The Knitty Halloween Surprise is up. I’m going to have nightmares.
Tag: knitting
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Baby Surprise Jacket
I’ve been slacking off on the first week of the Southern Summer of Socks, mostly because of all the babies y’all keep having! As previously mentioned, my cousin Tony and his wife Molly just welcomed their daughter, Bailey, into the world. As this is the first GIRL I’ve had the opportunity to knit for, I jumped at the chance to pull out my pink yarn. I was gifted some glorious hot pink Manos del Uruguay Cotton Stria by my Secret Pal last June, and I decided it was just begging to become a Baby Surprise Jacket. I had just enough to squeak it out. I also found the most perfect big pink button in my button box:
It’s all ready to send off, along with some pink Tim Tams!
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Yarn with EYEBALLS
Yarn… with EYEBALLS. That is no doubt the coolest, creepiest knitting yarn I’ve ever seen. I’m getting in the Halloween mood! (Link courtesy of Jen.)
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Knitted Skull Tights
Knitted Skull Tights. Oh man, imagine if I entered those in the Easter Show next year! HA!
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Baby Yoda Costume
It’s finished! I’ve got everything ready to send off to Alexander this week. After felting the hat last week, I then soaked the ears in watered-down PVA glue and propped them up on newspaper to dry. They took a lot longer than I expected (nearly four days), but they look great. I sorta pinched and pulled them to make them a little more curly and Yoda-looking. The pattern is here. I knitted it out of Naturally Alpine 14ply on big needles, and I had plenty left over from a single hank. I’m just making a bit of i-cord now to tie under his chin if necessary.
The second piece of the costume is the Baby Yoda Sweater, which I knitted on 4mm needles out of some completely random yarn from my stash. (The two sleeves are actually different yarns, but they’re so close you can’t tell. I figure Yoda probably wove his himself, so any variation is probably a good thing.) There’s an i-cord tie on the inside as well as the outside.
And the socks are just the pièce de résistance, aren’t they? I started knitting just plain socks out of the leftover wool, thinking Alexander would need something to keep his feet warm, when the Snook pondered aloud, “You know what you should do? Put three toes on the end!” BRILLIANT. So there’s no pattern here; I just made them up as I went.
I can’t wait til Kristen posts a picture of him wearing it!
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Vinnland Socks
In order to clear the decks for the Southern Summer of Socks, I took along my half-completed Vinnlands to knitting camp last weekend with the aim of finishing them off. And I did! The pattern is free from The AntiCraft. They’re knitted toe-up utilising a short-row heel and toe (but one that doesn’t involve wrapping!). My weird sizing issues turned out to be not such a big deal; the poochiness at the toe disappears when it’s stretched across my foot. I used one skein of Colinette Jitterbug in “Velvet Olive,” and I’m thrilled to say that I had less than 12 inches left over at the end. (Toe-up socks = ECONOMY, baby!) They’re meant to have a tubular cast-off at the top, but I was drinking too much red wine to bother with such niceties. I just did a regular old ribbed cast-off, and they look fine. Oh, and I used 2.75mm needles to counteract my usual propensity towards overly tight knitting. I wore them in Sunday night’s “Fashion Show” and there was such a response that I ended up teaching an impromptu “socks on circulars” workshop Monday morning!
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Kids!
Albert called me during Knitting Camp on Sunday.
Him: Do you think you can teach the kids’ knitting class on Tuesday?
Me: Who in the what now?
Him: Kids. There are three little girls coming in for our school holidays knitting class.
Me: Kids? Me? Are you sure?
Him: Trust me, you were last on the list. Everyone else was busy.
Me: Well, okay. I guess if it’s only three they can’t gang up on me.Turns out I needn’t have worried. They were great! Sidonie, Nell, and Poppy ranged from 8-11 but they all picked it up SO QUICKLY! I casted on for them and then we just practiced our knit stitches the whole time. It was interesting to me to see how their personalities manifested in their knitting styles. Poppy was a bit bull-headed, and in her impatience to slip the stitch off the needles she’d often yank her whole needle out. “Grrr!” she’d growl, but by the time I got over to her she’d often fixed the mistake herself. Nell picked it up the fastest, but she didn’t trust herself and every so often she’d freeze and I’d hear, “Something doesn’t seem right… I think.” Sidonie was quiet and methodical, but (like me) she tended to pull her stitches a little too tightly. They were all shy at first but I had them chatting away by the time their Mums returned. “Aww, just one more row!” they begged. The Mums consented, and five minutes later while they were chatting I saw Nell surreptitiously begin a second row. It warmed my icy black heart. I made three new knitters today!
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Catching a train…
Just waiting for the 2:05 back to Sydney. Geez, it’s hot. It was a great weekend but I think I’m all knitted out.
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Steeking Workshop
I am the Hermione of fairisle knitting today! It’s a little embarrassing. Also: other than one lady’s 10-year-old daughter, I’m the youngest person here. Rock and roll…
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On the train heading north…
We’re all packed up and on our way to Knitters’ Guild Camp! Wish me and Miss Fee luck as we battle the blue-hairs and practice our mad skillz…
