This seems to be the time of “oh knitting” what is that?! Ah good times.

I have been working a bit here and there. Not as much as I want, but I do try to sneak it in when I can.

First up, Mommy Needs a Hudson Hat

As you can see my littlest helper was busy. Here I am doing a wee bit of fixing. Notice that my helper is still overseeing the work being done.

I just got it on the DPN’s last night and am busily decreasing! HURRAY!

The Going Green Veggie Basket…er probably more like Toy Basket.

I thought it worked well for as a hood. Then it just was a bit too Star Wars like. I <3 Jedi! I was feeling very Obi Wan for a while.

Something new on the needles: Purple Princess Hair… it’s a hooded cape or it will be when I finish it.

Fun!

There is also that Clapotis…and I don’t really want to talk about it right now. I will finish it gosh darn it (eventually).

I’m just terribly happy to have made progress and even more pleased that I can finally knit in the car most of the time without getting motion sickness! HURRAY!

The Husband has been waiting a, ahem, while for his very own handknit from me. I’ve actually had the yarn since Feb of 2008 and it has sat there for far too long and the Coronet pattern from Knitty, even longer. So now that it is the blazing hot summer…I finish it!

This hat… let me tell ya, knitting for a guy who needs a 24 inch circumference hat is amusing. It takes a rather large amount of yarn, more than I thought..really glad I got the extra hank. Not only did I knit the body on 24″ circulars, it was the darn prettiest 24 inches of cable I ever laid eyes on. This was my WIP for WWKIP day and I was highly amused when Franklin told me that I should really just put sleeves on it and call it a baby sweater. Really he’s right, it was a huge mass of work and being on 24 inch needles only added to it’s sweateresque. It didn’t look like a hat until I was almost done with the decreases.

The hot head that my husband is, requested something not 100% wool. I thought cotton would be too… meh. I ended up with O-Wool Balance in graphite. I really, really liked it. It was kind of strange at first because it didn’t act exactly like wool or cotton on the needles, but to be totally cheesey, it was a good balance of the two in feel and how it worked. I also really liked how it is a bit tweedy in the look of the yarn.  The only alteration to the pattern was that I did not make the body as long as the pattern called for. I started the decreases almost 2 inches before the pattern said to and the darn thing was still almost too long.

Overall I am really happy with how this hat turned out and I’m really looking forward to seeing The Husband wear it if it ever gets cold enough here!

The newly finished Donavan’s Panopticon shorties with Franklin Habit!

Thank you to Franklin for posing with the pants!!

A fuller shot of the pants. I was a total bonehead and accidentally cut of the leg bottoms with Franklin. So…yeah not the best picture taker here, but I think the colors are truer.

Let me tell you, trying to finish these was a stressful moment. Not a scrap of yarn to spare but by god I used one skein. I was crabby, sweating bullets, but it worked out just barely. Now he just has to grow into them.

Pattern: Picky Pants, option 1 w/ i-cord cuff, size large

Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted in Franklin’s – The Panopticon

Yesterday evening, I got the privledge of getting to hear Yarn Harlot speak at Bookpeople!!!

Let me tell you… it was AWESOME!!!

I love her sense of humor and her very astute observations about knitter/non-knitter relations. Shoot, I even have a few ideas for some doctoral thesis projects that I’d love to explore further. I have to admit, she reminded me of my midwives a little bit and I was instantly at ease.  I wish I hadn’t have been as shy, but I’m so thrilled to have met one of my favorites bloggers that I read while NAKing (because knitting while nursing just doesn’t work so well all the time).  To top off the evening, I also got to see Stephanie, Steven, Julia, Stacy, and Abbe amongst all of the knitters there! A very special thank you to Abbe for letting me have her book for signing because Bookpeople was not quite prepared for all of us knitters looking to buy a book at the event.

The Boy was in attendance and was quite a trooper whilst dealing with post vax ick and teething pain. He was quite facinated by Steven and hopes to see him again when he’s feeling better. He’d also like for me to say that he very much loved the sock you were working on and would like to eat taste play with gently pet the yarn.

A few pictures taken by the wonderful Stephanie who graciously took our photograph!

YH: (to me about The Boy) So did you make that yourself?

LOL  love it! Really seriously, I’m still smiling over the whole exchange.

YH, me, and The Boy

Someone commented that we look a bit a like.  Don’t we though!?  I personally think that is very cool, eh?

A really great evening and I’m looking forward to seeing her again! Perhaps next time we’ll get to participate in some “beer-o-clock” festivities while working on our theta wave patterns (first pint is on me!)!

Needless to say, I have a few irons in the fire but I am trying to knit as much possible.

Donavan’s Panopticon – shorties using the Picky Pants pattern and Lorna’s Laces in Franklin’s – The Panopticon. I am really trying to get them finished by WWKIP day and a certain someone can model them for Franklin. Hopefully they will not be too big, but I am loving this colorway and want to get the most use possible.

Going Green Veggie Basket – a felted basket using Cascade Yarns Ecological Wool in chocolate. I really, really hope this works.  I needed more baskets for all transporting all of our CSA veggies. I actually have yarn to make two but for now one will be good.

The Long Time Promised Hat – a Coronet hat done using O-Wool Balance in graphite. This is for my wonderful husband who puts up with my enthusiasm for yarn and has never had anything knitted for him. It is by and large a car project still because the head band is really long. In other words big hat size, 24 inches.  I really love the cabling though and see myself doing more cabled hats in the future.

Mommy Needs a Hudson Hat – I started on this for Malabrigo March and got sidetracked with the Easter Bag. However, it is going to be finished. I really like this hat though because it is just plain fun to wear…at least according to my kids. Somewhere along the line I am going to improve the tassels on the first one I made…have the yarn, just need to do it.

yes Easter has long since passed. I’ve been busy fighting the war on tantrums, dock my pay if you need to.

Materials: Cascade 220 in hot pink, cotton candy, and natural

side 1 view

side 2 view

The Easter Bag was an interesting experiment. My first intarsia experience and I did it in the seemingly forbidden in the round. Thank goddess the felting hid some of my mistakes!

I finally figured out the “best” method for doing the intarsia in the latter part of the work. You have to knit flat stockenette in a tube – more or less. So you end up wrapping around the last stitch on the next row before turning and then knitting that wrap and the last stitch together when you come it. Kind of short rows in bizzarro land where it is the entire row or round if you will. Clear as mud right?!

As far as the intarsia charts, I used pictures/text I had turned into a jpeg with the knit pro website to whom I am deeply indebted.  Simply upload your picture, pick your size, and your orientation and viola

I have a few refinements but I’ll be doing this again in a decidely more boyish version for The Boy next year.

Fiber goodness…coming soon!