sure if I did it right, probably should have looked up a tutorial before doing it. The back looks great, though! Didn't think to get a picture inside out. And I'm sure a non-knitter would never notice that the fair isle is less than perfect.

Sailing, sailing, over the bounding main...

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My friends love it when pods (?) of dolphins come and jump and play in their bow wake, and Mrs. P even got a small dolphin tattoo while in Tahiti. So with J's help once again, I copied a photo of a dolphin jumping that I wanted to embroider on the arm opposite the buttons. I have to mention here that my previous attempts at embroidering on my knitting looked (in the words of the Yarn Harlot) like ass. So I looked up a bunch of tutorials before trying it on this one, because I really wanted it to look good. It's slightly crooked, but BY FAR my best embroidery ever! Both kids then helped me find silver metal buttons that matched the dolphin.

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After being terrified that the two balls of dark blue that we