See Jo knit!

Here's a little something I knocked out quickly before Christmas, to give to my sister-in-law:

Happy Christmas from California! Oliver's vest was finished just in time (although there was no time for washing and blocking) and it fits perfectly! At least for the moment. I hear superwash wool tends to grow, but as long as it gets BIGGER I think it will be OK.

Pattern is the Pembroke vest from Petite Purls webzine. Yarn was about 1.5 skeins of Cascade 220 Superwash in forest green. It is painfully cute. There was an issue with the neckline that required picking out the bindoff and reknitting it. (Oliver has quite a sizeable noggin; for future reference, use stretchy bindoffs on neckline.)

We had a wonderful Christmas! Hope you had a great day too!

We made it to California in one piece, and Nana and Papa were SO EXCITED to see us! Oliver is not usually thrilled about his carseat, so we have been distracting, distracting. He likes Auntie Hanna's sunnies!

It's very late and I'm very tired, but I wanted to quickly share what I've been working on the past two days, because it finally seems to be going (mostly) right.



I'm making a vest for my sweet nephew to wear at Christmas, the Pembroke vest, from Cascade 220 Superwash that I bought so long ago I don't even remember where it came from. (Maybe the shop in Iowa that I always like to visit? Possibly.) It's a lovely shade of Christmas-y green, and so soft. Of course I misread the chart and did an extra cable cross in each portion of the pattern repeat, but I don't really think anyone will be able to tell, much, as long as I am consistent with my screw-ups. I also knitted the ribbing at the bottom slightly longer. I'm going to use a 3-needle bind-off at the shoulders, just to make the finishing easier, because I am coming down to the wire as far as time.

I did find a suitable replacement gift for my mother. Here's hoping she isn't too disappointed that she isn't getting knitting this year.

Starting to think that I am not actually smart enough to knit lace. At least not without a repeat of fewer than 7 sts and a gazillion markers.

Frantically revising plans for Christmas knitting, in case you couldn't tell.

Just quickly checking in to let you know that I am alive, if not well, and frantically knitting in the hope of finishing my Christmas projects before getting on the plane to California.

Planned projects include:

• Celaeno shawlette for Mom (started)
• Last year's vest for Dad (hibernating)
• Christmas vest for Oliver (not yet started)
• Giant mittens for SIL (not yet started; trying to find pattern appropriate for a location that gets more than 100 inches of snow annually)

Perhaps I have finally bitten off slightly more than I can chew. Sixteen days left to Christmas Eve. I'll let you know if I make it.

Sorry I've been sort of MIA lately. I have a good excuse this time! My laptop charger and battery died simultaneously, so I have been completely unable to charge my (5-year-old) laptop. The guy at the Apple store was really helpful, and instead of trying to sell me a battery and charger to the tune of $200+, he told me to save myself the money (because let's be honest, my computer IS more than 5 years old, I don't need to invest significant amounts of money into it at this point) and recommended that I find what I needed online. One visit to amazon.com later, and I ordered a battery and charger for the grand total of $55.72. I didn't even have to pay for two-day shipping, thanks to a free trial of Amazon Prime. So I should have at least my charger, if not both, by the time I leave town for the holiday tomorrow.

In the meantime, I have been getting a lot of knitting done, due to the difficulty of navigating Ravelry on my phone. This means that I have finished the seaming on my cardi for NaKniSweMo! I love mattress stitch with a passion that knows no bounds. My seams are beautiful. When it's done I will take pictures of the cardigan inside out, just so you all can see my beautiful seams. Now all I need to do is pick up 300 sts and knit several inches of 2x2 ribbing for the collar and button bands. Unless there are any volunteers?

I'm blogging from my phone, so you'll need to forgive me for the lack of photos. It was difficult enough writing this post with my thumbs.

I'm doing well with my second shot at the Old Penny Cardigan for NaKniSweMo — so far I have knitted the back, the left front and a sleeve, and I've made a good stab at the start of the second sleeve. I'm trying to decide how I want to close it. The pattern calls for snaps, but I can't help but think buttons might better. Thoughts?

I might be taking a bit of a blogging hiatus soon, because my favorite 1-year-old kid is going to be spending a bit of time here in KC, so I will be spending lots and LOTS of time with him, and probably not a lot of time knitting. Spending time with Oliver these days requires chasing him around and keeping him from hurting himself. For example:


He's walking, and he had his first birthday (I can hardly believe it) and we will all be in California for Christmas! So be on the lookout for adorable pictures and possibly some more baby knits.

I finished the first sleeve, and it took a bit more than a skein. The left front took a bit less than a skein. I'm more than concerned that this means I won't have enough to knit the collar and button bands, which create a significant part of the front of the sweater.

So I'm starting over. I've swatched with new yarn, Queensland Kathmandu Aran, and my gauge is spot on post-wash. I have more than 100 yards more of the Queensland than I do of the Peace Fleece, so I'm feeling good about the new selection.

I'll be keeping you updated, to be sure.

My goals for this weekend are pretty simple, but we'll see if I make it. Since I finished the left front of the cardigan so quickly, I'm going to try to knit both sleeves by Sunday night so I have all of next week to knit the back. Then I'll try to knit up the right front next weekend. A couple days for seaming, then pick up for the bands of ribbing on either side. At this rate, I should be able to wear this sweater at Thanksgiving!

As long as I don't get distracted. Which we all know is likely, to be honest.

I'm participating in NaKniSweMo this year, and so far I'm doing quite well. I'm knitting Forestry (Old Penny Cardigan) from the winter 2008 Vogue Knitting. A bout of insomnia on Monday night gave me the opportunity to knit while watching Nick at Nite at 4 in the morning (The Nanny, Full House and then at 6 a.m. I changed the channel and watched most of two episodes of Law & Order SVU) and I feel like I did pretty well for knitting in the dark.



Then last night I knitted while I watched Glee and tonight I actually finished the left front of the cardigan.



