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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!