I pinned it out because even though I got gauge, it seemed awfully small. I blocked it out to the measurements in the schematic, and I have big plans to knit the sleeves two-at-once. More updates to come!

When we last left our heroine, she was making plans to cheat on her current sweater project with a sweater vest without taking the time to swatch. Unsurprisingly, this was an unmitigated disaster.

Eek. That was nearly three weeks ago. I've been surprisingly prolific in the meantime. There's a sweater body currently drying in my shower, waiting for seaming. I finished the first Autumn Leaves mitt, which is my lunch break knitting, and am nearly to the gusset on the second.



The picture is weird. It's hard to get a decent angle to capture the leaves on the gusset.

My current project is the Carrot Cardigan from the fall 2010 Knitscene, the same magazine (and designer) as the Lettuce pullover. Apparently I enjoy knitting sweaters named after vegetables. I'm using the new Cascade 220 Sport, in the color Lake Chelan Heather (I don't have a ballband nearby and I am too lazy to get up and find one, but I think it's #9451, on the bottom row.) The color was chosen by Wichita, who is patient enough to go to the yarn store with me when I visit, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by his choice. He initially chose two different shades of grey, and when I pointed out that I already have a grey cardigan, he went with the lovely heather green. I really like the yarn, which I expect is very similar to regular Cascade 220, but I don't know because I've never used it. I used just more than 4 skeins for the body (smallest size) and as soon as it's dry I'll seam it and see how it fits. The armholes seemed extremely deep (8 inches), so we'll see. I'm considering knitting the sleeves at the same time.

I'd like to get the sleeves set in at least before Nov. 1, because I'm making plans to participate in NaKniSweMo. I'm unsure what sweater I'll be making, or even what yarn I'll be using, because I am just that indecisive. I had a sweater in mind, the Old Port pullover, but after picking the brain of another knitter (thanks, Teri!) I'm not sure my modifications will go as smoothly as I'd hoped. I love the look of the cables and lace in the yoke, but I think the cabled and ribbed body really distracts from the yoke. Also I hate the way the shaping looks. I want to do the body and sleeves in regular stockinette and then go into the yoke, but that will require (boo) swatching. Any input is, as always, welcome.

I finished the body of my Lettuce pullover.



Now on to the collar. I put the sweater on and had my roommate measure around the neckline. She came up with 40.5 inches. Then I took the sweater off and measured the neckline myself. I got 39.5 inches. The pattern says to knit the collar piece to 30 inches. Normally I would just write this discrepancy off as my row gauge being wonky, but the sweater fits otherwise, so I'm not sure what the hell happened. The neckline is a bit lower than I expected. I think I want to put the sweater on and have measurements taken by a third party, preferably a knitter. I'm going to knit the collar before I knit the sleeves because I have limited yarn and I don't mind if the sleeves are a wee bit short.

But of course, before I start on the collar (because I need an accurate measurement before I start, you know) I have started something new.

I'm in a stashdown group on Ravelry, and my goal this month is to knit down 1,000 yards. So I've started a project from Knitting 24/7, the Grandfather Vest. It's been quietly calling my name since I bought the book. I'm using four skeins of Rowan Felted Tweed, and I didn't make a gauge swatch. What can I say? I like living dangerously.

I finally blocked and sewed the buttons on the Garter Yoke Cardigan. Aaaand it didn't fit me well. The sleeves were slightly too short, and when I wore the cardigan closed, the buttons gaped across the chest and it just looked sloppy.

So I found someone smaller to give it to. (And some of you said it wasn't possible!)



My friend Sarah is about 3 inches shorter than I am and proportionally smaller, and I think the cardigan fits her just fine.

Honestly, I don't think this yarn was ever meant to be a sweater for me. It took ages for me to find a suitable pattern for it (the yarn had a stint as Mr. Greenjeans and a couple other patterns in between) and while I liked knitting with the yarn (Berroco Peruvia) it just didn't... fit. I love the buttons I found for it, at Joann's Fabrics of all places, and overall I'm really happy with the project, but it just wasn't for me. So I found it a good home, where it will keep one of my favorite people warm this winter.

I have 1.5 inches of 1x1 ribbing to go on the body of this sweater. I think I might go crazy before then. I'm BORED. There are socks and chunky sweaters and hats and all sorts of other exciting things to knit, and I am knitting a sweater in sockweight yarn on a US 5.

I've made the decision to frog the Arwen cardi. After I reknit it. Twice. The yarn was just not meant to be that pattern. Ah, well. Something else will come along in time. It always does.

I changed my Ravelry username today. You can find me now as tricotjo.

I know I said it was probably all in my head that these needles make me knit faster, but...

Exhibit A:

So I am totally in love my new Signature needles. People, these needles are magic. MAGIC. Stitch manipulation is incredibly easy, and it seems like they make me knit faster, even though I'm sure that's just in my head. I turned the heel of the Revival Stone socks last night while watching Hoarders. It went smoothly and easily, with very few split stitches, and the split stitches were incredibly easy to fix.

Gale asked how Wichita knew about the needles. Well, I'm sure he came upon me drooling over the website at some point, and then, because he is the least-stealthy gift-giver EVER, he began asking oddly specific questions about the type of DPNs I like to use for socks.So to be honest, I had a pretty good idea of what my present was going to be.

Teri asked how stabby they are. Answer: EXTREMELY. The 6-inch sock-size DPNs only come with stiletto points, and they are not kidding. I use Judy's magic cast on and I was pretty sure I was going to impale myself and bleed all over my yarn. Yeah. That pointy.

Needless to say, I love them, and would highly recommend them as a knitting luxury. Now I'm trying to figure out if I should get a set in a different size...

Feeling mildly better. Dinner and a bit of caffeination helped. So I will show you some pictures of what I've been doing lately. Because NCIS is not really holding my attention at the moment.



Birthday yarn from ImagiKnit in San Francisco. Top yarn: Koigu (what else?). Bottom yarn: Malabrigo Twist. So. Yummy. The Koigu is destined to become socks; the Malabrigo, a hat. Possibly Felicity (Rav link).



The Lettuce pullover in Malabrigo sock. This was my airplane knitting. The yarn is super delicious. I may have several skeins in the stash. I'm using the color "Impressionist Sky" and I absolutely love it. It's a gentle semi-solid. I am a big fan.



My very very favorite birthday present came from Wichita. A set of five US 1 6-inch Signature Needles with stiletto points. I am in love with these needles. I didn't try to take them in my carry-on baggage, but I cast on with them almost immediately when I got home. The barrel of the needle is slightly textured, so it's grippy, but not TOO grippy. The yarn slides beautifully along the needle. The points are slick and great for stitch manipulation. Best. Boyfriend. Ever. I think I'll keep him.

So I've decided that my super power is getting sick every time I fly. Every time. No matter what.

I slept most of the day, and lost the good daylight for taking pictures of my birthday yarn. I also have a bunch of things on the needles, but I don't want to knit any of it. I have the sniffles and a headache and all I want to do is sleep. So I'm going to curl up on the couch and wait for Wichita to get home with dinner and watch the NCIS marathon while I doze. Maybe after food and a nap I will feel up to knitting.

So I was planning a big post about my birthday vacation, with pretty pictures of all the things we did and everything we saw, and all the birthday yarn I got, and my favorite gift of all...

But you will have to wait to see it all, because at the moment I am feeling rather sickly, and the weather here frankly sucks so I won't get good yarn pictures, and I haven't uploaded the vacation pictures from my camera to the computer.


In the meantime, here is the hat I made for Wichita. He took it and left before I could take a proper photo of him wearing it, but he was kind enough to snap this photo with his phone. The color is wrong. Picture it more... olive-colored. It fits him nicely. I will stalk him further this winter in the hopes of catching him wearing it. Which he had better do OR ELSE.

I'll start with the bad news, because that apparently makes it better...

I ripped out the Arwen cardigan. I hadn't touched it in months, and I had messed up a bit of the cable and instead of tinking back four rows, I frogged the entire thing.

Now, the good news.

I used the yarn to cast on the Indigo Playmate (Rav link) from Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard. But! Of course I am not knitting that sweater, I have a lot of changes to make. I started this sweater on Tuesday and the body is nearing completion. I've finished all the waist shaping and just need to get to 23.5 inches before I bring in elements of the original Arwen cardigan. I'm planning to knit a folded hem at the bottom of the sweater instead of ribbing, and I will probably do the same at the sleeves. Instead of the ribbed collar, I'm going to pick up stitches and use a DPN to knit the cable edging.

Basically I'm going to end up knitting a top-down, grown-up version of A Cardigan for Merry. Without the hood. Because I have to make everything as difficult as possible.

I have a paper cut on my index finger right across where I carry the yarn.

Band-aids to the rescue!

... or, "Why, yes, I did swatch for a new sweater this evening and you had better not point out the pile of WIPs over there in the basket under the end table or else." September is my birthday month and I can knit a sweater for myself if I want to.

I have decided on my airplane knitting. I'll be making the Lettuce Pullover in Malabrigo Sock, color Impressionist Sky. I got 3 skeins in my Easter basket last year. The yardage is slightly off — I'm about 100 yards short, so I may end up knitting the sleeves a bit short. I almost always push my sleeves up to my elbows anyway so I think it will be fine. I nailed gauge on the first shot so I am ready to rock. (SHOCK! The pattern is a top-down raglan in stockinette!) I'm also planning to take a pair of socks-in-progress, and on a hunch I'm going to take a lone ball of sock yarn.

I've been busy picking through my stash, putting together sock kits, and I made a special tab in my Ravelry queue for projects I'm planning to tackle in 2011. I'm EXCITED about these projects! They are (almost) all projects that have been in my queue for a very long time, and for some, I've had the yarn even longer. Mostly they are projects that will challenge me as a knitter (cables, fine gauge, new techniques) and things I think I will really enjoy wearing.

I am nearly done with the hat for Wichita. I made sure it was appropriately nerdy by using the nerdiest stitch markers I own:



The pattern is, of course, Koolhaas, and it's a tiny bit big on me so it should fit his melon head perfectly. There was an unsuccessful version of the Turn a Square hat that turned out WAY TOO HUGE, on both of us. This one is much better, in a lovely shade of green that will match his eyes. Now we see if he wears it.

I have somehow been suckered into knitting a hat for Wichita. It's part of his birthday present. I am using some yarn I forgot I had to make (what else?) a Koolhaas. It's addictive, I tell you. Tiny... cable... crosses... can't... stop... ktbl...

In other news, I am kitteh-sitting for my friend Sarah while she and her husband are at a wedding this weekend. "But wait!" some of you may say. "Aren't you allergic to cats?" Wait for it... apparently, I am not allergic to KITTENS. There is some magic protein or whatever in adult kittehs that makes my eyes water, my nose run, and causes me to be generally miserable. KITTENS do not have this quality. So I can pick up Ink, hold her, play with her, let her lounge freely on my furniture, because she has not yet shed her kitten fur. She's a bundle of energy, and she wakes up way too early, wanting to be fed, but overall I am quite enjoying having an adorable fur baby around. It's almost enough to make me wish I wasn't allergic to cats.

I've spent some time thinking about my knitting goals for 2011. I like the idea of a self-imposed sock club, because there are so many patterns that I have had queued since I joined Ravelry three years ago. I even have a specific yarn in mind for most of them. It's the same with sweaters. Mostly, I have a yarn in the stash that goes with the pattern I want to make. I'm going to start small and create 6 sock kits with pattern and yarn. I'm only going to commit to 6 months. That way, if I am tired of socks and want to move on to lace or sweaters, I can. Or I can make 6 more sock kits. If I don't meet the goal of 6 pairs in 6 months, you know what? NO BIG.

I also think I am going to shoot for a goal of 4 sweaters in 2011. I could probably knit more, but I'm not going to bite off more than I can chew. Some sweaters will go very quickly. Others will not. (Damn you, fine-gauge sweaters, for being so beautiful and so time-consuming.)

My final goal will be to try new things. R suggested 3 things, so that seems like a good starting point. Let's see. First, knit a lace shawl. Like with actual charts and everything. Second, try entrelac (bonus! I can use the Annetrelac socks as part of my sock kits AND as my new technique.) Finally... I would say crochet, but I am not very adept with the hook beyond this nifty provisional cast-on technique, so maybe my last "try something new" will be to enter something in the county fair. (Clearly I did not make it this year. There's always next year.)

Buttons have been purchased for the Garter Yoke Cardi. It's waiting for a wash and a block and the buttons to be firmly attached before I show it off.

For some reason today I was thinking about how long it had been since I joined Ravelry, and lo and behold, when I went to look at my information page, I joined Ravelry three years ago TODAY!

The other night I spent an hour or so trimming my queue and managed to get it down from 19 pages to 13 pages. That's a lot of patterns that got the boot. I feel good about it.

For some reason, lately I've been taking stock of my stash and people, I have realized that I have a lot of yarn. Most of it isn't even on Ravelry. I could quit my job and do nothing but knit and still have a lot of yarn. Now, it doesn't take up whole rooms, or even whole closets in my apartment. (There is a "yarn closet," yes, but there is also a dresser of tank tops, t-shirts and pyjama bottoms in that same closet. So there.) I acknowledge that it could be a lot worse, but honestly? I don't need this much yarn.

So. What does this mean? It means that I need to shop the stash, friends. I'm not going to say I'm quitting the yarn habit cold turkey (cold sheep?) but before I purchase yarn, I'm going to make a concerted effort to ask myself a few questions, such as:

1. Do I already own something similar to this yarn? This is important because I have a tendency to stick to a general palette of colors, similar fibers and weights. Odds are, if I am standing in a yarn shop, I have something in my stash that is reasonably comparable to the yarn I am currently clutching.
2. What will I make with this yarn? For sock-weight yarn, the answer to this question has always been easy: you make socks with sock yarn, duh. But I have enough sock yarn to knit ::ahem:: a lot of socks. I am not even sure I could give you a rough estimate of how many pairs I could knit.
3. Is this really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to snag this yarn? Aside from situations such as craft fairs and Etsy sellers, the chances of finding this yarn again are probably pretty good. Malabrigo and Koigu are not going out of business anytime soon. (NB: ridiculous sales are exempt from this question — never turn down sale yarn.)

With these simple questions in mind, I feel that I will be able to rein in my yarn acquisition and focus more on the yarn that I already have. While yarn doesn't go bad or lose value over time, the point of having it is to enjoy using it, and I'm not enjoying it if it's all stored in Rubbermaid bins or in giant Ziploc bags, right?

So I present to you, dear readers, my grand plan for the rest of 2010 (I am a fan of the list feature this evening, evidently):

• Finish my dad's vest. This is important, as it was a Christmas gift for 2009.
• Finish my Arwen Cardigan. This sweater is about half done. It would be criminal of me not to finish it in a relatively timely fashion.
• Finish or rip any remaining projects. This does not prevent me from starting anything new, just encourages me to be WIP-free by the end of the year.
• Devise realistic goals for my knitting in 2011. This is where I'm going to need some help. I'm pretty laid-back when it comes to self-imposed deadlines, but I also want to start to take time to do some things besides knit. I know, shocking, right? But I don't think I've read a book since the last Harry Potter book came out in 2007. It's really difficult for me to convince myself to put my knitting down, get off my butt and go work out. So what are some realistic knitting goals? Four sweaters in a year? Eight pairs of socks in 12 months? In my attempt to knit 12 pairs in 12 months, I became extremely bored with socks, so I think keeping it fresh by rotating projects in and out will help a lot.

Let's be honest: making realistic knitting goals is going to require some input. So, what do YOU think is reasonable for me to attempt on the knitting front in 2011?

I am so close to finishing the knitting on my Garter Yoke Cardi I can taste it. Unfortunately, I have entered that Twilight Zone of knitting in which you knit and knit (and knit and knit) and you never get any more length than you had the last time you measured. I have been knitting for the last hour and have gained approximately an inch of material. At this rate, it will take 7.5 hours to knit the last 7.5 inches of sleeve. Then I will weave in the ends and do a little dance around the apartment, wearing the sweater, before I dunk it in the kitchen sink with some Kookaburra wool wash and leave it to soak. In the meantime, I must find buttons.

Buttons are probably the worst part of knitting a cardigan, I think. Having the proper buttons can really make or break the sweater. I need 9 buttons to go on a forest green cardigan. I will probably visit Teri's House O' Buttons.

There was knitting over the weekend. We went to the lake for the boy's birthday and there was much food and booze and general frivolity. On Saturday night, I had such a terrible allergy attack, I took a Zyrtec (without booze) and tried to knit. I'm making A Very Braidy Cowl in some lovely handspun from Christine. Keep in mind I had not been drinking. I just took a Zyrtec at like 10 p.m. I managed to cross ALL the cables IN FRONT. Because, you know, it's not like there were clear directions or anything. I got through two whole pattern repeats before I realized what I'd done, so there was much swearing and I may have thrown the handspun. (Only a little. Like, just to the floor, not across the room or anything.) I used a provisional cast on so it will be lovely and seamless, and I think I may have committed knitting blasphemy by using Dream in Color Classy as waste yarn. So this project may be doomed, but dang, I am having fun with the giant cables.

There was also some sock knitting. I think these will end up as slipper socks for me, or maybe socks to wear over other socks when there are sub-zero temperatures in the winter. Here's a picture so this blog post isn't boring and picture-free.



Please note: I took two versions of this picture, one with the overhead light on and one without, and the flash on my phone went off both times, and they both looked exactly the same. Also that color is not even remotely accurate.

I now present a Less-than-12-hour project.



I call it the Kingston Park cowl, after the park by my office where I sat and finished it. (I was listening to Darkly Dreaming Dexter, the book upon which the TV series is based. I don't like the book as well as the show.) The yarn is Punta Yarns Meritwist Hand Paint on a US 11. The pattern is the Dolores Park cowl — it was a really, REALLY fast knit! Mine is slightly modified (of course) because the skein of Meritwist isn't as large as a skein of Malabrigo Chunky. After the second purl row, I cast off with the no-yarn bind off. I also didn't increase to 72 sts until 6 rows before binding off.

The other treasure I would like to share is very special. My friend Nisse has opened an Etsy shop to sell her very beautiful handspun. It's called Spinning Joy and she makes beautiful yarn.



The handspun on the left is called Bella, and I'm going to pair it with some wool I got at Knitting in the Heartland in the spring. The brown wool is called Darwin, and I am going to make a vest. A striped vest, very simple. It's going to be my September knitting, for my birthday.

It feels good to be making progress on things.

I know I said I probably wouldn't knit any more Koolhaas hats, and I haven't, really, at least not big ones like I did before.



See? This one's tiny. I cast on 64 sts and knitted 3 pattern repeats before I started the decreases. I used US 6 and 8 DPNs and worsted weight wool (in K-State purple, of course. Go Wilcats!). I have two friends who are due within a month of each other this winter, so they will get tiny hats their babes can wear during football/basketball season.

Let's see, what else have I been working on? There have been lots of fits and starts, but a couple projects have stuck.


There's the Garter Yoke Cardigan from Knit.1 Fall 2008, which is coming along swimmingly. I am even magic-looping the sleeves, which I am sure will astound and amaze some long-time readers. (My US 8 DPNs were in the Tiny Koolhaas. I have not committed to the magic loop technique.) I'm using some Berroco Peruvia that I've had for ages, that has been several incarnations of various sweaters, most recently Mr Greenjeans, which was a FAIL. I frogged the sweater for the Ravelympics, and I think I will be much happier with the yarn in this sweater.



I have fought with this pattern before. It's the Child's First Sock in Shell pattern, which I love, but does not love me, or at least does not love my feet. I knit it back in August 2008, and promptly wore holes through the heels because they were too small. It's been my lunch hour knitting more recently. I turned the heel and got halfway down the instep before I tried it on. Too small. Again. Damn. So I went and got different yarn and bigger needles, and now we're getting somewhere.

Last but not least, I got to see my favorite nephew in the whole wide world.



Baby O is now 9 months old, crawling all over, teething and being generally adorable. He loves going to the pool and playing in the grass and eating Cheerios.

I think this will be my last Koolhaat for a while, folks. The challenge presented by this final hat was not for the faint of heart, let me tell you.

I forgot that this yarn was a casualty of The Great Bug Munch of 2008, and as a result, I had no fewer than a dozen ends to weave in. The hat was originally supposed to be for my sister-in-law because it matches the fingerless mitts I made her last Christmas, but I did such a half-assed job of weaving in all the ends that I decided to keep it for me. I committed a cardinal sin of knitting: I tied knots. I'm not proud, but there it is.

Other details: this hat is kind of a medium, because I knitted 4.5 pattern repeats before starting the crown decreases. The small is too small and the large is too large, but this medium size that I cooked up is just right. The secret is to shift the EOR marker to a position where you can start the decreases and voila! Koolhaat, sized medium. It fits my normal-sized head perfectly.

You can get a peek at my bionic arm in the photo above. Thank you for all the comments with healing thoughts and kind words. This is my last week in physical therapy, so we shall see what the doc says when I see him, hopefully sometime next week. I have good days and bad days, so it's hard to tell if there's great amounts of progress made, but on the whole I feel better. It's important to keep in mind, however, that they have been pumping me full of cortisone with these patches, so we will see if there continues to be significant improvement without the cortisone treatments. I've also been mindful of keeping my shoulders relaxed while knitting, so hopefully that will make a difference.

In other news, I've decided to knit something for the fair this year. I have a lace shawl pattern picked out, but I got lazy partway through, missed a YO and didn't notice until 6 rows later. And of course I didn't use a lifeline, so there is tinking in my future. But the fair isn't until August, and I have plenty of car time scheduled this summer, so I have lots of opportunity to fix and finish it.

Or maybe I'll just knit socks. Stay tuned...

Problem? What problem? I don't have a problem. I can stop any time I want.


Forgive the crappy photo of my beautiful Koolhaats. I have plans (and yarn!) for at least two more. Let's just hope that lots of my friends have cold heads this winter. These two are size large for my friends who have giant melon heads. I have a normal head, so when I make mine I will make the regular size.

In all seriousness, I think this pattern is WONDERFUL. I'm on #4, if you count the one that had to be torn out, so I have the pattern pretty well memorized. I'm also making plans to modify the pattern slightly to make tiny baby Koolhaats. The weird thing is, I'm not even the slightest bit tired of knitting this pattern. There is just something about the tiny cable crosses that is so aesthetically pleasing to me that I can hardly stand it. And the yarn is, of course, beautiful also. Dream in Color Classy, in Flamingo Pie on the left, and (I believe) In Vino Veritas on the right. When I am done there will be a veritable rainbow of Koolhaats.

(Of course, now that I have said "I'm not tired of knitting this pattern!" I will, of course, have zero motivation to knit this pattern EVER. AGAIN. That's what I get for opening my big mouth.)

As much as I love knitting these hats, it's been sort of slow going lately. Tomorrow marks the halfway point in this round of my physical therapy experience, and I have to say, I really don't think it's helping significantly. The MRI showed no damage to the rotator cuff or the ligaments in my shoulder, so that's good news, but the bad news is that I have an extremely advanced case of rotator cuff tendonitis. Especially when you consider that I am only 26 and have never done anything like play professional baseball or tennis, or painted houses for a living, or anything like that, ever. The orthopedic surgeon said I'm one of the worst cases he's ever seen in someone in my age group. (Wahoo! Number 1!) So after PT, the next step is cortisone shots. In the meantime, I have another one of the cool battery pack bandages that make me look like some kind of cyborg from the future. I did actually find out what it's called: iontophoresis. Fancy, huh? I prefer calling myself the Bionic Knitter.

Ripping out the second Koolhaat. Let us never speak of it again. Luscious yarn will go into time out to think about what it has done. Casting on for a third Koolhaat, this time in different yarn that will hopefully offer sufficient yardage.

I went to the orthopedic surgeon today, to discuss the continuing issues I've been having with my shoulders. (This is another reason why I haven't been knitting much.) I ended up having an MRI and a follow-up appointment with the surgeon on Wednesday. So much for accomplishing anything at work this week. But on the bright side, my shoulder feels great! Because that is how the world works. If you make an appointment about your pain level, by the time the doctor can actually see you three weeks later, the pain is gone.

In the meantime, I'll be knitting a Koolhaat.

Knits: Where are they now?

Baby O's Christmas sweater is still getting use this spring. He's already in 9-month clothing because he's very long, but I made the 6-12 month size so he should be able to wear this if we have another weird summer where it doesn't get very hot.


It is keeping him warm on springtime walks in his stroller. His new favorite thing is being outside.

Also, something that I finished knitting recently! As recently as last week!


The Koolhaas pattern, known hereafter as the Koolhaat or the Koolass hat. I used a bit more than half a skein of Malabrigo, so I'm hoping to squeeze a pair of mitts out of the remainder of the skein. I almost forgot how OMG SO SOFT Malabrigo is. If only it were superwash. My lovely roommate is modeling the hat here, but it doesn't really fit her giant melon head, so it will be going to someone with a slightly smaller head measurement.

People, this hat is addictive. I may be knitting a second hat (!) with plans for more in the works. I love the tiny cable twists and the elegant decreases. I also love my Hiya Hiya Interchangeable needle set. The only complaint I have so far is that the needle part comes untwisted from the cord when I ktbl, and that's probably just a function of how I maneuver the needle. Overall I love them. Almost as much as Malabrigo.

Malabrigo is difficult (but not impossible) to tink.

That is all. Carry on.

This video is a bit old, but it always manages to cheer me up when I'm having a bad day. Knitting to come!

So it's been a solid month since I last posted, and while I can usually assure you that despite my lack of posts, I have still been knitting, this time that is not the case. I haven't been knitting, hardly at all, and I haven't finished anything since my mom's birthday socks, which were gifted to her at Easter in Chicago and I took pictures and just... never uploaded them to the computer. I've started projects and put them down, picked them up and then shoved them into the drawers in the coffee table (shh, I don't think my roommate knows about this.)

I'm going off to try to find my knitting mojo via a quick knit on large needles. Suggestions welcome. Rewards possible, if any of the suggestions work.

... is that it frequently makes me want to abandon my current projects and start new things.

Knitting in the Heartland was this weekend, hosted by the Sunflower Knitters' Guild and featuring Melissa Leapman. I taught a class and took a class and bought lots (and lots) of yarn. Natch.

The vendor market was, as usual, amazing, with local fiber vendors, hand spinners, jewelers, hand dyers, alpaca farmers and much more. The committee did a great job this year!

I found lots of treasures.

From Alpacas at Willowbrook Farms, 400 yards of fingering weight alpaca in light avocado. I'm thinking something light and lacy to wear close around my neck next winter.

Also from Willowbrook Farms, two skeins of sport-weight alpaca, 200 yards each. The lighter color is more of a lilac color, instead of the blue. (I couldn't get the color right with Photoshop.) Perhaps striped mittens? Legwarmers? We'll let it marinate in the stash for a bit and see what it wants to become.

This is Merisock Hand Painted, of course I couldn't let the weekend pass without buying sock yarn.

This is some yarn from Darwin, who lives at Maggie's Farm in Lawrence. I haven't quite decided what I'm going to do with 500 yards of Darwin. I'm thinking maybe I'll add a skein of Noro and make a stripey vest.

I couldn't quite get the color right on this one either, but it's a lovely raspberry colored alpaca from Alpacas of Wildcat Hollow. I have 1028 yards, so I am thinking a lovely light cardigan.

I also got a copy of The Opinionated Knitted by the Great Elizabeth. All in all, a fantastic weekend.

I turned my keys in to my old apartment complex today, which means my stuff is all at the new place. (I have a LOT of stuff.) I have big plans to sort through some of the boxes of junk and decide what is necessary to keep and what can be tossed or donated or given away, but for now, I am mostly concerned with getting my room and closet space organized, which means organizing 1. clothes and 2. yarn.

Aside from organizational plans, there is knitting. And it is for me.


My new apartment has south-facing windows, which means I have lovely late afternoon light for taking pictures and don't require a flash. This will only get better as spring and summer progress and the days get longer and longer.

The knitting above is A Cardigan for Arwen, and as I haven't knit many cables before, I'm particularly proud of how quickly I've got the hang of these. It's only an 8-row pattern, so after 3 or 4 repeats I should have it down solid, but we all know how miserable my counting-to-10 skills are, so the fact that I am relying less on the chart only 25 rows in is (for me) really impressive. The yarn is Peace Fleece worsted, Georgia rose. The back of the sweater is done and I've started the left front. The real test will come when I have to do some fancy math to compensate for not knitting the hood. But I figure if I do a sufficient job with this, more complex cable sweaters (I'm looking at you, Rogue hoodie) should be a snap.

Progress on mom's socks has continued, but dad's vest has gone into hibernation (read: I'm not sure where it went. It's not in the old apartment, so I know it has to be here somewhere.) Maybe it's hiding with my laptop bag, which is also missing.

Tonight's goal: unload the three (3!) laundry baskets full of clean clothes and fill them with dirty clothes, if necessary. I bought a washer and dryer (new-to-me, but in excellent condition — I think they might be older than I am) so I am feeling more and more like an actual grown-up.

I have a sudden affinity for laceweight. I bought two skeins of Jojoland Harmony (color 02 and color 05) and suddenly all I want to do is knit a lacy shawl for summer. Which is not a good thing, because while I am supposed to be knitting socks for my mom and a sweater vest for my dad, I have started a cardigan for myself and maybe also a pair of socks for St. Patrick's Day. (Hey, I needed to be festive, so I used Dream in Color Happy Forest SMOOSHY!

For not having a part-time job anymore, I am stupid busy. I'm still working on getting unpacked because I am never home. I still have things at my old apartment, which need to be taken out on Sunday because I am turning in the keys on Monday. Nothing like coming down to the wire. But the new apartment is starting to feel like home, with things hanging on the walls, books on the shelves, and yarn squirreled away in the coffee table drawers. As soon as I have some time to sort and take the last of the boxes to storage, I will take pictures. If you're lucky, I might even make the bed.

Knitting in the Heartland is next weekend! I'll be teaching and taking classes, and you will probably be able to find me in the vendor market during breaks.

In two weeks, I will be in Chicago, celebrating this guy's first Easter:


Oliver got to go to Arizona to see the Cubs play at spring training. They came back in the bottom of the 9th to win the game! Oliver likes baseball, but doesn't so much like the cheering crowd.

I am knitting a half-assed gauge swatch, mostly because I am lazy, but also partly because I really want to get started on this sweater. I'm using Peace Fleece worsted in Georgia Rose, a lovely pink with hints of orange. I love the yarn. It smells sheepy. And it's a wonderful company.

My half-assed gauge swatch is telling me that I might need to go to a US 6 for this sweater, when the pattern calls for a US 8. I'm not usually a loose knitter, so I wonder what my problem is. The US 8 was far too large, and the US 7 is hitting 4.5 sts/inch perfectly, which means a wash will put it over. There will be much pouting if I have to knit this sweater on a US 6 instead of an 8. I'm using a pica pole to measure my knitting because I am too lazy to get up and find a tape measure.

Oh, the sweater is a Cardigan for Arwen, except I'm not going to knit the hood. I found a gorgeous sweater on Ravelry that had no hood and the knitter wrote out her mods very clearly. I'm anxious to get going before it gets too warm to wear it.

And yes, I'm starting a sweater for me when I have my mom's birthday socks and my dad's Christmas vest both waiting. Your point?

I made it across the Ravelympics finish line. It was more a sluggish crawl than anything else, but cross it I did, with time to spare.


Project: Clapotis, n. le bruit des vagues qui s'entrechoquent. Yarn: Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino, 4 skeins. Needle: US 5 (3.75 mm) Addi Turbo. Started June 1, 2009. Finished Feb. 18, 2010.

My last day at my part-time job is tomorrow. Yay! I am planning to move all my yarn over to my new apartment sometime next week, when I have lots of free time. Also, I am going to Chicago for Easter, which means more pictures of Baby O! And my parents will be there, too. But Baby O, who is just getting cuter by the day, is four whole months old! I can hardly believe it. He will be outgrowing his handknits soon... must get cracking on some more adorable things in larger sizes...

Well, I finished the Clapotis with yarn to spare (photos to come later) but I have been sidelined by a rather nasty sinus infection, so it doesn't look like the Denmark socks are going to make it as part of the Olympics. In a drug-induced haze, I miscalculated the length of my foot (no, I'm not good at math, why do you ask?) so these socks would only fit a ski-footed person, and I am not giving my Fleece Artist socks to The Other Jo. So they will be frogged and a second attempt will be made with different yarn (See photo below).

For future reference, the Fleece Artist Nova, while lovely soft, splits like a bitch when trying to execute cables. The hand of the fabric is so lovely, though, I think I'll hang onto it and knit something lacy and lovely. Maybe something from Knitting Vintage Socks. Hmm.

In other news, today was a good day to be a knitter here at Chez Jo. I came home from the doctor toting cough syrup and antibiotics to find not one, not two, but THREE knitting-related deliveries.

The new Interweave, a delivery of sock yarn I bought last week when I was sickly and feeling sorry for myself (Lorna's Laces Swirl DK in Midway) and last but not least, my selfish knitter buttons. The ATOMIC button glows in the dark, and Veruca is our darling selfish mascot. I will be trying the Denmark socks out in this yarn, because the pattern is written for a sport/DK weight, and I am not good at math, so reworking the pattern was kind of a nightmare. Maybe I will even knit them top-down.

I have other good news. I am moving this weekend! Acquiring a roommate will bring down my living expenses substantially, which means... (drumroll) I am quitting my part-time job! This means three things: 1. I will actually have free time! for knitting! and blogging! 2. I won't be sick all the time! 3. I will get to see my boyfriend, who is coincidentally also named Joe, but here we will call him Wichita, because that is where he lives. You have no idea how much I am looking forward to having a LIFE again. Also, doing basic things like cleaning my house and doing laundry.

Oh, I frogged a sweater as part of the Ravelympics also. Mr Greenjeans, we hardly knew ye. Go Team Mine!

... that when you think you might run out of yarn, you start to knit faster?

I am working the decreases on my Clapotis as part of the Ravelympics (Go Team Selfish Knitters!) and even as I am decreasing stitches and dropping down the ladders, I am petrified that I might run out of yarn, and am tempted to stay up and finish it, despite a raging headache and more work than I care to think about waiting for me at the office in the morning.

You may get a finished object picture tomorrow, depending on if I succumb to the siren song of a finished object.

Get set for the Ravelympics! I have my yarn wound, my needles ready, my pattern copied, and I am ready to hit the ground running! I won't be able to start until very late on Friday night, if at all, because I am leaving for Atlanta right after work. I'm meeting my brother in Illinois and then we will drive to Atlanta on Saturday.

It's going to be a lot of driving, but it should be fun. I'll be updating my Flickr with my camera phone, so you can follow our progress across the country.

The Boy sent me flowers for Valentine's Day, after I explicitly told him not to. He is usually a better listener than that. But I think I'll keep him anyway, because the flowers are quite lovely.


Stargazer lilies and pink tulips. They're perfect, even if they are being kind of shy and slow to bloom.

I finished the back of my dad's vest tonight and started work on the front. It seems enormous, but that's probably because I am used to knitting rather small sweaters for myself. I'll make an effort to finish the front soon so you can have a photo.

I decided on yarn for my Ravelympics project! I'll be using Fleece Artist Nova Sock (purchased ages ago from L in a destash) in the color pixie, a lovely shade of lavender. Upon further inspection of the pattern, I've determined that I will need to add stitches, as the pattern is written for a sportweight yarn and my yarn is definitely fingering weight. So I will probably add 8 sts, in the ribbing on either side of the sock. Also, I will knit these socks toe-up, so I'll have to flip the chart. And I'm not going to knit the nupps. So really, I'm going to be knitting socks that are loosely based on the Denmark socks, but that aren't really much like the Denmark socks at all.

I promised you a finished object photo today, and I am following through with that promise!


My Roonil Wazlib socks, made with Harry Potter Opal yarn, on US 1 DPNs. The pattern is the toe-up Jaywalkers, which I have knitted before, but I inserted the heel from the Baudelaire socks by Cookie A. I really like this heel and I think I will use it again, perhaps with a slip-stitch pattern on the back of the heel because that is where I wear out my socks. I think the stitch count at the cuff was 78, but I have extremely skinny ankles and these are snug.

There is no reason it should have taken me more than 9 months to knit these socks, but a sudden spate of finish-itis was all it took for me to get cracking.

It's funny that Gale mentioned the Denmark socks (Rav link) from Knitting on the Road in the comments the other day, because that is just the pattern I was considering. The photos in the book are terrible. The Denmark socks are knitted in dark blue yarn, almost navy, and the cables are extremely difficult to see, but if you look at the pattern page on Ravelry, you can see that they are quite lovely socks. Now the problem is deciding what sock yarn to use. If you're feeling ambitious, go through my stash and see if you can find a semi-solid that would be suitable.

There will be actual knitting content tomorrow — a finished object, even — but in the meantime, enjoy a painfully cute baby picture.

Are you participating in the Ravelympics? I'll be competing in several events for Team Mine, the official Selfish Knitters team. My primary events will be Sock Hockey and Stash Compulsory Dance, for a pair of socks made with yarn that has been sitting in my stash for at least 1 year. (Let's face it, I could use just about any of my sock yarn to enter the stash event.) My secondary events will be Aerial Unwind, for which I will be frogging my Mr Greenjeans, and WIPs-Dancing, in which I will finish my Clapotis.

Now, the fun news is that I am planning to be on a road trip that first weekend of the Olympics, and even more exciting, I will not be doing all the driving! Which means I can knit! Which means I have a fighting chance at actually finishing something in a timely manner!

I am still trying to decide what sock yarn and pattern to use. I'm thinking something out of Knitting on the Road, because I will be on the road when the Olympics starts. Other suggestions?

So because I am a selfish knitter and a horrible daughter, I am avoiding working on my dad's sweater by taking up with projects like this:


This is Thorpe, a free Ravelry download, knitted in a single evening with a skein of Dream in Color Groovy and US 9 DPNs. I taught myself how to half-double crochet (I still have no concept of what that means) using a video from YouTube and some contrasting Dream in Color Classy I had leftover in the stash. I love it deeply and passionately and am already making plans for another in a different color.

Also in the spirit of avoidance, I am working on UFOs that have been languishing since summer, when I took this part-time employment and lost all my free time. (The feature of a new boyfriend probably doesn't help with the free time.)

I got to see my friend J on New Year's Day and she had a TOTALLY AWESOME gift for me.


Hand-made stitch markers (that she made herself!) and a beautiful necklace from Etsy. A tiny sterling ball of yarn and needles, and a tiny tile with the definition of knit. J and I go all the way back to high school and she is an awesome friend. I was so glad I got to see her while she was home to visit.

My mother sent a pair of socks back to me that have holes in them (of course) and has requested that I repair them. I am not sure how she wears holes in the soles of the heels, but I have already determined that she gets no more 100% merino socks — only wool/nylon blends for her — and clearly I am going to have to start doing some sort of slip-stitch reinforcement on the bottom of the heel or do a carry-along thread for the heels. Any other suggestions?

A very happy new year to you, my faithful readers, and here is what I knit this Christmas:

For Baby O, a new sweater. It's the Kai Cable sweater from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms. I used the Lion Brand Nature's Choice Organic Cotton, which is super soft, and did the seaming with some Regia Silk I found in the stash that was a similar color. I think I made the 3- to 6-month size with two skeins of the yarn.




Baby legwarmies in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino. I used US 2.5 and US 3 needles. Easy peasy and so adorable.

For Baby O's mama:


A new pair of fingerless gloves, because she raved about the ones I made her last year. I used not even half a skein of Dream in Color Classy, color Go Go Grassy, and US 6 DPNs. I did make a tiny alteration to the pattern; instead of casting on 33 sts, I CO 36 sts, because I used a smaller needle than the pattern specifies and I didn't like the gauge of the yarn on a US 7. Everything else was per the pattern.

I did not finish my dad's sweater, but I have made significant progress. I have a WHOLE FREE WEEKEND tomorrow and Sunday, so I will hopefully have some photos for you on that front.

AndImayhavestartedasweaterformyself.